A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” was written in 1859. In the same year, it was staged in theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg and for many years now has not left the stages of all theaters around the world. Such popularity and relevance of the play is explained by the fact that “The Thunderstorm” combines the features of social drama and high tragedy. The plot of the play centers on the conflict between feelings and duty in the soul of the main character, Katerina Kabanova. This conflict is a sign of a classic tragedy. Katerina is a very pious and religious person. She dreamed about strong family, loving husband and children, but ended up in the Kabanikha family. Marfa Ignatievna placed Domostroevsky order and way of life above all else. Naturally, Kabanikha forced everyone in her family to follow her Charter. But Katerina, a bright and free person, could not come to terms with the cramped and stuffy world of Domostroy. She yearned for a completely different life. This desire led the woman to sin - betrayal of her husband. Going on a date with Boris, Katerina already knew that after this she would not be able to live. The sin of betrayal weighed heavily on the heroine’s soul, with which she simply could not exist. A thunderstorm in the city accelerated Katerina’s national recognition - she repented of her betrayal.
Kabanikha also found out about her daughter-in-law’s sin. She ordered to keep Katerina locked up. What awaited the heroine? In any case, death: sooner or later Kabanikha would have brought the woman to the grave with her reproaches and instructions. But this was not the worst thing for Katerina. The worst thing for the heroine is her internal punishment, her internal judgment. She herself could not forgive herself for her betrayal, her terrible sin. Therefore, the conflict in the play is resolved in the traditions of classic tragedy: the heroine dies.
But Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the entire play, readers think “not about a love affair, but about the whole life.” This means that the accusatory notes of the work touched on a variety of aspects of Russian life. The play takes place in the provincial merchant town of Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga River. In this place, everything is so monotonous and stable that even news from other cities and from the capital does not reach here.
Residents in the city are closed, distrustful, hate everything new and blindly follow the Domostroevsky way of life, which has long since become obsolete. Dikoy and Kabanikha personify the “city fathers” who enjoy power and authority. Dikoy is depicted as a complete tyrant. He swaggers in front of his nephew, in front of his family, but retreats in front of those who are able to fight back. Kuligin notices that all the atrocities in the city occur behind the high walls of merchant houses. Here they deceive, tyrannize, suppress, cripple lives and destinies. In general, Kuligin’s remarks often expose the “dark kingdom”, condemn it, and even, to some extent, reflect the position of the author. Other minor characters also play a large role in the play. So, for example, the wanderer Feklusha reveals all the ignorance and backwardness of the “dark kingdom”, as well as its imminent death, because a society oriented towards such views cannot exist. Important role The play also features the image of a half-crazy Lady, who voices the idea of sinfulness and inevitable punishment of both Katerina and the entire “dark kingdom.”
In Ostrovsky’s tragedy “The Thunderstorm,” problems of morality were widely raised. Using the example of the provincial town of Kalinov, he showed the prevailing morals there. He depicted the cruelty of people living the old fashioned way, according to Domostroy, and the riotousness of the younger generation. All the characters of the tragedy are grouped into two parts. Those who believe that you can receive forgiveness for any sin if you then repent, while the other part believes that sin is followed by punishment and there is no salvation from it. Here one of the most important problems of man in general and “Thunderstorm” in particular arises. Repentance as a problem appeared a very long time ago. Then, when a person believed in what exists high power, and was afraid of her. He began to try to behave in such a way as to appease God with his behavior. People gradually developed ways to appease God through certain actions or deeds. All violations of this code were considered displeasing to God - sin. At first, people simply made sacrifices to the gods, sharing with them what they had.
The apogee of this relationship is human sacrifice. In contrast to this, monotheistic religions arise, that is, those recognizing one god. These religions abandoned sacrifice and created codes defining standards of human behavior. These codices became shrines as they were believed to be inscribed by the powers of the gods. Examples of such books are the Christian Bible and the Muslim Koran.
Violation of oral or written norms is a sin and must be punished. If at first a person was afraid of being killed on the spot, then later he begins to fear for his afterlife. A person begins to worry about where his soul will go after death: eternal bliss or eternal suffering. One could get to blissful places for righteous behavior, that is, observing the Norms, but sinners go to places where they will suffer forever. This is where repentance arises, since a rare person could live
Committing no sins and ending your life because of a few sins was scary for everyone. Therefore, it becomes possible to save yourself from punishment by begging God’s forgiveness. Thus, any person, even the last sinner, receives hope of salvation if he repents. In “The Thunderstorm” the problem of repentance is most acutely posed. The main heroine of the tragedy, Katerina, is in terrible pangs of conscience. She is torn between her legal husband and Boris, righteous life and fall. She cannot forbid herself to love Boris, but she executes herself in her soul, believing that by doing this she is rejecting God, since a husband is to his wife as God is to the church.
Therefore, by cheating on her husband, she betrays God, which means she loses all possibility of salvation. She considers this sin unforgivable and therefore denies the possibility of repentance for herself. Katerina is very
A devout woman, from childhood she was accustomed to pray to God and even saw angels, which is why her torment is so strong. These sufferings bring her to the point that she, fearing God’s punishment, personified in the form of a thunderstorm, throws herself at her husband’s feet and confesses everything to him, putting her life in his hands. People react to this recognition in different ways, revealing their attitude towards the possibility of repentance. Kabanova offers to bury her alive in the ground, that is, she believes that there is no way to forgive her. Tikhon, on the contrary, forgives Katerina, that is, he believes that she will receive forgiveness from God. Katerina believes in repentance because she fears that she will die suddenly, not because her life will be interrupted, but because she is afraid to appear before God unrepentant, with all her sins. People's attitude towards the possibility of repentance is manifested in
Thunderstorm time. A thunderstorm represents the wrath of God, and therefore people, when they see a thunderstorm, try to avoid it. Some people behave in a special way. For example, Kuligin wants to build lightning rods and save people from thunderstorms, so he believes that people can be saved from God’s punishment if they repent, then the wrath of God will disappear through repentance, just as lightning goes into the ground through a lightning rod, but Dikoy believes that from the wrath of God it is impossible to hide, that is, he does not believe in the possibility of repentance. Although it should be noted that he can repent, since he throws himself at the man’s feet and asks for forgiveness from him for cursing him.
Pangs of conscience drive Katerina to the point where she begins to think about suicide. Suicide in Christianity is one of the most serious sins. It was as if man had rejected God, so the suicides had no hope of salvation. Here the question arises: how was such a devout Katerina able to commit suicide, knowing that by doing so she was ruining her soul? Maybe she didn’t really believe in God at all? But this can be contrasted with the fact that she considered her soul already ruined and simply did not want to live further in such torment, without hope of salvation. Hamlet's question arises before her - to be or not to be? To endure torment on earth and know the evil that exists here, or to commit suicide and end your torment on earth. But no one knows exactly what happens after death and whether it will be worse. Katerina is driven to despair by the attitude of people towards her and the torment of her conscience, so she rejects the possibility of salvation. But in the denouement it turns out that she has hope of salvation, since she does not drown in the water, but breaks into an anchor. The anchor is similar to part of the cross, where the base represents the Holy Grail - the cup with the blood of the Lord. The Holy Grail symbolizes salvation. And Katerina is bleeding from her head. Thus, there is hope that she was forgiven and saved.
Essay on literature on the topic: The role of minor characters in the artistic structure of the play “The Thunderstorm”
Other writings:
- A. N. Ostrovsky is rightfully considered the father of Russian everyday drama and Russian theater. He opened up new horizons for the Russian theater, new heroes, a new type of human relations. He wrote about 60 plays, the most famous of which are “Dowry”, “Late Love”, Read More ......
- “The Thunderstorm” represents the idyll of the “dark kingdom”. The characters themselves in the drama have no idea of the meaning of their situation. Persons who do not directly participate in the intrigues seem unnecessary and superfluous, but we, the readers, see completely different facts, and it is these persons Read More ......
- A. N. Ostrovsky is rightfully considered a singer of the merchant milieu, the father of Russian everyday drama, Russian theater. He is the author of about sixty plays, of which the most famous are “The Dowry”, “Late Love”, “Forest”, “Simplicity is Enough for Every Wise Man”, “Our People – We Will Be Numbered”, “The Thunderstorm” and Read More ..... .
- A.P. Chekhov's drama “Three Sisters,” written in 1900, is a work of innovative Chekhov dramaturgy, built according to different dramatic canons than the classical plays of the 19th century. The classical unity of place, time and action is a thing of the past; there is no conflict of drama in its Read More......
- Like a background in a painting, minor details highlight and enhance main idea paintings, and in the comedy “Woe from Wit”, each of the characters in the play fulfills its artistic function. Episodic characters highlight and complement the features of the main characters. Although they are not Read More......
- In the mid-90s of the 19th century, Chekhov was one of the first in literature to feel the proximity of the long-awaited future. “The time has come, a mass is approaching all of us, a healthy strong storm is preparing, which is coming, is already close...” sounds solemnly in the exhibition “Three Sisters”. The symbol is very Read More ......
- Role minor characters in I. S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons” is multifaceted. System characters built by the author in such a way that the characters’ relationships with Bazarov reveal the character of each of them and at the same time allow one to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their worldview Read More ......
- It’s probably not entirely correct to call any of the characters in “The Thunderstorm” extra-plot or episodic. Yes, they are mentioned sporadically, at first glance they serve as a background to the overall plot structure, they are, like Boris, a piece of furniture. But their role is very important, without them the entire work could Read More......
A. N. Ostrovsky's play “The Thunderstorm” was written in 1859. In the same year, it was staged in theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg and for many years now has not left the stages of all theaters around the world. Such popularity and relevance of the play is explained by the fact that “The Thunderstorm” combines the features of social drama and high tragedy. The plot of the play centers on the conflict of feelings and duty in the soul of the main character, Katerina Kabanova. This conflict is a sign of a classic tragedy. Katerina is a very devout and religious person. She dreamed of a strong family, a loving husband and children, but ended up in the Kabanikha family. Marfa Ignatievna placed Domostroevsky order and way of life above all else. Naturally, Kabanikha forced everyone in her family to follow her Charter. But Katerina, a bright and free person, could not come to terms with the cramped and stuffy world of Domostroy. She yearned for a completely different life. This desire led the woman to sin - betrayal of her husband. Going on a date with Boris, Katerina already knew that after this she would not be able to live. The sin of betrayal weighed heavily on the heroine’s soul, with which she simply could not exist. A thunderstorm in the city accelerated Katerina’s national recognition - she repented of her betrayal.
Kabanikha also found out about her daughter-in-law’s sin. She ordered to keep Katerina locked up. What awaited the heroine? In any case, death: sooner or later Kabanikha would have brought the woman to the grave with her reproaches and instructions. But this was not the worst thing for Katerina. The worst thing for the heroine is her internal punishment, her internal judgment. She herself could not forgive herself for her betrayal, her terrible sin. Therefore, the conflict in the play is resolved in the traditions of classic tragedy: the heroine dies.
But Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the entire play, readers think “not about a love affair, but about their whole life.” This means that the accusatory notes of the work touched on a variety of aspects of Russian life. The play takes place in the provincial merchant town of Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga River. In this place, everything is so monotonous and stable that even news from other cities and from the capital does not reach here.
Residents in the city are closed, distrustful, hate everything new and blindly follow the Domostroevsky way of life, which has long since become obsolete. Dikoy and Kabanikha personify the “city fathers” who enjoy power and authority. Dikoy is depicted as a complete tyrant. He swaggers in front of his nephew, in front of his family, but retreats in front of those who are able to fight back. Kuligin notices that all the atrocities in the city occur behind the high walls of merchant houses. Here they deceive, tyrannize, suppress, cripple lives and destinies. In general, Kuligin’s remarks often expose the “dark kingdom”, condemn it, and even, to some extent, reflect the position of the author. Other minor characters also play a large role in the play. So, for example, the wanderer Feklusha reveals all the ignorance and backwardness of the “dark kingdom”, as well as its imminent death, because a society oriented towards such views cannot exist. An important role in the play is played by the image of the half-crazy Lady, who voices the idea of sinfulness and inevitable punishment of both Katerina and the entire “dark kingdom”.
In Ostrovsky's tragedy "The Thunderstorm" the problems of morality were widely raised. Using the example of the provincial town of Kalinov, he showed the prevailing morals there. He depicted the cruelty of people living the old fashioned way, according to Domostroi, and the riotousness of the younger generation. All the characters of the tragedy are grouped into two parts. Those who believe that you can receive forgiveness for any sin if you then repent, while the other part believes that sin is followed by punishment and there is no salvation from it. Here one of the most important problems of man in general and “Thunderstorm” in particular arises. Repentance as a problem appeared a very long time ago. Then, when a person believed that there was a higher power and was afraid of it. He began to try to behave in such a way as to appease God with his behavior. People gradually developed ways to appease God through certain actions or deeds. All violations of this code were considered displeasing to God - sin. At first, people simply made sacrifices to the gods, sharing with them what they had.
The apogee of this relationship is human sacrifice. In contrast to this, monotheistic religions arise, that is, those recognizing one god. These religions abandoned sacrifice and created codes defining standards of human behavior. These codices became shrines as they were believed to be inscribed by the powers of the gods. Examples of such books are the Christian Bible and the Muslim Koran.
Violation of oral or written norms is a sin and must be punished. If at first a person was afraid of being killed on the spot, then later he begins to fear for his afterlife. A person begins to worry about where his soul will go after death: eternal bliss or eternal suffering. One could get to blissful places for righteous behavior, that is, observing the Norms, but sinners go to places where they will suffer forever. This is where repentance arises, since a rare person could live
without committing sins, and to cross out your life because of a few sins was scary for everyone. Therefore, it becomes possible to save yourself from punishment by begging God’s forgiveness. Thus, any person, even the last sinner, receives hope of salvation if he repents. In "The Thunderstorm" the problem of repentance is most acutely posed. The main heroine of the tragedy, Katerina, is in terrible pangs of conscience. She is torn between her legal husband and Boris, righteous life and fall. She cannot forbid herself to love Boris, but she executes herself in her soul, believing that by doing this she is rejecting God, since a husband is to his wife as God is to the church.
Therefore, by cheating on her husband, she betrays God, which means she loses all possibility of salvation. She considers this sin unforgivable and therefore denies the possibility of repentance for herself. Katerina is very
a devout woman, from childhood she was accustomed to pray to God and even saw angels, which is why her torment is so strong. These sufferings bring her to the point that she, fearing God’s punishment, personified in the form of a thunderstorm, throws herself at her husband’s feet and confesses everything to him, putting her life in his hands. People react to this recognition in different ways, revealing their attitude towards the possibility of repentance. Kabanova offers to bury her alive in the ground, that is, she believes that there is no way to forgive her. Tikhon, on the contrary, forgives Katerina, that is, he believes that she will receive forgiveness from God. Katerina believes in repentance because she fears that she will die suddenly, not because her life will be interrupted, but because she is afraid to appear before God unrepentant, with all her sins. People's attitude towards the possibility of repentance is manifested in
thunderstorm time. A thunderstorm represents the wrath of God, and therefore people, when they see a thunderstorm, try to avoid it. Some people behave in a special way. For example, Kuligin wants to build lightning rods and save people from thunderstorms, so he believes that people can be saved from God’s punishment if they repent, then the wrath of God will disappear through repentance, just as lightning goes into the ground through a lightning rod, but Dikoy believes that from the wrath of God it is impossible to hide, that is, he does not believe in the possibility of repentance. Although it should be noted that he can repent, since he throws himself at the man’s feet and asks for forgiveness from him for cursing him.
Pangs of conscience drive Katerina to the point where she begins to think about suicide. Suicide in Christianity is one of the most serious sins. It was as if man had rejected God, so the suicides had no hope of salvation. Here the question arises: how was such a devout Katerina able to commit suicide, knowing that by doing so she was ruining her soul? Maybe she didn’t really believe in God at all? But this can be contrasted with the fact that she considered her soul already ruined and simply did not want to live further in such torment, without hope of salvation. Hamlet's question arises before her - to be or not to be? To endure torment on earth and know the evil that exists here, or to commit suicide and end your torment on earth. But no one knows exactly what happens after death and whether it will be worse. Katerina is driven to despair by the attitude of people towards her and the torment of her conscience, so she rejects the possibility of salvation. But in the denouement it turns out that she has hope of salvation, since she does not drown in the water, but breaks into an anchor. The anchor is similar to part of the cross, where the base represents the Holy Grail - the cup with the blood of the Lord. The Holy Grail symbolizes salvation. And Katerina is bleeding from her head. Thus, there is hope that she was forgiven and saved.
Essays on literature: The role of minor characters in one of the works of Russian literature of the 19th century. Just as in a painting, the background and minor details highlight and enhance the main idea of the picture, so in the comedy “Woe from Wit,” each of the characters in the play performs its own artistic function. Episodic characters highlight and complement the features of the main characters. Although they do not act directly, they indicate that Chatsky is opposed by a reactionary force. It is characteristic that Famusov’s ball brought together not just people, but those who make up the elite of noble Moscow. They have many faces, but almost all have common features: ignorance, veneration for rank, self-interest. They appear one after another, like a series of moving caricatures, creating an ugly portrait of this most elite of nobility. Here is the Gorich couple walking - a typical Moscow married couple.
Chatsky knew Platon Mikhailovich before his marriage. He was a troubled, witty man, but after his marriage to Natalya Dmitrievna he turned into a pathetic henpecked man. His wife won’t even let him open his mouth. “Listen once, dear, fasten your buttons,” - this is how her “conversations” with her husband sound.
The scary thing is that Gorich is aware of his situation, but does not try to change it. All he can do is say bitterly to Chatsky: “Now, brother, I’m not the same.” Another interesting, almost silent character is the footman Petrushka. He silently carries out Famusov’s orders, but opens up in an unexpected way when Lizanka says about him: “How can you not fall in love with the bartender Petrusha?” There is hidden irony of the author in this phrase.
But the Tugoukhovsky family arrived at the ball. The princess is preoccupied with finding grooms for her daughters. And from the very first remarks he looks at Chatsky as a potential victim. But as soon as she finds out that Chatsky is not rich and not in high ranks, she shouts: “Prince, prince! Go back.”
It seems like a passing scene, a minor character. But through this princess, the author reveals Famusov’s character more deeply, emphasizing in him such traits as self-interest and veneration for rank. And this is typical for the entire Famus circle, where “whoever is poor is not a match for you”: Be poor, but if you have two thousand family souls, you will be the groom. Countess Khryumina appears - a granddaughter embittered with the whole world with her half-deaf grandmother. This failed "bride" admires everything foreign, unlike others, she often uses French. How can one not compare this fidgety loser lady with modern dropouts who flaunt scraps of English and worship Western merchant culture. But the most active “episode” of the comedy is Zagoretsky. The one about whom they openly say that he is “a liar, a gambler, a swindler, a rogue.” And yet the doors of Famus’s “meeting” are open for him, he is useful in his helpfulness.
When the old woman Khlestova wanted to refuse him the house, he served her by giving her a little arap. And Molchalin’s words: “My father bequeathed to me: firstly, to please all people without exception...” - are emphasized by his relationship with Zagoretsky. At the ball there are many other representatives of Famus society, to whom Griboyedov did not even give full names. Such, for example, are Messrs. N and D, who actively participate in gossip about Chatsky’s madness. And all of them reinforce the author’s main thoughts, the ideological and satirical essence of his work.
A. S. Griboyedov in the comedy “Woe from Wit” painted a broad and holistic picture of the secular Moscow of his time, ridiculing the wretchedness and limitations of the high society that inhabited it. And in this he was helped by minor characters, who allowed the author to convey the special atmosphere of the Famusovs’ house.
So, the first minor character to appear in the play is the maid Lisa. A simple girl, but full of cunning and insight, she was one of the few sane people in Famusov’s house. Let us remember, at least, her words addressed to the owner:
Pass us away more than all sorrows
And lordly anger and lordly love...
In these two lines, the maid vividly and truthfully described the true attitude of the nobles towards their servants.
And how exactly she noticed the key features of the main character of Chatsky’s comedy:
Who is so sensitive, and cheerful, and sharp,
Like Alexander Andreich Chatsky.
In my opinion, Lisa’s critical remarks are the author’s vision of her characters.
The rest of the minor characters are representatives of Famus society. They are very similar in their ignorance, veneration and greed.
First member secular society in the work there is a rude, arrogant Colonel Skalozub, who, according to the maid Liza, “is both a golden bag and aims to be a general.” Sergei Sergeevich is indecently limited and stupid. “He has never spoken a smart word,” is how Sophia characterizes him. And indeed, the hero, like many other members of Famus’s society, denies the importance and noble goal of enlightenment: “And books will be preserved like this: for great occasions...” He denies because he prays to other gods: ranks and money. The colonel's frank and cynical story about the reasons for his success testifies to his greed:
I am quite happy in my comrades,
The vacancies are just open
Then the elders will include others,
The others, you see, have been killed.
The remaining representatives of Famus society are depicted in less detail, but just as vividly as Skalozub. For example, the angry old maid Anfisa Nilovna Khlestova, as befits a society lady, followed fashion. It was fashionable at that time to have dark-skinned Arab servants, and the old woman also had such a servant:
Out of boredom I took it with me
A little black girl and a dog...
Here it is, cruel inhumanity, when a blackamoor is equated with a dog!
Amazingly, in Famus society people like Anton Antonovich Zagoretsky are accepted as welcome guests. He, “an out-and-out swindler, a rogue,” with a dubious reputation, thanks to his ability to please any person, is a dear guest in all noble houses. Khlestova herself calls him a gambler and a thief, but nevertheless she is kind to him because he “got two small blacks at the fair” for her and her sister.