What is Ostrovsky's thunderstorm?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The short capacious title of the play immediately attracts attention. What is a thunderstorm at Ostrovsky? Let's go back to the events of the play. The action takes place in the fictional town of Kalinovo, located on the banks of the Volga. In the first act, the inventor Kuligin talks with local young people (Kudryash, Dikoy's clerk, Shapkin, a tradesman) about the hard character and tyranny of the landowner Diky. Then the nephew of Wild Boris appears, who says that he himself is from Moscow, where he received a good education, and came to his uncle after the death of his parents for part of his grandmother's inheritance. The condition for receiving an inheritance is a respectful attitude towards Dikiy, which, according to local residents, means that Boris will not see an inheritance. Boris complains to Kuligin about how difficult it is for him to live in his uncle's house, to which the inventor talks about the customs of the city of Kalinov, concluding that they are quite cruel.

Further on, the play "Thunderstorm" (Ostrovsky tried to show in it not only human tragedy, but also Russian life) opens the doors of the Kabanovs' house, where apparent piety is actually hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness. Kabanova appears on the stage with her children - Varvara and Tikhon - and Katerina, Tikhon's wife. Katerina appears as a girl who finds herself inunfavorable conditions, in a house where it is not appreciated. It is casually mentioned that she fell in love with someone, but Varvara picks up the idea and offers to arrange a date with her lover when Tikhon leaves. Katerina is frightened by this proposal, and even the crazy old woman prophesies misfortune from beauty, which leads to the very pool. A thunderstorm is coming.

What is a thunderstorm for Katerina?

This is primarily a premonition of imminent trouble. In the second act, Tikhon sets off on his journey, refusing to take Katerina with him. Before the departure of her son, Kabanikha severely punished her daughter-in-law on how to live while her husband was away, which offends and humiliates the unrequited girl. Varvara, meanwhile, arranges for them to spend the night in the garden, and hands Katerina the key to the back gate. The next two acts tell how Katerina's fall occurs: she meets Boris and realizes that she will not be able to hide her love for him. When Tikhon returns, Katerina publicly admits that she cheated on her husband. Tikhon loves his wife and is ready to forgive her, but he understands that this is impossible under Kabanikh. Katerina rushes about - she feels bad at the Kabanovs, she yearns for Boris and sees no way out of this situation. Boris, whom Dikoy sends to Siberia as punishment, refuses to take his beloved with him for reasons beyond his control. The result of this tragedy is the death of Katerina, who during a thunderstorm threw herself off a cliff into the river.

What is a thunderstorm for other characters?

Each of the heroes has his own secret or not so sadness. Kuligin suffers from non-recognitionhis talent as an inventor, Dikoy and Kabanikh - from his conservatism and unwillingness to accept changes, Tikhon - from his unrequited character in front of his mother. And for each of them, a thunderstorm is a symbol: Kuligin sees in it the impossibility of testing a new invention, for which Dikoy refused to give money; Wild and Boar - retribution for human sins; for Tikhon, she symbolizes his loneliness in life. He says so in the finale, referring to his dead wife: “Good for you, Katya! And why did I stay to live in the world and suffer!”

What is Thunderstorm today?

According to the play "Thunderstorm", more than one essay has been written, many critical and literary articles have been published, but they all have one thing in common - an understanding of the versatility of the Ostrov thunderstorm. The thunderstorm is a symbol not only of the inertia of Russian philistinism, but also of obsolete patriarchy. However, you should not perceive a thunderstorm only from a negative point of view. She is also a symbol of purification: Katerina died, but by death she atoned for the sin of treason. After a thunderstorm, the earth will be renewed. After a thunderstorm, the way of life in Russia will change - this is a natural process, almost natural, although not without victims.