- Essays
- On literature
- Ostrovsky
- Female characters in the play The Dowry
The place of women in society is one of the frequently encountered problems in Russian literature. The dramatic play “Dowry” by Alexander Ostrovsky does not shy away from this topic, but examines it in the person of two main characters: the widow Kharita Ignatievna Ogudalova and the girl Larisa Dmitrievna. All the female characters in “Dowryless” are very different
Larisa Ogudalova
The action of the work begins with a conversation between wealthy individuals - Knurov and Vozhevaty. It is they who characterize Larisa throughout the drama. “Can’t you see that this woman is made for luxury? An expensive diamond requires an expensive setting.” The words of Mokiy Parmenych convey to the reader the crystal purity of the girl who “throws around” between the hero - lover Paratov and the ordinary official Karandyshev. Larisa embodies the main problem: should she follow her feelings or become a quiet, exemplary wife. Where is her place in this life? A. Ostrovsky shows that even the “right” ones are capable of succumbing to temptation, but only if they seek true happiness. A homeless woman is forced to marry a man whom she “is going to love,” because such an act is salvation from the stigma of an “old maid.” Larisa reluctantly follows her mother's advice and shows obedience. The characters of the play are about girls. Here she personifies a kind and childishly naive soul.
Kharita Ignatievna Ogudalova
Larisa's mother, a middle-aged widow, is a kind of antagonist to her daughter. The “brisk woman” strives to arrange a profitable wedding for the younger Ogudalova. On the one hand, this is justified, since by the standards of those years, a rich groom is the salvation of a poor bride. On the other hand, there is a hidden message about the widow’s prudence, her “helpfulness” and hypocrisy. For the most part, she is looking for material happiness and does everything for it. If Larisa is “richly dressed, but modestly,” then the widowed Ogudalova is “beyond her years.” The latter instructs her daughter to “smile correctly”, sing and is liked by potential suitors. She hosts lavish dinners while extorting money from others for entry. The situation is such that the reader involuntarily thinks: is this a mother’s love or an attempt to sell a dowry? And, unfortunately, the answer here is obvious.
Efrosinya Potapovna
The third female image in “Dowry” is Efrosinya Potapovna. Unlike Kharita Ignatievna, Aunt Karandysheva is a commoner. She complains that the cook uses all the most expensive things to prepare dishes, and also brags about buying fake wine and cheap sterlet at the market. This female image helps to understand the image of Mokiya Karandyshev. Ostrovsky shows that he is characterized by the same stinginess and desire to look rich as his aunt.
There is a feeling that mother and daughter are yin and yang, a struggle between righteousness and lies. The female characters in this play are contrasted with each other, showing the difference in behavior during one action. Wealthy people pityingly watch the course of events, just like the reader.
Female images in A. N. Ostrovsky’s plays “The Thunderstorm” and “Dowry”
Two dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky are devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society.
Before us are the fates of three young women: Katerina, Varvara, Larisa. Three images, three destinies. Katerina differs in character from all the characters in the drama “The Thunderstorm”. Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deception and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism. Therefore, in a cruel world where wild and wild boars reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina’s protest against Kabanikha is a struggle of the bright, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the “dark kingdom”. No wonder Ostrovsky, who paid great attention to names and surnames, gave the heroine of “The Thunderstorm” the name Ekaterina, which translated from Greek means “eternally pure.” Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude people around her, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. It is the beauty of nature that is natural and sincere. “I used to get up early in the morning; In the summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. The dreams were filled with miracles and fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. With this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law and love her husband, but in the Kabanovs’ house no one needs sincere feelings. The tenderness that fills her soul finds no application. Deep melancholy sounds in her words about children: “If only there were someone’s children!” Eco woe! I don’t have any children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children – they are angels.” What a loving wife and mother she would have been under different conditions! Katerina’s sincere faith differs from Kabanikha’s religiosity. For Kabanikha, religion is a dark force that suppresses the will of man, and for Katerina, faith is the poetic world of fairy-tale images and supreme justice. “... I loved going to church to death! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,” she recalls. Bondage is Katerina’s main enemy. The external conditions of her life in Kalinov seem to be no different from the environment of her childhood. The same motives, the same rituals, that is, the same activities, but “everything here seems to be from under captivity,” says Katerina. Bondage is incompatible with the freedom-loving soul of the heroine. “And bondage is bitter, oh, so bitter,” she says in the scene with the key, and these words, these thoughts push her to the decision to see Boris. In Katerina’s behavior, as Dobrolyubov said, a “decisive, integral Russian character” was revealed, which “will withstand itself, despite any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, it will die, but will not change itself.” Varvara is the complete opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, is not afraid of thunderstorms, and does not consider strict adherence to established customs obligatory. Due to her position, she cannot openly oppose her mother and therefore is cunning and deceives her. She hopes that marriage will give her the opportunity to leave this house, to escape from the “dark kingdom.” To Katerina’s words that she doesn’t know how to hide anything, Varvara replies: “Well, but you can’t live without it!” Remember where you live! Our whole house rests on this. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.” Varvara despises her brother’s spinelessness and is indignant at her mother’s heartlessness, but she cannot understand Katerina. She is only interested and concerned about the external side of life. She resigned herself and adapted to the laws of the old world around her. Larisa, unlike Katerina, grew up and was raised in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. Her character does not have the integrity that Katerina has. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot, realize her dreams and desires. Her name means “Seagull” in Greek. This bird is associated with something white, light, and piercingly screaming. And this image fully matches Larisa. Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each one goes towards this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society. Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death. Larisa's situation is more complicated. She became disillusioned with her loved one and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deception, Larisa sees two ways out of this situation: either the search for material values, or death. And given the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she leaves this life.
