Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm": description, characters, analysis of the work. A

A.N. Ostrovsky
(1823-1886)

Storm

Drama in five acts

Persons :

Savel Prokofievich Wild, merchant, a significant person in the city.
Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, a young man, decently educated.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha), wealthy merchant, widow.
Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov, her son.
Katerina, his wife.
Barbara, Tikhon's sister
Kuligin, tradesman, self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile.
Vanya Kudryash, young man, clerk Dikov.
Shapkin, tradesman.
Feklusha, wanderer.
Glasha girl in Kabanova's house.
The lady with two lackeys, old woman 70 years old, half crazy.
City dwellers of both sexes.

* All persons, except for Boris, are dressed in Russian.

The action takes place in the city of Kalinov, on the banks of the Volga, in the summer. There are 10 days between the 3rd and 4th acts.

STEP ONE

A public garden on the high bank of the Volga, a rural view beyond the Volga. There are two benches and several bushes on the stage.

PHENOMENON FIRST

Kuligin sits on a bench and looks across the river. Kudryash and Shapkin are walking.

K u l i g and n (sings). "In the midst of a flat valley, on a smooth height ..." (Stops singing.) Miracles, truly it must be said that miracles! Curly! Here, my brother, for fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough.
K u d r i sh. And what?
K u l i g and n. The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices.
K u d r i sh. Something!
K u l i g and n. Delight! And you are "something"! Take a closer look, or you don’t understand what beauty is spilled in nature.
K u d r i sh. Well, what's the deal with you! You are an antique, a chemist.
K u l i g and n. Mechanic, self-taught mechanic.
K u d r i sh. All the same.

Silence.

K u l i g i n (points to the side). Look, brother Curly, who is waving his arms like that?
K u d r i sh. This? This Wild nephew scolds.
K u l i g and n. Found a place!
K u d r i sh. He has a place everywhere. Afraid of what, he of whom! He got Boris Grigoryevich as a sacrifice, so he rides on it.
Sh a p k i n. Look for such and such a scolder as Savel Prokofich among us! Will cut off a person for nothing.
K u d r i sh. A poignant man!
Sh a p k i n. Good, too, and Kabaniha.
K u d r i sh. Well, yes, at least that one, at least, is all under the guise of piety, but this one has broken loose from the chain!
Sh a p k i n. There is no one to take him down, so he is fighting!
K u d r i sh. We don’t have many guys like me, otherwise we would wean him to be naughty.
Sh a p k i n. What would you do?
K u d r i sh. They would have done well.
Sh a p k i n. Like this?
K u d r i sh. Four of them, five of them in an alley somewhere would talk to him face to face, so he would become silk. And about our science, I wouldn’t utter a word to anyone, if only I would walk and look around.
Sh a p k i n. No wonder he wanted to give you to the soldiers.
K u d r i sh. I wanted to, but I didn’t give it away, so it’s all one thing, that’s nothing. He will not give me away: 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.
Sh a p k i n. Oh is it?
K u d r i sh. What's here: oh! I am considered a brute; why is he holding me? So, he needs me. Well, that means I'm not afraid of him, but let him be afraid of me.
Sh a p k i n. Like he doesn't scold you?
K u d r i sh. How not to scold! He can't breathe without it. Yes, I don’t let it go either: he’s a word, and I’m ten; spit, and go. No, I will not be a slave to him.
K u l i g and n. With him, that eh, an example to take! It's better to be patient.
K u d r i sh. Well, if you are smart, then you should learn it before courtesy, and then teach us. It’s a pity that his daughters are teenagers, there aren’t any big ones.
Sh a p k i n. What would it be?
K u d r i sh. I would respect him. It hurts dashing for girls!

Pass Wild and Boris, Kuligin takes off his hat.

Shapkin (Kudryash). Let's go to the side: it will still be attached, perhaps.

Departure.

PHENOMENON TWO

The same. Dikoy and Boris.

D i k o y. Buckwheat, have you come here to beat? Parasite! Get lost!
B o r and s. Holiday; what to do at home.
D i k o y. Find the job you want. Once I told you, twice I said to you: "Do not dare to 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?
B o r and s. I'm listening, what else can I do!
DIKOY (looking at Boris). You failed! I don't even want to talk to you, to the Jesuit. (Leaving.) Here he imposed himself! (Spits and leaves.)

PHENOMENON THREE

Kulin, Boris, Kudryash and Shapkin.

K u l i g and n. What is your business with him, sir? We will never understand. You want to live with him and endure abuse.
B o r and s. What a hunt, Kuligin! Captivity.
K u l i g and n. But what kind of bondage, sir, let me ask you? If you can, sir, tell us so.
B o r and s. Why not say? Did you know our grandmother, Anfisa Mikhailovna?
K u l i g and n. Well, how not to know!
K u d r i sh. How not to know!
B o r and s. After all, she disliked the father because he married a noble woman. On this occasion, father and mother lived in Moscow. Mother said that for three days she could not get along with her relatives, it seemed very wild to her.
K u l i g and n. Still not wild! What to say! You must have a great habit, sir.
B o r and s. Our parents raised us well in Moscow, they spared nothing for us. I was sent to the Commercial Academy, and my sister was sent to a boarding school, but both suddenly died of cholera, and my sister and I remained orphans. Then we hear that my grandmother also died here and left a will so that our uncle would pay us the part that should be when we come of age, only with a condition.
K u l i g and n. With what, sir?
B o r and s. If we are respectful to him.
K u l i g and n. This means, sir, that you will never see your inheritance.
B o r and s. No, that's not enough, Kuligin! He will first break upon us, abuse us in every possible way, as his heart desires, but all the same will end 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.
K u d r i sh. This is such an institution in our merchant class. Again, even if you were respectful to him, someone who forbids him to say something that you are disrespectful?
B o r and s. Well, yes. Even now he sometimes says: "I have my own children, for which I will give money to strangers? Through this I must offend my own!"
K u l i g and n. So, sir, your business is bad.
B o r and s. If I were alone, it would be nothing! I would drop everything and leave. And I'm sorry sister. He used to write her out, but mother's relatives did not let her in, they wrote that she was sick. What would her life here be - and it's scary to imagine.
K u d r i sh. Of course. Somehow they understand the appeal!
K u l i g and n. How do you live with him, sir, in what position?
B o r and s. Yes, none. "Live," he says, "with me, do what you order, and pay what I put." That is, in a year he will count as he pleases.
K u d r i sh. He has such an establishment. With us, no one even dare to utter a word about salaries, they will scold what the world is worth. “You,” he says, “why do you know what I have in mind? Somehow you can know my soul? Or maybe I will come to such an arrangement that you will have five thousand ladies.” So you talk to him! Only he had never in his entire life come to such and such an arrangement.
K u l i g and n. What to do, sir! You have to try to please somehow.
B o r and s. The fact of the matter, Kuligin, is that it is absolutely impossible. They cannot please him either; and where am I?
K u d r i sh. 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 would calm down. And the trouble is, how someone will make him angry in the morning! He picks on everyone all day long.
B o r and s. Every morning my aunt begs everyone with tears: "Fathers, don't make me angry! Dear friends, don't make me angry!"
K u d r i sh. Yes, save something! Got to the market, that's the end! All the men will be scolded. Even if you ask at a loss, you still won’t leave without a scolding. And then he went for the whole day.
Sh a p k i n. One word: warrior!
K u d r i sh. What a warrior!
B o r and s. But the trouble is when he is offended by such a person whom he does not dare not scold; stay at home here!
K u d r i sh. Fathers! What a laugh! Somehow he was scolded by hussars on the Volga. Here he worked wonders!
B o r and s. And what a home it was! After that, for two weeks everyone hid in attics and closets.
K u l i g and n. What is this? No way, the people moved from Vespers?

Several faces pass at the back of the stage.

K u d r i sh. Let's go, Shapkin, in revelry! What's there to stand?

They bow and leave.

B o r and s. 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.
K u l i g and n. And you'll never get used to it, sir.
B o r and s. From what?
K u l i g and n. 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 he can make even more money from his free labors. 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 mayor 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 me! , I have thousands of this, so it is; I feel good!" 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, 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 are suing, they are suing here and they will go to the province, and there they are already expected and from, they splash their hands with joy. Soon the fairy tale is told, but the deed is not soon done; they lead them, they lead, they drag them, they 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 ...
B o r and s. Are you good at poetry?
K u l i g and n. The old fashioned way, sir. After all, I read Lomonosov, Derzhavin ... Lomonosov was a wise man, a tester of nature ... But also from ours, from a simple title.
B o r and s. You would have written. It would be interesting.
K u l i g and n. How can you, sir! Eat, swallow alive. I already get it, sir, for my chatter; Yes, I can’t, I like to scatter the conversation! Here's something else about family life I wanted to tell you, sir; yes some other time. And also something to listen to.

Feklusha and another woman enter.

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, up to the neck! For our failure to leave them even more bounty will be multiplied, and especially the house of the Kabanovs.

They leave.

B o r and s. Kabanov?
K u l i g and n. Hypnotize, sir! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely.

Silence.

If only I, sir, could find a perpetual mobile!
B o r and s. What would you do?
K u l i g and n. 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.
B o r and s. Are you hoping to find a perpetuum mobile?
K u l i g and n. Certainly, sir! If only now I could get some money on the model. Farewell, sir! (Exits.)

PHENOMENON FOUR

B o r and s (one). Sorry to disappoint him! What a good man! Dreaming himself - and happy. And I, apparently, will ruin my youth in this slum. After all, I’m walking around completely dead, and then there’s still nonsense in my head! Well, what's up! Should I start tenderness? Driven, beaten, and then foolishly decided to fall in love. Yes, to whom? In a woman with whom you will never even be able to talk! (Silence.) Still, I can't get it out of my head, no matter what you want. Here she is! She goes with her husband, well, and the mother-in-law with them! Well, am I not a fool? Look around the corner and go home. (Exits.)

From the opposite side enter Kabanova, Kabanov, Katerina and Varvara.

FIFTH PHENOMENON

Kabanova, Kabanov, Katerina and Varvara.

K a b a n o v a. If you want to listen to your mother, then when you get there, do as I ordered you.
K a b a n o v. But how can I, mother, disobey you!
K a b a n o v a. There is not much respect for elders these days.
V a r v a ra (to himself). Do not respect you, how!
K a b a n o v. I, it seems, mother, not a step out of your will.
K a b a n o v a. I would believe you, my friend, if I didn’t see with my own eyes and breathe 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.
K a b a n o v. I mama...
K a b a n o v a. If a parent that when and insulting, in your pride, says so, I think it could be transferred! What do you think?
K a b a n o v. But when did I, mother, not endure from you?
K a b a n o v a. Mother is old, stupid; well, and you, smart young people, should not exact from us, fools.
KABANOV (sighing, to the side). Oh you, sir. (To the mother.) Yes, mother, do we dare to think!
K a b a n o v a. 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, the conversation began that the mother-in-law completely ate.
K a b a n o v. Something, mother, who is talking about you?
K a b a n o v a. 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, you will sin, get angry. No, my friend, say what you want about me. You won’t order anyone to speak: they won’t dare to face it, they will stand behind your back.
K a b a n o v. Let your tongue dry...
K a b a n o v a. Complete, complete, don't worry! Sin! I have long seen that your wife is dearer to you than your mother. Since I got married, I don’t see the same love from you.
K a b a n o v. 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.
K a b a n o v. No, mother! What are you, have mercy!
K a t e r i n a. For me, mother, it’s all the same that your own mother, that you, and Tikhon loves you too.
K a b a n o v a. You would, it seems, could be silent, if you are not asked. Do not intercede, mother, I will not offend, I suppose! After all, he is also my son; you don't forget it! What did you jump out in the eyes of something to poke! To see, or what, how you love your husband? So we know, we know, in the eyes of something you prove it to everyone.
V a r v a r a (to himself). Found a place to read.
K a t e r i n a. You are talking about me, mother, in vain. With people, that without people, I'm all alone, I don't prove anything from myself.
K a b a n o v a. Yes, I didn’t want to talk about you; and so, by the way, I had to.
K a t e r i n a. Yes, even by the way, why do you offend me?
K a b a n o v a. Eka important bird! Already offended now.
K a t e r i n a. It’s nice to endure slander!
K a b a n o v a. I know, I know that my words are not to your liking, but what can you do, I am not a stranger to you, my heart aches for you. I have long seen that you want the will. Well, wait, live and be free when I'm gone. Then do what you want, there will be no elders over you. Or maybe you remember me.
K a b a n o v. Yes, we pray to God for you, mother, day and night, that God will give you, mother, health and all prosperity and success in business.
K a b a n o v a. Okay, stop it, please. Maybe you loved your mother while you were single. Do you care about me: you have a young wife.
K a b a n o v. One does not interfere with the other, sir: the wife is in itself, and I have respect for the parent in itself.
K a b a n o v a. So will you trade your wife for your mother? I don't believe this for the rest of my life.
K a b a n o v. Why should I change, sir? I love both.
K a b a n o v a. Well, yes, it is, smear it! I can already see that I'm a hindrance to you.
K a b a n o v. Think as you wish, everything is your will; only I don’t know what kind of unfortunate person I was born into the world that I can’t please you with anything.
K a b a n o v a. What are you pretending to be an orphan? What did you nurse something dismissed? Well, what kind of husband are you? Look at you! Will your wife be afraid of you after that?
K a b a n o v. Why should she be afraid? It's enough for me that she loves me.
K a b a n o v a. Why be afraid! 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. Ali, do you think the law means nothing? Yes, if you keep such stupid thoughts in your head, you would at least not chatter in front of her sister, in front of the girl; she, too, to get married: that way she will hear enough of your chatter, so after that the husband will thank us for science. You see what other mind you have, and you still want to live by your will.
K a b a n o v. Yes, mother, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live with my will!
K a b a n o v a. So, in your opinion, you need all the caress with your wife? And not to shout at her and not to threaten?
K a b a n o v. Yes, mama...
K a b a n o v a (hotly). At least get a lover! A? And this, maybe, in your opinion, is nothing? A? Well, speak!
K a b a n o v. Yes, by God, mama...
KABANOV (quite coolly). Fool! (Sighs.) What a fool to talk about! Only one sin!

Silence.

I'm going home.
K a b a n o v. And we now, only once or twice will pass along the boulevard.
K a b a n o v a. Well, as you wish, only you look so that I don't have to wait for you! You know I don't like it.
K a b a n o v. No, mother, God save me!
K a b a n o v a. That's it! (Exits.)

PHENOMENON SIX

The same, without Kabanova.

K a b a n o v. You see, I always get it for you from my mother! Here is my life!
K a t e r i n a. What am I to blame?
K a b a n o v. Who's to blame, I don't know
V a r v a r a. Where do you know!
K a b a n o v. Then she kept pestering: "Get married, get married, I would at least look at you as a married man." And now he eats food, does not allow passage - everything is for you.
V a r v a r a. So is it her fault? Her mother attacks her, and so do you. And you say you love your wife. I'm bored looking at you! (Turns away.)
K a b a n o v. Interpret here! What am I to do?
V a r v a r a. Know your business - keep quiet if you can't do anything better. What are you standing - shifting? I can see in your eyes what's on your mind.
K a b a n o v. So what?
In a r in a ra. It is known that. I want to go to Savel Prokofich, have a drink with him. What's wrong, right?
K a b a n o v. You guessed it brother.
K a t e r i n a. You, Tisha, come quickly, otherwise mamma will begin to scold again.
V a r v a r a. You are quicker, in fact, otherwise you know!
K a b a n o v. How not to know!
V a r v a r a. We, too, have little desire to accept scolding because of you.
K a b a n o v. I instantly. Wait! (Exits.)

PHENOMENON SEVENTH

Katerina and Barbara.

K a t e r i n a. So you, Varya, pity me?
V a r v a r a (looking to the side). Of course, it's a pity.
K a t e r i n a. So you love me, then? (Kissing her hard.)
V a r v a r a. Why shouldn't I love you.
K a t e r i n a. Well, thank you! You are so sweet, I love you to death myself.

Silence.

Do you know what came to my mind?
V a r v a r a. What?
K a t e r i n a. Why don't people fly?
V a r v a r a. I do not understand what you say.
K a t e r i n a. I say why don't people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you are drawn to fly. That's how it would have run up, raised its hands and flew. Try something now? (Wants to run.)
V a r v a r a. What are you inventing?
KATERINA (sighing). How frisky I was! I completely screwed up with you.
V a r v a r a. Do you think I can't see?
K a t e r i n a. Was I like that! I lived, did not grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mother did not have a soul in me, dressed me up like a doll, did not force me to work; Whatever I want, I do it. Do you know how I lived in girls? Now I'll tell you. I used to get up early; if it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring water with me and that’s it, water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with mama, all of them are wanderers - our house was full of wanderers; yes pilgrimage. And we will come from the church, we will sit down for some work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or they sing poetry. So it's time for lunch. Here the old women lie down to sleep, and I walk in the garden. Then to vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. That was good!
V a r v a r a. Yes, we have the same thing.
K a t e r i n a. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And I loved going to church to death! For sure, it used to happen that I would enter paradise and not see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mom said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me. And you know: on a sunny day, such a bright pillar goes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like a cloud, and I see, it used to be that angels in this pillar fly and sing. And then, it happened, a girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - but somewhere in a corner and pray until the morning. Or, early in the morning, I’ll go into the garden, as soon as the sun rises, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; so they will find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I don't need anything, I've had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices sing, and the smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as they are written on the images. And the fact that I'm flying, I'm flying through the air. And now sometimes I dream, but rarely, and not that.
V a r v a r a. But what?
KATERINA (after a pause). I will die soon.
V a r v a r a. Completely you!
K a t e r i n a. No, I know that I will die. Oh, girl, something bad is happening to me, some kind of miracle! This has never happened to me. There is something so extraordinary about me. It's like I'm starting to live again, or ... I really don't know.
V a r v a r a. What is the matter with you?
KATERINA (taking her by the hand). And here's what, Varya: to be some kind of sin! Such a fear on me, such a fear on me! 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. (He grabs his head with his hand.)
V a r v a r a. What happened to you? Are you well?
K a t e r i n a. I'm healthy ... It would be better if I were sick, otherwise it's not good. A dream comes into my head. And I won't leave her anywhere. If I start thinking, I can’t collect my thoughts, I can’t pray, I won’t pray in any way. I babble words with my tongue, but my mind is completely different: it’s as if the evil one is whispering in my ears, but everything about such things is not good. And then it seems to me that I will be ashamed of myself. What happened with me? Before trouble before any it! At night, Varya, I can’t sleep, I keep imagining some kind of whisper: someone is talking to me so affectionately, like a dove cooing. I no longer dream, Varya, as before, of paradise trees and mountains, but it’s as if someone hugs me so hot and hot and leads me somewhere, and I follow him, I go ...
V a r v a r a. Well?
K a t e r i n a. What am I saying to you: you are a girl.
V a r v a r a (looking around). Speak! I'm worse than you.
K a t e r i n a. Well, what can I say? I'm ashamed.
V a r v a r a. Speak, there is no need!
K a t e r i n a. It will make me so stuffy, so stuffy at home, that I would run. And such a thought would come to me that, if it were my will, I would now ride along the Volga, in a boat, with songs, or in a troika on a good one, embracing ...
V a r v a r a. Just not with my husband.
K a t e r i n a. How much do you know?
V a r v a r a. Still not to know.
K a t e r i n a. Ah, Varya, sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, what I did not do to myself! I can't get away from this sin. Nowhere to go. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, that I love another?
V a r v a r a. Why should I judge you! I have my sins.
K a t e r i n a. What should I do! My strength is not enough. Where should I go; I will do something for myself out of longing!
V a r v a r a. What you! What happened to you! Just wait, my brother will leave tomorrow, we'll think about it; maybe you can see each other.
K a t e r i n a. No, no, don't! What you! What you! Save the Lord!
V a r v a r a. What are you afraid of?
K a t e r i n a. If I see him even once, I will run away from home, I will not go home for anything in the world.
V a r v a r a. But wait, we'll see there.
K a t e r i n a. No, no, and don't tell me, I don't want to listen.
V a r v a r a. And what a hunt to dry something! Even if you die of longing, they will pity you! How about, wait. So what a shame to torture yourself!

The lady enters with a stick and two lackeys in three-cornered hats behind.

PHENOMENON EIGHT

The same and the Lady.

B a r y n i. What beauties? What are you doing here? Are you waiting for the good fellows, gentlemen? Are you having fun? Funny? Does your beauty make you happy? This is where beauty leads. (Points to the Volga.) Here, here, into the very pool.

Barbara smiles.

What are you laughing at! Don't rejoice! (Knocks with a stick.) Everything will burn inextinguishably in the fire. Everything in resin will boil unquenchable. (Leaving.) There, there, where beauty leads! (Exits.)

PHENOMENON NINE

Katerina and Barbara.

K a t e r i n a. Oh, how she frightened me! I tremble all over, as if she were prophesying something to me.
V a r v a r a. On your own head, old hag!
K a t e r i n a. What did she say, huh? What she said?
V a r v a r a. All nonsense. You really need to listen to what she is talking about. She prophesies to everyone. I have sinned all my life since I was young. Ask what they say about her! That's why he's afraid to die. What she fears, scares others. Even all the boys in the city are hiding from her, threatening them with a stick and shouting (mockingly): "You will all burn in fire!"
KATERINA (squeezing her eyes shut). Ah, ah, stop it! My heart sank.
V a r v a r a. There is something to fear! Fool old...
K a t e r i n a. I'm afraid, I'm scared to death. She is all in my eyes.

Silence.

V a r v a r a (looking around). That this brother is not coming, out, no way, the storm is coming.
KATERINA (with horror). Storm! Let's run home! Hurry!
V a r v a r a. What, are you out of your mind? How can you show yourself home without a brother?
K a t e r i n a. No, home, home! God bless him!
V a r v a r a. What are you really afraid of: the storm is still far away.
K a t e r i n a. And if it's far away, then perhaps we'll wait a little; but it would be better to go. Let's go better!
V a r v a r a. Why, if anything happens, you can’t hide at home.
K a t e r i n a. But all the same, it’s better, everything is calmer: at home I go to the images and pray to God!
V a r v a r a. I didn't know you were so afraid of thunderstorms. I'm not afraid here.
K a t e r i n a. 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! Terrible to say!

Thunder.

Kabanov enters.

V a r v a r a. Here comes the brother. (To Kabanov.) Run quickly!

Thunder.

K a t e r i n a. Oh! Hurry, hurry!

ACT TWO

A room in the Kabanovs' house.

PHENOMENON FIRST

Glasha (gathers the dress into knots) and Feklusha (enters).

F e k l u sh a. Dear girl, you are still at work! What are you doing sweetie?
glasha. I collect the owner on the road.
F e k l u sh a. Al is going where is our light?
glasha. Rides.
F e k l u sh a. How long, honey, is it going?
glasha. No, not for long.
F e k l u sh a. Well, the tablecloth is dear to him! And what, the hostess will howl or not?
glasha. I don't know how to tell you.
F e k l u sh a. Yes, she howls when?
glasha. Don't hear something.
F e k l u sh a. Painfully I love, dear girl, to listen, if someone howls well.

Silence.

And you, girl, look after the wretched, you wouldn’t pull off anything.
glasha. Whoever understands you, all of you are riveting each other. What's not good for you? It seems that you, strange, don’t have a life with us, but you all quarrel and change your mind. You are not afraid of sin.
F e k l u sh a. It is impossible, mother, without sin: we live in the world. Here's what I'll tell you, dear girl: you, ordinary people, each one embarrasses one enemy, but to us, to strange people, to whom there are six, to whom twelve are assigned; That's what you need to overcome them all. Difficult, dear girl!
glasha. Why do you have so many?
F e k l u sh a. This, mother, is an enemy out of hatred against us that we lead such a righteous life. And I, dear girl, am not absurd, I have no such sin. There is one sin for me for sure, I myself know what it is. I love sweet food. Well, so what! According to my weakness, the Lord sends.
glasha. And you, Feklusha, did you go far?
F e k l u sh a. 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 judgment, dear girl, on 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?
F e k l u sh a. 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.

Enter Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina and Barbara.

V a r v a r a (Glashe). Drag the bundle into the wagon, the horses have arrived. (To Katerina.) You were married when you were young, you didn’t have to walk in the girls: now your heart hasn’t left yet.

Glasha leaves.

K a t e r i n a. And never leaves.
V a r v a r a. Why?
K a t e r i n a. This is how I was born, hot! I was still six years old, no more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, but it was towards evening, it was already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat, and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they already found it, ten miles away!
V a r v a r a. Well, did the guys look at you?
K a t e r i n a. How not to look!
V a r v a r a. What are you? Didn't love anyone?
K a t e r i n a. No, I just laughed.
V a r v a r a. But you, Katya, don't like Tikhon.
K a t e r i n a. No, how not to love! I feel sorry for him very much!
V a r v a r a. No, you do not love. When it's a pity, you don't love it. And no, you have to tell the truth. And you're hiding from me in vain! I noticed a long time ago that you love another person.
KATERINA (with fright). What did you notice?
V a r v a r a. How funny you say! I'm small, right? Here is the first sign for you: as soon as you see him, your whole face will change.

Katherine lowers her eyes.

Is it a little...
KATERINA (looking down). Well, who?
V a r v a r a. But you yourself know what to call something?
K a t e r i n a. No, name it. Call by name!
V a r v a r a. Boris Grigorych.
K a t e r i n a. Well, yes, him, Varenka, him! Only you, Varenka, for God's sake...
V a r v a r a. Well, here's more! You yourself, look, do not let it slip somehow.
K a t e r i n a. I can't lie, I can't hide anything.
V a r v a r a. Well, but without this it is impossible; remember where you live! Our 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.
KATERINA (after a short silence, looking down). Well, so what?
V a r v a r a. I ordered you to bow. It's a pity, he says that there is nowhere to see each other.
KATERINA (loosing still more). Where to see you! And why...
V a r v a r a. Boring like that.
K a t e r i n a. Don't tell me about him, do me a favor, don't tell me! I don't want to know him! I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I won’t exchange you for anyone! I didn't even want to think about it, and you're embarrassing me.
V a r v a r a. Don't think, who's forcing you?
K a t e r i n a. You don't feel sorry for me! You say: don't think, but remind yourself. Do I want to think about it? But what to do, if it doesn’t get out of your head. Whatever I think about, it's right there in front of my eyes. And I want to break myself, but I can not in any way. Do you know that the enemy troubled me again tonight. After all, I had left home.
V a r v a r a. You're kind of tricky, God bless you! But in my opinion: do what you want, if only it was sewn and covered.
K a t e r i n a. I don't want that. Yes, and what a good thing! I'd rather endure as long as I endure.
V a r v a r a. And if you don't, what are you going to do?
K a t e r i n a. What will I do?
V a r v a r a. Yes, what will you do?
K a t e r i n a. Whatever I want, I'll do it.
V a r v a r a. Do it, try it, they'll get you here.
K a t e r i n a. What to me! I'm leaving, and I was.
V a r v a r a. Where will you go? You are a husband's wife.
K a t e r i n a. Eh, Varya, you don't know my character! Of course, God forbid! And if it gets too cold for me here, they won't hold me back by any force. I'll throw myself out the window, I'll throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!

Silence.

V a r v a r a. You know what, Katya! As soon as Tikhon leaves, let's sleep in the garden, in the arbor.
K a t e r i n a. Why, Varya?
V a r v a r a. Is there something that doesn't matter?
K a t e r i n a. I'm afraid to spend the night in an unfamiliar place,
V a r v a r a. What to be afraid of! Glasha will be with us.
K a t e r i n a. Everything is kind of shy! Yes, I probably.
V a r v a r a. I wouldn’t call you, but my mother won’t let me in alone, but I need to.
KATERINA (looking at her). Why do you need?
V a r v a r a (laughs). We will tell fortunes with you there.
K a t e r i n a. You're kidding, must be?
V a r v a r a. You know, I'm joking; and is it really?

Silence.

K a t e r i n a. Where is this Tikhon?
V a r v a r a. What is he to you?
K a t e r i n a. No, I am. After all, it's coming soon.
V a r v a r a. They sit locked up with their mother. She sharpens it now, like rusting iron.
K a t e r i n. For what?
V a r v a r a. For nothing, so, teaches mind-reason. Two weeks on the road will be a secret matter. Judge for yourself! Her heart is aching that he walks of his own free will. Now she is giving him orders, one more menacing than the other, and then she will lead him to the image, make him swear that he will do everything exactly as ordered.
K a t e r i n a. And at will, he seems to be bound.
V a r v a r a. Yes, how connected! As soon as he leaves, he will drink. He is now listening, and he himself is thinking how he could break out as soon as possible.

Enter Kabanova and Kabanov.

The same, Kabanova and Kabanov.

K a b a n o v a. Well, you remember everything I told you. Look, remember! Kill yourself on the nose!
K a b a n o v. I remember, mother.
K a b a n o v a. Well, now everything is ready. The horses have arrived. Forgive you only, and with God.
K a b a n o v. Yes, mama, it's time.
K a b a n o v a. Well!
K a b a n o v. What do you want, sir?
K a b a n o v a. Why are you standing, haven't you forgotten the order? Tell your wife how to live without you.

Catherine lowered her eyes.

K a b a n o v. Yes, she, tea, knows herself.
K a b a n o v a. Talk more! Well, well, give orders. So that I can hear what you order her! And then you come and ask if everything is done right.
KABANOV (standing up against Katerina). Listen to your mother, Katya!
K a b a n o v a. Tell her not to be rude to her mother-in-law.
K a b a n o v. Do not be rude!
K a b a n o v a. To honor the mother-in-law as her own mother!
K a b a n o v. Honor, Katya, mother, as your own mother.
K a b a n o v a. So that she does not sit idly by, like a lady.
K a b a n o v. Do something without me!
K a b a n o v a. So that you don’t stare out the windows!
K a b a n o v. Yes, mother, when will she...
K a b a n o v a. Oh well!
K a b a n o v. Don't look out the windows!
K a b a n o v a. So that I don’t look at young guys without you.
K a b a n o v. What is it, mother, by God!
K a b a n o v a (strictly). There is nothing to break! You have to do what your mother says. (With a smile.) It's getting better, as ordered.
Kabanov (embarrassed). Don't look at guys!

Katerina looks at him sternly.

K a b a n o v a. Well, now talk among yourselves, if necessary. Let's go, Barbara!

They leave.

Kabanov and Katerina (standing, as if in a daze).

K a b a n o v. Kate!

Silence.

Katya, are you angry with me?
KATERINA (after a short silence, shakes her head). No!
K a b a n o v. What are you? Well, forgive me!
KATERINA (still in the same state, shaking her head). God be with you! (Hiding her face with her hand.) She offended me!
K a b a n o v. Take everything to heart, so you will soon fall into consumption. Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her say, and you miss the deaf ears, Well, goodbye, Katya!
KATERINA (throwing herself around her husband's neck). Hush, don't leave! For God's sake, don't leave! Dove, I beg you!
K a b a n o v. You can't, Katya. If mother sends, how can I not go!
K a t e r i n a. Well, take me with you, take me!
KABANOV (freeing himself from her embrace). Yes, you can't.
K a t e r i n a. Why, Tisha, not?
K a b a n o v. Where is it fun to go with you! You've got me here completely! I don't know how to break out; and you're still messing with me.
K a t e r i n a. Have you fallen out of love with me?
K a b a n o v. Yes, I didn’t stop loving, but with a sort of bondage, you will run away from whatever beautiful wife you want! Think about it: no matter what, I'm still a man; live like this all your life, as you see, you will also run away from your wife. Yes, as I know now that there will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so am I up to my wife?
K a t e r i n a. How can I love you when you say such words?
K a b a n o v. Words like words! What other words can I say! Who knows what you're afraid of? After all, you are not alone, you stay with your mother.
K a t e r i n a. Don't talk to me about her, don't tyrannize my heart! Oh, my misfortune, my misfortune! (Cries.) Where can I, poor thing, go? Who can I grab onto? My fathers, I am dying!
K a b a n o v. Yes, you are full!
KATERINA (goes up to her husband and clings to him). Tisha, my dear, if you would stay or take me with you, how I would love you, how I would love you, my dear! (caresses him.)
K a b a n o v. I will not understand you, Katya! You won’t get a word from you, let alone affection, otherwise you climb yourself.
K a t e r i n a. Silence, who are you leaving me to! Be in trouble without you! The fat is in the fire!
K a b a n o v. Well, you can't, there's nothing to do.
K a t e r i n a. Well, so that's it! Take some terrible oath from me...
K a b a n o v. What oath?
K a t e r i n a. Here’s the one: so that I wouldn’t dare to talk to anyone else without you, or see anyone else, so that I wouldn’t even dare to think about anyone but you.
K a b a n o v. Yes, what is it for?
K a t e r i n a. Calm my soul, do such a favor for me!
K a b a n o v. How can you vouch for yourself, you never know what can come to mind.
KATERINA (Falling to her knees). So as not to see me neither father nor mother! Die me without repentance if I...
KABANOV (lifting her up). What you! What you! What a sin! I don't want to listen!

The same ones, Kabanova, Varvara and Glasha.

K a b a n o v a. Well, Tikhon, it's time. Ride with God! (Sits down.) Sit down everyone!

Everyone sits down. Silence.

Well, goodbye! (Rises and everyone rises.)
KABANOV (going up to his mother). Farewell, mother! Kabanova (gesturing to the ground). To the feet, to the feet!

Kabanov bows at his feet, then kisses his mother.

Say goodbye to your wife!
K a b a n o v. Farewell, Katya!

Katerina throws herself on his neck.

K a b a n o v a. What are you hanging around your neck, shameless! Don't say goodbye to your lover! He is your husband - the head! Al order do not know? Bow down at your feet!

Katerina bows at her feet.

K a b a n o v. Farewell, sister! (Kissing Varvara.) Farewell, Glasha! (Kissing Glasha.) Farewell, mother! (Bows.)
K a b a n o v a. Goodbye! Far wires - extra tears.

Kabanov leaves, followed by Katerina, Varvara and Glasha.

K a b a n o v a (one). What does youth mean? It's funny to even look at them! If it weren't for her, she would have laughed to her heart's content: they don't know anything, there's no order. They don't know how to say goodbye. It’s good, whoever has elders in the house, they keep the house while they are alive. But, too, stupid ones, they want to do what they want; but when they go free, they get confused in obedience and laughter to good people. Of course, who will regret it, but most of all laugh. Yes, it’s impossible not to laugh: they will invite guests, they don’t know how to seat, and besides, look, they will forget one of their relatives. Laughter, and more! So that's the old something and displayed. I don't want to go to another house. And if you go up, you will spit, but get out more quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will stand, I don’t know. Well, at least it's good that I don't see anything.

Enter Katerina and Varvara.

Kabanova, Katerina and Varvara.

K a b a n o v a. You boasted that you love your husband very much; I see your love now. Another good wife, after seeing her husband off, howls for an hour and a half, lies on the porch; and you see nothing.
K a t e r i n a. Nothing! Yes, I can't. What to make people laugh!
K a b a n o v a. The trick is small. If I loved, so I would have learned. If you don’t know how to do it, you could at least make this example; still more decent; and then, apparently, in words only. Well, I'll go pray to God, don't bother me.
V a r v a r a. I'll go from the yard.
K a b a n o v a (affectionately). What about me! Go! Walk until your time comes. Still enjoy!

Exeunt Kabanova and Varvara.

KATERINA (alone, thoughtfully). Well, now silence will reign in your house. Ah, what a bore! At least someone's children! Eco grief! I don’t have children: all I would do was sit with them and amuse them. I love talking to children very much - they are angels, after all. (Silence.) If I had died little, it would have been better. I would look from heaven to earth and rejoice in everything. And then she would fly invisibly wherever she wanted. I would fly into the field and fly from cornflower to cornflower in the wind, like a butterfly. (Thinks.) But here's what I'll do: I'll start some work according to the promise; I will go to the Gostiny Dvor, buy canvas, and I will sew linen, and then I will distribute it to the poor. They pray to God for me. So we’ll sit down to sew with Varvara and we won’t see how time passes; And then Tisha will arrive.

Barbara enters.

Katerina and Barbara.

V a r v a ra (covers his head with a handkerchief in front of a mirror). I'll go for a walk now; and Glasha will make beds for us in the garden, mother allowed. In the garden, behind the raspberries, there is a gate, her mother locks it, and hides the key. I took it away, and put another one on her so that she wouldn't notice. Here, you may need it. (Gives the key.) If I see it, I'll tell you to come to the gate.
KATERINA (pushing away the key with fright). For what! For what! Don't, don't!
V a r v a r a. You don't need, I need; take it, it won't bite you.
K a t e r i n a. What are you up to, you sinner! Is it possible! Did you think! What you! What you!
V a r v a r a. Well, I don't like to talk a lot, and I don't have time either. It's time for me to walk. (Exits.)

PHENOMENON TENTH

KATERINA (alone, holding the key in her hands). What is she doing? What is she thinking? Ah, crazy, really crazy! Here is death! Here she is! Throw him away, throw him far away, throw him into the river, so that they will never be found. He burns his hands like coal. (Thinking.) This is how our sister dies. In captivity, someone has fun! Few things come to mind. The case came out, the other is glad: so headlong and rush. And how is it possible without thinking, without judging something! How long to get into trouble! And there you cry all your life, suffer; bondage will seem even more bitter. (Silence.) But bondage is bitter, oh, how bitter! Who does not cry from her! And most of all, we women. Here I am now! I live, toil, I don’t see a light for myself. Yes, and I will not see, know! What's next is worse. And now this sin is on me. (Thinks.) If it wasn't for my mother-in-law!.. She crushed me... she made me sick of the house; the walls are even disgusting, (Looks thoughtfully at the key.) Throw it away? Of course you have to quit. And how did he get into my hands? To temptation, to my ruin. (Listens.) Ah, someone is coming. So my heart sank. (Hides the key in his pocket.) No! .. Nobody! That I was so scared! And she hid the key ... Well, you know, there he should be! Apparently, fate itself wants it! But what a sin in this, if I look at him once, at least from a distance! Yes, even though I’ll talk, it’s not a problem! But what about my husband! .. Why, he himself did not want to. Yes, maybe such a case will never happen again in a lifetime. Then cry to yourself: there was a case, but I didn’t know how to use it. Why am I saying that I am deceiving myself? I have to die to see him. To whom am I pretending! .. Throw the key! No, not for anything! He's mine now... Come what may, I'll see Boris! Oh, if only the night would come sooner!..

ACT THREE

SCENE ONE

Street. The gate of the Kabanovs' house, there is a bench in front of the gate.

PHENOMENON FIRST

Kabanova and Feklusha (sitting on a bench).

F e k l u sh a. The last times, mother Marfa Ignatievna, the last, according to all signs, the last. You also have paradise and silence in your city, but in other cities it’s so simple sodom, mother: noise, running around, incessant driving! The people are just scurrying about, one there, the other here.
K a b a n o v a. We have nowhere to hurry, dear, we live slowly.
F e k l u sh a. No, mother, that’s why you have silence in the city, because many people, if only to take you, are decorated with virtues, like flowers: that’s why everything is done coolly and decently. After all, this running around, mother, what does it mean? After all, this is vanity! For example, in Moscow: people are running back and forth, it is not known why. Here it is the vanity. Vain people, mother Marfa Ignatievna, so they run around. It seems to him that he is running after business; in a hurry, poor man, he does not recognize people; it seems to him that someone is beckoning him, but he will come to the place, but it is empty, there is nothing, there is only one dream. And he will go in sorrow. And another imagines that he is catching up with someone he knows. From the outside, a fresh person now sees that there is no one; but to him everything seems to be from the vanity that he catches up with. It's vanity, because it seems to be foggy. Here, on such a fine evening, it is rare for anyone to come out of the gate to sit; and in Moscow now there are amusement and games, and through the streets there is an Indo roar, there is a groan. Why, mother Marfa Ignatievna, they began to harness the fiery serpent: everything, you see, for the sake of speed.
K a b a n o v a. I heard, honey.
F e k l u sh a. And I, mother, saw it with my own eyes; of course, others don’t see anything from the fuss, so he shows them a machine, they call him a machine, and I saw how he does something like this with his paws (spreads his fingers). Well, and the groan that people of a good life hear like that.
K a b a n o v a. You can call it in every possible way, perhaps, at least call it a machine; people are stupid, they will believe everything. And even if you shower me with gold, I won’t go.
F e k l u sh a. What an extreme, mother! Save the Lord from such misfortune! And here's another thing, mother Marfa Ignatievna, I had a vision in Moscow. I’m walking early in the morning, it’s still a little dawning, and I see, on a tall, tall house, on the roof, someone is standing, his face is black. You know who. And he does it with his hands, as if pouring something, but nothing is pouring. Then I guessed that it was he who was shedding tares, and in the daytime, in his vanity, he would invisibly pick up the people. That’s why they run like that, that’s why their women are all so thin, they can’t work up their bodies in any way, but it’s as if they have lost something or are looking for something: there is sadness in their face, even a pity.
K a b a n o v a. Anything is possible, my dear! In our times, what to marvel at!
F e k l u sh a. Hard times, mother Marfa Ignatievna, hard times. Already, time began to come to belittlement.
K a b a n o v a. How so, my dear, in derogation?
F e k l u sh a. Of course, not we, where should we notice something in the hustle and bustle! But smart people notice that our time is getting shorter. It used to be that summer and winter dragged on and on, you couldn’t wait until they were over; and now you won’t see how they fly by. Days and hours seem to have remained the same, but time, for our sins, is getting shorter and shorter. That's what smart people say.
K a b a n o v a. And worse than that, my dear, it will be.
F e k l u sh a. We just don't want to live to see this.
K a b a n o v a. Maybe we'll live.

Dikoy enters.

K a b a n o v a. What are you, godfather, wandering around so late?
D i k o y. And who will forbid me!
K a b a n o v a. Who will forbid! Who needs!
D i k o y. Well, then, there is nothing to talk about. What am I, under the command, or what, from whom? Are you still here! What the hell is a merman here!..
K a b a n o v a. Well, don't open your throat very much! Find me cheaper! And I love you! Go on your way, where you went. Let's go home, Feklusha. (Rises.)
D i k o y. Stop, motherfucker, stop! Do not be angry. You will still have time to be at home: your house is not far off. Here he is!
K a b a n o v a. If you are at work, do not yell, but speak plainly.
D i k o y. Nothing to do, and I'm drunk, that's what.
K a b a n o v a. Well, now you will order me to praise you for this?
D i k o y. Neither praise nor scold. And that means I'm crazy. Well, it's over. Until I wake up, I can't fix this.
K a b a n o v a. So go to sleep!
D i k o y. Where will I go?
K a b a n o v a. Home. And then where!
D i k o y. What if I don't want to go home?
K a b a n o v a. Why is that, may I ask you?
D i k o y. But because I have a war going on there.
K a b a n o v a. Who is there to fight? After all, you are the only warrior there.
D i k o y. Well, then, what am I a warrior? Well, what of this?
K a b a n o v a. What? Nothing. And the honor is not great, because you have been fighting with the women all your life. That's what.
D i k o y. Well, then, they must submit to me. And then I, or something, I will submit!
K a b a n o v a. I marvel at you a lot: there are so many people in your house, but they can’t please you for one.
D i k o y. Here you go!
K a b a n o v a. Well, what do you want from me?
D i k o y. Here's what: talk to me so that my heart passes. You're the only one in the whole city who knows how to talk to me.
K a b a n o v a. Go, Feklushka, tell me to cook something to eat.

Feklusha leaves.

Let's go to rest!
D i k o y. No, I won't go to the chambers, I'm worse in the chambers.
K a b a n o v a. What made you angry?
D i k o y. Since the very morning.
K a b a n o v a. They must have asked for money.
D i k o y. Precisely agreed, damned; either one or the other sticks all day long.
K a b a n o v a. It must be, if they come.
D i k o y. 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; well, and in those days I would not scold a person for anything.
K a b a n o v a. There are no elders above you, so you are swaggering.
D i k o y. No, you, godfather, shut up! You listen! Here are the stories that happened to me. I was talking about something great about fasting, but here it’s not easy and slip a little peasant: he came for money, he carried firewood. And brought him to sin at such a time! He sinned after all: he scolded, so scolded that it was impossible to demand better, almost nailed him. Here it is, what a heart I have! After asking for forgiveness, he bowed at his feet, right. Truly I tell you, I bowed at the peasant's feet. This is what my heart brings me to: here in the yard, in the mud, I bowed to him; bowed to him in front of everyone.
K a b a n o v a. Why are you bringing yourself into your heart on purpose? This, mate, is not good.
D i k o y. How so on purpose?
K a b a n o v a. I saw it, I know. You, if you see that they want to ask you for something, you will take it from your own on purpose and attack someone to get angry; because you know that no one will go to you angry. That's it, godfather!
D i k o y. Well, what is it? Who does not feel sorry for their own good!

Glasha enters.

glasha. Marfa Ignatyevna, it's time to have a bite to eat, please!
K a b a n o v a. Well, mate, come on in. Eat what God sent.
D i k o y. Perhaps.
K a b a n o v a. Welcome! (He lets Diky go ahead and goes after him.)

Glasha, with folded arms, stands at the gate.

glasha. No way. Boris Grigorievich is coming. Isn't it for your uncle? Does Al walk like that? It must be walking.

Boris enters.

Glasha, Boris, then K u l and g and n.

B o r and s. Don't you have an uncle?
glasha. We have. Do you need, or what, him?
B o r and s. They sent from home to find out where he was. And if you have it, then let it sit: who needs it. At home, they are glad-radehonki that he left.
glasha. Our mistress would have been behind him, she would have stopped him soon. What am I, a fool, standing with you! Goodbye. (Exits.)
B o r and s. Oh you, Lord! Just take a look at her! You cannot enter the house: the uninvited do not go here. That's life! We live in the same city, almost nearby, but we see each other once a week, and then in church or on the road, that's all! Here that she got married, that they buried - it doesn't matter.

Silence.

I wish I hadn't seen her at all: it would have been easier! And then you see in fits and starts, and even in front of people; a hundred eyes are looking at you. Only the heart breaks. Yes, and you can’t cope with yourself in any way. You go for a walk, but you always find yourself here at the gate. And why do I come here? You can never see her, and, perhaps, what kind of conversation will come out, you will introduce her into trouble. Well, I got to the town! (Goes, Kuligin meets him.)
K u l i g and n. What, sir? Would you like to play?
B o r and s. Yes, I'm walking myself, the weather is very good today.
K u l i g and n. Very well, sir, take a walk now. Silence, the air is excellent, because of the Volga, the meadows smell of flowers, the sky is clear ...

The abyss has opened, full of stars,
There is no number of stars, the abyss has no bottom.

Let's go, sir, to the boulevard, not a soul is there.
B o r and s. Let's go!
K u l i g and n. That's what, sir, we have a small town! They made a boulevard, but they don't walk. They walk only on holidays, and then they do one kind of walking, and they themselves go there to show their outfits. You will only meet a drunken clerk, trudging home from the tavern. There is no time for the poor to walk, sir, they have work day and night. And they only sleep three hours a day. And what do the rich do? Well, what would it seem, they do not walk, do not breathe fresh air? So no. Everyone's gates, sir, have been locked for a long time, and the dogs have been lowered ... Do you think they are doing business or praying to God? No, sir. And they don’t lock themselves up from thieves, but so that people don’t see how they eat their own home and tyrannize their families. And what tears flow behind these locks, invisible and inaudible! What can I say, sir! You can judge by yourself. And what, sir, behind these locks is the debauchery of the dark and drunkenness! Everything is sewn and covered - no one sees or knows anything, only God sees! You, he says, look, in people I am yes on the street, but you don’t care about my family; to this, he says, I have locks, yes constipation, and angry dogs. The family, they say, is a secret, a secret! We know these secrets! From these secrets, sir, he alone is cheerful, and the rest howl like a wolf. And what's the secret? Who does not know him! To rob orphans, relatives, nephews, beat up the household so that they would not dare to squeak about anything that he does there. That's the whole secret. Well, God bless them! Do you know, sir, who walks with us? Young boys and girls. So these people steal an hour or two from sleep, well, they walk in pairs. Yes, here's a couple!

Kudryash and Varvara appear. They kiss.

B o r and s. They kiss.
K u l i g and n. We don't need it.

Curly leaves, and Varvara approaches her gate and beckons Boris. He fits.

Boris, Kuligin and Varvara.

K u l i g and n. I, sir, will go to the boulevard. What's stopping you? I'll wait there.
B o r and s. Okay, I'll be right there.

K u l and g and n leaves.

V a r v a ra (covering himself with a handkerchief). Do you know the ravine behind the Boar Garden?
B o r and s. I know.
V a r v a r a. Come there early.
B o r and s. For what?
V a r v a r a. What a fool you are! Come, you'll see why. Well, hurry up, they are waiting for you.

Boris leaves.

Didn't know after all! Let him think now. And I already know that Katerina will not bear it, she will jump out. (Goes out the gate.)

SCENE TWO

Night. A ravine covered with bushes; upstairs - the fence of the Kabanovs' garden and the gate; above is a path.

PHENOMENON FIRST

K u d r i sh (enters with a guitar). There is no one. Why is she there! Well, let's sit and wait. (Sits down on a stone.) Let's sing a song out of boredom. (Sings.)

Like a Don Cossack, a Cossack led a horse to water,
Good fellow, he is already standing at the gate.
Standing at the gate, he thinks himself
Duma thinks how he will destroy his wife.
Like a wife, a wife prayed to her husband,
In a hurry, she bowed to him:
"You, father, are you a dear friend of the heart!
You do not beat, do not ruin me from the evening!
You kill, ruin me from midnight!
Let my little kids sleep
Little kids, all the neighbors."

Boris enters.

Kudryash and Boris.

K u dr i sh (stops singing). Look you! Humble, humble, but also went on a rampage.
B o r and s. Curly, is that you?
K u d r i sh. I am Boris Grigoryevich!
B o r and s. Why are you here?
K u d r i sh. Am I? Therefore, I need it, Boris Grigorievich, if I'm here. I wouldn't go if I didn't have to. Where is God taking you?
BORS (looks around the area). Here's the thing, Curly: I ought to stay here, but I don't think it makes any difference to you, you can go somewhere else.
K u d r i sh. No, Boris Grigoryevich, I see you are here for the first time, but I already have a familiar place here and the path I have trodden. I love you, sir, and I am ready for any service to you; and on this path you do not meet with me at night, so that, God forbid, no sin has happened. Deal is better than money.
B o r and s. What's wrong with you, Vanya?
K u d r i sh. Yes, Vanya! I know that I am Vanya. And you go your own way, that's all. Get yourself one, and go for a walk with her, and no one cares about you. Don't touch strangers! We don’t do that, otherwise the guys will break their legs. I'm for mine ... Yes, I don't know what I'll do! I'll cut my throat.
B o r and s. In vain you are angry; I don't even have a mind to beat you. I wouldn't have come here if I hadn't been told to.
K u d r i sh. Who ordered?
B o r and s. I didn't understand, it was dark. Some girl stopped me on the street and told me to come here, behind the Kabanovs' garden, where the path is.
K u d r i sh. Who would it be?
B o r and s. Listen, Curly. Can I talk to you to your heart's content, won't you chat?
K u d r i sh. Speak up, don't be afraid! All I have is dead.
B o r and s. I know nothing here, neither your orders, nor your customs; and the thing is...
K u d r i sh. Did you love who?
B o r and s. Yes, Curly.
K u d r i sh. Well, that's nothing. We are loose about this. Girls walk around as they want, father and mother do not care. Only the women are locked up.
B o r and s. That's my grief.
K u d r i sh. So did you really love a married woman?
B o r and s. Married, Curly.
K u d r i sh. Eh, Boris Grigorievich, stop the nasty!
B o r and s. It's easy to say quit! It may not matter to you; you leave one and find another. And I can't! If I love...
K u d r i sh. After all, that means you want to ruin her completely, Boris Grigoryevich!
B o r and s. Save, Lord! Save me, Lord! No, Curly, how can you. Do I want to kill her! I just want to see her somewhere, I don't need anything else.
K u d r i sh. How, sir, to vouch for yourself! And after all here what people! You know. They will eat them, they will hammer them into the coffin.
B o r and s. Oh, don't say that, Curly, please don't scare me!
K u d r i sh. Does she love you?
B o r and s. Don't know.
K u d r i sh. Did you see each other when or not?
B o r and s. I once only visited them with my uncle. And then I see in the church, we meet on the boulevard. Oh, Curly, how she prays if only you looked! What an angelic smile on her face, but from her face it seems to glow.
K u d r i sh. So this is young Kabanova, or what?
B o r and s. She is Curly.
K u d r i sh. Yes! So that's it! Well, we have the honor to congratulate!
B o r and s. With what?
K u d r i sh. Yes, how! It means that things are going well for you, if you were ordered to come here.
B o r and s. Is that what she said?
K u d r i sh. And then who?
B o r and s. No, you're kidding! This cannot be. (Grabs his head.)
K u d r i sh. What's wrong with you?
B o r and s. I'm going crazy with joy.
K u d r i sh. Botha! There is something to go crazy! Only you look - don’t make trouble for yourself, and don’t get her into trouble either! Suppose, even though her husband is a fool, but her mother-in-law is painfully fierce.

Barbara comes out of the gate.

The same Varvara, then Katerina.

V a r v a ra (at the gate he sings).

Across the river, behind the fast one, my Vanya walks,
My Vanyushka is walking there ...

K u dr i sh (continues).

The goods are purchased.

(Whistling.)
VARVARA (goes down the path and, covering his face with a handkerchief, goes up to Boris). You boy, wait. Expect something. (Curly.) Let's go to the Volga.
K u d r i sh. Why are you taking so long? Wait for you more! You know what I don't like!

Varvara hugs him with one arm and leaves.

B o r and s. It's like I'm dreaming! This night, songs, goodbye! They walk hugging. This is so new to me, so good, so fun! So I'm waiting for something! And what I'm waiting for - I don't know, and I can't imagine; only the heart beats and every vein trembles. I can’t even think of what to say to her now, it takes her breath away, her knees bend! That's when my stupid heart boils suddenly, nothing can calm it down. Here goes.

Katerina quietly descends the path, covered with a large white shawl, her eyes downcast on the ground.

Is that you, Katerina Petrovna?

Silence.

I don't know how to thank you.

Silence.

If only you knew, Katerina Petrovna, how much I love you! (Tries to take her hand.)
KATERINA (with fright, but without raising her eyes). Don't touch, don't touch me! Ahah!
B o r and s. Do not be angry!
K a t e r i n. Get away from me! Go away, damned man! Do you know: after all, I will not beg for this sin, I will never beg! After all, he will lie like a stone on the soul, like a stone.
B o r and s. Don't chase me!
K a t e r i n a. Why did you come? Why did you come, my destroyer? After all, I'm married, because my husband and I live to the grave!
B o r and s. You told me to come...
K a t e r i n a. Yes, you understand me, you are my enemy: after all, to the grave!
B o r and s. I'd rather not see you!
KATERINA (with emotion). What am I cooking for myself? Where do I belong, you know?
B o r and s. Calm down! (Takes them by the hand.) Sit down!
K a t e r i n a. Why do you want my death?
B o r and s. How can I want your death when I love you more than anything in the world, more than myself!
K a t e r i n a. No no! You ruined me!
B o r and s. Am I a villain?
KATERINA (shaking her head). Lost, ruined, ruined!
B o r and s. God save me! Let me die myself!
K a t e r i n a. Well, how did you not ruin me, if I, leaving the house, go to you at night.
B o r and s. It was your will.
K a t e r i n a. I have no will. If I had my own will, I would not go to you. (Raises her eyes and looks at Boris.)

A little silence.

Your will is over me now, can't you see! (Throws herself around his neck.)
BORS (embracing Katerina). My life!
K a t e r i n a. You know? Now I suddenly want to die!
B o r and s. Why die when we live so well?
K a t e r i n a. No, I can't live! I already know not to live.
B o r and s. Please don't say such words, don't make me sad...
K a t e r i n a. Yes, you feel good, you are a free Cossack, and I! ..
B o r and s. No one will know about our love. Can't I pity you?
K a t e r i n a. E! Why feel sorry for me, no one is to blame - she herself went for it. Don't be sorry, kill me! Let everyone know, let everyone see what I'm doing! (Embraces Boris.) If I am not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment? They say it's even easier when you endure for some sin here on earth.
B o r and s. Well, what to think about it, since we are good now!
K a t e r i n a. And then! Think about it and cry, I still have time at my leisure.
B o r and s. And I was frightened; I thought you would drive me away.
KATERINA (smiling). Drive away! Where is it! With our heart! If you hadn't come, I think I would have come to you myself.
B o r and s. I didn't know that you love me.
K a t e r i n a. I love for a long time. As if to sin you came to us. When I saw you, I didn't feel like myself. From the very first time, it seems that if you had beckoned me, I would have followed you; even if you go to the ends of the world, I would follow you and not look back.
B o r and s. How long has your husband been away?
Katerina. For two weeks.
B o r and s. Oh, so we walk! Time is enough.
K a t e r i n. Let's take a walk. And there ... (thinks) how they will lock it up, here is death! If they don't lock me up, I'll find a chance to see you!

Enter Kudryash and Varvara.

The same ones, Kudryash and Varvara.

V a r v a r a. Well, did you get it right?

Katerina hides her face in Boris's chest.

B o r and s. We did it.
V a r v a r a. Let's go for a walk, and we'll wait. When necessary, Vanya will shout.

Boris and Katerina leave. Curly and Varvara sit down on a rock.

K u d r i sh. And you came up with this important thing, to climb into the garden gate. It is very capable for our brother.
V a r v a r a. All I.
K u d r i sh. To take you to it. And the mother is not enough?
V a r v a r a. E! Where is she! It won't hit her in the forehead either.
K u d r i sh. Well, for sin?
V a r v a r a. Her first dream is strong; here in the morning, so he wakes up.
K u d r i sh. But how do you know! Suddenly, a difficult one will lift her.
V a r v a r a. Well, so what! We have a gate that is from the yard, locked from the inside, from the garden; knock, knock, and so it goes. And in the morning we will say that we slept soundly, did not hear. Yes, and Glasha guards; just a little, she will now give a voice. You can't be without fear! How is it possible! Look, you're in trouble.

Curly takes a few chords on the guitar. Varvara lies close to Kudryash's shoulder, who, not paying attention, plays softly.

V a r v a r a (yawning). How would you know what time it is?
K u d r i sh. First.
V a r v a r a. How much do you know?
K u d r i sh. The watchman beat the board.
V a r v a r a (yawning). It's time. Shout out. Tomorrow we will leave early, so we will walk more.
K u drya sh (whistles and sings loudly).

All home, all home
And I don't want to go home.

B o r and s (behind the scenes). I hear!
V a r v a r a (gets up). Well, goodbye. (Yawns, then kisses coldly, as if he had known him for a long time.) Tomorrow, look, come early! (Looks in the direction where Boris and Katerina went.) If you say goodbye, you won’t part forever, see you tomorrow. (Yawns and stretches.)

Katerina runs in, followed by Boris.

Kudryash, Varvara, Boris and Katerina.

K a terina (Varvara). Well, let's go, let's go! (They go up the path. Katerina turns around.) Farewell.
B o r and s. Till tomorrow!
K a t e r i n a. Yes, see you tommorow! What do you see in a dream, tell me! (Approaches the gate.)
B o r and s. Certainly.
K u d r i sh (sings to the guitar).

Walk, young, for the time being,
Until evening until dawn!
Ay leli, for the time being,
Until evening until dawn.

V a r v a r a (at the gate).

And I, young, for the time being,
Until morning until dawn,
Ay leli, for the time being,
Until morning until dawn!

They leave.

K u d r i sh.

How the dawn started
And I got up home ... and so on.

Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, is a young man of decent education.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha), a wealthy merchant's wife, widow.

Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov, her son.

Catherine, his wife.

Barbara, Tikhon's sister.

Kuligin, a tradesman, a self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile.

Vanya Kudryash, a young man, Dikov's clerk.

Shapkin, tradesman.

Feklusha, stranger.

Glasha, the girl in Kabanova's house.

A lady with two lackeys, an old woman of 70, half crazy.

City dwellers of both sexes.

The action takes place in the city of Kalinov, on the banks of the Volga, in the summer.

Ten days elapse between the third and fourth acts.

Act one

A public garden on the high bank of the Volga, a rural view beyond the Volga. There are two benches and several bushes on the stage.

The first phenomenon

Kuligin sits on a bench and looks across the river. Kudryash and Shapkin are walking.

Kuligin (sings). “In the midst of a flat valley, at a smooth height…” (Stops singing.) Miracles, truly it must be said, miracles! Curly! Here, my brother, for fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough.

Curly. And what?

Kuligin. The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices.

Curly. Wow!

Kuligin. Delight! And you: "nothing!" You took a closer look, or you don’t understand what beauty is spilled in nature.

Curly. Well, what's the deal with you! You are an antique, a chemist!

Kuligin. Mechanic, self-taught mechanic.

Curly. All the same.

Silence.

Kuligin (pointing to the side). Look, brother Curly, who is waving his arms like that?

Curly. This? This is Dikoy scolding his nephew.

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 scolder as Savel Prokofich among us! Will cut off a person for nothing.

Curly. A poignant man!

Shapkin. Good, too, and Kabaniha.

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

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

Curly. We don’t have many guys like me, otherwise we would wean him to be naughty.

Shapkin. What would you do?

Curly. They would have done well.

Shapkin. Like this?

Curly. Four of them, five of them in an alley somewhere would talk to him face to face, so he would become silk. And about our science, I wouldn’t utter a word to anyone, if only I would walk and look around.

Shapkin. No wonder he wanted to give you to the soldiers.

Curly. I wanted to, but I didn’t give it away, so it’s all one thing. He will not give me away, 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.

Shapkin. Oy!

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

Shapkin. Like he doesn't scold you?

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

Kuligin. With him, that eh, an example to take! It's better to be patient.

Curly. Well, now, if you are smart, then you should learn it before courtesy, and then teach us! It’s a pity that his daughters are teenagers, there aren’t any big ones.

Shapkin. What would it be?

Curly. I would respect him. It hurts dashing for girls!

Pass Dikoy and Boris. Kuligin takes off his hat.

Shapkin (curly). Let's go to the side: it will still be attached, perhaps.

Departure.

The second phenomenon

The same, Dikoy and Boris.

wild. Buckwheat, you came here to beat! Parasite! Get lost!

Boris. Holiday; what to do at home!

wild. Find the job you want. Once I told you, twice I said to you: “Do not dare to 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?

Boris. I'm listening, what else can I do!

wild (looking at Boris). You failed! I don't even want to talk to you, to the Jesuit. (Leaving.) Here it is imposed! (Spits and leaves.)

The third phenomenon

Kuligin, Boris, Kudryash and Shapkin.

Kuligin. What is your business with him, sir? We will never understand. You want to live with him and endure abuse.

Boris. What a hunt, Kuligin! Captivity.

Kuligin. But what a bondage, sir, let me ask you. If you can, sir, tell us so.

Boris. Why not say? Did you know our grandmother, Anfisa Mikhailovna?

Kuligin. Well, how not to know!

Boris. After all, she disliked the father because he married a noble woman. On this occasion, father and mother lived in Moscow. Mother said that for three days she could not get along with her relatives, it seemed very wild to her.

Kuligin. Still not wild! What to say! You must have a great habit, sir.

Boris. Our parents raised us well in Moscow, they spared nothing for us. I was sent to the Commercial Academy, and my sister was sent to a boarding school, but both suddenly died of cholera; my sister and I were left orphans. Then we hear that my grandmother also died here and left a will so that our uncle would pay us the part that should be when we come of age, only with a condition.

Kuligin. With what, sir?

Boris. If we are respectful to him.

Kuligin. This means, sir, that you will never see your inheritance.

Boris. No, that's not enough, Kuligin! He first breaks down on us, scolds us in every possible way, as his soul pleases, 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.

Curly. This is such an institution in our merchant class. Again, even if you were respectful to him, who would forbid him to say something that you are disrespectful?

Boris. Well, yes. Even now he sometimes says: “I have my own children, for which I will give money to strangers? Through this, I must offend my own!

Kuligin. So, sir, your business is bad.

Boris. If I were alone, it would be nothing! I would drop everything and leave. And I'm sorry sister. He used to write her out, but mother's relatives did not let her in, they wrote that she was sick. What would her life here be - and it's scary to imagine.

Curly. Of course. Do they understand something?

Kuligin. How do you live with him, sir, in what position?

Boris. Yes, on no one: “Live, he says, with me, do what you are ordered, and I’ll pay what I put.” That is, in a year he will count as he pleases.

Curly. He has such an establishment. With us, no one even dare to utter a word about salaries, they will scold what the world is worth. “You, he says, how do you know what I have in mind? Somehow you can know my soul! Or maybe I will come to such an arrangement that five thousand ladies will be given to you. So you talk to him! Only he had never in his entire life come to such and such an arrangement.

The action of the play takes place in the Volga town of Kalinovo, where, according to one of the residents, the local self-taught Kuligin, "cruel morals" reign. Kuligin talks about this with Vanka Kudryash, a young clerk, a merry fellow and a joker.

They witness a scene in which a well-known merchant in the city, Savel Prokofich Dikoi, scolds his nephew Boris. He came with his sister to his uncle to receive his share of the inheritance left by his grandmother. But there is a condition that Boris will never fulfill: you need to be respectful to your uncle. All residents of the city understand that Boris will not see the inheritance, because Wild, due to his capricious and wayward nature, does not hide, declares that he has his own children and it is not worth giving money to strangers. Boris continues to endure humiliation only for the sake of his sister.

The wanderer Feklusha appears, who, on the contrary, praises Kalinov, his merchants, especially the Kabanov family. Kuligin explains to Boris that Kabanikha is a respectable merchant's wife, only that she “has completely eaten at home”. At this time, Marfa Ignatyevna Kabanova herself, her son Tikhon, daughter Varvara and daughter-in-law Katerina come out onto the square. The boar scolds her son for not being too respectful to her; goes to the daughter-in-law, who tries to enter into a conversation. After she leaves, Tikhon goes to the tavern, and Katerina and Varvara are left alone and talk heart to heart.

Katerina talks about her childhood, her parents' house where she lived, "like a bird in the wild." The young woman complains that in the Kabanovs’ house she “withered completely,” and involuntarily admits that she likes Diky’s nephew Boris. Varvara, who has been hiding her love affairs with Kudryash from her mother for a long time, is ready to arrange a love meeting with Boris for Katerina when Tikhon leaves for a couple of weeks. But then a crazy lady appears and threatens Katerina that she will burn in hell because of her beauty. The girl becomes scared from her words and from the beginning of a thunderstorm, and she calls Varvara home to pray in front of the icons.

Action 2

In the house of the Kabanovs. The wanderer Feklusha and the maid Glasha talk about sin. Varvara hints that Katerina is attractive to Boris, which makes her frightened and swears that she loves only Tikhon. If life in the house of the Kabanikhi becomes disgusting to her, then she will throw herself out the window or drown herself in the river, she was “born hot” like that. She recalls a case when, as a child, offended by her relatives, she rushed to the river, got into a boat, and pushed it away from the shore. Only the next morning did they find the boat with Katerina ten versts from that place.

Kabanova comes along with her son, who is going on a long journey. The mother demands that he instruct the wife on how to behave while the husband is away. This offends Katerina, and, left alone with him, she begs to take her with him. But Tikhon declares that he was completely beaten up and he does not care how to escape from the house. Katerina rushes to her knees and asks to take the most terrible oath of allegiance from her, but Tikhon only brushes it off.

On the porch, Kabanikha again seeks to show his influence on his son: he demands that he force his wife not to hang around his neck, but to say goodbye "in order", as it has been done for centuries. Left alone, Katerina regrets that "God did not give children." She decides that she will faithfully wait for Tikhon's return, but Varvara gives her the key to the back gate in order to meet with Boris in the evening. Katerina struggles with temptation for a long time, but still puts the key in her pocket to go on a date.

Action 3

Scene 1

Feklusha and Kabanikha talk about how life has become hectic, but in other cities where Sodom reigns, where people are in a hurry in vain. In Kalinovo, the people are all pious, so there is no need for them to hurry. Feklusha tells outlandish stories about Moscow, where they began to harness the "fiery serpent", about other lands where "people with dog heads" and various other fables are found.

The tipsy Dikoy appears and, out of habit, begins to quarrel with Kabanova, but she quickly pacifies him, and he admits that only she can “talk” to him. The boar caustically remarks that he has been fighting all his life only with women, and this is a simple matter. He is angry because everyone asks him for money in the morning.

Boris approaches the Kabanovs' house, hoping to see Katerina at least from afar. He listens to Kuligin's reasoning about the beauty of nature, which no one notices: the poor have no time, and the rich sit behind their high fences and harass the household. Kudryash and Varvara appear, kiss, and Varvara beckons Boris to the gates and secretly tells him about the place of the future meeting with Katerina.

Scene 2

Night. Behind the Kabanovs' garden, Kudryash and Boris meet. At first they quarreled over the place, but then Boris had to admit that he was secretly supposed to meet a married woman here - Katerina Kabanova.

Both Kabanovs appear. Curly leaves with Varvara, and Boris is left alone with Katerina. At first she becomes shy, accuses him of wanting her to perish, wants to lead her into sin. But then, nevertheless, he confesses his feelings and declares that for the sake of his love he will not be afraid of either human condemnation or God's punishment. A couple of lovers return - Varvara and Kudryash, and Boris and Katerina agree on the next meeting.

Action 4

Residents of the city walk under the vaults of a dilapidated gallery, on the walls of which pictures of the Last Judgment are depicted. In the distance, the rumble of an approaching thunderstorm can be heard. Kuligin is outraged that people are afraid of thunderstorms - this beautiful natural phenomenon. He convinces Wild to donate money for a sundial in the city center and for the construction of a lightning rod, but the merchant is superstitious: he thinks that a thunderstorm is given as a punishment from God to all sinners, so he refuses the request, and calls the master an atheist.

Boris meets with Varvara, and she tells him that Tikhon returned ahead of schedule, and Katerina "became not herself." Varvara is afraid that she will fall at her husband's feet and tell everything: she is afraid for herself and for Boris.

The Kabanov family appears. Katerina is frightened by the approaching thunderstorm, because she is pious and perceives it as God's punishment. Noticing Boris, she turns even more pale. She hears the words of passers-by that the storm is returning for a reason, tells Tikhon that it should kill her with lightning, and asks to pray for her.

At this time, a crazy lady appears with footmen and, turning to Katerina, shouts that she should not hide, but pray that God would take away her beauty. At the end of her monologue, the crazy lady declares that it is better to go into the pool with such beauty. Katerina almost fainted. Varvara invites her to step aside and pray. But sitting down near the wall of the gallery, Katerina sees the image of fiery hell. She cannot stand it and publicly admits to Tikhon that she spent all ten nights walking with Boris Grigoryevich. After Katerina falls unconscious into her husband's arms. In complete silence, Kabanikha declares with gloating glee that she warned, “what the will leads to,” but Tikhon did not listen, and now he waited.

Action 5

At dusk, Kuligin sits on a bench in a public garden on the banks of the Volga. Tikhon appears and declares that their whole family "came into disorder." He says that he went on a spree in Moscow, and his wife cheated on him at that time. It's hard for him, even drinking at Diky's doesn't help. Kuligin says that this is his "mother is painfully cool", and Katerina was a good wife. Tikhon agrees that Kabanikha is cool, because she advises Katerina to be buried alive in the ground, and he loves her, now he regrets, but cannot forgive. Therefore, he beat him a little, because "mother ordered", and now he drinks every day with Diky. And Boris Dikoy is sent to Siberia for three years. Varvara ran away from home with Vanka Kudryash.

Glasha informs Tikhon that Katerina has disappeared somewhere, and Tikhon suggests that she would not lay her hands on herself out of longing. Following Glasha, Tikhon and Kuligin leave.
Katerina knows about Boris' departure and seeks to meet him in the hope that he will take her to Siberia with him. But at the meeting, Boris says that he cannot take her, because he is not going of his own free will. He is worried that they might be seen, in a hurry to end the conversation, although he understands that Katerina is now very hard. Then Katerina asks on the way to give alms to all the poor so that they pray for her. Boris feels that the woman is up to something unkind, and even exclaims that death will be her salvation.

The play "Thunderstorm" by the famous Russian writer of the XIX century Alexander Ostrovsky, was written in 1859 in the wake of a public upsurge on the eve of social reforms. It became one of the best works of the author, opening the eyes of the whole world to the mores and moral values ​​of the then merchant class. It was first published in the Library for Reading magazine in 1860 and, due to the novelty of its subject matter (descriptions of the struggle of new progressive ideas and aspirations with old, conservative foundations), immediately after publication caused a wide public outcry. She became the subject for writing a large number of critical articles of that time (“A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom” by Dobrolyubov, “Motives of Russian Drama” by Pisarev, criticism by Apollon Grigoriev).

History of writing

Inspired by the beauty of the Volga region and its vast expanses during a trip with his family to Kostroma in 1848, Ostrovsky began writing the play in July 1859, after three months he finished it and sent it to the court of St. Petersburg censorship.

Having worked for several years in the office of the Moscow Conscientious Court, he knew well what the merchants were like in Zamoskvorechye (the historical district of the capital, on the right bank of the Moscow River), more than once, on duty, faced with what was happening behind the high fences of the merchants' choir , namely with cruelty, tyranny, ignorance and various superstitions, illegal transactions and scams, tears and suffering of others. The plot of the play is based on the tragic fate of a daughter-in-law in the wealthy merchant family of the Klykovs, which happened in reality: a young woman rushed into the Volga and drowned, unable to withstand the harassment of her imperious mother-in-law, tired of her husband’s spinelessness and secret passion for the postal clerk. Many believed that it was stories from the life of the Kostroma merchants that became the prototype for the plot of the play written by Ostrovsky.

In November 1859, the play was performed on the stage of the Maly Academic Theater in Moscow, and in December of the same year at the Alexandrinsky Drama Theater in St. Petersburg.

Analysis of the work

Story line

At the center of the events described in the play is the wealthy merchant family of the Kabanovs, who live in the fictional Volga city of Kalinovo, a kind of peculiar and closed little world, symbolizing the general structure of the entire patriarchal Russian state. The Kabanov family consists of a domineering and cruel woman-tyrant, and in fact the head of the family, a wealthy merchant and widow Marfa Ignatievna, her son, Tikhon Ivanovich, weak-willed and spineless against the backdrop of the heavy temper of his mother, the daughter of Varvara, who learned by deceit and cunning to resist the despotism of her mother , as well as daughter-in-law Katerina. A young woman, who grew up in a family where she was loved and pitied, suffers in the house of her unloved husband from his lack of will and the claims of her mother-in-law, in fact, having lost her will and becoming a victim of the cruelty and tyranny of the Kabanikh, left to the mercy of fate by a rag-husband.

From hopelessness and despair, Katerina seeks solace in love for Boris Diky, who also loves her, but is afraid to disobey her uncle, the wealthy merchant Savel Prokofich Diky, because the financial situation of him and his sister depends on him. Secretly, he meets with Katerina, but at the last moment he betrays her and runs away, then, at the direction of his uncle, he leaves for Siberia.

Katerina, being brought up in obedience and submission to her husband, tormented by her own sin, confesses everything to her husband in the presence of his mother. She makes the life of her daughter-in-law completely unbearable, and Katerina, suffering from unhappy love, reproaches of conscience and cruel persecution of the tyrant and despot Kabanikhi, decides to end her torment, the only way in which she sees salvation is suicide. She throws herself off a cliff into the Volga and dies tragically.

Main characters

All the characters in the play are divided into two opposing camps, some (Kabanikha, her son and daughter, merchant Dikoy and his nephew Boris, maids Feklusha and Glasha) are representatives of the old, patriarchal way of life, others (Katerina, self-taught mechanic Kuligin) are new, progressive.

A young woman, Katerina, the wife of Tikhon Kabanov, is the central character of the play. She was brought up in strict patriarchal rules, in accordance with the laws of the ancient Russian Domostroy: a wife must obey her husband in everything, respect him, fulfill all his requirements. At first, Katerina tried with all her might to love her husband, to become a submissive and good wife for him, but due to his complete spinelessness and weakness of character, she can only feel pity for him.

Outwardly, she looks weak and silent, but in the depths of her soul there is enough willpower and perseverance to resist the tyranny of her mother-in-law, who is afraid that her daughter-in-law can change her son Tikhon and he will no longer obey the will of his mother. Katerina is cramped and stuffy in the dark realm of life in Kalinovo, she literally suffocates there and in her dreams she flies away like a bird away from this terrible place for her.

Boris

Having fallen in love with a visiting young man Boris, the nephew of a wealthy merchant and businessman, she creates in her head the image of an ideal lover and a real man, which is completely untrue, breaks her heart and leads to a tragic ending.

In the play, Katerina's character is opposed not to a specific person, her mother-in-law, but to the entire existing patriarchal way of life at that time.

Boar

Marfa Ignatyevna Kabanova (Kabanikha), like the tyrant merchant Dikoi, who tortures and insults his relatives, does not pay wages and deceives his workers, are vivid representatives of the old, petty-bourgeois way of life. They are distinguished by stupidity and ignorance, unjustified cruelty, rudeness and rudeness, complete rejection of any progressive changes in the ossified patriarchal way of life.

Tikhon

(Tikhon, in the illustration near the Kabanikhi - Marfa Ignatievna)

Tikhon Kabanov throughout the play is characterized as a quiet and weak-willed person, who is under the complete influence of a despotic mother. Distinguished by his gentle nature, he makes no attempt to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother.

At the end of the play, he finally breaks down and the author shows his rebellion against tyranny and despotism, it is his phrase at the end of the play that leads readers to a certain conclusion about the depth and tragedy of the current situation.

Features of compositional construction

(Fragment from a dramatic production)

The work begins with a description of the city on the Volga of Kalinov, whose image is a collective image of all Russian cities of that time. The landscape of the Volga expanses depicted in the play contrasts with the musty, dull and gloomy atmosphere of life in this city, which is emphasized by the dead isolation of the life of its inhabitants, their underdevelopment, dullness and wild lack of education. The author described the general state of urban life as if before a thunderstorm, when the old, decrepit way of life is shaken, and new and progressive trends, like a gust of furious thunderstorm wind, will carry away outdated rules and prejudices that prevent people from living normally. The period of life of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov described in the play is just in a state when outwardly everything looks calm, but this is only the calm before the coming storm.

The genre of the play can be interpreted as a social drama, as well as a tragedy. The first is characterized by the use of a thorough description of living conditions, the maximum transfer of its "density", as well as the alignment of characters. The attention of readers should be distributed among all participants in the production. The interpretation of the play as a tragedy suggests its deeper meaning and solidity. If we see in the death of Katerina the consequence of her conflict with her mother-in-law, then she looks like a victim of a family conflict, and all the unfolding action in the play seems small and insignificant for a real tragedy. But if we consider the death of the main character as a conflict of a new, progressive time with a fading, old era, then her act is best interpreted in a heroic way, characteristic of a tragic story.

The talented playwright Alexander Ostrovsky from the social drama about the life of the merchant class gradually creates a real tragedy, in which, with the help of a love-domestic conflict, he showed the onset of an epoch-making turning point that is taking place in the minds of the people. Ordinary people are aware of the awakening sense of their own dignity, they begin to relate to the world around them in a new way, they want to decide their own destinies and fearlessly express their will. This nascent desire comes into irreconcilable contradiction with the real patriarchal way of life. The fate of Katerina acquires a social historical meaning, expressing the state of the people's consciousness at the turning point of two eras.

Alexander Ostrovsky, who noticed in time the doom of decaying patriarchal foundations, wrote the play "Thunderstorm" and opened the eyes of the entire Russian public to what was happening. He depicted the destruction of the usual, outdated way of life, with the help of the ambiguous and figurative concept of a thunderstorm, which, gradually growing, will sweep away everything from its path and open the way for a new, better life.

1. Very briefly
2. the main idea
3. Summary of activities
4. Summary of actions and phenomena

Thunderstorm Ostrovsky very briefly

The action of the play takes place in the city of Kalinov near the Volga. The inhabitants of this city are uneducated philistines, stagnant in the order of house building and not wanting to change anything.

The main character, Katerina, was of a subtle mental disposition, it was hard for her to live with her mother-in-law, a woman of a tough temper, who kept the whole family in strictness, and her son, Tikhon, a weak-willed peasant who loved to drink. Katerina falls in love with the visiting nephew of the merchant Wild Boris, an educated man who suits her in character. During the departure of her husband, she secretly meets with Boris, but, unable to bear the remorse, confesses everything to her family.

Katerina is not allowed to leave the house, her every step is controlled, and Boris is sent to distant relatives. Katerina, having said goodbye to Boris, realizing that there was no ray of hope left in her later life, rushes into the Volga.

The main idea of ​​the drama Thunderstorm

This play shows readers that it is hard to live in a society where no one seeks to understand another person, does not want to accept anything new, and does not take into account the individual. But you need to have a lot of mental strength to continue to fight, to believe in a better life, that you can always find a ray of light.

Read a summary of the Thunderstorm on the actions of Ostrovsky

Action 1

The city watches as the stingy and vicious trader Dikoy scolds his own nephew Boris. When he leaves, the nephew confesses to his friend Kuligin that he endures all the abuse only because of the inheritance. Although people say that he will not receive an inheritance. Borya and his sister will inherit wealth if they are obedient to their uncle in everything. Alone with himself, Boris dreams of a legally married girl - Katerina Kabanova.

At the same time, Kabanikha and her daughter, son Tikhon and daughter-in-law Katerina are on a walk. The boar complains that the son no longer loves his mother as much as he did before the wedding. Tikhon tries to reassure his mother, but she is still offended and leaves.

Action 2

Varvara sends her brother to drink at Dikoy's before leaving. The daughter-in-law and Kabanova remain, and Katerina says that she is in love with another man, and that her husband Tikhon is not nice to her. Katerina is worried that she is sinning, and Varvara consoles her and promises to arrange a date.

Tikhon says goodbye to his wife and leaves for the city for two weeks on business. The mother advises her son to punish his wife how to live in his absence. The wife asks him to take her with him, but Tikhon is still against it.

Wanting to help the lovers, Tikhon's sister steals the door key from her mother and gives it to Katerina so that she can see Boris. The bride is horrified by such events, but she cannot help but take the opportunity. Katerina is ashamed to lie to her husband, but she really wants to see her lover.

Action 3

Merchant Wild goes to talk to Kabaniha in order to throw off the stone from the soul. The stingy merchant confesses that he is greedy to give money to the people for work.

At this time, Boris comes to the house of Kabanikh, but on the advice of Varvara, he goes to the ravine, where he finds his Katerina. She hugs and says words of love, after they retire. Varvara and Kudryash are left alone. Friends make another appointment for the next day.

Action 4

Ten days later, Tikhon's sister, having met Boris, tells him that her brother had returned earlier. At this time, Tikhon and his mother are walking along Kalinov. It's starting to rain. Having met Boris, the girl begins to cry bitterly. People keep saying that a thunderstorm will begin soon. Someone claims that a thunderstorm will either destroy something or ruin someone. Katerina thinks and then says out loud that the storm will destroy her. A young lady passing by calls her a sinner. Kabanova, right on the street, confesses to her husband and his mother that she met with another man for ten nights.

Action 5

Tikhon told Kuligin the news that the merchant was sending his nephew out of the city for several years, Varvara fled with her lover, and Katerina confessed to treason. A friend gives Tikhon advice to forgive his wife. Tikhon cannot forgive Katerina, since his mother will not approve of his decision, and he cannot disobey her. After arriving home, the maids tell him that his wife has disappeared. Tikhon starts after her.

Walking through the city, the girl met her lover, who tells her that he was leaving for Siberia on the instructions of his uncle. She tells that her husband is disgusting to her and asks to take her to Siberia. They are forever separated. The heartbroken girl begins to dream of death. He approaches the cliff and throws himself into the river, shouting about Boris.

The whole city is looking for a girl. Someone shouted that a woman had thrown herself off a cliff. The mother does not allow Tikhon to save his wife, threatening to curse him. Kuligin pulls out the body with the words that he gives the body, and the girl's soul is no longer with them. Tikhon kneels in front of the body, sees his lifeless wife and blames his mother, Kabanikha, for what happened. Complains to his wife that she left him tormented in this world.

Read a summary of Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm on actions and phenomena

Action 1

Phenomenon 1

Kuligin, Shapkin and Kudryash are walking. During the conversation, they see the merchant Dikoy scolding his nephew. They begin to discuss the steep disposition of the Wild, that he loves to scold people. Curly boasts that he is not afraid of a merchant and, if there were more young guys, he would teach him a lesson. Shapkin and Kuligin doubt. At this time, their uncle and nephew approach them.

Phenomenon 2

Savel Prokofievich scolds Boris for being idle. The young man replies that he has nothing to do on the holiday. Wild in an annoyed mood leaves.

Phenomenon 3

Kuligin asks Boris why he tolerates such an attitude and does not leave. Boris says that his grandmother left a will for him and his sister, that his uncle must pay the part he bequeathed to them. But on the condition that they will be respectful to him. Kuligin believes that the brother and sister will not receive anything. The young man replies that he tolerates such treatment not for himself, but for his sister. Treats him harshly with Wild, like with everyone.

At this time, people come from Vespers. Shapkin and Kudryash leave. Kuligin talks about philistinism as a rough, poor society, that such a person as Boris will never get used to it. At this time, the wanderer Feklusha passes by them and wishes bounty for the Kabanovs' house. Kuligin says that Kabanova only helps such wanderers, and she completely ate her family. A man in a dream of a perpetu mobile walks away.

Phenomenon 4

Boris's monologue about his difficult situation: hard life with his uncle and love for a married woman, with whom he cannot even talk, but only watch her leave the church with her family.

Phenomenon 5

Kabanova tells her son what to do and complains that Tikhon has a nicer wife than a mother. Tikhon tries to dissuade her, but the woman continues to say something else. Katerina tries to protect her husband, but her mother-in-law is rude to her. The young woman does not understand why she does not love her, and Tikhon tries to convince his mother that he loves them both. Kabanova says that he can only dismiss nurses, that his wife has neither respect nor fear for him. And if this is not for her husband, then even more so for her, therefore, there will be no order in the house. Excited, Kabanova leaves.

Phenomenon 6

Kabanov attacks his wife, which because of her he gets from his mother. Varvara, his sister, stands up for Katerina. Tikhon goes to Dikoy for a drink.

Phenomenon 7

Varvara takes pity on Katerina. She talks about her childhood, that everyone loved her, spoiled her, and that most of all she liked to go to church and sing prayers. Katerina shares with Varya the thought of imminent death. The girl tries to calm her down, but Katerina confesses to her that she is a sinner because she fell in love with another. Barbara wants to help her.

Phenomenon 8

An old lady comes up to the girls and prophesies to them that beauty will lead them to the very pool of the Volga. After that, she leaves.

Phenomenon 9

Katerina was very frightened by the old woman's prediction. Barbara says it's all nonsense. A storm is gathering. Katerina admits that she is afraid not so much of a thunderstorm as of death, which can suddenly catch her with all her sins. The girls see Kabanov and rush to the house.

Action 2

Phenomenon 1

Glasha, the servant of the Kabanovs, collects things for the owner on the road. Feklusha enters and tells her about distant countries ruled by different saltans. After talking with Glasha, she leaves.

Phenomenon 2

Enter Varvara and Katerina, Glasha, taking things, leaves. Varvara asks Katerina for the name of the man she loves. The girl confesses to her that this is Boris. Varvara invites her to see Boris secretly, Katerina refuses. She wants to refrain from these meetings as long as she can, and if everything gets cold at home, she will run away anywhere, even throw herself into the Volga. Varya invites her to sleep in the gazebo. Katerina doubts and waits for Tikhon.

Phenomenon 3

Enter Kabanov and Kabanova. Kabanova tells her son to give orders to his wife and, upon his return, ask how she carried them out. Tikhon, embarrassed, gives orders to Katerina. Kabanova, having called her daughter with her, leaves, leaving Tikhon and Katerina.

Phenomenon 4

Katerina asks Tikhon to take her with him. Tikhon refuses, saying that he wants to take a break from her and his mother. The woman asks to take a promise from her that she will not talk to any of the men. Kabanov says that this is useless, but Katerina persists. At this time, the voice of Kabanova is heard.

Phenomenon 5

Relatives see off Tikhon. Kabanova makes sure that everything is done as it should be. Kabanov leaves.

Phenomenon 6

Kabanova, left alone, talks about the youth's ignorance of customs and practices. There is a decline of antiquity, the young do not know how, and it is a shame to look at them. Kabanova rejoices that she will not see how nothing remains of the order.

Phenomenon 7

Enter Katerina and Varvara. Kabanova shames Katerina that after her husband's departure, she does not howl on the porch. Katerina replies that it is useless and she does not know how. Varvara goes for a walk, followed by Kabanova.

Phenomenon 8

Katherine's monologue. The woman thinks how to pass the time before her husband arrives and decides to take up sewing and distribute it to the poor so that they pray for her and pass the time until Kabanov returns.

Phenomenon 9

Varvara, going for a walk, gives Katerina the key to the gate and promises to tell Boris to come there in the evening. Katerina gets scared and asks the girl not to do this. Varya, saying that she will need it too, goes for a walk.

Event 10

Katerina, left alone, talks about what a hopeless, hard life she has. Holding the key in her hand, she thinks to throw it away, but, hearing some footsteps, hides it in her pocket. Katerina decides that this is the way it should be and wants to see Boris.

Action 3

scene one

Phenomenon 1

Feklusha and Kabanova are sitting on a bench, talking. Feklusha tells about Moscow, how noisy it became, all the people are in a hurry, old customs are not honored. Kabanova agrees with her that the old days are gradually leaving. Dikoy approaches them.

Phenomenon 2

Dikoy begins to talk rudely with Kabanova. Kabanova wants to leave, but he stops her and asks to talk to him. Dikoy says that he is tipsy and only Kabanova can talk him. The merchant complains that his nature is such that he deliberately offends people and gets angry with them. Kabanova says that he does it on purpose so that no one approaches him. At this time, Glasha says that the snacks are ready, and they go into the house. The maid notices Wild's nephew.

Phenomenon 3

Boris asks Glasha if they have an uncle. Kuligin comes up to Boris and invites him for a walk. Walking, Kuligin tells the young man about the inhabitants of the city, about their rudeness, lack of education, cruel disposition, that only young boys and girls walk around the city. While walking, they see Kudryash and Varvara kissing. Approaching the gate, Varvara calls Boris.

Phenomenon 4

Kuligin leaves, and Boris approaches Varya. She asks him to come to the ravine behind the Boar Garden in the evening.

scene two

Phenomenon 1

Curly with a guitar comes to the ravine and, waiting for Varya, sings a song. Boris arrives.

Phenomenon 2

Boris asks Kudryash to leave, Kudryash thinks that Boris wants to take Varya away from him. Boris confesses that he is in love with Katerina. Kudryash tells him that if not Varya, then only Katerina could call him here. Boris is happy. Barbara comes out of the gate.

Phenomenon 3

Varvara and Kudryash leave, Katerina comes out to Boris. He confesses his love to her, the young woman is ashamed of what she is doing, says that it is a sin. Boris tries to calm her down. Katerina confesses to him in a reciprocal feeling.

Phenomenon 4

Boris and Katerina go for a walk, Varvara and Kudryash arrive. The young man praises the girl for how cleverly she came up with the gate. Curly plays the guitar, Varya asks what time it is. Having learned that it is time, they call Boris and Katerina.

Phenomenon 5

Katerina and Boris arrive. The couples say goodbye, Curly tightens the song.

act four

Phenomenon 1

A storm is gathering. Passers-by walk and talk about what was previously painted on the arches. Dikoi and Kuligin enter.

Phenomenon 2

Kuligin tries to beg Dikoy to put a clock on the boulevard, Dikoy brushes him off. Kuligin, seeing that a thunderstorm is beginning, suggests installing lightning rods. Dikoy swears at him, he continues to prove the usefulness of lightning rods and says that a thunderstorm is electricity. Dikoy is even more angry with him for these words. Kuligin leaves, after some time Dikoy leaves.

Phenomenon 3

Varvara is waiting for Boris to tell him that Kabanov arrived earlier than expected. Katerina is experiencing severe mental anguish. Varvara is afraid that she would not tell everything to her husband. Boris hides when he sees the Kabanovs.

Phenomenon 4

Passers-by say that there will be a thunderstorm. Katerina, frightened, cuddles up to Varvara. Kabanikha suspects a woman, Boris passes by them. Varvara, seeing Katerina's condition, makes him a sign that he needs to leave. Kuligin comes out and addresses people with a speech that there is nothing to be afraid of a thunderstorm, because it is just a natural phenomenon. Calling Boris with him, he leaves.

Phenomenon 5

Some of the passers-by say that the storm will kill someone. Katerina says that it is hers and asks to pray for her. When he sees the mistress, he hides with a cry.

Phenomenon 6

The lady notices her and says that all the sins are due to the beauty of the female, that it is better for her to rush into the pool. Katerina cannot stand it and confesses everything to her mother-in-law and her husband. Hearing a thunderclap, he falls senseless.

Action 5

Phenomenon 1

Kuligin is sitting on a bench, Kabanov comes up to him. Tikhon says that after Katerina’s confession, they don’t give her life, Kabanova watches her every step. Varvara ran away with Kudryash. Kabanov feels sorry for his wife, but he cannot go against the will of his mother. Kuligin asks about Boris, Tikhon says that he is being sent to distant relatives. Glasha comes running and says that Katerina has gone somewhere. Kabanov and Kuligin run to look for her.

Phenomenon 2

Katerina walks alone, hoping to see Boris. A young woman worries about her lover. Due to severe mental suffering, Katerina does not want to live, she wants to say goodbye to Boris and calls him. Boris comes to her call.

Phenomenon 3

Boris tells Katerina that he really wanted to say goodbye to her. She understands that Boris is not angry with her and it becomes easier for her. Boris hurries the woman, because he needs to go. They say goodbye.

Phenomenon 4

Katerina understands that her life has become disgusting to her: the people who surround her, the house, the walls. Realizing that she can be returned home, Katerina makes a decision. Saying goodbye to Boris, she rushes into the Volga.

Phenomenon 5

The Kabanovs and Kuligin arrive at the place where Katerina was last seen. People say she was alive. Kabanova grumbles at her son, saying that he is worrying in vain. At this time, someone shouts that a woman has thrown herself into the water. Kuligin runs away.

Phenomenon 6

Kabanov wants to run to the water, but Kabanikha stops him, answering that when they get her, then he will look. Kabanov asks if she is alive. People say no. Kuligin and several people carry Katerina's body.

Phenomenon 7

Kuligin lays the body of a woman on the ground and, turning to the Kabanovs, says that her soul is now before a judge who is more merciful than them. Kabanov accuses his mother of being the one who killed her. Kabanova promises to talk to her son at home. Tikhon throws himself on Katerina's body and cries.

Picture or drawing Thunderstorm

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