The events of the play "" unfold in the city of Kalinov, which was created by the author. He summarized the life and customs of most Russian cities of that time. Many cities were similar to Kalinov. The author describes the beautiful landscapes of the city, which spread over wide expanses. But, such harmony and beauty is opposed by the callousness and cruelty of the living people - merchants and their servants.

The play begins with a description of the landscape of the city on behalf of one of Kuligin's heroes. He, perhaps, was one of the few who could enjoy the beautiful beauties of the surrounding forests, trees, and plants. The rest of the city's residents - Wild, Kabanikha, Feklusha are preoccupied with their daily problems. Kuligin gives characteristics to the inhabitants of the city. They are cruel and greedy, they are ready to do dirty tricks to their neighbor, interrupt trade, and then sue, scribble complaints against each other.

He also speaks about the family foundation of the inhabitants of Kalinov. In the estate, all members of her family are oppressed, they cannot say words. The old woman is completely stuck at home and does not give a quiet life.

If we talk about moral laws, then the city is dominated by the power and power of money. The one who is rich is the lord of the city. Such a person in Kalinov was Dikoy. He could carelessly treat everyone that was poorer and lower than him, he was rude, constantly cursing with everyone. Such an imperious person simply did not feel the ground under his feet, because everything in his position was decided by money. Although, his inner being was weak.

Kabanikha strictly adheres to age-old traditions. In her family, everyone obeys the will and desire of the elders. She tells absolutely all the inhabitants of her estate what and how to do. The boar terribly disliked Katerina for her free, free character. The young girl did not want to obey the instructions of the old woman, therefore, abuse constantly arose between them.

In the city of Kalinov, material and monetary dependence triumphs. Boris is afraid of his uncle Wild and does not dare to save Katerina from trouble. Tikhon faithfully obeys his mother and obeys her every whim.

Lies and deceit reign in the city. Lies were the main principle. Only with the help of her did the girl learn to live in the Kabanova estate. But, the power and boundless will of petty tyrants is on the verge of destruction. The spirit of freedom is in the air. Therefore, the rich and merchants, sensing something was wrong, behave in the worst way.

The city of Kalinov and its inhabitants (based on the play by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm")

The action of the play begins with a remark: “A public garden on the high bank of the Volga; beyond the Volga, a rural view. Behind these lines lies the extraordinary beauty of the Volga expanses, which only Kuligin, a self-taught mechanic, notices: “... Miracles, it must truly be said that miracles! Curly! Here you are, my brother, for fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough of everything. All other residents of the city of Kalinov do not pay attention to the beauty of nature, this is evidenced by the casual remark of Kud-ryash in response to Kuligin's enthusiastic words: “Something!” And then, off to the side, Kuligin sees Diky, the “cursor”, who is waving his arms, scolding Boris, his nephew.

The landscape background of the "Thunderstorm" allows you to more tangibly feel the stuffy atmosphere of the life of the Kalinovites. In the play, the playwright truthfully reflected the social relations of the middle of the 19th century: he gave a description of the material and legal status of the merchant-philistine environment, the level of cultural demands, family and everyday life, and outlined the position of a woman in the family. "Thunderstorm" ... presents us with an idyllic "dark kingdom" ... Residents ... sometimes walk along the boulevard over the river ..., in the evening they sit on the rubble at the gate and engage in pious conversations; but they spend more time at home, take care of the household, eat, sleep - they go to bed very early, so it is difficult for an unaccustomed person to endure such a sleepy night as they ask themselves ... Their life flows smoothly and peacefully, no interests the world does not disturb them, because they do not reach them; kingdoms can collapse, new countries open up, the face of the earth can change as it pleases, the world can start a new life on new principles - the inhabitants of the town of Kalinov will exist as before in complete ignorance of the rest of the world ...

It is terrible and difficult for every newcomer to attempt to go against the demands and convictions of this dark mass, terrible in its naivety and sincerity. After all, she will curse us, she will run around like the plagued, not out of malice, not out of calculations, but out of a deep conviction that we are akin to the Antichrist ... The wife, according to the prevailing concepts, is connected with him (with her husband ) inseparably, spiritually, through the sacrament; whatever the husband does, she must obey him and share his meaningless life with him ... And in the general opinion, the main difference between a wife and a bast shoe lies in the fact that she brings with her a whole burden of worries, from which the husband does not can get rid of, while the la-pot gives only convenience, and if it is inconvenient, then it can easily be thrown off ... Being in such a position, a woman, of course, must forget that she is the same person, with the same rights, like a man, ”N. A. Dobrolyubov wrote in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”. Continuing to reflect on the position of a woman, the critic says that she, having decided "to go to the end in her uprising against the oppression and arbitrariness of the elders in the Russian family, must be filled with heroic self-denial, must decide on everything and be ready for everything. -va”, because “at the very first attempt, they will let her feel that she is nothing, that they can crush her”, “they will beat her, leave her to repentance, on bread and water, deprive her of daylight, try all home remedies good old days and lead to obedience.”

The characterization of the city of Kalinov is given by Kuligin, one of the heroes of the drama: “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and bare poverty. And never, sir, get out of this bark! Because honest labor will never earn us more than our daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor, so that he can make even more money for his free labors ... And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest, but out of envy. They are at enmity with each other ... ”Kuligin also notes that there is no work for the townspeople in the city: “The work must be given to the philistines. Otherwise, there are hands, but there is nothing to work,” and he dreams of inventing a “perpeta mobile” in order to use money for the benefit of society.

The tyranny of Dikiy and others like him is based on the material and moral dependence of other people. And even the mayor cannot call Wild to order, who will not "discount" any of his peasants. He has his own philosophy: “Is it worth it, your honor, to talk about such trifles with you! A lot of people stay with me every year; you understand: I won’t pay them extra for a penny per person, but I make thousands of this, so it’s good for me! And the fact that these men have every penny in the account does not bother him.

And what are Feklusha's stories about overseas lands worth! (“They say there are such countries, dear girl, where there are no Orthodox tsars, and the Saltans rule the earth ... And then there is the land where all the people have dog heads.” What about distant countries! The narrowness of the views of the wanderer is especially clearly manifests itself in the narrative of the “vision” in Moscow, when Feklush takes an ordinary chimney sweep for an unclean one, who “scatters tares on the roof, and the people in the daytime in their vanity invisibly pick up”.

The rest of the inhabitants of the city match Feklusha, one has only to listen to the conversation of local residents in the gallery:

1st: And this, my brother, what is it?

2nd: And this is the Lithuanian ruin. Battle! See? How ours fought with Lithuania.

1st: What is Lithuania?

2nd: So it is Lithuania.

1st: And they say, you are my brother, she fell on us from the sky.

2nd: I can't tell you. From the sky so from the sky.

It is not surprising that the Kalinovites perceive the thunderstorm as God's punishment. Kuligin, understanding the physical nature of a thunderstorm, is trying to protect the city by building a lightning rod, and asks Di-whom for money for this purpose. Of course, he did not give anything, and even scolded the inventor: “What kind of power is there! Well, what are you not a robber! A thunderstorm is sent to us as a punishment so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and some kind of mugs, God forgive me. But Diky's reaction does not surprise anyone, parting with ten rubles just like that, for the good of the city, is like death. The behavior of the townspeople is horrifying, who did not even think of standing up for Kuligin, but only silently, from the side, watched how Dikoy insulted the mechanic. It is on this indifference, irresponsibility, ignorance that the power of petty tyrants vibrates.

A. N. Ostrovsky knew and understood Russian life well, portrayed it subtly, accurately and vividly. On the example of the city of Kalinov, where the action of the drama "Thunderstorm" takes place, the playwright showed readers and viewers the grave moral flaws of society, covered by external well-being.
The true beauty of life remains on the sidelines, does not fall into the field of view of the inhabitants of the city on the Volga.
“Miracles, truly it must be said that miracles! The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices. For fifty years I have been looking at the Volga every day and I can’t see enough of everything. This is how Kuligin, a self-taught mechanic, admires the beauty of his native land. Indeed, in the nature of the Upper Volga region there is always a lot of “beauty, spilled”. But as readers see further, people who live next to Kuligin do not notice it. And he has to be alone with his feelings.
This beauty is not noticed, and they do not want to notice Dikoy and Boar. They don't see much of anything around them. For example, Feklusha says that people invented a fiery serpent for speed. To which Kabanikha replies that even if they shower her with gold, she will not ride it. Wild, in turn, declares that the thunderstorm is sent by God as a punishment. With these strokes, the playwright emphasizes the ignorance of petty tyrants.
Being observant, Kuligin makes an accurate description of them and their circle. He criticizes the cruel customs of the inhabitants of the city, the philistine rudeness. He grieves for "poverty naked", which catches the eye of the visitor. Kuligin tells how they undermine trade in their city out of envy of each other. As on stamp sheets, slander is scribbled on the neighbors. How then they sue, reassuring themselves with thoughts: “I will spend money, and it will become a penny for him.”
About Kabanova Kuligin speaks like this: “Honge! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely. He also notes that in their city the gates are locked with locks and behind these locks petty tyrants torture their household. Behind the high fences, “invisible and inaudible” tears are shed.
Reading the text, we forget about the beauties of nature and are gradually transported into the dark world of the power of brute force. Moral foundations are shattered. Savel Prokofievich Dikoi, the richest man in the city, cannot live a day without swearing. When they say to him: “How can no one please you?” - he smugly replies: “Here you go!” Big money unties his hands and gives him the opportunity to swagger with impunity over all who are poor and financially dependent on him. People are nothing to him. "You are a worm. If I want, I will have mercy, if I want, I will crush, ”he says to Kuligin. But strong materially, Wild is weak spiritually.
He gives in to those who are stronger in law than he is; the dim light of moral truth has not completely died out for him. He confesses to Kabanova how once, not wanting to pay a peasant for his work, he first scolded and almost nailed him, and then bowed at his feet in front of everyone, asking for forgiveness. Wild can not resist a stronger personality, defiantly crushing his authority. For example, when the hussars scolded Diky at the crossing, he did not dare to contact the hussar, but vented all his anger at home. For two weeks afterwards, the family hid from him in the corners and closets. But although he is terrible with his wild unbridledness, internally he is a weak person. No wonder Kabanikha remarks: “And the honor is not great, because you have been fighting all your life with the women.”
Criminal thoughts come into the dark head of the Wild One. He enriches himself by defrauding hired workers. And surprisingly, he himself does not consider it a crime. “I won’t pay them extra for a penny per person, and I have thousands of this,” he boastfully says to the mayor. + Whoever has money, he tries to enslave the poor, so that he can make even more money on his free labors. The representative of the law takes the revelations of the Wild for granted, because he himself is dependent on the rich man.
Unlike the Wild Boar, he hides his unseemly deeds behind false virtue. She considers herself the head of the house and is sure that on this basis she has the right to control the fate of her son and daughter-in-law.
Katerina suffers the most from her tyranny. The mother-in-law literally “grinds her like rusty iron”, achieving complete, slavish obedience. Kabanova adheres to old family traditions and rituals, according to which the family is seen as a kind of hierarchy, where the younger one submits to the elder, the wife to her husband. However, it is not the real orders, not their essence, but the external image of the order in the world that is important for it. This family way, in my opinion, had its good sides, taught not to take revenge on your neighbor for an offense, not to repay evil for evil. But Kabanova took the worst of centuries-old traditions, extracted the most cruel forms that justify despotism. When they say to her son: “Enemies must be forgiven, sir,” he replies: “Go talk to your mother, what will she say to you.”
It seems to me that the author of the drama wanted to emphasize that society is threatened not by patriarchy as such, but by tyranny hidden under the guise of law. Kabanova, for example, is outraged that Tikhon, leaving home, does not order how to behave, and does not know how to order, and the wife does not throw herself at her husband's feet and does not howl to show her love. The boar reassures herself only by the fact that everything will be the same with her, and then she will not see.
In the city of Kalinov, greed and cruelty reign. There is no room for living feelings and reason. The population is mostly ignorant. Kalinovtsy listen with pleasure to various fictions and incredible stories of wanderers who themselves “did not go far, but heard a lot.” Residents seriously believe that Lithuania, for example, fell from the sky, and "where there was a battle with it, mounds were poured for memory." Moreover, Kalinovites find harm in education and therefore do not read books. These people are far from the events taking place not only in the country, but also beyond the threshold of their homes. According to them, this is the guarantee of their well-being.
Lies and deceit, having become commonplace in the lives of Kalinovites, cripple their souls. Barbara's simple life principle is terrible: "do whatever you want, if only it was sewn and covered." She is completely devoid of any sense of responsibility for her actions. She does not understand Katerina's moral quest. Tikhon's kindness does not save him from tragedy. His lack of will does not allow him to protect not only his wife, but also himself. Financial dependence makes Boris powerless in front of the uncle, who is unable to defend himself. their human dignity.
I note that the drama was strongly influenced by the events that took place at that time in Russia. At the forefront then was the question of the emancipation of the peasants and the liberation of the human person. And therefore, feeling the approach of a new life, petty tyrants make noise in Groz. They make noise and get angry because their power is ending.
There are already the first sprouts of disagreement with the old way of life and the life position of the “powerful ones”. Katerina's suicide is one of such ups and downs of the spirit. N. A. Dobrolyubov writes: “She does not want to put up, does not want to take advantage of the miserable vegetative life that they give her in exchange for her living soul.” And more and more often thunderstorms rumble over the "dark kingdom", foreshadowing its complete destruction.

Essay on literature.

Cruel morals in our city, cruel...
A.N. Ostrovsky, "Thunderstorm".

The city of Kalinov, in which the action of "Thunderstorm" takes place, is described by the author very vaguely. Such a place can be any town in any corner of vast Russia. This immediately enlarges and generalizes the scale of the events described.

The preparation of a reform to abolish serfdom is in full swing, which affects the life of all of Russia. Obsolete orders give way to new ones, previously unknown phenomena and concepts arise. Therefore, even in remote towns like Kalinov, the townsfolk are worried when they hear the steps of a new life.

What is this "city on the banks of the Volga"? What kind of people live in it? The scenic nature of the work does not allow the writer to directly answer these questions with his thoughts, but it is still possible to form a general idea of ​​​​them.

Outwardly, the city of Kalinov is a “blessed place”. It stands on the banks of the Volga, from the steepness of the river opens "an extraordinary view." But most of the locals "take a closer look or do not understand" this beauty and speak of it dismissively. Kalinov seems to be separated by a wall from the rest of the world. They don't know anything about what's going on in the world. The inhabitants of Kalinovo are forced to draw all information about the world around them from the stories of "wanderers" who "they did not go far themselves, but heard a lot." This satisfaction of curiosity leads to the ignorance of most citizens. They quite seriously talk about the lands "where people with dog heads", about the fact that "Lithuania fell from the sky". Among the inhabitants of Kalinovo there are people who “give no account to anyone” of their actions; ordinary people, accustomed to such lack of accountability, lose the ability to see the logic in anything.

Kabanova and Dikoy, who live according to the old order, are forced to give up their positions. This embitters them and makes them even more mad. Wild lashes out with abuse at everyone he meets and "does not want to know anyone." Realizing internally that there is nothing to respect him for, he, however, reserves the right to deal with "little people" like this:

If I want - I'll have mercy, if I want - I'll crush.

Kabanova relentlessly pesters the household with ridiculous demands that are contrary to common sense. She is terrible because she reads instructions “under the guise of piety,” but she herself cannot be called pious. This can be seen from Kuligin's conversation with Kabanov:

Kuligin: Enemies must be forgiven, sir!
Kabanov: Go and talk to your mother, what she will say to you.

Dikoy and Kabanova still appear to be strong, but are beginning to realize that their strength is coming to an end. They have "nowhere to hurry", but life moves forward without asking their permission. That is why Kabanova is so gloomy, she cannot imagine “how the light will stand” when her orders are forgotten. But those around, still not feeling the impotence of these tyrants, are forced to adapt to them,

Tikhon, at heart a kind man, resigned himself to his position. He lives and acts as “mother ordered”, finally losing the ability to “live with his own mind”.

His sister Barbara is not like that. Selfish oppression did not break her will, she is bolder and much more independent than Tikhon, but her conviction “if only everything was sewn and covered” suggests that Barbara could not fight her oppressors, but only adapted to them.

Vanya Kudryash, a daring and strong person, got used to tyrants and is not afraid of them. The Wild One needs him and knows this, he will not “serve before him”. But the use of rudeness as a weapon of struggle means that Kudryash can only "take an example" from Wild, defending himself from him with his own methods. His reckless prowess reaches self-will, and this already borders on tyranny.

Katerina is, in the words of the critic Dobrolyubov, "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." Original and lively, she is not like any hero of the play. Its national character gives it inner strength. But this strength is not enough to withstand the relentless attacks of Kabanova. Katerina is looking for support - and does not find it. Exhausted, unable to further resist the oppression, Katerina still did not give up, but left the fight, committing suicide.

Kalinov can be located in any corner of the country, and this allows us to consider the action of the play on the scale of the whole of Russia. Tyrants live out their lives everywhere, weak people still suffer from their antics. But life tirelessly moves forward, no one can stop its rapid flow. A fresh and strong stream will sweep away the dam of tyranny... The characters freed from oppression will overflow in all their breadth - and the sun will flare up in the "dark kingdom"!

Dramatic events of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" are deployed in the city of Kalinov. This town is located on the picturesque bank of the Volga, from the high steepness of which the vast Russian expanses and boundless distances open up to the eye. “The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices, ”the local self-taught mechanic Kuligin admires.
Pictures of endless distances, echoed in a lyrical song. In the midst of a flat valley”, which he sings, are of great importance for conveying a sense of the immense possibilities of Russian life, on the one hand, and the limited life in a small merchant town, on the other.

Magnificent pictures of the Volga landscape are organically woven into the structure of the play. At first glance, they contradict its dramatic nature, but in fact they introduce new colors into the scene, thus fulfilling an important artistic function: the play begins with a picture of a steep coast, and ends with it. Only in the first case, it gives rise to a feeling of something majestic, beautiful and bright, and in the second - catharsis. The landscape also serves to more vividly depict the characters - Kuligin and Katerina, who subtly feel its beauty, on the one hand, and everyone who is indifferent to it, on the other. The brilliant playwright recreated the scene so carefully that we can visually imagine the city Kalinov, immersed in greenery, as he is depicted in the play. We see its high fences, and gates with strong locks, and wooden houses with patterned shutters and colored window curtains lined with geraniums and balsams. We also see taverns where people like Dikoy and Tikhon are drinking in a drunken stupor. We see the dusty streets of Kalinovka, where townsfolk, merchants and wanderers talk on benches in front of the houses, and where sometimes a song is heard from afar to the accompaniment of a guitar, and behind the gates of the houses begins the descent to the ravine, where young people have fun at night. Our gaze opens a gallery with vaults of dilapidated buildings; a public garden with pavilions, pink bell towers and ancient gilded churches, where the “noble families” walk with dignity and where the social life of this small merchant town unfolds. Finally, we see the Volga whirlpool, in the abyss of which Katerina is destined to find her last refuge.

The inhabitants of Kalinovo lead a sleepy, measured existence: "They go to bed very early, so it is difficult for an unaccustomed person to endure such a sleepy night." On holidays, they gracefully walk along the boulevard, but “they do one thing, that they walk, but they themselves go there to show their outfits.” The townsfolk are superstitious and submissive, they have no desire for culture, science, they are not interested in new ideas and thoughts. Sources of news, rumors are wanderers, pilgrims, "walkers". The basis of relationships between people in Kalinov is material dependence. Here, money is everything. “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! - says Kuligin, referring to a new person in the city, Boris. - In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and naked poverty. And we, sir, will never get out of this bark. Because honest labor will never earn us more daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor so that he can make even more money for his free labors ... ” Speaking of moneybags, Kuligin vigilantly notices their mutual enmity, spider struggle, litigation, addiction to slander, manifestation of greed and envy. He testifies: “And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest, but out of envy. They quarrel with each other; they lure drunken clerks into their tall mansions ... And they ... scribble malicious clauses on their neighbors. And they will begin, sir, the court and the case, and there will be no end to the torment.

A vivid figurative expression of the manifestation of rudeness and enmity that reigns in Kalinovo is the ignorant tyrant Savel Prokofich Dikoi, a "cursor" and "shrill man", as its inhabitants characterize. Endowed with an unbridled disposition, he intimidated his family (dispersed "in attics and closets"), terrorizes his nephew Boris, who "got him a sacrifice" and on which, according to Kudryash, he constantly "rides". He also mocks other townspeople, cheats, “swings” over them, “as his heart desires”, rightly believing that there is no one to “appease” him anyway. Scolding, swearing for any reason is not only the usual treatment of people, it is his nature, his character, the content of his whole life.

Another personification of the "cruel morals" of the city of Kalinov is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, "a hypocrite", as the same Kuligin characterizes her. “She clothes the poor, but completely eats the household.” The boar firmly stands guard over the established order established in her house, jealously guarding this life from the fresh wind of change. She cannot come to terms with the fact that the young did not like her way of life, that they want to live differently. She doesn't swear like Dikoy. She has her own methods of intimidation, she corrosively, “like rusty iron”, “grinds” her loved ones.

Wild and Kabanova (one - rudely and openly, the other - "under the guise of piety") poison the lives of those around them, suppressing them, subordinating them to their orders, destroying their bright feelings. For them, the loss of power is the loss of everything in which they see the meaning of existence. Therefore, they so hate new customs, honesty, sincerity in the manifestation of feelings, the inclination of young people to "will."

A special role in the "dark kingdom" belongs to such as the ignorant, deceitful and impudent wanderer-beggar Feklusha. She "wanders" through towns and villages, collecting absurd tales and fantastic stories - about belittling time, about people with dog heads, about scattering tares, about a fiery serpent. It seems that she deliberately misrepresents what she heard, that it gives her pleasure to spread all these gossip and ridiculous rumors - thanks to this, she is readily accepted in the houses of Kalinov and similar towns. Feklusha fulfills his mission not disinterestedly: here they will feed, here they will give to drink, there they will give presents. The image of Feklusha, personifying evil, hypocrisy and gross ignorance, was very typical for the environment depicted. Such feklushi, peddlers of absurd news, clouding the minds of the townsfolk, and pilgrims were necessary for the owners of the city, as they supported the authority of their government.

Finally, another colorful exponent of the cruel customs of the "dark kingdom" is a half-crazy lady in the play. She rudely and cruelly threatens the death of someone else's beauty. These are her terrible prophecies, sounding like the voice of tragic rock, receive their bitter confirmation in the finale. In the article "A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom" N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote: “In The Thunderstorm, the need for so-called “unnecessary faces” is especially visible: without them, we cannot understand the heroine’s faces and can easily distort the meaning of the whole play ...”

Wild, Kabanova, Feklusha and the half-mad lady - representatives of the older generation - are the spokesmen for the worst aspects of the old world, its darkness, mysticism and cruelty. These characters have nothing to do with the past, rich in its original culture, its traditions. But in the city of Kalinov, in conditions that suppress, break and paralyze the will, representatives of the younger generation also live. Someone, like Katerina, closely connected by the way of the city and dependent on it, lives and suffers, strives to escape from it, and someone, like Varvara, Kudryash, Boris and Tikhon, resigns himself, accepts its laws or finds ways to come to terms with them .

Tikhon - the son of Marfa Kabanova and the husband of Katerina - is endowed by nature with a gentle, quiet disposition. There is in him kindness, and responsiveness, and the ability to make a sound judgment, and the desire to break free from the vice in which he found himself, but weak-willedness and timidity outweigh his positive qualities. He is accustomed to unquestioningly obey his mother, to do everything that she requires, and is not able to show disobedience. He is unable to truly appreciate the extent of Katerina's suffering, unable to penetrate into her spiritual world. Only in the finale, this weak-willed, but internally contradictory person, rises to an open condemnation of the tyranny of the mother.

Boris, "a young man of decent education", is the only one who does not belong to the Kalinov world by birth. This is a mentally soft and delicate, simple and modest person, besides, his education, manners, speech noticeably differs from most Kalinovites. He does not understand the local customs, but is unable to defend himself from the insults of the Savage, nor "to resist the dirty tricks that others do." Katerina sympathizes with his dependent, humiliated position. But we can only sympathize with Katerina - she happened to meet on her way a weak-willed person, subject to the whims and whims of her uncle and doing nothing to change this situation. N.A. was right. Dobrolyubov, who claimed that "Boris is not a hero, he is far from Katerina, she fell in love with him in the wilderness."

Cheerful and cheerful Varvara - the daughter of Kabanikha and the sister of Tikhon - is a vitally full-blooded image, but some kind of spiritual primitiveness emanates from her, starting with actions and everyday behavior and ending with her reasoning about life and rudely cheeky speech. She adapted, learned to be cunning so as not to obey her mother. She is way too down to earth. Such is her protest - an escape with Kudryash, who is well acquainted with the customs of the merchant environment, but lives easily "without hesitation. Barbara, who has learned to live guided by the principle: “Do whatever you want, if only it was sewn and covered,” expressed her protest at the everyday level, but on the whole lives according to the laws of the “dark kingdom” and in her own way finds agreement with it.

Kuligin, a local self-taught mechanic, who in the play acts as a "revealer of vices", sympathizes with the poor, is concerned about improving people's lives by receiving an award for the discovery of a perpetual motion machine. He is an opponent of superstition, a champion of knowledge, science, creativity, enlightenment, but his own knowledge is not enough for him.
He does not see an active way to resist tyrants, and therefore prefers to submit. It is clear that this is not the person who is able to bring novelty and freshness to the life of the city of Kalinov.

Among the actors in the drama, there is no one, except Boris, who would not belong to the Kalinov world by birth or upbringing. All of them revolve in the sphere of concepts and ideas of a closed patriarchal environment. But life does not stand still, and tyrants feel that their power is limited. “Besides them, without asking them,” says N.A. Dobrolyubov, another life has grown, with other beginnings ... "

Of all the characters, only Katerina - a deeply poetic nature, full of high lyricism - is directed to the future. Because, as academician N.N. Skatov, “Katerina was brought up not only in the narrow world of a merchant family, she was born not only in the patriarchal world, but in the whole world of national, folk life, which is already spilling over the boundaries of patriarchy.” Katerina embodies the spirit of this world, its dream, its impulse. Only she alone was able to express her protest, proving, albeit at the cost of her own life, that the end of the "dark kingdom" was approaching. By creating such an expressive image of A.N. Ostrovsky showed that even in the ossified world of a provincial town, a “folk character of amazing beauty and strength” can arise, whose pen is based on love, on a free dream of justice, beauty, some kind of higher truth.

Poetic and prosaic, sublime and mundane, human and animal - these principles are paradoxically combined in the life of a provincial Russian town, but, unfortunately, darkness and oppressive melancholy prevail in this life, which N.A. Dobrolyubov, calling this world a "dark kingdom". This phraseologism is of fabulous origin, but the merchant world of the Thunderstorm, we were convinced of this, is devoid of that poetic, enigmatic, mysterious and captivating, which is usually characteristic of a fairy tale. "Cruel morals" reign in this city, cruel ...