The image of Catherine in the drama. The composition of the emotional drama of Katerina the play is a thunderstorm

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.

The Thunderstorm was published in 1860. Difficult times. The country smelled of revolution. Traveling along the Volga in 1856, the author made sketches of the future work, where he tried to depict most accurately the merchant world of the second half of the 19th century. There is an unresolvable conflict in the play. It was he who led to the death of the main character, who could not cope with her emotional state. The image and characterization of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" is a portrait of a strong, extraordinary personality, forced to exist in a small patriarchal city. The girl could not forgive herself for betrayal, giving herself up to human lynching, not even hoping to earn forgiveness. For which she paid with her life.

Katerina Kabanova is the wife of Tikhon Kabanov. Daughter-in-law of Kabanikhi.

Image and characteristics

After marriage, Katerina's world collapsed. Her parents spoiled her, cherished her like a flower. The girl grew up in love and with a sense of boundless freedom.

“My mother did not have a soul in me, dressed me up like a doll, did not force me to work; I do what I want".

As soon as she found herself in her mother-in-law's house, everything changed. The orders, the laws are the same, but now from a beloved daughter, Katerina has become a subordinate daughter-in-law, whom her mother-in-law hated with all the fibers of her soul and did not even try to hide her attitude towards her.

When she was very young, she was given to a strange family.

“Young people gave you in marriage, you didn’t have to walk in the girls; your heart hasn't left yet."

So it should be, for Katerina it was normal. For love in those days, no one built a family. Endure - fall in love. She is ready to submit, but with respect and love. In the house of the husband about such concepts did not know.

“Was I like that! I lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild ... "

Catherine is free-spirited. Resolute.

“This is how I was born, hot! I was still six years old, no more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, but it was towards evening, it was already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they already found it, ten miles away!

She is not one of those who submit to tyrants. She is not afraid of dirty intrigues from Kabanova. For her, freedom is everything. Do not follow idiotic orders, do not bend under the influence of others, but do what your heart desires.

Her soul languished in anticipation of happiness and mutual love. Tikhon, Katerina's husband, loved her, in his own way, as best he could, but his mother's influence on him, setting him against his young wife, was too strong. He preferred to suppress problems with alcohol, and he ran away from conflicts in the family on long-distance business trips.

Katerina was often alone. They did not make children with Tikhon.

"Eco woe! I don’t have children: I would still sit with them and amuse them. I love to talk with children very much - they are angels, after all.

The girl was increasingly sad about her worthless life, praying in front of the altar.

Catherine is religious. Going to church is like a holiday. There she rested her soul. As a child, she heard angels singing. She believed that God would hear prayers everywhere. When it was not possible to go to the temple, the girl prayed in the garden.

A new round of life is associated with the arrival of Boris. She understands that passion for a strange man is a terrible sin, but she cannot cope with it.

“After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love another?”

She tried to resist, but she did not have enough strength and support:

“It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to.”

The feeling was too strong.

Sinful love raised a wave of inner fear for its act. The stronger her love for Boris grew, the more she felt sinfulness. She clutched at the last straw, calling out to her husband with a request to take her with him, but Tikhon was a narrow-minded person and could not understand his wife's mental suffering.

Bad dreams, an irreversible premonition of impending disaster drove Katerina crazy. She felt the coming of retribution. With each peal of a thunderstorm, it seemed to her that God was throwing arrows at her.

Tired of the internal struggle, Katerina publicly confesses to her husband in treason. Even in this situation, the spineless Tikhon was ready to forgive her. Boris, having learned about her repentance, under pressure from his uncle, leaves the city, leaving his beloved to the mercy of fate. Katerina did not receive support from him. Unable to bear the mental anguish, the girl rushes into the Volga.

The image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" contrasts perfectly with the gloomy realities of Russia in the pre-reform period. At the epicenter of the unfolding drama is the conflict between the heroine, who seeks to defend her human rights, and a world in which strong, rich and powerful people rule everything.

Katerina as the embodiment of a pure, strong and bright people's soul

From the very first pages of the work, the image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" cannot but attract attention and make one feel sympathy. Honesty, the ability to feel deeply, the sincerity of nature and a penchant for poetry - these are the features that distinguish Katerina herself from representatives of the "dark kingdom". In the main character, Ostrovsky tried to capture all the beauty of the people's simple soul. The girl expresses her emotions and experiences unpretentiously and does not use distorted words and expressions common in the merchant environment. This is not difficult to see, Katerina's speech itself is more like a melodic chant, it is replete with diminutive and caressing words and expressions: "sun", "grass", "rain". The heroine shows incredible sincerity, talking about her free life in her father's house, among icons, calm prayers and flowers, where she lived "like a bird in the wild."

The image of a bird is an accurate reflection of the state of mind of the heroine

The image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" perfectly echoes the image of a bird, which symbolizes freedom in folk poetry. Talking with Varvara, she repeatedly refers to this analogy and claims that she is "a free bird that has fallen into an iron cage." In captivity, she is sad and painful.

Katerina's life in the Kabanovs' house. Love of Katerina and Boris

In the house of the Kabanovs, Katerina, who is dreamy and romantic, feels completely alien. The humiliating reproaches of the mother-in-law, who is used to keeping all the household in fear, the atmosphere of tyranny, lies and hypocrisy oppress the girl. However, Katerina herself, who by nature is a strong, whole person, knows that there is a limit to her patience: “I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me!” Varvara's words that one cannot survive in this house without deceit cause Katerina's sharp rejection. The heroine opposes the "dark kingdom", his orders did not break her will to live, fortunately, they did not make her become like other residents of the Kabanovs' house and begin to hypocrite and lie at every step.

The image of Katerina in the play "Thunderstorm" is revealed in a new way, when the girl makes an attempt to break away from the "hateful" world. She does not know how and does not want to love the way the inhabitants of the “dark kingdom” do, freedom, openness, “honest” happiness are important to her. While Boris convinces her that their love will remain a secret, Katerina wants everyone to know about it, so that everyone can see. Tikhon, her husband, however, the bright feeling awakened in her heart seems to her And just at this moment the reader comes face to face with the tragedy of her suffering and torment. From that moment on, Katerina's conflict occurs not only with the outside world, but also with herself. It is difficult for her to make a choice between love and duty, she tries to forbid herself to love and be happy. However, the struggle with her own feelings is beyond the strength of the fragile Katerina.

The way of life and the laws that reign in the world around the girl put pressure on her. She seeks to repent of her deed, to purify her soul. Seeing the picture “The Last Judgment” on the wall in the church, Katerina cannot stand it, falls to her knees and begins to publicly repent of sin. However, even this does not bring the girl the desired relief. Other heroes of the drama "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky are not able to support her, even a loved one. Boris refuses Katerina's requests to take her away from here. This person is not a hero, he is simply not able to protect either himself or his beloved.

The death of Katerina is a ray of light that illuminated the "dark kingdom"

Evil is attacking Katerina from all sides. Constant harassment from the mother-in-law, throwing between duty and love - all this eventually leads the girl to a tragic ending. Having managed to know happiness and love in her short life, she is simply not able to continue living in the Kabanovs' house, where such concepts do not exist at all. She sees the only way out in suicide: the future frightens Katerina, and the grave is perceived as salvation from mental anguish. However, the image of Katerina in the drama "Thunderstorm", in spite of everything, remains strong - she did not choose a miserable existence in a "cage" and did not allow anyone to break her living soul.

Nevertheless, the death of the heroine was not in vain. The girl won a moral victory over the "dark kingdom", she managed to dispel a little darkness in the hearts of people, induce them to action, open their eyes. The life of the heroine herself became a "beam of light" that flashed in the darkness and left its glow over the world of madness and darkness for a long time.

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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 the 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 does not affect in the best way. 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 up 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 Kabanikhi 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 disclosure 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 sacredly 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 relatives find 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.