The tragic combination of circumstances that led Katerina to death based on the play Thunderstorm (Ostrovsky A. N.)

03.11.2019

Katerina is one of the main characters of the play, the wife of Tikhon Kabanov. Katerina was a religious, kind, natural girl. The religiosity of Katerina is confirmed by the lines from the play: “And to death I loved to go to church. For sure, it used to be that I would enter paradise ... ”The girl is not even capable of lies and deceit.

N. A. Dobrolyubov in his article called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." He analyzed in detail the motives of Katerina’s actions, believed that she “does not at all belong to violent characters, dissatisfied, loving to destroy. On the contrary, this character is predominantly creative, loving, ideal. That's why she tries to ennoble everything in her imagination.

The situation is different with her relationships in life. Katerina married Tikhon Kabanov not for love, but for ideas. Concepts in the nineteenth century were different - there was a certain difference between the concepts of "marriage" and "love." It was believed that marriage is a worthy life, and love is something sinful and not forbidden. Katenka did not love Tikhon, did not feel any warm feelings for him, and changed a lot after her marriage: she does not feel such delight from going to church, she cannot do her usual business. But she continues to try to be faithful to her husband even when she falls in love with Boris, Dikiy's nephew, an intelligent and educated man, but weak in character. Subsequently, of course, she confesses her love for Boris to her husband.

But Katya's life is also complicated by the fact that Kabanikha appears in her. It can be safely called the antipode of Katerina, the complete opposite. She is a strong and powerful person, does not believe in forgiveness and mercy. Kabanikha observes the old foundations of life, protests against the movement of life forward, is a prominent representative of the patriarchal way of life. Kabanikha is very annoyed by Katya, and she constantly finds fault with her, and Tikhon does not try to interfere, saying this: “What is there to listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let him say it, and you let it pass by your ears! But Katyusha is not the kind of person who can ignore these attacks, "leave a deaf ear", because she fought this dark kingdom, did not want to become part of it.

But Dobrolyubov did not catch this in his article. I did not catch the main thing - the fundamental difference between the religiosity of Kabanikh and the religiosity of Katerina.

Thus, it is possible that it was Kabanikh's attacks that caused the death of the girl. Also, a failed romance with Boris could play a certain role. As I have mentioned more than once - Katerina is a freedom-loving girl who did not want to put up with reality, and Katerina's suicide is a kind of protest, rebellion, a call to action.


The main character of Ostrovsky's work "Thunderstorm" is Katerina. She is a very kind and compassionate girl. She is very free-spirited. Katerina loves to go to church, it gives her great pleasure.

Once Katerina had to marry Tikhon. She did not love this man. But at that time, love and marriage were different things. But despite this, Katerina always tried to please her husband in everything.

Later, Katerina meets Boris.

She loved this man. And she was hurt that she could not see him. She later confessed her feelings for Boris to her husband.

Another possible circumstance that led Katerina to death can be considered the behavior of Kabanikh. She attacked Katerina all the time. She was very annoyed by everything that was connected with her, so Kabanikha found fault with her all the time. And Tikhon only told Katerina that she simply did not pay attention. But Katerina couldn't just listen to it.

In my opinion, it was all of the above that contributed to the sad end that Katerina chose for herself.

Updated: 2017-06-21

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Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" was written in the 50-60s of the XIX century. This is the time when serfdom existed in Russia, but the arrival of a new force was already clearly visible - raznochintsev-intellectuals. A new topic has appeared - the position of women in the family and society. It occupies a central place in the drama. The relationship with the rest of the characters in the play determines its fate. Many events in the drama take place to the sound of thunder. On the one hand, this is a natural phenomenon, on the other hand, it is a symbol of a state of mind, therefore each of the heroes is characterized through their attitude to a thunderstorm. she is terribly afraid of thunderstorms, which shows her mental confusion. An internal, invisible thunderstorm rages in the soul of the heroine herself.

To understand the tragic fate of Katerina, consider what this girl is. she passed in the patriarchal-house-building time, which left an imprint on the character of the heroine and on her views on. Katerina's childhood years were happy and cloudless. Her mother loved her very much, in the words of Ostrovsky, "did not have a soul in her." The girl took care of the flowers, of which there were many in the house, embroidered “on velvet with gold”, listened to the stories of praying women, went to church with her mother. Katerina is a dreamer, but the world of her dreams does not always correspond to reality. The girl does not seek to understand real life, at any moment she can give up everything that does not suit her, and again plunge into her world, where she sees angels. Her upbringing gave her dreams a religious tinge. This girl, so inconspicuous at first glance, has a strong will, pride and independence, which manifested itself already in childhood. While still a six-year-old girl, Katerina, offended by something, ran away to the Volga in the evening. It was a kind of protest of a child. And later, in a conversation with Varya, she will point to another side of her character: “I was born so hot.” Her free and independent nature is revealed through the desire to fly. "Why don't people fly like birds?" - these seemingly strange words emphasize the independence of Katerina's character.

Katerina appears before us, as it were, from two angles. On the one hand, this is a strong, proud, independent girl, on the other hand, a quiet, religious and submissive girl to fate and parental will. Katerina's mother was convinced that her daughter "would love every husband," and, seduced by a profitable marriage, married her to Tikhon Kabanov. Katerina did not love her future husband, but meekly obeyed the will of her mother. Moreover, due to her religiosity, she believes that her husband is given by God, and tries to love him: “I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I will not exchange you for anyone. Having married Kabanov, Katerina found herself in a completely different world, alien to her. But you can’t leave him, she is a married woman, the concept of sinfulness binds her. The cruel, closed world of Kalinov is fenced off by an invisible wall from the external "uncontrollably huge" world. We understand why Katerina so dreams of escaping the city and flying over the Volga, over the meadows: “I would fly into the field and fly from cornflower to cornflower in the wind, like a butterfly.”

Imprisoned in the "dark kingdom" of ignorant wild and boar, faced with a rude and despotic mother-in-law, an inert husband in whom she does not see support and support, Katerina protests. Her protest turns into love for Boris. Boris is not much different from her husband, except perhaps in education. He studied in Moscow, at a commercial academy, he has a broader outlook in comparison with other representatives of the city of Kalinov. It is difficult for him, like Katerina, to get along among Dikoy and Kabanovs, but he is just as inert and weak-willed as Tikhon. Boris can do nothing for Katerina, he understands her tragedy, but advises her to submit to fate and thereby betrays her. Desperate Katerina reproaches him for ruining her. But Boris is only an indirect reason. After all, Katerina is not afraid of human condemnation, she is afraid of the wrath of God. Home takes place in her soul. Being religious, she understands that cheating on her husband is a sin, but the strong side of her nature cannot come to terms with the environment of the Kabanovs. Katerina is tormented by terrible pangs of conscience. She is torn between her lawful husband and Boris, between a righteous life and a fall. She cannot forbid herself to love Boris, but she executes herself in her soul, believing that by her act she rejects God. These sufferings bring her to the point where, unable to bear the torments of her conscience and fearing God's punishment, she throws herself at her husband's feet and confesses everything to him, putting her life into his hands. Katerina's mental anguish is intensified by a thunderstorm.

No wonder Wild says that the storm sends punishment. “I didn’t know that you were so afraid of thunderstorms,” Varvara tells her. “How, girl, do not be afraid! Katherine answers. - Everyone should be afraid. It’s not that it’s scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you, as you are, with all your sins ... ”A clap of thunder was the last drop that overflowed Katerina’s cup of suffering. Everyone around her reacts to her recognition in their own way. Kabanova offers to bury her in the ground alive, while Tikhon, on the contrary, forgives Katerina. The husband forgave, Katerina, as it were, received absolution.

But her conscience remained restless, and she did not find the desired freedom and was again forced to live in the “dark kingdom”. The pangs of conscience and the fear of forever remaining among the Kabanovs and becoming one of them lead Katerina to the thought of suicide. How could a pious woman decide to commit suicide? Endure the torment and the evil that is here on earth, or get away from all this of your own free will? Katerina is driven to despair by the soulless attitude of people towards her and pangs of conscience, so she rejects the opportunity to stay alive. Her death was inevitable.

In the image of his heroine, Ostrovsky drew a new type of original, integral, selfless Russian girl who challenged the kingdom of the wild and boar. Dobrolyubov rightly called Katerina "a bright ray in a dark kingdom."

Need a cheat sheet? Then save - » KATERINA'S TRAGIC FATE. Literary writings!

Katerina is one of the main characters of the play, the wife of Tikhon Kabanov. Katerina was a religious, kind, natural girl. The religiosity of Katerina is confirmed by the lines from the play: “And to death I loved to go to church. For sure, it used to be that I would enter paradise ... ”The girl is not even capable of lies and deceit.
N. A. Dobrolyubov in his article called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." He analyzed in detail the motives of Katerina’s actions, believed that she “does not at all belong to violent characters, dissatisfied, loving to destroy. On the contrary, this character is predominantly creative, loving, ideal. That's why she tries to ennoble everything in her imagination.
The situation is different with her relationships in life. Katerina married Tikhon Kabanov not for love, but for ideas. Concepts in the nineteenth century were different - there was a certain difference between the concepts of "marriage" and "love." It was believed that marriage is a worthy life, and love is something sinful and not forbidden. Katenka did not love Tikhon, did not feel any warm feelings for him, and changed a lot after her marriage: she does not feel such delight from going to church, she cannot do her usual business. But she continues to try to be faithful to her husband even when she falls in love with Boris, Dikiy's nephew, an intelligent and educated man, but weak in character. Subsequently, of course, she confesses her love for Boris to her husband.
But Katya's life is also complicated by the fact that Kabanikha appears in her. It can be safely called the antipode of Katerina, the complete opposite. She is a strong and powerful person, does not believe in forgiveness and mercy. Kabanikha observes the old foundations of life, protests against the movement of life forward, is a prominent representative of the patriarchal way of life. Kabanikha is very annoyed by Katya, and she constantly finds fault with her, and Tikhon does not try to interfere, saying this: “What is there to listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let him say it, and you let it pass by your ears! But Katyusha is not the kind of person who can ignore these attacks, "leave a deaf ear", because she fought this dark kingdom, did not want to become part of it.
But Dobrolyubov did not catch this in his article. I did not catch the main thing - the fundamental difference between the religiosity of Kabanikh and the religiosity of Katerina.
Thus, it is possible that it was Kabanikh's attacks that caused the death of the girl. Also, a failed romance with Boris could play a certain role. As I have mentioned more than once - Katerina is a freedom-loving girl who did not want to put up with reality, and Katerina's suicide is a kind of protest, rebellion, a call to action.

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A.N. Ostrovsky entered the history of Russian culture as a great playwright, he founded the Russian National Ostrovsky Theater.
The author in his plays reveals human vices, touching on acute problems of the public. One of the brightest and most impressive plays is The Thunderstorm. It is rightly called the "Russian tragedy".
We find ourselves in the provinces, on the banks of the glorious Volga River. The contradictions that help us understand the message that the author wanted to convey to us can be traced in the love line of Katerina and Boris Grigorievich. Passion

Katerina is like "rock", it is he who emphasizes the "tragedy" of the play.
Katerina is a young and beautiful woman. By nature, she is strong and free, but in fact, problems arise with the second - she is the wife of Tikhon Kabakov. Before marriage, her life was completely different, she was "frisky", as the heroine expressed herself about herself. Previously, she was surrounded only by love, attention and care. Everything turned upside down in the girl's life when she came to the Kabakovs' house. The evil and rude Kabanikha was in charge of everything, and Tikhon (husband) was weak-willed and obedient to the point of cloying. Nobody in this world understands her. By the way, Varvara, with whom the heroine became friends, said that she was "some kind of tricky." Katerina, being a freedom-loving nature, suffers under the yoke of the "dark kingdom". Her character is extremely complicated, he is actually not understood in her new world. Katerina is the personification of the ideal world, the "dark kingdom", in turn, implies the power of demonic forces.
The girl was able to reveal herself "real" to only one person, and that was Boris. The soul of Katerina is endowed with passion, ardor. She is in the spiritual plane with God, according to her inner feelings of life.
The scene of a meeting with Boris Grigorievich is saturated with sin, as opposed to such sweet love. It was here that the decisive character of Katerina manifested itself, which casts aside any doubts and makes a deal with her own conscience and heavenly punishment. The storm is the herald of God's wrath. And, of course, at this moment all the conventions of worldly life fade before her. The heroine herself says that if she "was not afraid of sin", then will she be afraid of "human court". The apogee of the play is the public confession of the deed, the epic moment of a thunderstorm. She confessed, but did not repent. Katerina is not able to overcome the barrier - to admit her sin and renounce love.
A tragic set of circumstances: the demands of a peaceful life and Katerina's conflicting worldview can no longer coexist, which leads to the loss of a sincere desire to live. Katerina, suddenly, comes to the realization of the inexorability of the sin of suicide. However, even this did not affect her decision.
The death of Katerina symbolizes the impossibility of trying on "earthly" and "heavenly". Thus, Ostrovsky showed that such pure natures as Katerina in our "dirty" world are doomed to death.



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