/ / / "The Dark Kingdom" in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm"
In his play "", A.N. Ostrovsky for the first time depicts realistic world"dark kingdom" Who was in it? This most of of that society - petty tyrants who had the power of money in their hands, who wanted to enslave the poor and profit even more from their free labor. Ostrovsky for the first time opens the world of merchants with all the realities and true events. There is nothing humane or good in this world. no faith in free man, in happiness, in love and decent work.
What is the play's conflict? In the clash of interests and morality of the obsolete and future generations of people. Complex images of the characters of this play are depicted with special meaning. A wealthy merchant - Wild - is quite an important person in the city. Curly, tobish Savel Prokofievich - presents himself as the arbiter of the world and the master of the life around him. Many characters are afraid of him and simply tremble before his image. Lawlessness in the behavior of the Wild is covered by the power and significance of his financial condition. He has the patronage of the state power.
Ostrovsky creates a rather ambiguous and complex image of the Wild. This character is faced with the problem of not external opposition of others to his person. He is experiencing an internal protest. The hero understands how callous his middle and his heart are. He tells a story about how, for nothing, he scolded a peasant who carried firewood. Dikoy pounced on him and nearly killed him for nothing. And then he began to repent and ask for forgiveness. And he admitted that he had such a “wild” heart.
It is in this image that we see the hidden meaning of the "dark kingdom". It redeemed itself from within. The inner protest of the petty tyrants of that time destroyed them themselves.
Analyzing another image of the play "The Dark Kingdom", one can notice other features of the petty tyrants of that time.
The person makes us confused. In her opinion, all relationships in the family should be subject to fear. She is despotic and hypocritical. She is used to living according to the old society. She completely ate all the household and does not give them a quiet life.
The secondary image of the wanderer Feklusha comes to the defense of the dying "dark kingdom". She enters into a conversation with Kabanikha and keeps preaching to her her thoughts about the imminent death of the "dark kingdom".
In his play, in order to convey to the reader all his thoughts and reasoning, Ostrovsky creates many symbolic images. Thunderstorm is one of them. The finale of the play conveys the author's thoughts that life in such a "dark kingdom" is unbearable and terrible. The reader understands that the world of petty tyrants is overcome by an awakened person who is filled with real, human feelings who can overcome the falsity and hypocrisy of that "dark kingdom".
Type: Problem-thematic analysis of the work
A.N. Ostrovsky completed his play in 1859, on the eve of the abolition of serfdom. Russia was in anticipation of reform, and the play became the first stage in the realization of the coming changes in society.
In his work, Ostrovsky presents us with a merchant environment, personifying the "dark kingdom". The author shows a whole gallery negative images on the example of residents of the city of Kalinov. On the example of the townspeople, their ignorance, lack of education, and adherence to the old order are revealed to us. We can say that all Kalinovtsy are in the shackles of the old "house building".
The prominent representatives of the "dark kingdom" in the play are the "fathers" of the city in the person of Kabanikhi and Dikiy. Marfa Kabanova tortures those around her and those close to her with reproaches and suspicion. She relies on the authority of antiquity in everything and expects the same from others. There is no need to talk about her love for her son and daughter, the children of Kabanikha are completely subordinate to her power. Everything in Kabanova's house is based on fear. To scare and humiliate is her philosophy.
Wild is much more primitive than Kabanova. This is the image of a real tyrant. With his screams and swearing, this hero humiliates other people, thereby, as it were, rising above them. It seems to me that this is a way of self-expression for Dikiy: “What are you going to order me to do with myself when my heart is like that!”; “I scolded him, so scolded him that it’s impossible to demand better, he almost nailed me. Here it is, what a heart I have!
The unreasonable scolding of the Wild, the hypocritical captiousness of the Kabanikh - all this is due to the impotence of the heroes. The more real the changes in society and people, the stronger their protesting voices begin to sound. But there is no point in the rage of these heroes: only an empty sound remains from their words. “... And everything is somehow restless, it’s not good for them. In addition to them, without asking them, another life has grown up with other beginnings, and although it is far away, it is still not clearly visible, but it already gives itself a presentiment and sends bad visions to dark arbitrariness, ”dobrolyubov writes about the play.
The images of Kuligin and Katerina are opposed to the Wild, Kabanikha, and the whole city. In his monologues, Kuligin tries to reason with the inhabitants of Kalinov, to open their eyes to what is happening around. For example, all the townspeople are in a wild, natural horror from a thunderstorm and perceive it as a punishment from heaven. Only Kuligin is not afraid, but sees in a thunderstorm a natural phenomenon of nature, beautiful and majestic. He proposes to build a lightning rod, but does not find the approval and understanding of others. Despite all this, the "dark kingdom" failed to absorb this self-taught eccentric. Amid savagery and tyranny, he retained a man in himself.
But not all the heroes of the play can resist the cruel customs of the "dark kingdom". Tikhon Kabanov is downtrodden, hounded by this society. Therefore, his image is tragic. The hero could not resist, from childhood he agreed with his mother in everything, he never contradicted her. And only at the end of the play before dead body Katerina Tikhon decides to confront her mother and even blames her for the death of his wife.
Tikhon's sister, Varvara, finds her way to survive in Kalinovo. A strong, courageous and cunning character allows the girl to adapt to life in the "dark kingdom". For her peace of mind and for the sake of avoiding trouble, she lives according to the principle of "hidden and covered", deceives and tricks. But, doing all this, Varvara is only trying to live as she wants.
Katerina Kabanova - light soul. Against the backdrop of everything dead kingdom it stands out for its purity and immediacy. This heroine was not mired in material interests and outdated worldly truths, like other residents of Kalinov. Her soul strives to free itself from the oppression and suffocation of these people, alien to it. Having fallen in love with Boris and cheated on her husband, Katerina is in terrible pangs of conscience. And she perceives the storm as a punishment from heaven 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 ... ”. Pious Katerina, unable to withstand the pressure of her own conscience, decides on the most terrible sin - suicide.
Dikiy's nephew, Boris, is also a victim of the "dark kingdom". He resigned himself to spiritual slavery and broke down under the pressure of the old-timers. Boris seduced Katerina, but he did not have the strength to save her, to take her away from the hated city. The "Dark Kingdom" turned out to be stronger than this hero.
Another representative of the "Dark Kingdom" is the wanderer Feklusha. In the house of Kabanikhi, she is highly respected. Her ignorant tales about distant countries listen carefully and even believe them. Only in such a dark and ignorant society, no one can doubt Feklusha's stories. The wanderer supports the Boar, feeling her strength and power in the city.
In my opinion, the play "Thunderstorm" is a work of genius. It reveals so many images, so many characters that would be enough for a whole encyclopedia negative characters. All ignorance, superstition, lack of education absorbed the "dark kingdom" of Kalinov. "Thunderstorm" shows us that the old way of life has long outlived itself and does not respond modern conditions life. Changes are already on the threshold of the "dark kingdom" and, together with a thunderstorm, they are trying to break into it. It doesn't matter that they meet with great resistance from wild and boar. After reading the play, it becomes clear that they are all powerless before the future.
Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" caused a strong reaction in the field of literary critics and critics. A. Grigoriev, D. Pisarev, F. Dostoevsky devoted their articles to this work. N. Dobrolyubov, some time after the publication of The Thunderstorm, wrote the article "A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom." Being a good critic, Dobrolyubov emphasized good style author, praising Ostrovsky for deep knowledge Russian soul, and reproached other critics for the lack of a direct look at the work. In general, Dobrolyubov's view is interesting from several points of view. For example, the critic believed that dramas should show the detrimental effect of passion on a person’s life, which is why he calls Katerina a criminal. But Nikolai Alexandrovich nevertheless says that Katerina is also a martyr, because her sufferings evoke a response in the soul of the viewer or reader. Dobrolyubov gives very accurate characteristics. It was he who called the merchants "dark kingdom" in the play "Thunderstorm".
If we trace how the merchant class and the social strata adjacent to it were displayed over the course of decades, then it turns out full picture degradation and decline. In "Undergrowth" the Prostakovs are shown as narrow-minded people, in "Woe from Wit" the Famusovs are frozen statues who refuse to live honestly. All these images are the forerunners of Kabanikhi and Diky. It is on these two characters that the "dark kingdom" in the drama "Thunderstorm" rests. The author introduces us to the manners and orders of the city from the very first lines of the play: Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In one of the dialogues between the residents, the topic of violence is raised: “Whoever has money, sir, he tries to enslave the poor ... And among themselves - then, sir, how they live! ... They are at enmity with each other.” No matter how much people hide what is happening inside families, the rest already know everything. Kuligin says that no one has been praying to God here for a long time. All doors are locked, "so that people do not see how ... they eat their own household and tyrannize the family." Behind the locks - debauchery and drunkenness. Kabanov goes to drink with Dikoy, Dikoy appears drunk in almost all scenes, Kabanikha is also not averse to having a glass - another in the company of Savl Prokofievich.
The whole world, in which the inhabitants of the fictional city of Kalinov live, is thoroughly saturated with lies and scams. Power over the "dark kingdom" belongs to tyrants and deceivers. Residents are so accustomed to dispassionately kowtowing to richer people that this lifestyle is the norm for them. They often come to Wild to ask for money, while knowing that he will humiliate them, but will not give the required amount. Most negative emotions the merchant calls his own nephew. Not even because Boris is flattering Dikoy in order to get money, but because Dikoy himself does not want to part with the inheritance he has received. His main features are rudeness and greed. Wild believes that since he has a large number of money, then others must obey him, fear him and at the same time respect him.
Kabanikha stands up for the preservation of the patriarchal system. She is a true tyrant, able to drive anyone she doesn't like crazy. Marfa Ignatievna, hiding behind the fact that she respects the old order, in fact, destroys the family. Her son, Tikhon, is happy to leave as far as possible, just not to hear the orders of his mother, the daughter does not care about the opinion of Kabanikha, lies to her, and at the end of the play simply runs away with Kudryash. Katherine got it the most. The mother-in-law openly hated her daughter-in-law, controlled her every action, was dissatisfied with any little things. The scene of farewell to Tikhon seems to be the most revealing. The boar was offended by the fact that Katya hugged her husband goodbye. After all, she is a woman, which means that she must always be lower than a man. The destiny of a wife is to throw herself at her husband's feet and sob, praying for a speedy return. Katya does not like this point of view, but she is forced to submit to the will of her mother-in-law.
Dobrolyubov calls Katya "a ray of light in the dark realm", which is also very symbolic. First, Katya is different from the inhabitants of the city. Although she was brought up according to the old laws, the preservation of which Kabanikha often speaks, she has a different idea of life. Katya is kind and clean. She wants to help the poor, wants to go to church, do household chores, raise children. But in such an environment, all this seems impossible because of one simple fact: in the "dark kingdom" in "Thunderstorm" it is impossible to find inner peace. People constantly walk in fear, drink, lie, cheat on each other, trying to hide the ugly side of life. In such an atmosphere it is impossible to be honest with others, honest to yourself. Secondly, one beam is not enough to illuminate the "kingdom". Light, according to the laws of physics, must be reflected from any surface. It is also known that black has the ability to absorb other colors. Similar laws apply to the situation with main character plays. Katerina does not see in others what is in her. Neither the inhabitants of the city, nor Boris, "decently educated person", could not understand the reason internal conflict Katya. After all, even Boris is afraid of public opinion, he is dependent on the Wild and the possibility of receiving an inheritance. He is also bound by a chain of deceit and lies, as Boris supports Varvara's idea to deceive Tikhon in order to maintain a secret relationship with Katya. Let's apply the second law here. In Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm, the "dark kingdom" is so all-consuming that it is impossible to find a way out of it. It eats Katerina, forcing her to take on one of the worst sins from the point of view of Christianity - suicide. The Dark Realm leaves no other choice. It will find her anywhere, even if Katya ran away with Boris, even if she left her husband. No wonder Ostrovsky moves the action to a fictional city. The author wanted to show the typicality of the situation: such a situation was typical of all Russian cities. But only Russia?
Are the conclusions so disappointing? The power of tyrants gradually begins to weaken. This is felt by Kabanikh and Dikoy. They feel that soon other people will take their place, new ones. Like Katya. Honest and open. And, perhaps, it is in them that the old customs that Marfa Ignatievna zealously defended will be revived. Dobrolyubov wrote that the finale of the play should be viewed in a positive light. “We are pleased to see the deliverance of Katerina - even through death, if it is impossible otherwise. Living in a "dark kingdom" is worse than death." This is confirmed by the words of Tikhon, who for the first time openly opposes not only his mother, but the entire order of the city. “The play ends with this exclamation, and it seems to us that nothing could be invented stronger and more truthful than such an ending. Tikhon's words make the viewer think not about love affair but about all this life, where the living envy the dead.
Definition " dark kingdom"and a description of the images of its representatives will be useful to students in grade 10 when writing an essay on the topic" The Dark Kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky.
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Dark kingdom. The kingdom of darkness (inosk.) ignorance, backwardness ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
- (inosk.) ignorance, backwardness ...
Dark kingdom (kingdom of darkness) (inosk.) ignorance, backwardness ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary
KINGDOM- (1) kingdom; 2) reign) 1) the state headed by the king; 2) the time of the reign of some king, reign; 3) a certain area of reality, the focus of certain objects and phenomena (for example, C of nature, dark C., sleepy C.) ... Power. Policy. public service. Dictionary
"Dark Realm"- DARK KINGDOM an expression that has received wide distribution. after the appearance of the articles by N. A. Dobrolyubov The Dark Kingdom and the Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom (1859-60), dedicated to early work A. N. Ostrovsky. It began to be used as a designation. arrogant ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary
- (born January 17, 1836, died November 17, 1861) one of the most remarkable critics of Russian literature and one of characteristic representatives public excitement in the era of "great reforms". He was the son of a priest in Nizhny Novgorod. Father,… …
Dramatic writer, head of the repertoire of the Imperial Moscow Theater and director of the Moscow theater school. A. N. Ostrovsky was born in Moscow on January 31, 1823. His father, Nikolai Fedorovich, came from a spiritual rank, and according to ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia
DARK, dark, dark; dark, dark, dark (dark, dark simple.). 1. Deprived of light, immersed in darkness, in darkness. “Lyon spread until dark at night through the dewy meadows.” Nekrasov. "One candle burns in a dark room." A. Turgenev. “(Wolf) into the dark… … Dictionary Ushakov
Dobrolyubov, Nikolai Alexandrovich, the most famous Russian critic after Belinsky, chief representative publicistic review method literary works. Sadly formed short life highly gifted young man, dazzling ... ... Biographical Dictionary
- (Nikolai Alexandrovich) the most famous Russian critic after Belinsky, the main representative of the method of journalistic consideration of literary works. The short life of a highly gifted young man, dazzlingly brilliant in ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
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- Dark kingdom. Stage versions, Potapov Nikolay Ivanovich. Nikolai Ivanovich Potapov - participant in the Great Patriotic War. After the war, he graduated from navigation aviation school. He flew as a navigator different types aircraft. Later he worked in newspapers and ...
It would be a mistake to perceive the "dark kingdom" in "Thunderstorm" only personified, correlating it primarily with Wild and Boar. In fact, evil cannot be reduced only to one or another specific character. It is dispersed in the surrounding life. It’s just that Dikoy and Kabanikha most vividly express those gloomy forces that surrounded Katerina from all sides. Deaf ignorance turns out to be an excellent breeding ground for strengthening the authority of the "dark kingdom". From this point of view, the conversation about Lithuania, which “fell on us from the sky”, acquires a particularly expressive character. It is significant that the slightest attempt at doubt is suppressed by referring to the well-knownness of this incredible event: “Explain more! Everyone knows that from the sky ... "The conversation has no direct relation to the plot, but on this action unfolds in the background, this environment, moral support is found by Dikoy, and not by Kuligin with his educational ideas. The same is the case with Feklusha, whose role, it would seem, is completely episodic, has nothing to do with the plot, but without her the story of the "dark kingdom" would be incomplete.
Feklusha not only justifies the order of this kingdom, she creates a myth about Kalinov as a promised land, where, according to her concepts, “bla-alepie”, “merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues”.
In a city where newspapers and magazines are not read, where there are not even clocks (Kuligin unsuccessfully tries to co-arrange for the city sundial), such as Feklusha, and were a kind of means mass media, formed public opinion. And the townsfolk learn from the omnipresent wanderer that "according to all signs" they come end times that only in Kalinovo alone there is still paradise and silence, and in other cities there is “noise, running around, incessant driving.”
The idea of movement as a sign of development is deeply repugnant to both Feklusha and Kabanova. That is why they so unanimously curse the train (“fiery serpent”), people who “run around like that, that’s why their women are all so thin.” Moreover, it turns out that even time itself changes; it is "shorter".
This dark kingdom miraculously reminiscent of another - sleepy, which was portrayed by Goncharov in the novel "Oblomov". With all the differences in social structures, there is something in common between them - in the philosophy of stagnation, in the desire to isolate oneself from life, in the firm conviction that "living differently is a sin." These two kingdoms adjoin, border on each other, sometimes converge even in small things. In the house of Pshenitsyna on the Vyborg side, there were absolutely fantastic conversations about the upcoming war with the Turkish pasha. After all, this is almost the same as the talk in The Thunderstorm about Sultan Mahmut of Turkey.
However, in the "dark kingdom" internal inferiority is already felt. Let's take a closer look from this point of view at the main bearers of the idea of "stagnation" - Di-Kom and Kabanikha.
There is such a methodical technique - “oral drawing”. Try to "draw" a portrait of Wild - how do you imagine him? One schoolgirl in an essay described him as follows: "A small, scrawny old man with a sparse beard and restlessly shifting eyes." Do you think so too? If so, then it's not that scary. But in fact, Wild is not at all old: he has teenage daughters. With him, young Kabanov drinks vodka. Perhaps much more terrible is the fact that Dikoy is still in his prime, that he himself does not at all feel like a decrepit old man. Why is Dikoy constantly irritated, constantly inflaming himself, cursing? Such is his, as it is now customary to say, “behavioral model”. For Wild, this is a kind of self-defense from everything strange, new, incomprehensible in life. In the end, Kudryash is still understandable to him (perhaps he himself once was like that - just like Kabanikha was once the same as Varvara). But Boris cannot help but irritate him as an expression of something new in merchant environment. Kuligin, who "climbs to talk", is also annoying. That is why Dikoi furiously pounces not only on Boris, but also on Kuligin, although he generally stranger. Where is the anger from? From a collision with something strange, incomprehensible and therefore especially dangerous.
And the merchant's wife, the widow Marfa Ignatievna, more cunning and insightful than Dikoi, was already seriously worried, feeling how her patriarchal foundations were crumbling, under which she, the guardian of the ossified rituals, old house-building orders, was an indisputable authority for the family , neighbors, the whole city. Hearing the speeches of the same Kuligin, she blames not even him alone for everything, but the new times: “The times have gone, some teachers have appeared.”
Time first of all, it frightens Kabanova, it is he who she seeks to detain, to stop with all her might. She is convinced that the world should be fear. will disappear fear the very basis of life will disappear. It is necessary to be afraid of the Wild, afraid of her, so that Tikhon is completely submissive to her, and Katerina, in turn, to Tikhon. When Katerina has her own children, then they will certainly be afraid of Katerina ... The world stands on that - not on love, but on fear.
The unfortunate Tikhon does not understand at all why his wife must be afraid of him. “It’s enough for me,” he says, “that she loves me.” Tikhon's words, which, it would seem, contain absolutely no challenge, lead Kabanova to a state of extreme indignation. She in the highest degree amazed: “How, why be afraid! How, why be afraid! Yes, you're crazy, right? You will not be afraid, and even more so me. What is the order in the house will be? After all, you, tea, live with her in law.
The law in this case means not just legal marriage. This common law, based on unquestioning obedience, on the inviolability of the existing universe, which is clearly established in the mind of Kabanova and which cannot be shaken in any point. “So, in your opinion,” she instructs Tikhon, “you need everything to be affectionate with your wife? And do not shout at her, and do not threaten? material from the site
Kabanova defends, first of all, the need to comply with the form of unwritten rules. It is not required that a wife love her husband, but she must be afraid of him. It is not necessary for Katerina to really feel the separation from her husband, it is necessary that she “make this example” for others - she howled for an hour and a half, lying on the porch ...
Actually, all Kabanova wants is for nothing to change, for everything to go exactly the same as before. That is why it clings so tightly to established forms without any consideration of their expediency, meaning, or rationality. Live like everyone else, be like everyone else. She feels her personal responsibility for the fortress of the old order, she fights for them not for fear, but for conscience. This is her task, purpose, purpose, meaning of life.
Kabanova's attitude to Katerina's public repentance is extremely indicative. By Christian tradition, a repentant person deserves forgiveness - not legally, but morally. And what? Katherine is not forgiven. Kabanova does not show one of the main virtues - Christian, universal - mercy. Thus, the moral inferiority of the "dark kingdom" is clearly revealed.
The "dark kingdom" is closed in itself, it is doomed, because it is frozen in immobility, it exists outside of time and space, which means not life, but death. But the dead, the doomed, is characterized by hatred for all living things, in whatever form it manifests itself. The "Dark Kingdom" is shaken, but far from broken. That is why it requires more and more new victims. That's why Katherine died.
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