“I was looking for love and didn’t find it,” this is how he explains his alleged suicide main character drama "Dowry" Larisa Ogudalova. She spent her whole life “in search of” that one and only lover and man. Unlike other people in her contemporary society, Larisa did not dream of a chic house, expensive clothes, luxurious jewelry, she did not need all this external “beauty” of life, her desire was to find spiritual, calming beauty, one that would replace everything creature comforts.
Forced, after the death of her father, to endure the daily "evenings" held by her mother, which gathered "potential suitors" from different layers society of that time, Larisa every time hoped to meet that reliable and understanding, for whom morality and feelings would be above all. And at one of these receptions, she met Paratov - a man who has a more than decent condition, whose depth of soul and bright mind, forever chained the heart of Larisa. It is only a pity that Larisa, clouded by the meeting, could not understand that such an influential and at the same time open man yet unable to love. But for the new, revived Larisa, even this is not so important, she only needs him to be next to her, and she believes that then Paratov will be able to love her. Paratov doesn’t care at all, he likes Larisa and he would gladly marry her, if not for one circumstance: for people like Paratov, who live in a constant pursuit of profit, it would be stupid to marry a girl who does not have a penny for her soul, whose family lives solely on the gifts of rich suitors.
Having gifted Larisa with an unlimited number of different dreams about their future life, Paratov leaves Larisa.
After much suffering, desperate Larisa decides to marry the first who asks for her hand. Such an honor was awarded to the petty official Karandyshev - absolutely no match for Larisa, who, despite the poverty of her position, was attractive and by no means stupid. Karandyshev, being not a new guest in Larisa's house, felt sincere happiness from the fact that now he would be able to avenge all his humiliations that he endured from the rich, and there was much less happiness from the presence of Larisa in his soul, or rather not at all. Karandyshev's house was in the village where he and Larisa were supposed to move, but until "the whole world" knew about his trophy, Karandyshev did not want to hear about it.
The matter was already approaching the wedding, when, unexpectedly for Larisa, Paratov suddenly returned to the city.
Meanwhile, Karandyshev decided to host a solemn reception on the occasion of his marriage, where Paratov was also invited.
When meeting with him, Larisa again lit up with hope, and sharply grows cold towards Karandyshev, but Paratov one day makes her understand that he does not need her and informs her that he is engaged to a girl in whom he was only interested in a multimillion-dollar dowry.
Having finally lost the meaning of her existence, Larisa is trying to find at least a drop of sympathy from her childhood friend, the big businessman Vozhevatov, but, having received only a couple of empty words in response, Larisa radically changes her worldview and decides to accept the offer of the wealthy merchant Knurov to become his kept woman and go with him to Paris for an exhibition.
Talking after that with Karandyshev, Larisa finally makes him understand that she does not love him and from now on money will be the only consolation in her life. An enraged Karandyshev, having lost control of his emotions, shoots Larisa. Dying, she takes the gun out of Karandyshev's hands, thereby making him innocent at the sight of those gathered, because she understands that her life without love was meaningless, and she could not live to get money, the poet's death is just this happiness for her and the freedom she was looking for.
Updated: 2016-11-20
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"I was looking for love and didn't find it"
(A. N. Ostrovsky).
Love She is like a bird, free and unpredictable. She soars high in a clear, cloudless sky. You seem to feel her presence above you, stretch out your hands to her - she flaps her wing and floats away into the endless expanses of the sky. The space in which it lives captivates you, and when you suddenly manage to take off after this bird, you are overcome by a feeling of bliss. You are free, you are flying, embraced by a feeling of lightness, calmness. But only a few manage to fly after the bird. Few manage to acquire mighty wings. And few manage to stay on the waves of the heavenly ocean
The city of Briquettes, in which the action of the play takes place, is like a cage: "There is a low iron grate in the depths, behind it is a view of the Volga, a large space: forests, villages, etc." This city has its own life. Larisa Dmitrievna Ogudalova, whose name translates as "seagull", is like a bird in this cage. Her soul is torn to its native element - the element of freedom, peace, - happiness. She dreams of spreading her wings and diving into the heavenly waters. Dreaming of a pure feeling, she is looking for love.
Larisa is surrounded by cynical people for whom true value have money, power and position in society. Those people who, due to selfish motives, can sacrifice their feelings, sell themselves.
Larisa's mother, Harita Ignatievna, offering her daughter as a commodity, catches rich suitors. "She loves to live happily herself," says Vasily Danilych Vozhevatov, "however someone likes their daughter, fork out." Larisa is beautiful, not stupid, talented, "conversion is free, it pulls." These qualities are a very expensive commodity that not everyone can pay for. Harita Ignatievna cashes in on her daughter, collecting little by little from all Larisa's boyfriends. Larisa Ogudamova is surrounded by men. Men different years, with different states and different position in society. Among all the suitors who go to Larisa (“some old man with gout and a wealthy manager of some prince, always drunk”, or a cashier who simply bombarded Kharita Ignatievna with money and who was arrested in their own house), Sergey Sergeyevich stands out Paratov. " Brilliant master"overshadows everyone. Sergey Sergeevich for Larisa is the ideal of a man. Handsome, courageous, courageous. A man who has kind heart and of which she says she cannot be certain. But we see that Paratov is far from ideal. Of course, he is bold and risky, he is sociable, he is respected in society, but it seems to me that self-interest is too strong in him. Perhaps love for Larisa lives in his heart. He, at least, is very passionate about her, but Paratov refuses the immaculate, sincere Larisa, from her pure love in favor of base values - money. He says about himself: "I have nothing cherished; I will find a profit, so I will sell everything, anything." Sergey Sergeyevich is going to marry a very rich girl. He found a profit: for the sake of gold mines, he is ready to sell his freedom, sell himself
Larisa's feeling for Paratov is pure and bright. She does not deny her feelings and directly says that if Sergei Sergeyevich appeared, then one glance from him would be enough for her to belong to him again. And Sergei Sergeyevich seems to be specially tormenting Larisa Dmitrievna: he is trying to get a confession that she loved him and still loves him. Larisa was waiting for a response from Paratov, but he answered her with only a fleeting passion, passion. After all, for Paratov there is no sense of the ideal. "There is no equality in love," he says. And if love happens to be equal on both sides, then "this is some kind of confectionery cake comes out, some kind of meringue."
Larisa is ready to run away with Paratov: "Sergei Sergeyich came for one day, and she leaves her fiancé for him, with whom she will live all her life." Paratov seems to have a magical effect on Larisa. With his words, with his promises, he makes her believe him again, forgive, forget the offense. She belongs to him again. "You are my master," Larisa says to Paratova.
"I will give up all calculations and no power will tear you away from me." All these promises were empty. Paratov wanted to persuade Larisa to go with him across the Volga. Last days he was going to spend his bachelor life as cheerfully as possible and for this he invited Larisa Dmitrievna.
Larisa believed the promises of Paratov, and he killed in her last faith into what real love exists. "The frenzy of passion soon passes," says Paratov, "there remain chains and common sense, which says that these chains cannot be broken, that they are inseparable." And people who know Paratov, such as Vozhevatov and Knurov, argue that no matter how brave Sergey Sergeyevich I wasn’t, but I wouldn’t exchange my millionth bride for Larisa.
The romance that Larisa sang to the guests very accurately described the state of the heroine:
Don't tempt me unnecessarily
The return of your tenderness
Paratov again aroused feelings for him in Larisa, although she had already come to terms with her position. She decided to marry Karandyshev, dreamed of a simple life in Zabolotye, dreamed of walking through the forests, picking berries and mushrooms. “At least I’ll rest in my soul,” says Larisa, “even if it’s wild, and deaf, and cold; for me, after the life that I experienced here, every quiet corner will seem like paradise.
Julius Kapitonych Karandyshev may love Larisa. He admires her, idolizes her. For three years he courted Larisa. Julius Kapitonych endured both ridicule and the fact that they kept him in suitors just in case. And he was rewarded for constancy, for patience. Larisa is going to marry him out of desperation: “Do not attribute my choice to your merits,” says Larisa Dmitrievna. She does not deny that Karandyshev is for her a straw that a drowning man grabs at." But Karandyshev is proud. It does not matter to him that Larisa does not love him. The main thing is that outsiders think that Larisin's choice was free, that she prefers him to other suitors. Larisa for Karandyshev is, as it were, a step in high society cities. He wants to achieve the respect of Knurov, Vozhevatov, Paratov ... While Larisa Dmitrievna wants to leave for Zabolotye, wants peace and solitude, Julius Kapitonich specially leads her through the streets. “He wants to show off. And it’s not surprising: he got into people out of nothing,” says Harita Ignatievna. He wants to show off, be proud, because he "fits into a better society." Larisa Karandyshev is unpleasant: "How can I respect a person who indifferently endures ridicule and all kinds of insults!" She is ashamed of Yuli Kapitonych. By the fact that Paratov, Vozhevatov and Knurov mock Karandyshev, they torment Larisa.
Vasily Danilych Vozhevatov is a friend of the Ogudalov family. He knows Larisa from an early age. And he likes her too. But, as a person with a position in society, with values like a merchant's word, he does not give vent to his feelings. Even when Larisa Dmitrievna asks him for help, when she needs his support more than ever, he refuses to help her just because he lost her in a dispute with Knurov. Vozhevatov even sees a certain benefit in the fact that he lost: there are fewer expenses.
Mokiy Parmyonych Knurov believes that they, close friends of Larisa, are obliged to take part in her fate. Knurov immediately defines Larisa as a thing: "It would be nice to take a ride to an exhibition with such a young lady in Paris." He believes that Larisa was not created for the poor family life, in it there is no earthly, worldly. "This woman was created for luxury," says Knurov. "It requires an expensive diamond and an expensive setting." Moky Parmyonych offers Larisa his patronage. He seems to want to play the role of a jeweler, who will sharpen the stone and pick up an expensive setting.
Larisa understands that everyone perceives her as a thing: "I see that I am a doll for you; you play with me, break it and leave it."
In the end, Larisa Dmitrievna finds herself at a fork in the road. She has three paths. The first is to put up with a humiliating situation, marry Karandyshev, who will forgive her everything, leave for Zabolotye, where she continues to live quietly and lead household; the second is to admit to yourself that it is a thing, and an expensive thing, and be under the auspices of Knurov. Immerse yourself in luxury, brilliance. And the third - suicide. During a conversation with Paratov, Larisa mentioned suicide: “For unfortunate people there is a lot of space in God's world; here is a garden, here is the Volga. Here you can hang yourself on every knot, on the Volga - choose any place. desire and strength will suffice."
Larisa did not have to choose one of the paths. Julius Kapitonych shot her. He freed her from mental anguish and thus did a good deed for her. Larisa Ogudalova suffered, endured many humiliations, searched for a pure and beautiful feeling. She did not find love, but her soul broke out. She seemed to have fluttered out of the cage and found freedom.
: Ostrovsky A.N. |
All the action of the "Dowry" is concentrated around one character - Larisa - and is purposeful and tense. You can even say that in general, "The Storm" is more epic, and "Dowry Imp" is more dramatic. This is manifested, in particular, in the fact that the action in "Dowry" proceeds faster than in "Thunderstorm". In The Thunderstorm the action is tied up almost before our eyes, and in The Dowry the action is already tied up before the curtain rises. Larisa was in love with Paratov even earlier; after his sudden departure, out of desperation, she agrees to become Karandyshev's wife. The plot spring has already been pulled. Therefore, the playwright gets the opportunity to observe the "unity of time". The most ardent adherent of the classicist rules could be satisfied with Ostrovsky. After all, the so-called "unity of time" required that stage action lasted no more than a day. In The Dowry, however, it proceeds even faster: it starts at noon and ends at midnight. But these 12 hours turned Larisa's whole life upside down, who finally understood her position in the possessive world.
At the end of the play, she bitterly says: “They looked at me and look at me as if they were fun. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I did not see sympathy from anyone, I did not hear a warm, heartfelt word. But it’s cold to live like that.”
The drama of Larisa lies in the fact that she lives in cold cruel and. a ruthless world where there is no mercy. This applies to everyone who surrounds the heroine: to her own mother, to Knurov, Vozhevatov, Paratov, Karandyshev ...
In The Dowry, the clash between the cynical, inhumane philosophy and practice of businessmen and the “hot heart” of the heroine, who is trying to defend her human individuality, perishing in an unequal struggle with the world, in which money, profit, calculation reign, is clearly manifested.
Larisa is a beautiful, smart, proud, proud girl. She is endowed with spiritual sensitivity and responsiveness. Feeling dignity does not allow her to passively put up with the environment. It is opposed to all other actors. Those pursue their personal, selfish goals, while Larisa is incapable of lies and deceit. She lives in anticipation of extraordinary happiness, reaches out to people, is ready to believe them, but her dreams of happiness are unrealizable.
"Larisa" in translation means "seagull". The heroine of "Dowry", like Katerina from "Thunderstorm", also wants to fly far, far away. Hence her attraction to a wide, boundless space, which is repeatedly emphasized in the play.
As in "Thunderstorm", and in "Dowry", the action mainly takes place on the street, on the banks of the Volga. This enlarged the conflict, helped to perceive the tragic fate of the heroine against the broad background of Russian nature, symbolizing the aspiration to another - bright, free life, to fly. But the very first remark in the play "Dowry" connects two opposite spheres: the vulgar, ordinary, everyday "here" and the mysteriously poetic "there". Here - an ordinary coffee shop with waiters, there - a view of the Volga and a large space: forests, villages and so on. And Larisa, having barely appeared on the stage, sits down on a bench and looks through binoculars at the Volga. Why do you think Ostrovsky makes her use binoculars? You can enjoy nature without it. Larisa is not sitting in the theater, but on the boulevard ... Obviously, with the help of binoculars, she wants to bring the poetic space, the Volga distance closer to herself and at the same time move away, isolate herself from the vulgar reality that is so disgusting to her.
The world of romance with its tenderness, anguish, openness in expressing feelings - this is the world of Larisa. She perceives life through the prism of romantic notions and ideals. However, beautiful illusions cannot exist for a long time. Her lofty ideas about love, about the “ideal of a man”, about friendship, about life in general, naturally fail.
In Russian literature, love has always been a serious test for actors, a test of humanity, mental stamina and nobility. In "Dowry" only Larisa survives this test. All the rest (Paratov, Knurov, Vozhevatov, Karandyshev) are unworthy of love. They have their own system of values: either love or calculation. Calculation wins.
How does Larisa herself relate to this system of values? It is hardly possible to unambiguously answer this question. She, of course, resolutely protests against the world of huckstering, cynicism, humiliation of human dignity, but at the same time, she is already experiencing the influence of the new time, its social, ideological, moral tendencies. She no longer has that wholeness that was so characteristic of Katerina. We note once again: in Larisa, of course, there is something that sharply distinguishes her from those around her: a bright character, talent, inner purity, truthfulness. “Not like mother,” Vozhevatov says about her. "That is the truth?" asks Knu-rov. “Yes, it’s true, but dowry girls shouldn’t do that,” Vozhevatov says.
Even in the manner of dressing, Larisa differs sharply from her own mother. The author's remarks in this respect are precise and expressive. Elder Ogudalova “dressed elegantly, but boldly and beyond her years”, and the youngest “dressed richly, but modestly.”(Try using the oral drawing technique here as well.)
And yet, Larisa, to a much greater extent than Katerina, is her own in this world. She can be ruthless and heartless. Here in the first act, Larisa reprimands Karandyshev, reproaching him for tactlessness: "I have become very sensitive and impressionable." All this is true, but she requires sensitivity only in relation to herself. In the second act, Karandyshev literally begs her: “You have pity on me at least a little!” Larisa is not inclined to feel sorry for him. “You are only talking about yourself,” she reproaches her fiancé. Everyone loves themselves! Karandyshev really thinks first of all about himself; But does Larisa act differently?
Marking the depth inner peace his heroine, Ostrovsky does not idealize her at all. One feels in Larisa early fatigue from life, some kind of emptiness, disappointment. In The Thunderstorm, it was still felt that Katerina came into this world from somewhere from the outside, that she was “not of this world” (to use the name of one of later plays Ostrovsky). Larisa grew up here, was brought up here, here she received her first ideas about life, about people. And childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov quietly brought her novels, "which girls are not allowed to read." It becomes clear why she is not just in love with Paratov: in her eyes, he is the ideal of a man, and this is already a criterion, that peculiar starting point that determines many contradictory features in her mind and behavior. material from the site
The pernicious influence of the environment has already affected the nude hero of the "Dowry", poisoned her pure soul. The drama takes place not only around her, but also in herself. Ultimately, she herself is aware of herself as a thing and is even ready to accept Knurov's cynical proposal. “Now gold glittered before my eyes,” she says, “diamonds sparkled.” In the finale, Larisa does not spare either Karandyshev or, what is especially important, herself: “... I was looking for love and did not find it ... it does not exist in the world ... there is nothing to look for. I did not find love, so I will look for gold.
In the final monologue of Larisa, there is some kind of anguish, something similar to hysteria. Perhaps she herself does not even realize that she says that she has a choice, what awaits her in the future. “Call Knurov” - after all, it’s the same as in a noose, in a pool. Therefore, Karandyshev's shot is the only way out for her, deliverance from shame, from the slow, painful execution of consciousness. Like Katerina, she judges herself. She is not afraid of the court of people, but of the court of her own conscience. Death is the only and most desirable way out.
"Dowry" is one of best plays late Ostrovsky. Here it gets much more complicated. psychological characteristic actors. Unlike, for example, Kabanikh or, even more so, Wild, the characters surrounding Larisa do not look like outright villains. Their characters are more complex, sometimes contradictory. The internal psychological complexity of the heroes of the play is one of the manifestations genre specific"Dowry". Before us is a psychological drama leading in the future to the dramaturgy of A.P. Chekhov.
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All the action of the "Dowry" is concentrated around one character - Larisa - and is purposeful and tense. You can even say that in general, "The Thunderstorm" is more epic, and "Dowry" is more dramatic. This is manifested, in particular, in the fact that the action in "Dowry" proceeds faster than in "Thunderstorm". In The Thunderstorm, the action begins almost before our eyes, and in The Dowry, the action is already “tied up” before the curtain rises. Larisa was in love with Paratov even earlier; after his sudden departure, out of desperation, she agrees to become Karandyshev's wife. The plot spring has already been pulled. Therefore, the playwright gets the opportunity to observe the "unity of time". The most ardent adherent of the classicist rules could be pleased with Ostrovsky. After all, the so-called "unity of time" required that the stage action last no more than a day. In The Dowry, however, it proceeds even faster: it starts at noon and ends at midnight. But these 12 hours turned Larisa's whole life upside down, who finally understood her position in the possessive world. At the end of the play, she bitterly says: “They looked at me and look at me as if they were fun. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I did not see sympathy from anyone, I did not hear a warm, heartfelt word. But it’s cold to live like that.” The drama of Larisa lies in the fact that she lives in a cold, cruel and. a ruthless world where there is no mercy. This applies to everyone who surrounds the heroine: to her own mother, to Knurov, Vozhevatov, Paratov, Karandyshev... individuality, perishing in an unequal struggle with a world in which money, profit, calculation reign. Larisa is a beautiful, smart, proud, proud girl. She is endowed with spiritual sensitivity and responsiveness. Self-esteem does not allow her to passively put up with the environment. It is opposed to all other actors. Those pursue their personal, selfish goals, while Larisa is incapable of lies and deceit. She lives in anticipation of extraordinary happiness, reaches out to people, is ready to believe them, but her dreams of happiness are unrealizable. "Larisa" in translation means "seagull". The heroine of "Dowry", like Katerina from "Thunderstorm", also wants to fly far, far away. Hence her attraction to a wide, boundless space, which is repeatedly emphasized in the play. Both in "Thunderstorm" and in "Dowry", the action mainly takes place on the street, on the banks of the Volga. This enlarged the conflict, helped to perceive the tragic fate of the heroine against the broad background of Russian nature, symbolizing the aspiration for a different - bright, free life, for flight. But the very first remark in the play "Dowry" connects two opposite spheres: the vulgar, ordinary, everyday "here" and the mysteriously poetic "there". Here - an ordinary coffee shop with waiters, there - a view of the Volga and a large space: forests, villages and so on. And Larisa, having barely appeared on the stage, sits down on a bench and looks through binoculars at the Volga. Why do you think Ostrovsky makes her use binoculars? You can enjoy nature without it. Larisa is not sitting in the theater, but on the boulevard ... Obviously, with the help of binoculars, she wants to bring the poetic space, the Volga distance closer to herself and at the same time move away, isolate herself from the vulgar reality that is so disgusting to her. The culmination of the play can be considered the scene when Larisa sings a romance to the words of E. A. Baratynsky. The world of romance with its tenderness, anguish, openness in expressing feelings - this is the world of Larisa. She perceives life through the prism of romance ideas and ideals. However, beautiful illusions cannot exist for a long time. Her lofty ideas about love, about the "ideal of a man", about friendship, about life in general, naturally fail. In Russian literature, love has always been a serious test for characters, a test of humanity, mental stamina and nobility. In "Dowry" only Larisa survives this test. All the rest (Paratov, Knurov, Vozhevatov, Karandyshev) are unworthy of love. They have their own system of values: either love or calculation. Calculation wins. How does Larisa herself relate to this system of values? It is hardly possible to unambiguously answer this question. It, of course, resolutely protests against the world of huckstering, cynicism, humiliation of human dignity, but, at the same time, it is already experiencing the influence of the new time, its social, ideological, moral tendencies. She no longer has that wholeness that was so characteristic of Katerina. We note once again: in Larisa, of course, there is something that sharply distinguishes her from those around her: a bright character, talent, inner purity, truthfulness. “Not to mother,” Vozhevatov says about her. “That one has all the cunning and flattery, but this one suddenly, for no reason at all, will say that it’s not necessary.” "That is the truth?" - asks Knurov. “Yes, it’s true, but dowry girls shouldn’t do that,” Vozhevatov says. Even in the manner of dressing, Larisa differs sharply from her own mother. The author's remarks in this respect are precise and expressive. The eldest Ogudalova is “dressed elegantly, but boldly and beyond her years,” while the younger one is “dressed richly, but modestly.” (Try to apply the technique of oral drawing here as well.) And yet, Larisa, to a much greater extent than Katerina, is her own in this world. She can be ruthless and heartless. Here in the first act, Larisa reprimands Karandyshev, reproaching him for tactlessness: "I have become very sensitive and impressionable." All this is true, but she requires sensitivity only in relation to herself. In the second act, Karandyshev literally begs her: “You have pity on me at least a little!” Larisa is not inclined to feel sorry for him. “You are only talking about yourself,” she reproaches her fiancé. Everyone loves themselves! Karandyshev really thinks first of all about himself; But does Larisa act differently? Noting the depth of the inner world of his heroine, Ostrovsky does not idealize her at all. One feels in Larisa early fatigue from life, some kind of emptiness, disappointment. In The Thunderstorm, however, it was felt that Katerina came into this world from somewhere else, that she was “not of this world” (to use the title of one of Ostrovsky’s later plays). Larisa grew up here, was brought up here, here she received her first ideas about life, about people. And childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov quietly brought her novels, "which girls are not allowed to read." It becomes clear why she is not just in love with Paratov: in her eyes, he is the ideal of a man, and this is already a criterion, that kind of starting point that determines many contradictory features in her mind and behavior. The pernicious influence of the environment has already affected the heroine of the "Dowry", poisoned her pure soul. The drama takes place not only around her, but also in herself. Ultimately, she herself is aware of herself as a thing and is even ready to accept Knurov's cynical proposal. “Now gold glittered before my eyes,” she says, “diamonds sparkled.” In the finale, Larisa does not spare either Karandyshev or, what is especially important, herself: “... I was looking for love and did not find it ... it does not exist in the world ... there is nothing to look for. I did not find love, so I will look for gold. In the final monologue of Larisa, there is some kind of anguish, something similar to hysteria. Maybe she herself is not even aware that she says that she has a choice of what awaits her in the future. “Call Knurov” - after all, it’s the same as in a loop, in a whirlpool. Therefore, Karandyshev's shot is the only way out for her, deliverance from shame, from the slow, painful execution of consciousness. Like Katerina, she judges herself. She is not afraid of the court of people, but of the court of her own conscience. Death is the only and most desirable way out. "Dowry" is one of the best plays of the late Ostrovsky. Here, the psychological characterization of the actors is noticeably more complicated. Unlike, for example, from Kabanikh or, even more so, from Diky, the characters surrounding Larisa do not look like outright villains. Their characters are more complex, sometimes contradictory. The internal psychological complexity of the characters in the play is one of the manifestations of the genre specificity of The Dowry. Before us is a psychological drama, leading in the future to the dramaturgy of A.P. Chekhov.
All the action of the "Dowry" is concentrated around one character - Larisa - and is purposeful and tense. You can even say that in general, "The Thunderstorm" is more epic, and "Dowry" is more dramatic. This is manifested, in particular, in the fact that the action in "Dowry" proceeds faster than in "Thunderstorm". In The Thunderstorm, the action begins almost before our eyes, and in The Dowry, the action is already “tied up” before the curtain rises. Larisa was in love with Paratov even earlier; after his sudden departure, out of desperation, she agrees to become Karandyshev's wife. The plot spring has already been pulled. Therefore, the playwright gets the opportunity to observe the "unity of time". The most ardent adherent of the classicist rules could be pleased with Ostrovsky. After all, the so-called "unity of time" required that the stage action last no more than a day. In The Dowry, however, it proceeds even faster: it starts at noon and ends at midnight. But these 12 hours turned Larisa's whole life upside down, who finally understood her position in the possessive world.
At the end of the play, she bitterly says: “They looked at me and look at me as if they were fun. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I did not see sympathy from anyone, I did not hear a warm, heartfelt word. But it’s cold to live like that.”
The drama of Larisa lies in the fact that she lives in a cold, cruel and. a ruthless world where there is no mercy. This applies to everyone who surrounds the heroine: to her own mother, to Knurov, Vozhevatov, Paratov, Karandyshev ...
In The Dowry, a clash between the cynical, inhumane philosophy and practice of businessmen and the “hot heart” of the heroine, who is trying to defend her human individuality, is clearly manifested, which is dying in an unequal struggle with a world in which money, profit, and calculation reign.
Larisa is a beautiful, smart, proud, proud girl. She is endowed with spiritual sensitivity and responsiveness. Self-esteem does not allow her to passively put up with the environment. It is opposed to all other actors. Those pursue their personal, selfish goals, while Larisa is incapable of lies and deceit. She lives in anticipation of extraordinary happiness, reaches out to people, is ready to believe them, but her dreams of happiness are unrealizable.
"Larisa" in translation means "seagull". The heroine of "Dowry", like Katerina from "Thunderstorm", also wants to fly far, far away. Hence her attraction to a wide, boundless space, which is repeatedly emphasized in the play.
Both in "Thunderstorm" and in "Dowry", the action mainly takes place on the street, on the banks of the Volga. This enlarged the conflict, helped to perceive the tragic fate of the heroine against the broad background of Russian nature, symbolizing the aspiration for a different - bright, free life, for flight. But the very first remark in the play "Dowry" connects two opposite spheres: the vulgar, ordinary, everyday "here" and the mysteriously poetic "there". Here - an ordinary coffee shop with waiters, there - a view of the Volga and a large space: forests, villages and so on. And Larisa, having barely appeared on the stage, sits down on a bench and looks through binoculars at the Volga. Why do you think Ostrovsky makes her use binoculars? You can enjoy nature without it. Larisa is not sitting in the theater, but on the boulevard ... Obviously, with the help of binoculars, she wants to bring the poetic space, the Volga distance closer to herself and at the same time move away, isolate herself from the vulgar reality that is so disgusting to her.
The world of romance with its tenderness, anguish, openness in expressing feelings - this is the world of Larisa. She perceives life through the prism of romance ideas and ideals. However, beautiful illusions cannot exist for a long time. Her lofty ideas about love, about the "ideal of a man", about friendship, about life in general, naturally fail.
In Russian literature, love has always been a serious test for characters, a test of humanity, mental stamina and nobility. In "Dowry" only Larisa survives this test. All the rest (Paratov, Knurov, Vozhevatov, Karandyshev) are unworthy of love. They have their own system of values: either love or calculation. Calculation wins. How does Larisa herself relate to this system of values? It is hardly possible to unambiguously answer this question. It, of course, resolutely protests against the world of huckstering, cynicism, humiliation of human dignity, but, at the same time, it is already experiencing the influence of the new time, its social, ideological, moral tendencies. She no longer has that wholeness that was so characteristic of Katerina. We note once again: in Larisa, of course, there is something that sharply distinguishes her from those around her: a bright character, talent, inner purity, truthfulness. “Not to mother,” Vozhevatov says about her. “That one has all the cunning and flattery, but this one suddenly, for no reason at all, will say that it’s not necessary.” "That is the truth?" - asks Knurov. “Yes, it’s true, but dowry girls shouldn’t do that,” Vozhevatov says.
Even in the manner of dressing, Larisa differs sharply from her own mother. The author's remarks in this respect are precise and expressive. The eldest Ogudalova is “dressed elegantly, but boldly and beyond her years,” while the younger one is “dressed richly, but modestly.” (Try using the oral drawing technique here as well.)
And yet, Larisa, to a much greater extent than Katerina, is her own in this world. She can be ruthless and heartless. Here in the first act, Larisa reprimands Karandyshev, reproaching him for tactlessness: "I have become very sensitive and impressionable." All this is true, but she requires sensitivity only in relation to herself. In the second act, Karandyshev literally begs her: “You have pity on me at least a little!” Larisa is not inclined to feel sorry for him. “You are only talking about yourself,” she reproaches her fiancé. Everyone loves themselves! Karandyshev really thinks first of all about himself; But does Larisa act differently?
Noting the depth of the inner world of his heroine, Ostrovsky does not idealize her at all. One feels in Larisa early fatigue from life, some kind of emptiness, disappointment. In The Thunderstorm, however, it was felt that Katerina came into this world from somewhere else, that she was “not of this world” (to use the title of one of Ostrovsky’s later plays). Larisa grew up here, was brought up here, here she received her first ideas about life, about people. And childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov quietly brought her novels, "which girls are not allowed to read." It becomes clear why she is not just in love with Paratov: in her eyes, he is the ideal of a man, and this is already a criterion, that kind of starting point that determines many contradictory features in her mind and behavior.
The pernicious influence of the environment has already affected the heroine of the "Dowry", poisoned her pure soul. The drama takes place not only around her, but also in herself. Ultimately, she herself is aware of herself as a thing and is even ready to accept Knurov's cynical proposal. “Now gold glittered before my eyes,” she says, “diamonds sparkled.” In the finale, Larisa does not spare either Karandyshev or, what is especially important, herself: “... I was looking for love and did not find it ... it does not exist in the world ... there is nothing to look for. I did not find love, so I will look for gold.
In the final monologue of Larisa, there is some kind of anguish, something similar to hysteria. Maybe she herself is not even aware that she says that she has a choice of what awaits her in the future. “Call Knurov” - after all, it’s the same as in a loop, in a whirlpool. Therefore, Karandyshev's shot is the only way out for her, deliverance from shame, from the slow, painful execution of consciousness. Like Katerina, she judges herself. She is not afraid of the court of people, but of the court of her own conscience. Death is the only and most desirable way out.
"Dowry" is one of the best plays of the late Ostrovsky. Here, the psychological characterization of the actors is noticeably more complicated. Unlike, for example, from Kabanikh or, even more so, from Diky, the characters surrounding Larisa do not look like outright villains.
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