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The drama of A. N. Ostovsky "Thunderstorm" carries a deep social meaning. In her we are talking not even about a private story that happened in a provincial town.

"Thunderstorm" reads like a tragedy public relations and as the tragedy of a Russian woman in " dark kingdom". In this very "dark kingdom" a bright, bright personality capable of protest arises. She, that is main character drama Katerina, does not want to bend Under the pressure of patriarchal despotism and openly declares a protest.

It so happened that everything in life turned against Katerina. She, a proud, strong-willed woman, was given in marriage to the weak and weak-willed Tikhon, who implicitly obeyed his despotic mother.

The spiritual, dreamy, bright nature of Katerina was captivated by hypocrisy, cruel laws, and lies. In addition, she had the misfortune to fall in love with the dependent and wingless Boris. Inner world Boris is completely unfamiliar to Katerina, and in her dreams she endowed him with all sorts of virtues, but in reality Boris has neither clear moral principles, nor life guidelines, nor feelings dignity. Relations with Katerina did not exalt him, did not inspire him.

Katerina loves strongly, deeply, selflessly. Love causes a huge emotional upsurge in her, and there is a desire to become a bird and fly with her wings spread wide.

The heroine feels very lonely in Kalinov. She loves children, but is deprived of the joy of motherhood. Remembering her childhood, she poeticizes those times when she lived in her parents' house. The nature of childhood memories testifies to the spirituality of Katerina and her susceptibility to beauty. Even in a dream, she sees extraordinary beauty: “Either golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens ... Otherwise, it’s as if I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air.”

Katerina is freedom-loving, but she constantly experiences domestic oppression and endless unfair reproaches. Kabanova never backs down from her postulates, and freedom-loving, with a developed sense of self-esteem, Katerina does not allow herself to be mocked. She rightly objects to Kabanova, and at the same time adheres to her own internal culture, she is aware of her innocence: “For me, mother, everything is the same as my own mother, that you, and Tikhon loves you too”; “You are talking about me, mother, in vain you say this. With people, that without people, I'm all alone, I don't prove anything of myself ”; “It’s good for someone to endure in vain.”

She does not find support and understanding from her husband, Tikhon. So, before leaving, he, at the behest of his mother, gives Katerina humiliating orders. Tikhon's words deeply hurt the heroine: “I can’t make out you, Katya! You won’t get a word from you, let alone ... affection, otherwise you climb yourself. You've got me completely! I don’t have tea, how to get out; and you're still messing with me." Tikhon is unable to support his wife. Katerina foresees that after Tikhon's departure, trouble will happen.

Katerina has a big dream - to become free in her actions, in her feelings, to free herself from everyday bondage, "where everything seems to be from bondage." The heroine clearly understands what actions she can be capable of, which testifies to her objective attitude towards herself: “And if I get too tired here, they won’t hold me back by any force. I'll throw myself out the window, I'll throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!” And so it happened. Each word of the heroine is motivated by the warehouse of her character, the prevailing life circumstances and the general situation that prevailed in the city. Katerina appears at the beginning of the play with words that predict her imminent death: “I will die soon ... Something bad is happening to me, some kind of miracle! ... There is something unusual in me. It’s like I’m starting to live again.” Katerina speaks of a feeling that is emerging in her, and she foresees that it will bring her trouble. Indeed, farewell to Boris drew a line under the life of Katerina. She realizes that she is simply not able to return to her former suffocating life. A return to the past means spiritual death for her. The heroine preferred death to physical violence against her will. She, a deeply religious nature, was not afraid to commit the worst sin - suicide, because Katerina perceives death as a transition to a new state, a state of happiness and freedom.

It was no coincidence that Dobrolyubov called Katerina "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." “Ray of Light” is the living and pure soul of Katerina, but, alas, she did not comply with the laws of the gloomy patriarchal-despotic way of life. However, with the death of Katerina, this ray did not go out - we see that the act of the heroine had an impact on many townspeople. Tikhon, for example, shocked by the death of his wife, dares to throw an accusation in his mother’s face: “Mother, you ruined her, you, you, you ...” Varvara runs away from home with Kudryash. The demand for uncomplaining obedience and unquestioning obedience is met with protest. Coming changes in society already seem close. Dobrolyubov wrote: “This end seems to us gratifying ... it presents a terrible challenge to the self-righteous force. In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov's notions of morality, a protest carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself.

The definition of the image of the heroine of the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" by Katerina Kabanova as a "beam of light in the dark kingdom" belongs to N. A. Dobrolyubov and was given by him in critical article dedicated to the analysis of drama. Why does Dobrolyubov call the heroine that? According to the critic, Katerina is a "Russian strong character", striking "by its opposite to any self-foolish beginnings." From the point of view of those around her, she is “strange, extravagant, “tricky”, somehow, because “she can’t accept their views and inclinations in any way.” She is truthful: she does not know how and does not consider it necessary to hide, she cannot tolerate "slander", boldly objecting to her mother-in-law. She does not accept double standard behavior: “with people, that without people, I’m all alone, I don’t prove anything from myself.” She is resolute and proud, since childhood she does not tolerate resentment, and therefore, if she does not want to live in her husband’s house, “if it gets very cold for me here, they won’t hold me back by any force”, “... even if you cut me!”. Dobrolyubov sees in this a desire for freedom, for spiritual emancipation - hence the image of a bird in captivity, dreaming of freedom: “ Why do people don't fly? But her natural aspirations and actions are so contrary to the rules environment that come into irreconcilable conflict with them. Considering the role and place of women in society, N. A. Dobrolyubov says that she is the weakest, most oppressed member of society, and rightly believes that the strongest protest is born precisely in the breast of the most oppressed. This is how he views the events that led to Katerina's suicide. She married Tikhon at the behest of her parents and is sincerely trying to love her husband. But he is so weak, so insignificant, that he is simply unworthy of Katerina's love. He rudely offends her feelings, repeating Katerina's instructions after his mother before his departure. She asks to take her with her, but hears annoyed: "... you are still imposing on me." She, of course, is offended: “How can I love you when you say such words?” And her request to Tikhon to take a “terrible oath” from her is the last attempt of the heroine to remain faithful to her husband in her thoughts and feelings, not to succumb to the need for love that she feels. Longing and monotony family life, the mother-in-law's constant nit-picking, humiliation, the desire for "freedom" and freedom of her feelings and thoughts - that's all that pushed her to a "forbidden" feeling for a strange man. Love for Boris arose "in the absence of people": he seems so polite, sensitive, understanding. And the struggle that takes place in the soul of the heroine (in the scene with the key) is indicative - from resistance to sin to the fact that she internally justifies it and dreams of happiness. The worst thing for Katerina is the judgment of her own conscience, because she is deeply religious, and the consciousness of sin poisons the happiness of her forbidden love. Therefore, Katerina is so afraid of thunderstorms: she is afraid to stand before the court of God with all her sinful thoughts, without repenting at confession. Pangs of conscience, combined with the inability to lie, emotionality, susceptibility to all external manifestations of condemnation of what is happening in her soul - all this leads the exalted woman to public repentance in the old chapel. After such a shame, her life in the Kabanov family becomes even harder: Marfa Ignatievna tyrannizes her with great zeal, having received confirmation of her views: “Here, son, where will the will lead!” When parting with Boris, Katerina is convinced that he is no help to her: he will not take her with him, will not protect her - he is too weak. Dobrolyubov regards Katerina's further mental struggle and her desperate decision to commit suicide as a protest against the tyrannical principles that kill living soul. “In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s notions of morality, a protest carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself. She does not want to be reconciled, she does not want to take advantage of the miserable vegetative life that is given to her in exchange for her living soul. “The end of the drama seems to Dobrolyubov “pleasant” precisely because a heroine has appeared who is capable of protest, of “rebellion against the oppression and arbitrariness of the elders.” "Sad" and "bitter" the critic shows such a liberation, but it is the best that the heroine finds in such a life, "where the living envy the dead." The critic D. I. Pisarev did not agree with the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov, who considered her suicide one of those “internal contradictions” that are characteristic of her unbalanced, exalted nature. He believes that “a completely different character can be called a ray of light in the“ tempo kingdom ”- a reasonable,
developed, carrying any "light-bearing ideas" into the "dark realm". Katerina, according to D. I. Pisarev, cannot be such a “bright phenomenon”: despite her passion, tenderness, sincerity, she commits a lot of “absurdities” and, unexpectedly for herself, decides to commit suicide. Such illogicality in actions, such throwing from one extreme to another is not approved by the critic. But one can hardly agree that “Dobrolyubov made a mistake in assessing the female character”, rather, Pisarev himself is mistaken: he does not take into account the heroine’s emotionality, her irrational, femininely sensitive attitude to life, her sharp reaction to insults and humiliation. Rather, Pisarev does not know characteristic features female character - the life of feelings, the life of the soul. Therefore, Katerina's suicide can be explained by her despair, but one cannot forget what the heroine said about her character: “I will throw myself out the window, I will rush into the Volga! I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!”

Therefore, the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov seems to be more justified: Katerina’s suicide can be viewed precisely as a protest, as a “terrible challenge to self-conscious force”, and therefore, Katerina herself, of course, is “a ray of light in the“ dark kingdom ”, a clear proof of the imminent collapse old world.

Character consists in the ability to act according to principles.
I. Kant
A. N. Ostrovsky wrote many plays about the merchant class. They are so truthful and bright that Dobrolyubov called them "plays of life." In these works, the life of the merchants is described as a world of hidden, quietly sighing sorrow, a dull world, aching pain, the world of prison, deathly silence. And if a dull, meaningless murmur appears, then it freezes already at its birth. The critic N. A. Dobrolyubov called his article devoted to the analysis of Ostrovsky’s plays “The Dark Kingdom”. He expressed the idea that the tyranny of the merchants rests only on ignorance and humility. But a way out will be found, because in a person it is impossible to destroy the desire to live with dignity. He won't be subdued for long.
“Who will be able to cast a ray of light into the ugly darkness of the dark kingdom?” Dobrolyubov asked. The answer to this question was the playwright's new play "Thunderstorm".
Written in 1860, the play, both in its spirit and in its title, seemed to symbolize the process of renewal of a society that was shaking off its numbness. And in the play, the thunderstorm is not only a natural phenomenon, but also a vivid image of the internal struggle that began in a dark life.
There are many in the play actors. But the main one is Katerina. The image of this woman is not only the most complex, it differs sharply from all others. No wonder the critic called her "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." How is Katerina so different from other inhabitants of this kingdom?
In this world there is no free people! Neither petty tyrants nor their victims are like that. Here you can deceive, like Barbara, but you can’t live in truth and conscience without prevarication.
Although Katerina was brought up in a merchant family, she “lived at home, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild.” But after marriage, this free nature fell into the iron cage of the mother-in-law's tyranny.
In Katerina's house there were always many wanderers and pilgrims, whose stories (and the whole situation in the house) made her very religious, sincerely believing in the commandments of the church. It is not surprising that she perceives her love for Boris as a grave sin. But Katerina in religion is a "poet" (in the words of the Gorky hero). She is endowed with a vivid imagination, she is dreamy and emotional. Listening to various stories, she seems to see them in reality. She often dreamed of paradise gardens and birds, and when she entered the church, she saw angels. Even her speech is musical and melodious, reminiscent of folk tales and songs.
However, religion, a closed life, the lack of an outlet for her extraordinary nature contributed to the awakening of an unhealthy sensitivity in Katerina. Therefore, during a thunderstorm, having heard the curses of the half-witted lady, she began to pray. When she saw on the wall a drawing of "fiery hell", her nerves could not stand it, and she confessed to Tikhon her love for Boris.
Her religiosity even somehow sets off such features as the desire for independence and truth, courage and determination. The petty tyrant Wild and the Kabanikha, who always reproaches her relatives, are generally not able to understand other people. In comparison with them or with the spineless Tikhon, who only occasionally allows himself to go on a spree for a few days, with her beloved Boris, who is not able to appreciate true love, Katerina becomes especially attractive. She does not want and cannot deceive and directly declares: “I don’t know how to deceive; I can't hide anything!" Love for Boris is everything for Katerina: longing for freedom, dreams of real life. And in the name of this love, she enters into an unequal duel with the "dark kingdom". She does not perceive her protest as an indignation against whole system doesn't even think about it. But the "dark kingdom" is arranged in such a way that any manifestation of independence, self-reliance, dignity of the individual is perceived by him as a mortal sin, as a rebellion against their foundations of domination by tyrants. That is why the play ends with the death of the heroine: after all, she is not only lonely, but also bifurcated by the inner consciousness of her “sin”.
The death of such a woman is not a cry of despair. No, this is a moral victory over the "dark kingdom" that fetters freedom, will, and reason. Suicide, according to the teachings of the church, is an unforgivable sin. But Katerina is no longer afraid of this. Having fallen in love, she declares to Boris: “If I am not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human court.” And her last words were: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!"
One can justify or blame Katerina for her decision, which led to a tragic ending, but one cannot but admire the integrity of her nature, her thirst for freedom, her determination. Her death shocked even such people as Tikhon, who is already accusing his mother in the face of the death of his wife.
This means that Katerina's act was really "a terrible challenge to the tyranny of power." This means that in the "dark kingdom" light natures can be born, who, with their life or death, can illuminate this "kingdom".

The definition of the image of the heroine of the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" by Katerina Kabanova as a "beam of light in the dark kingdom" belongs to N. A. Dobrolyubov and is given by him in a critical article devoted to the analysis of the drama. Why does Dobrolyubov call the heroine that? According to the critic, Katerina is a "Russian strong character", striking "with her opposite to any self-foolish principles." From the point of view of those around her, she is “strange, extravagant, “tricky”, somehow, because “she can’t accept their views and inclinations in any way.” She is truthful: she does not know how and does not consider it necessary to hide, she cannot tolerate "slander", boldly objecting to her mother-in-law. She does not accept the double standard of behavior: "with people, that without people, I'm all alone, I don't prove anything of myself." She is resolute and proud, since childhood she does not tolerate resentment, and therefore, if she does not want to live in her husband’s house, “if it gets very cold for me here, they won’t hold me back by any force”, “... even if you cut me!”. Dobrolyubov sees in this a desire for freedom, for spiritual emancipation - hence the image of a bird in captivity, dreaming of freedom: "Why don't people fly?" But her natural aspirations and actions are so contrary to the rules of the environment that they come into irreconcilable conflict with them. Considering the role and place of women in society, N. A. Dobrolyubov says that she is the weakest, most oppressed member of society, and rightly believes that the strongest protest is born precisely in the breast of the most oppressed. This is how he views the events that led to Katerina's suicide. She married Tikhon at the behest of her parents and is sincerely trying to love her husband. But he is so weak, so insignificant, that he is simply unworthy of Katerina's love. He rudely offends her feelings, repeating Katerina's instructions after his mother before his departure. She asks to take her with her, but hears annoyed: "... you are still imposing on me." She, of course, is offended: “How can I love you when you say such words?” And her request to Tikhon to take a “terrible oath” from her is the last attempt of the heroine to remain faithful to her husband in her thoughts and feelings, not to succumb to the need for love that she feels. The melancholy and monotony of family life, the constant nit-picking of the mother-in-law, humiliation, the desire for "freedom" and freedom of one's feelings and thoughts - that's all that pushed her to a "forbidden" feeling for a strange man. Love for Boris arose "in the absence of people": he seems so polite, sensitive, understanding. And the struggle that takes place in the soul of the heroine (in the scene with the key) is indicative - from resistance to sin to the fact that she internally justifies it and dreams of happiness. The worst thing for Katerina is the judgment of her own conscience, because she is deeply religious, and the consciousness of sin poisons the happiness of her forbidden love. Therefore, Katerina is so afraid of thunderstorms: she is afraid to stand before the court of God with all her sinful thoughts, without repenting at confession. Pangs of conscience, combined with the inability to lie, emotionality, susceptibility to all external manifestations of condemnation of what is happening in her soul - all this leads the exalted woman to public repentance in the old chapel. After such a shame, her life in the Kabanov family becomes even harder: Marfa Ignatievna tyrannizes her with great zeal, having received confirmation of her views: “Here, son, where will the will lead!” When parting with Boris, Katerina is convinced that he is no help to her: he will not take her with him, will not protect her - he is too weak. Dobrolyubov regards Katerina's further mental struggle and her desperate decision to commit suicide as a protest against the self-righteous principles that kill a living soul. “In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s notions of morality, a protest carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself. She does not want to be reconciled, she does not want to take advantage of the miserable vegetative life that is given to her in exchange for her living soul. “The end of the drama seems to Dobrolyubov “pleasant” precisely because a heroine has appeared who is capable of protest, of “rebellion against the oppression and arbitrariness of the elders.” "Sad" and "bitter" the critic shows such a liberation, but it is the best that the heroine finds in such a life, "where the living envy the dead." The critic D. I. Pisarev did not agree with the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov, who considered her suicide one of those “internal contradictions” that are characteristic of her unbalanced, exalted nature. He believes that “a completely different character can be called a ray of light in the“ tempo kingdom ”- a reasonable,
developed, carrying any "light-bearing ideas" into the "dark realm". Katerina, according to D. I. Pisarev, cannot be such a “bright phenomenon”: despite her passion, tenderness, sincerity, she commits a lot of “absurdities” and, unexpectedly for herself, decides to commit suicide. Such illogicality in actions, such throwing from one extreme to another is not approved by the critic. But one can hardly agree that “Dobrolyubov made a mistake in assessing the female character”, rather, Pisarev himself is mistaken: he does not take into account the heroine’s emotionality, her irrational, femininely sensitive attitude to life, her sharp reaction to insults and humiliation. Rather, Pisarev does not know the characteristic features of the female character - the life of feelings, the life of the soul. Therefore, Katerina's suicide can be explained by her despair, but one cannot forget what the heroine said about her character: “I will throw myself out the window, I will rush into the Volga! I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!”

Therefore, the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov seems to be more justified: Katerina’s suicide can be viewed precisely as a protest, as a “terrible challenge to self-conscious force”, and therefore, Katerina herself, of course, is “a ray of light in the“ dark kingdom ”, a clear proof of the imminent collapse old world.

The definition of the image of the heroine of the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" by Katerina Kabanova as a "beam of light in the dark kingdom" belongs to N. A. Dobrolyubov and is given by him in a critical article devoted to the analysis of the drama. Why does Dobrolyubov call the heroine that? According to the critic, Katerina is a "Russian strong character", striking "with her opposite to any self-foolish principles." From the point of view of those around her, she is “strange, extravagant, “tricky”, somehow, because “she can’t accept their views and inclinations in any way.” She is truthful: she does not know how and does not consider it necessary to hide, she cannot tolerate "slander", boldly objecting to her mother-in-law. She does not accept the double standard of behavior: "with people, that without people, I'm all alone, I don't prove anything of myself." She is resolute and proud, since childhood she does not tolerate resentment, and therefore, if she does not want to live in her husband’s house, “if it gets very cold for me here, they won’t hold me back by any force”, “... even if you cut me!”. Dobrolyubov sees in this a desire for freedom, for spiritual emancipation - hence the image of a bird in captivity, dreaming of freedom: "Why don't people fly?" But her natural aspirations and actions are so contrary to the rules of the environment that they come into irreconcilable conflict with them. Considering the role and place of women in society, N. A. Dobrolyubov says that she is the weakest, most oppressed member of society, and rightly believes that the strongest protest is born precisely in the breast of the most oppressed. This is how he views the events that led to Katerina's suicide. She married Tikhon at the behest of her parents and is sincerely trying to love her husband. But he is so weak, so insignificant, that he is simply unworthy of Katerina's love. He rudely offends her feelings, repeating Katerina's instructions after his mother before his departure. She asks to take her with her, but hears annoyed: "... you are still imposing on me." She, of course, is offended: “How can I love you when you say such words?” And her request to Tikhon to take a “terrible oath” from her is the last attempt of the heroine to remain faithful to her husband in her thoughts and feelings, not to succumb to the need for love that she feels. The melancholy and monotony of family life, the constant nit-picking of the mother-in-law, humiliation, the desire for "freedom" and freedom of one's feelings and thoughts - that's all that pushed her to a "forbidden" feeling for a strange man. Love for Boris arose "in the absence of people": he seems so polite, sensitive, understanding. And the struggle that takes place in the soul of the heroine (in the scene with the key) is indicative - from resistance to sin to the fact that she internally justifies it and dreams of happiness. The worst thing for Katerina is the judgment of her own conscience, because she is deeply religious, and the consciousness of sin poisons the happiness of her forbidden love. Therefore, Katerina is so afraid of thunderstorms: she is afraid to stand before the court of God with all her sinful thoughts, without repenting at confession. Pangs of conscience, combined with the inability to lie, emotionality, susceptibility to all external manifestations of condemnation of what is happening in her soul - all this leads the exalted woman to public repentance in the old chapel. After such a shame, her life in the Kabanov family becomes even harder: Marfa Ignatievna tyrannizes her with great zeal, having received confirmation of her views: “Here, son, where will the will lead!” When parting with Boris, Katerina is convinced that he is no help to her: he will not take her with him, will not protect her - he is too weak. Dobrolyubov regards Katerina's further mental struggle and her desperate decision to commit suicide as a protest against the self-righteous principles that kill a living soul. “In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s notions of morality, a protest carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself. She does not want to be reconciled, she does not want to take advantage of the miserable vegetative life that is given to her in exchange for her living soul. “The end of the drama seems to Dobrolyubov “pleasant” precisely because a heroine has appeared who is capable of protest, of “rebellion against the oppression and arbitrariness of the elders.” "Sad" and "bitter" the critic shows such a liberation, but it is the best that the heroine finds in such a life, "where the living envy the dead." The critic D. I. Pisarev did not agree with the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov, who considered her suicide one of those “internal contradictions” that are characteristic of her unbalanced, exalted nature. He believes that “a completely different character can be called a ray of light in the“ tempo kingdom ”- a reasonable,
developed, carrying any "light-bearing ideas" into the "dark realm". Katerina, according to D. I. Pisarev, cannot be such a “bright phenomenon”: despite her passion, tenderness, sincerity, she commits a lot of “absurdities” and, unexpectedly for herself, decides to commit suicide. Such illogicality in actions, such throwing from one extreme to another is not approved by the critic. But one can hardly agree that “Dobrolyubov made a mistake in assessing the female character”, rather, Pisarev himself is mistaken: he does not take into account the heroine’s emotionality, her irrational, femininely sensitive attitude to life, her sharp reaction to insults and humiliation. Rather, Pisarev does not know the characteristic features of the female character - the life of feelings, the life of the soul. Therefore, Katerina's suicide can be explained by her despair, but one cannot forget what the heroine said about her character: “I will throw myself out the window, I will rush into the Volga! I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!”

Therefore, the point of view of N. A. Dobrolyubov seems to be more justified: Katerina’s suicide can be viewed precisely as a protest, as a “terrible challenge to self-conscious force”, and therefore, Katerina herself, of course, is “a ray of light in the“ dark kingdom ”, a clear proof of the imminent collapse old world.