Ostrovsky wrote a drama called "Thunderstorm" after a trip to the cities of the Volga region. He reflected in the work mores, life and customs of the inhabitants of many provinces.

The drama was written in 1859. During this period, canceled serfdom. But the author does not mention this event. The main focus is on the conflict that arose in the middle of the 19th century.

The drama of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" is liked by many people. The author is a major cultural figure. His work was forever fixed in literature.

He made an invaluable contribution to development. The play "Thunderstorm" was written after a long journey along the Volga.

Thanks to the maritime ministry, a trip was organized with Ostrovsky. The main task of the ethnographic expedition was to study the customs and mores of the population of the Russian Federation.

The prototype of the city of Kalinov is many settlements along the Volga. They are similar to each other, but there are also unique features.

Ostrovsky is an experienced researcher, and he recorded his observations and thoughts in his own diary.

He paid special attention to the life of the Russian provinces, the character of the people. Based on these records, the drama "Thunderstorm" was written.

Note! For a long time, people believed that the story of the creation of the drama was based on real events.

In 1859, when Ostrovsky wrote his book, a native of Kostroma disappeared. Early in the morning she left home, and then they took her out of the Volga.

The investigation revealed that there was a tense situation in the family. The girl developed a tense relationship with her mother-in-law, and her husband could not resist his mother, so he did not help defuse the situation.

In Kostroma, the work "Thunderstorm" was published as a separate book. During the production, the actors tried to get used to the image as much as possible in order to be like the main characters - the Klykovs.

Local residents tried to determine the place from which the girl jumped into the water. S.Yu. Lebedev is a well-known literature researcher, so he found the same matches.

A brief description of the characters for the reader's diary

Not many main characters are described in Ostrovsky's story.

Important! It is important for readers to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of each character for reader's diary to correctly write an essay and make a brief analysis.

Consider:

character `s name Brief description of the heroes
Katerina This main character. The girl married early at the behest of her parents. She was brought up according to strict traditions, so she believed that a wife must respect her husband and obey him.

At first, the girl tried to love her husband, but apart from pity, she had no more feelings.

Katerina was modest, but her strength of character does not go unnoticed while reading the book.

She was not afraid to confront Kabanikha, who, at any opportunity, tried to attack the girl.
Barbara This is the daughter of Kabanikhi. She knows how to deftly lie and dodgy out of different situations. But readers still sympathize with her.

Barbara is not like other residents of the city, she tries to live the way she wants, and does not impose society
Boar This is the mother of Katerina's husband. She is a despotic, strong woman who keeps her family at bay. She did not love her daughter-in-law
Tikhon Kabanov The image is fully consistent with the name. A man of weak character, did not protect his wife
Kuligin This is a self-taught mechanic. In the drama, he acts as a tour guide.

Kuligin is a kind person who constantly thinks about the common good and honest work. But his desires remained dreams
Wild This is a clerk who is not afraid of a merchant and expresses an opinion at a convenient moment. He is a simple and kind person.
Boris This is a guest of a provincial town who came to establish relations with Wild. His main goal is to receive bequeathed money.
Feklusha and Glasha She is a stranger and a maid. They are uneducated and dark people who judge biased, and sometimes absurd. Women talk about morality and morality in distorted terms

The events of the drama take place in the middle of the 19th century, in the city of Kalinov. It is located next to the Volga River. The work is divided into several chapters.

The shortest summary of actions:

  1. In act 1, the inhabitants of the city heard about the evil and greedy merchant Diky. He scolds Boris' nephew. The young man confesses that he endures his uncle for the sake of his inheritance.

    Boris likes Katerina Kabanova, who married Tikhon. At this time, the merchant Kabanikha went for a walk with her daughter, son and daughter-in-law.

    She reproaches Tikhon that when he got married, his mother faded into the background. He reassures his mother, and she goes home, and Tikhon goes to visit Diky.

    When the girls are left alone, Katerina admits that she secretly loves another person, considers this a great sin.

  2. Tikhon is going to leave for the city for 15 days, and Katerina asks him to stay at home or take her with him. When they say goodbye, Tikhon leaves.

    Varvara is trying with all her might to help Katerina so that she meets with Boris. She contrives and steals the keys to the gate from her mother.

    Katerina was brought up in strictness and does not want to deceive her husband, but she has a great desire to meet Boris.

  3. Merchant Wild comes to visit Kabanikha. He wants to talk. The merchant confesses that he is sorry to give money to workers, even when they have earned it honestly.

    Boris secretly approaches Kabanikh's house to see Katerina. Varvara tells him that the girl is waiting for him near the ravine.

    When the young man arrives at the intended place, he sees Katerina. Young people confess to each other that they love each other.

  4. After 10 days, Varvara meets Boris and tells him that Tikhon returned home earlier. At this time, Kabanikha, Tikhon and Katerina are walking around the city and meet Boris.

    When a girl sees her lover, she starts to cry. Varvara hints to Boris that it is better for him to leave.

    People on the street warn that a severe thunderstorm will begin soon, which could lead to a fire. When Katerina hears these words, she tells her husband that today the storm will kill her.

    A woman passes by, who calls the girl a sinner, and she admits that she went to Boris for 10 nights.

  5. Tikhon meets with Kulagin, tells about the news. Varvara runs away from home with Kudryash, Boris is sent to another city for 3 years.

    Kuligin advise Tikhon to forgive his wife, but the merchant is against it. The maid announces that Katherine has left the house.

    The girl meets Boris on the street, who says goodbye to her and leaves for Siberia.

    Tikhon sees his wife in the river and wants to save her, but his mother forbids him to do so. Katerina's body is carried ashore, Tikhon blames his mother for the death of his wife.

Boris Grigorievich - nephew of Wild. He is one of the weakest characters in the play. B. himself says about himself: “I walk around completely dead ... Driven, hammered ...”
Boris is a kind, well-educated person. It stands out sharply against the background of the merchant environment. But he is weak by nature. B. is forced to humiliate himself in front of his uncle, Wild, for the sake of hope for the inheritance that he will leave him. Although the hero himself knows that this will never happen, he nevertheless fawns before the tyrant, enduring his antics. B. is unable to protect himself or his beloved Katerina. In misfortune, he only rushes about and cries: “Oh, if only these people knew how it feels for me to say goodbye to you! My God! God grant that someday it will be as sweet for them as it is now for me ... You villains! Fiends! Oh, if only there was strength! But B. does not have this power, so he is not able to alleviate Katerina's suffering and support her choice, taking her with him.


Varvara Kabanova- daughter of Kabanikhi, sister of Tikhon. We can say that life in the house of Kabanikhi morally crippled the girl. She also does not want to live according to the patriarchal laws that her mother preaches. But, despite his strong character, V. does not dare to openly protest against them. Its principle is “Do whatever you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered.”

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

Wild Savel Prokofich- a rich merchant, one of the most respected people in the city of Kalinov.

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

Boar -Not recognizing the changes, development and even diversity of the phenomena of reality, Kabanikha is intolerant and dogmatic. It “legitimizes” habitual forms of life as an eternal norm and considers it its highest right to punish those who have violated the laws of everyday life in a big or small way. Being a staunch supporter of the immutability of the entire way of life, the "eternity" of the social and family hierarchy and the ritual behavior of each person who takes his place in this hierarchy, Kabanikha does not recognize the legitimacy of the individual differences of people and the diversity of peoples' lives. Everything that distinguishes the life of other places from the life of the city of Kalinov testifies to "infidelity": people who do not live like Kalinovtsy should have dog heads. The center of the universe is the pious city of Kalinov, the center of this city is the house of the Kabanovs, - this is how the experienced wanderer Feklusha characterizes the world for the sake of a harsh mistress. She, noticing the changes taking place in the world, argues that they threaten to “belittle” time itself. Any change appears to the Kabanikha as the beginning of sin. She is a champion of a closed life that excludes communication between people. They look out the windows, in her opinion, from bad, sinful motives, leaving for another city is fraught with temptations and dangers, which is why she reads endless instructions to Tikhon, who is leaving, and makes him demand from his wife that she does not look out the windows. Kabanova listens with sympathy to stories about the "demonic" innovation - "cast iron" and claims that she would never have traveled by train. Having lost an indispensable attribute of life - the ability to change and die, all the customs and rituals approved by Kabanikha turned into an "eternal", inanimate, perfect in its kind, but empty form


Katerina-but is incapable of perceiving the rite outside its content. Religion, family relations, even a walk along the banks of the Volga - everything that among the Kalinovites, and especially in the Kabanovs' house, has turned into an outwardly observed set of rituals, for Katerina either full of meaning, or unbearable. From religion she derived poetic ecstasy and a heightened sense of moral responsibility, but she is indifferent to the form of ecclesiasticism. She prays in the garden among the flowers, and in the church she sees not a priest and parishioners, but angels in a beam of light falling from the dome. From art, ancient books, icon painting, wall painting, she learned the images she saw on miniatures and icons: “golden temples or some kind of extraordinary gardens ... and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as in the images write” - all this lives in her mind, turns into dreams, and she no longer sees painting and a book, but the world in which she moved, hears the sounds of this world, smells it. Katerina bears in herself a creative, ever-living principle, generated by the irresistible needs of the time, she inherits the creative spirit of that ancient culture, which seeks to turn into a meaningless form Kabanikh. Throughout the action, Katerina is accompanied by the motive of flight, fast driving. She wants to fly like a bird, and she dreams about flying, she tried to swim away along the Volga, and in her dreams she sees herself racing on a troika. She turns to both Tikhon and Boris with a request to take her with her, to take her away.

TikhonKabanov- Katerina's husband, son of Kabanikha.

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

Kuligin- “a tradesman, a self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile” (i.e., a perpetual motion machine).
K. is a poetic and dreamy nature (admires the beauty of the Volga landscape, for example). His first appearance was marked by the literary song "Among the flat valley ..." This immediately emphasizes K.'s bookishness, his education.
But at the same time, K.'s technical ideas (installing a sundial in the city, a lightning rod, etc.) are clearly outdated. This "obsoleteness" emphasizes the deep connection between K. and Kalinov. He, of course, is a “new person”, but he developed inside Kalinov, which cannot but affect his attitude and philosophy of life. The main business of K.'s life is the dream of inventing a perpetual motion machine and getting a million from the British for it. This million "antique, chemist" Kalinov wants to spend on native city: "work must be given to the bourgeoisie." In the meantime, K. is content with smaller inventions for the benefit of Kalinov. On them, he is forced to constantly beg for money from the rich people of the city. But they do not understand the benefits of K.'s inventions, they ridicule him, considering him an eccentric and crazy. Therefore, Kulig's passion for creativity remains unrealized within the walls of Kalinov. K. pities his countrymen, seeing in their vices the result of ignorance and poverty, but he cannot help them in anything. So, his advice to forgive Katerina and no longer remember her sin is unfulfillable in the Kabanikh's house. This advice is good, it comes from humane considerations, but does not take into account the characters and beliefs of the Kabanovs. Thus, with all the positive qualities, K. is a contemplative and inactive nature. His beautiful thoughts will never grow into beautiful actions. K. will remain Kalinov's eccentric, his peculiar attraction.

Feklusha- a stranger. Wanderers, holy fools, blessed - an indispensable sign of merchant houses - are mentioned by Ostrovsky quite often, but always as off-stage characters. Along with those who wandered for religious reasons (went on a vow to bow to shrines, collected money for the construction and maintenance of temples, etc.), there were quite a few simply idle people who lived at the expense of the generosity of the population that always helped the wanderers. These were people for whom faith was only a pretext, and reasoning and stories about shrines and miracles were the subject of trade, a kind of commodity with which they paid for alms and shelter. Ostrovsky, who did not like superstition and sanctimonious manifestations of religiosity, always mentions wanderers and the blessed in ironic tones, usually to characterize the environment or one of the characters (see especially “There is enough simplicity for every wise man”, scenes in Turusina’s house). Ostrovsky brought such a typical wanderer onto the stage once - in The Thunderstorm, and the role of F., small in terms of text, became one of the most famous in the Russian comedy repertoire, and some of F.'s remarks entered everyday speech.
F. does not participate in the action, is not directly connected with the plot, but the significance of this image in the play is very significant. Firstly (and this is traditional for Ostrovsky), she is the most important character for characterizing the environment in general and Kabanikha in particular, in general for creating the image of Kalinov. Secondly, her dialogue with Kabanikha is very important for understanding Kabanikha's attitude to the world, for understanding her inherent tragic sense of the collapse of her world.
Appearing on stage for the first time immediately after Kuligin's story about the "cruel morals" of the city of Kalinov and immediately before the exit of Ka-banikha, mercilessly sawing the children accompanying her, with the words "Bla-a-lepie, dear, blah-a-le-pie!", F. especially praises the house of the Kabanovs for their generosity. Thus, the characterization given to Kabanikha by Kuligin is reinforced (“The hypocrite, sir, he clothes the poor, but completely ate the household”).
The next time we see F. is already in the Kabanovs' house. In a conversation with the girl Glasha, she advises to look after the wretched, “wouldn’t pull off anything,” and hears an annoyed remark in response: “Whoever sorts you out, you all rivet each other.” Glasha, who repeatedly expresses a clear understanding of people and circumstances well known to her, innocently believes F.'s stories about countries where people with dog heads are "for infidelity." This reinforces the impression that Kalinov is a closed world, ignorant of other lands. This impression is further enhanced when F. begins to tell Kabanova about Moscow and the railway. The conversation begins with F.'s statement that the "end times" are coming. A sign of this is the widespread fuss, haste, pursuit of speed. F. calls the steam locomotive “a fiery serpent”, which they began to harness for speed: “others from the fuss do not see anything, so it shows them a car, they call it a car, and I saw how it paws something like this (spreads its fingers) does . Well, and the groan that people of a good life hear like that. Finally, she reports that "time began to diminish" and for our sins "everything is getting shorter and shorter." The apocalyptic reasoning of the wanderer listens sympathetically to Kabanov, from whose remark that ends the scene, it becomes clear that she is aware of the impending death of her world.
The name F. has become a household name for a dark hypocrite, under the guise of pious reasoning, spreading all sorts of ridiculous fables.

Appendix 5

Quotes characterizing the characters

Savel Prokofich Wild

1) Curly. This? This Wild nephew scolds.

Kuligin. Found a place!

Curly. He has a place everywhere. Afraid of what, he of whom! He got Boris Grigoryevich as a sacrifice, so he rides on it.

Shapkin. Look for such and such a scolding, like our Savel Prokofich, to look for more! Will cut off a person for nothing.

Curly. A poignant man!

2) Shapkin. There is no one to take him down, so he is fighting!

3) Curly. ... and this one, as if off the chain!

4) Curly. How not to scold! He can't breathe without it.

Action one, event two:

1) Wild. Buckwheat, you came here to beat! Parasite! Get lost!

Boris. Celebration; what to do at home!

Wild. Find the job you want. Once I told you, twice I said to you: "Don't you dare meet me"; you get it all! Is there enough space for you? Wherever you go, here you are! Pah you damned! Why are you standing like a pillar! Are you being told al no?

1) Boris. No, that's not enough, Kuligin! He first breaks down on us, scolds us in every possible way, as his heart desires, but all the same ends up giving us nothing or just a little. Moreover, he will begin to tell that he gave out of mercy, that this should not have been.

2) Boris. The fact of the matter, Kuligin, is that it is absolutely impossible. Even their own people cannot please him; but where am I!

Curly. Who will please him, if his whole life is based on cursing? And most of all because of the money; not a single calculation without scolding is complete. Another is glad to give up his own, if only he calms down. And the trouble is, how someone will annoy him in the morning! He picks on everyone all day long.

3) Shapkin. One word: warrior.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova

Action one, appearance one:

1) Shapkin. Good, too, and Kabaniha.

Curly. Well, yes, at least that one, at least, everything is under the guise of piety, but this one, as if off the chain!

Action one, event three:

1) Kuligin. Hypnotize, sir! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely.

Barbara

Act one, scene seven:

1) Barbara. Speak! I'm worse than you!

Tikhon Kabanov

Act one, scene six:

1) Barbara. So it's her fault! Her mother attacks her, and so do you. And you say you love your wife. I'm bored looking at you.

Ivan Kudryash

Action one, appearance one:

1) Curly. I wanted to, but I didn’t give it away, so it’s all one thing. He will not give me (Wild) me, he smells with his nose that I will not sell my head cheaply. He's scary to you, but I know how to talk to him.

2) Curly. What's here: oh! I am considered a brute; why is he holding me? Steel to be, he needs me. Well, that means I'm not afraid of him, but let him be afraid of me.

3) Curly. ... Yes, I don’t let it go either: he is the word, and I am ten; spit, and go. No, I will not be a slave to him.

4) Curly. ... It hurts dashing for girls!

Katerina

Action two, phenomenon two:

1) Katerina. And never leaves.

Barbara. Why?

Katerina. I was born so hot! I was still six years old, no more, so I did it! 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. The next morning they already found it, ten miles away!

2) Katerina. I don't know how to deceive; I can't hide anything.

Kuligin

Action one, event three:

1) Kuligin. How, sir! After all, the British give a million; I would use all the money for society, for support. Work must be given to the bourgeoisie. And then there are hands, but there is nothing to work.

Boris

Action one, event three:

Boris. Eh, Kuligin, it is painfully difficult for me here without a habit! Everyone looks at me somehow wildly, as if I were superfluous here, as if I were disturbing them. I don't know the customs. I understand that all this is our Russian, native, but still I can’t get used to it in any way.

Feklusha

1) F e k l u sh a. Blah-alepie, honey, blah-alepie! Beauty is wondrous! What can I say! Live in the promised land! And the merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues! Generosity and alms by many! I'm so happy, so, mother, happy, neck-deep! For our failure to leave them even more bounty will be multiplied, and especially the house of the Kabanovs.

2) Feklusha. No, honey. I, due to my weakness, did not go far; and hear - heard a lot. They say that there are such countries, dear girl, where there are no Orthodox tsars, and the Saltans rule the earth. In one land, the Turkish Saltan Mahnut sits on the throne, and in the other, the Persian Saltan Mahnut; and they do justice, dear girl, over all people, and whatever they judge, everything is wrong. And they, my dear, cannot judge a single case righteously, such is the limit set for them. We have a righteous law, and they, my dear, are unrighteous; that according to our law it turns out that way, but according to theirs everything is the other way around. And all their judges, in their countries, are also all unrighteous; so to them, dear girl, and in requests they write: “Judge me, unjust judge!” And then there is the land where all the people with dog heads.

Farewell for now!

Glasha. Goodbye!

Feklusha leaves.

City manners:

Action one, event three:

1) Kuligin. And you'll never get used to it, sir.

Boris. From what?

Kuligin. Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and bare poverty. And we, sir, will never get out of this bark! Because honest labor will never earn us more daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, he tries to enslave the poor, so that for his free labors more money make money. Do you know what your uncle, Savel Prokofich, answered the mayor? The peasants came to the mayor to complain that he would not read any of them by the way. The gorodnii began to say to him: “Listen, he says, Savel Prokofich, you count the peasants well! Every day they come to me with a complaint!” Your uncle patted the mayor on the shoulder, and said: “Is it worth it, your honor, to talk about such trifles with you! A lot of people stay with me every year; you understand: I’ll underpay them for some penny per person, and I make thousands of this, so it’s good for me! That's how, sir! And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest, but out of envy. They quarrel with each other; they lure drunken clerks into their tall mansions, such, sir, clerks, that there is no human appearance on him, his human appearance is lost. And those to them, for a small blessing, on stamp sheets malicious slander scribble on their neighbors. And they will begin, sir, the court and the case, and there will be no end to the torment. They sue, they sue here, but they will go to the province, and there they are already expected and splash their hands with joy. Soon the fairy tale is told, but the deed is not soon done; lead them, lead them, drag them, drag them; and they are also happy with this dragging, that's all they need. “I, he says, will spend money, and it will become a penny for him.” I wanted to describe all this in verses ...

2) F e k l u sh a. Bla-alepie, honey blah-alepie! Beauty is wondrous! What can I say! Live in the promised land! AND merchants all a pious people, adorned with many virtues! Generosity and alms by many! I'm so happy, so, mother, happy, neck-deep! For our failure to leave them even more bounty will be multiplied, and especially the house of the Kabanovs.

Action two, appearance one:

3) Feklusha. No, honey. I, due to my weakness, did not go far; and hear - heard a lot. They say that there are such countries, dear girl, where there are no Orthodox tsars, and the Saltans rule the earth. In one land, the Turkish Saltan Mahnut sits on the throne, and in the other, the Persian Saltan Mahnut; and they do justice, dear girl, over all people, and whatever they judge, everything is wrong. And they, my dear, cannot judge a single case righteously, such is the limit set for them. We have a righteous law, and they, my dear, are unrighteous; that according to our law it turns out that way, but according to theirs everything is the other way around. And all their judges, in their countries, are also all unrighteous; so to them, dear girl, and in requests they write: “Judge me, unjust judge!” And then there is the land where all the people with dog heads.

Glasha. Why is it so, with dogs?

Feklush. For infidelity. I'll go, dear girl, wander around the merchants: will there be something for poverty.Farewell for now!

Glasha. Goodbye!

Feklusha leaves.

Here are some other lands! There are no miracles in the world! And we're sitting here, we don't know anything. It's also good that there are good people; no, no, yes, and you will hear what is happening in the world; otherwise they would die like fools.

Relationships in the family:

Act one, event five:

1) Kabanova. If you want to listen to your mother, then when you get there, do as I ordered you.

Kabanov. But how can I, mother, disobey you!

Kabanova. There is not much respect for elders these days.

Barbara (to herself). Do not respect you, how!

Kabanov. I, it seems, mother, not a step out of your will.

Kabanova. I would believe you, my friend, if I didn’t see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears, what a reverence for parents from children has now become! If only they remembered how many diseases mothers endure from children.

Kabanov. I mama...

Kabanova. If a parent that when and insulting, in your pride, says so, I think it could be transferred! What do you think?

Kabanov. But when did I, mother, not endure from you?

Kabanova. Mother is old, stupid; well, and you, smart young people, should not exact from us, fools.

Kabanov (sighing to the side). Oh you, Lord! (Mothers.) Do we dare, mother, to think!

Kabanova. After all, out of love, parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good. Well, now I don't like it. And the children will go to people to praise that the mother is grumbling, that the mother does not give a pass, she shrinks from the light. And, God forbid, one cannot please the daughter-in-law with some word, well, and the conversation began that the mother-in-law completely ate.

Kabanov. Something, mother, who is talking about you?

Kabanova. I didn’t hear, my friend, I didn’t hear, I don’t want to lie. If only I had heard, I would not have spoken to you, my dear, then.(Sighs.) Oh, a grave sin! That's a long time to sin something! A conversation close to the heart will go on, well, and you will sin, get angry. No, my friend, say what you want about me. You can’t order anyone to speak: they won’t dare to face it, they will stand behind their backs.

Kabanov. Let your tongue dry....

Kabanova. Complete, complete, don't worry! Sin! I'll
I have long seen that your wife is dearer to you than your mother. Since
married, I don’t see your former love from you.

Kabanov. What do you see, mother?

K a b a n o v a. Yes, everything, my friend! What a mother cannot see with her eyes, she has a prophetic heart, she can feel with her heart. Al wife takes you away from me, I don’t know.

Action two, phenomenon two:

2) Katerina. I don't know how to deceive; I can't hide anything.

V a r v a r a. Well, but without this it is impossible; remember where you live! Our whole house is based on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary. I walked yesterday, so I saw him, talked to him.

Thunderstorm

Act one, scene nine:

1) Barbara (looking around). That this brother is not coming, out, no way, the storm is coming.

KATERINA (with horror). Thunderstorm! Let's run home! Hurry!

Barbara. What are you, crazy, or something, gone! How can you show yourself home without a brother?

Katerina. No, home, home! God bless him!

Barbara. What are you really afraid of: the storm is still far away.

Katerina. And if it's far away, then perhaps we'll wait a little; but it would be better to go. Let's go better!

Barbara. Why, if anything happens, you can’t hide at home.

Katerina. Yes, all the same, everything is better, everything is calmer; At home, I go to images and pray to God!

Barbara. I didn't know you were so afraid of thunderstorms. I'm not afraid here.

Katerina. How, girl, do not be afraid! Everyone should be afraid. It’s not so terrible that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all your evil thoughts. I'm not afraid to die, but when I think that suddenly I will appear before God the way I am here with you, after this conversation, that's what's scary. What's on my mind! What a sin! scary to say!


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

Katerina, a girl, the main character of the play. She is quite young, she was married off early. Katya was brought up exactly according to the traditions of house building: the main qualities of a wife were respect and humility

to your spouse. At first, Katya tried to love Tikhon, but she could not feel anything but pity for him. At the same time, the girl tried to support her husband, help him and not reproach him. Katerina can be called the most modest, but at the same time the most powerful character in Thunderstorm. Indeed, outwardly, the strength of Katya's character is not manifested. At first glance, this girl is weak and silent, it seems that she is easily broken. But that's not the case at all. Katerina is the only one in the family who resists Kabanikh's attacks.
It opposes, and does not ignore them, like Barbara. Conflict brings rather internal character. After all, Kabanikha is afraid that Katya can influence her son, after which Tikhon will no longer obey the will of his mother.

Katya wants to fly, often compares herself to a bird. She literally suffocates in “ dark kingdom” Kalinova. Falling in love with a visitor young man, Katya created for herself perfect image love and eventual liberation. Unfortunately, her ideas had little to do with reality. The girl's life ended tragically.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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