- Essays
- On literature
- Ostrovsky
- Merchants in Groza
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky in the play “The Thunderstorm” not only tells the reader about relationships in the family, about the conflict between generations, betrayal, pain, but also quite clearly conveys the merchant class that existed in the mid-nineteenth century.
The author gives the reader good characteristics of several merchants, and on the basis of them a detailed analysis of merchant Russia can be made.
One of the main characters, Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, or simply Kabanikha, is a vivid example of a merchant's wife of that time. After the death of her husband, the woman took all power in the house and city into her strong hands. No one dares argue with her or cross her word. She is a follower of old traditions and does not want to change anything in the life of her family, or in the merchant business. She is a hypocritical, greedy woman who tries to discourage buyers from competitors.
Kabanikha loves her children very much: Varya and Tikhon. It is for this reason that she so zealously finds fault with her daughter-in-law. She is simply jealous of her son for Katerina, for this reason Tikhon is even afraid to admit his love for his own wife. After all, the mother will not allow this. Then Katerina will be completely killed off.
Another merchant in the city is Dikoy. Although Savel is a revered merchant in the city, he remains a hot-tempered, restless person who does not care about other people’s opinions. Almost all the time, Dikoy does not know what to do with himself, but at the same time he remains on par with the imperious, cruel Kabanikha, who can go to any lengths. But why then does everything turn out this way? But because merchants are our modern business. Here you need to have good intuition, a practical and sharp mind, and foresight. Kabanikha and Dikoy have these qualities, which is why they stay afloat. However, the reluctance to change and keep up with the times will lead merchants to collapse, because only a modernized mechanism will be able to work. There is nothing good and bright in the hearts of these people, the soul is empty, and material wealth has taken its place.
Thus, the merchants can be compared to the nobility. This is the same power that can make people obey and serve. But, only for the time being. Everything good or bad comes to an end. This is the law of life balance.
Russian merchants in A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”
In my opinion, A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is of particular interest to readers, since it describes not only an interpersonal conflict, but also gives a fairly complete description of the Russian merchants of the mid-19th century.
In order to understand the life of the society described in the work, it is necessary, of course, to analyze the characters of some of the characters. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a representative of the older generation, more patriarchal and respectful of tradition. Marfa Ignatievna is a rich merchant's wife, a widow, who after the death of her husband took all power in the house into her own hands. And not only in the house, but also in the city, no one dares to argue with her. From the outside, she seems like a “fist woman,” an insensitive and domineering woman who knows the value of everything and everyone. She does not give free rein to either Tikhon, her son, or, especially, her daughter-in-law Katerina. He does not shy away from Dikiy, one of the most severe merchants in the city. “The formidable warrior” Kalinov becomes literally silken next to Kabanikha, the only person who correctly evaluates him: “Well, don’t let your throat loose! Find me cheaper! And I am dear to you! Go on your way, where you were going... you’ve been fighting with women all your life.” However, is Kabanova as simple as it seems at first glance? In fact, her image is much deeper. The severity towards Tikhon shows love for his son, a desire to help him get back on his feet in this difficult life; in constant nagging towards Katerina, jealousy towards her daughter-in-law and annoyance at having taken her son away are manifested; There is also nothing unnatural in a constantly bad mood - the foundations of her world are crumbling around Marfa Ignatievna, it seems to her that the end of the world is not far off. “What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t even know.” As for the truly negative qualities of Marfa Ignatievna - hypocrisy (including ostentatious piety) and ignorance, they are not her personal character traits, they are, in fact, just part of the general atmosphere of the “dark kingdom”. Kuligin characterizes the foundations of this society as follows: “They are at enmity with each other; they scribble malicious slander against their neighbors... They undermine each other’s trade, and not so much out of self-interest as out of envy.” Along with Kabanikha, Dikoy also belongs to the older generation of the Kalinov merchants, but he is not the central character: without participating in the conflict, Dikoy expands the idea of the patriarchal world. Savel Prokofievich is a completely empty person, with nothing to do, constantly looking for a quarrel with the first person he meets in order to smash him to smithereens. A wild person is a tyrant who acts without being guided by reason. A few phrases are enough to understand the essence of his character: “I want to think about you this way, and I think so. For others, you are an honest person, but I think that you are a robber, that’s all... So you know that you are a worm. If I want, I will have mercy, if I want, I will crush.” And this person is “a significant person in the city.” Such Wild and Kabanikhs represent the basis of the Russian merchant class. What can be said about the city of Kalinov, where Marfa Ignatievna and Dikiye enjoy influence and respect? The younger generation represented in “The Thunderstorm” is also a very important part of society. The passivity of young people, their weak character and inability to do anything bold and new is surprising. Tikhon and Varvara are characters with a transitional type of character. They, on the one hand, do not agree with the existing order of things and do not want to follow the rules established in ancient times, but, on the other hand, they do not dare to protest against them in any tangible way, and all their disagreement results in adaptation to life in the “dark kingdom”. Boris can also be included here. Well-educated, he could have supported Katerina’s protest and won independence from Dikiy, but Boris was absolutely divorced from real life and had difficulty realizing his actions, ruining both himself and Katerina as a result. Boris Grigorievich is simply pathetic. He says to himself: “I’m walking around completely dead... Driven, beaten....” He has no self-respect, no self-esteem. There are several opinions about the character of Katerina. I believe that she cannot be called a strong personality. But she differs from the rest of the Kalinovites in that she does not want to adjust and adapt. Katerina’s death is the solution that seemed most correct for the main character. This is not a protest or a challenge at all. And what kind of protest can we talk about when a person is not able to understand his own feelings? The entire merchant world of Kalinov appeared before us. What happens in it? What are the general laws of his behavior? Wild and Kabanovs are ignorant, but by no means stupid. Their practical mind is strong, and they realize that they are on the edge of an abyss, and this edge is crumbling faster and faster under them. In the depths of their souls it is clear to them that this is the end, but they hope (and the premonition of death increases their strength tenfold) that, having dealt with several hostile people who are dangerous to them, they will stop the ground disappearing from under their feet. The merchants' former occupation - trade (it is mentioned only in passing in the play) has been forgotten; all their strength is spent on the struggle within this closed world, in other words, panic has begun. And this is not just an alarming sign, it is a harbinger of the death of the entire “dark kingdom”. But “panic” is a word suitable to describe the state of only the older generation. Young people do not even suspect how much their lifestyle shocks their parents. On the contrary, the elders seem to them to be the indestructible, eternal foundation of their life. They do not need new ideas; they are afraid of everything unknown. Thus, we see that based on the work of A. N. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm” we can conduct a deep analysis of the merchant society of that time, see the contradictions that tore it apart, understand the tragedy of individual people and an entire generation, thanks to which we can better understand the life of the entire Russian society that time.
Essay Images of merchants in the plays of A.N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" and "Dowry"
A.N. Ostrovsky is known in Russian literature as the playwright who first brought the merchant class to the stage. Having grown up in Zamoskvorechye, the traditional place of residence of merchants, and thoroughly knowing their way of life and thoughts, Ostrovsky, using the example of the life of the Russian merchants, revealed many problems relevant to contemporary Russia. We can say that Ostrovsky had the privilege of living in several eras. He saw both the time of patriarchal life and the time of Europeanization of Russia, the establishment of capitalism in the country. In the play “The Thunderstorm,” the playwright depicts a patriarchal merchant class, whose way of life has been determined for centuries. The play takes place in the provincial Volga city of Kalinov. In this small town, all business is run by merchants - Savel Prokofievich Dikoy and his godfather Marfa Ignatieva Kabanova, nicknamed Kabanikha for her temper. Kuligin, Kalinov’s most “enlightened” person, calls these people “tyrants.” And indeed, Dikoy and Kabanikha do what they want. This applies both to affairs in the city where they are the “heads” and to their families. Dikoy himself says that he has “such a heart”: when it comes to money, “it kindles everything inside, and that’s all; Well, even in those days I would never curse a person.” The hero realizes that he is doing wrong, but, according to him, he cannot do anything with himself. Why can’t Dikoy, whose character is emphasized by his “speaking” surname, control himself? Ostrovsky is sure that largely due to his impunity, because no one in the city can contradict this merchant, he is one of the most influential citizens in Kalinov. The same thing happens in Dikiy’s family - “war,” in his words. Kabanikha sharply remarks that all the power of the Wild One is worth little, because he has been fighting “all his life with women.” Savel Prokofich admits this, but demands that the “women” obey him. It really can't be the other way around! But we see that Dikoy seems formidable only to weak people. Kabanikha is not at all afraid of her godfather. She abruptly cuts him off: “Well, don’t let your throat loose! Find me cheaper! And I’m dear to you!” And indeed, Dikoy respects Marfa Ignatievna, listens to her opinion: “You are the only one in the whole city who knows how to make me talk.” Thus, the strongest and most powerful person in Kalinov is Kabanikha. In the play, a lot of attention is paid to this image; she becomes the main opponent of Katerina Kabanova, her “enemy.” What is the reason for such strength of Kabanikha? With her personal qualities - inner power, confidence, pressure? Of course yes. But Marfa Ignatievna’s main strength, in my opinion, is that she is the keeper of the experience of her ancestors, the traditions of Domostroy. The fact that she has centuries-old wisdom behind her, the life support of many generations, makes the heroine confident in her rightness, “impenetrable,” and categorical. She is sure that living correctly means living in the approval of other people. It doesn’t matter what’s really going on in your soul and your family, true feelings and thoughts don’t matter. The main thing is that outwardly, formally, everything is correct, according to the “charter”. And for the sake of her convictions, Marfa Ignatievna will do anything - she is ready to break and destroy even the people dearest and closest to her. The confrontation between this heroine and her morality, a radically different philosophy of life, represented by Katerina, leads to tragedy - Kabanikha’s daughter-in-law commits suicide. This means that the patriarchal views of Domostroi are still winning, being considered the norm among the Russian merchants. The play “Dowry” depicts Russian merchants in a different era - the establishment of capitalism in Russia. Ostrovsky shows that Western trends have become very strong in the country. Views characteristic of Westerners come to Russian traditional culture. First of all, this is the power of the material over the spiritual. If under patriarchy family, traditions, and conciliarity were important, now personal success and selfish pleasures that a person can buy with money come first. In “The Dowry” we see a merchant of a completely new formation - Vasily Danilych Vozhevatov. The author characterizes him this way: “a very young man, one of the representatives of a wealthy trading company; European in costume.” Vozhevatov received, in fashion, a good education, he lives following the laws of the “new time”. This hero is not interested in feelings. He believes that everything can be bought. Therefore, when Larisa Ogudalova asks her “childhood friend” for sympathy, he cannot help the girl in any way - Vozhevatov simply does not know how to do this. Moreover, seduced by Larisa’s beauty, the self-confident and polished Vasily Danilych sells her like an item from another merchant, Knurov. Mokiy Parmenych Knurov is a man of a slightly different type. This is already a fairly elderly merchant, so in his head there is a mixture of old and new orders, moral laws. In appearance, Knurov is somewhat softer and more soulful than Vozhevatov, but the principle of “buying and selling” also entered his blood, became his essence. As a result, both Knurov and Vozhevatov, personifying the cynical and soulless world of money, became one of the reasons for the death of Larisa, who did not want to be a thing defending her right to feelings and simple human emotions. Thus, the heroes of Ostrovsky’s plays “The Thunderstorm” and “Dowry” are Russian merchants. The merchants in "The Thunderstorm" live according to the old, patriarchal laws of Domostroy. The playwright portrays the merchants as very religious, ignorant tyrants who have great power and cripple the lives of all those who do not share their point of view. The merchants in "Dowry" are more "cultured". They speak French, know how to behave in “respectable places”, they studied at Western universities. During the period of capitalism, Russian merchants live by different laws, but remain just as soulless, cynical, destroying all living things in their path. What is this connected with? With the fact that the basis of merchant life has always been the law of “purchase and sale”? Because these people were forced to be ruthless in order to succeed? Because from time immemorial among the merchants business, rather than spiritual, qualities were valued? There can be many answers to this question. One thing is certain - Ostrovsky’s plays provide us with invaluable material from the life of Russian merchants of the 19th century, their morals, customs and traditions.
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