dark kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky - this allegorical statement is familiar to everyone with light hand his contemporary literary critic Dobrolyubova. That is how Nikolai Ivanovich considered it necessary to characterize the difficult social and moral atmosphere in Russian cities early XIX century.
Ostrovsky - a fine connoisseur of Russian life
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky made a bright breakthrough in Russian drama, for which he received a worthy article-review. He continued the traditions of the Russian national theater laid down by Fonvizin, Gogol, Griboyedov. In particular, Nikolay Dobrolyubov highly appreciated deep knowledge and truthful reflection by the playwright of the specifics of Russian life. The Volga city of Kalinov, shown in the play, has become a kind of model for the whole of Russia.
The deep meaning of the allegory "dark kingdom"
The dark kingdom in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is a clear and capacious allegory created by the critic Dobrolyubov, which is based on both a broad socio-economic explanation and a narrower one - a literary one. The latter is formulated in relation to provincial town Kalinov, in which Ostrovsky depicted an average (as they say now - average) Russian town of the late 18th century.
The broad meaning of the concept of "dark kingdom"
Let us first define the broad meaning this concept: the dark kingdom in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is a figurative characteristic of the socio-political state of Russia at a certain stage of its development.
After all, a thoughtful reader who is interested in history clearly understands what kind of Russia ( late 18th century) in question. Huge country, a fragment of which the playwright showed in the play, lived in the old fashioned way, at a time when industrialization was dynamically taking place in European countries. The people were socially paralyzed (which was abolished in 1861). Strategic railways. The people in their mass were illiterate, uneducated, superstitious. In fact, the state social policy did little.
Everything in the provincial Kalinov, as it were, is "boiled in its own juice." That is, people are not involved in major projects- production, construction. Their judgments betray complete incompetence in the simplest concepts: for example, in the electrical origin of lightning.
The dark kingdom in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is a society devoid of a development vector. The class of the industrial bourgeoisie and the proletariat has not yet taken shape ... The financial flows of society have not been formed insufficient for global socio-economic transformations.
The dark kingdom of the city of Kalinov
In a narrow sense, the dark kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm" is a way of life inherent in the bourgeoisie and merchants. According to the description given by Ostrovsky, this community is absolutely dominated by wealthy and arrogant merchants. They constantly carry out psychological pressure on others, not paying attention to their interests. There is no government for these ghouls who "eat with food." For these petty tyrants, money is equivalent to social status, and human and Christian morality is not a decree in their actions. They practically do whatever they please. In particular, realistic, artistically completed images - the merchant Savel Prokopevich Dikoy and the merchant's wife Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova - initiate the "dark kingdom" in the play "Thunderstorm". What are these characters? Let's consider them more closely.
The image of the merchant Saveliy Prokofich Wild
Merchant Dikoy is the richest man in Kalinov. However, the consistency in it does not border on the breadth of the soul and hospitality, but on the "cool disposition". And he understands his wolf nature, and wants to somehow change. “About fasting somehow, about a great one, I spoke ...” Yes, tyranny is his second nature. When a “man” comes to him with a request to borrow money, Dikoy rudely humiliates him, moreover, it almost comes to beating the unfortunate man.
Moreover, this psychotype of behavior is always characteristic of him. (“What can I do, my heart is like that!”) That is, he builds his relationships with others on the basis of fear and his dominance. This is his usual pattern of behavior towards people with inferior
This man was not always rich. However, he came to solvency through a primitive, aggressive, established social model of behavior. Relations with others and relatives (in particular, with his nephew), he builds on only one principle: to humiliate them, formally - to deprive them of social rights, and then use them himself. However, having felt a psychological rebuff from a person with equal status (for example, from the widow of a merchant Kabanikhi), he begins to treat him more respectfully, without humiliating him. This is a primitive, two-way scheme of behavior.
Behind rudeness and suspicion (“So you know that you are a worm!”) Greed and self-interest are hidden. For example, in the case of a nephew, he actually disinherits him. Savel Prokofich harbors hatred in his soul for everything around him. His credo is to reflexively crush everyone, crush everyone, clearing the living space for himself. If we lived at this time, such an idiot (excuse the frankness) could well, just in the middle of the street, beat us for nothing, just so that we crossed to the other side of the street, clearing the way for him! But such an image was familiar to serf Russia! Not for nothing, after all, Dobrolyubov called the dark kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm" a sensitive and truthful reflection of Russian reality!
The image of the merchant's wife Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova
The second type of Kalinov's wild morals is the rich merchant widow Kabanikh. Her social model of behavior is not as primitive as that of the merchant Wild. (For some reason, an analogy comes to mind regarding this model: “The poor eyesight of a rhinoceros is a problem of those around it, and not the rhino itself!) Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, unlike the merchant Diky, builds her own social status gradually. Humiliation is also a tool, but of a completely different kind. She mainly affects members of her family: son Tikhon, daughter Varvara, daughter-in-law Katerina. She puts both her material and moral superiority at the basis of her dominance over others.
Hypocrisy - that's her key to the merchant's wife - double morality. Formally and outwardly following the Christian cult, it is far from the real merciful Christian consciousness. On the contrary, she interprets her status of churching as a kind of deal with God, believing that she has been given the right not only to teach everyone around her about everything, but also to indicate how they should act.
She does this all the time, completely destroying her son Tikhon as a person, and pushing her daughter-in-law Katerina to commit suicide.
If the merchant Wild, having met on the street, can be bypassed, then the situation is quite different with regard to Kabanikha. So to speak, she continuously, constantly, and not episodically, like Dikoy, "generates" the dark kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm". Quotes from the work characterizing Kabanikha testify: she zombies her loved ones, demanding that Katerina bow to her husband when he enters the house, suggesting that “you can’t argue with mother”, that the husband gives strict orders to his wife, and on occasion beat her ...
Weak attempts to resist tyrants
What opposes the community of the city of Kalinov to the expansion of the two aforementioned tyrants? Yes, practically nothing. They live in a comfortable society for themselves. As Pushkin wrote in "Boris Godunov": "The people are silent ...". Someone who is educated tries to timidly express his opinion, like engineer Kuligin. Someone, like Barbara, crippled himself morally by living double life: assenting to tyrants and doing what she pleases herself. And someone is waiting for an internal and tragic protest (like Katerina).
Conclusion
Does it occur in our everyday life the word "selfishness"? We hope that for the majority of our readers - much less often than for the inhabitants of the fortress town of Kalinov. Accept sympathy if your boss or someone from the family circle is a tyrant. Nowadays, this phenomenon does not immediately spread to the entire city. However, it does exist in places. And you need to find a way out of it...
Let's return to Ostrovsky's play. Representatives create a "dark kingdom" in the play "Thunderstorm". Their common features- the presence of capital and the desire to dominate in society. However, it does not rely on spirituality, creativity, or enlightenment. Hence the conclusion: it is necessary to isolate the tyrant, depriving him of the opportunity to lead, as well as depriving him of communication (boycott). A tyrant is strong as long as he feels the indispensability of his beloved and the demand for his capital.
You should just deprive him of such "happiness". In Kalinov, it was not possible to do this. It's real these days.
The drama "Thunderstorm" is considered to be one of the main works of A. N. Ostrovsky. And this cannot be denied. love conflict in the play, he fades almost to the last plan, instead, the bitter social truth is exposed, the “dark kingdom” of vices and sins is shown. Dobrolyubov called the playwright a fine connoisseur of the Russian soul. It is difficult to disagree with this opinion. Ostrovsky very subtly describes the experiences of one person, but at the same time is accurate in depicting universal human vices and flaws. human soul, which are inherent in all representatives of " dark kingdom" in "Thunderstorm". Dobrolyubov called such people tyrants. The main tyrants of Kalinov are Kabanikha and Dikoy.
Wild is a bright representative of the "dark kingdom", initially shown as an unpleasant and slippery person. He appears in the first act along with his nephew Boris. Savl Prokofievich is very dissatisfied with the appearance of Boris in the city: “A parasite! Get lost!” The merchant swears and spits on the street, which shows his bad manners. It should be noted that in the life of the Wild Place for cultural enrichment or spiritual growth absolutely not. He knows only what is necessary to know in order to lead the "dark kingdom". Savl Prokofievich does not know either history or its representatives. So, when Kuligin quotes lines from Derzhavin Dikoy, he orders not to be rude to him. Usually, speech allows you to say a lot about a person: about his upbringing, manners, outlook, and so on. Diky's remarks are full of curses and threats: "not a single calculation can do without abuse." In almost every appearance on stage, Savl Prokofievich is either rude to others or expresses himself incorrectly. The merchant is especially annoyed by those who ask him for money. At the same time, Wild himself very often deceives when calculating in his favor. Wild is not afraid of either representatives of the authorities, or a rebellion "senseless and merciless." He is confident in the inviolability of his person and the position that he occupies. It is known that when talking with the mayor that Dikoy allegedly robs ordinary peasants, the merchant openly admits his guilt, but as if he himself is proud of such an act: “Is it worth it, your honor, to talk about such trifles with you! I have a lot of people a year - sometimes people stay: you - then understand: I won’t pay them extra for a penny per person, but I have thousands of this, so it’s good for me! ”Kuligin says that in trade everyone is a friend they steal a friend, and they choose as assistants those who, from prolonged drunkenness, have lost both their human appearance and all humanity.
Wild does not understand what it means to work for the common good. Kuligin proposed to install a lightning rod, with the help of which it would be easier to get electricity. But Savl Prokofievich drove the inventor away with the words: “So you know that you are a worm. I want to - I'm sorry. If I want to, I'll crush it." In this phrase, the position of Wild is most clearly visible. The merchant is confident in his rightness, impunity and power. Savl Prokofievich considers his power to be absolute, because the guarantee of his authority is money, which the merchant has more than enough. The meaning of the life of the Wild is the accumulation and increase of his capital by any legal and illegal methods. Wild believes that wealth gives him the right to scold, humiliate and insult everyone. However, his influence and rudeness scare many, but not Curly. Curly says that he is not afraid of the Wild, so he only acts as he wants. By this, the author wanted to show that sooner or later the tyrants of the dark kingdom will lose their influence, because the prerequisites for this already exist.
The only person with whom the merchant speaks normally is another characteristic representative"dark kingdom" - Kabanikh. Marfa Ignatievna is known for her heavy and grumpy disposition. Marfa Ignatievna is a widow. She herself raised her son Tikhon and daughter Varvara. Total control and tyranny led to horrific consequences. Tikhon cannot act against the will of his mother, he also does not want to say something wrong from the point of view of Kabanikha. Tikhon coexists with her, complaining about life, but not trying to change anything. He is weak and spineless. Daughter Varvara lies to her mother, secretly meeting with Kudryash. At the end of the play, she escapes with him from home. Varvara changed the lock on the gate in the garden so that she could freely go out for a walk at night while the Boar was sleeping. However, she also does not openly confront her mother. Katherine got it the most. The boar humiliated the girl, tried in every possible way to offend and expose her husband (Tikhon) in a bad light. She chose an interesting manipulation tactic. Very measuredly, without haste, Kabanikha gradually “ate” her family, pretending that nothing was happening. Marfa Ignatievna covered herself by taking care of the children. She believed that only the old generation retained an understanding of the norms of life, so this knowledge must be passed on to the next generation, otherwise the world will collapse. But with Kabanikh, all wisdom becomes mutilated, perverted, false. However, it cannot be said that she is doing a good deed. The reader understands that the words "care for children" become an excuse in front of other people. In front of her, the Kabanikha is honest and perfectly understands what she is doing. She embodies the view that the weak should be afraid of the strong. Kabanikha herself speaks of this in the scene of Tikhon's departure. “Why are you standing there, don’t you know the order? Order your wife - how to live without you! To Tikhon’s quite reasonable remark that Katerina has no need to be afraid of him, because he is her husband, Kabanikha replies very sharply: “Why be afraid! Yes, you're crazy, right? You will not be afraid, and even more so me. The boar has long ceased to be a mother, a widow, a woman. Now this is a real tyrant and dictator who seeks to assert his power by any means.
Ostrovsky in "Thunderstorm" endowed the representatives of the "dark kingdom" with the most unpleasant features. The author shows that they are still in power, but times are changing, and soon everything will change. This information will help students in grade 10 when preparing an essay on the topic “ Outstanding Representatives the dark kingdom in the play "Thunderstorm"
Artwork test
He is the first writer and playwright, on the pages of whose works the characters of the petty tyrants of Rus' were captured with all the depth, strength and realism. And the essence of the main conflict in The Thunderstorm, its one of the most famous plays, lies in the opposition of heroes representing the patriarchal way of life, and people of a new generation who want to be guided in their actions own feelings and my own mind. But it is not at all easy to overcome the "dark kingdom", since its power is based on despotism, fear, cunning and money.
Already at the very beginning of the play, we are talking about the merchant Diky - a cruel, capricious and wayward man. They say about him: “Look for such and such a scolder as Savel Prokofich among us, look for more! No way will a person be cut off. ” Wild scolds everyone, especially goes to his family. For example, his wife constantly asks relatives: “Fathers, do not make me angry! My dear, don't be angry!" And his biggest pain point is money. He himself admits that it’s even a pity for him to pay his debts: “After all, I already know what I need to pay, but I can’t do everything with good. You are my friend, and I must give it back to you, but if you come to ask me, I will scold you.
Despite all your violent temper, with people who can fight back, Dikoy behaves like an ordinary coward. An example is the situation with a hussar in transit.
The ignorance that characterizes the Wild are also typical feature representative of the "dark kingdom". The episode when the local inventor Kuligin asks for money for the construction of lightning rods, and Dikoi refuses him, arguing that the thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, speaks of him as a close-minded, superstitious and uneducated person.
The female half of the "dark kingdom" is represented in "Thunderstorm" by the merchant Kabanikha. Wild, of course, a big scolder, but quick-witted. But Kabanikha is cunning and vindictive. In addition, she is a real hypocrite who does evil "under the guise of piety." Merchant Kabanova vigilantly stands guard over the patriarchal laws of morality and demands from her loved ones that they strictly follow these rules. The boar knows how to build out of himself and loving mother who wants only good, and when necessary, she comes down or, on the contrary, shows her power.
Instead of a man, Kabanikha raised only her pale shadow from her son, full of fear and humility. Representatives of the "dark kingdom" would be happy to make all the inhabitants of Kalinov so downtrodden and weak-willed. But now the end of the old world is coming, and she becomes afraid. She is opposed by no less strong personality- Katerina. The merchant's wife fights, and even, as it seems to her, wins. But at the end of the play, she realizes that she was left alone. Even her son rebels against her. To lose its former influence and power - what could be worse for Kabanikha?
Another representative of the "dark kingdom" is the wanderer Feklusha, who acts as the protector of the "dark kingdom". She praises the city of Kalinov, its merchant way of life, while criticizing foreign countries: "We have a righteous law, and they ... unrighteous." But, as a person who has been to many places, she sees signs of approaching change: “ end times, mother Marfa Ignatievna, according to all signs, the last. She turned out to be right - before the famous Peasant Reform, which, according to the plan, was supposed to put an end to the "dark kingdom", only a year and a half remained from the release of the play.
The play by A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm” was written in 1859. At this time Russian society wondered about further way development of Russia. Slavophiles and Westerners argued bitterly about what is better: patriarchy (autocracy, nationality, Orthodoxy) or orientation towards values Western Europe.
The author of The Thunderstorm, as is well known, was a Slavophile. However this work Ostrovsky testifies to his “disillusionment” in patriarchal Russia, in the ideas to build a socially prosperous society on its basis. What makes the writer and the reader of the play come to this conclusion? What conflicts of the play “Thunderstorm”, declared and developed by the playwright, testify to the imperfection of the “old order”, the perniciousness of the Kalinov cities?
Let's look at the conflict between Katerina (the main character of the drama) and the city of Kalinov, the symbol of patriarchal Russia. The conflict between the “ray of light” and the “dark kingdom” (N. A. Dobrolyubov).
The city of Kalinov is a provincial city typical of Russia at that time. Here is how Dobrolyubov describes it: “The concepts and way of life adopted by them are the best in the world, everything new comes from evil spirits... They find it awkward and even daring to persistently seek reasonable grounds ... A dark mass, terrible in its hatred and sincerity. Kalinovtsy are either poor or “tyrants”. “ 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 pore! 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” - such is the characteristic of Kalinov by Kuligin, a person who, although different from the “dark mass”, is not able to resist it, like Katerina, since life position him - “... you must try to please somehow!”. The real threat to the “dark kingdom” is Katerina. She is a "beam of light" capable of illuminating "...the realm of the Wild". What is Katherine? “Katerina did not kill the human in herself. nature... Russian a strong character amazes us with its opposite to any self-conscious principles ... The character is creative, loving, ideal ”- this is how N. A. Dobrolyubov described her. Katerina is a person new era". Her protest to “tyranny of power” and “to the world of silently sighing grief” is that “it is no longer possible to live with violent, deadening principles.”
Naturally, this protest, this conflict between Katerina and the "dark kingdom" is inevitable, since she cannot coexist harmoniously with such a world.
Katerina's opponent in this clash is Kabanova, or Kabanikha. We will mainly consider the conflict between Katerina and Kabanova, since the latter, in our opinion, is the most sharply opposed to Katerina, who is most convinced of her rightness.
What is the boar? In the poster, she is presented as "a rich merchant's wife, a widow." A little later, we hear how the “wanderer” Feklusha praises her for her virtue, and we learn Kuligin’s characterization: “Boor, sir! She feeds the poor, but eats the household completely.” After we form a vague impression of Kabanova for ourselves, the author gives us the opportunity to learn about her "first hand". The scene of the return from the church and subsequent conversations with Kabanova make the reader prefer Kuligin's characterization.
The power and despotism of Kabanikhi are based on the distorted “Domostroy”; in her opinion, the family should be based on the words “fear” and “order”. Therefore, Katerina, for whom the family is “love” and “will”, faces Kabanova.
Although Katerina is a product of the patriarchal world, she is very different from it. We can say that she "absorbed" only the good side patriarchy. Katerina's desire for freedom and "space of life" contradicts the position of Kabanikha. That is why the latter hates the “ray of light” so much, feels a threat to its existence.
From the first pages of the play, it is clear how much Katerina is hated by Kabanikhe, how much the latter wants to “destroy” her daughter-in-law. On sincere words Katerina: “For me, mother, it’s all the same that own mother What are you,” Kabanikha rudely replies: “You could ... and be silent if you are not asked.” It is disgusting for Katerina to repeat promises to Tikhon after her mother-in-law; It can be said that for Katerina it is not the form that is important, but true feelings clothed in it. So, she prefers to “throw herself on the neck” of Tikhon, and not “at the feet”.
Thanks to her childhood, Katerina managed, as mentioned above, to get the right idea about the family, a family in which there is no place for violence and coercion, where the husband is not only the “master”, but also the “protector” of his wife. In the house of Kabanova, “everything seems to be from captivity.” Therefore, the values of Katerina and Kabanikh are so different.
Katerina's conflict with the "dark kingdom" is a tragic conflict, it is based on the contradiction between the hero and society. But he is not the only one who leads Katerina “into the pool”. Perhaps even more attention than social conflict, Ostrovsky paid attention to the internal conflict in Katerina's soul.
Brought up on patriarchal ideas about the family, about the wife's duty, Katerina could not live, having committed such a terrible sin, according to the canons of Domostroy, as cheating on her husband. At the same time, she could not help but fall in love with Boris. She was led to this by the desire for freedom, to “fly like a bird”, tired of the hopeless life in the house of the Kabanovs. This love is both inevitable and contrary to morality. Katerina, with a whole character, cannot find “ golden mean” in such a situation, to compromise with herself, like Barbara, who lives according to the principle “if only everything was sewn and covered”. “It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss and someone is pushing me there, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to,” she complains to Varvara. Indeed, the weak-willed Tikhon cannot help his wife in any way, he is not even capable of taking a “terrible oath” from her.
Having committed a sin, Katerina cannot keep it a secret (because of her internal attitudes). Moreover, for her, anyway, there was no hope left either that she would be forgiven, or that she could continue to live the way she lives. “Will I be afraid of human judgment!” she exclaims.
So, the inability to love Boris because of one’s spiritual values (that is, to be “free”) and the understanding that such a life “in shackles” is impossible (“what is home, what is in the grave ... in the grave is better”), lead Katerina to death, into the pool. Volga for Katerina is a symbol of will, freedom. The landscape (“natural element”) in Ostrovsky is not just a background, but also “helps” the main character to resist the “dark kingdom”.
A sense of tragic guilt inexorably leads Katerina to death. In the “fall” of Katerina, one can see the idea of fate, inevitability. Therefore, it can be argued that the tragic, internal conflict in the play "Thunderstorm", along with the dramatic (social), plays important role. Both of these conflicts are resolved by death. main character. Nevertheless, the end of the drama, Tikhon's attempt to go against the will of his mother, give hope for the collapse of the "dark kingdom".
Katerina is a man of a new era. She is not the bearer of new ideals, but only a victim of the old ones. At the same time, her fate exposes the patriarchal world. “When the old ideal wears out, then it begins, first of all, to contradict the entire order of life, and not the new ideal,” wrote Ostrovsky. Although the conflict she enters into led to her death, it clearly shows that “the old Kabanovs are breathing heavily” and that the future is not theirs.
Each person is the one and only world, with his actions, character, habits, honor, morality, feeling dignity.
It is the problem of honor and dignity that Ostrovsky raises in his play The Thunderstorm.
In order to show the contradictions between rudeness and honor, between ignorance and dignity, two generations are shown in the play: people of the older generation, the so-called "dark kingdom", and people of the new trend, more progressive, not
Those who want to live according to the old laws and customs.
Wild and Kabanov - typical representatives"dark kingdom" It was in these images that Ostrovsky wanted to show the ruling class in Russia at that time.
So who are Dikoy and Kabanova? First of all, these are the richest people in the city, in their hands is the “supreme” power, with the help of which they oppress not only their serfs, but also their relatives. Kuligin said well about the life of the philistines: "... And whoever has money, sir, he tries to enslave the poor, so that he can make even more money on his free labors ...", and again: "In philistinism, sir, you are nothing but rudeness , you won’t see ... "And so they live, knowing nothing but money, ruthless exploitation, immense profit
At someone else's expense. It was not without intent that Ostrovsky created these two types. Wild is a typical merchant, and his social circle is Kabanikha.
The images of Dikoy and Kabanova are very similar: they are rude, ignorant people. They only do selfishness. Wild is annoyed by his relatives, who accidentally caught his eye: “... Once I told you, I told you twice: “Don’t you dare to meet me”; you get it all! Is there enough space for you? Wherever you go, here you are! .. "And if someone comes to ask for money from Dikiy, then there's no way to do without swearing:" I understand this; what are you going to tell me to do with myself when my heart is like that! After all, I already know what I need to give, but I can’t do everything with good. You are my friend, and I must give it back to you, but if you come and ask me, I will scold you. I will give, I will give, but I will scold. Therefore, just give me a hint about money, my whole interior will be kindled; it kindles the whole interior, and that's all ... "
Kabanova doesn't like it when Katerina defends her human dignity and tries to protect her husband from excessive scolding. The boar is disgusted that someone dares to argue with her, to do something against her command. But between Wild and Kabanova there is a slight difference in relation to relatives and the people around them. Dikoy swears openly, “as if he had broken the chain”, Kabanikha - “under the guise of piety”: “I know, I know that my words are not to your liking, but what can you do, I am not a stranger to you, I have a heart about you it hurts ... After all, from love, parents are strict with you, from love they scold you, everything
They think it's good to teach. 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, you won’t please your daughter-in-law with any word, so the conversation began that the mother-in-law ate completely.
Greed, rudeness, ignorance, tyranny will always be in these. These qualities have not been eradicated, because they were brought up in such a way, they grew up in the same environment. Such as Kabanova and Dikoy will always be together, they cannot be separated. Where one ignorant and petty tyrant has appeared, another will appear there. Whatever the society, there will always be people who, under the guise of progressive ideas and education, hide, or rather, try to hide their stupidity, rudeness and ignorance. They tyrannize others, while not at all embarrassed and not afraid to bear any responsibility for this. Wild and Kabanova - this is the very "dark kingdom", remnants, supporters of the foundations of this "dark kingdom". That's who they are, these Wild and Kabanovs, stupid, ignorant, hypocritical, rude. They preach the same peace and order. This is the world of money, anger, envy and enmity. They hate everything new and progressive. The idea of A. Ostrovsky was to expose the "dark kingdom", using the images of Wild and Kabanova. He denounced all rich people in lack of spirituality and meanness. Mainly in secular societies Russia XIX centuries there were such Wild and Kabanovs, which the author showed us in his drama "Thunderstorm".
The curtain opens. And the viewer's eye sees the high bank of the Volga, the city garden, the inhabitants of the charming town of Kalinov walking and talking. The beauty of the landscape causes Kuligin's poetic delight and surprisingly harmonizes with the free Russian folk song. The conversation of the city dwellers slowly flows, in which the life of Kalinov, hidden from prying eyes, is already slightly revealed.
A talented self-taught mechanic Kuligin calls his manners "cruel". What does he see as a manifestation of this? First of all, in the poverty and rudeness that reigns in the philistine environment. The reason is extremely clear dependence of the working population on the power of money, concentrated in the hands of the wealthy merchants of the city. But, continuing the story of Kalinov's morals, Kuligin by no means idealizes the relationship of the merchant class, which, according to him, undermines trade from each other, writes "malicious slander". The only one educated person Kali-nova draws attention to one important detail, clearly visible in the amusing story about how Dikoy explained to the mayor about the peasants' complaint against him.
Let us recall Gogol's "Inspector General", in which the merchants did not dare to utter a word under the mayor, but dutifully put up with his tyranny and endless requisitions. And in "Thunderstorm", in response to the remark of the main person of the city about his dishonest act, Wild
He only condescendingly pats the representative of authority on the shoulder, not even considering it necessary to make excuses. So, money and power have become synonymous here. Therefore, there is no uprava on the Wild, who offends the whole city. No one can please him, no one is immune from his violent abuse. Wild is self-willed and tyrannical, because he does not meet with resistance and is confident in his own impunity. This hero, with his rudeness, greed and ignorance, personifies the main features of Kalinov's "dark kingdom". Moreover, his anger and irritation especially increase in those cases when we are talking or about money that needs to be returned, or about something inaccessible to his understanding. That is why he scolds Boris's nephew so much, for his mere appearance
Reminds of the inheritance, which, according to the will, must be shared with him. That is why he lashes out at Kuligin, who is trying to explain to him the principle of the lightning rod. Diky is outraged by the idea of a thunderstorm as electrical discharges. He, like all Kalinovtsy, is convinced that a thunderstorm is coming! people as a reminder of the responsibility for their actions. This is not just ignorance and superstition, it is passed down from generation to generation. folk mythology before which the language of the logical mind falls silent. This means that even in the violent, uncontrollable tyrant Dick lives this moral truth, forcing him to publicly bow at the feet of the peasant, whom he scolded during fasting. Even if Diky has fits of remorse, the wealthy merchant widow Marfa Ignatyevna Kabanova seems at first even more religious and pious. Unlike Wild, she will never raise her voice, will not rush at people like a chain dog. But the despotism of her nature is not at all a secret for the Kalinovs. Even before the appearance of this heroine on the stage, we hear biting and well-aimed remarks of the townspeople addressed to her. "Prude, sir. She gives clothes to the poor, but she eats the household completely, ”Kuligin says about her to Boris. And the very first meeting with Kabanikha convinces us of the correctness of this
Characteristics. Her tyranny is limited to the sphere of the family, which she ruthlessly tyrannizes. The boar crippled her own son, turning him into a miserable, weak-willed person who only does what is justified before her for non-existent sins. The cruel, despotic Kabanikha turned the life of her children and daughter-in-law into hell, constantly torturing them, harassing them with reproaches, complaints and suspicions. Therefore, her daughter Barbara! , a brave, strong-willed girl, is forced to live by the principle: "... do what you want, if only it was sewn and covered." Therefore, Tikhon and Katerina cannot be happy.
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