Thunderstorm Ostrovsky brief description of the heroes. Characteristics of the heroes of the play Thunderstorm

This heroine easily adapts to the laws of the "dark kingdom", easily deceives everyone around her. It became a habit for her. V. claims that it is impossible to live otherwise: their whole house is based on deceit. “And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.”
V. was cunning as long as possible. When they began to lock her up, she ran away from home, inflicting a crushing blow on Kabanikha.

D. is a typical tyrant. He feels his power over people and complete impunity, and therefore creates what he wants. “There are no elders above you, so you are swaggering,” Kabanikha explains the behavior of D.
Every morning his wife begs those around her with tears: “Fathers, don’t make me angry! Doves, don't get angry! But D. is hard not to get angry. He himself does not know in what mood he can come in the next minute.
This "cruel scolder" and "piercing man" is not shy in expressions. His speech is filled with words like "parasite", "Jesuit", "asp".
But D. “attacks” only on people weaker than himself, on those who cannot fight back. But D. is afraid of his clerk Kudryash, who is reputed to be a rude man, not to mention Kabanikh. D. respects her, moreover, she is the only one who understands him. After all, sometimes the hero himself is not happy with his tyranny, but he cannot help himself. Therefore, Kabanikha considers D. a weak person. Kabanikha and D. are united by belonging to the patriarchal system, following its laws, and anxiety about the upcoming changes around.

This image in its own way indicates the end of the patriarchal way of life. T. no longer considers it necessary to adhere to the old ways in everyday life. But, by virtue of his nature, he cannot do as he sees fit and go against his mother. His choice is worldly compromises: “Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her talk, and you pass by your ears!
T. is a kind, but weak person, he rushes between fear of his mother and compassion for his wife. The hero loves Katerina, but not in the way that Kabanikha requires - severely, "like a man." He does not want to prove his power to his wife, he needs warmth and affection: “Why should she be afraid? It's enough for me that she loves me." But Tikhon does not receive this in the house of Kabanikhi. At home, he is forced to play the role of an obedient son: “Yes, mama, I don’t want to live by my own will! Where can I live with my will! His only outlet is business trips, where he forgets all his humiliations by drowning them in wine. Despite the fact that T. loves Katerina, he does not understand what is happening to his wife, what mental anguish she is experiencing. T.'s softness is one of his negative qualities. It is because of her that he cannot help his wife in her struggle with passion for Boris, he cannot alleviate the fate of Katerina even after her public repentance. Although he himself reacted gently to his wife’s betrayal, not being angry with her: “Here’s mother says that she must be buried alive in the ground so that she will be executed! And I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. Only over the body of his dead wife T. decides to rebel against his mother, publicly blaming her for the death of Katerina. It is this rebellion in front of people that inflicts the most terrible blow on Kabanikha.

We bring to your attention a list of the main characters of Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".

Savel Prokofievich Dik about th - merchant, significant person in the city. A scolding, piercing man, this is how those who personally know him characterize him. He really doesn't like giving money. Whoever asks him for money, he certainly tries to scold. He tyrannizes his nephew Boris, and is not going to pay him and his sister money from the inheritance.

Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, a young man, decently educated. He loves Katerina sincerely, with all his heart. But he can't decide anything on his own. There is no male initiative, no strength in him. Floats with the flow. They sent him to Siberia, and he went, although in principle he could refuse. Boris confessed to Kuligin that he endured his uncle's whims for the sake of his sister, hoping that he would pay at least something from his grandmother's will for her dowry.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova(Kabanikha), a rich merchant's wife, a widow - a tough, even cruel woman. Keeps the whole family under his heel. He behaves piously with the people. Adheres to house-building customs in a form distorted by its concepts. But home tyrannizes how much in vain.

Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov her son is a sissy. A quiet, downtrodden little man, unable to solve anything on his own. Tikhon loves his wife, but he is afraid to show his feelings for her, so as not to anger his mother once again. Life in the house with his mother is unbearable for him, and he was glad to leave for 2 weeks. When Katerina repented, he asked his wife, so that only not with her mother. He understood that for her sin, not only Katerina's mother, but also him himself would be pecked. He himself is ready to forgive his wife for this feeling for another. He beat her a little, but only because her mother ordered. And only over the corpse of his wife throws the reproach of the mother that it was she who killed Katerina.

Katerina - Tikhon's wife The main character of "Thunderstorm". She received a good, pious upbringing. God-fearing. Even the townspeople noticed that when she prays, it is as if light emanates from her, she becomes so peaceful at the moment of prayer. Katerina confessed to Varvara that she secretly loves another man. Varvara arranged a date for Katerina, and all 10 days while Tikhon was away, she met with her lover. Katerina understood that this was a grave sin, and therefore, on the very first laziness upon arrival, she repented to her husband. She was pushed to repentance by a thunderstorm that broke out, an old half-crazy lady, who frightened everyone and everything with fiery hell. She pities Boris and Tikhon, and blames only herself for everything that happened. At the end of the play, she throws herself into the pool and dies, although suicide is the most serious sin in Christianity.

Barbara - Tikhon's sister A lively girl, with a cunning, unlike Tikhon, does not bend in front of her mother. Her life credo: do what you want, if only it was sewn and covered. Secretly from his mother, he meets at night with Curly. She also arranged a date between Katerina and Boris. At the end, when they began to lock her up, she runs away from the house with Curly.

Kuligin - tradesman, watchmaker, self-taught mechanic looking for a perpetuum mobile. It is no coincidence that Ostrovsky gave this hero a surname consonant with the famous mechanic - Kulibin.

Vanya Kudryash, - a young man, Dikov's clerk, Varvara's friend, a cheerful guy, cheerful, loves to sing.

Minor heroes of the "Thunderstorm":

Shapkin, tradesman.

Feklusha, stranger.

Glasha, a girl in Kabanova's house - Glasha hid all the tricks of Varvara, supported her.

Lady with two lackeys, an old woman of 70 years old, half-mad - frightens all the townspeople with a terrible judgment.

City dwellers of both sexes.

Events in the drama of A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" unfold on the Volga coast, in the fictional city of Kalinov. The work gives a list of characters and their brief characteristics, but they are still not enough to better understand the world of each character and reveal the conflict of the play as a whole. There are not so many main characters in Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm.

Katerina, a girl, the main character of the play. She is quite young, she was married off early. Katya was brought up exactly according to the traditions of house building: the main qualities of a wife were respect and obedience to her husband. At first, Katya tried to love Tikhon, but she could not feel anything but pity for him. At the same time, the girl tried to support her husband, help him and not reproach him. Katerina can be called the most modest, but at the same time the most powerful character in Thunderstorm. Indeed, outwardly, Katya's strength of character is not manifested. At first glance, this girl is weak and silent, it seems that she is easily broken. But this is not true at all. Katerina is the only one in the family who resists Kabanikh's attacks. It opposes, and does not ignore them, like Barbara. The conflict is more of an internal nature. After all, Kabanikha is afraid that Katya can influence her son, after which Tikhon will no longer obey the will of his mother.

Katya wants to fly, often compares herself to a bird. She literally suffocates in the "dark kingdom" of Kalinov. Having fallen in love with a visiting young man, Katya created for herself an ideal image of love and possible liberation. Unfortunately, her ideas had little to do with reality. The girl's life ended tragically.

Ostrovsky in "Thunderstorm" makes not only Katerina the main character. The image of Katya is opposed to the image of Marfa Ignatievna. A woman who keeps the whole family in fear and tension does not command respect. The boar is strong and despotic. Most likely, she took over the “reins of government” after the death of her husband. Although it is more likely that in marriage, Kabanikha was not distinguished by humility. Most of all, Katya, her daughter-in-law, got it from her. It is Kabanikha who is indirectly responsible for the death of Katerina.

Varvara is the daughter of Kabanikhi. Despite the fact that she has learned resourcefulness and lies over the years, the reader still sympathizes with her. Barbara is a good girl. Surprisingly, deceit and cunning do not make her like the rest of the city. She does as she pleases and lives as she pleases. Barbara is not afraid of her mother's wrath, because she is not an authority for her.

Tikhon Kabanov fully lives up to his name. He is quiet, weak, inconspicuous. Tikhon cannot protect his wife from his mother, since he himself is under the strong influence of Kabanikh. His rebellion ends up being the most significant. After all, it is the words, and not Varvara's escape, that make readers think about the whole tragedy of the situation.

The author characterizes Kuligin as a self-taught mechanic. This character is a kind of guide. In the first act, he seems to be taking us around Kalinov, talking about his customs, about the families that live here, about the social situation. Kuligin seems to know everything about everyone. His estimates of others are very accurate. Kuligin himself is a kind person who is used to living by established rules. He constantly dreams of the common good, of a perpetual mobile, of a lightning rod, of honest work. Unfortunately, his dreams were not destined to come true.

Diky has a clerk, Curly. This character is interesting because he is not afraid of the merchant and can tell him what he thinks about him. At the same time, Curly, just like Wild, tries to find a benefit in everything. He can be described as a simple person.

Boris comes to Kalinov on business: he urgently needs to improve relations with Diky, because only in this case will he be able to receive the money legally bequeathed to him. However, neither Boris nor Dikoy even want to see each other. Initially, Boris seems to readers like Katya, honest and fair. In the last scenes, this is refuted: Boris is not able to take a serious step, take responsibility, he simply runs away, leaving Katya alone.

One of the heroes of "Thunderstorm" is a wanderer and a maid. Feklusha and Glasha are shown as typical inhabitants of the city of Kalinov. Their darkness and ignorance is truly amazing. Their judgments are absurd, and their outlook is very narrow. Women judge morality and morality by some perverted, distorted concepts. “Moscow is now a place of amusement and games, but there is an Indo roar in the streets, a groan stands. Why, mother Marfa Ignatievna, they began to harness the fiery serpent: everything, you see, for the sake of speed ”- this is how Feklusha speaks of progress and reforms, and the woman calls the car a “fire serpent”. Such people are alien to the concept of progress and culture, because it is convenient for them to live in a fictional limited world of calm and regularity.

This article gives a brief description of the heroes of the play "Thunderstorm", for a deeper understanding, we recommend that you read the thematic articles about each character of the "Thunderstorm" on our website.

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The play by Alexander Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" is a real legacy for future generations. Despite the fact that it was written almost two centuries ago, its plot touches upon the pressing problems of our turbulent times. The same problems of daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, husband and wife, mother and children... The events of the work take place on the banks of the river called the Volga, in the fictional city of Kalinovo. There, in this, at first glance, a quiet place, a real drama develops, the fault of which is ordinary people. But in order to understand what happened, you need to get acquainted with the characters of the play and determine the role that each of them plays in the work.

Local self-taught mechanic Kuligin

This character appears from the very beginning of the play. He is a self-taught mechanic who is a kind of tour guide. By nature, Kuligin is a kind person who is used to acting according to established rules. Speaking of others and evaluating their manners, he is very precise in his judgments. He constantly dreams of the common good, of a lightning rod, of a perpetual mobile, of honest work, but, alas, his cherished desires are not destined to come true.

Vanya Kudryash - Beloved Varya

This is a minor character that the author described as kind and sincere. Despite the simple appearance, Vanya is a fighter in life and always brings what he started to the end. Any business in his hands is arguable. By nature, Ivan is not a romantic, but a practitioner, from this point of view he looks at life.

Dear readers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with A. Ostrovsky on actions and phenomena.

He is a strong, smart, well-built guy who is loved by Varvara Kabanova. A bright and kind feeling arises between them, although in order to avoid scandals from Varvara's mother, these relations have to be carefully hidden.

Boris - Diky's nephew

Boris is the nephew of Savl Prokopich Wild, a domineering, cruel and greedy man. The author endowed this hero with a contradictory character, on the one hand describing him as young, educated, well-read, fashionable, on the other - cowardly and weak-willed, who never learned to defend his own point of view despite external circumstances. Knowing that his inheritance is in the hands of Uncle Saul the Wild, Boris tries to please him in everything, despite reproaches and ridicule.

Having fallen in love with Katya Kabanova, who has a mutual feeling for this guy, the young man does not value this relationship, and at the time when the slightest problems arise, he does not try to protect the girl, but immediately backs down, fearing that their relationship will be made public.

Thus, we can conclude that Boris is not so much a positive as a negative character in Alexander Ostrovsky's play The Thunderstorm.

Wild - a representative of the "dark kingdom"

Savl Prokofievich Wild is a wealthy merchant who is the most respected and influential person in the city. However, he is picky, angry, ignorant, and cruel. This set of negative qualities greatly outweighs the outward significance of Diky, whose last name also speaks for itself - all his behavior is wild, unnatural.

It does not matter to him what others think about this or that issue, Dikoy considers his own opinion to be the only correct one. He stops at nothing, impudently taking away with impudence what is acquired by overwork. Cursing and cursing with everyone, this hero enjoys. He yells at his employees who come for their due salary, raises his voice at family members who get the most from the character of Savl Prokofich. Knowing that the fate of his nephew is in his hands, he abuses his powers in relation to Boris, because he is ready to fulfill any of his requirements in order to receive an inheritance. On an equal footing, Dikoy can only communicate with Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, who, surprisingly, understands his nature. Savl Prokopyich personifies the customs of a small provincial town. With the help of this image, the author wanted to show the reader the need for changes in the views and behavior of society at that time.

Boar - the negative character of the play

The image of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is presented in the play as one of the most negative. This is a rich merchant's wife, a widow. A despotic and wayward woman, she keeps the whole house in fear, offending both her own son and daughter, and her daughter-in-law, who suffers the most. “I must do what my mother says,” she orders her weak-willed son Tikhon, and he obeys the demands of a despotic parent. Achieving order to the smallest detail, Kabanikha acts by violent means, forcing everyone to be afraid of her. You will not be afraid, and even more so me. What kind of order will it be in the house? .. ”- she is perplexed.

In addition, Marfa Ignatievna is a hypocritical and cold-blooded old woman who loves to read morality to her children, while not doing what she herself advises. Kabanova is used to getting her way only with reproaches and threats, she does not know such feelings as love and compassion. She mistakenly believes that children should honor their parents so much that their opinion is not taken into account. Indirectly, Kabanova becomes the main cause of the terrible death of her daughter-in-law Katerina, but does not realize this.

Tikhon, son of Kabanova

There is an expression "mama's boy". It is the best suited to Tikhon Kabanov, the son of Marfa Ignatievna.

Accustomed from childhood to live in complete submission to a strict mother, he grew up weak-willed and spineless.

This shows up throughout his life. Having no opinion of his own, Tikhon cannot make even the simplest decisions, being terribly afraid of the condemnation of his strict mother, who, without realizing it, brought up an infantile loser in her son, dissolving nurses at the slightest danger - and the worst thing, they lived with the conviction that such upbringing is the only correct one.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the play by A. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Only once, at the end of the play, when a tragedy occurred with his wife Katerina, Tikhon exclaimed, reproaching his mother: “Mother, you ruined her! you, you, you…” And here it is shown that even a person driven into a dead end is able to defend his position. It’s just a pity, late he realized what a treasure and treasure his wife was for him.

Varvara - Tikhon's sister

Varvara Kabanova is the sister of Tikhon and the daughter of Marfa Ignatievna. Reading the play, the reader may notice the contrast between brother and sister. She, unlike the lack of initiative Tikhon, is lively and courageous, able to make decisions on her own. Varya managed, unlike her brother, to adapt to the character of an overly demanding and wayward mother; learned to lie, to be hypocritical, to dodge where necessary, to ignore her orders.

To eliminate obstacles to meeting her beloved, Varvara simply changed the lock. Thus, she secured herself from unnecessary outbursts of her mother's anger. As they say, both the wolves are full and the sheep are safe.

This girl is, firstly, practical, secondly, cheerful, and thirdly, smart and insightful. In addition, she is the only one in the family who supports Katerina and gives her good advice. In the work, the attitude “do what you want, the main thing is that no one finds out anything” is realized in the image of Barbara.

Katerina - the main character of the play

In A. Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", the image of Katerina is the key. This girl is going through a difficult fate, and, unfortunately, her life ends tragically. But in order to understand the character of the heroine, you need to trace the author's storyline from the very beginning.

Only childhood was happy for Katerina, when she, like a sponge, absorbed the good that was instilled by loving parents, went to church with great joy.

And then a thunderstorm struck in the girl's life. She got married. Unfortunately, unsuccessful. For a weak-willed and spineless person, for whom his mother's orders are more important than normal and healthy relationships in his own family.

All dreams of a happy and strong family collapsed, life went downhill. The fierce mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna began to act with the girl according to her already proven methods of violence and endless reproaches, which were unacceptable to Katerina. No matter how hard the daughter-in-law tried to smooth out the situation in her family, nothing worked. The mother-in-law continued to nag with or without reason, and the weak-willed husband still obeyed his mother.

Katerina with all her heart internally opposes such hypocritical and senseless behavior, this contradicts her bright and sincere nature, but the girl cannot resist the orders established in the Kabanova family. She does not love her husband, but she regrets, and this is not enough to create a strong family. And then Katerina indulges in a feeling of love for another - Dikiy's nephew, Boris. And since then, even bigger problems have begun - pangs of conscience, haunting day or night, a constant question in the soul: “Should I confess my guilt?” “Everything is trembling, as if her fever beats; so pale, rushing around the house, just looking for what, - says the sister of her husband Varvara about the state of Katerina. - Eyes like a lunatic! This morning she began to cry, and sobs. My fathers! what should I do with her?"

And, finally, Katerina takes a decisive step, telling her mother-in-law and her husband about her sin in relation to Boris: “Mother! Tikhon! I am a sinner before God and before you! Didn't I swore to you that I wouldn't look at anyone without you! Remember, remember! And do you know what I, dissolute, did without you? On the very first night I left home ... And all ten nights I walked with Boris Grigorievich.

After that, a real tragedy plays out: the reproaches and abuse of the mother-in-law, who incites her son to beat her daughter-in-law, unbearable mental pain and, finally, the fatal decision - to rush into the Volga. Alas, Katerina's life was cut short at a young age. Some understand and do not condemn her for this act, some, on the contrary, believe that only a weak-willed person could commit suicide. But be that as it may, Katerina will remain in the eyes of many readers a positive heroine, that is, the best of all the characters in the play.

The action of the play "Thunderstorm" takes place in the fictional town of Kalinovo, which is a collective image of all the provincial towns of that time.
There are not so many main characters in the play "Thunderstorm", each must be said separately.

Katerina is a young woman married without love, "in a strange direction", God-fearing and pious. In the parental home, Katerina grew up in love and care, prayed and enjoyed life. Marriage for her turned out to be a difficult test, which her meek soul opposes. But, despite outward timidity and humility, passions boil in Katerina's soul when she falls in love with a strange man.

Tikhon - Katerina's husband, a kind and gentle person, loves his wife, pities her, but, like all households, obeys his mother. He does not dare to go against the will of the "mother" throughout the play, as well as openly tell his wife about his love, since the mother forbids this, so as not to spoil his wife.

Kabanikha - the widow of the landowner Kabanov, mother of Tikhon, mother-in-law of Katerina. A despotic woman, in whose power the whole house is, no one dares to take a step without her knowledge, fearing a curse. According to one of the heroes of the play, Kudryash, Kabanikh - “a hypocrite, gives to the poor, and eats homemade food.” It is she who tells Tikhon and Katerina how to build their family life in the best traditions of Domostroy.

Varvara is Tikhon's sister, an unmarried girl. Unlike her brother, she obeys her mother only for appearances, while she herself secretly runs on dates at night, inciting Katerina to do so. Its principle is that you can sin if no one sees, otherwise you will spend your whole life next to your mother.

The landowner Dikoy is an episodic character, but personifying the image of a “tyrant”, i.e. those in power who are sure that money gives the right to do whatever your heart desires.

Boris, Diky's nephew, who arrived in the hope of receiving his share of the inheritance, falls in love with Katerina, but cowardly runs away, leaving the woman he seduced.

In addition, Kudryash, Wild's clerk, is participating. Kuligin is a self-taught inventor, constantly trying to introduce something new into the life of a sleepy town, but is forced to ask Wild for money for inventions. The same, in turn, being a representative of the "fathers", is sure of the futility of Kuligin's undertakings.

All the names and surnames in the play are "speaking", they tell about the character of their "masters" better than any actions.

She herself vividly shows the confrontation between the "old" and "young". The former actively resist all sorts of innovations, complaining that young people have forgotten the orders of their ancestors and do not want to live "as expected." The latter, in turn, are trying to free themselves from the yoke of parental orders, they understand that life is moving forward, changing.

But not everyone decides to go against the parental will, someone - because of the fear of losing their inheritance. Someone - accustomed to obey their parents in everything.

Against the backdrop of flourishing tyranny and precepts of Domostroy, the forbidden love of Katerina and Boris blossoms. Young people are drawn to each other, but Katerina is married, and Boris depends on his uncle for everything.

The heavy atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, the pressure of the evil mother-in-law, the thunderstorm that has begun, force Katerina, tormented by remorse because of her betrayal of her husband, to confess everything in public. The boar rejoices - she turned out to be right in advising Tikhon to keep his wife "strict". Tikhon is afraid of his mother, but her advice to beat his wife so that she knows is unthinkable for him.

The explanation of Boris and Katerina further aggravates the situation of the unfortunate woman. Now she has to live away from her beloved, with her husband, who knows about her betrayal, with his mother, who will now definitely exhaust her daughter-in-law. Katerina's piety leads her to think that there is no more reason to live, the woman throws herself off a cliff into the river.

Only after losing the woman he loves does Tikhon realize how much she meant to him. Now he will have to live all his life with the understanding that his callousness and obedience to his tyrant mother led to such an ending. The last words of the play are the words of Tikhon, pronounced over the body of his dead wife: “Good for you, Katya! And why in the world did I stay to live and suffer!