The life and work of Ostrovsky is a summary. Creative and life path of Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich

Theater as a serious business
We also started recently
began in a real way with Ostrovsky.

A.A. Grigoriev

Childhood and youth

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (1823-1886) was born in the old merchant and bureaucratic district - Zamoskvorechye. In Moscow, on Malaya Ordynka, a two-story house is still preserved, in which the future great playwright was born on April 12 (March 31), 1823. Here, in Zamoskvorechye - on Malaya Ordynka, Pyatnitskaya, Zhitnaya streets - he spent his childhood and youth.

The writer's father, Nikolai Fedorovich Ostrovsky, was the son of a priest, but after graduating from the theological academy he chose a secular profession - he became a judicial officer. From among the clergy came the mother of the future writer, Lyubov Ivanovna. She died when the boy was 8 years old. After 5 years, my father married a second time, this time to a noblewoman. Successfully advancing in his career, Nikolai Fedorovich received a noble title in 1839, and in 1842 he retired and began to engage in private legal practice. With income from clients - mostly wealthy merchants - he acquired several estates and in 1848, having retired, he moved to the village of Shchelykovo in the Kostroma province and became a landowner.

In 1835, Alexander Nikolayevich entered the 1st Moscow gymnasium, graduating from it in 1840. Even in his gymnasium years, Ostrovsky was attracted by literature and theater. By the will of his father, the young man entered the law faculty of Moscow University, but the Maly Theater, in which the great Russian actors Shchepkin and Mochalov played, attracts him like a magnet. This was not an empty attraction of a rich varmint who sees pleasant entertainment in the theater: for Ostrovsky, the stage became life. These interests forced him to leave the university in the spring of 1843. “From my youth I gave up everything and devoted myself entirely to art,” he later recalled.

His father still hoped that his son would become an official, and appointed him as a scribe to the Moscow conscientious court, which dealt mainly with family property disputes. In 1845, Alexander Nikolaevich transferred to the office of the Moscow Commercial Court as an official on the "verbal table", i.e. accepting oral requests from petitioners.

His father's legal practice, life in Zamoskvorechye and court service, which lasted almost eight years, gave Ostrovsky many plots for his works.

1847–1851 - early period

Ostrovsky began to write in his student years. His literary views were formed under the influence of Belinsky and Gogol: from the very beginning of his literary career, the young man declared himself an adherent of the realistic school. Ostrovsky's first essays and dramatic sketches were written in Gogol's manner.

In 1847, the Moscow City Leaf newspaper published two scenes from the comedy The Insolvent Debtor - the first version of the comedy Let's Settle Our Own People - the comedy Picture of Family Happiness and the essay Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident.

In 1849, Ostrovsky finished work on the first big comedy "Our people - let's settle!".

The comedy ridicules the rude and greedy tyrant merchant Samson Silych Bolshov. His tyranny knows no bounds, as long as he feels solid ground under him - wealth. But greed destroys him. Wanting to get richer even more, Bolshov, on the advice of the clever and cunning clerk Podkhalyuzin, transfers all his property to his name and declares himself an insolvent debtor. Podkhalyuzin, having married Bolshov's daughter, appropriates his father-in-law's property and, refusing to pay even a small part of the debts, leaves Bolshov in a debtor's prison. Lipochka, Bolshov's daughter, who became Podkhalyuzin's wife, does not feel any pity for her father either.

In the play "Our People - Let's Settle" the main features of Ostrovsky's dramaturgy have already appeared: the ability to show important all-Russian problems through family conflict, to create vivid and recognizable characters not only of the main, but also of secondary characters. Juicy, lively, folk speech sounds in his plays. And each of them has a difficult, thought-provoking ending. Then nothing found in the first experiments will disappear, but only new features will "grow".

The position of the "unreliable" writer complicated the already difficult living conditions of Ostrovsky. In the summer of 1849, against the will of his father and without a church wedding, he married a simple bourgeois Agafya Ivanovna. The angry father refused his son further financial support. The young family was in dire need. Despite his unsecured position, Ostrovsky in January 1851 refuses to serve and devotes himself entirely to literary activity.

1852–1855 - "Moscow period"

The first plays allowed to be staged were "Do not sit in your sleigh" and "Poverty is not a vice." Their appearance was the beginning of a revolution in all theatrical art. For the first time on stage, the viewer saw a simple everyday life. This also required a new style of acting: the truth of life began to supplant the pompous declamation and the "theatricality" of gestures.

In 1850, Ostrovsky became a member of the so-called "young editorial board" of the Slavophile magazine Moskvityanin. But relations with the editor-in-chief Pogodin are not easy. Despite the enormous work performed, Ostrovsky remained indebted to the magazine all the time. Pogodin paid sparingly.

1855–1860 - pre-reform period

At this time there is a rapprochement between the playwright and the revolutionary-democratic camp. The outlook of Ostrovsky is finally determined. In 1856, he became close to the Sovremennik magazine and became its permanent collaborator. Friendly relations were established between him and I.S. Turgenev and L.N. Tolstoy, who collaborated in Sovremennik.

In 1856, together with other Russian writers, Ostrovsky took part in a well-known literary and ethnographic expedition organized by the Naval Ministry to "describe the life, life and crafts of the population living along the shores of the seas, lakes and rivers of European Russia." Ostrovsky was entrusted with the survey of the upper reaches of the Volga. He visited Tver, Gorodnya, Torzhok, Ostashkov, Rzhev, etc. All observations were used by Ostrovsky in his works.

1860–1886 - post-reform period

In 1862 Ostrovsky visited Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, France and England.

In 1865 he founded an artistic circle in Moscow. Ostrovsky was one of its leaders. The artistic circle has become a school for talented amateurs - future wonderful Russian artists: O.O. Sadovskaya, M.P. Sadovsky, P.A. Strepetova, M.I. Pisarev and many others. In 1870, on the initiative of the playwright, the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers was created in Moscow, from 1874 until the end of his life Ostrovsky was its permanent chairman.

Having worked for the Russian stage for almost forty years, Ostrovsky created a whole repertoire - fifty-four plays. "He wrote down the whole Russian life" - from prehistoric, fairy-tale times ("The Snow Maiden"), and the events of the past (the chronicle "Kozma Zakharyich Minin, Sukhoruk") to topical reality. The works of Ostrovsky remain on stage at the end of the 20th century. His dramas often sound so modern that they make those who recognize themselves on stage angry.

In addition, Ostrovsky wrote numerous translations from Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goldoni, etc. His work covers a huge period: from the 40s. - the times of serfdom and until the mid-80s, marked by the rapid development of capitalism and the growth of the labor movement.

In the last decades of his life, Ostrovsky created a kind of artistic monument to the national theater. In 1872, he wrote a poetic comedy "Comedian of the 17th century" about the birth of the first Russian theater at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, father of Peter I. But Ostrovsky's plays about his contemporary theater are much more famous - "Talents and Admirers" (1881) and " Guilty without guilt" (18983). Here he showed how tempting and difficult the life of an actress is.

In a sense, we can say that Ostrovsky loved the theater just as he loved Russia: he did not turn a blind eye to the bad and did not lose sight of the most precious and important.

On June 14, 1886, Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky died in his beloved Zavolzhsky estate Shchelykovo, in the dense forests of Kostroma, on the hilly banks of small winding rivers.

In connection with the thirty-fifth anniversary of the dramatic activity of A.N. Ostrovsky Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov wrote:

“You brought a whole library of works of art as a gift to literature, you created your own special world for the stage. You alone completed the building, at the base of which you laid the cornerstones of Fonvizin, Griboedov, Gogol. But only after you, we Russians can proudly say: “U we have our own Russian, national theatre", It, in fairness, should be called: "Ostrovsky's Theatre".

Literature

Based on materials from the Encyclopedia for Children. Literature part I, Avanta +, M., 1999

It is the name of A. N. Ostrovsky that stands at the origins of the development of the Russian drama theater. His dramas to this day are very popular due to the extraordinary flavor of his talent as a writer and playwright, who always felt what the secular audience expected from him. Therefore, it is interesting to know what kind of person Alexander Ostrovsky was. His books contain a huge creative heritage. Among his most famous works: “Guilty Without Guilt”, “Dowry”, “Thunderstorm”, “Wolves and Sheep”, “Snow Maiden”, “Hangover at someone else's feast”, “What you go for, you will find”, “Your people - let's settle", "Mad money", etc.

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. short biography

Alexander Nikolaevich was born in the spring of March 31 (April 12), 1823. He grew up on Malaya Ordynka in Moscow. His father was the son of a priest, and his name was Nikolai Fedorovich. Having received a seminary education in Kostroma, he went to study at the Moscow Theological Academy. But he never became a priest, but began to practice as a lawyer in judicial institutions. Over time, he rose to the rank of titular adviser and received a title of nobility.

Ostrovsky's biography (short) says that Ostrovsky's mother, Lyubov Ivanovna, died when he was 7 years old. There are six children left in the family. In the future, their stepmother, Emilia Andreevna von Tesin, who was the daughter of a Swedish nobleman, took over the care of the family. The Ostrovsky family did not need anything, much attention was paid to the education and upbringing of children.

Childhood

Almost all of his childhood Ostrovsky spent in Zamoskvorechye. His father had a large library, the boy began to study Russian literature early and felt a craving for writing, but his father wanted his son to become a lawyer.

From 1835 to 1940 Alexander studied at the Moscow Gymnasium. Then he entered Moscow University and began to study as a lawyer. But a quarrel with a teacher did not allow him to finish his last year at the university. And then his father arranged for him to serve in the court. The first salary he received was 4 rubles, but then it grew to 15 rubles.

Creation

Further, Ostrovsky's biography (short) indicates that Alexander Ostrovsky's fame and popularity as a playwright was brought by the play “Our people - let's settle!”, Published in 1850. This play was approved by I. A. Goncharov and N. V. Gogol. But the Moscow merchants did not like it, and the merchants complained to the sovereign. Then, on the personal order of Nicholas I, its author was dismissed from service and taken under police supervision, which was removed only under Alexander II. And in 1861, the play again saw the stage.

During the disgraced period of Ostrovsky, the first staged play in St. Petersburg was called "Do not get into your sleigh." Biography of Ostrovsky (short) includes information that for 30 years his plays were staged at the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky and Moscow Maly Theaters. In 1856, Ostrovsky began working for the Sovremennik magazine.

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich. Artworks

In 1859, Ostrovsky, with the support of G. A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, published the first collection of works in two volumes. At this point, the Russian critic Dobrolyubov will note that Ostrovsky is an accurate depiction of the "dark kingdom".

In 1860, after the "Thunderstorm", Dobrolyubov will call him "a ray of light in a dark kingdom."

Indeed, Alexander Ostrovsky knew how to captivate with his remarkable talent. The Thunderstorm became one of the most striking works of the playwright, with the writing of which his personal drama is also associated. The prototype of the main character of the play was the actress Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya, with whom he had a close relationship for a long time, although they were both not free people. She was the first to play this role. Ostrov's image of Katerina made it tragic in its own way, so he reflected in it all the suffering and torment of the soul of a Russian woman.

Cradle of Talents

In 1863, Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize and became an elected corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Later, in 1865, he organized the Artistic Circle, which became the cradle of many talents.

Ostrovsky received in his house such eminent guests as F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. S. Turgenev, etc.

In 1874, the writer-playwright founded the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, whose chairman remained Ostrovsky until his death. He also served on a commission related to the revision of the theater management regulations, which led to new changes, thanks to which the position of artists was significantly improved.

In 1881, a benefit performance of the opera The Snow Maiden by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov took place at the Mariinsky Theater. Ostrovsky's (short) biography testifies that at that moment Ostrovsky was unspeakably pleased with the musical accompaniment of the great composer.

Last years

In 1885, the playwright began to manage the repertoire of Moscow theaters and headed the theater school. Ostrovsky almost always had financial problems, although he collected good fees from plays, and there was a pension appointed by Emperor Alexander III. Ostrovsky had many plans, he literally burned at work, this affected his health and depleted his vitality.

On June 2, 1886, he died at his Shchelykovo estate near Kostroma. He was 63 years old. His body was buried next to the grave of his father at the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Kostroma province in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki.

The widow, actress Maria Andreevna Bakhmetyeva, three sons and daughter were granted a pension by Tsar Alexander III.

His estate in Shchelykovo is now a memorial and natural museum of Ostrovsky.

Conclusion

Ostrovsky created his own theater school with its holistic concept of theatrical production. The main component of his theater was that it did not contain extreme situations, but depicted life situations that go into the life and psychology of a person of that time, which Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky knew very well. A short biography describes that Ostrovsky's theater had many ideas, but new stage aesthetics and new actors were needed to bring them to life. All this was later brought to mind by K. S. Stanislavsky and M. A. Bulgakov.

Ostrovsky's dramas served as the basis for film adaptations of films and television series. Among them are the film "Balzaminov's Marriage", filmed in 1964 based on the play "For what you go, you will find" directed by K. Voinov, the film "Cruel Romance", filmed in 1984 based on "Dowry" directed by Eldar Ryazanov. In 2005, Evgeny Ginzburg made the film Anna based on the play Guilty Without Guilt.

Ostrovsky created an extensive repertoire for the Russian theater stage, which included 47 very original plays. He worked in collaboration with talented young playwrights, including P. M. Nevezhin and N. Ya. Solovyov. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy became national due to its origins and traditions.

The name of the famous playwright A. N. Ostrovsky is known throughout the world, and his plays are still staged on the stage of the best theaters. To understand the work of this writer, it is necessary to at least briefly get acquainted with the biography of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky.
In April 1823, in Moscow, in one of the families where the head of the family was a simple court official, a boy was born. The family was not very rich, but there were enough funds to give Sashenka a good home education. When Alexander was twelve years old, his parents decided to send the boy to study at the gymnasium. He graduated from the first Moscow gymnasium only in 1840 and immediately entered, at the request of his parents, the Faculty of Law at Moscow University. But he could not finish it, because after three years he realizes that he is not at all interested in jurisprudence. Alexander Nikolayevich understands that he likes to write, engage in literary creativity much more than any other occupation.
But the father of the young man could not accept such a decision of his son, so he insisted that the young man enter the service. So the still quite young Alexander Nikolayevich finds himself in the service of the court of the city of Moscow. But the court had a conscientious name, so the young writer Alexander sees many stories that provide living material for his plays. But Ostrovsky did not really like this place, and already in 1845 he moved to the office, located at the commercial court of the city of Moscow. For eight years he watched how people ruin themselves and their neighbors, and then carefully described all this in his plays.
In 1849, in one of the magazines, his play "Our people - we will settle" was published. And at the same time, he was invited to become an employee of this very magazine. Alexander Nikolaevich quits his judicial service and happily moves to a new job.
During his creative life, Alexander Nikolaevich created a large number of works. So, there are about 50 thousand of his plays alone, intended for staging on stage. But he not only wrote plays, but also translated into Russian the works of famous playwrights from other countries.
In 1870, it was Ostrovsky who was able to open in Moscow and became the leader of the circle, which he himself created. His artistic circle was very popular. Alexander Nikolaevich suggested creating the so-called Society, which would include Russian playwrights. He himself for a long time, almost until his death, was his permanent leader.
In June 1886, the health of Alexander Nikolaevich began to deteriorate, and he died on his estate in the Tomsk province.

Ostrovsky, Alexander Nikolaevich - famous dramatic writer. Born March 31, 1823 in Moscow, where his father served in the civil chamber, and then engaged in private advocacy. Ostrovsky lost his mother in childhood and did not receive any systematic education.

All his childhood and part of his youth were spent in the very center of Zamoskvorechye, which at that time, according to the conditions of his life, was a completely special world. This world populated his imagination with those ideas and types that he later reproduced in his comedies. Thanks to his father's large library, Ostrovsky got acquainted early with Russian literature and felt an inclination towards writing; but his father certainly wanted to make a lawyer out of him. After graduating from the gymnasium course, Ostrovsky entered the law faculty of Moscow University. He failed to complete the course due to some kind of collision with one of the professors. At the request of his father, he entered the service of a scribe, first in a conscientious, then in a commercial court. This determined the nature of his first literary experiments; in court, he continued to observe the peculiar Zamoskvoretsky types familiar to him from childhood, asking for literary processing. By 1846, he had already written many scenes from merchant life, and a comedy was conceived: "Insolvent debtor" (later - "Own people - let's settle"). A small excerpt from this comedy was published in No. 7 of the Moscow City Listk, 1847; under the passage are the letters: "A. O." and "D. G.", that is, A. Ostrovsky and Dmitry Gorev. The latter was a provincial actor (real name - Tarasenkov), the author of two or three plays already played on the stage, who accidentally met Ostrovsky and offered him his cooperation. It did not go beyond one scene, and subsequently served as a source of great trouble for Ostrovsky, as it gave his ill-wishers a reason to accuse him of appropriating someone else's literary work. In issues 60 and 61 of the same newspaper, without a signature, another, already completely independent work by Ostrovsky appeared - "Pictures of Moscow Life. A Picture of Family Happiness." These scenes were reprinted, in a corrected form and with the name of the author, under the title: "Family Picture", in Sovremennik, 1856, No. 4. Ostrovsky himself considered the "Family Picture" his first printed work, and it was from it that he began his literary activity. He recognized February 14, 1847 as the most memorable and dearest day of his life: on this day he visited S.P. Shevyrev and, in the presence of A.S. Khomyakov, professors, writers, employees of the Moscow City List, read this play, which appeared in print a month later. Shevyrev and Khomyakov, embracing the young writer, welcomed his dramatic talent. "From that day on," says Ostrovsky, "I began to consider myself a Russian writer, and without doubt or hesitation, I believed in my vocation." He also tried his hand in the narrative kind, in feuilleton stories from life outside Moscow. In the same "Moscow City List" (No. 119 - 121) one of these stories is printed: "Ivan Erofeich", with the general title: "Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident"; two other stories in the same series: "The Tale of How the Quarter Warden Started to Dance, or From the Great to the Ridiculous One Step", and "Two Biographies" remained unpublished, and the last one was not even finished. By the end of 1849, a comedy was already written under the title: "Bankrupt". Ostrovsky read it to his university friend A.F. Pisemsky; at the same time he met the famous artist P.M. Sadovsky, who saw a literary revelation in his comedy and began to read it in various Moscow circles, among other things - with Countess E.P. Rostopchina, where young writers who were just starting their literary career usually gathered (B.N. Almazov, N.V. Berg, L.A. Mei, T.I. Filippov, N.I. Shapovalov, E.N. . Edelson). All of them had been on close, friendly terms with Ostrovsky since his student days, and all of them accepted Pogodin's offer to work in the updated Moskvityanin, making up the so-called "young editors" of this magazine. Soon a prominent position in this circle was taken by Apollon Grigoriev, who acted as a herald of originality in literature and became an ardent defender and praiser of Ostrovsky as a representative of this originality. Ostrovsky's comedy, under the changed title: "Own people - we will consider

I", after long troubles with censorship, reaching the highest authorities, was published in the 2nd March book of "Moskvityanin" in 1850, but was not allowed to be presented; censorship did not even allow talking about this play in print. It appeared on the stage only in 1861, with a reworked ending against the printed ending.Following this first comedy by Ostrovsky, his other plays began to appear annually in The Moskvitian and other magazines: in 1850, The Morning of a Young Man, in 1851 - "An Unexpected Case", in 1852 - "The Poor Bride", in 1853 - "Do not get into your sleigh" (the first of Ostrovsky's plays that hit the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater on January 14, 1853) , in 1854 - "Poverty is not a vice", in 1855 - "Do not live as you want", in 1856 - "A hangover in someone else's feast". In all these plays, Ostrovsky was a depiction of such aspects of Russian life, which before him were almost completely untouched by literature and were not reproduced at all on the stage. of the depicted environment, the bright vitality and truth of the image, a peculiar, lively and colorful language, clearly reflecting in itself that real Russian speech of the "Moscow prosvirens", which Pushkin advised Russian writers to learn - all this artistic realism with all the simplicity and sincerity, which did not rise to even Gogol was greeted in our criticism by some with stormy enthusiasm, by others with bewilderment, denial and ridicule. While A. Grigoriev, proclaiming himself the "prophet of Ostrovsky", tirelessly repeated that in the works of the young playwright, the "new word" of our literature found expression, namely, "nationality", critics of the progressive direction reproached Ostrovsky for gravitating towards pre-Petrine antiquity, to "Slavophilism" of the Pogostinian persuasion, they even saw in his comedies the idealization of tyranny, they called him "Gostinodvorsky Kotzebue". Chernyshevsky reacted sharply negatively to the play "Poverty is not a vice", seeing in it some kind of sentimental sweetness in the depiction of hopeless, allegedly "patriarchal" life; other critics were indignant at Ostrovsky for elevating some kind of chuyki and boots with bottles to the level of "heroes". Free from aesthetic and political bias, the theatrical public irrevocably decided the case in favor of Ostrovsky. The most talented Moscow actors and actresses - Sadovsky, S. Vasiliev, Stepanov, Nikulina-Kositskaya, Borozdina and others - until then forced to perform, with a few exceptions, either in vulgar vaudeville, or in stilted melodramas converted from French, written, moreover however, in barbaric language, they immediately felt in Ostrovsky's plays the breath of a living, close and dear to them Russian life and gave all their strength to its truthful depiction on stage. And the theatrical audience saw in the performance of these artists a truly "new word" in stage art - simplicity and naturalness, they saw people living on the stage without any pretense. With his works, Ostrovsky created a school of real Russian dramatic art, simple and real, as alien to pretentiousness and affectation as all the great works of our literature are alien to it. This merit of his was first of all understood and appreciated in the theatrical environment, the most free from preconceived theories. When in 1856, according to the idea of ​​Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, a business trip of outstanding writers took place to study and describe various areas of Russia in industrial and domestic terms, Ostrovsky took upon himself the study of the Volga from the upper reaches to the Lower. A short account of this trip appeared in the "Naval Collection" in 1859, the full one remained in the author's papers and was subsequently (1890) processed by S.V. Maksimov, but still remains unpublished. Several months spent in close proximity to the local population gave Ostrovsky a lot of vivid impressions, expanded and deepened the knowledge of Russian life in its artistic expression - in a well-aimed word, song, fairy tale, historical legend, in the customs and customs of antiquity that were still preserved in the backwoods. All this is reflected in later works.

yakh Ostrovsky and further strengthened their national significance. Not limited to the life of the Zamoskvoretsky merchants, Ostrovsky introduces the world of large and small officials, and then the landlords, into the circle of actors. In 1857, “Profitable Place” and “Festive Sleep Before Dinner” were written (the first part of the “trilogy” about Balzaminov; two further parts - “Your own dogs bite, don’t pester someone else” and “What you go for, you will find” - appeared in 1861), in 1858 - "The characters did not agree" (originally written in the form of a story), in 1859 - "The Pupil". In the same year, two volumes of Ostrovsky's works appeared, in the edition of Count G.A. Kusheleva-Bezborodko. This edition was the reason for the brilliant assessment that Dobrolyubov gave to Ostrovsky and which secured his fame as a depicter of the "dark kingdom". Reading now, after the expiration of half a century, Dobrolyubov's articles, we cannot fail to see their journalistic character. Ostrovsky himself was by nature not a satirist at all, hardly even a humorist; with truly epic objectivity, caring only about the truth and vitality of the image, he "calmly matured at the right and the guilty, knowing neither pity nor anger" and not at all hiding his love for the simple "Russian girl", in whom, even among the ugly manifestations of everyday life, there is always was able to find certain attractive features. Ostrovsky himself was such a "Russian", and everything Russian found a sympathetic echo in his heart. In his own words, he cared first of all about showing a Russian person on stage: “let him see himself and rejoice. Correctors will be found even without us. Dobrolyubov, however, did not think of imposing certain tendencies on Ostrovsky, but simply used his plays as a truthful depiction of Russian life, for his own, completely independent conclusions. In 1860 the "Thunderstorm" appeared in the press, causing a second remarkable article by Dobrolyubov ("A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom"). This play reflected the impressions of a trip to the Volga and, in particular, a visit by the author to Torzhok. An even more striking reflection of the Volga impressions was the dramatic chronicle printed in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1862: Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk. In this play, Ostrovsky for the first time took up the processing of a historical theme prompted to him both by Nizhny Novgorod legends and by a careful study of our history of the 17th century. The sensitive artist managed to notice the living features of folk life in the dead monuments and perfectly master the language of the era under study, in which he later, for fun, wrote entire letters. "Minin", which received the approval of the sovereign, was, however, banned by dramatic censorship and could appear on stage only 4 years later. On the stage, the play was not successful due to its length and not always successful lyricism, but criticism could not fail to notice the high dignity of individual scenes and figures. In 1863, Ostrovsky published a drama from folk life: "Sin and trouble does not live on anyone" and then returned to the pictures of Zamoskvorechye in comedies: "Hard Days" (1863) and "Jokers" (1864). At the same time, he was busy processing a large play in verse, from the life of the 17th century, begun during a trip to the Volga. She appeared in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1865 under the title: Voyevoda, or Dream on the Volga. This excellent poetic fantasy, something like a dramatized epic, contains a number of vivid everyday pictures of the past, through the haze of which one feels in many places closeness to everyday life, and to this day has not yet completely receded into the past. The comedy In a Busy Place, published in No. 9 of Sovremennik in 1865, was also inspired by Volga impressions. From the mid-1960s, Ostrovsky diligently took up the history of the Time of Troubles and entered into a lively correspondence with Kostomarov, who at that time was studying the same era. The result of this work were two dramatic chronicles published in 1867: "Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuisky" and "Tushino". In No. 1 of Vestnik Evropy in 1868, another historical drama appeared, from the time of Ivan the Terrible, Vasilisa Melentiev, written in collaboration with

theater director Gedeonov. Since that time, a series of Ostrovsky's plays began, written, in his words, in a "new manner". Their subject is the image of no longer merchant and petty-bourgeois, but noble life: "Each wise man has enough simplicity", 1868; "Mad Money", 1870; "Forest", 1871. Interspersed with them are everyday comedies of the "old style": "Hot Heart" (1869), "Not all the cat's Shrovetide" (1871), "There was not a penny, but suddenly Altyn" (1872). In 1873, two plays were written that occupy a special position among Ostrovsky's works: "Comedian of the 17th century" (on the 200th anniversary of the Russian theater) and a dramatic fairy tale in verse "The Snow Maiden", one of the most remarkable creations of Russian poetry. In his further works of the 70s and 80s, Ostrovsky turns to the life of various strata of society - both noble, bureaucratic, and merchant, and in the latter he notes the changes in views and conditions caused by the requirements of the new Russian life. This period of Ostrovsky's activity includes: "Late Love" and "Labor Bread" (1874), "Wolves and Sheep" (1875), "Rich Brides" (1876), "Truth is good, but happiness is better" (1877), "The Last Victim" (1878), "Dowry" and "Kind Master" (1879), "The Heart is Not a Stone" (1880), "Slaves" (1881), "Talents and Admirers" (1882), "Handsome Man" (1883), "Guilty Without Guilt" (1884) and, finally, the last, weak in design and execution, play: "Not of this world" (1885). In addition, several plays were written by Ostrovsky in collaboration with other people: with N.Ya. Solovyov - "The Marriage of Belugin" (1878), "Wild Woman" (1880) and "Shines but does not warm" (1881); with P.M. Nevezhin - "Whim" (1881). Ostrovsky also owns a number of translations of foreign plays: Shakespeare's Pacification of the Wayward (1865), Italo Franchi's The Great Banker (1871), Teobaldo Ciconi's Lost Sheep (1872), Goldoni's Coffee House (1872), The Criminal's Family Giacometti (1872), a remake of The Slavery of Husbands from the French, and, finally, a translation of 10 interludes by Cervantes, published separately in 1886. He wrote only 49 original plays. All these plays provide a gallery of the most diverse Russian types, remarkable in their vitality and truthfulness, with all the features of their habits, language and character. In regard to the dramatic technique proper and composition, Ostrovsky's plays are often weak: the artist, deeply truthful by nature, was himself aware of his impotence in inventing the plot, in arranging the plot and denouement; he even said that "the playwright should not invent what happened; his job is to write how it happened or could happen; that's all his work; when paying attention in this direction, living people will appear and speak themselves." Discussing his plays from this point of view, Ostrovsky confessed that the most difficult thing for him was "invention", because any lie was disgusting to him; but it is impossible for a dramatic writer to do without this conditional lie. That “new word” of Ostrovsky, for which Apollon Grigoriev so ardently advocated, in its essence lies not so much in “nationality”, but in truthfulness, in the artist’s direct attitude to the life around him with the aim of quite realistically reproducing it on stage. In this direction, Ostrovsky took a further step forward in comparison with Griboyedov and Gogol and for a long time established on our stage that "natural school" that, at the beginning of his activity, already dominated other departments of our literature. The talented playwright, supported by no less talented artists, aroused competition among his peers, who followed the same path: Pisemsky, A. Potekhin and other writers, less noticeable, but at one time enjoying well-deserved success, were the playwrights of the same direction. Dedicated to the theater and its interests with all his heart, Ostrovsky devoted a lot of time and labor to practical concerns about the development and improvement of dramatic art and about improving the financial situation of dramatic authors. He dreamed of the opportunity to transform the artistic taste of artists and the public and create a theater school equally useful for the aesthetic education of societies.

but also for the preparation of worthy stage figures. Amidst all sorts of grief and disappointment, he remained true to this cherished dream until the end of his life, the realization of which was partly realized by the Artistic Circle he created in 1866 in Moscow, which later gave the Moscow stage many talented figures. At the same time, Ostrovsky took care of alleviating the financial situation of Russian playwrights: through his work the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers was formed (1874), of which he remained the permanent chairman until his death. In general, by the beginning of the 80s, Ostrovsky firmly took the place of the leader and teacher of Russian drama and stage. Working hard in the commission established in 1881 under the directorate of the Imperial Theaters "to review the legal provisions in all parts of the theater management", he achieved many changes that significantly improved the position of the artists and made it possible to more appropriately stage theatrical education. In 1885, Ostrovsky was appointed head of the repertoire of Moscow theaters and head of the theater school. His health, already shaky by this time, did not correspond to the broad plans of activity that he set for himself. Reinforced work quickly exhausted the body; On June 2, 1886, Ostrovsky died in his Kostroma estate, Shchelykovo, without having had time to realize his transformational assumptions.

Ostrovsky's writings have been published many times; the last and more complete edition - the Association "Enlightenment" (St. Petersburg, 1896 - 97, in 10 volumes, edited by M.I. Pisarev and with a biographical sketch by I. Nosov). Separately published "Dramatic translations" (M., 1872), "Intermedia Cervantes" (St. Petersburg, 1886) and "Dramatic works of A. Ostrovsky and N. Solovyov" (St. Petersburg, 1881). For the biography of Ostrovsky, the most important work is the book of the French scientist J. Patouillet "O. et son theater de moeurs russes" (Paris, 1912), where all the literature about Ostrovsky is indicated. See the memoirs of S.V. Maksimov in "Russian Thought" in 1897 and Kropacheva in "Russian Review" in 1897; I. Ivanov "A.N. Ostrovsky, his life and literary activity" (St. Petersburg, 1900). The best critical articles about Ostrovsky were written by Apollon Grigoriev (in "Moskvityanin" and "Time"), Edelson ("Library for Reading", 1864), Dobrolyubov ("Dark Kingdom" and "Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom") and Boborykin ("Word ", 1878). - Wed. also books by A.I. Nezelenov "Ostrovsky in his works" (St. Petersburg, 1888), and Or. F. Miller "Russian writers after Gogol" (St. Petersburg, 1887). P. Morozov.

• Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was born on March 31 (April 12), 1823 in Moscow. The childhood and youth of the future playwright were spent in Zamoskvorechye.
• Ostrovsky's father, Nikolai Fedorovich, once completed a course at the Theological Academy. He served in the Civil Chamber, was engaged in private advocacy. At the end of his life, he earned and acquired the rank of a hereditary nobleman.
• Ostrovsky's mother, Lyubov Ivanovna, nee Savvina, was the daughter of a priest. She bore her husband eleven children, of whom four survived. She died in 1831. The children were raised by a nanny, Avdotya Ivanovna Kutuzova, and later by the second wife of Nikolai Fedorovich.
• Ostrovsky's stepmother, Baroness Emilia Andreevna von Tesin, was Swedish by birth. She raised the children of Nikolai Fedorovich and instilled in them a love for European art. Largely thanks to her, the children in the Ostrovsky family spoke several languages. Alexander, in particular, knew Greek, French, German, and later - English, Italian, Spanish.
• 1835 - Alexander Ostrovsky was sent to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium.
• 1840 - Ostrovsky graduated from the gymnasium and entered the law faculty of Moscow University. The father wants Alexander to become a lawyer, but the desire for literary creativity and passion for the theater are stronger.
• 1843 - Ostrovsky interrupts his studies at the University (he has little interest in jurisprudence), but at the insistence of his father, he enters the service of a scribe in the Moscow conscientious court. This work helped Ostrovsky a lot as a writer, gave rich material for future creativity, because before him passed unimagined stories from the private lives of ordinary people. Alexander Nikolaevich wrote down all the remarkable cases from merchant and noble life.
• 1846 - Ostrovsky plans to write a comedy. According to various sources, it was called "Insolvent debtor" or "Picture of family happiness." The final version, however, was called “Own people - let's settle!” and showed up later.
• 1847 - sketches of a future comedy and an essay "Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident" were published in the Moscow City List. Ostrovsky wrote one scene of the play in collaboration with the provincial actor Dmitry Gorev, as a result of which the initials not only “A.O.”, but also “D.G.” were under the first publication. The ill-wishers of Alexander Nikolayevich subsequently took advantage of this circumstance and fanned a big campaign to accuse the playwright of plagiarism.
• Spring 1848 - the Ostrovsky family moved to the Shchelykovo estate in the Kineshma district of the Kostroma province. It was the desire of Nikolai Fedorovich, who decided to return to his native places in his old age. Alexander Nikolayevich, who has long lived apart from his family, nevertheless visits Shchelykovo. He is fascinated by the Central Russian nature, and the Volga makes an indelible impression. Subsequently, admiration for the great Russian river will be reflected in many works of the playwright.
• The end of the 40s - Alexander Nikolaevich and his first wife, the Moscow bourgeois Agafya Ivanovna, begin to live in a civil marriage.
• 1849 - Ostrovsky writes his first comedy "Our people - let's settle!" (first called "Bankrut").
• 1850 - "Own people - let's settle!" published, but by decree of Emperor Nicholas I, the comedy was forbidden to be staged. The author was dismissed from the service and placed under the supervision of the police. Supervision was removed only after the accession of Alexander II. However, the play was approved by I.A. Goncharova and N.V. Gogol. Ostrovsky becomes famous. He begins to collaborate with the magazine "Moskovityanin", enters the circle of writers, artists and other artists. This year, the plays "Morning of a Young Man" and "An Unexpected Case" were also written.
• 1851 - The Poor Bride is written and published.
• 1855 - 1860 - during this period, Alexander Nikolayevich draws closer to the revolutionary democrats. A characteristic feature of the works of this time is the opposition of the "rulers" to the "little man". Ostrovsky writes "Hangover in someone else's feast", "Profitable place", "Pupil".
• 1856 - Ostrovsky begins to collaborate with the Sovremennik magazine. In the same year, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich offered Russian writers a business trip to describe various regions of the country in terms of everyday life and industry. Ostrovsky takes over the Volga, from the upper reaches of the river to Nizhny Novgorod. He travels by boat, taking numerous notes along the way.
• 1857 - Ostrovsky writes the play "The Characters Didn't Agree".
• 1859 - written "Thunderstorm". In the same year, two volumes of works by A.N. Ostrovsky were published.
• 1860 - Dobrolyubov, highly appreciating the "Thunderstorm", writes the article "A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom".
• 1860s - during this period of creativity, Ostrovsky turns to historical topics. He writes the chronicles "Tushino", "Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuisky", the psychological drama "Vasilisa Melentyeva".
• 1861 - the staging of the play "Our people - we will settle!" is allowed.
• 1863 - Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize. Elected a Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
• The second wife of Alexander Nikolayevich was the actress of the Maly Theater Maria Vasilyevna Bakhmetyeva. She was much younger than Ostrovsky.
• 1864 - the Ostrovskys have their firstborn, son Alexander. In total, Alexander Nikolaevich had six children: in 1866, son Mikhail was born, in 1867 daughter Maria, in 1869 son Sergei, in 1874 - the second daughter Lyubov, in 1877 - the fourth son Nikolai.
• 1865 - 1866 - at this time (the exact date is not determined), Ostrovsky created an Artistic Circle in Moscow, from where many talented theater figures subsequently appeared on the Moscow stage. From the beginning of 1866, Alexander Nikolayevich was appointed head of the repertory part of the Moscow imperial theaters.
• The period of the 1870s - Ostrovsky in his works refers to the life of the nobility. The plays “Enough Stupidity for Every Wise Man”, “Mad Money”, “Forest”, “Snow Maiden”, “Wolves and Sheep” are released. In the first half of the decade, the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers was formed in Moscow, of which Alexander Nikolayevich was chairman until his death.
• 1870 - 1880 - known as the last period of creativity of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky. The works are characterized by an appeal to the fate of a Russian woman in post-reform Russia: "The Last Victim", "Dowry", "The Heart is Not a Stone", "Talents and Admirers" and other plays.
• 1881 - under the directorate of the imperial theaters, a Commission was established "for the revision of legal provisions in all parts of the theater management." Ostrovsky takes an active part in the work of the Commission, and through his efforts many changes were adopted that significantly improved the financial situation of the actors.
• 1883 - Emperor Alexander III grants Ostrovsky a pension of 3,000 rubles a year.
• 1885 - Ostrovsky was appointed head of the repertoire of Moscow theaters and at the same time head of the theater school.
• June 2 (14), 1886 - Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky dies at the Shchelykovo estate. Buried at the local cemetery. In total, according to various sources. Ostrovsky wrote 47 or 49 plays.