June 20 2010

The boar is very rich. This can be judged because her trading affairs go beyond Kalinov (on her behalf, Tikhon traveled to Moscow), because Dikoy respects her. But the affairs of Kabanikha are of little interest to the playwright: she has a different role assigned to her. If the Wild shows the brute force of tyranny, then Kabanikha is the spokesman for the ideas and principles of the "dark kingdom". She understands that some money does not give power yet, another indispensable condition is the obedience of those who do not have money. And she sees her main concern in stopping any possibility of rebelliousness. She "eats" the household in order to kill their will, any ability to resist. With Jesuit sophistication, she exhausts their souls, offends their human dignity with baseless suspicions. She skillfully uses various techniques to assert her will.

The boar can speak both benevolently and instructively (“I know, I know that my words are not to your liking, but what can you do, I’m not a stranger to you, my heart hurts about you”), and hypocritically show down (“Mother is old , stupid; well, you, young people, smart, should not exact from us fools"), and authoritatively order ("Look, remember! Kill yourself on your nose!", "Bow at your feet!"). Kabanikha tries to show his religiosity. Words: “Oh, a grave sin! How long to sin!”, “Only one sin!” - constantly accompany her speech. She supports superstitions and prejudices, strictly observes ancient customs. It is not known whether Kabanikha believes in the ridiculous Feklushi and the signs of the townspeople, she herself does not say anything like that. But it resolutely suppresses all manifestations of free-thinking. She condemns statements against prejudices and superstitions, and she supports the superstitious prophecies of the townspeople that “this one will not pass in vain”, and edifyingly says to her son: “Don’t judge yourself older! They know more than you. Old people have signs of everything. The old one will not say a word to the wind. And in religion, and in ancient customs, she sees the main goal: to push a person, to keep him in eternal fear. She understands that only fear can keep people in subjection, prolong the shattered domination of petty tyrants. To the words of Tikhon, why should his wife be afraid of him, Kabanova exclaims in horror: “How, why be afraid! How, why be afraid! Yes, you're crazy, right? You will not be afraid, and even more so me. What is the order in the house will be? After all, you, tea, live with her in law. Ali, do you think the law means nothing?” She defends the law, according to which the weak must be afraid of the strong, according to which a person should not have his own will. As a faithful guardian of this order, she teaches her family in front of a crowd of citizens. After the confession, she loudly, triumphantly says to Tikhon: “What, son! Where will the will lead? I told you so you didn't want to listen. That's what I've been waiting for!"

In the son of Kabanikha, Tikhon, we see the living embodiment of the goal towards which the rulers of the "dark kingdom" are striving. They would be completely calm if they could make all people just as downtrodden and weak-willed. Thanks to the efforts of "mother" Tikhon is so saturated with fear and humility that he does not even dare to think about living his mind and his will. “Yes, mother, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live with my will! he assures his mother.

But Tikhon is by nature a good person. He is kind, sympathetic, sincerely loves and pities Katerina, and is alien to any selfish aspirations. But everything human is suppressed in him by the despotism of his mother, he becomes a submissive executor of her will. However, Katerina forces even the submissive Tikhon to raise his voice of protest. If the first words of Tikhon in the play are: “Yes, how can I, mother, disobey you!” At the end of it, he desperately throws a passionate, angry accusation into his mother’s face: “You ruined her! You! You!"

Unbearable under the yoke of Kabanikh, the longing for freedom, the desire for love and devotion - all this, which did not find a response in Tikhon, was the reason for the emergence of Katerina's feelings for Boris. Boris is not like the other inhabitants of Kalinov. He is educated and seems like a man from another world. Like him, he is also oppressed, and this gives the young woman hope to find in him a soul mate who can respond to her ardent feeling. But Katerina was bitterly deceived in Boris. Boris only outwardly seems better than Tikhon, but in reality he is worse than him. Like Tikhon, Boris does not have his own will and meekly obeys.

Need a cheat sheet? Then save it - "Characteristic of the image of Kabanikh in the play" Storm ". Literary writings!

Article menu:

Very often negative images appear in the literature. At a time when the opinion is mainly expressed about the duality of the human soul and nature and the presence of both the positive and negative sides of the personality, the masters of the artistic word now and then deliberately endow their characters with only bad character traits, excluding even the slightest manifestations of the positive influence of the hero’s activity.

In the play "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky, one of these characters is Kabanikha.

Characteristics of the personality of Kabanikhi

The full name of the heroine is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, but in the text she is most often called Kabanikha. Marfa Ignatievna is on friendly terms with Wild, he is also her godfather. It is worth noting that such friendship is not surprising, because both characters are very similar in character.

Dear readers! On our website you can get acquainted with Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".

Kabanikha is a wealthy merchant's wife. Her position in society implied a tolerant attitude towards others, but in fact her habits were not at all noble. The boar has a firm and unshakable character. She is a cruel and rude woman.

Marfa Ignatievna is too conservative, she is “stuck” in the past and lives by the principles and foundations of the past, not realizing that changes have taken place in the world and it is no longer possible to live in the old way. She believes that the wisdom of a person is determined by his age - young people a priori cannot be smart, this is only the prerogative of the elderly: “Do not judge yourself older! They know more than you."

Kabanikha is sure that children must bow at the feet of their parents, and the husband must always “order” his wife. Marfa Ignatyevna is very upset when these norms of behavior are not observed and she thinks that this is a problem of bad manners of the younger generation: “They don’t know anything, there is no order.”

The boar is used to playing for the public - she tries to be a virtuous and noble woman in the eyes of society, although in reality she is not. Marfa Ignatievna often gives alms to the poor, but she does it not at the behest of her heart, but so that everyone thinks that she is a kind and generous woman.

Kabanikha is a very pious woman, but, apparently, her religiosity is also feigned, because in spite of everything, Kabanikha does not adhere to the laws of God and often neglects the basic rules of behavior towards other people.

Family and relationships

The complexity of the character manifests itself in full force in relation to its native people. Her family consists of three people - a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law. With all of them, Kabanikhi developed extremely contradictory relations.

All the difficulties and conflicts in the family are associated with the authoritarian nature of the mother, her conservatism and special love for scandals.

We invite thoughtful readers to familiarize themselves with Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".

The son of Kabanikha - Tikhon - at the time of the story is already an adult, he could be completely independent, but his mother does not give him the opportunity to do this. The woman takes care of her son all the time and tries to control his every step, referring not to Tikhon's incompetence. As a result

The boar began not only to give advice to her son, but literally to live instead of him: “he eats food, does not give a pass.”

Marfa Ignatievna constantly interferes in the relationship between her son and daughter-in-law and sometimes orders her son's wife to be beaten, because this is the order: “But I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. He beat me a little, and even that was ordered by my mother.

Tikhon, despite his age and belief that such rude actions towards his wife are not needed, nevertheless unquestioningly fulfills the will of his mother.

Kabanikha does not have the best attitude towards the young daughter-in-law Katerina - she is always unhappy with her and will always find something to reproach the young girl with. The reason for this attitude lies not in Katerina's dishonorable attitude towards Kabanikha, or not in Katerina's failure to fulfill her duties, but in Kabanikha's habit of commanding everyone and the jealousy that arose in relation to her daughter-in-law.

The boar cannot accept the adulthood of her son, she is offended that Tikhon prefers his wife, and not his mother.

The daughter of Kabanikha Varvara is not so straightforward, she has long understood that she will never succeed in defending her position: her mother, who was essentially a domestic tyrant, simply could not stand anything like this and did not allow any liberties. From this situation, the girl found only one way out - to deceive her mother. Varvara always said what Marfa Ignatyevna wanted to hear, but she acted as she wanted: “Our whole house rests on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.

Such actions within the family on the part of the Kabanikha cause many tragedies. Her daughter Varvara runs away from home, never to appear here again - for the girl, the escape became the only salvation from her mother's domestic tyranny. Tikhon and Katerina, who did not even think about how it was possible to change their situation, but only took a wait-and-see attitude and silently endured insults and humiliation from their mother, could not succeed.

Katerina, having cheated on her husband in order to feel happy, confesses her act under the pressure of morality and shame, and then, but under the pressure of Kabanikh's humiliation, commits suicide. Only after the death of Katerina did Tikhon find the strength to verbally rebuff his mother and reproach her for unlawful actions towards her loved ones: “You ruined her! You! You!". However, due to the softness of Tikhon's character, he is unlikely to be able to defend his position to the end.

The attitude of others to Kabanikhe

Despite all the efforts to convince others that she is a kind and good woman, Marfa Ignatievna did not succeed. The truth about her quarrelsome nature and love of tyranny still leaked out and those around her periodically gossip about it.

The main accusatory array of information about the character of Kabanikh falls on the statements of Kuligin and Kudryash. Curly denounces the duality of her behavior. Marfa Ignatievna lives "to show people" and "as it really is." According to Kudryash, everything happens at Kabanikha "under the guise of piety."

Kuligin also develops the same theme in his stories: “The hypocrite, sir! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely.

Thus, thanks to a literary hoax, the reader has the opportunity to see an unusual image, consisting exclusively of negative character traits. Kabanikha is trying with her cardinal actions to preserve the old system, which is rapidly collapsing, she cannot achieve a positive result with such methods, but at the same time Marfa Ignatievna destroys the fate of her children, which looks extremely sad.

Kabanova, or as she is called - Kabanikha - one of the main characters in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm". Marfa Ignatievna is a wealthy merchant and also a widow. She has two children: son Tikhon and daughter Varvara. Her son Tikhon lives in her house with his wife Katerina.

The boar is presented as an evil, envious and hypocritical woman who, it would seem, hates everything around her. Her favorite pastime is to read morals to her son and daughter, and she generally keeps Katherine at bay. One of its appearance is formidable and fearless.

It is not for nothing that the writer endows the head of the family with such a strange nickname. It completely conveys the character of the heroine. Assessing her actions, it is safe to call her heartless.

Her biggest offense is that she raised her son as a weak-willed and spineless person. He cannot take a step without asking her. Thus, he cannot and does not even try to protect his wife from the attacks of his mother-in-law. From the side of Kabanikhi, the reader sees ordinary jealousy for his own son.

Her image is contradictory: she believes in God, but does evil, gives alms, but offends her loved ones. She skillfully plays in front of others: pretends to be incomprehensible, calls herself old and haggard, but at the same time is determined to teach others.

Naturally, the image of Kabanova is the prototype of Catherine, her opposite. Although, there is still something in common between them. They both respect antiquity, but understand it differently. For the mother-in-law, antiquity is what should subjugate the youth. Her attitude suggests that old people should order, and young people should obey unquestioningly. Katerina has other ideas. For her, antiquity is love and care for one's neighbor, it is mercy and compassion not only for the elderly, but also for everyone around. Katerina is a victim of Kabanikha, who suffers bullying and abuse, while Varvara only pretends to listen to her mother, actually adhering only to her own views.

After reading the play, the reader realizes that it was Kabanikha who contributed to the death of Katerina. She threatened that she would take her own life, apparently running away from the attacks of her mother-in-law. Maybe Kabanikha did not want such an outcome, but the desire to break her daughter-in-law in any case prevailed. As a result, the Kabanova family is collapsing. The daughter blamed her mother for the death of Katerina and left home, while Tikhon falls into a binge.

Option 2

We all know Ostrovsky's dramatic play "Thunderstorm", in which there is an interesting heroine - Kabanikha (Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova).

The boar is represented as a rich merchant's wife. Marfa Ignatievna is a long-widowed woman.

This woman can be described as a lover of showing her strength. Power and strength of mind are the main features of the image of Kabanikha.

Marfa Ignatievna demands obligatory obedience from everyone, including from relatives. She is almost always dissatisfied with them. Every day she scolds and educates them, she is especially unhappy with her son and Katerina. Kabanikh requires people to perform rituals and rites. She believes that family order is important to maintain at bay.

Kabanikha loves to do different things and the main interests are expressed in the implementation of established procedures.

Kabanikha and Katerina have a slight similarity in that both are not capable of reconciliation with weak character traits. The second similarity is expressed in religiosity, both revere it, while not believing in forgiveness. This is where the similarity of their character traits ends.

Differences in characters are expressed by the fact that she is spiritualized and a dreamer, the second lover of keeping order in trifles. For Katerina, love and will are in the first place, for Kabanikha, the fulfillment of orders.

The boar feels like a guardian of order, believing that with her death chaos will come in the world and at home. No one doubts that the lady has an imperious character, which she periodically shows to everyone.

Kabanikha herself, no matter how much she scolds her children for being disobedient, never complains about them. Therefore, when the daughter-in-law confesses openly in public, this is unacceptable for her and turns out to be a terrible blow to her pride, to which the son’s rebellion was added, in addition to these troubles, one more thing is added - the daughter’s escape from her home.

At the end of the play, the author shows the collapse of the imperious, at first glance, indestructible world of Kabanikha. It is a terrible blow for her that everything got out of control of the mistress. Of course, the reader does not sympathize with her, because this is her fault. What she deserved, she got.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the image of Marfa Ignatievna personifies the patriarchal way of life. She claims that it is not her business whether it is good or bad, but it must be observed.

The denouement of the play is tragic: Katerina dies, her son rebels, her daughter runs away from home. With all the events taking place in the play, the world of Kabanikha collapses, and so does she.

Composition on the theme of Kabanikh

One of the main characters in the work "Thunderstorm" is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. In the people, everyone called her Kabanikha. A wealthy merchant's wife and widow had two children, Varvara and Tikhon, who married Catherine. She was a typical older generation who loves to give instructions and lecture. For her, the most important priority in life was to observe the customs and orders established in society. She did not love her children, kept the whole house in fear, and often offended people.

The author of the play describes his heroine as a formidable, strict, evil, cruel and heartless woman. She did not neglect to show hypocrisy. In public, she tried to behave decently. She helped the poor, but at the same time offended her own children and her daughter-in-law Ekaterina. She often left everyone to pray to God. But that didn't help her live a holy life. Her children believed that the only way to survive in their mother's house was to learn how to cheat. Marfa Ignatievna preferred to keep her Son in fear. Often jealous of his young wife. In her instructions, she repeatedly repeated that young people should respect the elderly. In fact, she only had herself. It was not so important for her that others obeyed. She just liked to keep everyone at bay and feel like she had everything in her hands. Kabanikha strictly observed the traditions and forced the youth to do the same.

The heroine was a very stern woman. Often you could hear her scolding and criticizing everyone around. In her character one could observe despotism, which was the result of her blind trust in established customs. Her severity was also expressed in relation to her own daughter-in-law. She cut off every word of Catherine and made venomous remarks. She condemned her daughter-in-law for being kind to her husband. In her opinion, a woman should be so afraid of her husband that she feels like his work.

As a result, with her behavior and attitude to life, Kabanikha strangled all life around her. Her children were unhappy. The fate of each of them is not attractive to readers. Perhaps everyone who read the play wondered if it was worth being such a stern admirer of the traditions invented by man.

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky wrote his play The Thunderstorm in 1859. In the center of the plot is a confrontation between generations. The older generation has always held on to the old customs, experiences and customs. They refused to understand the young. And those, on the contrary, never sought to follow the traditions established for centuries. Therefore, the elders tried to re-educate their will. This problem, which Ostrovsky described in his play, will forever remain significant as long as fathers and children exist. Parents want their children to be like them and follow their paths.

Some interesting essays

• The image and characteristics of Tyburtsia in the story In a bad society Korolenko essay

  The work "In Bad Society" was written by the writer during the years he spent in exile, and immediately after publication, brought the author unprecedented fame. The heroes of the story have real prototypes

• The image and characteristics of the Baron in the play At the bottom of Gorky essay

  The Baron is an adult male, one of the residents of the rooming house, part-time working as a pimp. According to him, he was led to such a life by a series of misfortunes, because of which he was penniless.

• Composition The role of books in human life

  The book plays an important role in a person's life. It is from books that we draw the most necessary knowledge, we obtain important information; sometimes, just by reading a book, you get unprecedented impressions, warmth, wonderful life lessons.

• Dubrovsky and Troekurov comparative characteristics essay

  Dubrovsky and Troekurov are two personalities, two human destinies, who have much in common. For example, the fact that they belong to a noble family and the pre-revolutionary era of the nineteenth century

• Composition My native Russian language reasoning

  Since ancient times, people have been exchanging thoughts, expressing their emotions and conveying information not only with gestures, but also with the help of language. After all, only a person can write and read, this is one of the main differences between us and animals.

In the image of Kabanikhi, a rich merchant's wife in the Volga city of Kalinov, Ostrovsky drew a typical character that had developed among the Russian bourgeoisie of the pre-reform period. At the same time, Ostrovsky not only denounces the social type reflected in the image of Kabanikha, but also reveals the inconsistency of the principles defended by Kabanikha, the inevitability of their death in the specific historical conditions of the late fifties. He shows how Kabanikha, deeply convinced that only "the house rests" on her, by the consistent implementation of her principles contributes to the collapse of her family.

Having shown the disgusting essence of Kabanikh, Ostrovsky at the same time endowed her with an extraordinary mind and strength of character. Comparison of the mind with the limitations and distortion of its ideas and concepts made it possible for the playwright to show the pernicious influence of the dark kingdom not only on its victims, but also on the owners, and thereby increase the accusatory power of the drama.
The boar appears for the first time in the fifth scene of the first act, surrounded by the whole family.

Ostrovsky reveals her character - a peculiar combination of hypocrisy, despotism, severe cruelty and rudeness, unbridled tyranny and petty captiousness. Using the example of Kabanikhi, Ostrovsky shows with amazing skill what it means to eat, “like rust wears away iron.”
From the very first remarks, we see a characteristic manner for Kabanikh - to harass domestic reproaches. The purpose of Kabanikh's reproaches is to bring the household to such a state that they would not even dare to think about any kind of disobedience. But Kabanikhi's reproaches are somewhat special. Their originality lies, firstly, in their complete groundlessness. They are completely innocent of what the Kabanikha reproaches her domestics, and the Kabanikha herself understands this very well; secondly, Kabanikhe often needs reproaches in order to start his instructions, starting from them, therefore the most unexpected reasons for them are found.

Kabanikha has favorite topics for reproaches and admonitions. First of all, these are reproaches of the irreverence of children towards their parents and reproaches of Tikhon that he prefers his wife to his mother, that he wants to "live by his own mind." All Tikhon's excuses do not help at all. Yes, Tikhon does not hope for this. He knows perfectly well that Kabanikhe needs these excuses as proof of his complete obedience. Reproaching, Kabanikha vigilantly watches his victim. The slightest oversight, a response not in the form required, causes her cruel blow. So, to Tikhon’s careless remark: “Why should she be afraid, it’s enough for me that she loves me,” her stern cry follows. The rebuke turns into a threat. But Kabanikha not only reproaches and threatens, she instructs. Her favorite topic of instructions is “how to live”, what should be the order in the family.

The boar is a hypocrite. The sanctimonious coloring of her speeches is given, firstly, by affectionate appeals: “my friend”, “my dear”, etc.; secondly, phrases expressing self-abasement: “mother is old, stupid, but you, young people, smart, should not exact fools from us”; thirdly, references to parental love: “because of love, parents are strict to you, or "... but what to do, I'm not a stranger to you, my heart hurts about you"; fourthly, the desire to imagine oneself unhappy: “Well, wait, live and in the wild when I'm gone. Then do what you want, there will be no elders over you. Or maybe you remember me ... "; fifthly, the presence of elements of church jargon: “sin is heavy”, “a conversation close to the heart will go on, well, you will sin ...”

The boar is not only hypocritical, she is a rude, cruel despot. “That you jumped out in your eyes to whine”, or “What are you pretending to be an orphan”, or “Yes, are you crazy, or something”, or “you keep stupid thoughts in your head”, etc.
Thus, Kabanikha's speech is built on the interweaving of terrible rudeness and unctuous humility.

The boar, with stupid fanaticism, is absorbed in the observance of order, the guardian of which she is. The word "order" in the mouth of Kabanikh has its own specific meaning. This is the norm of family life, this is what is recognized as correct in the dark kingdom. The instructions that she gives to Tikhon regarding Katerina express the views of the dark kingdom on the position of the daughter-in-law in the family.
With his monologues, Kabanikha repeatedly emphasizes the role and importance of elders in the house. “It’s good that someone else has elders in the house, they keep the house while they are alive ...” “What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will stand, I don’t know.”

In the 3rd act of the play, Ostrovsky shows Kabanikha in a new aspect. The boar is given outside the family circle: with the wanderer Feklusha and with the owner of the city, Wild.
A conversation with Feklusha reveals the exceptional ignorance, obscurantism and conservatism of Kabanikh; it also shows how high the authority of the wanderer is in her eyes. This is the only phenomenon where Kabanikha is not talking, but where she only listens and assents, or picks up Feklusha's remarks. Feklusha is the only character in a conversation with whom Kabanikha does not speak down.

Thus, not only the remarks and monologues of Kabanikha reveal her character, but also how Kabanikha changes depending on who she is talking to. If in relation to domestic Kabanikha is rude, if her sanctimonious tone continuously alternates with a rude shout, if she speaks with Diky in an instructive tone, then with Feklusha she speaks sedately and affectionately. This affectionateness is emphasized by the appeal “darling”, “you have nowhere to hurry, dear”, “I heard, dear”, etc.

The conversation with Feklusha is followed by a scene with Diky. In this "competition" of petty tyrants, the advantage remains on the side of Kabanikhi. She is stronger and smarter than the Wild. It seems unbelievable that Kabanikha, who had just listened to Feklusha's absurd tales with complete confidence, was talking so cleverly with Diky.
Kabanikh's ideas about life are distorted. She is ignorant, limited, but smart. She perfectly understands the Wild, she knows the price of his strength. “But the honor is not great, because you have been fighting with the women all your life,” says Kabanikha, which emphasizes her attitude towards Diky.

The psychological analysis of the behavior of Wild, which makes Kabanikh, also testifies to the mind and knowledge of people of his circle. “If you see that they want to ask you for something, you will take someone on purpose and attack someone to get angry; because you know that no one will approach you angry.”
For Kabanikha, money is the criterion and basis of everything.
The life of Kabanikha is laid in the framework of the old way of life, where every act has its own once and for all established consequence, and a misdemeanor is a punishment. One must act so righteously as to be ready for death at any moment, i.e. ready to stand before God, says religion. And a righteous life, according to Kabanikh's ideas, is strict observance of the rules established by custom and ritual.

According to I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky “donated a whole library of works of art to literature, created his own special world for the stage.” The world of Ostrovsky's works is amazing. He created large and solid characters, knew how to emphasize comic or dramatic properties in them, draw the reader's attention to the merits or vices of his characters.

The heroes of the play "Thunderstorm" - Savel Prokofievich Dikoy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova - deserve special attention.

Savel Prokofievich Wild - a merchant, a significant person in the city of Kalinov. Eloquent characteristics are given to him by the heroes of the play. “He belongs everywhere. He’s afraid, what, he’s someone! ” - says Kudryash about him. Wild, in fact, does not recognize anything but her own will. He does not care about the thoughts and feelings of other people. Cursing, humiliating, insulting Savel Prokofievich is worth nothing. With those around him, he behaves as if he had "lost the chain", and without this he "cannot breathe." “... You are a worm,” he says to Kuligi-nu. “If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”

The power of the Wild is the stronger, the weaker, the weaker the person. So Curly, for example, knows how to resist the Wild One. “...He is the word, and I am ten; spit, and go. No, I won’t become a slave to him, ”says Kudryash about his relationship with the merchant. Another man is Dikiy's nephew, Boris. “Boris Grigorievich got it as a sacrifice, so he rides on it,” people around notice. Wild is not embarrassed by the fact that Boris is an orphan and that he has no one closer to his uncle. The merchant realizes that the fate of his nephew is in his hands, and takes advantage of this. "Driven, beaten ...", Boris says with sorrow. The merchant is no less cruel to his employees: “With us, no one dares to utter a word about a salary, he scolds what the world is worth.” On someone else's slave labor and deceit, the unscrupulous Wild makes his fortune: "... I will not pay them for some penny ... and I make thousands of this ... ". However, sometimes an epiphany comes to the Wild, and he realizes that he is going too far: “After all, I know what I need to give, but I can’t do everything with kindness.”

Dikoi is a despot and tyrant in his family, “his own people cannot please him in any way”, “when he is offended by such a person whom he does not dare to scold; stay at home here!”

Not inferior to Wild and Kabanikha, a rich Kalinovskaya merchant's wife. The boar is a hypocrite, she does everything "under the guise of piety." Outwardly, she is very pious. However, as Kuligin notes, Kabanikha “clothes the poor, but ate the household completely.” The main object of her tyranny is her own son Tikhon. As an adult, a married man, he is completely at the mercy of his mother, does not have his own opinion, is afraid to argue with her. The boar "builds" his relationship with his wife, she directs his every deed, every word. Complete obedience is all she wants to see in her son. The power-hungry Kabanikha does not notice that under her yoke a cowardly, pitiful, weak-willed, irresponsible person has grown up. Having escaped for some time from the supervision of his mother, he chokes on freedom and drinks, because he does not know how to use freedom in another way. “... Not a single step out of your will,” he repeats to his mother, but “he himself thinks how he could break out as soon as possible.”

The boar is jealous of her son's daughter-in-law, constantly reproaches him with Katerina, "eating eats." “I already see that I am a hindrance to you,” she saws Tikhon. Kabanikha believes that the wife of her husband should be afraid, namely afraid, and not love and respect. In her opinion, the right relationship is built precisely on the suppression of one person by another, on humiliation, on lack of freedom. Indicative in this regard is the scene of Katerina's farewell to her husband, when all the words of Tikhon addressed to his wife are only a repetition of Kabanikh's instigations.

If Tikhon, crushed by her, suffers from the Kabanikh from childhood, then the life of such a dreamy, poetic and whole nature as Katerina in the house of a merchant becomes completely unbearable. “Here that she married, that she was buried - it doesn’t matter,” Boris talks about this.

Constant pressure forces Kabanikh's daughter, Varvara, to adapt. “Do whatever you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered,” she argues.

Giving an assessment to the images of the "masters of life", N. Dobro-lyubov shows Wild and Kabanikha as tyrants, with their "constant suspicion, squeamishness and captiousness." According to the critic, "Thunderstorm" is the most decisive work of Ostrovsky" in this play "the mutual relations of tyranny and voicelessness are brought ... to the most tragic consequences ...".