Drama A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" - the most significant work of the playwright - appeared in 1860, at a time when the foundations of serfdom were breaking down and a thunderstorm was really gathering in the stuffy Russian atmosphere.

At the heart of the work is the conflict between the young woman Katerina and the "dark kingdom", the kingdom of petty tyrants, despots, and ignoramuses. To understand why this conflict arose, why the end of the drama is so tragic, can only be looked into the soul of Katerina.

From the words of Katerina, we learn about her life as a girl: “I lived, I didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild.” Her mother "doted on her soul", did not force her to work on the housework, "dressed up like a doll." Live in home was free: the girl got up early, went to wash herself to the spring, watered the flowers with spring water, which were many in the house, went to church with her mother, and then did needlework and listened to the stories of wanderers with which the house was always full.

By nature, Katerina is a whole, passionate, dreamy nature. She sincerely accepts faith with all her heart. “And to death I loved to go to church! It’s like, it happened, I’ll enter paradise, and I don’t see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service is over! In the service and in dreams, she often flew to heaven, soared above the clouds, communicated with angels. She used to get up in the middle of the night and pray and cry until morning. What she prayed for, what she cried about - she herself did not know. Everything that contradicted her idea of ​​life, she simply did not notice, carried away in her dreams to heaven.

For all her piety, Katerina is endowed by nature strong character and love of freedom. Once, at the age of six, offended by something, she ran away to the Volga at night, got into a boat and pushed off the shore! Another important detail of her life was that she lived in her own world, fenced off from reality. Her life was pure and whole, her soul was at rest. A naive, kind, pious girl with the makings of a strong, holistic, freedom-loving personality - that's what Katerina is before marriage.

Marriage changes everything. Although Katerina, in a sense, was even lucky: although her husband is subordinate to his mother, he does not offend his wife and even protects in his own way. Why, from the very beginning of the play, do we understand that Katerina's soul suffers and rushes about?

The first thing Katerina lost when she got married was freedom. In a house that has not become native to her, it is hard for her from the very need to live in a confined space, to be locked within four walls, limited only by the circle of household chores. Katerina respects herself, and Kabanikh's domostroev manners constantly hurt her sensitive soul. She does not know how not to notice them and not react to them, she does not want and cannot be silent, listening to undeserved reproaches. upholding dignity, Katerina speaks with her mother-in-law on “you”, as with an equal to herself.

After constant communication with nature, which filled her childhood, for Katerina, a reclusive existence is unbearable, full of deceit, hypocrisy, cruelty, lack of rights, submission to someone else's will, she is stuffy and bored in her mother-in-law's house.

In addition, she was married very early, without love, she, according to Varya, did not walk up in girls, her heart "did not leave." But according to Katerina herself, it never “leaves”: “I was born too hot.” Katerina is trying to find her happiness in love for Tikhon: “I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I won’t exchange you for anyone. ” But to love sincerely and openly, as the soul asks, in " dark kingdom Not accepted: The boar pulls at his daughter-in-law: “Why are you hanging around your neck, shameless? You don't say goodbye to your lover." Katerina confesses to Varvara: “Yes, everything here seems to be from captivity.”

A breath of freedom becomes for her a feeling for Boris, which flared up at first sight and became the cause of her endless mental suffering. For a pious woman, the very thoughts of love for a strange man are sinful. Hence Katerina's depression, fear, a premonition of imminent death. Outwardly, she has not yet done anything, but she has already transgressed her inner moral law and is tormented by a sense of guilt. That is why she no longer experiences the delight of going to church, cannot continue to pray, is unable to concentrate on her thoughts. Anxious thoughts that stir the soul do not allow her to admire nature. Her dreams have also changed. Instead of paradise, she sees someone who hugs her hot, hot and takes her somewhere, and she follows him. Internally, she has already sinned and is aware of her love as a “terrible sin,” and therefore she is afraid to die suddenly, without repentance, to stand before God “as ... is, with all ... sins, with all evil thoughts.”

It is hard for her at home, she wants to run away from her mother-in-law, who constantly humiliates her human dignity, out of longing she is ready to do something with herself. Struggling with her feelings, like a drowning man clutching at straws, she asks her husband not to leave her alone. But he says that he himself is tired of life in his mother's house and wants to take a walk in the wild. Katerina does not have children either, but they could brighten up her loneliness and become her support: “I don’t have children: I would sit with them and amuse them. I love talking with children very much - they are angels, after all.

So Katerina is left alone. Varya does not understand her, considers her too sophisticated, acts as a temptress, passing the key to the gate and promising to send Boris. According to her - do what you want, if only everything was sewn and covered. Once upon a time, she, like Katerina, did not know how to lie, but life taught her both lies and hypocrisy.

Why, in the struggle of motives: to see Boris or to throw away the key, the first desire “come what may, but I will see Boris!” wins? Katerina did not dissemble even before herself, she knew that she was going to sin, but, apparently, her life became so unbearable for her that she decides: “I should at least die, but see him.” And on the first date, Katerina says to Boris: “You ruined me!”; “If I had my own will, I would not go to you. Your will is now over me, can't you see!"

Katerina cannot live with such a grave sin in her soul. That is why she is so afraid of thunderstorms. She is a manifestation of the wrath of God for her. To be killed by a thunderstorm (and she is sure that it will surely kill her) and stand before God without repentance seems impossible to her. Her own judgment on herself is unbearable for her. Her inner foundations are crushed. This is not just a “family deception” - a moral catastrophe has occurred, the moral norms that seemed to Katerina eternal have been violated. She considers repentance to be the only way to save her soul. But no one needs her public recognition, even her husband: “No, no! do not say! What you! Mother is here!”

In the view of the townsfolk, her suffering is not a tragedy at all: there are few cases when a wife takes a walk in the absence of her husband. In addition, Tikhon loves Katerina and forgives her everything. But she is not able to forgive herself, and therefore life turns into constant torment for her, one death seems to her deliverance.

Katerina would not have become Katerina, who received literary immortality, if she had everything "sewn and covered." Just as the human court is fearless for her, so no deal with her conscience is possible for her. “No, I don’t care whether I go home or go to the grave ... It’s better in the grave.”

Katerina's emotional drama ends in tragedy. This resolute, wholesome, Russian nature appointed itself such a punishment for its sin. And if you forget for a moment that the play was written a century and a half ago, then you can see that such a drama could happen not only in that distant era, it is possible at all times. Because this is a drama of a freedom-loving personality that cannot unfold in the unbearable surrounding world of violence, primarily against a person. This is a drama of a moral person in a world of immorality. In the very impossibility for a person to reconcile these contradictory principles, I see the reason for Katerina's drama.

The play by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" depicts the era of the 60s of the nineteenth century. At this time, revolutionary actions of the people are brewing in Russia. They are aimed at. improvement of life and life ordinary people to overthrow tsarism. The works of great Russian writers and poets are also involved in this struggle, among them is Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm", which shocked all of Russia. On the example of the image of Katerina, the struggle of the whole people against the "dark kingdom" and its patriarchal orders is depicted.

The main character in A. N. Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is Katerina. Her protest against the "boar" order, the struggle for her happiness and depicts the author in the drama.

Katerina grew up in the house of a poor merchant, where she matured spiritually and morally. Katerina was outstanding personality, and there was some extraordinary charm in the features of her face. All of her "breathed" Russian, truly folk beauty; this is how Boris says about her: “There is some kind of angelic smile on her face, but it seems to glow from her face.”

Before her marriage, Katerina “lived, didn’t grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild,” did what she wanted and when she wanted, no one ever forced her or forced her to do what she, Katerina, didn’t want to.

Her spiritual world was very rich and diverse. Katerina was a very poetic nature with a rich imagination. In her conversations we hear folk wisdom and folk sayings. Her soul aspired to fly;, " Why do people do not fly like birds? Sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you are drawn to fly. That’s how I would run up, raise my hands and fly.”

Katerina's soul was "educated" both on the stories of the praying women who were in the house every day, and on sewing on velvet (sewing brought her up and led her into the world of beauty and kindness, into the world of art).

After marriage, Katerina's life changed dramatically. In the house of the Kabanovs, Katerina was alone, her world, her soul could not be understood by anyone, This loneliness was the first step towards tragedy. The attitude of the family towards the heroine has also changed dramatically. The Kabanovs' house adhered to the same rules and customs as Katerina's parental house, but here "everything seems to be from captivity." The cruel orders of Kabanikha dulled in Katerina the desire for the sublime, since then the heroine's soul fell into the abyss.

Another pain for Katerina is her husband's misunderstanding. Tikhon was a kind, vulnerable person, very weak compared to Katerina, he never had his own opinion - he obeyed the opinion of another, stronger person. Tikhon could not understand the aspirations of his wife: "I can't figure you out, Katya." This misunderstanding brought Katerina one step closer to disaster.

The love for Boris was also a tragedy for Katerina. According to Dobrolyubov, Boris was the same as Tikhon, only educated. Because of his education, he came to the attention of Katerina. From the entire crowd of the "dark kingdom" she chose him, who was slightly different from the rest. However, Boris turned out to be even worse than Tikhon, he only cares about himself: he only thinks about what others will say about him. He leaves Katerina to the mercy of fate, to the massacre of the “dark kingdom”: “Well, God bless you! Only one thing must be asked of God that she die as soon as possible, so that she does not suffer for a long time! Goodbye!".

Katerina sincerely loves Boris, worries about him: “What is he doing now, poor thing? .. Why did I bring him into trouble? I would die alone! And then she ruined herself, ruined him, dishonor herself - he is eternal shame!

The manners of the city of Kalinov, its rudeness and “sheer poverty” were not acceptable to Katerina: “If I want, I’ll leave wherever my eyes look. Nobody can stop me, that's it

I have character."

Dobrolyubov gave a high rating to the work. He called Katerina "a ray of light in the" dark kingdom ". At its tragic end, “a terrible challenge was given to self-conscious force ... In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality, a protest carried to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself.” In the image of Katerina Dobrolyubov sees the embodiment of "Russian living nature." Katerina prefers to die than to live in captivity. Katerina's action is ambiguous.

The image of Katerina in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" is an excellent image of a Russian woman in Russian literature.

The main conflict of Ostrovsky's play "" is the struggle between the old, the archaic and the new. But the personal conflict between human feelings and human principles must also not be overlooked.

One day in the "dark kingdom" - a place where tyranny and fear rule, a completely different person appears, who differs from everyone in his honesty, openness and devotion. This person was the main character of the work Katerina. It was the dissimilarity to others that caused the girl's life tragedy.

In Ostrovsky showed us the pure and immaculate character of the Russian woman. A woman with a warm heart and strong character.

The play begins with a description of the beauties of the Volga. The beauty and innocence of nature became the background against which the tragedy of the main character developed. It seems that everything in Kalinovo is calm, life goes on as usual, if the power public opinion, which pushed Katerina to the cliff.

Being strong personality, the main character at first does not pay attention to public rumor, she does not care what they say and think about her. She is not afraid of human judgment. But, unfortunately, the human court for Katerina became unbearable. She says: “Everyone follows me all day and laughs right in my eyes ...”.

The tragedy of the main character happens in front of the inhabitants of Kalinov. She publicly admits to cheating on her husband, she commits suicide in front of everyone.

Ostrovsky shows us Katerina as a very sensitive nature with a rich inner world. On the pages of the work, we see the main character in various emotional states. She is either sad, or rejoices, or yearns, or is in confusion of feelings, or in a fit of passion. Katerina seems to be reborn, falling in love with Boris. Of course, she is trying to drive love thoughts away from herself, she is not ready to betray her husband, but then she admits to herself that the image of Boris is constantly in front of her eyes. Ultimately, the main character remains true to her principles. She continues to endure the bullying of Kabanikhi.

In the scene of farewell to Tikhon, Katerina again had to test the strength of her patience. The girl was offended by the attitude of her husband, because in his speeches the words of his mother were heard. At that moment, Katerina felt that something irreparable would happen after Tikhon's departure.

In the episode with the key, the girl tries to sort out her feelings. But he understands that he cannot be deceived. In this we see the whole strength of Katerina's character. She does not want and cannot pretend to be not honest with herself. The girl complains about the bitterness of her situation. It was this that prompted Katerina to take decisive action. main character makes the final decision to be with Boris, and she no longer cares about the consequences.

Being at the gate to the garden, Katerina still doubts the correctness of her act, but then she follows the call of her heart.

The main character was not afraid of public rumor. She publicly announced her betrayal of her husband. Katerina understood all the sinfulness of her act, but she was ready to step over her principles and be with her loved one.

At the end of the play, Katerina dies. Her actions can be judged in different ways. She could not realize her dream - to be with her loved one, but she was able to show the whole tragedy of the "dark kingdom", which ruined her.

Katerina was able to betray her principles for the sake of love. For us, she will never be a fallen woman. We will remember her as a person who fought for her dream, even in this way.

One of the masterpieces of Russian drama is considered to be the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm", which the author himself assessed as a creative success.
The main conflict of the "Thunderstorm" is the collision of the awakening personality in the conditions of the "dark kingdom" with its dogmas, despotism and falsehood. That person was Katerina.
Her life is unthinkable without sunrises and sunsets, dewy herbs in flowering meadows, flights of birds, fluttering butterflies from flower to flower. Together with her, the beauty of the rural temple, and the expanse of the Volga, and the trans-Volga meadow expanse. A bright image of a bird that has risen to the blue expanses of heaven passes through the whole play. This is an image of a spiritualized soul that has risen to the heights of spiritual perfection. And Katerina herself dreams of becoming a bird: “Why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you are drawn to fly. That’s how I would run up, raise my hands and fly.” Need to pay Special attention how Katerina prays, “what an angelic smile she has on her face, but it seems to glow from her face”, there is something iconic in this face, from which a bright radiance emanates, her prayer - Holy holiday souls, these are angelic choirs in a pillar of sunlight pouring from the dome, echoing the singing of wanderers, the chirping of birds. “For sure, it used to happen that I would enter paradise and see no one, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service is over.”
Katerina experiences all the joy of life in the temple, in the garden, among herbs, flowers, the morning freshness of awakening nature. In the dreams of young Katerina there is an echo of the Christian legend about paradise, the divine garden, which was bequeathed to the first-born people to cultivate. They lived like the birds of the sky, and their work was the work of free and free people. They were immortal, and time had no destructive power over them: “I lived, did not grieve about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mother did not have a soul in me, dressed me up like a doll, did not force me to work; I used to do what I want... I used to get up early; if it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring water with me and that’s it, water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Later, at a difficult moment in her life, Katerina complains: “If I had died a little, it would be better. I would look from heaven to earth and rejoice in everything. And then it would fly ... from cornflower to cornflower, in the wind, like a butterfly.
In the boar's kingdom, where all living things wither and dry up, Katerina is overcome by longing for the lost harmony. Her love is akin to the desire to raise her hands and fly, the heroine expects too much from her. A proud, strong-willed woman, she was given in marriage to a weak, weak-willed, who is in complete submission to Tikhon's mother. Nature spiritualized, bright, dreamy, she fell into an atmosphere of lies, cruel laws, fell in love with the "wingless", dependent Boris, love for whom did not satisfy her longing. Katerina feels guilty before Tikhon and Kabanikha, and not so much before them, but before the whole world, before the kingdom of goodness. It seems to her that the whole universe is offended by her fall. Only a full-blooded and spiritual person can feel his unity with the universe in such a way and have such a high sense of responsibility before the highest truth and harmony that is contained in it. The decision to commit suicide comes to Katerina along with an inner justification, a sense of freedom and sinlessness after the moral storms she experienced. By the end of the drama, the fear of fiery hell disappears, and the heroine considers herself entitled to appear before the highest moral court. “Death by sin is terrible,” people say.
But along with spirituality, Katerina also has weaknesses. From her childhood she was accustomed to daydreaming and enjoying the beauties of nature and was not accustomed to the insults that she met later in the "dark kingdom". Before her fall, she had no doubt that she would go to heaven after death, and she did not think about the terrible torments in hell. Katerina did not notice her pride, and this ruined her after she faced the difficulties of life. At first glance, it seems that she accomplished a feat, but in fact she evaded it. It seems to us that voluntarily leaving life is scary, but in fact it is many times easier than enduring the suffering and insults of people and struggling with all the difficulties of life, which is a real feat; for the Bible says, "He who endures to the end will be saved." All sins are forgiven to those who sincerely repent of them: "Repent, and you will have mercy." Only one sin is not forgiven a person - it is suicide.
The play is very close to our time, although it was written more than a century ago, because in our age with addiction to alcohol, drugs, suicides have become more frequent, and many have forgotten about the soul and love. The Lord said, "Many will pass away under the name of iniquity; the love of many will grow cold." And we see this in the spread of numerous religions and the popularity of psychics, "which come to us in sheepskin but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Few now take care of their souls, and more about the body, how to eat and drink more and watch something interesting on TV. This is how our boring, monotonous life goes, and only some of us really think about it, only closer to old age do we begin to understand that we have not done anything useful to anyone and have lived our lives in vain. The Apostle Paul spoke of human body: "There is earth and you will go to earth", but the soul is immortal, and you need to think about where it will go - to heaven or hell.