How Katerina interacts with the dark realm. Katerina's conflict with the "dark kingdom

The strength of Katerina's character and the tragic severity of her conflict with the "dark kingdom" in A. N. Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm".

The drama "Thunderstorm" was conceived under the impression of Ostrovsky's trip along the Volga (1856-1857), but written in 1859. its strength to the present day.

Among all written by Ostrovsky, "Thunderstorm" is undoubtedly the best work, the pinnacle of his work. This is a real pearl of Russian dramaturgy, standing on a par with such works as "Undergrowth", "Woe from Wit", "Inspector General", "Boris Godunov", etc. With amazing force depicts the Ostrovsky corner of the "dark kingdom", where human dignity is blatantly violated in people. The masters of life here are tyrants. They oppress people, tyrannize in their families and suppress every manifestation of a living and healthy human thought.

Among the heroes of the drama, the main place is occupied by Katerina, who is suffocating in this musty swamp. In terms of character and interests, Katerina stands out sharply from her environment. The fate of Katerina, unfortunately, is a vivid and typical example of the fate of thousands of Russian women of that time. Katerina is a young woman, the wife of the merchant's son Tikhon Kabanov. She recently left her home and moved to her husband's house, where she lives with her mother-in-law Kabanova, who is the sovereign mistress. In the family, Katerina has no rights, she is not even free to dispose of herself. With warmth and love, she recalls her parental home, her maiden life. There she lived freely, surrounded by the caress and care of her mother. In her free time, she went to the spring for water, looked after flowers, embroidered on velvet, went to church, listened to the stories and singing of wanderers. The religious upbringing that she received in the family developed in her impressionability, daydreaming, faith in the afterlife and retribution for sins to man.

Katerina found herself in completely different conditions in her husband's house. From the outside, everything seemed to be the same, but the freedom of the parental home was replaced by stuffy slavery. At every step she felt dependent on her mother-in-law, suffered humiliation and insults. On the part of Tikhon, she does not meet any support, much less understanding, since he himself is under the rule of Kabanikh. By her kindness, Katerina is ready to treat Kabanikha like her own mother. She says to Kabanikha: "For me, mother, it's all the same, that my own mother, that you." But Katerina's sincere feelings do not meet with support from either Kabanikha or Tikhon.

Life in such an environment changed Katerina's character: "I was frisky, but you completely withered ... Was I like that? 1" Katerina's sincerity and truthfulness collide in Kabanikh's house with lies, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, rudeness. When love for Boris is born in Katerina, it seems to her a crime, and she struggles with the feeling that has washed over her. Katerina's truthfulness and sincerity make her suffer so much that she finally has to repent to her husband. Katerina's sincerity, her truthfulness are incompatible with the life of the "dark kingdom". All this was the cause of the tragedy of Katerina.

The tension of Katerina’s feelings is especially clearly visible after Tikhon’s return: “Everything is trembling, as if her fever beats: she is so pale, rushing about the house, as if she is looking for something. the whole depth of her suffering, moral greatness, determination. But after repentance, her situation became unbearable. Her husband does not understand her, Boris is weak-willed and does not go to her aid. The situation has become hopeless - Katerina is dying. Not one specific person is to blame for the death of Katerina. Her death is the result of the incompatibility of morality and the way of life in which she was forced to exist. The image of Katerina was of great educational importance for Ostrovsky's contemporaries and for subsequent generations. He called for a fight against all forms of despotism and oppression of the human person. It is an expression of the growing protest of the masses against all forms of slavery.

With her death, Katerina protests against despotism and tyranny, her death testifies to the approaching end of the "dark kingdom." The image of Katerina belongs to the best images of Russian fiction. Katerina is a new type of people in Russian reality in the 60s of the XIX century.

Dobrolyubov wrote that Katerina's character "is full of faith in new ideals and selfless in the sense that he is better off death than life on those principles that are disgusting to him. type, and this is not without its serious significance. Further, Dobrolyubov calls Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." He says that her suicide, as it were, illuminated for a moment the deep darkness of the "dark kingdom". In its tragic end, according to the critic, "a terrible challenge is given to self-foolish power." In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov's notions of morality, a protest carried through to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman has thrown herself.

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Makashova Natalya Vladimirovna,

teacher of Russian language and literature

G (O) BOUNPO PU No. 2, Lipetsk

Lesson topic: "The tragic acuteness of Katerina's conflict with the" dark

kingdom."

Lesson Objectives:

Educational:

- analysis of the image of Katerina;

- determination of the structural elements of the composition of a dramatic

works.

- introduction of information technologies at the lesson of literature;

Developing:

- improving the ability and skill of analyzing dramatic

works;

- development of attention and memory.

Educational:

- education of moral qualities in students on the example of the image

Katerina;

- cultivating interest in the subject.

Lesson equipment :MMP (multimedia projector), screen, presentation, reference

abstract on the topic: “The tragic severity of Katerina’s conflict with the“ dark kingdom ”, a play

A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm".

During the classes.

Organizing time

I. Explanation of new material.

-Topic. The purpose of the lesson. (slide 1, 2,3)

- Realizing the goal of the lesson, we must answer the problematic question:"Is it

Katerina's suicide as a protest against the "dark kingdom"? (Slide 4)

-Let us turn to the composition of the play. What is the plot of the play? (d. I , yavl. 5). What will we learn

from this action?

tie - to the nitpick of her mother-in-law, Katerina replies with dignity and peace-lovingly: “You

about me, mama, you talk about it in vain. With people, that without people, I'm all alone,

I'm not proving anything." The first collision (d. I, yavl. 5). (Slide 5.6)

The conflict of the play is based on the clash of petty fools of their victims. "Thunderstorm" from the first

phenomena introduces the reader and the viewer into an atmosphere of intense struggle.

-Do you think this is the first clash of heroes?

No. We find the heroes at the moment when contradictions between them have already reached

significant sharpness. We understand that this is not the first time Kabanikha has attacked

to Katherine.

What are the character traits of Katerina show up in the first sentences?

Inability to be hypocritical, to lie, directness, self-esteem.

The conflict is already outlined in the first act: Kabanihane tolerates feelings in people

dignity, disobedience, Katerina does not know how to adapt and

submit.

Text conversation.

-Where did these traits come from in the heroine? Why is the author only about Katerina

talks in such detail, talks about her family, childhood?

Compare the atmosphere that surrounded Katerin in her childhood and in her husband's family. Compose

table. (Slide 7)

Let's turn to D.I yavl.7. Read, How did Katerina live before marriage?

Make a conclusion.

Katerina lived happily, her parents loved her.

-How does Katerina feel about religion, is she religious? Read D. I yavl.7

Katerina is religious, she loved to go to church "until she died".

She also went out to pray in the garden.

In Katerina's worldview, Slavic pagan antiquity harmoniously grows together,

rooted in prehistoric times, with democratic influences

Christian culture. Katerina's religiosity incorporates sunrises and

sunsets, dewy grasses on flowering meadows, birds flying, butterflies fluttering from flower to

flower. Together with her, the beauty of a rural temple, and the expanse of the Volga, and the Trans-Volga meadow

space. And when the heroine prays, she has an angelic smile on her face and she seems to be all

glows.

The joy of life is experienced by Katerina in the temple. She makes prostrations to the sun

your garden, among trees, herbs, flowers, the morning freshness of awakening nature.

« Or early in the morning I’ll go to the garden, as soon as the sun rises, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and

-And how does Katerina live in the Kabanovs' house?

"Everything seems to be from-under bondage”, “What was I frisky! I've completely screwed up with you."

Comparative characteristics of the two stages of Katerina's life. (Slide 8.9)

In childhood

In the Kabanov family

“She lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird

at will", "mother doted on",

“I have withered completely”, “yes, everything is like here

as if from captivity."

"I was not forced to work."

Katerina's occupations: cared for flowers,

went to church, listened to strangers and

praying man, embroidered on velvet with gold,

walked in the garden.

Atmosphere at home fear. "You won't be

be afraid, me and even more so. What is it

Will there be order in the house?

Features of Katerina: love of freedom (image

birds); independence; feeling

co personal dignity; daydreaming

and poetry (the story of a visit

churches, about dreams); religiosity;

decisiveness (a story about an act with

boat).

Features of the "dark kingdom": complete

subordination; renunciation of one's will; humiliation

reproaches and suspicions; absence

spiritual beginnings; religious hypocrisy.

For Katerina, the main thing is to live in harmony

with their moral convictions.

For Kabanikh, the main thing is to subdue, not

let me live my way.

The relationships of the characters are in a state of sharp contrast and give rise to

not reconciled conflict.

-What aspects of Katerina's character are revealed in a conversation with Varvara?

D I, yavl. 2

This conversation reveals the power of Katerina's feelings, the depth of her spiritual drama,

inner strength, determination of her character. (“I can’t deceive, hide-

then I can’t do anything ”,“ I was born like that, hot ”), readiness to defend

I'll be held back by no force... I'll throw myself out the window, I'll rush into the Volga. .."). With these words

all further behavior of Katerina and her tragic death are predetermined.

-What do we learn about Katerina's feelings? D I, yavl. 7.9

In this conversation, Katerina confesses her love for Boris for the first time. All thoughts of Katerina

focused on love for Boris, this feeling captured her completely, about nothing else

she can neither think nor speak.

- Is Katerina happy about this feeling?

She does not say anywhere that she will meet with Boris.

- D. II, yavl. 3 ,4,5 "Seeing Tikhon ". (Slide 10 )

First, Kabanikha reads instructions to Tikhon. Tikhon says with a sense of relief

his remark: "Yes, sir, it's time, mama." But it turns out that's not all. The mother demands

so that he would instruct Katerina how to live without him. Tikhon understands that, fulfilling the will

mother, he humiliates his wife.

When Kabanakh's instructions become very offensive, Tikhon tries

object to the bullying of Katerina, but the mother is adamant, and he is quiet,

embarrassed, as if apologizing to his wife, he says: “Do not look at

guys." The purpose of the Kabanakhi is to lead to the complete obedience of the household and, above all,

wayward Katherine.

-What is the significance of this scene in the development of events?

In the scene of seeing off Tikhon, it is revealed to what extremes despotism reaches

Kabanikhi, it turns out Tikhon's complete inability not only to protect, but also to understand

Katerina. This scene explains Katerina's decision to go on a date with Boris.

-Let's try to understand why Katerina fell in love with Boris?

(children's answers)

We will find the answer in an article by Dobrolyubov: “In this passion lies her whole life;

the fact that she likes him, that he looks and speaks differently from the rest of those around her,

she is attracted to him both by the need for love, which did not find a response in her husband, and by the offended

the feeling of a wife and a woman, and the mortal anguish of her monotonous life, and the desire for will,

space, hot, unrestricted freedom.

In Katerina's soul, two equal and equal

motives. In the boar's kingdom, where all living things wither and dry up, Katerina is overcome by

longing for the lost harmony. Her love is akin to wanting to raise her hands and fly. From

her heroine needs too much.

We read D. II, yavl.10. “Monologue with a key.” (Slide 11)

How is the torment of the heroine, the struggle with herself and her strength shown in the scene with the key?

Katerina experiences feelings, how are these feelings reflected in her speech? What is

scene meaning?

The heroin's speech is full of short, abrupt interrogatives and exclamations.

sentences, repetitions, comparisons conveying the tension of Katerina's feelings.

After an excited introduction, Katerina's bitter thoughts about life in captivity follow.

Speech becomes more restrained, balanced. Katerina disputes

him once, at least from afar! Yes, even if I’ll talk! .. Why, he himself didn’t want to. This

part of the monologue is accompanied by remarks: after thinking, silence, thinks,

looks thoughtfully at the key characterizing Katerina's condition.

The monologue ends with a strong impulse of feelings: “Yes, what am I saying, that I myself

cheating? I have to die to see him."

D. IV, yavl.3. What do we learn from the conversation between Barbara and Boris?

Katerina, after her husband’s arrival, “simply became not herself herself ... She is trembling all over, as if her

fever beats; so pale, rushing around the house, exactly what she was looking for. Eyes like

crazy!"

-The action is moving towards a climax. Where does Katerina's repentance take place?

The dilapidated church is a symbol of the city of Kalinov.

- What is a climax?(Slide 12.13)

D. IV , yavl.4. Follow how Katerina's state of mind unfolds, how

tension increases in the development of the action. (Slide 14)

A thunderstorm is approaching, which, according to the Kalinovites, "is being sent to us as a punishment."

The gloomy coloring is enhanced by the scene of action - instead of the panorama of the Volga - a narrow

gallery with oppressive vaults. Katerina runs onto the stage, grabs Varvara by the arm and

holds tight. Her abrupt remarks convey extreme shock. She is hurt and

hints of Kabanikh and Tikhon's affectionate joke. Previously, she was protected by her consciousness

rightness. Now she is unarmed. And the caress of her husband, before whom she feels herself

guilty, for her - torture. When Boris appears in the crowd, Katerina, as if

asking for protection, "bows down to Barbara."

Again prophecies are heard: “Already remember my word that this thunderstorm is not for nothing

pass..." As in D. 1, a crazy lady appears. But in D. 1 her prophecies had

generalized character: “What, beauties? What are you doing here?.. Everything will boil in resin

indefatigable!..” Then in D. IV the lady turns directly to Katerina: “What

hiding! There is nothing to hide! ..” Her words are accompanied by thunder.

-How can you explain and motivate heroine's remorse?

Katerina's repentance is explained not only by the fear of God's punishment, but also by the fact that her

high morality, the conscience of the heroine rebels against the deceit that entered her

life. She said about herself: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.”

To Varvara’s objection: “But in my opinion: do what you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered

it was,” Katerina replies: “I don’t want it like that. Yes, and what’s good!” For Katerina

moral assessment of one's actions and thoughts is an important aspect of the spiritual

life. And in Katerina's popular recognition, one can see an attempt to redeem her

guilt, an attempt at moral purification.

Conclusion. The true source of the heroine's repentance is in her conscientiousness. “What a conscience!..

What a mighty Slavic conscience!.. What a moral force... What enormous,

lofty aspirations, full of power and beauty, ”wrote about Katerina-

Strepetova V. M. Doroshevich.

Analysis of action V.

Brief retelling of the action V. (Slide 15)

We learn that Kabanikha locked Katerina in the house, eat her, Tikhon to protect his wife

unable to. Having run away from home, Katerina finds Boris and asks to take her with her, but he

refuses.

-Could Katerina find a way to salvation in her soul and not end her life

suicide?

Let's imagine that Katherine had the opportunity to turn to

modern psychologist.

Modern psychologists use special psychological mechanisms,

helping to overcome a spiritual crisis. One of these mechanisms is good for you

known as it can be used not only in crisis situations, but also helps

positive consequences of the decision, in the other - negative consequences. Let's po-

trying to make two lists "for the future life" of Katerina, based on the text

plays. Create a table using quotes. (Slide 16,17 )

On the eve of the reform of 1861, the play "Thunderstorm" became the largest public event. The most important thing in the work of Ostrovsky's discovery is the folk heroic character. He put two main thoughts at the heart of the play: a powerful denial of stagnation and oppression of the motionless "dark kingdom" and the emergence of a positive, bright beginning, a real heroine from the people's environment. All this was new compared to the "natural school". In every talented written drama there is a basic conflict - that main contradiction that leads the action, manifests itself in one way or another in all events, in clashes of views and feelings, passions and characters.

It is in conflicts between people, in the clash of different views, beliefs, moral ideas and in “internal” conflicts, when contradictory thoughts and feelings fight in the mind of a person, that a person and the society in which he lives are most fully revealed. What is the main conflict in The Thunderstorm? Perhaps this is a contradiction between tyranny and humiliation? No. The play perfectly shows that violence is supported by humility: Tikhon's timidity, Boris's irresponsibility, Kuligin's patient delicacy seem to give the spirit of Kabanikhe and Diky, allow them to swagger as soon as they please.

A sharp, irreconcilable contradiction arises in The Thunderstorm when, among those crushed by tyranny, among the yearning, servile, cunning, there is a person endowed with pride, self-esteem, unable to come to terms with life in slavery even in the face of death. The bright human beginning in Katerina is natural, like breathing. This is her nature, which is expressed not so much in reasoning, but in spiritual subtlety, in the strength of experiences, in relation to people, in all her behavior.

The conflict of "Thunderstorm" is peculiar. It can be viewed in two ways. Ostrovsky himself defined his work as a drama, but this is a tribute to tradition. Indeed, on the one hand, The Thunderstorm is a social drama, but on the other hand, it is a tragedy. As a drama, this work is characterized by a special attention to everyday life, the desire to convey its "density". The writer describes in detail the city of Kalinov. This is a collective image of the Volga cities of Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Volga, which always symbolizes Russia. That is why an important role in the work is played by the landscape, described not only in the remarks, but also in the dialogues of the characters. Some heroes see the surrounding beauty. For example, Kuligin exclaims: “The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices!

Other heroes looked at her and were quite indifferent. Beautiful nature, a picture of the nightly festivities of young people, songs, Katerina's stories about childhood - all this is the poetry of the Kalinov world. But Ostrovsky confronts her with gloomy pictures of everyday life and everyday life, with the cruel attitude of people towards each other. In this city, rudeness and poverty reign, here “one can never earn with honest labor” “daily bread”, here merchants “undermine trade from each other, and not so much out of self-interest, but out of envy”, here the clerks have lost their human appearance, having learned for money scribble slander. Residents do not see the new, do not know about it, and do not want to know. All information here is obtained from ignorant wanderers who convince people that Kalinov is the promised land.

The people of "Thunderstorm" live in a special state of the world - crisis, catastrophic. The pillars holding back the old order shook, and the agitated life began to shake. The first action introduces us into the pre-stormy atmosphere of life. Outwardly, everything is going well, but the restraining forces are too fragile: their temporary triumph only increases the tension. It thickens by the end of the first act: even nature, as in a folk gum, responds to this with a thunderstorm approaching Kalinov.

Ostrovsky sees in merchant Kalinovo a world breaking with the moral traditions of folk life. Only Katerina is given in "Thunderstorm" to retain the fullness of viable principles in the culture of the people and to preserve a sense of moral responsibility in the face of the trials that this culture is subjected to in Kalinovo.

In the center of this closed "dark kingdom" stands a rude and ignorant merchant's wife - Kabanikha. She is the defender of the old foundations of life, rituals and customs of the city of Kalinov. She dictates moral laws to the entire city, imposes her will on everyone around her and demands unquestioning obedience. She hates everything new, so she can’t come to terms with the fact that “for the sake of speed” people invented a “fiery serpent” - a steam locomotive. Kabanikha stands up for a strong, lasting family, for order in the house, which, according to her ideas, is possible only if the basis of family relations is fear, and not mutual love and respect. Freedom, according to the heroine, leads a person to a moral fall.

Even the wanderers in the Kabanovs' house are different, from among those hypocrites who "due to their weakness did not go far, but heard a lot." And they talk about the "end times", about the imminent end of the world. Fanatical religiosity reigns here, which plays into the hands of the pillars of society, who greet living life with an evil grunt. Dobrolyubov penetratingly saw in the conflict "Thunderstorms" an epochal meaning, and in the character of Katerina - "a new phase of our people's life." But, idealizing free love in the spirit of the then popular ideas of women's emancipation, he impoverished the moral depth of Katerina's character. The hesitation of the heroine, who fell in love with Boris, the torment of her conscience, Dobrolyubov considered "the ignorance of a poor woman who did not receive a theoretical education." Duty, fidelity, conscientiousness, with the maximalism characteristic of revolutionary democracy, were declared "prejudices", "artificial combinations", "conditional instructions of the old morality", "old rags". It turned out that Dobrolyubov looked at Katerina's love in the same non-Russian way easily as Boris.

The question arises, how then does Katerina differ from other heroines of Ostrovsky, such as, for example, Lipochka from “My People ...”: “I need a husband! ... Find me a groom, find me without fail! otherwise it will be worse for you: on purpose, to spite you, in secret I will get an admirer, I will run away with the hussar, and we will get married on the sly. That's for whom the "conditional offensives of morality" really do not have any moral authority. This girl will not be afraid of a thunderstorm, the fiery hell itself is nothing to such “Protestants”!

Speaking about how “the strong Russian character is understood and expressed in The Thunderstorm”, Dobrolyubov in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom” rightly noted Katerina’s “concentrated determination”. However, in determining its origins, he completely departed from the spirit and letter of Ostrovsky's tragedy. Is it possible to agree that "upbringing and young life gave her nothing"?

It is easy to see in The Thunderstorm the tragic confrontation between the religious culture of Katerina and the Domostroy culture of Kabanikhi. The contrast between them is drawn by sensitive Ostrovsky with amazing consistency and depth. The conflict of The Thunderstorm absorbs the thousand-year history of Russia, and its tragic resolution reflects the almost prophetic forebodings of the national playwright.

When the fall of Katerina happened, she becomes bold to the point of insolence. “I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” she says. This phrase predetermines the further development of the tragedy, the death of Katerina. The lack of hope for forgiveness and pushes her to suicide, an even greater sin from the point of view of Christian morality. But for Katerina there is no longer any difference, all the same, she has already ruined her soul. Without feeling the primordial freshness of Katerina's inner world, one cannot understand the vitality and power of her character. Haunted by her sin, Katerina passes away to save her soul.

The heroine of Ostrovsky is truly a ray of light in the "dark kingdom". It strikes loyalty to ideals, spiritual purity, moral superiority over others. In the image of Katerina, the writer embodied the best features - love of freedom, independence, talent, poetry, high moral and ethical qualities.

In the image of Katerina Dobrolyubov saw the embodiment of "Russian living nature." Katerina prefers to die than to live in captivity. “... This end seems to us gratifying,” the critic writes, “it is easy to understand why: it gives a terrible challenge to the self-conscious force, it tells it that it is no longer possible to go further, it is impossible to live longer with its violent, deadening beginnings.” In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov's notions of morality, a protest “carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself. She does not want to put up, does not want to take advantage of the miserable vegetative life that they give her in exchange for her living soul ... ”In the image of Katerina, according to Dobrolyubov, the“ great people’s idea ”was embodied - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bliberation. The critic considered the image of Katerina close "to the position and to the heart of every decent person in our society."

During his long creative life, Ostrovsky wrote more than fifty original plays and created the Russian national theater. According to Goncharov, Ostrovsky painted a huge picture all his life. "This painting is a Millennium Monument to Russia." At one end, it rests on prehistoric time (“Snegurochka”), at the other, it stops at the first railway station ... ".

And if I get very cold here,

so no force can hold me back.

A. Ostrovsky

Against the background of the still formidable, but already shaky tyranny, Ostrovsky showed the original, integral, strong, selfless character of the Russian woman, who, by the determination of her protest, was a terrible challenge to the “tyrant” Force and foreshadowed the coming end of the “dark kingdom”. Dobrolyubov called Katerina, the main character of the drama "Thunderstorm", a folk, national character, "a bright ray in a dark kingdom."

Bright, but deeply suffering, Katerina appears before us. Her childhood was happy and cloudless. Her mother "didn't have a soul" in her. Surrounded by affection and care, she lived freely in her parents' house. “It was so good,” she recalls. But the most valuable, now lost, was the feeling of will: "I lived ... like a bird in the wild." She loved to attend church services: it is as if angels fly and sing there. “Early in the morning I’ll go to the garden ... I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying about and what I’m crying about,” says Katerina. She does not tolerate insults and answers them passionately and decisively: “I was born like that, hot! They offended me with something at home, but it was in the evening, it was already dark: I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat, and pushed it away from the shore.

And such an impressionable, poetically minded and at the same time resolute woman finds herself in the Kabanova family, in a musty atmosphere of hypocrisy and intrusive, petty guardianship. After a home paradise with its magical world of dreams and visions, Katerina finds herself in an environment that exudes deathly cold and soullessness. The rude and domineering mother-in-law sharpens her with her petty captiousness at every step: “She crushed me ... she made me sick of the house, the walls are even disgusting.” Katerina knows no compromises. Or endure, "as long as it is enduring", or: "I will leave, and I was like that." And Katerina would have withered completely if a feeling of protest against such a life had not been born in her: “I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me!”

Katerina has a growing sense of offended dignity. The whole conversation with Tikhon is imbued with a passionate desire to find support in her husband, this is the last desperate attempt to maintain a feeling for him. She begs him to stay or take her with him. Tikhon's answer shows Katerina all his insignificance, and she exclaims with horror: “How can I love you when you say such words?” Katerina is in despair.

It is not difficult to understand with what force Katerina's feeling must have flared up when on her way she met a person who was not like everyone else. She is ready for anything for the one she loves. She cannot lie, deceive: “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I am doing! If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?

The joy and happiness of love did not last long. Katerina does not want and cannot hide her “sin” and repents before her husband. But this confession does not speak of Katerina's weakness. It took many external jolts to wrest it from the woman's mouth. A terrible thunderstorm broke out, of which she had always been afraid; she saw Boris; then she heard someone accidentally say the words: "... the storm will not pass in vain"; then the lady's prophecy. And, finally, the most terrible thing for Katerina is when she sees the image of fiery hell. material from the site

Katerina hopefully turns to Boris, but he cannot help her and retreats from her. She cannot reconcile, endure the constant torture and bullying of Kabanikha: “Where to now? I don’t care what goes home, what goes to the grave.”

In her dying moments, Katerina breaks the last fetters of the dark kingdom - the fear of sin. It was not the separation from Boris that forced Katerina to take the last step towards the cliff, but the most terrible thought for her that she would be caught and returned home “by force, where the people are disgusting, and the house is disgusting, and the walls are disgusting.

Protesting, but not giving up, she passes away. “Such a liberation is sad, bitter, but what to do when there is no other way out,” Dobrolyubov writes in the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom.” In Katerina, he saw a "Russian, strong character" who endures himself, in spite of any obstacles, and when there is not enough strength, he will die, but will not betray himself.

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• Tatyana's conflict with the dark kingdom
• thunderstorm Katerina's conflict with the dark kingdom

When analyzing the image of Katerina Kabanova, of course, the focus will be on the monologues of the heroine, revealing her feelings, a rich and complex spiritual world.

An analysis of the first scenes reveals some of Katerina's character traits: impulsiveness, frankness, pride. The desire to support her husband made her break the "etiquette" and intervene in the conversation of older family members. It is important to understand what causes Kabanikhi's discontent. Katerina's behavior, which seems completely natural to us, actually contradicts the generally accepted norms of that era: Katerina, according to all traditions, the youngest in the family hierarchy, turns to her mother-in-law at you, objects to her, and demonstrates her resentment. All this is regarded by Marfa Ignatievna as impudence and simply bad manners. Kabanikha's reproaches to Tikhon are indeed unfounded, but irritation against Katerina is quite natural and natural from the point of view of the system of rules by which Kabanikha lives.

The heroine really reveals herself in her monologue (action 1, phenomenon 7). Reading it, we can feel the lyrical elation, the expressiveness of Katerina's speeches, their poetic imagery and emotional intensity.

Observing how the thoughts of the heroine (micro-themes of the monologue) develop, we will see that the main theme unfolded in it is the changes in the spiritual life of the heroine. They are only partly related to changes in external circumstances.

"Why don't people fly!"

“... How frisky I was! I'm completely smitten with you..."

“... I lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild ...”

“... Yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity ...”

“... And to death I loved to go to church! ..”

“... And what dreams I had. ... what dreams!., as if I'm flying, I'm flying through the air ... "

"... And now sometimes I dream, but rarely, and not that."

“... And something bad is happening to me ... to be some kind of sin!

Katerina peers with surprise into her own soul, in which new, unknown to herself and terrible for her very depths have opened up. She is looking for her former self and therefore strives by memory to a bright, serene youth. For a moment it becomes the same: frisky and self-willed - and again returns to the disturbing "now". Let's think about what the textbook phrase means: "Why don't people fly?" Why is the image of a bird, the motive of flight, repeated in Katerina's monologue? It is easy to understand that these words and images embody the dream of freedom, spiritual clarity, harmony with the world. Now the heroine has lost all this. Instead of flying, she dreams of a fall, an abyss. Instead of the happiness of bright prayer, there is a sly whisper of temptation.

The thirst for flight and the fear of sin - these are the two poles of the heroine's spiritual life, equally powerful. Having fallen in love with the "other", Katerina is doomed to a difficult moral struggle. She knows what she should do, but she is already almost sure that she cannot. She has nothing to hold on to, she has already decided that, having seen at least once with her beloved, she will not go home for anything in the world.

Equally important in the monologue is the theme of bondage. With only one phrase, Katerina explains how the way of life in her husband's house differs from the previous one. “Yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity.” I think it is worth stopping at these words in order to feel the full force and significance of this short remark. Yes, in the house of the Kabanovs “everything is the same” that was in the parent: prayers, needlework, conversations of wanderers, walking in the garden. Life is still the same, and anyone who perceives it only as an external routine of life will not notice any difference. Why is Katerina so hard and stuffy in this house? Precisely because for her this life is not a form, but life itself. She loved it all so sincerely and deeply, she was so happy about it all. And what? Now it is all made her duty, regulated and subject to strict control. Let's try to imagine that this happens to us; what favorite, most beloved thing will not disgust us the very next day?

The trouble is not only in the eternal cavils and reproaches of the Kabanikh, the mother-in-law took away from Katerina all the space of her spiritual life, poisoned everything that she loved before, and did not give anything in return. The mother-in-law actually does not allow Katerina to love her husband, since a wife should not love, but be afraid. And she herself does not need Katerina's daughter love, she only needs respect and obedience. God did not give children to the Kabanovs. What is left for this soul - such a strong, active, rich soul with such a thirst for flight?

Life has found a solution. "Lawless" passion turned out to be an outlet for the soul, limited in all legitimate aspirations. So, already in the first monologue of the heroine, Ostrovsky indicates the duality of the conflict into which she is drawn. The external conflict is her opposition to the cruel way of life, which kills everything free, sincere, individual in the feelings and relationships of people. In this conflict, Katerina, like Ostrovsky's other "hot hearts", is ready for an uncompromising struggle. But another contradiction tears apart her own soul: the demands of her conscience and the needs of her heart collide in an insoluble conflict, predetermining the death of the heroine.

The movement of action at first contributes to Katerina's heartfelt aspirations. Each plot twist brings her closer to a frightening and desirable abyss: Varvara's promise, her husband's departure, receiving the key to the garden gate, a date arranged by Varvara - and the voice of conscience falls silent for a while, muffled by the triumph of love.

Referring to these episodes, one can follow how Katerina tries to overcome herself, how she clings to every straw: she drives Varvara away from herself, caresses her husband, asks to take her with him, begs to take a terrible oath from her, wants to forget herself in labor and prayer and, even taking the key, he still persuades himself: “Throw it away, throw it far away, throw it into the river ...”

We suggest thinking about why none of the relatives wanted to help Katerina in her struggle. It is easy to see that in the actions of Varvara and Tikhon, egoism and indifference prevail over all other feelings. Katerina really has no one to grab hold of.

Will not become a support for her and a loved one. Reading the scene of the first date, we are convinced of how much Katerina is morally stronger than her chosen one. She courageously and directly looks fateful fate in the eyes; fully understanding what awaits her, she takes full responsibility for herself. “If I am not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?” Katerina exclaims in response to Boris' cowardly promises to keep their relationship a secret.

Katerina crossed the line of fear, went against her conscience. Did she get freedom? Does her love look like the flight of the soul that she dreamed of in the first scene?

Ostrovsky gives us the answer. The mundane scene of the usual meeting between Vari and Kudryash not only serves as a contrast to the previous lyrical explanation, but also makes you look at this explanation “in a worldly way”. A simple question: "Well, did you get it right?" - douses the heroes with the spirit of vulgarity and makes Katerina hide her face. Yawning, Varvara says goodbye to her boyfriend, and we understand that Boris and Katerina will also come to this result if they learn to live in accordance with the general law of the city of Kalinov: do what you want, as long as everything is covered. It is no coincidence that the meeting of lovers does not take place on the high bank of the Volga, but in an overgrown ravine.

But, unfortunately or fortunately, pushing Katerina on her path, Varvara did not calculate her character, did not believe the words of her daughter-in-law: “I don’t know how to deceive; I can't hide anything." Submitting to the general lie outwardly, Katerina suffers the more from mental anguish. The voice of a sick conscience again takes precedence over love and demands a way out, this struggle reaches its climax and is resolved by public repentance.

If you have correctly assessed the character of the heroine, it will not be difficult for you to answer whether Katerina’s repentance was provoked by random circumstances (a thunderstorm, the appearance of an old lady, a meeting with Boris), or was it the inevitable denouement of a love story.

Of course, this outcome is natural. For Katerina's warm heart, pretense and lies are most unbearable. It is better to endure the shame, the beatings of the husband, the reproaches of the mother-in-law, than to carry in oneself the sin unconfessed, unpunished, unrepentant. Turning to Katerina's last monologue, we see that repentance did not bring her relief. Fear and pangs of conscience are now replaced by despair. External oppression has become even more unbearable, love for Boris is even stronger and more hopeless - he leaves and does not take her with him. We note that even at the moment of the last farewell, Katerina does not blame Boris for anything, does not demand anything from him, she blames herself for ruining him. Katerina's conscience is calm: the heroine paid enough for her sin. But she has nothing and nothing to live for. The last desperate impulse to freedom was suffocated in Kalinov's hopeless life.

The motive of flight is replaced in the last monologues by the key image of the grave. Home for her is a real grave, where she was buried alive and forever. Katerina is sure that her soul has died, she is tortured, morally exhausted, she sees herself already dead, being buried and does not want to lie, pretending to be alive. Under the tree, the grave is more gratifying than the disgusting walls of the crypt house. One can relate differently to her last fatal choice, but one cannot help but see in it the same truthfulness that is characteristic of all Katerina's actions. The playwright maintains the truth of her character to the end, this is his skill. And no matter how much we sympathize with the heroine, no matter how we condemn her, we understand with all clarity: another ending for Katerina is impossible.

Comparison of Katerina with Barbara allows one to shade the sincerity, purity, depth of the soul of the main character, the consciousness of her rebellion against the suffocating laws of the "dark kingdom".

It is quite acceptable and even natural to compare Katerina with Kabanikha. The strength of nature distinguishes them from all those around them. The smart and domineering merchant Kabanova can easily "stop" even the scolding Diky. She is able to tell the unflattering truth in the eye and "talk" - to console, reassure with a sincere word. Her ferocity with her family does not come from a bad character, but naturally follows from worldly wisdom, absorbed from childhood. The task of the elders is to teach, and the younger ones are to listen and gain intelligence. The reproaches of relatives, in her opinion, save the young from other people's ridicule, from ridiculous and dangerous acts. Her life philosophy has its own rightness, but all of it is based on distrust of a person, on the suppression of living feelings, free manifestations of the soul. The new era is pushing Marfa Ignatievna. Even her own son does not consider it necessary to intimidate his wife, content with love, not fear. The values ​​proclaimed by Kabanikha are in many ways close to Katerina. Both of them see God's judgment in the storm. Only Marfa Ignatievna, unlike Katerina, considers herself sinless, she does not doubt her rights and the rightness. But with all her mind, Kabanova does not understand that by driving her family into a corner, tightening pressure, she herself is preparing an explosion of protest, a revolt against her power.

Used book materials: Yu.V. Lebedev, A.N. Romanova. Literature. Grade 10. Lesson developments. - M.: 2014