What are the features of Katerina’s religious experiences? Folk-poetic and religious in the image of Katerina Kabanova (based on the play by A.N.

In Russian literature there is a truly Russian image of a woman (Apollo Grigoriev).

The image of Katerina Kabanova in the drama “The Thunderstorm”

The heroine’s childhood determines her character:

“She lived... like a bird in the wild”, “she didn’t force me to work”, “our house was full of pilgrims and praying men”, “And to death I loved going to church!”, “... I’ll get up at night... and pray until the morning” .

It is important that Ostrovsky chooses a character in merchant environment, as more patriarchal, alien to new trends, this determines the strength of the heroine’s protest and the drama of the conflict.

Katerina's character

The playwright emphasizes the following features in the image of this heroine:

• strength of character

“I was born this way, hot!” “And if I get really tired of it here, no force can hold me back. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, I won’t, even if you cut me”;

• truthfulness

“I don’t know how to deceive; I can’t hide anything”;

• longsuffering

“I’d rather endure as long as I can.”;

• poetry

“Why don’t people fly?”;

• religiosity

“Exactly, it happened that I entered heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over,”

attitude towards betrayal as a sin, towards suicide as a sin

• superstition (fear of thunderstorms as God's punishment).

Katerina in figurative system plays

The heroine opposes them in the play and at the same time is comparable to them:

• the confrontation between Katerina and Kabanikha is determined by the main external conflict plays (confrontation between new trends and patriarchal foundations - Domostroy);

• The strength of character of the heroine contrasts with the character of the heroes, Tikhon and Boris, as people who have come to terms with the power of tyrants

“What attracts her to Boris is not just that she likes him, that he, both in appearance and in speech, is not like the others around her; She is drawn to him by the need for love, which has not found a response in her husband, and the offended feeling of a wife and woman, and the mortal melancholy of her monotonous life, and the desire for freedom, space, hot, unfettered freedom" -

Boris and Tikhon are twin images;

• Katerina also finds herself opposed to those who protest the “dark kingdom” - Varvara and Kudryash. However, they adapt to life

(Varvara deceives, because it is impossible without deception, Kudryash behaves the same as Dikoy) for the time being, and then they run away. Comparison: Katerina - Varvara-Kudryash - the younger generation, confronting the “dark kingdom”. Contrast: Varvara and Kudryash are freer, Varvara is unmarried, Katerina is a married woman.

• the image of Kuligin is comparable to the image of Katerina, since he also protests against Kalinov’s morals

(“Cruel morals, sir, in our city”),

but his protest is expressed exclusively verbally.

Our presentation about Katerina:

• the desire to love my husband,
• refuse to meet with Boris,
• the feeling breaks out, meeting with Boris,
• oppression of sin, thunderstorm, confession,
• inability to live in the Kabanovs’ house after confession,
• the struggle between the concept of the sin of suicide and the lack of a way out,
• death.

Means for creating the image of Katerina

They emphasize its exclusivity, for example, in the character’s speech, where there is a lot poetic words, this is especially evident in the heroine’s monologues.

The historical significance of the appearance of the Russian female character in the image of Katerina in the literature of the second half of the 19th century is a harbinger of the need for change in social life Russia.

Materials are published with the personal permission of the author - Ph.D. O.A. Mazneva (see “Our Library”)

Homework for the lesson

1. Collect quotation material to characterize Katerina.
2. Read II and Act III. Note phrases in Katerina’s monologues that indicate the poetry of her nature.
3. What is Katerina’s speech like?
4. How does life in your parents’ house differ from life in your husband’s house?
5. What is the inevitability of Katerina’s conflict with the world of the “dark kingdom”, with the world of Kabanova and Wild?
6. Why is Varvara next to Katerina?
7. Does Katerina love Tikhon?
8. Happiness or unhappiness on life path Katerina Boris?
9. Can Katerina’s suicide be considered a protest against the “dark kingdom”? Perhaps the protest is in love for Boris?

Exercise

Using material prepared at home, characterize Katerina. What traits of her character are revealed in her very first remarks?

Answer

D.I, yavl. V, p.232: Inability to be a hypocrite, lie, directness. The conflict is immediately obvious: Kabanikha does not tolerate feelings in people self-esteem, disobedience, Katerina does not know how to adapt and submit. In Katerina there is - along with spiritual softness, trembling, songfulness - and a firmness and strong-willed determination that Kabanikha hates, which can be heard in her story about sailing on a boat, and in some of her actions, and in her patronymic Petrovna, derived from Peter - “ stone". D.II, yavl. II, pp. 242–243, 244.

Therefore, Katerina cannot be brought to her knees, and this significantly complicates the conflictual confrontation between the two women. A situation arises when, as the proverb goes, the scythe lands on a stone.

Question

How else does Katerina differ from the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov? Find places in the text where the poetry of Katerina’s nature is emphasized.

Answer

Katerina is a poetic person. Unlike the rude Kalinovites, she feels the beauty of nature and loves it. In the morning I got up early... Oh, yes, I lived with my mother, like a flower blooming...

“I used to get up early; if it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers,” she says about her childhood. (D.I, Rev. VII, p. 236)

Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty. Her dreams were filled with wonderful, fabulous visions. She often dreamed that she was flying like a bird. She talks about her desire to fly several times. (D.I, Rev. VII, p. 235). With these repetitions, the playwright emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina’s soul and her freedom-loving aspirations. Married early, she tries to get along with her mother-in-law and fall in love with her husband, but in the Kabanovs' house sincere feelings no one needs.

Katerina is religious. Given her impressionability, the religious feelings instilled in her in childhood firmly took possession of her soul.

“Before I died, I loved going to church! Surely, it used to be that I would enter heaven, and I wouldn’t see anyone, and I wouldn’t remember the time, and I wouldn’t hear when the service would end,” she recalls. (D.I, Rev. VII, p. 236)

Question

How would you characterize the heroine’s speech?

Answer

Katerina’s speech reflects all her wealth inner world: strength of feelings, human dignity, moral purity, truthfulness of nature. The strength of feelings, the depth and sincerity of Katerina’s experiences are expressed in the syntactic structure of her speech: rhetorical questions, exclamations, unfinished sentences. And in especially tense moments, her speech takes on the features of a Russian folk song, becoming smooth, rhythmic, and melodious. In her speech there are vernacular words of a church-religious nature (lives, angels, golden temples, images), means of expression folk poetic language (“Violent winds, bear with him my sadness and melancholy”). Speech is rich in intonations - joyful, sad, enthusiastic, sad, anxious. Intonations express Katerina’s attitude towards others.

Question

Where did these traits come from in the heroine? Tell us how Katerina lived before marriage? How is life in your parents' house different from life in your husband's house?

Answer

P.235 d.I, yavl. VII (“Was I like that!”)

Conclusion

Outwardly, the living conditions in Kalinov are no different from the environment of Katerina’s childhood. The same prayers, the same rituals, the same activities, but “here,” the heroine notes, “everything seems to be from under captivity.” And captivity is incompatible with her freedom-loving soul.

Question

What is Katerina’s protest against the “dark kingdom”? Why can’t we call her either “victim” or “mistress”?

Answer

Katerina is different in character from everyone else characters"Thunderstorms". Whole, honest, sincere, she is incapable of lies and falsehood, therefore in cruel world, where the Wild and Kabanovs reign, her life is tragic. She does not want to adapt to the world of the “dark kingdom,” but she cannot be called a victim either. She protests. Her protest is her love for Boris. This is freedom of choice.

Question

Does Katerina love Tikhon?

Answer

Given in marriage, apparently not of her own free will, she is at first ready to become an exemplary wife. D.II, yavl. II, p. 243. But such a rich nature as Katerina cannot love a primitive, limited person.

D. V, yavl. III, P.279 “Yes, he was hateful to me, hateful, his caress is worse to me than beatings.”

Already at the beginning of the play we learn about her love for Boris. D. I, phenomenon VII, p. 237.

Question

Happiness or misfortune in the life path of Katerina Boris?

Answer

Love for Boris itself is a tragedy. D.V, yavl. III, p. 280 “It’s unfortunate that I saw you.” Even the narrow-minded Kudryash understands this, warning with alarm: “Eh, Boris Grigoryich! (...) After all, this means you want to ruin her completely, Boris Grigoryich! (...) But what kind of people are here! You know. They’ll hammer it into the coffin. (...) Just watch - don’t cause trouble for yourself, and don’t get her into trouble! Even though her husband is a fool, her mother-in-law is too cruel.”

Question

What is the difficulty? internal state Katerina?

Answer

Love for Boris is: free choice, dictated by the heart; deception that puts Katerina on a par with Varvara; refusal of love means submission to the world of Kabanikha. Love-choice dooms Katerina to torment.

Question

How are the heroine’s torment, struggle with herself, and her strength shown in the scene with the key and the scenes of the meeting and farewell with Boris? Analyze vocabulary, sentence construction, folklore elements, connections with folk songs.

Answer

D.III, scene II, yavl. III. pp. 261–262, 263

D.V, yavl. III, p. 279.

Scene with the key: “What am I saying, am I deceiving myself? I should even die to see him.” Date scene: “Let everyone know, let everyone see what I do! If I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid? human court? Farewell scene: “My friend! My joy! Goodbye!" All three scenes show the heroine's determination. She did not betray herself anywhere: she decided to love at the behest of her heart, admitted to betrayal out of an inner feeling of freedom (a lie is always unfreedom), came to say goodbye to Boris not only because of the feeling of love, but also because of the feeling of guilt: he suffered because of... for her. She rushed to the Volga at the request of her free nature.

Question

So what lies at the heart of Katerina’s protest against the “dark kingdom”?

Answer

At the heart of Katerina’s protest against the oppression of the “dark kingdom” is a natural desire to defend the freedom of her personality. Bondage is the name of her main enemy. With all her being, Katerina felt that living in the “dark kingdom” worse than death. And she chose death over captivity.

Question

Prove that Katerina's death is a protest.

Answer

Katerina's death is a protest, a rebellion, a call to action. Varvara ran away from home, Tikhon blamed his mother for his wife’s death. Kuligin reproached him for being unmerciful.

Question

Will the city of Kalinov be able to live as before?

Answer

Most likely not.

Katerina's fate takes place in the play symbolic meaning. Not only the heroine of the play dies - patriarchal Russia, patriarchal morality dies and becomes a thing of the past. Ostrovsky's drama seemed to capture people's Russia at a turning point, on the threshold of a new historical era.

To conclude

The play still asks many questions to this day. First of all, it is necessary to understand the genre nature, the main conflict of “The Thunderstorm” and understand why N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”: “The Thunderstorm” is, without a doubt, the most decisive work Ostrovsky. The author himself called his work a drama. Over time, researchers increasingly began to call the “Thunderstorm” a tragedy, based on the specifics of the conflict (obviously tragic) and the character of Katerina, who raised those that remained somewhere on the periphery of society’s attention big questions. Why did Katerina die? Because she got a cruel mother-in-law? Because she, being her husband’s wife, committed a sin and could not withstand the pangs of conscience? If we limit ourselves to these problems, the content of the work is significantly impoverished, reduced to a separate, private episode from the life of such and such a family and is deprived of its high tragic intensity.

At first glance, it seems that the main conflict of the play is the clash between Katerina and Kabanova. If Marfa Ignatievna had been kinder, softer, more humane, it is unlikely that tragedy would have happened to Katerina. But the tragedy might not have happened if Katerina had been able to lie, adapt, if she had not judged herself so harshly, if she had looked at life more simply and calmly. But Kabanikha remains Kabanikha, and Katerina remains Katerina. And each of them reflects a certain life position, each of them acts in accordance with its own principles.

The main thing in the play is the inner life of the heroine, the emergence of something new in her, still unclear to her. “There’s something so extraordinary about me, as if I’m starting to live again, or... I don’t know,” she confesses to her husband’s sister Varvara.

KATERINA'S IMAGE

(BASED ON THE PLAY “THUNDERSTORM” BY A.N. OSTROVSKY)

"The Thunderstorm" is, without a doubt, Ostrovsky's most decisive work..."
– wrote N.A. Dobrolyubov in his article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”, and
he would be right. A.N. Ostrovsky, as a very sensitive playwright, managed to
reveal with extraordinary clarity the conflict of tyranny with voicelessness and
show how close the end of the triumph of false positions is. Katerina,
the main character of the play "The Thunderstorm", very different from the others
characters in the drama. According to N.A. Dobrolyubov, “...the character of Katerina
corresponds to the new phase of our folk life, he has long demanded his
implementation in literature...", in it "... consciousness of truth and right, sound
meaning…". In her image there is a “decisive, integral Russian character.” Katerina –
this is the embodiment of all living Russian nature, in its protest - “...the most
a strong protest that rises from the chests of the weakest and
patient." Using her example, A.N. Ostrovsky shows the difficult situation
women in nineteenth-century society. At that time representatives
the weaker sex had no right to express their thoughts freely,
openly protest against this attitude towards oneself. Everything there is
in your soul, you had to keep it to yourself or earn everyone’s disapproval
and constant, even silent, reproaches.

Katerina also found herself in such conditions when she married Tikhon Kabanov. But
she didn’t retreat, she didn’t give up. Why? Because she wasn't like that
character formed long before marriage. Katerina the girl and
Katerina is a married woman, they are different, although they are all the same
freedom-loving, open, independent nature.

Before marriage, Katerina’s life was similar to the life of a free bird: “I
lived, didn’t worry about anything...” she says. Conditions in which
Katerina was brought up, and made her character so unique, complete
vital force, and its nature - surprisingly holistic and multifaceted.

Katerina’s youth is the morning of nature, the solemn beauty of the sun
sunrise, bright hopes and joyful prayers. She's poetic all the time
compares himself first with a bird, sometimes with a butterfly, dreams of flying away from earthly
worries together with the angels, she constantly has wonderful dreams. Religiosity
Katerina absorbs all the beauty of nature: both the expanse of the Volga and the dewy
grass in the flowering Trans-Volga meadows, and butterflies fluttering from flower to
flower. Katerina experiences the joy of life in the temple. “Exactly, it used to be in heaven
I go in and don’t see anyone, and I don’t remember the time, and I don’t hear when the service is
will end,” she recalls. And how she prays! "What's on her face
the smile is angelic, but the face seems to glow.”

Katerina's love of freedom, her independence and determination began
appear early. Proof of this is Varvara’s story about the incident
childhood: “I was born this way, hot! I was still six years old, no
more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, but it was towards evening,
it's already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat, and pushed it away from
shores. The next morning they found it about ten miles away! But this act
Katerina is completely consistent with her soul, the soul of a Russian person. In this
freedom-loving impulse - leaving untruth and evil in the land of light and goodness,
an attempt to find protection from the great Mother Volga.

Dreaminess, religiosity, kindness and love of freedom - these are the features
character of unmarried Katerina. But then she got married. How is she
changed?

Once in the Kabanov family, a real “dark kingdom,” Katerina “withered
completely,” but her rebellious soul remained the same. Everything seems to be left
the same thing, but “...as if from under captivity...” Katerina no longer dreams of
beautiful dreams that she had as a girl, she does not experience such
boundless happiness upon entering the temple. Wherever she goes, no matter what
did, she always feels vigilantly watching over her, nothing
Kabanikha’s never-missing gaze. “Was I like that!” - Katerina sighs, with
sadly remembering the carefree days of my girlhood. But she doesn't give up
does not agree to suppress thoughts that Kabanikha dislikes. At first
her protest is heard only in conversations, in her answers to her mother-in-law: “Why
Are you offending me?”, “Who enjoys tolerating lies!” But already
It is now clear that this cannot continue for long. And, indeed,
Katerina's protest soon develops into an open clash with
representatives of the “dark kingdom” and their “house-building”. In this kingdom where
all living things wither and dry up, the heroine is overcome by longing for the lost
harmony. Having fallen in love with Boris, she, even if unconsciously, proved that
she cannot be locked up, she cannot be prevented from doing anything. Her love is akin
the desire to raise your hands and fly. She tried to turn this feeling into
his fly Tikhon, but he pushed her away, not understanding what she was experiencing
suffering. This is especially clear in the scene of their farewell. "Well, take me with
take it with you!” - asks Katerina. “What fun it is to travel with you! you me
We've already stopped here completely. I have no idea how to escape, but you still
“You’re forcing yourself on me,” Tikhon answers. Katerina is attracted to Boris
the need for love, the offended feeling of a wife and woman, mortal
the melancholy of her monotonous life, finally. But Boris is not a match for Katerina - fate
brought together people who are incommensurable in their moral depth
sensitivity. Boris lives only for the present day and does not think about
the consequences of their actions. Already after their love with Katerina
has ceased to be a secret, it doesn’t even occur to him to help somehow
Katerina, at least take her with you. “Who knew what kind of love we have?
ours to suffer so much with you!” - he says, forgetting that about retribution
Kudryash and Katerina herself told him for this love, who even with
when saying goodbye to Boris, he doesn’t think about himself, but only asks him for forgiveness for
the troubles caused to him. The contrast of the fullness of free love is striking
Katerina and Boris’s mental flabbiness.

But what is the reason that prompted Katerina to publicly confess to her husband
perfect sin? Was she afraid of thunderstorms like other residents?
Kalinova, due to superstition? No, the true source of her repentance is in her
sensitive conscience. It's not the thunderstorm itself that she's afraid of. Die restless
coming before God with all her sins is what scares her. Fear
Katerina is the inner voice of her conscience. She couldn't live with
such a sin, pretending to be a respectable and faithful wife.

But even after repentance, Katerina does not calm down. She knows that life is hers
will now become more terrible than before: “Live again? No, no, don't... not good!
And people are disgusting to me, and the house is disgusting, and the walls are disgusting!” She can't
to submit to the soulless Kabanikha and other inhabitants of the “dark kingdom” is not
such is her character. The only way out for her is death. But
Katerina dies morally purified, having gone through thunderstorm trials,
she leaves this world calm. Her death is the last flash
spiritual love for God's world.

So was Katerina “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” as he called her
N.A. Dobrolyubov? No, she was a candle that warmed the people around her
smooth living light. This is not a beam of light, cold, merciless, never
going out is precisely a candle that has been extinguished with one’s breath
residents of the “dark kingdom” reaching out to her from all sides.

So why did A.N. Ostrovsky introduce the image of Katerina into the play? I think on
Through the example of this heroine, he wanted to show that the decisive protest of the people,
the embodiment of which Katerina became, is inevitable. There are still few like
she, they have no support, they are not understood. But over time these people
there will be more of them, there will be a majority, and they will defeat the “dark kingdom.”
By continuing Katerina's work, they will bring it to the end. And instead of "dark"
kingdom" there will be a "bright kingdom" where all people will be kind,
sincere and sympathetic - in a word, the way Katerina was.

I admire the purity of Katerina, the originality of her character,
love of freedom, kindness, dreaminess - all inherent in her
qualities. One can only regret that even in our modern
Society rarely meets such integral natures, such “candles” as
Katerina. Surprisingly, A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is still
almost a century and a half later, everything is as relevant as at the time of its
writing.

Why does the critic N.A. Dobrolyubov call Katerina “ strong character”?

In the article “A Ray of Light in dark kingdom“N.A. Dobrolyubov writes that in “The Thunderstorm” the “Russian strong character” is expressed, which is striking “by its opposition to all tyrant principles.” This character is “focused and decisive, unswervingly faithful to the instinct of natural truth, full of faith in new ideals and selfless, in the sense that it is better for him to die than to live under those principles that are disgusting to him.” This is exactly how the critic saw Katerina’s character. But is this how the reader sees this image? And how does the heroine’s character manifest itself in action?

The formation of personality begins in childhood, so the author introduces into the play Katerina’s story about life in her parents’ house. The heroine's experiences state of mind, the perception of the events that happened to her as a tragedy - all this would be incomprehensible without a description of life before and after marriage. To explain the changes that occurred in Katerina’s soul and her internal struggle, which arose as a result of the actions she committed, the author gives pictures of the heroine’s childhood and youth through memories painted with light colors (unlike “ dark kingdom", where she is forced to live married).

Katerina considers the atmosphere of her parents’ home very beneficial for her development and upbringing: “I lived, didn’t worry about anything, ... like a bird in the wild.” The activities of this period - needlework, gardening, visiting church, singing, conversations with wanderers - are not much different from what fills the heroine’s life in the Kabanovs’ house. But behind the fence merchant's house there is no freedom of choice, warmth and sincerity in relationships between people, there is no joy and desire to sing like a bird. Everything, as in a distorting mirror, is distorted beyond recognition, and this causes dissonance in Katerina’s soul. Anger, grumpiness, eternal discontent, constant reproaches, moralizing and mistrust of her mother-in-law deprived Katerina of confidence in her own rightness and purity of thoughts, caused anxiety and heartache. She remembers with longing the happy and peaceful life as a girl, about how her parents loved her. Here, in the “dark kingdom,” the joyful expectation of happiness and the bright perception of the world disappeared.

Love of life, optimism, and a feeling of purity and light in the soul were replaced by despondency, a sense of sinfulness and guilt, fear and the desire to die. This is no longer the cheerful girl that people knew her as a girl, this is a completely different Katerina. But strength of character is manifested even in the conditions of life behind the fence, since the heroine cannot meekly endure injustice and humiliation, nor accept the principles of merchant hypocrisy. When Kabanova reproaches Katerina for pretense, she objects to her mother-in-law: “Whether in front of people or without people, I’m still alone, I don’t prove anything of myself... It’s nice to endure lies!”

Nobody talked to Kabanova like that, but Katerina was used to being sincere, and wanted to remain that way in her husband’s family. After all, before her marriage, she was a cheerful and sensitive girl, she loved nature, and was kind to people. That is why N.A. Dobrolyubov had reason to call Katerina a “strong character” who “strikes us with her opposite” in relation to the characters of the merchant class depicted in the play. Indeed, the image main character is the antipode of others female characters in the play "The Thunderstorm".

Katerina is a sensitive and romantic person: sometimes it seemed to her that she was standing over an abyss and someone was pushing her there, down. She seemed to have a presentiment of her fall (sin and early death), so her soul is filled with fear. Loving another person while married is an unforgivable sin for a believer. The girl was brought up on the principles of high morality and fulfillment of Christian commandments, but she was accustomed to living “by her own will,” that is, having the opportunity to choose her actions and make decisions on her own. Therefore, she says to Varvara: “And if I get tired of it here, they won’t hold me back by any force. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga.”

Boris said about Katerina that in church she prays with an angelic smile, “but her face seems to glow.” And this opinion confirms the peculiarity of Katerina’s inner world, speaks of her difference in comparison with other characters in the play. IN family of origin where there was respect for the child’s personality, in an atmosphere of love, kindness and trust, the girl saw worthy examples for imitation. Feeling the warmth and sincerity, she got used to free life, to work without coercion. Her parents did not scold her, but rejoiced at her behavior and actions. This gave her confidence that she lived correctly and sinlessly, and God had nothing to punish her for. Her pure, immaculate soul was open to goodness and love.

In the Kabanovs’ house, as in the city of Kalinov in general, Katerina finds herself in an atmosphere of bondage, hypocrisy, and suspicion, where she is treated as a potential sinner and is accused in advance of something she never thought of doing. At first she made excuses, trying to prove to everyone her moral purity, she worried and endured, but the habit of freedom and the longing for sincerity in relationships with people forced her to go out, to break out of the “dungeon”, first to the garden, then to the Volga, then to forbidden love. And a feeling of guilt comes to Katerina, she begins to think that by crossing the boundaries of the “dark kingdom”, she also violated her own ideas about Christian morality, about morality. This means she has become different: she is a sinner worthy of God’s punishment.

For Katerina, feelings of loneliness, defenselessness, her own sinfulness and loss of interest in life turned out to be destructive. No nearby dear people that would make life worth living. Caring for elderly parents or children would bring responsibility and joy into her life, but the heroine has no children, and whether her parents were alive is unknown, the play does not say.

However, it would not be entirely correct to consider Katerina a victim of an unhappy marriage, because hundreds of women patiently accepted and endured such circumstances. It is also impossible to call her repentance to her husband, an honest confession of treason, stupidity, since Katerina could not have done it any other way, thanks to her spiritual purity. And suicide became the only way out because the man she loved, Boris, could not take her with him, leaving for Siberia at the request of his uncle. For her, returning to the Kabanovs’ house was worse than death: Katerina understood that they were looking for her, that she would not even have time to escape, and in the state in which the unfortunate woman was, the nearest path led her to the Volga.

All of the above arguments confirm the opinion of N.A. Dobrolyubov that Katerina became a victim of her own purity, although it was in purity that her spiritual strength and that inner core that the merchant Kabanova could not break. Katerina’s freedom-loving nature, her principles, which did not allow her to lie, placed the heroine much higher than all the characters in the play. In this situation, the decision to leave a world where everything was contrary to her ideals was a manifestation of strength of character. In those circumstances, only a strong person could decide to protest: Katerina felt lonely, but rebelled against the foundations of the “dark kingdom” and significantly shook this block of ignorance.

A. N. Ostrovsky in each of his plays created and showed multifaceted characters whose lives are interesting to watch. One of the playwright’s works tells about a girl who committed suicide, unable to withstand the pressure of circumstances. The development of Katerina’s character in the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky, as well as her emotional experiences, are the main driving forces plot.

In the list of characters, Ostrovsky designates Katerina as the wife of Tikhon Kabanov. As the plot develops, the reader gradually reveals the image of Katya, realizing that this character’s function as a wife is not exhausted. The character of Katerina in the drama “The Thunderstorm” can be called strong. Despite the unhealthy situation in the family, Katya managed to maintain purity and firmness. She refuses to accept the rules of the game, living by her own. For example, Tikhon obeys his mother in everything. In one of the first dialogues, Kabanov convinces his mother that he does not have his own opinion. But soon the topic of conversation changes - and now Kabanikha, as if casually, accuses Katerina of the fact that Tikhon loves her more. Until this moment, Katerina did not participate in the conversation, but now she is offended by her mother-in-law’s words. The girl addresses Kabanikha on a personal level, which can be regarded as hidden disrespect, as well as a kind of equality. Katerina puts herself on an equal footing with her, denying the family hierarchy. Katya politely expresses her dissatisfaction with the slander, emphasizing that in public she is the same as at home, and she has no need to pretend. This line actually speaks of Katya as strong man. As the story progresses, we learn that Kabanikha’s tyranny extends only to the family, and in society the old woman talks about preserving family order and proper upbringing, covering up her cruelty with words about benefactor. The author shows that Katerina, firstly, is aware of her mother-in-law’s behavior; secondly, I disagree with this; and thirdly, he openly declares to Kabanikha, to whom even his own son cannot object, about his views. However, Kabanikha does not give up trying to humiliate her daughter-in-law, forcing her to kneel in front of her husband.

Sometimes a girl remembers how she lived before. Katerina's childhood was quite carefree. The girl went to church with her mother, sang songs, walked, and according to Katya, she didn’t have everything she could have. Katya compares herself before marriage to a free bird: she was left to her own devices, she was in charge of her life. And now Katya often compares herself to a bird. “Why don’t people fly like birds? - she says to Varvara. “You know, sometimes I feel like I’m a bird.” But such a bird cannot fly away. Once in a cage with thick bars, Katerina gradually suffocates in captivity. A freedom-loving person like Katya cannot exist in within strict limits kingdoms of lies and hypocrisy. Everything in Katya seems to breathe with feelings and love for the most unique thing - for life itself. Once in the Kabanov family, the girl is deprived of this inner feeling. Her life is similar to life before marriage: the same songs, the same trips to church. But now, in such a hypocritical environment, Katya feels false.

It's amazing that having such inner strength, Katya does not oppose herself to others. She is “a martyr, a captive, deprived of the opportunity to grow and develop,” but she does not consider herself such. She tries to pass through the “millstone of hostility and malicious envy” with dignity, without losing or vulgarizing her essence.

Katya can easily be called brave. Indeed, the girl tried to fight the feelings that flared up in her for Boris, but still decided to meet with him. Katya takes responsibility for her destiny and decisions. In a sense, during her secret meetings with Boris, Katya gains freedom. She is not afraid of “neither sin nor human judgment.” Finally, a girl can do as her heart tells her.

But with Tikhon’s return, their meetings stop. Katya’s desire to talk about her relationship with Dikiy’s nephew does not please Boris. He hopes that the girl will remain silent, dragging her into the net of the “dark kingdom” from which Katya was so desperately trying to escape. One of the critics of the drama, Melnikov-Pechersky, surprisingly aptly described Katerina: “a young woman, having fallen under the yoke of this old woman, experiences thousands of moral torments and at the same time realizes that God has put an ardent heart in her, that passions are raging in her young chest , not at all compatible with seclusion married women, which dominates the environment where Katerina found herself.”

Neither the confession of treason nor the conversation with Boris met Katerina’s hopes. For her, difference and inconsistency real world and ideas about the future turned out to be fatal. The decision to rush into the Volga was not spontaneous - Katya had long felt her approaching death. She was afraid of the approaching thunderstorm, seeing in it retribution for sins and bad thoughts. Katerina's frank confession becomes like a desperate communion, a desire to be honest to the end. It is noteworthy that between the events of the confession of treason - the conversation with Boris - the suicide, some time passes. And all these days the girl endures insults and curses from her mother-in-law, who wants to bury her in the ground alive.

You cannot condemn the heroine or talk about the weakness of Katerina’s character in “The Thunderstorm”. Nevertheless, even having committed such a sin, Katya remains as pure and innocent as in the first acts of the play.

A discussion about the strength or weakness of Katerina’s character can be useful for 10th grade students when writing an essay on the topic “The Character of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm”.”

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