Conflict is an essential part of a dramatic work. It is realized through the plot at various levels and is transformed along with the change in the literary direction.

Thus, in Ostrovsky's play The Thunderstorm, written just two years before the abolition of serfdom, the author describes people who do not want to live in a new way. Society clings to the patriarchal order, thereby stopping progress. Ignorance and groveling is considered the norm.

The conflict manifests itself through the relationship of the characters. A striking confrontation in the play is the pair of Katerina and Kabanikh. Women had to be under the same roof due to circumstances. The Kabanov family is influential and prosperous. Marta Ignatievna has an adult son and daughter. The mother loves to manipulate the children, especially the son. He considers only his opinion correct, does not skimp on humiliation and insults for all family members.

Katerina married Tikhon at a young age, and therefore she hoped that after marriage she would live the way she wants. In reality, the girl is faced with cruelty from her mother-in-law. Katerina and Martha are different, but both have a strong character. The young girl is trying with all her might to resist Kabanikhe.

A love conflict is observed in a pair of Katerina and Boris. Katya falls in love with a recently arrived young man. She likes that he does not look like the inhabitants of the city, his views are close to her. A romance begins between the couple. Katerina is not afraid of either condemnation or shame. However, Boris is not ready to take responsibility. For him, this is just entertainment, because the main purpose of his arrival in Kalinov is to receive an inheritance from his uncle.

A serious conflict occurs between a pair of Wild and self-taught inventor Kuligin. Wild keeps the whole city in fear: steals, insults, drinks and treats everyone down. Kuligin, on the contrary, is trying to help people, he wants to invent something useful for everyone. However, he does not have enough money for his ideas.

Thus, several conflict situations unfold in the work: between a person and society, generations, old and new, as well as a conflict within the personality itself.

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Conflict is the main driving force of a dramatic work. The conflict unfolds through the story and can be implemented on several different levels. Whether it's a confrontation of interests, characters or ideas, the conflict is resolved at the end of the work. The essence of the conflict can also be determined by the literary era (realism and postmodernism, for example, are characterized by different types of conflicts). In realism, the conflict will be hidden in the depiction of social turmoil and denunciation of the vices of society. For example, the article will consider the main conflict in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".
The work was written in 1859, a few years before the abolition of serfdom. Ostrovsky wanted to show how much society corrodes itself from the inside just because the way of life remains the same. Patriarchal orders hinder progress, while corruption and servility destroy the human element in a person. In the description of such an atmosphere lies the main conflict of the Thunderstorm.

So, as a rule, the conflict is realized at the level of characters. To do this, pairs or groups of characters must be identified. You should start with the most striking confrontation: the Katya-Kabanikha pair. These women had to live together by the will of circumstances. The Kabanov family is quite rich, Marfa Ignatievna herself is a widow. She raised a son and a daughter. The boar constantly manipulates her son, arranges scandals and tantrums. A woman believes that only her opinion has the right to exist, so everything must correspond to her ideas. She humiliates, insults other members of the family. Varvara gets the least because her daughter lies to her mother.

Katya was married early to Tikhon Kabanov, the son of Kabanikh. Katya naively believed that her life before marriage would not differ much from her new life, but the girl was wrong. Pure Katya is not able to understand how you can lie to your mother, as Varvara does, how you can hide your thoughts and feelings from someone, how you can not protect the right to your own opinion. The orders of this family are alien to her, but because of the patriarchal foundations that prevailed at that time, the girl had no choice.

Here the conflict is realized at the internal level. These characters are too different, but both women have the same strong character. Katerina resists the pernicious influence of Kabanikh. Marfa Ignatievna understands that she is faced with a strong rival who can "set" Tikhon against her mother, and this is not part of her plans.

In a pair of Boris - Katerina, a love conflict is realized. The girl falls in love with a young man who has arrived in the city. Boris seems to Katya like herself, unlike the others. Boris, like Katerina, is annoyed by the atmosphere of the city. They both do not like that everything here is built on fear and money. Feelings of young people flare up pretty quickly: one meeting was enough for them to fall in love with each other. Tikhon's departure allows the lovers to secretly meet and spend time together. Katya says that for the sake of Boris she commits a sin, but since she was not afraid of sin, then she is not afraid of condemnation from people. The girl does not understand why hide their meeting. She wanted to confess everything to her husband in order to be honest with Boris later, but the young man dissuades her from such an act. It is more convenient for Boris to meet in secret and not take responsibility. Of course they couldn't be together. Their love is tragic and fleeting. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Katya realizes that Boris is in fact the same as all the other residents: miserable and petty. And Boris does not try to deny it. After all, he came to the city only to establish relations with his uncle (only in this case he could receive an inheritance).

The Kuligin-Dikoi couple will help determine the main conflict in Ostrovsky's drama The Thunderstorm. Self-taught inventor and merchant. All power in the city seems to be concentrated in the hands of the Wild. He is rich, but he only thinks about increasing capital. He is not afraid of threats from the mayor, he deceives ordinary residents, steals from other merchants, drinks a lot. Wild constantly swears. In each of his remarks there was a place for insults. He believes that people who are below him on the social ladder are not worthy of talking to him, they deserve their miserable existence. Kuligin strives to help people, all his inventions should be of benefit to society. But he is poor, and there is no way to earn by honest labor. Kuligin knows about everything that happens in the city. "Cruel morals in our city." Kuligin cannot resist or fight this.

The main conflict of the drama "Thunderstorm" unfolds inside the main character. Katya understands how strong the gap between ideas and reality is. Katerina wants to be herself, free, light and clean. But in Kalinov it is impossible to live like that. In this struggle, she risks losing herself, giving up, not being able to withstand the onslaught of circumstances. Katya chooses between black and white, gray does not exist for her. The girl understands that she can live either the way she wants, or not live at all. The conflict ends with the death of the heroine. She could not commit violence against herself, kill herself in herself for the sake of social order.

There are several conflicts in the play "Thunderstorm". The main one is the confrontation between the individual and society. To this conflict is added the conflict of generations, the conflict of the old and the new. The conclusion suggests itself that an honest person cannot survive in a society of liars and hypocrites.

The definition of the main conflict of the play and the description of its participants can be used by students of grade 10 in essays on the topic "The main conflict in the play" Thunderstorm "by Ostrovsky."

Artwork test

Features of the conflict in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" A conflict is a clash of two or more sides that do not coincide in their views and worldviews. There are several conflicts in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", but how to decide which one is the main one? In the era of sociologism in literary criticism, it was believed that social conflict was the most important thing in a play. Of course, if we see in the image of Katerina a reflection of the spontaneous protest of the masses against the shackling conditions of the “dark kingdom” and perceive the death of Katerina as the result of her collision with the tyrant mother-in-law, the genre of the play should be defined as a social drama. Drama is a work in which the public and personal aspirations of people, and sometimes their very lives, are threatened with destruction by external forces that do not depend on them. The play also contains a conflict of generations between Katerina and Kabanikha: the new always steps on the heels of the old, the old does not want to surrender to the new. But the play is much deeper than it might seem at first glance. After all, Katerina primarily struggles with herself, and not with Kabanikha, the conflict develops not around her, but in herself. Therefore, the play "Thunderstorm" can be defined as a tragedy. Tragedy is a work in which there is an insoluble conflict between the personal aspirations of the hero and the supra-personal laws of life that occur in the mind of the protagonist. In general, the play is very similar to an ancient tragedy: the choir is replaced by some extra-plot heroes, the denouement ends with the death of the protagonist, as in ancient tragedy (except for the immortal Prometheus). The death of Katerina is the result of a collision of two historical eras. Some of the characters in the play seem to differ in the time in which they live. For example: Kuligin is a man of the 18th century, he wants to invent a sundial, which was known in antiquity, or a perpetuum mobile, which is a hallmark of the Middle Ages, or a lightning rod. He himself reaches with his mind what has long been invented, and he only dreams about it. He quotes Lomonosov and Derzhavin - this is also a trait of a man of the 18th century. Boris is already an educator of the 19th century, an educated person. Katerina is the heroine of pre-Petrine times. The story about her childhood is a story about the ideal variant of patriarchal house-building relations. In this world of kings, only all-penetrating mutual love, a person does not separate himself from society. Katerina was brought up in such a way that she could not refuse moral and ethical laws, any violation of them is inevitable death. Katerina turns out to be, as it were, older than everyone in the city in her worldview, even older than Kabanikha, who remained as the last guardian of the house-building way in Kalinovo. After all, Kabanikha only pretends that everything is as it should be in her family: her daughter-in-law and her son are afraid and respected, Katerina is afraid of her husband, and she doesn’t care how everything really happens, only appearance is important for her. The main character finds herself in a world that she imagined in a completely different way, and the patriarchal way of life inside Katerina is being destroyed right before her eyes. In many ways, Varvara decides the fate of Katerina, inciting the latter to go on a date.

39. In 1856, A. N. Ostrovsky went on an expedition along the Volga along with many theater-goers and writers. As a result... the author writes the play "Thunderstorm", which reflects the life of the social stratum of interest to the author: philistinism and merchant class, represented in the work with the help of the collective image of the city of Kalinov, called Dobrolyubov "dark kingdom". The title is the key to understanding the work. The image of a thunderstorm is primarily associated with the general state of the world. The old foundations of society have already outlived themselves, and the problem of moral and historical renewal is becoming urgent. Also, a thunderstorm symbolizes conflict. The social external conflict becomes central in the work, which is realized with the help of images of the inhabitants of the city. Kalinov is represented by tyrants (oppressors) and the oppressed. Consider the image of Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. She lives according to the laws of Domostroy and the patriarchal world. It is important for her to observe the ritual life, only this can keep order in the house. (But since “Thunderstorm” is a work of critical realism, it is characterized by social and psychological typification. Consequently, the house represents the city of Kalinov, and therefore Russia as a whole.) The cruelty of Kabanikha, often reaching anti-humanity. For example, Marfa Ignatievna insists that Tikhon beat Katerina (so that she knows whom to respect), and triumphs over her death, accusing her of destroying order. Despotism and lust for power also become prominent features of Kabanikha. “If she won’t be afraid of you, then even more so of me. What will be the order in the house? Under the influence of her mother-in-law, a society whose life is based on fear and lies (after all, Varvara herself says that “... the whole house rests on lies ...”), Katerina was to become a typical representative of it. But Katerina becomes a worthy opponent of Kabanikha. Katerina is also a strong personality. She, like Marfa Ignatievna, believes that there is nothing that could atone for sin. But Katerina is saved from the ugly life logic of Kabanikh by the ability to see beauty and sincere faith in God. The values ​​of the “dark kingdom” are alien to her. This partially becomes the basis of the external conflict, which is presented in the work with the help of psychological pairs. Its main feature is that people's worldview destroys each other's lives. For example, this happened in the Kabanov family. Kabanikha appears as a complex personality. Despite her outward rigidity towards her relatives, she sincerely loves her children and does not understand that Varvara, the daughter of Marfa Ignatievna, is breaking their lives, she constantly dodges, lies, even before God (for example, when she steals the key that her mother kept behind the image) . For her, there is practically nothing sacred, therefore she leaves the family. Tikhon is a ruined person. He cannot resist the orders of his mother and does everything that she requires. As a result, the final scene of the play becomes even more tragic. Only under the influence of the death of his wife do feelings awaken in Tikhon, and most importantly, the soul, and he blames his mother, who loves him passionately, for what happened. The external conflict is resolved by the collapse of the family and is directly related to the image of a storm approaching at the very beginning of the story, bringing destruction to the established orders of the “dark kingdom”. But the moral essence of some of its representatives is contradictory, an active internal struggle takes place in their souls, which becomes the basis for an internal conflict in the work. First of all, consider the image of Catherine. The desire for true pure love is beyond reason. But Katerina realizes the sinfulness of desire, and this becomes a heavy burden for her soul. Having sinned, Katerina no longer turns to God for help, but she cannot live with the thought of sin, and, accordingly, she will never achieve happiness with Boris. Due to excessive impressionability, Katerina sees bad omens both in the image of fiery hell and in the words of a half-crazy old woman: “...beauty... leads to a whirlpool...” and “... we will all burn in hell...” As a result, the question “where to now?” Katerina sees only one answer: “It is better in the grave ... To live again? No, no, don't... it's not good... It's all the same that death will come, that it's on its own... but you can't live! Sin!" But, besides Katerina, an internal conflict also occurs in the soul of Tikhon. The influence of the mother suppressed the individual beginning in him. But he is not able to hurt his wife, because he loves her very much and worries about her. He says: “... I'll pull it out, otherwise I'll do it myself ... what can I do without it!” The death of his wife greatly affects his inner state. A desire is revived in him, a desire to resist, and he finds in himself the spiritual strength to say to his mother: “You ruined her!” Since the play “Thunderstorm” is a work of critical realism, the characters are both typical and individual. The author's position is dissolved in the narrative and is not directly expressed. Only sometimes some heroes become reasoners. The final is open, but good does not win and evil does not triumph.

40. The image of Katerina in the drama of A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm"

Russian literature has always been distinguished by the depth of its ideological content, the tireless desire to resolve issues of the meaning of life, a humane attitude towards a person, and the truthfulness of the image. Russian writers strove to reveal in female images the best features inherent in our people. In no literature of the world we will meet such beautiful and pure women, distinguished by their faithful and loving hearts, as well as their unique spiritual beauty. Only in Russian literature is so much attention paid to the depiction of the inner world and the complex experiences of the female soul. Since the 12th century, the image of a Russian woman-heroine, with a big heart, a fiery soul and readiness for great unforgettable deeds, has been passing through all our literature. Suffice it to recall, full of beauty and tragedy, the image of Katerina in Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm", which, according to Dobrolyubov, reflected the best character traits of the Russian people, spiritual nobility, the desire for truth and freedom, readiness for struggle and protest. The image of Katerina is not only the most complex, but it differs sharply from all others. It has an extremely developed desire for harmony with the world and freedom. The origins of this are in childhood. Her life in her parents' house was happy, carefree and joyful, she did what she liked. As we can see, in this carefree time, Katerina, first of all, was surrounded by beauty and harmony, she “lived like a bird in the wild”, among maternal love and fragrant nature. Her mother did not have a soul in her. Katya lived freely: she got up early, washed herself with spring water, watered the flowers, went to church with her mother, then sat down to do some work and listened to the wanderers and praying women, who were many in their house. Katerina had magical dreams where she flew under the clouds. And from this atmosphere, saturated with kindness, affection and love, she ends up in the Kabanikhi family, where everything is built on rudeness, unconditional obedience, lies and deceit. Katerina at every step endures humiliation and insults from her despot mother-in-law, perfectly feeling her dependence on her. From the side of her husband, she does not feel any support, since he is completely subordinate to the power of his mother and only thinks about how to escape from her. Katerina is the strongest character in the play. She was naive and kind, brought up in a completely religious spirit. But if she met on her way something that contradicted her ideals, then she turned into a rebellious and stubborn nature and defended herself from that outsider, a stranger that boldly disturbed her soul. I think that the most important trait of Katerina's character is her unwillingness to live a lie. She does not want and cannot cheat, pretend, lie, hide. This is confirmed by the scene of Katerina's confession of treason. Not a thunderstorm, not fear of a fiery hyena prompted the heroine to tell the truth. “The whole heart is broken! I can't take it anymore!" - so she began her confession. For her honest and whole nature, the false position in which she found herself is unbearable. Living just to live is not for her. To live is to be yourself. Her most precious value is personal freedom, the freedom of the soul. The image of Katerina is contrasted in the play with other characters, and at the same time compared with them. The main external conflict of the play is the confrontation between Katerina and Kabanikha. Katerina and the boar are two opposite people from the same family. The boar is the mistress of the "dark kingdom". All the characters in this play are either victims of this kingdom, like Tikhon and Boris, or adapted to it, like Varvara and Kudryash. Katerina is the only character who has not come to terms with her place in this world. Katerina is outwardly fragile, tender and open to feelings young woman, not at all as defenseless as it seems at first glance. She is strong inside, she is a fighter against this way of life. Kabanikha is a completely different person, she is the opposite of Katerina. She is completely satisfied with the world in which she lives. No one dared to argue with her, but then Katerina appears, unwilling to put up with the rudeness and cruelty of the Kabanikh. And so Katerina, with her self-esteem, constantly irritates the Kabanikha. A conflict is brewing between Katerina and Kabanikha. This conflict does not reach the explosion until there was a reason for it. And the reason is Katerina's confession of infidelity to her husband. And Katerina understands that after that her life is over, because then Kabanikha will completely overwrite her. And she decides to commit suicide. After the death of Katerina, Kabanikha remains satisfied, because now no one will resist her. Katerina's death is a kind of protest against this world, the world of lies and hypocrisy, to which she could never get used. But Katerina and Kabanikh have something in common, because they are both able to stand up for themselves, both do not want to put up with humiliation and insult, both have a strong character. But their unwillingness to be humiliated and offended manifests itself in different ways. Katerina will never respond to rudeness with rudeness. The boar, on the contrary, will try in every possible way to humiliate, offend a person who says something unpleasant in her direction. Katerina and Kabanikha have a different attitude towards God. If Katerina's feeling for God is something bright, holy, inviolable and the highest, then Kabanikha's is only an external, superficial feeling. Even going to church for Kabanikh is only to impress others. The character of Katerina is also opposed to the characters of Tikhon and Boris, weak-willed people resigned to the power of petty tyrants. So, Katerina's husband Tikhon Kabanov obeys his mother in everything and obeys her. He does not have a clear life position, courage, courage. His image fully corresponds to the name given to him - Tikhon (quiet). Young Kabanov not only does not respect himself, but also allows his mother to treat his wife rudely. This is especially evident in the scene of farewell, before leaving for the fair. Tikhon repeats word for word all the instructions and moralizing of his mother. Of course, Katerina cannot love and respect such a husband, but her soul yearns for love. She falls in love with Diky's nephew, Boris. Boris is not much different from Tikhon. Boris's lack of will, his desire to receive his part of his grandmother's inheritance (and he will receive it only if he is respectful with his uncle) turned out to be stronger than love. The image of Katerina is opposed to Varvara and Kudryash, the young generation of the city of Kalinov, who have learned to live in the "dark kingdom". Varvara is Katerina's confidante and constant companion. Barbara is a smart, cunning, and mischievous girl. She is young and strives to be in time everywhere before marriage, to try everything. Adapting to the mores of the city of Kalinov, Varvara learned all its laws and rules. She became the embodiment of the morality of this kingdom: "Do whatever you want, as long as everything is sewn and covered." A lie for her is the norm of life: "Our whole house rests on this," it is impossible without deception. Seeing nothing wrong with her way of life, Varvara seeks to teach Katerina how to cheat and deceive. But honest, sincere Katerina cannot live in this oppressive atmosphere of lies and violence. But Varvara's friend, Kudryash, fully shares her views, because he is a typical resident of Kalinov. Already now, the features of the future Wild are visible in it. He is impudent, bold and cheeky in conversation, boasts of his prowess, red tape, knowledge of the "merchant establishment". He is not alien to ambition and the desire for power over people. Varvara and Kudryash, it would seem, leave the "dark kingdom", but not in order to give birth to new and honest laws of life, but, most likely, to live in the same "dark kingdom", but already masters in it. The only living and thinking soul in the city of Kalinov is the self-taught mechanic Kuligin, who is looking for a perpetual motion machine. He is kind and active, obsessed with a constant desire to help people, to create something necessary and useful. But all his good intentions run into a thick wall of misunderstanding and indifference. Kuligin gives a vivid and true characterization of the "dark kingdom": "Cruel, sir, morals in our city, cruel ... Whoever has money, sir, he tries to enslave the poor in order to make even more money for his free labors ..." Condemning and disagreeing with the laws of Kalinov's life, Kuligin does not fight them. He made peace with them. The author of the play tried to emphasize the exclusivity of the main character. And this was expressed in the creation of the image, in Katerina's speech. Also, the inner world of the heroine is expressed in her monologues, in which we see her experiences, the motives of her actions. The first monologue is an inspired memory of childhood. Both the nature of the memories and the manner of speaking testify to the spirituality of Katerina. Katerina's second monologue sounds after Tikhon's departure. She had to endure humiliating orders given by her husband on the orders of her mother. From the monologue, we find out what she thinks about, left alone. The monologue conquers us with the absence of any anguish. This scene is like the calm before the storm. Katerina's last monologue seems to draw a line. He plunges us into the inner world of a shocked woman. Returning home means spiritual death, continued endless torture. In death, she dreams of finding true peace. The whole last monologue sounds like a sad, heartfelt - lyrical song. Katerina passes away with faith in mercy and compassion, with an ardent faith in love. And the last words of the heroine even more strongly make you feel the tragic discrepancy between the living soul and the laws of the gloomy patriarchal-despotic way of life. The inhuman mores of the “dark kingdom” will still come to an end, as the new imperiously invades life. The death of Katerina is a challenge to the "dark kingdom", a passionate call to fight against the entire despotic way of life. Kudryash and Varvara flee to other lands, the struggle between the new and the old has begun and continues. Ostrovsky in this drama denounced the cruel customs of merchant life: despotism, ignorance, tyranny, greed. Dobrolyubov believed that in the “dark kingdom” not only the ignorant merchants of the city of Kalinov were depicted, but also the entire autocratic-feudal system of Russia. The protest expressed in The Thunderstorm, he extended to the whole of Tsarist Russia: “Russian life and Russian strength are called by the artist in the Thunderstorm to a decisive cause”

A. N. Ostrovsky was the successor and continuer of realistic traditions in Russian literature. In his works, the playwright reflected the reality of his time, the types and images characteristic of that time, showed the existing orders, their crisis and the contradictions that arose in connection with this in society. One of the brightest works of Ostrovsky is the tragedy “Thunderstorm”, in which the author raised the problem of the existence of a free individual in the conditions of a patriarchal domostroy society.

Dramatic works are always built on conflict, and in such an original, multifaceted play as The Thunderstorm, the nature of the problem raised, the abundance of characters and the complexity of the system of images determine the presence of several conflicts. The tragedy describes the life of the provincial Volga town of Kalinov, who lives according to not the best provisions of Domostroy. Kalinov's society is outdated and is going through a crisis, breakdown, as a result of which it is in itself conflict: the older generation (Dikoy, Kabanikha) teaches the younger (Boris, Tikhon, Varvara, Katerina), and does it in such an obvious, undisguised form that the whole city knows about relations in their families, although, for example, Kabanova prefers to tyrannize her neighbors not in public, but at home (as Kudryash says: “Well, at least she, at least, everything under the guise of piety, but this one (Dikay) broke loose!” ). The conflict of “fathers and children” is not the only one: disagreements arise both between representatives of the older generation (the conversation between Diky and Kabanikh, act three, phenomenon two), and among young people - for example, Varvara is annoyed by Tikhon’s downtroddenness and humility (“It’s boring for me to look - then on you,” she says). These petty contradictions keep society in a state of tension and irritation; conflicts in Kalinov's world are, in principle, static and do not have such a pronounced development as the main conflict of the tragedy - the conflict between the main character, Katerina, and Kalinov's society.

The beginning of this conflict can be considered Katerina's wedding and her move to the Kabanovs' house. From the usual environment of universal love, harmony, religiosity, the main character finds herself in an atmosphere of deceit, deceit, tyranny. Katerina is not like any of the members of this society: her spiritual directness and artlessness are opposed to the rough-simple resourcefulness of Barbara, the breadth, passion of nature - Tikhon's weakness and humility; sensitivity, subtlety, liveliness of perception of the surrounding world - to the stupid dogmatism of Kabanikh. Not accustomed to being limited in some way, Katerina yearns for inner freedom, but freedom here appears not as a conscious necessity, but as a spontaneous, unreasonable thirst for independence, the opportunity to give vent to her passion, and Katerina finds an outlet for her feelings in love for Boris. A conflict of feeling and duty arises in the soul of the main character: on the one hand, love captures her completely and requires spiritual food for development; on the other hand, for Katerina, who has absorbed the foundations of Christian teaching since childhood, it is strange even to think about the possibility of cheating on her husband.

In essence, the internal conflict is a consequence of the social one: the contradictions in Katerina's soul are caused by the discrepancy between her moral demands and the inability of the world around her to satisfy them. Tikhon's departure gives a sharp impetus to the development of an internal conflict: Katerina feels that the absence of her husband can serve as a reason for treason, she is afraid of her weakness and asks her husband to stay. In a conversation with Varvara, she describes her condition as follows: “It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss, and someone is pushing me there, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to.” But Tikhon leaves, and Kalinov's world begins to drag Katerina into the abyss of lies and deceit with renewed vigor. Varvara gives her the key - a symbol of sin, and Katerina already feels involved in this dirty world, but does not find the strength to get out of it. Ten days of festivities with Boris fly by, and Tikhon, who returns, finds his wife changed: so pale, rushing about the house, as if looking for something. ” Katerina is tormented by her conscience: outwardly accepting the laws of Kalinov society, cheating on her husband, lying to him and her mother-in-law, she has not changed internally, retaining moral principles, self-esteem in her soul. The culmination of the internal, and public conflict is the scene in the garden, when Katerina publicly confesses to treason, unable to restrain herself any longer, ready for anything. recognition and repentance in the eyes of the Kalinovites do not serve as mitigating factors, and Kabanikha, with new zeal, begins to tyrannize not only Kat Erin, but also Tikhon (for mistreatment of his wife). The inability to stay in this world full of misunderstanding and cruelty, terrible remorse, the departure of a loved one push Katerina to a terrible step, and the denouement of both conflicts was the suicide of the main character. The ending can be interpreted in different ways: N. A. Dobrolyubov, who called Katerina “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” saw in her death a denial of the house-building laws of Kalinov’s society, which stifle any manifestation of sincere feeling. On the other hand, suicide is always the highest form of selfishness, because according to religious norms, sin can be atoned for only through prolonged suffering, prayers, and humility. Then Katerina had to stay in the Kabanovs' house, dutifully accept all the barbs and insults. But if we take into account the deep spiritual tragedy of the heroine, if we try to enter into her position, it becomes clear that the cruel society of the city of Kalinov left her no other way out and suicide - a natural outcome of the spiritual contradictions that tormented Katerina, internal conflict, as well as social impossibility the coexistence of a freedom-hungry individual and a deaf, patriarchal house-building society.

The contribution of A. N. Ostrovsky to Russian drama is invaluable: following the traditions of realism, he not only created a number of bright, colorful images, not only captured characteristic pictures, but also explored the psychological origins of conflicts in Russian society in the mid-19th century, and was also an innovator in stage solving the play: he expanded the scope of the action (in "Thunderstorm" - a garden, a ravine, a street, a square, etc.), widely used the landscape and mass scenes. The greatest creations of Ostrovsky, original and innovative, are included in the treasury of not only Russian, but also world literature.

Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" raises the problem of a turning point in public life that occurred in the 50s of the XIX century, a change in social foundations, as well as the problem of the position and role of women in the family and society.
There are several conflicts in the play "Thunderstorm". On the one hand, two ways of life are shown, the old, "domostroevsky" and the new, represented by the younger generation. Therefore, we can say that the play is dedicated to the social conflict of generations, where the new steps on the heels of the old, the old does not want to give way to the new. The relationship between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law, the captivity of a woman in a merchant family can also be seen as part of a social conflict. But the play is much more complicated than it might seem at first glance. After all, Katerina is fighting with herself, different sides of her personality are in conflict. This is a spiritual conflict. In this respect, The Thunderstorm is close to tragedy in its genre. Let's try to understand all these conflicts separately.
Representatives of the old time, the era of "Domostroy" are Kabanova and Wild. Already some names draw the characters of these people. Kabanova is the last guardian of the "domostroevsky" way of life in the city. She adheres to the old orders, views and seeks to impose them on her household: “... there is no order, they don’t know how to say goodbye. That's how the old days are deduced ... What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will stand, I don’t know. Well, at least it’s good that I don’t see anything. ” The boar is despotic and self-willed, it requires complete submission to itself. And she achieved this first of all from her own son, who does not dare to go against the will of his mother. She is even more forced to hold on to the old world by the belief that the incredible is happening outside Kalinovo, there is “just sodom”, people in the bustle do not notice each other, they harness the “fiery serpent” and the devil himself walks between them, unnoticed by anyone. Dikoy also adheres to the old order. For him, the main thing in life is money and wealth, it’s not for nothing that he, having become rich, can even “pat on the shoulder” the mayor.
Kabanikhe and Diky are contrasted in the play by Kuligin - a man of progressive views, an inventor. Each of the opponents tries to defend his ideals. Wild church superstition is in the arsenal of Wild. Kuligin defends his human dignity by referring to the authority of Lomonosov and Derzhavin. Symbolic in this respect is the scene of Kuligin's dispute with Dikiy. If we take a closer look at it, we will see in the arguing not just a greedy merchant and a talented self-taught mechanic, but a person zealously defending patriarchal foundations, and a person trying to overturn them. From this point of view, the roles of Kuligin and Dikoy are very important. This is the essence of social conflict.
Another conflict is spiritual. It develops inside the main character of the play - Katerina. Katerina grew up in a world where love, kindness, tenderness reigned. Mother in Katerina "doted on the soul." The girl went to church, listened to prayers, lived in unity with nature. Katerina was brought up in such a way that she cannot violate moral and moral laws, any deviation from them leads her into confusion. From this world, Katerina found herself in a completely different environment, where people care about other values. Katerina's mother-in-law, Kabanikha, pretends that her family is a model of well-being: her daughter-in-law and son are afraid and respected, Katerina is afraid of her husband. But in fact, she doesn’t care what happens in reality, only appearance matters to her. The old way of life is being destroyed inside Katerina herself. Varvara also plays a big role here - a representative of the younger generation, but the bearer of other views that are different from the views of Katerina. It is Varvara who incites Katerina to a date with Boris. Without Varvara, Katerina would hardly have decided on this. Barbara's world is much simpler, she can close her eyes to everything. Following this very simplified morality, Varvara does not see anything reprehensible in Katerina's meetings with Boris. For Katerina, cheating on her husband is something shameful, she can’t look him in the eyes afterwards. But Tikhon, the husband, does not correspond to her ideas about the ideal spouse. A husband is a support, support, ruler. Tikhon does not live up to Katerina's expectations. This disappointment leads her to Boris. This new feeling for Katerina is a sin, it gives rise to pangs of conscience. If she had continued to live in a patriarchal world, this would not have happened. And if Tikhon had insisted on his own and took her with him, she would have forgotten about Boris forever. The tragedy of Katerina is that this pure nature, with high moral requirements, does not know how to adapt to life. Katerina could not live on, having once violated the moral laws of Domostroy. Tormented by the reproaches of her conscience, she confesses everything to her husband, but even in the forgiveness of her husband she does not find deliverance from mental suffering. This is the essence of spiritual conflict.
Thus, the play shows two main conflicts - social and spiritual. The death of Katerina proves her moral superiority over the "dark kingdom" and ignorant people.