The image of Katerina in the drama of A.N. Ostrovsky. Katerina - Russian tragic heroine Message in the image of Katerina in the drama thunderstorm

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The question of choosing a soulmate has always been problematic for young people. Now we have the right to choose a life partner (companion) ourselves, before the final decision in marriage was made by parents. Naturally, the parents first of all looked at the well-being of the future son-in-law, his moral character. Such a choice promised a wonderful material and moral existence for children, but the intimate side of marriage often suffered. The spouses understand that they should treat each other favorably and respectfully, but the lack of passion is not the best effect. There are many examples in the literature of such dissatisfaction and the search for the realization of one's intimate life.

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

This topic is not new in Russian literature. From time to time it is raised by writers. A. Ostrovsky in the play "Thunderstorm" portrayed the unique image of the woman Katerina, who, in search of personal happiness, under the influence of Orthodox morality and the arising love feeling, comes to a standstill.

Katerina's life story

The main character of Ostrovsky's play is Katerina Kabanova. From childhood she was brought up in love and affection. Her mother felt sorry for her daughter, and sometimes freed her from all work, leaving Katerina to do what she wanted. But the girl did not grow up lazy.

After the wedding with Tikhon Kabanov, the girl lives in the house of her husband's parents. Tikhon has no father. And the mother manages all the processes in the house. The mother-in-law has an authoritarian character, she suppresses all family members with her authority: her son Tikhon, her daughter Varya and her young daughter-in-law.

Katerina finds herself in a world completely unfamiliar to her - her mother-in-law often scolds her for no reason, her husband also does not differ in tenderness and care - sometimes he beats her. Katerina and Tikhon have no children. This fact is incredibly upsetting for a woman - she likes to babysit children.

At one point, a woman falls in love. She is married and understands perfectly well that her love has no right to life, but nevertheless, over time, she succumbs to her desire while her husband is in another city.

Upon the return of her husband, Katerina experiences pangs of conscience and confesses her act to her mother-in-law and husband, which causes a wave of indignation. Tikhon beats her. The mother-in-law says that the woman needs to be buried in the ground. The situation in the family, already unhappy and tense, escalates to the point of impossibility. Seeing no other way out, the woman commits suicide by drowning herself in the river. On the last pages of the play, we learn that Tikhon still loved his wife, and his behavior towards her was provoked by his mother.

Appearance of Katerina Kabanova

The author does not provide a detailed description of the appearance of Katerina Petrovna. We learn about the appearance of a woman from the lips of other heroes of the play - most of the characters consider her beautiful and delightful. We also know little about Katerina's age - the fact that she is in the prime of her life allows us to define her as a young woman. Before the wedding, she was full of aspirations, shone with happiness.

Life in the mother-in-law's house did not affect her in the best way: she noticeably withered, but she was still pretty. Her girlish gaiety and cheerfulness quickly disappeared - their place was taken by despondency and sadness.

Relationships in the family

Katerina's mother-in-law is a very complex person, she runs everything in the house. This applies not only to household chores, but to all relationships within the family. It is difficult for a woman to cope with her emotions - she is jealous of her son for Katerina, she wants Tikhon to pay attention not to his wife, but to her, his mother. Jealousy eats the mother-in-law and does not give her the opportunity to enjoy life - she is always unhappy with something, constantly finds fault with everyone, especially the young daughter-in-law. She does not even try to hide this fact - those around her make fun of the old Kabanikha, they say that she tortured everyone in the house.

Katerina respects the old Kabanikha, despite the fact that she literally does not give her a pass with her nit-picking. The same cannot be said for other family members.

Katerina's husband, Tikhon, also loves his mother. The authoritarianism and despotism of his mother broke him, like his wife. He is torn by a feeling of love for his mother and wife. Tikhon does not try to somehow resolve the difficult situation in his family and finds solace in drunkenness and spree. The youngest daughter of Kabanikha and sister of Tikhon, Varvara, is more pragmatic, she understands that it is impossible to break through the wall with her forehead, in this case it is necessary to act with cunning and intelligence. Her respect for her mother is ostentatious, she says what her mother wants to hear, but in reality she does everything in her own way. Unable to bear life at home, Barbara runs away.

Despite the dissimilarity of the girls, Varvara and Katerina become friends. They support each other in difficult situations. Varvara incites Katerina to secret meetings with Boris, helps lovers organize dates for lovers. In these actions, Varvara does not mean anything bad - the girl herself often resorts to such dates - this is her way not to go crazy, she wants to bring at least a piece of happiness into Katerina's life, but the result is the opposite.

Katerina also has a difficult relationship with her husband. First of all, this is due to the spinelessness of Tikhon. He does not know how to defend his position, even if the mother's desire is clearly contrary to his intentions. Her husband does not have his own opinion - he is a "sissy", unquestioningly fulfilling the will of the parent. He often, at the instigation of his mother, scolds his young wife, sometimes beats her. Naturally, such behavior does not bring joy and harmony to the relationship of the spouses.

Katerina's discontent grows from day to day. She feels miserable. The understanding that nit-picking against her is far-fetched still does not allow her to live fully.

From time to time, in Katerina's thoughts, intentions arise to change something in her life, but she cannot find a way out of the situation - the thought of suicide visits Katerina Petrovna more and more often.

Character traits

Katerina has a meek and kind disposition. She doesn't know how to take care of herself. Katerina Petrovna is a soft, romantic girl. She loves to indulge in dreams and fantasies.

She has an inquisitive mind. She is interested in the most unusual things, for example, why people cannot fly. Because of this, people around her consider her a little strange.

Katerina is by nature patient and non-confrontational. She forgives the unfair and cruel treatment of her husband and mother-in-law.

In general, those around, if you do not take into account Tikhon and Kabanikha, have a good opinion of Katerina, they think that she is a sweet and lovely girl.

The pursuit of freedom

Katerina Petrovna has a peculiar concept of freedom. At a time when most people understand freedom as a physical state in which they are free to carry out those actions and actions that they prefer, Katerina prefers moral freedom, devoid of psychological pressure, allowing her to control her own destiny.

Katerina Kabanova is not so decisive as to put her mother-in-law in her place, but her desire for freedom does not allow her to live according to the rules within which she found herself - the idea of ​​death as a way of gaining freedom appears in the text several times before Katerina's romantic relationship with Boris . The publication of information about Katerina's betrayal of her husband and the further reaction of a relative, in particular mother-in-law, become just a catalyst for her suicidal aspirations.

Religiosity of Katerina

The question of religiosity and the influence of religion on people's lives has always been quite controversial. This trend is especially open to doubt in times of active scientific and technological revolution and progress.

In relation to Katerina Kabanova, this trend does not work. A woman, not finding joy in everyday, worldly life, is imbued with a special love and reverence for religion. Strengthens her attachment to the church and the fact that her mother-in-law is religious. While the old Kabanikh's religiosity is only ostentatious (in fact, she does not adhere to the basic canons and postulates of the church that regulate human relations), Katerina's religiosity is true. She piously believes in the commandments of God, tries to always observe the laws of life.

During prayer, while in church, Katerina experiences special pleasure and relief. In those moments, she is like an angel.

However, the desire to experience happiness, true love takes precedence over religious vision. Knowing that adultery is a terrible sin, a woman still succumbs to temptation. For ten days of happiness, she pays with another, the most terrible sin in the eyes of a believing Christian - suicide.

Katerina Petrovna is aware of the gravity of her act, but the notion that her life will never change forces her to ignore this prohibition. It should be noted that the idea of ​​such an end to her life path had already arisen, but, despite the hardships of her life, it was not carried out. Perhaps the fact that the pressure from the mother-in-law was painful for her played here, but the notion that it had no basis stopped the girl. After her family finds out about the betrayal - reproaches against her become justified - she really tarnished her reputation and the reputation of the family. Another reason for this outcome of events could be the fact that Boris refuses a woman and does not take her with him. Katerina herself must somehow solve the current situation and she does not see a better option, how to throw herself into the river.

Katerina and Boris

Before Boris appeared in the fictitious city of Kalinovo, finding personal, intimate happiness for Katerina was not relevant. She did not try to make up for the lack of love from her husband on the side.

The image of Boris awakens in Katerina the extinguished feeling of passionate love. A woman is aware of the gravity of a love relationship with another man, so she languishes with the feeling that has arisen, but does not accept any prerequisites to turn her dreams into reality.

Varvara convinces Katerina that Kabanova needs to meet alone with her lover. The brother's sister is well aware that the feelings of young people are mutual, in addition, the coolness of the relationship between Tikhon and Katerina is not new to her, therefore she regards her act as an opportunity to show her sweet and kind daughter-in-law what true love is.

Katerina cannot make up her mind for a long time, but the water wears away the stone, the woman agrees to a meeting. Being captured by her desires, reinforced by a kindred feeling on the part of Boris, a woman cannot deny herself further meetings. The absence of her husband plays into her hands - for 10 days she lived like in paradise. Boris loves her more than life, he is affectionate and gentle with her. With him, Katerina feels like a real woman. She thinks she's finally found happiness. Everything changes with the arrival of Tikhon. No one knows about secret meetings, but Katerina is tormented by torment, she is seriously afraid of punishment from God, her psychological state reaches its climax and she confesses her sin.

After this event, the life of a woman turns into hell - the already pouring reproaches in her direction from her mother-in-law become unbearable, her husband beats her.

The woman still has hope for a successful outcome of the event - she believes that Boris will not leave her in trouble. However, her lover is in no hurry to help her - he is afraid of angering his uncle and being left without his inheritance, so he refuses to take Katerina with him to Siberia.

For a woman, this becomes a new blow, she is no longer able to survive it - death becomes her only way out.

Thus, Katerina Kabanova is the owner of the kindest and most gentle qualities of the human soul. A woman is especially sensitive to the feelings of other people. Her inability to give a sharp rebuff becomes the cause of constant ridicule and reproaches from her mother-in-law and husband, which further drives her into a dead end. Death in her case becomes an opportunity to find happiness and freedom. The realization of this fact causes the saddest feelings among readers.

"Thunderstorm". This is a young woman who does not yet have children and lives in her mother-in-law's house, where, in addition to her and her husband Tikhon, Tikhon's unmarried sister, Varvara, also lives. Katerina has been in love with Boris, who lives in the house of Dikiy, his orphaned nephew, for some time.

While her husband is nearby, she secretly dreams of Boris, but after his departure, Katerina begins to meet with a young man and enters into a love affair with him, with the aid of her daughter-in-law, to whom Katerina's connection is even beneficial.

The main conflict in the novel is the confrontation between Katerina and her mother-in-law, Tikhon's mother, Kabanikha. Life in the city of Kalinov is a deep swamp that sucks deeper and deeper. "Old concepts" prevail over everything. Whatever the “seniors” do, they should get away with everything, free-thinking will not be tolerated here, the “wild nobility” here feels like a fish in water.

The mother-in-law is jealous of a young attractive daughter-in-law, feeling that with the marriage of her son, her power over him rests only on constant reproaches and moral pressure. In her daughter-in-law, despite her dependent position, Kabanikha feels a strong opponent, a whole nature that does not succumb to her tyrant oppression.

Katerina does not have due respect for her, does not tremble and does not look Kabanikhe in the mouth, catching her every word. She does not act sad when her husband leaves, she does not try to be useful to her mother-in-law in order to earn a favorable nod - she is different, her nature resists pressure.

Katerina is a believing woman, and for her sin is a crime that she cannot hide. In the house of her parents, she lived as she wanted, and did what she liked: she planted flowers, prayed earnestly in church, experiencing a sense of enlightenment, listened with curiosity to the stories of wanderers. She was always loved, and she developed a strong, self-willed character, she did not tolerate any injustice and could not lie and maneuver.

At the mother-in-law, however, constant unfair reproaches await her. She is guilty of the fact that Tikhon does not, as before, show proper respect for his mother, and does not demand it from his wife either. The boar reproaches her son for not appreciating the mother's suffering in his name. The power of the tyrant slips out of the hands right before our eyes.

The betrayal of the daughter-in-law, in which the impressionable Katerina confessed in public, is the reason for Kabanikh to rejoice and repeat:

“I told you! And no one listened to me!

All sins and transgressions are due to the fact that, perceiving new trends, they do not listen to the elders. The world in which the eldest Kabanova lives suits her quite well: power over her family and in the city, wealth, severe moral pressure over her family. This is the life of Kabanikha, this is how her parents lived, and their parents - and this has not changed.

While the girl is young, she does what she wants, but when she gets married, she seems to die for the world, appearing with her family only in the market and in the church, and occasionally in crowded places. So Katerina, having come to her husband's house after a free and happy youth, also had to symbolically die, but she could not.

The same feeling of a miracle that is about to come, the expectation of the unknown, the desire to fly in and soar, which had been with her since her free youth, did not disappear anywhere, and the explosion would have happened anyway. Even if not by a connection with Boris, Katerina would still challenge the world into which she came after marriage.

It would be easier for Katerina if she loved her husband. But every day, watching how Tikhon is mercilessly suppressed by her mother-in-law, she lost her feelings, and even the remnants of respect for him. She felt sorry for him, encouraging him from time to time, and not even being very offended when Tikhon, humiliated by his mother, takes out his insult on her.

Boris seems different to her, although he is in the same humiliated position because of his sister as Tikhon. Since Katerina sees him briefly, she cannot appreciate his spiritual qualities. And when two weeks of love dope are dispelled with the arrival of her husband, she is too busy with mental anguish and her guilt to understand that his situation is no better than that of Tikhon. Boris, still clinging to a faint hope that he will get something from his grandmother's fortune, is forced to leave. He does not call Katerina with him, his mental strength is not enough for this, and he leaves with tears:

“Oh, if only there was strength!”

Katerina has no way out. The daughter-in-law has fled, the husband is broken, the lover is leaving. She remains in the power of the Kabanikha, and understands that now she will not let the guilty daughter-in-law do anything ... if she scolded her for nothing before. Further - this is a slow death, not a day without reproaches, a weak husband and there is no way to see Boris. And believing Katerina prefers to all this a terrible mortal sin - suicide - as a liberation from earthly torments.

She realizes that her impulse is terrible, but for her it is even more preferable to punish for sin than to live in the same house with the Boar before her physical death - the spiritual one has already happened.

A whole and freedom-loving nature can never withstand pressure and mockery.

Katerina could have run away, but she had no one with her. Because - suicide, quick death instead of slow. She nevertheless made her escape from the realm of "tyrants of Russian life".

According to one version, while writing "" Ostrovsky was in love with one of the actresses of the Maly Theater. Her name was Lyubov Kositskaya. She was married and could not reciprocate the author. Later, Kositsyna played the role of Katerina and, perhaps, predicted her fate with the words of a literary work. It is worth noting that the actress to some extent repeated the fate of her heroine, having passed away early.

The image of Katerina gathered in itself all the lack of rights of a Russian woman of that era. It must be said that in the 19th century, Russian women had practically no rights. The lion's share of marriages was concluded solely for personal gain or high rank. Young girls were forced to marry older men just because they were rich or revered in high society. The institution of divorce did not exist at all. In the spirit of precisely such traditions, Katerina was married to a merchant's son. Marriage has become a real hell for the girl, because she ended up in the “dark kingdom”, where tyranny and lies rule.

An important place in the image in Katerina is occupied by a description of her childhood. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Katenka's childhood was cheerful and carefree. She could do what she loved, and no one could blame her for this. Katerina was surrounded by maternal love from birth. Little Katya was dressed up like a doll.

Since childhood, Katerina has been very interested in the church. She often attended church services, receiving spiritual pleasure from this. It was this passion for the church that played a cruel joke with Katerina, because it was in the church that Boris noticed her and immediately fell in love.

Parental education revealed in the character of the girl the best features of the Russian soul. Katerina was a sensual, open and kind person. She did not know how and did not want to deceive. At one point, all this purity and care of the parental home was replaced by the Kabanovs' home, where human relations were built on fear and unconditional obedience.

Every day the girl suffered humiliation from her mother-in-law. No one, even her husband, can protect and support her, everyone is thinking about how not to fall out of favor.

Katerina tried to treat her mother-in-law as a beloved mother, but no one needed her feelings. This atmosphere gradually "kills" her cheerful character in the girl. She fades like a flower. But the strong character of the girl does not allow her to fade completely. Katerina rebels against this despotism. She becomes the only hero of the work who is ready to fight for her life, her feelings.

Katerina's protest resulted in her love for Boris. Of course, the girl reproaches herself for this act. She realizes that she violated God's commandment and deceived her husband. Katerina can't live with it. She openly declares her act. After that, Katerina experiences terrible mental suffering, she cannot find a place for herself. Tikhon cannot support his wife, because he is afraid of his mother's curses. Boris also turns away from the girl. Unable to bear this suffering, Katerina throws herself off a cliff. But her soul remained the same strong and unconquered. Only death allowed her to escape from this "dark kingdom".

Katerina's action was not in vain. Tikhon blamed his mother for the death of his wife. Varvara, unable to withstand the tyranny of Kabanikh, fled with Kudryash from her mother's house. Katerina was able to destroy this kingdom of eternal tyranny, even at the cost of her own life.

Infringed in the rights and early married. Most of the marriages of that time were calculated for profit. If the chosen one was from a wealthy family, this could help to get a high rank. To marry, though not for a beloved young man, but for a wealthy and rich man, was in the order of things. There was no such thing as divorce. Apparently, from such calculations, Katerina was also married to a rich young man, a merchant's son. Married life did not bring her happiness or love, but, on the contrary, became the embodiment of hell, filled with the despotism of her mother-in-law and the lies of the people around her.

In contact with

This image in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is the main and at the same time the most controversial. She differs from the inhabitants of Kalinov in her strength of character and self-esteem.

Katerina's life in her parents' house

The formation of her personality was greatly influenced by her childhood, which Katya likes to remember. Her father was a wealthy merchant, she did not feel the need, maternal love and care surrounded her from birth. Her childhood passed cheerfully and carefree.

The main features of Katherine can be called:

• kindness
• sincerity;
• openness.

Her parents took her to church with them, and then she walked and devoted her days to her favorite work. Passion for the church began in childhood with attending church services. Later, it was in the church that Boris would pay attention to her.

When Katerina was nineteen years old, she was given in marriage. And, although, in her husband's house there is everything the same: both walks and work, this no longer gives Katya such pleasure as in childhood.

The former lightness is no longer there, only duties remain. The feeling of support and love of her mother helped her to believe in the existence of higher powers. Marriage, which separated her from her mother, deprived Katya of the main thing: love and freedom.

Composition on the topic “the image of Katerina in the Thunderstorm” would be incomplete without getting to know her surroundings. It:

• husband Tikhon;
• mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova;
• husband's sister Barbara.

The person who causes her suffering in family life is her mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna. Her cruelty, control over the household and subordinating them to her will also apply to her daughter-in-law. The long-awaited wedding of her son did not make her happy. But Katya manages to resist her influence thanks to the strength of her character. This scares the Kabanikha. With all the power in the house, she cannot allow Katerina to influence her husband. And he reproaches his son for loving his wife more than his mother.

In conversations between Katerina Tikhon and Marfa Ignatievna, when the latter openly provokes her daughter-in-law, Katya behaves extremely dignified and friendly, not allowing the conversation to turn into a skirmish, answers briefly and to the point. When Katya says that she loves her like her own mother, the mother-in-law does not believe her, calling it a pretense in front of others. Nevertheless, Katya's spirit cannot be broken. Even in communication with her mother-in-law, she addresses her with “You”, showing by this that they are on the same level, while Tikhon addresses her mother exclusively with “You”.

Katerina's husband cannot be considered either positive or negative characters. In fact, he is a child tired of the control of the parent. However, his behavior and actions are not aimed at changing the situation, all his words end with complaints about his existence. Sister Varvara reproaches him for being unable to stand up for his wife.
In communication with Varvara, Katya is sincere. Varvara warns her that life in this house is impossible without lies, and helps arrange a meeting with her lover.

The connection with Boris is fully revealed by the characterization of Katerina from the play "Thunderstorm". Their relationship develops rapidly. Arriving from Moscow, he fell in love with Katya, and the girl reciprocates his feelings. Although the status of a married woman worries him, he is unable to refuse dates with her. Katya struggles with her feelings, does not want to violate the laws of Christianity, but during her husband's departure, she secretly goes on dates.

After the arrival of Tikhon, on the initiative of Boris, the dates are stopped, he hopes to keep them a secret. But this is contrary to the principles of Katerina, she cannot lie either to others or to herself. The thunderstorm that has begun pushes her to tell about the betrayal, in this she sees a sign from above. Boris wants to go to Siberia, but refuses to take her with him to her request. He probably does not need her, there was no love on his part.

And for Katya, he was a breath of fresh air. Having appeared in Kalinov from a foreign world, he brought with him a sense of freedom, which she lacked so much. The rich imagination of the girl appropriated to him those features that Boris never had. And she fell in love, but not with a person, but with her idea of ​​him.

The break with Boris and the inability to connect with Tikhon ends tragically for Katerina. The realization of the impossibility of living in this world prompts her to throw herself into the river. In order to break one of the strictest Christian prohibitions, Katerina needs to have great willpower, but the circumstances leave her no choice.

2. The image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm"

Katerina is a lonely young woman who lacks human participation, sympathy, love. The need for this draws her to Boris. She sees that outwardly he does not look like other residents of the city of Kalinov, and, not being able to find out his inner essence, considers him a man of another world. In her imagination, Boris appears as a beautiful prince who will take her away from the "dark kingdom" to the fairy-tale world that exists in her dreams.

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.

Katerina found herself in completely different conditions in her husband's house .. 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. "But Katerina's sincere feelings do not meet with support from either Kabanikha or Tikhon.

Life in such an environment changed the character of Katerina. Katerina's sincerity and truthfulness collide in the house of Kabanikh with lies, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, and 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.

"Katerina's public repentance shows the 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. It is not the fault of Katerina's death one specific person. 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. This an expression of the growing protest of the masses against all forms of slavery.

Katerina, sad and cheerful, compliant and obstinate, dreamy, depressed and proud. Such different states of mind are explained by the naturalness of every mental movement of this at the same time restrained and impulsive nature, the strength of which lies in the ability to always be itself. Katerina remained true to herself, that is, she could not change the very essence of her character.

I think that the most important trait of Katerina's character is honesty towards herself, her husband, the world around her; it is her unwillingness to live a lie. She does not want and cannot cheat, pretend, lie, hide. This is confirmed by the scene of Katerina's confession of treason. Not a thunderstorm, not a frightening prophecy of a crazy old woman, not a fear of fiery hell prompted the heroine to tell the truth. “The whole heart is broken! I can't take it anymore!" So she began her confession. For her honest and whole nature, the false position in which she found herself is unbearable. To live just to live is not for her. To live means to be yourself. Her most precious value is personal freedom, the freedom of the soul.

With such a character, Katerina, after betraying her husband, could not remain in his house, return to a monotonous and dreary life, endure the constant reproaches and “moralizing” of Kabanikh, lose her freedom. But any patience comes to an end. It is difficult for Katerina to be where she is not understood, where her human dignity is humiliated and insulted, her feelings and desires are ignored. Before her death, she says: “What is home, what is in the grave is all the same ... In the grave is better ...” She does not want death, but life is unbearable.

Katerina is a deeply religious and God-fearing person. Since, according to the Christian religion, suicide is a great sin, by deliberately committing it, she showed not weakness, but strength of character. Her death is a challenge to the “dark force”, a desire to live in the “light kingdom” of love, joy and happiness.

The death of Katerina is the result of a collision of two historical eras. 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.