In 1878 A.N. Ostrovsky finished his play "Dowry", in 1879 it was first published and staged. Since then, she has practically not disappeared from the stage, enjoying great success. Even now it is one of the most popular pieces of the classical repertoire, based on the film "Cruel Romance". What attracts the viewer in this drama?
In comparison with The Thunderstorm, Ostrovsky used a completely different method - the method of psychological certainty. Recreating the environment, the situation, creating the plot, the genius of the playwright creates realistic characters and masterfully shows the inner train of thought, substantiating every action, every impulse of the soul. In this drama, the realistic tendencies of Ostrovsky's work were most fully reflected.
The situation underlying the plot and included in the title of the play is not new. Dowry is a typical phenomenon for that time. Ostrovsky's critical power did not disappear in The Dowry, who even in his early comedies denounced the bourgeoisie, which is gaining strength, for which money is a fundamental factor in life. It's just that the denunciation has outgrown the genre of comedy, has become more subtle - the playwright shows how the lives of open, honest people are ruined by the cold calculation of merchants.
After analyzing the work of Ostrovsky, we came to the conclusion that a clear, transparent ideological structure of the play is very important for the author. It is almost always clear with Ostrovsky who is the positive hero, who is the negative one, and often there is a reasoner. The playwright always puts some idea into the play or poses a problem, condemning any manifestations of injustice. The ideological field of dramaturgy A.N. Ostrovsky - social problems. He raises questions of monetary relationships, he is concerned about the power of money, their power over people. Sometimes money is the cause of adventures and machinations - and therefore a funny, entertaining intrigue (where there is still a social connotation), and sometimes money causes a tragedy, as in the play "Dowry".
The motive of money, from the point of view of the author, allows revealing the very essence of human relations: in money matters, all the most important qualities of a person are manifested, his value is tested, his fate is accomplished. If in the early plays of Ostrovsky the social problem is in the background, it latently manifests itself when comprehending, then in the later plays the conflict is already obviously socio-psychological.
The development of psychological realism in the second half of the 19th century also manifested itself in dramaturgy. Interest in the human personality in all its states forced writers to look for means to express them. In the drama, the main such means was the stylistic individualization of the characters' language, and it was Ostrovsky who played the leading role in the development of this method. In addition, Ostrovsky, in psychologism, made an attempt to go further, along the path of providing his heroes with the maximum possible freedom within the framework of the author's intention.
In the course of the study, we tried to establish what predetermined the presence of a psychological drama in the work of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky. First of all, in our opinion, by the fact that he originally created his works for the theater, for stage incarnation. Orientation to the stage existence of the drama also determines the author's special attention to the psychological characteristics of each character: both the main and the secondary character.
The author uses various means to create integral, psychologically full-blooded social types. The main means of psychological characteristics of actors is their speech: vocabulary, dialogues, monologues, intonations. In addition to the peculiarities of the language, Ostrovsky also uses the behavior of his characters to convey their psychological characteristics. The means of psychological characteristics for Ostrovsky are not self-recognition of the characters, not reasoning about their feelings and properties, but mainly their actions and everyday dialogue.
According to the complex pattern of emotional experiences, "Dowry" represents a new word in Ostrovsky's work. Along with the genre of satirical comedy, it is customary to talk about the formation of the genre of psychological drama in Ostrovsky's later work. The emergence of psychologism in Ostrovsky's work is connected not only with the breaking of stereotypes in the description of characters. The psychological drama in Ostrovsky's theater arises on the basis of a kind of compromise between the action, which requires the "reduction" of the complexity of the human personality, and attention to its problematic nature.
The complexity of the characters' characters - whether it be the inconsistency of their inner world, as in Larisa, or the discrepancy between the inner essence of the hero and external behavior, as in Paratov - this is the psychologism of Ostrovsky's drama. A. N. Ostrovskiy builds a rare artistic effect of the final scene on a sharp clash of differently directed emotions: the more softness and forgiveness the heroine has, the sharper the viewer’s judgment.
The drama "Dowry" became the pinnacle of Ostrovsky's work, a work in which the motifs and themes of most of the plays of the later period converged in a surprisingly capacious artistic unity. In this play, revealing in a new way the complex and psychologically polyphonic human characters, the inevitability of the emergence of a new theater in Russia is anticipated.
Ostrovsky's psychological drama The Dowry, like the play The Thunderstorm, is one of Ostrovsky's dramatic masterpieces. It is distinguished by the sharpness of social problems, the colorfulness and brightness of characters, refined psychologism, and the interlacing of the social and the individual-personal, which is rare in its expressiveness.
Almost twenty years separate "Dowry" (1978) from "Thunderstorm" (1859). Intensive changes in Russian life led to increased capitalization, "the triumph of the bourgeoisie." The action of the play takes place in the Volga city of Bryakhimov in the "present days" (that is, in the late 70s of the XIX century). The heroes of the play are Europeanized merchants who, in the words of one of the servants, go to talk "to Moscow, St. Petersburg and abroad."
Cross-cutting in the play, in many respects determining its conflict, is the motive of the omnipotence of capital. A significant part of the exposition of the drama "Dowry", the analysis of which we are interested in, is occupied by the dialogue of the millionaire Knurov with the representative of a wealthy trading company Vozhevatov. Both merchants, like most of Ostrovsky's characters, have significant surnames: "knur" - boar, wild boar, "chewed" - polite, courteous. Merchants are discussing sensational news: the consent of the first beauty of the city, charming and artistic Larisa Ogudalova, to marry a poor official Karandyshev, who is completely insignificant in the eyes of successful merchants. “Well, what is Karandyshev!” - Knurov declares contemptuously (d. 1, yavl. 2).
From the dialogue of the merchants, we learn about Larisa's relationship with her beloved Paratov, who, according to Vozhevatov, "recaptured all the suitors, and his trace caught a cold, disappeared to no one knows where" (d. 1, yavl. 2). Larisa is in a hopeless situation, she is a dowry, and this is the main reason for her personal misfortunes. The interlocutors also evaluate their own chances in competition for Larisa. The struggle for it, conducted almost according to the laws of the stock market game, reveals in each of the rivals all the immensity of their personal ambitions, the desire to establish themselves as the “hero of the day”. Whatever the merchants talk about, even about the most personal, intimate, the motive of buying and selling is always in the first place.
Each of the characters in the play "Dowry" (Ostrovsky), the analysis of which interests us, in accordance with his ideas, strives to master the "art of life". Among the hierarchy of life values of merchants and nobles, wealth, luxury, and refined pleasures come to the fore. Knurov, who has a huge fortune, behaves like a person for whom "impossible is not enough." “Paratov lives with chic” - this is how merchants evaluate the lifestyle of the “brilliant gentleman”. “She loves to live happily herself,” says the young, lucky Vasya Vozhevatov, a regular in her house, about the mother of the heroine Kharita Ignatievna Ogudalova. The poor official Karandyshev, "a proud and envious man", striving for success and comfort, appears as a parodic double of Paratov. Karandyshev cannot assimilate the alien, inorganic style of behavior for him and goes astray. According to A. I. Zhuravleva's apt expression, he cannot "get into the image." And only the mentally refined Larisa, as it were, exists “above everyday life”, craves a spiritual and moral life, dreams of sublimely romantic relationships. Naturally, with such different ideas about life, they speak different languages with Karandyshev.
The question naturally arises: is Karandyshev sincere in his feelings for Larisa? Without a doubt, this petty official with great ambitions loves her in his own way. But this feeling is inseparable from his hysterical ambition, the desire to magnify himself, to present his “capital” to his rivals. M. V. Otradin correctly notes that the relationship between Larisa and Karandyshev "immediately manifests itself as mutual claims." Karandyshev, having barely become a groom, begins with accusations, behaves ignoblely, reminds his bride of life "in the camp". Larisa answers him with devastating, merciless frankness: “If I didn’t look for silence, solitude, if I didn’t want to run away from people, would I go for you?” (d. 1, yavl. 4). Romantically inclined Larisa does not hide from Karandyshev that her ideal man is Sergey Sergeyich Paratov. She perceives Paratov in the halo of high romance associations (M. V. Otradin), sees in him a bold, generous, exceptional person in everything. By agreeing to marry Karandyshev, Larisa changes her ideas about love and true happiness. However, Larisa's consent to marriage with an unloved person allows for different interpretations. Having lost, it would seem, the newfound happiness (Paratov left and forgot about Larisa), she does not lose hope for a decent and moral life. And that is why he chooses the path of marriage. “At least for Karandyshev, but marry,” Vozhevatov says, not without annoyance. It is noteworthy that Larisa's mother, Harita Ignatievna Ogudalova, is much less picky about the means of achieving well-being in life. She does not exclude "warm participation" in the life of the daughter of a rich man, as evidenced by her conversation with Knurov. “Well, how will this participation be found,” she agrees with Knurov (d. 2, yavl. 2). In the eyes of the eldest Ogudalova, the daughter is a commodity, so the marriage of Larisa or the “patronage” of a sympathetic rich man for her - her mother - are worth each other.
The main event in the first act is Paratov's return to Bryakhimov. His arrival is important not only for the influential people of the city. Both tavern servants and gypsies welcome him. Paratov is everyone's favorite. When he talks about the mechanics from “Swallows”: “He is a foreigner, he is a Dutchman, his soul is short; they have arithmetic instead of a soul ”(d. 1, yavl. 6), the reader (viewer) has the right to expect that Paratov himself is a truly Russian person with a broad soul. Paratov strives to be perceived in this way. But here it is revealed that it is not difficult for him to find a common language with the merchants: “I, Moky Parmenych,” he turns to Knurov, “have nothing cherished; I will find a profit, so I will sell everything, anything ”(case 1, yavl. 6). This very frank self-confession is followed by a message about his marriage to a girl with a very rich dowry. Ostrovsky shows that in Russian society there is a process of erasing the differences between the estates. The big gentleman talks and acts quite like a merchant. The fact that Paratov, with his education and intelligence, his ability to feel the beautiful, serves the same idols as the merchants, dramatically sharpens the conflict, inevitably brings the catastrophe closer.
It is noteworthy that, compared with the powers that be, the comic actor Arkady Schastlivtsev (his role in the plot is secondary) appears to be a more natural person. His reactions to the world are more direct, but this only aggravates his position as a jester, with whom the enlightened Russian tyrants of the newest formation “take their souls”. Larisa's fiancé finds himself in a similar buffoonish position, to whom rival men are constantly trying to point out his true place. Larisa herself correlates with Robinson, whom the "medics" look at as a thing.
During the meeting with Larisa (d. 2, yavl. 8) Paratov behaves like a director and an actor at the same time. His appeal to Shakespeare's Hamlet can be explained by the desire to play, change roles, masks. Paratov is an extremely egocentric person, accustomed to excel in everything and, above all, in love. His male pride is flattered that Larisa is still in the grip of passionate feelings. Undoubtedly, he belongs to the “predatory” type of heroes (“paraty” is a strong, predatory beast). In response to Larisa’s request not to abuse her frankness, Paratov hypocritically declares: “I, Larisa Dmitrievna, am a person with rules, marriage is a sacred matter for me” (case 2, scene 8). The truth of these words is refuted by all his subsequent behavior, the whole course of events. For him, marriage is a bargain, he sells both his freedom, and his attraction to Larisa, and the possible prospect of happiness with her for a large dowry of an unloved metropolitan bride.
It can be said without exaggeration that self-love is the "Archimedean lever" by which action moves. “Everyone loves themselves,” Larisa says bitterly.
Karandyshev, planning a dinner party, cherishes a secret desire to laugh at the rich "buffoons" and take revenge on them. At dinner, he raises a toast to his fiancee Larisa - and utters a commendable word to himself. Karandyshev feels himself at the zenith of greatness, and his guests see only how ridiculous he is. In the struggle of ambition, the strong and successful win. Paratov, mocking the host of the dinner, achieves his goal: in the eyes of Larisa, Karandyshev is humiliated, and therefore destroyed. Larisa is released from internal obligations to her fiancé.
Karandyshev does not even think about the fact that for Larisa marriage with him is a compromise, that in the family she hopes to find solitude and peace. For him, to intermarry with the noble family of the Ogudalovs, to get a beautiful wife - "to play for a raise." Therefore, he dreams of a ceremonial magnificent wedding, which disgusts Larisa.
In the center of the drama is the fate of a charming and talented homeless woman, around whom frank and cynical bargaining is being carried out. In the process of developing the action, the “torture of feelings” (B. Eikhenbaum’s term) of the heroine drags on as much as possible. Paratov, who decided to destroy Karandyshev, does not think about how much pain he will cause Larisa.
The dominant motifs of the play are formed and supported by the musical romance element. Larisa sings a romance to the verses of Baratynsky "Do not tempt me without need." This elegy is dominated by disappointment, fatigue of the soul, inability to seduce love. The romance can be seen as the key to the heroine's drama. Larisa's singing is the voice of a suffering soul. The girl of the play, having a high romantic feeling for Paratov, tried, but could not come to terms with the role of the bride of an unloved person, whom her mother kept in the house "just in case".
In the analyzed play "Dowry" by Ostrovsky, as in romances, there are many internal paradoxes. Larisa's suffering, it would seem, reached the last line. And suddenly she heard in the words of the admiring Paratov what she had been waiting for and wanted to hear, in her own way she perceived and interpreted his unsteady, but passionate confessions. Her soul instantly responds to the loving, excited voice of her beloved. To live for Larisa means to love. Therefore, without hesitation, she agrees to go beyond the Volga with a man in whom she had already lost faith (case 3, appearance 12). Paratov's remark - "She will go" - addressed to Knurov and Vozhevatov, as if crosses out the entire previous situation (Karandyshev's matchmaking, consent to Larisa's marriage). Paratov always feels himself the master of the situation.
For Karandyshev, the flight of the guests and the bride is a terrible blow. His monologue: "Yes, it's funny... I'm a funny person..." (case 3, appearance 14) is full of pathetic intonations. And the reader (viewer) - perhaps for the first time - begins to sympathize with him. The psychological characteristics of this character become noticeably more complicated, his position is dramatized. Karandyshev is going to take revenge on his offenders, and this rebellion against them: “I will take revenge on each of them, each one, until they kill me myself” (d. 3, yavl. 14) is completely natural.
In Ostrovsky's "Dowry" a significant place is given to the motive of the game, which is multifaceted by the author both in the action of the play, and in the characters, and in the relations of the characters. This is also a cruel joke with the actor Schastlivtsev, whom Paratov passes off as a foreigner Robinson and promises to send him to Paris. But "Paris", where Schastlivtsev ends up, is a Brakhimov restaurant. This is a game of feelings and pride of the central characters.
This is one of the forms of embodiment of the conflict. In the second act, Paratov is talking to Larisa's mother. He playfully remarks: “It’s not for us, frivolous gentlemen, to start new turns!” (Javl. 7). In fact, he is far from gentlemanly: a noble gloss is his mask, and behind it are the nature and interests of the businessman. Harita Ignatievna is trying to reveal Paratov's game, to discover his secret intentions: “I understand: do you want to get married profitably?” Marrying the dowry Larisa is impossible for Paratov - this is a game not worth the candle: “After all, I almost married Larisa - if only I would make people laugh! Yes, I played a fool” (case 1, appearance 7). Yes, and the very relationship with Larisa, which awakens the excitement of the player in Paratov, is a cruel, dangerous game, a completely conscious risk: “I will abandon all calculations, and no force will snatch you from me; except together with my life” (case 3, appearance 12). In the scene of recognition, Paratov's ornate speeches are regarded by Larisa as a play on words: “No, no, Sergey Sergeyevich, you don’t say phrases to me! ..” (d. 4, yavl. 7). The concept of "game" is also realized in the play in a metaphorical sense: "life is a game". “I have lost more than a fortune, I have lost you; I myself suffer, and I made you suffer” (case 3, appearance 12). The last action begins with a card game scene, followed by an episode of Larisa's tossing, where Knurov and Vozhevatov rely on chance.
The “cruel game” of Paratov and Larisa ended with the fact that the true Paratov finally opens up to the heroine, for whom calculation and profit are above all. Disappointment in a loved one for Larisa is tantamount to a loss of the meaning of life. Suffering from the betrayal of Paratov, the dowry does not find sympathy in anyone, even in her childhood friend, Vozhevatov. The last dialogue in the play, between Larisa and Karandyshev, goes on strong emotional swings. The murderous word "thing", which Karandyshev finds for the former bride, becomes one of the leitmotifs of this last conversation. “I take you, I am your master,” says Karandyshev (d. 4, yavl. 11). But further, shocked by Larisa's intention to go to Knurov, he softens: “Larisa Dmitrievna! Stop! I forgive you, I forgive everything." Karandyshev begs to make him happy, confesses his love. And then - in response to Larisa's categorical refusal and contempt - a new emotional drop follows: "So don't get you to anyone!" The ex-fiance of Larisa, who decided to protect her and avenge her (one of all and one against all), is not kept at this height and kills his beloved, confirming the view of her as a thing (B. O. Kostelyanets).
Larisa regards Karandyshev's shot as a boon. There is no Katerina's integrity in her, so Larisa found herself on the verge of compromise and moral decline, although she has a passionate dream of the purity and beauty of human relations. Death allows her to maintain integrity and height, not to lose her own dignity. But, as A. I. Zhuravleva emphasizes, “the more softness and forgiveness the heroine has, the sharper the judgment of the viewer.”
The meaning of the title of the play "Dowry", the analysis of which we have carried out, is focused not only on the social and everyday, but also on the moral and psychological conflict. “You can’t call Katerina a dowry. It is rich: behind it is the power of tradition, the strength of the people's worldview and folk poetry. Larisa is beautiful, but she is by herself, ”N. N. Skatov rightly noted. The heroines of Ostrovsky's two dramatic masterpieces appear individually unique and are among the most charming female characters in Russian and world literature.
>Compositions based on the work The Dowry
What is the reason for the drama of the heroine of the play?
A. N. Ostrovsky wrote the play "Dowry" in 1879, during a period of a sharp jump in trade and industry in the country. Many ordinary merchants turned into millionaires, strove to get a European education, dress and look like Europeans. Their characters also became more complex. They did not want to communicate with people of a different social status, they began to marry not for love, but solely because of material gain. This is exactly how the merchant world appears in Ostrovsky's drama. Against the background of these changes, the main character and her fate are depicted.
Larisa Dmitrievna is a refined, poetic nature, incapable of lying or flattery for the sake of obtaining material wealth. She is outstanding, well-educated, educated, modest, talented, capable of deep feelings. It would seem that there are only advantages. However, in the society that surrounds her, such openness is considered a disadvantage. Her virtues are sarcastically judged and even condemned. As the young Vozhevatov says about her attitude towards Paratov: "What sensitivity!" He himself often visits the Ogudalovs, communicates with Larisa, introduces himself as her friend, but immediately reproaches her for her simplicity, adding that dowry women should not tell the truth.
In fact, everything around is bought and everything is sold, including feelings, beauty and girlish honor. From now on, the power and influence in society belongs to predatory, tenacious and dodgy businessmen, which Larisa, unlike her mother, does not understand. The moral values of Kharita Ignatievna and her daughter are so different that this leads to a sad denouement. Tired of constant receptions, fake smiles and an endless choice of suitors, Larisa decides to marry the first one who proposes. Then the stupid Karandyshev appears - a poor, petty official. She is well aware that by accepting his offer, she is challenging the person she has loved for a long time. Alas, Paratov is not ready to give up "marrying a million" for her sake. He has already chosen a bride with gold mines and does not intend to change anything.
It can be concluded that neither Paratov nor Karandyshev had sincere feelings for Larisa. One just wanted to amuse his pride, having received a sincere recognition from a beautiful and outstanding girl, and the other wanted to brag that Larisa had chosen him. At the same time, Knurov and Vozhevatov decide her fate by playing toss. An elderly businessman is not averse to making her a kept woman. Having begun to see clearly and realizing that she is just a thing, a dowry that can be bought or sold, Larisa wants to die. Karandyshev frees her from these sufferings. Upon learning that she wants to ruin the wedding, he shoots her so that no one else can get her. Larisa accepts death with gratitude, as if liberation from the cruel world in which she lived so little. She dies, forgiving everyone who could not understand her.
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky is a brilliant Russian playwright. His famous play The Dowry was written in 1878. The author worked long and hard on the work for four years. "Dowry" caused a lot of questions and controversy among critics and viewers, who were the very first to see the production of the play on stage.
As is often the case, people's recognition of "Dowry" came only a few years after the death of the author himself. The first staged performances in St. Petersburg and Moscow theaters, unfortunately, were very disastrous, critics gave poor ratings and wrote conflicting reviews. However, the play quickly and easily passed the censorship and was immediately published in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski in 1879.
It is believed that Ostrovsky wrote the drama based on real events that he had to observe in his life as a justice of the peace in Kineshma district.
The idea of this work was conceived by the author in the autumn of 1874, but the work on it went on for a long time and painstakingly. During the time it was written, the author released several more works, and The Dowry finished only in January 1879. The play, which was not accepted and recognized in its time, has now become a classic and has gained real respect and immortality.
The essence of the work
To begin with, it is worth deciding who such a dowry is? So in the old days they called poor girls and those who did not have a dowry, which was supposed to enter the capital of her future family. A woman did not work in those days, therefore, a man took her as a dependent, and, apart from the money received from his parents, he had nothing to hope for, his wife could not help him in financial matters, and her children were automatically left without inheritance from one of the parties. As a rule, such girls diligently tried to win the attention of suitors with their beauty, pedigree and inner virtues.
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky in his play describes the real inner state of an ordinary dowry woman who stubbornly seeks true, sincere love on earth, but realizes that it does not exist. No one dared to look into her soul and show sincere interest in her, so the girl becomes an ordinary thing for a rich man, she simply has no other choice and even a chance to get a decent attitude. Another option to arrange your life is to marry the miserable, selfish and unpretentious Karandyshev, a petty clerk who, again, marries Larisa for the sake of self-affirmation. But she rejects this option. The author demonstrates all the contradictions of life that surround us, using the example of the fate of the heroes. The essence of the play "Dowry" is to show the reader how mercilessly and vilely people change true love and friendship for an ordinary deal, from which one can only draw one's own benefit.
Main characters
- The characters in the play are:
Larisa Ogudalova is a young beautiful girl who does not have a dowry. She feels extremely humiliated in this world because of her difficult position in society. Unfortunately, few people were interested in such girls during the life of the writer. The heroine loves to dream very much, so she falls in love with a rich nobleman and hopes for happiness next to him. With Karandyshev, the girl feels like a thing, her personality becomes insignificant, she directly tells him that she cannot love him the way she loves another. She is gifted with musical and choreographic talents. Her disposition is meek and calm, but deep down she is a passionate nature, desiring mutual love. A hidden strength of will manifested itself in her character when she ran from her engagement to the risk of being disgraced and misunderstood by her surroundings. But for the sake of a sincere feeling, she is ready to sacrifice her life, shouting a farewell ultimatum to her mother: either she will become Paratov's wife, or one should look for her in the Volga. As you can see, a desperate woman is not devoid of excitement, she puts both honor and herself at stake. we analyzed in the essay. - Harita Ignatievna - Mrs. Ogudalova, mother of Larisa Ogudalova, a poor noblewoman, a widow who was particularly dexterous in household affairs, but could not give her three daughters a dowry, since her fortune was not great. She herself barely makes ends meet, but manages to roll dinners and evenings to find a match for her last marriageable lady.
- Yuri Karandyshev - a poor official, the fiance of Larisa Ogudalova, was distinguished by excessive narcissism and obsession. A selfish eccentric who was often jealous and looked stupid. Larisa was a toy for him, which he could boast to others. He feels on himself all the contempt of the Ogudalovs' entourage, but, nevertheless, does not give up the idea of proving to them that he is an equal to everyone. His ostentatious arrogance, attempts to please and win honor irritate society and the heroine herself, in comparison with the dignity and strength of Paratov, this little man hopelessly loses. He finally sinks in the eyes of the bride when he gets drunk at the engagement dinner party. Then she realizes that it is better to go to the Volga than to marry him.
- Sergei Paratov is a respected nobleman, a wealthy man who often threw money away for his own pleasure. He lived, caroused and looked after women beautifully, so after a gradual ruin he managed to capture the heart of a rich heiress. It is obvious that he is the same soulless egoist as Karandyshev, he simply lives in a big way and knows how to impress. The soul of the company and joker, above all, loves to have fun and throw dust in the eyes, and therefore chooses a marriage of convenience, and not sincere feelings.
- Vasily Vozhevatov is a friend of Larisa Ogudalova, a very rich, but immoral and vile person. The hero has never been in love and does not know what it is. He was witty and cunning. Vasily is not going to marry the girl, although he claims to take her for maintenance. He loses her in a draw, but consoles himself that he saved, which makes him an immoral and empty person. He is a merchant, a native of serfs, who achieved everything himself. For him, the most important thing is not to lose the achieved position, so he refuses to help the young woman, not wanting to violate the merchant's word given to Knurov.
- Mokiy Knurov is a rich man of advanced age. He shows sympathy for Larisa, although he is married. A very specific and thorough person, instead of everything, he immediately promises the girl whom he wants to make his kept woman material benefits, stipulating: "For me, the impossible is not enough."
- Arkady Schastlivtsev (Robinson) is an acquaintance of Paratov, a failed actor who often liked to drink, but did not know how to control his condition.
- Gavrilo is a barman, runs a coffee shop on the boulevard.
- Ivan is a servant in a coffee shop.
- The main issues in the work are the problems of morality: Larisa commits a dishonorable act in the eyes of society, but the background fully justifies her. A real immoral act is to deceive Karandyshev and marry without love. It's not better to be kept by merchants. Therefore, Larisa and thank the jealous groom for her death.
- The author raises the problems of duty and honor, the purchase of the human soul. Morality in society is ostentatious, it is enough for him to simply maintain the appearance of decency, but the dishonest bargaining of his elected members remains without condemnation and without attention.
- We also see in the work the problem of finding the meaning of life. The girl despaired and lost her meaning in everything, Vozhevatov and Knurov use her as a bright toy that is not even scary to bet. Paratov reports that he will soon marry another girl because of material wealth, he betrays her and changes love for comfort. Larisa cannot understand and endure the complete absence of a soul and the indifference of those who surround her all her life. All the men who were next to her disappointed the heroine, she did not feel the respect and attitude that she deserved. For her, the meaning of life was love, and when she was gone, like respect, Larisa preferred death.
Main theme
The drama of the human soul in an immoral society is the main essence of the main tragic theme in Ostrovsky's play "The Dowry", which the author widely reveals through the heroine Larisa Ogudalova. She did not receive a dowry from her mother, so she will have to suffer in this inhuman world. Grooms who are fighting for a girl do not take her seriously, she becomes for them either an object for boasting, or just a toy and a thing.
The theme of disappointment in the world is also present in the work. The main character is waiting for a terrible end: devastation, despair, dishonor and death. The girl believed in a better and new life, believed in love and kindness, but everything that surrounded her could prove to her that there was simply no love, no hint of enlightenment. All storylines in the work affect social topics. Larisa lives in a world where everything can be bought for money, even love.
Issues
Of course, a tragedy cannot do without ambiguous and complex questions. The problems in the play by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky are quite extensive and multifaceted.
What is the meaning of the play?
Ostrovsky wrote a very emotional drama that will not disappoint even an experienced and fastidious reader with its ideological and thematic content. The main idea of Ostrovsky's drama "Dowry" is to condemn the too high value of wealth and money in society. Material goods in life play the most important role, a person who does not have them can only be a toy in the hands of a rich man who does not have the right to sincere feelings. Poor people become the subject of sale to heartless barbarians who languished over their fortune. Around Larisa Ogudalova, everything is saturated with gross cynicism and cunning, which destroy her pure, bright soul. These qualities determined the price of a woman's life, reselling it among themselves as a faceless and soulless thing. And this price is low.
Using the image of the heroine as an example, the writer shows how the heart of a dowry suffers, who is to blame only for the fact that she has no fortune behind her. So dishonest and unfair is fate in relation to the poor, but very bright and intelligent people. The girl loses faith in humanity, in her ideals, experiencing numerous betrayals and humiliations. What is the reason for the tragedy of the dowry? She could not come to terms with the collapse of her dream, with the destruction of her convictions, and decided to get reality to position her as she needed, as it should have happened in natural conditions. The heroine knows from the very beginning that she is taking a mortal risk, this is evidenced by her farewell remark to her mother. She set conditions for the whole world: either her dream comes true, or she passes away without stooping to marriage and cohabitation of convenience. Even if Karandyshev had not killed her, she would have fulfilled her own warning and drowned herself in the Volga. Thus, the young woman became a victim of her illusions, her pride and intransigence with the vulgarity of the environment.
Before us is a classic clash of romantic dreams and harsh, vulgar reality. In this battle, the latter always wins, but the author does not lose hope that at least some people will come to their senses and stop creating and maintaining unfair conditions for social relations. He emphasizes true virtue and true values, which must be learned to distinguish from the vain squabbles of empty and petty scoundrels. The heroine's rebellion inspires courage to fight for her beliefs to the end.
Genre
Drama, as a genre, presents the reader with the fate of the hero in a contradictory and cruel world, an acute conflict between the human soul and the society in which he lives. The purpose of psychological drama is to show the dramatic position of the individual in a hostile environment. As a rule, the characters of the drama are expected by a tragic fate, spiritual suffering, internal contradictions. In a work of this type, you can find many vivid emotions and experiences that are inherent in many of us.
So, Ostrovsky's play vividly describes the internal state of Larisa Ogudalova, who rebels against the inhuman order in society, sacrifices herself in order not to sacrifice her principles. The heroine hardly accepts the circumstances that overtake her, she endures with horror all the trials prepared for her by fate. This is Larisa's personal tragedy, which she cannot survive. The psychological drama ends with her death, which is typical of a work in this genre.
Life and customs of the province
Ostrovsky's play highlights the life and customs of the Russian provinces, nobles and merchants. All of them are very similar, and, at the same time, differ from each other. The heroes behave quite liberated and are not at all afraid to show their true colors to others, it doesn’t matter to them that sometimes they look rather stupid. They are not afraid not because of courage or openness of character. They simply do not realize that they look ignorant, stingy, suspicious or worthless.
Men do not bypass open communication with women; for them, adultery is not considered shameful. For them, this is an element of status: a mistress becomes a reflection of wealth. One of the heroes of the work, Mr. Knurov, offered Larisa to become his kept woman, although he himself had been married for a long time, he did not care what the heroine felt, only his own benefit and lust were in the first place.
A girl in the province of that time, as we have already found out, must have a good condition in order to successfully marry and live well. In such a world it is very difficult to find true love and respect, in a world where everything is saturated with the power of money and the bad customs of greedy people, an honest and intelligent woman simply could not find her rightful place. Larisa was literally ruined by the cruel and dishonest customs of her contemporaries.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The main character of the play, the daughter of Harita Ignatievna. This is a beautiful and smart girl with great personal qualities. She is modest, well-read, open, honest, not flattering, has a whole range of talents, is capable of deep feelings. However, in the society that surrounds her, her sincerity and virtues are considered almost a vice. One of the newly minted young businessmen, Vozhevatov, notes that dowry girls like her should not be so straightforward.
One of the main characters of the play, a young and poor official, Larisa Dmitrievna's fiancé. This is a modest young man with a claim to more. Its main features are a painful self-esteem and vulnerable pride. Going to marry Larisa, he considers himself a benefactor, saving a dowry. In fact, he wants to possess the "thing" in order to rub the nose of her previous admirers.
One of the main characters of the play, a brilliant shipowner of about 30 years old, Larisa's lover. This is a real reveler, a bold playboy, a prominent and handsome man, a womanizer and heartthrob, who, in fact, is a rich dowry hunter. Larisa Dmitrievna is madly in love with him - a young and beautiful dowry, whom he turned her head to only amuse his pride.
One of the characters in the drama, an elderly and wealthy man, a big businessman with an enviable fortune. This is a true representative of the "clean public" of the city of Bryakhimov, as the barman Gavrilo notes. At the beginning of the play, it becomes clear that he has certain habits. For example, he likes to take care of his health, taking long walks along the boulevard to work up an appetite.
One of the characters in the play, a young man, a representative of a wealthy trading company, likes to dress in European style, a typical example of the merchant nobility of the 19th century. This hero relies only on cold calculation and money is an end in itself for him. He treats people depending on their material well-being and social status.
A cunning and agile widow, mother of Larisa Dmitrievna. Thanks to her dexterity, their house is always full of guests, in particular suitors. The author insistently emphasizes the difference between the daughter and the mother. If Harita Ignatievna dresses elegantly, but not for her years, then Larisa is always dressed with taste, but modestly. She knows how to flatter and fawn, accept gifts and material benefits from the rich, while Larisa is far from this.
Gavrilo
A minor character, the owner of a coffee shop on the boulevard, where the important events of the play take place.
