Ostrovsky can rightfully be called a great Russian playwright. In his works, for the first time, he showed the life and way of life of the merchant class. In the play "Thunderstorm" the writer described the state of provincial society in Russia on the eve of reforms. The playwright examines such issues as the position of a woman in the family, the modernity of Domostroy, the awakening in a person of a sense of personality and dignity, the relationship of the “old”, oppressive, and “young”, mute.

The main idea of ​​the “Thunderstorm” is that a strong, gifted and courageous person with natural aspirations and desires cannot happily exist in a society dominated by “cruel morals”, where Domostroy reigns, where everything is based on fear, deceit and submission .

The name "Thunderstorm" can be considered from several positions. Thunderstorm is a natural phenomenon, and nature plays an important role in the composition of the play. So, it complements the action, emphasizes the main idea, the essence of what is happening. For example, lovely night landscape corresponds to the date of Katerina and Boris. The expanses of the Volga emphasize Katerina's dreams of freedom, a picture of cruel nature opens up when describing the suicide of the main character. Then nature contributes to the development of action, as if pushing events, stimulates the development and resolution of the conflict. So, in the scene of a thunderstorm, the elements induce Katerina to public repentance.

So, the name “Thunderstorm” emphasizes the main idea of ​​the play: self-esteem awakening in people; the desire for freedom and independence begins to threaten the existence of the old order.

The world of the Boar and the Wild comes to an end, because in “ dark kingdom” a “beam of light” appeared - Katerina - a lady who cannot put up with the oppressive atmosphere that prevails in the family, in the city. Her protest was expressed in love for Boris, in an unauthorized departure from life. Katerina preferred death to existence in a world where she was “sick of everything”. She is the first lightning of that thunderstorm that will soon break out in society. The clouds over the "old" world have been gathering for a long time. Domostroy has lost its original importance. Kabanikha and Dikoi use his ideas only to justify their tyranny and tyranny. They failed to convey to their children the true faith in the inviolability of their rules of life. Young people live according to the laws of their fathers as long as they can reach a compromise through deceit. When oppression becomes unbearable, when deceit saves only partially, then a protest begins to awaken in a person, he develops and is able to come out at any moment.

Katerina's suicide woke up a man in Tikhon. He saw that there was always a way out of the current situation, and he, the most weak-willed of all the characters described by Ostrovsky, who had unquestioningly obeyed his mother all his life, accused her of the death of his wife in public. If Tikhon is already able to express his protest, then the “dark kingdom” actually does not have long to exist.

The storm is also a symbol of renewal. In nature, after a thunderstorm, the air is fresh and clean. In society, after the thunderstorm that began with Katerina's protest, renewal will also come: the oppressive and subjugating orders will probably be replaced by a society of freedom and independence.

But the storm occurs not only in nature, but also in Katerina's soul. She has committed a sin and repents of it. Two feelings struggle in her: the fear of the Boar and the fear that “death will suddenly find you, as you are, with all your sins…” In the end, religiosity, fear of retribution for a sin, gain the upper hand, and Katerina publicly admits to her deed. sin. None of the inhabitants of Kalinovo can understand her: these people do not, like Katerina, have a rich spiritual world and high moral values; they do not feel remorse, because their morality is as long as everything is “covered”. However, recognition does not bring relief to Katerina. As long as she believes in Boris's love, she is able to exist. But, realizing that Boris is no better than Tikhon, that she is still alone in this world, where everything is “embarrassing” to her, she finds no other way out than to rush into the Volga. Katerina broke the religious law for the sake of freedom. The storm also ends in renewal in her soul. The young lady has completely freed herself from the shackles of the Kalinovsky world and religion.

Thus, the thunderstorm that occurs in the soul of the main character turns into a thunderstorm in society itself, and all the action takes place against the backdrop of the elements.

Using the image of a thunderstorm, Ostrovsky showed that a society that has become obsolete, based on deceit, and the old order, depriving a person of
The possibilities for the manifestation of the highest feelings are doomed to destruction. This is as unconditional as the purification of nature through a thunderstorm. Thus, Ostrovsky expressed the hope that renewal in society would come as soon as possible.

What is the meaning of the play "Thunderstorm" by the great Russian playwright A. Ostrovsky?

The Thunderstorm is, without a doubt, Ostrovsky's most decisive work; mutual relations tyranny and voicelessness are brought in it to the most tragic consequences... There is even something refreshing and encouraging in Groz.

A.N. Ostrovsky already after the appearance of his first major play received literary recognition. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy became necessary element culture of his time, he retained the position of the best playwright of the era, the head of the Russian drama school, despite the fact that A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A.F. Pisemsky, A.K. Tolstoy and L.N. Tolstoy. The most popular critics considered his works as a true and deep reflection of modern reality. Meanwhile, Ostrovsky, going his own way in a creative way, often baffled both critics and readers.

So, the play "Thunderstorm" came as a surprise to many. LN Tolstoy did not accept the play. The tragedy of this work forced critics to reconsider their views on Ostrovsky's dramaturgy. Ap. Grigoriev noted that in "Thunderstorm" there is a protest against the "existing", which is terrible for its adherents. Dobrolyubov in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom” stated. that from the image of Katerina in "Thunderstorm" "blows at us new life”.

Perhaps for the first time, scenes of family, “private” life, that arbitrariness and lack of rights that were hitherto hidden behind the thick doors of mansions and estates, were shown with such pictorial power. And at the same time, it was not just a household sketch. The author showed the unenviable position of a Russian woman in a merchant family. The great power of the tragedy was given by the special truthfulness, skillfulness of the author, as D.I. Pisarev rightly noted: “Thunderstorm” is a picture from nature, that’s why it breathes truth.”

The action of the tragedy takes place in the city of Kalinov, which is spread among the greenery of gardens on the steep bank of the Volga. “For fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough of everything. The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices,” Kuligin admires. It would seem that the life of the people of this city should be beautiful and joyful. However, the life and customs of the wealthy merchants created "a world of prison and grave silence." Savel Dikoy and Marfa Kabanova are the personification of cruelty and tyranny. Orders in the merchant's house are based on obsolete religious dogmas of Domostroy. Dobrolyubov says about Kabanikha that she "nibbles on her sacrifice ... for a long time and relentlessly." She forces her daughter-in-law Katerina to bow at the feet of her husband when he leaves, scolds her for not “howling” in public when seeing her husband off.

Kabanikha is very rich, this can be judged by the fact that the interests of her affairs go far beyond Kalinov, on her behalf Tikhon travels to Moscow. She is respected by Dikoy, for whom the main thing in life is money. But the merchant understands that power also gives the humility of the environment. She seeks to kill at home any manifestation of resistance to her power. The boar is hypocritical, she only hides behind virtue and piety, in the family she is an inhuman despot and tyrant. Tikhon does not contradict her in anything. Barbara learned to lie, hide and dodge.

The main character of the play Katerina is marked strong character, she is not used to humiliation and insults and therefore conflicts with the cruel old mother-in-law. In her mother's house, Katerina lived freely and easily. In the House of Kabanovs, she feels like a bird in a cage. She quickly realizes that she will not be able to live here for long.

Katerina married Tikhon without love. Everything in the house of Kabanikh trembles at the mere imperious cry of the merchant's wife. Life in this house is hard for the young. And now Katerina meets a completely different person and falls in love. For the first time in her life, she knows a deep personal feeling. One night she goes on a date with Boris. Which side is the playwright on? He is on the side of Katerina, because one cannot destroy the natural aspirations of a person. Life in the Kabanov family is unnatural. And Katerina does not accept the inclinations of those people to whom she fell. Hearing Varvara’s offer to lie and pretend, Katerina replies: “I can’t deceive, I can’t hide anything.”

Katerina's directness and sincerity commands respect from the author, the reader, and the viewer. She decides that she can no longer be a victim of a soulless mother-in-law, cannot languish locked up. She is free! But she saw a way out only in her death. And this could be argued. Critics also disagreed on whether it was worth paying Katerina for freedom at the cost of her life. So, Pisarev, unlike Dobrolyubov, considers Katerina's act senseless. He believes that after Katerina's suicide, everything will return to normal, life will go take its course, and the "dark kingdom" is not worth such a sacrifice. Of course, Kabanikha brought Katerina to her death. As a result, her daughter Varvara runs away from home, and her son Tikhon regrets that he did not die with his wife.

Interestingly, one of the main, active images of this play is the image of the thunderstorm itself. Symbolically expressing the idea of ​​the work, this image directly participates in the action of the drama as a real natural phenomenon, enters into action at its decisive moments, and largely determines the actions of the heroine. This image is very meaningful, it illuminates almost all aspects of the drama.

So, already in the first act, a thunderstorm broke out over the city of Kalinov. It burst like a harbinger of tragedy. Katerina already said: “I will die soon,” she confessed to Varvara in sinful love. The prediction of a crazy lady that a thunderstorm does not pass in vain, and a sense of her own sin with a real clap of thunder, were already combined in her imagination. Katerina rushes home: “Still, it’s better, everything is calmer, I’m at home - to the images and pray to God!”.

After that, the storm stops for a while. Only in the grumbling of Kabanikha are her echoes heard. There was no thunderstorm that night, when Katerina, for the first time after her marriage, felt free and happy.

But the fourth, culminating act, begins with the words: "It's raining, no matter how the storm gathers?". And after that, the motive of the thunderstorm does not stop.

The dialogue between Kuligin and Diky is interesting. Kuligin talks about lightning rods (“we have frequent thunderstorms”) and provokes the wrath of Diky: “What kind of electricity is there? Well, why aren't you a robber? A thunderstorm is sent to us as a punishment so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and some kind of horns, God forgive me. What are you, a Tatar, or what? And to the quote from Derzhavin, which Kuligin cites in his defense: “I rot in the ashes with my body, I command the thunder with my mind,” the merchant does not find anything to say at all, except: “And for these words, send you to the mayor, so he will tell you will ask!”.

Undoubtedly, in the play the image of a thunderstorm acquires special meaning: This is a refreshing, revolutionary start. However, the mind is condemned in the dark realm, it met with impenetrable ignorance, reinforced by stinginess. But all the same, the lightning that cut through the sky over the Volga touched Tikhon, who was silent for a long time, flashed over the fates of Varvara and Kudryash. The storm shook everyone up. Inhuman morals sooner or later the end will come. The struggle between the new and the old has begun and continues. This is the meaning of the work of the great Russian playwright.

The play "Thunderstorm" appeared in print in 1859, when all of Russia was expecting the abolition of serfdom. Contemporaries of the work saw in it a kind of call for the renewal of life. In his play, A.N. Ostrovsky was an innovator in the choice of plot and heroes of the work. He was one of the first to address the problems of the patriarchal "dark kingdom". Dobrolyubov said this about Ostrovsky's drama: "... Thunderstorm" is, without a doubt, Ostrovsky's most decisive work ... There is something refreshing and encouraging in "Thunderstorm". This “something is, in our opinion, the background of the play, indicated by us and revealing the precariousness and the near end of tyranny ...” The central place in the work is occupied by the conflict between the representatives of the “dark kingdom” and their victims.

The name of the play - "Thunderstorm" - is certainly very symbolic. Almost the entire fourth act of the work is devoted to this natural phenomenon. For the first time, the word "thunderstorm" flashed in the scene of farewell to Tikhon. He says: "... There will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks." Tikhon, leaving for the fair, seeks to get rid of fear, impotence and dependence.

A thunderstorm, a common natural phenomenon, causes natural, wild horror among the inhabitants of Kalinov. This is the fear driven by tyrants, the fear of retribution for sins. Kalinovtsy consider the thunderstorm something supernatural, given to them as a punishment. And only one self-taught mechanic Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm. He is trying to reason with the crowd, saying that there is nothing supernatural in this phenomenon: “Well, what are you afraid of, tell me! Now every grass, every flower rejoices, but we are hiding, we are afraid, just what kind of misfortune! ... You are all in a thunderstorm! Eh, people. I'm not afraid." In order to avoid accidents, Kuligin suggests that the townspeople make a lightning rod. But he himself is well aware that the inhabitants of Kalinov simply will not hear him - they are too accustomed to being afraid and looking for a threat and danger to themselves in everything. Wild expresses the opinion of all the inhabitants of the city: “The storm is sent to us as a punishment, so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and some kind of goads, God forgive me. What are you, a Tatar, or what?

Everyone in the city has its own thunderstorm. And Katerina is terrified of a thunderstorm, expecting it as a just punishment from God. In her opinion, the thunderstorm was a harbinger of the highest retribution for her sins: “Everyone should be afraid. It’s not that it’s scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins ... "

Having fallen in love with Boris and cheated on her husband, Katerina, as a deeply religious person, cannot find peace. Unable to withstand the pressure of her own conscience and the oppression of those around her, she decides on the most serious sin - suicide.

Boris, Diky's nephew, sincerely fell in love with Katerina. In him, as in his beloved, there is spiritual purity. But, as a person who has come to terms with his spiritual slavery, this hero is not capable of active actions. And Katerina, as a bright, dreamy soul, cannot exist in an alien, suffocating, dark society. In my opinion, even if Boris had taken Katerina away from Kalinovo, her fate would have been tragic. She could not live under the weight of her sin.

The storm is also present in the lives of other residents of the city. For Kabanova and wild thunderstorm appears in the face of Kuligin and Katerina. These heroes testify to the fact that changes are coming, which Kalinov's inert people refuse to accept. Dikoy and Kabanikha do not know how to hide from a thunderstorm, subconsciously fearing the coming changes. Kabanikha is the embodiment of despotism and hypocrisy. She eats her neighbors, bothers them with complaints and suspicions.
The boar does not hide that he wants to have unlimited and complete power over them. Everything old is good for her, everything young and new is bad for her. It seems to Marfa Kabanova that if the old foundations collapse, then the end of the world will come: “What will happen, how the old people will die, how the world will stand, I don’t know.”
Wild in the play is depicted as a limited tyrant who rushes at everyone like a dog. The constant scolding of this hero is a form of his self-affirmation, and, moreover, a defense against everything hostile and incomprehensible.

I think that it is impossible to exist on earth for a long time with such ideas about the world as Kalinovtsy had. Only in an ignorant, dark, uneducated society could the wanderer Feklusha be respected and honored with her stories about wonderful countries in the world, "where all the people with dog heads ... for infidelity ..."
This heroine is the protector of the "dark kingdom". Feklusha guesses the desire of the strong and asserts with flattery: “No, mother,” says Feklusha Kabanikhe, “that’s why you have silence in the city, because many people, take you for example, are decorated with virtues like flowers; that is why everything is done coolly and decently.

In the life of Tikhon Kabanov - his own thunderstorm: strong pressure and fear of his mother, betrayal and death of his wife. Love, filial and maternal feelings do not exist in Kalinov's "dark kingdom", they are corroded by arbitrariness and hypocrisy, callousness. And only at the corpse of Katerina Tikhon dares to argue with his mother and even accuses her of the death of his wife.

I believe that the name of this play gives a lot to understand the tragic nature of The Thunderstorm. The thunderstorm symbolically expresses the idea of ​​the work and directly participates in the actions of the drama as a very real natural phenomenon. Each hero of the play has his own moral "thunderstorm". Changes are coming. They are inevitable, because they are required by time and new people who have become cramped in the stuffy "dark kingdom" of petty tyrants.

"Thunderstorm" - greatest work A.N. Ostrovsky. It was founded in 1859, during a period of fundamental changes in Russian society. Therefore, it is not surprising that the author gave this name to his work. The word "thunderstorm" has several meanings in the play. Firstly, this is a natural phenomenon, and secondly, a symbol of impending changes in the "dark kingdom" - centuries-old social order in Russia.

Conflict in the work

The work is based on the conflict between conservatives and innovators. In the bosom of beautiful nature, Ostrovsky draws the unbearable life of the townspeople of Kalinov. Katerina - main character, does not withstand oppression, which is expressed in changes in nature - clouds are gathering, thunder is heard. Some terrible changes are coming.

The first to pronounce the word "thunderstorm" Tikhon, calling the atmosphere of fear and despotism in own house. Wild, speaking of a thunderstorm, recalls such a concept as punishment. The fear of divine retribution terrifies all the heroes, including the religious Katerina, who is aware of the sinfulness of her connection with Boris.

Only the mechanic Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm, perceiving it as some kind of majestic spectacle, a manifestation of the power of the elements, and not a danger to people.

Thunderstorm in society

So, the storm in society has already begun. Katerina is no longer able to live according to the old house-building principles, she longs for freedom, but she no longer has the strength to fight the system. Thunder rolls predict the heroine's imminent death. The prediction of the crazy lady was the impetus for the denouement of events.

Katerina is scared because she is a deeply religious person. She could not bear the burden of sin in her heart, could not come to terms with the structure of society, its rules, so she threw herself into the arms of the Volga.

Thunderstorm as a sign of love

A thunderstorm is also a sign of love between Katerina and Boris. Their relationship is real element bringing joy to neither him nor her. Boris was the only one who understood the tragedy of Katerina, but could not help her in any way, because he lacked determination. Did he really love the girl? I don't think so. Otherwise, he would have easily sacrificed everything for her well-being. He exchanged his feelings for an inheritance, which he will not receive anyway.

Epilogue

The title of the play speaks of the spontaneity of the changes taking place in the mid-19th century society. But, if updates come in nature after a thunderstorm, then in life one can only hope for them. But, most likely, everything will remain in place.

HISTORY OF THE PIECE

The play was started by Alexander Ostrovsky in July 1859 and finished on October 9th. The manuscript of the play is kept in the Russian State Library.

In 1848, Alexander Ostrovsky went with his family to Kostroma, to the Shchelykovo estate. The natural beauty of the Volga region struck the playwright and then he thought about the play. For a long time it was believed that the plot of the drama Thunderstorm was taken by Ostrovsky from the life of the Kostroma merchants. Kostromichi at the beginning of the 20th century could accurately point to the place of Katerina's suicide.

In his play, Ostrovsky raises the problem of a fracture public life that occurred in the 1850s, the problem of changing social foundations.

The names of the heroes of the play are endowed with symbolism: Kabanova is a heavy, heavy woman; Kuligin is a “kuliga”, a swamp, some of its features and name are similar to the name of the inventor Kulibin; the name Katerina means "pure"; Barbara opposed to her - “ barbarian».

THE MEANING OF THE TITLE OF THE THUNDER DRAMA

The name of Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm" plays a big role in understanding this play. The image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is unusually complex and ambiguous. On the one hand, a thunderstorm is a direct participant in the action of the play, on the other hand, it is a symbol of the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis work. In addition, the image of a thunderstorm has so many meanings that it illuminates almost all facets of the tragic collision in the play.

The storm plays an important role in the composition of the drama. In the first act - the plot of the work: Katerina tells Varvara about her dreams and hints at her secret love. Almost immediately after this, a thunderstorm is approaching: "... the thunderstorm is setting in..." fourth act a thunderstorm is also gathering, foreshadowing a tragedy: “Remember my words that this thunderstorm will not pass in vain ...”

And a thunderstorm breaks out only in the scene of Katerina's confession - at the climax of the play, when the heroine speaks about her sin to her husband and mother-in-law, not ashamed of the presence of other townspeople. Thunderstorm is directly involved in the action as a real natural phenomenon. It affects the behavior of the characters: after all, it is during a thunderstorm that Katerina confesses her sin. They even talk about a thunderstorm as if it were alive (“It’s raining, no matter how the thunderstorm gathers?”, “And it’s crawling on us, it’s crawling like it’s alive!”).

But the storm in the play has figurative meaning. For example, Tikhon calls the swearing, scolding and antics of his mother a thunderstorm: “Yes, as I know now that there will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so am I up to my wife?”

The following fact is also noteworthy: Kuligin is a supporter of the peaceful eradication of vices (he wants to ridicule bad morals in the book: “I wanted to depict all this in verse ...”). And it is he who offers Diky to make a lightning rod (“copper plate”), which serves here as an allegory, because soft and peaceful opposition to vices by denouncing them in books is a kind of lightning rod.

In addition, a thunderstorm is perceived differently by all characters. So, Dikoy says: "The storm is sent to us as a punishment." Wild declares that people should be afraid of thunderstorms, and yet his power and tyranny are based precisely on people's fear of him. Evidence of this is the fate of Boris. He is afraid of not receiving an inheritance and therefore submits to the Wild. So, this fear is beneficial for the Wild. He wants everyone to be afraid of thunderstorms, just like him.

But Kuligin treats a thunderstorm differently: “Now every blade of grass, every flower rejoices, but we are hiding, we are afraid, just what kind of misfortune!” He sees a life-giving force in a thunderstorm. It is interesting that not only the attitude to a thunderstorm, but also the principles of Dikoy and Kuligin are different. Kuligin condemns the way of life of Wild, Kabanova and their morals: “ Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! .. "

So the image of a thunderstorm turns out to be connected with the disclosure of the characters of the characters in the drama. Katerina is also afraid of thunderstorms, but not in the same way as Dikoy. She sincerely believes that the storm is God's punishment. Katerina does not talk about the benefits of a thunderstorm, she is not afraid of punishment, but of sins. Her fear is connected to a deep, strong faith and high moral ideals. Therefore, in her words about the fear of a thunderstorm, it’s not complacency, like Diky’s, but rather repentance: “It’s not scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all evil thoughts ..."

The heroine herself also resembles a thunderstorm. Firstly, the theme of a thunderstorm is connected with Katerina's feelings and state of mind. In the first act, a thunderstorm gathers, as if a harbinger of tragedy and as an expression of the heroine's troubled soul. It was then that Katerina confesses to Varvara that she loves another - not her husband. The storm did not disturb Katerina during her meeting with Boris, when she suddenly felt happy. A thunderstorm appears whenever storms rage in the soul of the heroine herself: the words “With Boris Grigorievich!” (in the scene of Katerina's confession) - and again, according to the author's note, a "thunderclap" is heard.

Secondly, the confession of Katerina and her suicide was a challenge to the forces of the "dark kingdom" and its principles ("closed-closed"). The very love that Katerina did not hide, her desire for freedom is also a protest, a challenge that thundered over the forces of the "dark kingdom" like a thunderstorm. Katerina's victory in that there will be rumors about Kabanikh, about her role in the suicide of her daughter-in-law, will not be able to hide the truth. Even Tikhon begins to weakly protest. "You ruined her! You! You!" he shouts to his mother.

So, Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm, despite its tragedy, produces a refreshing, encouraging impression, about which Dobrolyubov spoke: “... the end (of the play) ... seems to us encouraging, it is easy to understand why: it gives a terrible challenge to self-foolish power. .."

Katerina does not adapt to the principles of Kabanova, she did not want to lie and listen to someone else's lies: “You are talking about me, mother, in vain you say this ...”

A thunderstorm is also not subject to anything and no one - it happens both in summer and in spring, not limited to the season, like precipitation. It is not for nothing that in many pagan religions the main god is the Thunderer, the lord of thunder and lightning (thunderstorms).

As in nature, the thunderstorm in Ostrovsky’s play combines destructive and creative power: “Thunderstorm will kill!”, “This is not a thunderstorm, but grace!”

So, the image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is multi-valued and not one-sided: while symbolically expressing the idea of ​​the work, at the same time it directly participates in the action. The image of a thunderstorm illuminates almost all facets of the play's tragic collision, which is why the meaning of the title becomes so important for understanding the play.