Farewell of Katerina with Tikhon. Katerina - Russian tragic heroine Does Tikhon love Katerina

Answer from GALINA[guru]
Katerina married her son Kabanikhy not for love, but because her parents wanted it that way, because the concepts of “marriage” and “love” had completely different meanings.
Marriage is a worthy life, and love is something sinful and forbidden.
Tikhon Kabanov - the heroine's husband, a merchant's son. He married Katerina because his mother demanded it, and he believes that he himself loves Katerina, but is that so? He himself is weak-willed and completely subordinate to his mother, he does not even dare to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother-in-law. All he can advise her is to ignore her mother's reproaches. He himself does this all his life, agreeing with his mother and dreaming at the same time of running away to his neighbor Savel Prokofievich and having a drink with him. Happiness for Tikhon is a two-week trip to Moscow on business. In this case, Katerina is no longer interested in him, and when she asks him to take her with him, he frankly admits: “Yes, as I know now that there will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so it’s up to my wife me? » Katerina feels sorry for her husband, but can she love him? Seeing neither understanding nor support from him, she involuntarily begins to dream of a different love, and her dreams turn to another hero, and Boris. Is he a hero? He is different from the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov - he is educated, studied at the Commercial Academy, he is the only one among the townspeople who walks in a European suit. But these are all external differences, but in fact Boris is just as weak-willed and dependent.
After marriage, Katya's life changed a lot. From the free
joyful, sublime world in which she felt her
merging with nature, the girl fell into a life full of deceit,
cruelty and depravity.
It's not even that Katerina married Tikhon against her will:
she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who she married.
The fact is that the girl was robbed of her former life, which she
created for myself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from
attending church, she cannot do her usual activities.
Sad, disturbing thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire
nature. It remains for Katya to endure while she is patient, and to dream, but she already
can't live with his thoughts, because the cruel reality
brings her back to earth, where there is humiliation and suffering.
Katerina is trying to find her happiness in love for Tikhon: "I will be a husband
be in love. Tisha, my dear, I won't trade you for anyone. "But
sincere manifestations of this love are suppressed by Kabanikha: "What on
Are you hanging your neck, shameless? You don't say goodbye to your lover."
Katerina has a strong sense of outward obedience and duty, which is why she
forces himself to love an unloved husband. Tikhon and himself because of
tyranny of his mother cannot truly love his wife,
though he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya,
to walk freely, the girl becomes completely
lonely.
Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris?
Probably the reason is that she lacked something clean in the stuffy
atmosphere of the Kabanikhi house. And love for Boris was this pure, not
let Katerina finally wither away, somehow supported her.
Katya cannot live on with her sin, and the only way
to get rid of him at least partially, she considers repentance, she confesses
in everything to her husband and Kabanikh. Such an act in our time seems very
strange, naive. "I don't know how to deceive; I can't hide anything
I can" - such is Katerina. Tikhon forgave his wife, but did she herself forgive
myself? Being very religious. Katya is afraid of God, and her God lives in
her, God is her conscience. The girl is tormented by two questions: how will she return
home and will look into the eyes of her husband, whom she cheated on, and how she
will live with a stain on his conscience. The only way out of this
situation Katerina sees death: "No, I'm either home or in the grave -
it doesn't matter... It's better in the grave... To live again? No, no, don't... not good"
Haunted by her sin, Katerina takes her own life to save
your soul.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Katerina and Tikhona Ostrovsky thunderstorm.

The feeling of love for a person, the desire to find a kindred response in another heart, the need for tender pleasures naturally opened up in Katerina and changed her former, indefinite and incorporeal dreams. “At night, Varya, I can’t sleep,” she says, “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, paradise trees and mountains; but it’s as if someone is embracing me so passionately and leading me somewhere, and I follow him, I follow ... ”She realized and caught these dreams quite late; but, of course, they pursued and tormented her long before she herself could give an account of them. At their first appearance, she immediately turned her feelings to that which was closest to her - to her husband. For a long time she struggled to make her soul akin to him, to assure herself that she needed nothing with him, that in him there was the bliss she was so anxiously seeking. She looked with fear and bewilderment at the possibility of seeking mutual love in someone other than him. In the play, which finds Katerina already at the beginning of her love for Boris Grigorych, one can still see Katerina's last, desperate efforts - to make her husband dear to herself. The scene of her parting with him makes us feel that even here all is not lost for Tikhon, that he can still retain his rights to the love of this woman; but this same scene, in short but sharp sketches, tells us the whole story of the tortures that forced Katerina to endure in order to alienate her first feeling from her husband. Tikhon is here simple-hearted and vulgar, not at all evil, but extremely spineless creature, not daring to do anything contrary to his mother. And the mother is a soulless creature, a fist-woman, concluding in Chinese ceremonies - and love, and religion, and morality. Between her and between his wife, Tikhon represents one of the many pitiful types who are usually called harmless, although in a general sense they are just as harmful as the tyrants themselves, because they serve as their faithful assistants.

Tikhon himself loved his wife and would be ready to do anything for her; but the oppression under which he grew up has so disfigured him that no strong feeling, no resolute striving can develop in him. There is a conscience in him, there is a desire for good, but he constantly acts against himself and serves as a submissive instrument of his mother, even in his relations with his wife. Even in the first scene of the appearance of the Kabanov family on the boulevard, we see what is the position of Katerina between her husband and mother-in-law. The boar scolds her son that his wife is not afraid of him; he decides to object: “but why should she be afraid? It's enough for me that she loves me." The old woman immediately throws herself at him: “how, why be afraid? How, why be afraid! Yes, you're crazy, right? They will not be afraid of you, and even more so of me: what order will this be in the house! After all, you, tea, live with her in law. Ali, do you think the law means nothing?” Under such beginnings, of course, the feeling of love in Katerina does not find scope and hides inside her, affecting only at times convulsive impulses. But even these impulses the husband does not know how to use: he is too downtrodden to understand the power of her passionate yearning. “I can’t figure you out, Katya,” he says to her, “then you won’t get a word from you, let alone affection, otherwise you climb like that yourself.” This is how ordinary and spoiled natures usually judge a strong and fresh nature: they, judging by themselves, do not understand the feeling that is buried in the depths of the soul, and take any concentration for apathy; when at last, not being able to hide any longer, the inner strength gushes out of the soul in a wide and rapid stream, they are surprised and consider this some kind of trick, a whim, like the fantasy that sometimes comes to them themselves to fall into pathos or to goof off. Meanwhile, these impulses are a necessity in a strong nature and are the more striking the longer they do not find an outlet for themselves. They are unintentional, not thought out, but caused by natural necessity. The strength of nature, which does not have the opportunity to develop actively, is also expressed passively - by patience, restraint. But just do not confuse this patience with that which comes from the weak development of the personality in man and which ends up becoming accustomed to insults and hardships of every kind. No, Katerina will never get used to them; she still does not know what and how she will decide, she does not violate her duties to her mother-in-law in any way, she does everything possible to get along well with her husband, but everything shows that she feels her position and that she is drawn to break out of it. She never complains, never scolds her mother-in-law; the old woman herself cannot bring this upon her; and, nevertheless, the mother-in-law feels that Katerina is something inappropriate, hostile for her. Tikhon, who is afraid of his mother like fire and, moreover, is not distinguished by special delicacy and tenderness, is ashamed, however, before his wife when, at the behest of his mother, he must punish her so that without him she “does not stare at the windows” and “does not look at young guys” . He sees that he bitterly insults her with such speeches, although he cannot properly understand her condition. When his mother leaves the room, he consoles his wife in this way: “Take everything to heart, so you will soon fall into consumption. Why listen to her! She needs to say something. Well, let her talk, and you pass by your ears! This indifferentism is definitely bad and hopeless; but Katerina can never reach him; although outwardly she is even less upset than Tikhon, complains less, but in essence she suffers much more. Tikhon also feels that he does not have something he needs; there is discontent in him too; but it is in him to such a degree as, for example, a ten-year-old boy with a perverted imagination can be attracted to a woman. He cannot very resolutely seek independence and his rights - already because he does not know what to do with them; his desire is more head, external, and his nature, having succumbed to the oppression of education, remained almost deaf to natural aspirations. Therefore, the very search for freedom in him takes on an ugly character and becomes repugnant, just as repulsive is the cynicism of a ten-year-old boy who, without meaning and inner need, repeats the nasty things heard from the big ones. Tikhon, you see, heard from someone that he is "also a man" and therefore should have a certain amount of power and significance in the family; therefore, he places himself much higher than his wife and, believing that God already judged her to endure and humble herself, he looks at his position under the supervision of his mother as bitter and humiliating. Then, he is inclined towards revelry, and in it he mainly puts freedom: just like the same boy, who does not know how to comprehend the real essence, why a woman's love is so sweet, and who knows only the external side of the matter, which with him turns into smut : Tikhon, about to leave, with shameless cynicism says to his wife, who begs him to take her with him: “With some kind of bondage, you will run away from any beautiful wife you want! Just think about it: no matter what it is, but I’m still a man, to live like this all my life, as you see, you’ll run away from your wife too. But how do I know now that for two weeks there will be no thunderstorm on me, there are no shackles on my legs, so am I up to my wife? Katerina can only answer him to this: “how can I love you when you say such words? But Tikhon does not understand the full importance of this gloomy and decisive reproach; like a man who has already given up on his mind, he answers casually: “words are like words! What other words should I say! - and in a hurry to get rid of his wife. What for? What does he want to do, on what to take his soul, breaking free? He himself later tells Kuligin about this: “on the road, my mother read, read instructions to me, and as soon as I left, I went on a spree. I am very glad that I broke free. And he drank all the way, and in Moscow he drank everything; so it's a bunch, what's up. So, in order to take a walk for a whole year! .. ”That's all! And it must be said that in the old days, when the consciousness of the individual and his rights had not yet risen in the majority, protests against tyrannical oppression were almost limited to such antics. And even today you can still meet many Tikhonov, reveling, if not in wine, then in some kind of reasoning and speeches and taking their souls away in the noise of verbal orgies. These are precisely people who constantly complain about their cramped position, and yet are infected with a proud thought of their privileges and their superiority over others: “whatever it is, but still I am a man, so how can I endure something.” That is: “be patient, because you are a woman and, therefore, rubbish, but I need a will, not because it was a human, natural requirement, but because such are the rights of my privileged person” ... Clearly, that from such people and habits nothing could ever and never can come out.

But the new movement of people's life, which we spoke about above and which we found reflected in the character of Katerina, is not like them. In this personality we see already mature, from the depths of the whole organism, the demand for the right and the scope of life that arises. Here it is no longer imagination, not hearsay, not an artificially excited impulse that appears to us, but the vital necessity of nature. Katerina is not capricious, does not flirt with her discontent and anger - this is not in her nature; she does not want to impress others, to show off and boast. On the contrary, she lives very peacefully and is ready to submit to everything that is not contrary to her nature; her principle, if she could recognize and define it, would be that of how. you can less embarrass others with your personality and disturb the general course of affairs. But on the other hand, recognizing and respecting the aspirations of others, it demands the same respect for itself, and any violence, any constraint revolts it vitally, deeply. If she could, she would drive far from herself everything that lives wrong and harms others; but, not being able to do this, she goes the opposite way - she herself runs from the destroyers and offenders. If only not to obey their principles, contrary to her nature, if only not to reconcile with their unnatural demands, and then what will come out - whether the best lot for her or death - she no longer looks at this: in both cases, deliverance is for her. .. About her character, Katerina tells Varya one more trait from her childhood memories: “I was born so hot! I was still six years old, no more - so I did it! They offended me with something at home, but it was in the evening, it was already dark - I ran out to the Volga, got into a boat, and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they found it, ten versts away...” This childish ardor was preserved in Katerina; only, together with her general maturity, did she also have the strength to withstand impressions and dominate them. An adult Katerina, forced to endure insults, finds the strength in herself to endure them for a long time, without vain complaints, semi-resistance and all sorts of noisy antics. She endures until some interest speaks in her, especially close to her heart and legitimate in her eyes, until such a demand of her nature is offended in her, without the satisfaction of which she cannot remain calm. Then she will not look at anything. She will not resort to diplomatic tricks, to deceptions and swindles - she is not like that. If it is necessary to deceive without fail, then it is better to try to overcome herself. Varya advises Katerina to hide her love for Boris; she says: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything,” and after that she makes an effort on her heart and again turns to Varya with this speech: “don’t tell me about him, do me a favor, don’t talk! I don't want to know him! I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I won’t exchange you for anyone! But the effort is already beyond her capacity; in a minute she feels that she cannot get rid of the love that has arisen. “Do I want to think about him,” she says: “but what should I do if it doesn’t get out of my head?” These simple words express very clearly how the power of natural aspirations, imperceptibly to Katerina herself, triumphs in her over all external demands, prejudices and artificial combinations in which her life is entangled. Let us note that, theoretically, Katerina could not reject any of these demands, she could not free herself from any backward opinions; she went against all of them, armed only with the power of her feelings, the instinctive consciousness of her direct, inalienable right to life, happiness and love ... She does not resonate in the least, but with surprising ease resolves all the difficulties of her position. Here is her conversation with Barbara:

Barbara. You're kind of tricky, God bless you! And in my opinion - do what you want, if only it was sewn and covered.

Katerina. I don't want that, and what good! I'd rather endure as long as I endure.

Barbara. And if you don't, what are you going to do?

Katerina. What will I do?

Barbara. Yes, what will you do?

Katerina. Whatever I want then I will do.

Barbara. Make a try, so you'll be picked up here.

Katerina. What about me! I'm leaving, and I was.

Barbara. Where will you go! You are a husband's wife.

Katerina. Eh, Varya, you don't know my character! Of course, God forbid this should happen, and if I get too cold 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.

Here is the true strength of character, which in any case can be relied upon! This is the height to which our folk life reaches in its development, but to which very few in our literature have been able to rise, and no one has been able to hold on to it as well as Ostrovsky. He felt that not abstract beliefs, but life facts govern a person, that not a way of thinking, not principles, but nature is needed for the formation and manifestation of a strong character, and he knew how to create such a person who serves as a representative of a great popular idea, without carrying great ideas. neither in the tongue nor in the head, selflessly goes to the end in an uneven struggle and perishes, without at all dooming himself to high self-sacrifice. Her actions are in harmony with her nature, neither natural, necessary for her, she cannot refuse them, even if this had the most disastrous consequences. The strong characters claimed in other works of our literature are like fountains, gushing rather beautifully and briskly, but depending in their manifestations on an extraneous mechanism brought to them; Katerina, on the contrary, can be likened to a deep river: it flows as its natural property requires; the nature of its flow changes according to the terrain through which it passes, but the flow does not stop: a flat bottom - it flows calmly, large stones meet - it jumps over them, a cliff - it cascades, dam it - it rages and breaks in another place. It seethes not because the water suddenly wants to make a noise or get angry at an obstacle, but simply because it is necessary for it to fulfill its natural requirement - for the further flow. So it is in the character that Ostrovsky reproduced for us: we know that he will endure himself, in spite of any obstacles; and when there is not enough strength, he will die, but he will not betray himself ...

Dobrolyubov N.A. "A Ray of Light in a Dark Realm"

Homework for the lesson

1. Collect citation material to characterize Katerina.
2. Read steps II and III. Mark phrases in Katerina's monologues that testify to the poetic nature of her nature.
3. What is Katerina's speech?
4. How is life in your parents' house different from life in your husband's house?
5. What is the inevitability of Katerina's conflict with the world of the "dark kingdom", with the world of Kabanova and Dikoy?
6. Why next to Katerina Varvara?
7. Does Katerina Tikhon love?
8. Happiness or misfortune on the life path of Katerina Boris?
9. Can Katerina's suicide be considered a protest against the "dark kingdom"? Maybe the protest is in love with Boris?

Exercise

Using the material prepared at home, characterize Katerina. What traits of her character appear in the very first remarks?

Answer

D.I, yavl. V, p.232: Inability to be hypocritical, lie, directness. The conflict is outlined right away: Kabanikha does not tolerate self-esteem, disobedience in people, Katerina does not know how to adapt and submit. In Katerina there is - along with spiritual softness, trembling, songfulness - and firmness hated by Kabanikh, strong-willed determination, which can be heard in her story about sailing on a boat, and in her individual actions, and in her patronymic Petrovna, derived from Peter - " stone". D.II, yavl. II, pp. 242–243, 244.

Therefore, Katerina cannot be brought to her knees, and this greatly complicates the conflict confrontation between the two women. A situation arises when, according to the proverb, the scythe found a stone.

Question

How else does Katerina differ from the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov? Find places in the text where the poetic nature of Katerina is emphasized.

Answer

Katerina is a poetic nature. Unlike the rude Kalinovites, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. In the morning I got up early ... Oh, yes, I lived with my mother, like a flower bloomed ...

“I used to get up early; if in the 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,” she says about her childhood. (d.I, yavl. VII, p. 236)

Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. Her dreams were filled with wonderful, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. (d.I, yavl. VII, p. 235). With these repetitions, the playwright emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina's soul, her freedom-loving aspirations. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law, to love her husband, but no one needs sincere feelings in the Kabanovs' house.

Catherine is religious. With her impressionability, the religious feelings instilled in her in childhood firmly took possession of her soul.

“Until death, I loved to go to church! It’s like, it happened, I’ll go into paradise, and I don’t see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service ends,” she recalls. (d.I, yavl. VII, p. 236)

Question

How would you characterize the character's speech?

Answer

Katerina's speech reflects all the richness of her inner world: the strength of feelings, human dignity, moral purity, truthfulness of nature. The strength of feelings, the depth and sincerity of Katerina's experiences are also expressed in the syntactic structure of her speech: rhetorical questions, exclamations, unfinished sentences. And in especially tense moments, her speech takes on the features of a Russian folk song, becomes smooth, rhythmic, melodious. In her speech, there are vernacular, words of a church-religious nature (lives, angels, golden temples, images), expressive means of folk-poetic language ("Wild winds, you transfer my sadness and longing to him"). Speech is rich in intonations - joyful, sad, enthusiastic, sad, anxious. The intonations express Katerina's attitude towards others.

Question

Where did these traits come from in the heroine? Tell us how Katerina lived before marriage? How is life in your parents' house different from life in your husband's house?

Answer

S.235 d.I, yavl. VII ("Was I like that!")

Conclusion

Outwardly, the living conditions in Kalinovo are no different from the environment of Katerina's childhood. The same prayers, the same rituals, the same activities, but "here," the heroine notes, "everything is as if from bondage." And captivity is incompatible with her freedom-loving soul.

Question

What is Katerina's protest against the "dark kingdom"? Why can't we call her either "victim" or "mistress"?

Answer

Katerina differs in character from all the characters in "Thunderstorm". Whole, honest, sincere, she is incapable of lies and falsehood, therefore, in the cruel world where the Wild and Kabanovs reign, her life is tragic. She does not want to adapt to the world of the "dark kingdom", but she cannot be called a victim either. She protests. Her protest is love for Boris. This is freedom of choice.

Question

Does Katerina Tikhon love?

Answer

Given in marriage, apparently not of her own free will, she is at first ready to become an exemplary wife. D.II, yavl. II, p. 243. But such a rich nature as Katerina cannot love a primitive, limited person.

D. V, yavl. III, p.279 "Yes, he has disgusted me, he has disgusted me, his caress is worse for me than beatings."

Already at the beginning of the play, we learn about her love for Boris. D. I, yavl.VII, p.237.

Question

Happiness or misfortune on the life path of Katerina Boris?

Answer

The very love for Boris is a tragedy. D.V, yavl. III, p. 280 "Unfortunately, I saw you." Even the narrow-minded Kudryash understands this, warning with alarm: “Oh, Boris Grigoryevich! (...) It means that you want to ruin her completely, Boris Grigoryich! (...) But what kind of people are here! You know yourself. They will eat her, (...) Just look - don’t make trouble for yourself, but don’t get her into trouble! Suppose, even though she has a husband and a fool, but her mother-in-law is painfully fierce.

Question

What is the complexity of Katerina's internal state?

Answer

Love for Boris is: a free choice dictated by the heart; deceit that puts Katerina on a par with Varvara; renunciation of love is submission to the world of Kabanikhi. Love-choice dooms Katerina to torment.

Question

How is the heroine's torment, her struggle with herself, her strength shown in the scene with the key and the scenes of meeting and parting with Boris? Analyze vocabulary, sentence structure, folklore elements, connections with folk song.

Answer

D.III, scene II, yavl. III. pp. 261–262, 263

D.V, yavl. III, p. 279.

Scene with the key: “What am I saying, that I am deceiving myself? I have to die to see him." Date scene: "Let everyone know, let everyone see what I'm doing! If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment? Farewell scene: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!" All three scenes show the determination of the heroine. She never betrayed herself: she decided on love at the behest of her heart, confessed to treason from an inner sense of freedom (a lie is always not free), she came to say goodbye to Boris not only because of a feeling of love, but also because of guilt: he suffered because of for her. She rushed into the Volga at the request of her free nature.

Question

So what lies at the heart of Katerina's protest against the "dark kingdom"?

Answer

Katerina's protest against the oppression of the "dark kingdom" is based on a natural desire to defend the freedom of her personality. Captivity is the name of her main enemy. With all her being, Katerina felt that living in the "dark kingdom" was worse than death. And she preferred death to captivity.

Question

Prove that Katerina's death is a protest.

Answer

Katerina's death is a protest, a riot, a call to action. Varvara ran away from home, Tikhon blamed his mother for the death of his wife. Kuligin reproached him with unmercifulness.

Question

Will the city of Kalinov be able to live in the old way?

Answer

Most likely no.

The fate of Katerina takes on a symbolic meaning in the play. Not only the heroine of the play perishes - patriarchal Russia, patriarchal morality perishes and goes into the past. Ostrovsky's drama, as it were, captured people's Russia at a turning point, on the threshold of a new historical era.

For conclusion

The play still asks a lot of questions. First of all, it is necessary to understand the genre nature, the main conflict of "Thunderstorm" and understand why N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote in the article "A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom": "Thunderstorm" is, without a doubt, Ostrovsky's most decisive work. The author himself called his work a drama. Over time, researchers increasingly began to call "Thunderstorm" a tragedy, based on the specifics of the conflict (obviously tragic) and the nature of Katerina, who raised big questions that remained somewhere on the periphery of society's attention. Why did Katherine die? Because she got a cruel mother-in-law? Because she, being a husband's wife, committed a sin and could not stand the pangs of conscience? If we confine ourselves to these problems, the content of the work is significantly impoverished, reduced to a separate, private episode from the life of such and such a family, and loses its high tragic intensity.

At first glance, it seems that the main conflict of the play is Katerina's clash with Kabanova. If Marfa Ignatievna had been kinder, gentler, more humane, there would hardly have been a tragedy with Katerina. But the tragedy might not have happened if Katerina knew how to lie, adapt, if she had not judged herself so severely, if she had looked at life more simply and calmly. But Kabanikha remains Kabanikha, and Katerina remains Katerina. And each of them reflects a certain life position, each of them acts in accordance with its own principles.

The main thing in the play is the inner life of the heroine, the emergence in her of something new, still unclear to herself. “Something in me is so unusual, as if I’m starting to live again, or ... I really don’t know,” she admits to her husband’s sister Varvara.

Alexander Nikolayevich covered the most important and especially topical problem of human dignity at that time. The arguments that allow us to consider it as such are very convincing. The author proves that his play is really important, if only by the fact that the issues raised in it continue to excite many years later and the current generation. Drama is being addressed, studied and analyzed, and interest in it has not weakened to this day.

In the 50-60s of the 19th century, the following three topics attracted special attention of writers and poets: the emergence of a raznochintsy intelligentsia, serfdom, and the position of women in society and the family. In addition, there was another topic - the tyranny of money, tyranny and old Testament authority among the merchants, under the yoke of which were all family members, and especially women. A. N. Ostrovsky in his drama "Thunderstorm" set the task of exposing the spiritual and economic tyranny in the so-called "dark kingdom".

Who can be considered the bearer of human dignity?

The problem of human dignity in the drama "Thunderstorm" is the most important in this work. It should be noted that there are very few characters in the play that one could talk about: “The majority of the characters are either unconditionally negative characters, or inexpressive, neutral. Wild and Kabanikha are idols, devoid of elementary human feelings; Boris and Tikhon are spineless, beings capable of only obeying; Curly and Barbara are reckless people, reaching for momentary pleasures, incapable of serious feelings and reflections. Only Kuligin, an eccentric inventor, and the main character Katerina stand out from this series. The problem of human dignity in the drama "Thunderstorm" can briefly be described as the opposition of these two heroes to society.

Inventor Kuligin

Kuligin is a rather attractive person with considerable talents, a sharp mind, a poetic soul, and a desire to selflessly serve people. He is honest and kind. It is no coincidence that Ostrovsky trusts him with an assessment of the backward, limited, self-satisfied Kalinov society that does not recognize the rest of the world. However, Kuligin, although he evokes sympathy, is still unable to stand up for himself, therefore he calmly endures rudeness, endless ridicule and insults. This is an educated, enlightened person, but these best qualities in Kalinov are considered only a whim. The inventor is disparagingly referred to as an alchemist. He longs for the common good, he wants to install a lightning rod, a clock in the city, but a rigid society does not want to accept any innovations. The boar, who is the embodiment of the patriarchal world, will not take the train, even if the whole world has been using the railway for a long time. Wild will never understand that lightning is actually electricity. He doesn't even know that word. The problem of human dignity in the drama "Thunderstorm", the epigraph to which can be Kuligin's remark "Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!", thanks to the introduction of this character, receives deeper coverage.

Kuligin, seeing all the vices of society, is silent. Only Katerina protests. Despite its weakness, it is still a strong nature. The plot of the play is based on the tragic conflict between the way of life and the real feeling of the main character. The problem of human dignity in the drama "Thunderstorm" is revealed in the contrast between the "dark kingdom" and the "ray" - Katerina.

"Dark Kingdom" and its victims

The inhabitants of Kalinov are divided into two groups. One of them is made up of representatives of the "dark kingdom", personifying power. This is Boar and Wild. The other group includes Kuligin, Katerina, Kudryash, Tikhon, Boris and Varvara. They are victims of the "dark kingdom", feeling its cruel power, but protesting against it in different ways. Through their actions or inaction, the problem of human dignity is revealed in the drama "Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky's plan was to show from different sides the influence of the "dark kingdom" with its suffocating atmosphere.

Katerina's character

Interests and strongly stands out against the background of the environment in which she unwittingly found herself. The reason for the drama of life lies precisely in its special, exceptional character.

This girl is a dreamy and poetic nature. She was raised by a mother who spoiled her and loved her. The daily activities of the heroine in her childhood were caring for flowers, visiting church, embroidery, walking, stories of praying women and wanderers. Under the influence of this way of life, the girls developed. Sometimes she fell into daydreams, dreamlike dreams. Katerina's speech is emotional, figurative. And this poetically minded and impressionable girl, after marriage, finds herself in Kabanova's house, in an atmosphere of importunate guardianship and hypocrisy. The atmosphere of this world is cold and soulless. Naturally, the conflict between the bright world of Katerina and the atmosphere of this "dark kingdom" ends tragically.

The relationship between Katerina and Tikhon

The situation is further complicated by the fact that she married a man whom she could not love and did not know, although she tried with all her might to become Tikhon's faithful and loving wife. The heroine's attempts to get closer to her husband are shattered by his narrow-mindedness, slavish humiliation and rudeness. Since childhood, he has been accustomed to obey his mother in everything, he is afraid to say a word across to her. Tikhon resignedly endures the tyranny of Kabanikh, not daring to object and protest to her. His only desire is to break out from under the care of this woman, at least for a while, to go on a spree, to drink. This weak-willed man, being one of the many victims of the "dark kingdom", not only could not help Katerina in any way, but simply could not understand her as a human being, since the inner world of the heroine is too high, complex and inaccessible for him. He could not foresee the drama brewing in the heart of his wife.

Katerina and Boris

Dikiy's nephew, Boris, is also a victim of a sanctimonious, dark milieu. In terms of his inner qualities, he is much higher than the "benefactors" surrounding him. The education he received in the capital at a commercial academy developed his cultural needs and views, so it is difficult for this character to survive among the Wild and Kabanovs. The problem of human dignity in the play "Thunderstorm" also confronts this hero. However, he lacks the character to break free from their tyranny. He is the only one who managed to understand Katerina, but was unable to help her: he lacks the determination to fight for the girl's love, so he advises her to reconcile, submit to fate and leaves her, anticipating the death of Katerina. The inability to fight for happiness doomed Boris and Tikhon not to live, but to suffer. Only Katherine was able to challenge this tyranny. The problem of human dignity in the play is thus also a problem of character. Only strong people can challenge the "dark kingdom". They were only the main character.

Dobrolyubov's opinion

The problem of human dignity in the drama "Thunderstorm" was revealed in an article by Dobrolyubov, who called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." The death of a gifted young woman, of a strong, passionate nature, lit up the sleeping "kingdom" for a moment, like a ray of sunshine against the background of gloomy dark clouds. Dobrolyubov considers the suicide of Katerina Dobrolyubov as a challenge not only to the Wild and Kabanovs, but to the whole way of life in a gloomy, despotic feudal serf country.

inevitable ending

It was an inevitable ending, despite the fact that the main character so honored God. It was easier for Katerina Kabanova to leave this life than to endure the reproaches of her mother-in-law, gossip and remorse. She pleaded guilty in public, because she did not know how to lie. Suicide and public repentance should be regarded as actions that elevated her human dignity.

Katerina could be despised, humiliated, even beaten, but she never humiliated herself, did not commit unworthy, low deeds, they only went against the morality of this society. Although what kind of morality can such limited, stupid people have? The issue of human dignity in The Thunderstorm is the issue of the tragic choice between accepting or challenging society. The protest at the same time threatens with serious consequences, up to the need to lose one's life.

Answer from GALINA[guru]
Katerina married her son Kabanikhy not for love, but because her parents wanted it that way, because the concepts of “marriage” and “love” had completely different meanings.
Marriage is a worthy life, and love is something sinful and forbidden.
Tikhon Kabanov - the heroine's husband, a merchant's son. He married Katerina because his mother demanded it, and he believes that he himself loves Katerina, but is that so? He himself is weak-willed and completely subordinate to his mother, he does not even dare to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother-in-law. All he can advise her is to ignore her mother's reproaches. He himself does this all his life, agreeing with his mother and dreaming at the same time of running away to his neighbor Savel Prokofievich and having a drink with him. Happiness for Tikhon is a two-week trip to Moscow on business. In this case, Katerina is no longer interested in him, and when she asks him to take her with him, he frankly admits: “Yes, as I know now that there will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so it’s up to my wife me? » Katerina feels sorry for her husband, but can she love him? Seeing neither understanding nor support from him, she involuntarily begins to dream of a different love, and her dreams turn to another hero, and Boris. Is he a hero? He is different from the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov - he is educated, studied at the Commercial Academy, he is the only one among the townspeople who walks in a European suit. But these are all external differences, but in fact Boris is just as weak-willed and dependent.
After marriage, Katya's life changed a lot. From the free
joyful, sublime world in which she felt her
merging with nature, the girl fell into a life full of deceit,
cruelty and depravity.
It's not even that Katerina married Tikhon against her will:
she didn’t love anyone at all and she didn’t care who she married.
The fact is that the girl was robbed of her former life, which she
created for myself. Katerina no longer feels such delight from
attending church, she cannot do her usual activities.
Sad, disturbing thoughts do not allow her to calmly admire
nature. It remains for Katya to endure while she is patient, and to dream, but she already
can't live with his thoughts, because the cruel reality
brings her back to earth, where there is humiliation and suffering.
Katerina is trying to find her happiness in love for Tikhon: "I will be a husband
be in love. Tisha, my dear, I won't trade you for anyone. "But
sincere manifestations of this love are suppressed by Kabanikha: "What on
Are you hanging your neck, shameless? You don't say goodbye to your lover."
Katerina has a strong sense of outward obedience and duty, which is why she
forces himself to love an unloved husband. Tikhon and himself because of
tyranny of his mother cannot truly love his wife,
though he probably wants to. And when he, leaving for a while, leaves Katya,
to walk freely, the girl becomes completely
lonely.
Why did Katerina fall in love with Boris?
Probably the reason is that she lacked something clean in the stuffy
atmosphere of the Kabanikhi house. And love for Boris was this pure, not
let Katerina finally wither away, somehow supported her.
Katya cannot live on with her sin, and the only way
to get rid of him at least partially, she considers repentance, she confesses
in everything to her husband and Kabanikh. Such an act in our time seems very
strange, naive. "I don't know how to deceive; I can't hide anything
I can" - such is Katerina. Tikhon forgave his wife, but did she herself forgive
myself? Being very religious. Katya is afraid of God, and her God lives in
her, God is her conscience. The girl is tormented by two questions: how will she return
home and will look into the eyes of her husband, whom she cheated on, and how she
will live with a stain on his conscience. The only way out of this
situation Katerina sees death: "No, I'm either home or in the grave -
it doesn't matter... It's better in the grave... To live again? No, no, don't... not good"
Haunted by her sin, Katerina takes her own life to save
your soul.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

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