The meaning of the title of the drama "Thunderstorm"
After the release of Ostrovsky's drama The Storm, contemporaries saw in it a call for a renewal of life, for freedom, because it was written in 1860, when everyone was waiting for the abolition of slavery and serfdom in the country.
In the center of the play is a socio-political conflict: the masters of life, representatives of the "dark kingdom" with their victims.
Against the backdrop of a beautiful landscape, the unbearable life of ordinary people is drawn. But here the picture of nature begins to change gradually: clouds cover the sky, thunderclaps are heard. A thunderstorm is approaching, but is this phenomenon only in nature? No. So what does the author mean by a thunderstorm? Hidden in this name deep meaning. For the first time this word flashed in the scene of farewell to Tikhon. He says: "... There will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks." Tikhon wants to at least briefly get rid of the feeling of fear and dependence. Thunderstorm in the work means fear and liberation from it. This is the fear driven by tyrants, the fear of retribution for sins. "The storm is sent to us as a punishment," Dikoy Kuligina instructs. The power of this fear extends to many heroes of the drama and does not even pass by Katerina. Katerina is religious and considers it a sin that she fell in love with Boris. "I didn't know you were so afraid of thunderstorms," Varvara tells her.
“How, girl, don’t be afraid!” answers Katerina. Everyone should be afraid. , saw in her a majestic and beautiful sight, but not at all dangerous for a person who can easily appease her destructive power with the help of a simple lightning rod. Addressing the crowd, seized with superstitious horror, Kuligin says: “Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell. Now every grass, every flower rejoices, and we hide, we are afraid, just like some kind of misfortune! You made yourself a scare.
Eh, people. I'm not afraid."
If in nature a thunderstorm has already begun, then in life, further events show its approach. Undermines the dark realm of the mind, the common sense of Kuligin; Katerina expresses her protest, although her actions are unconscious, but she does not want to come to terms with the painful conditions of life and decides her own fate; rushes into the Volga. In all this lies the main meaning of the realistic symbol, the symbol of the thunderstorm. However, it is not unambiguous. There is something spontaneous, natural in Katerina's love for Boris, just like in a thunderstorm. But, although, unlike a thunderstorm, love brings joy, this is not so with Katerina, if only because she married woman. However, Katerina is not afraid of this love, just as Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm. She says to Boris: "... If I'm not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?" The storm is hidden in the very nature of the heroine, she herself says that even as a child, offended by someone, she ran away from home and sailed away alone in a boat along the Volga.
The play was perceived by contemporaries as a sharp denunciation of the existing order in the country. Dobrolyubov spoke of Ostrovsky's drama in the following way: "... The Thunderstorm" is, without a doubt, Ostrovsky's most decisive work... There is something refreshing and encouraging in The Thunderstorm. In our opinion, this "something" is , the background of the play, indicated by us and revealing the precariousness and the near end of tyranny ... " Both the playwright himself and his contemporaries believed in this.
A playwright is a more dependent person than a prose writer. It depends not only on the reader, but also on the viewer, director, actors. Making a motley and diverse audience believe in the reality of what is happening on the stage is a very difficult task, the solution is available only to a high-class master. A.N. Ostrovsky was just such a master. His plays based on historical, folklore and everyday material formed the basis of the national repertoire. In the play "Thunderstorm" the place of folk tragedy is allotted.
The very title of the play is deeply symbolic. Usually he is associated with the fate of the main character - Katerina, an outstanding personality. This is, of course, true. But not fully. Ostrovsky felt the unity of Russian life in its various manifestations. The state of mind of a person, family, society, nature - everything appears under the pen of the playwright Ostrovsky as one whole. And one link - will respond in the whole chain. The very theme of a thunderstorm appears in the play long before the tragic ending.
Dark skies, rain, thunderclaps are all symbolic signs of tension. It can be said without exaggeration that almost every character in the play carries a spark within himself. Does Barbara bifurcate between visible humility and the need for free expression. “Do whatever you want, if only it were sewn and covered” - this position is vulnerable, and in the end it is resolved by escaping from the parental home. Her brother Tikhon is doomed to an agonizing choice between respectful fear of his mother and love for his wife: “What should I do, burst or something!” he exclaims in despair.
Loving Katerina, ready to forgive her, he does not dare to argue with his mother. The conflict tension of relations between mother and children is a consequence of domestic trouble, threatening to turn into final. Indeed, the viewer becomes a witness to the collapse of a family that seemed to be firmly held on centuries-old foundations. In Saveliy the Wild, at times an alarmed conscience speaks, many of his antics stem from the consciousness of inner impotence in the face of external omnipotence.
The conflict of human relations extends to the natural world. The action of the play takes place on the high bank of the Volga, and a rural view opens up across the river. A storm of passions in the city and quiet grace on the opposite side. For Katerina, the contrast of the shores correlates with memories of the parental home, a happy and carefree girlhood, and the current position in the family of a weak husband and despotic mother-in-law. We hear prophetic words from her: “Where can I rest my heart when a thunderstorm rises?” Everyone lives in anticipation of a thunderstorm. In front of everyone, Dikoy bows to the peasant he insulted; Katerina used to justify herself to her mother-in-law, but now she screams: “Let everyone know!”.
Complaining to Kuligin about the situation in the family, caused by the public repentance of his wife, Tikhon conveys the words of his mother: "The traitor must be buried alive in the ground." When the storm really rose, it first of all struck the female soul, towering above the rest with the power of the spirit. The heroine, like a lightning rod, took on all the power of a lightning discharge and emerged victorious.
In the 20th century, the traditions of Ostrovsky were closest to A.P. Chekhov. Like his great predecessor, he depicted ordinary life on the surface, but which is fraught with tremendous explosive power. Challenging philistine complacency, the author of "Three Sisters", "The Seagull", "The Cherry Orchard", concretized energy in images - symbols. And just like Ostrovsky, he put them into the title of the play, setting the audience up for a dramatic conflict from the very beginning. The play "Thunderstorm" stands at the origins of such a tradition.
The meaning of the title of the drama "Thunderstorm"
The name of Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm" plays a big role in understanding this play. The image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is unusually complex and ambiguous. On the one hand, a thunderstorm is a direct participant in the action of the play, on the other hand, it is a symbol of the idea of \u200b\u200bthis work. In addition, the image of a thunderstorm has so many meanings that it illuminates almost all facets of the tragic collision in the play.
The storm plays an important role in the composition of the drama. In the first act there is the beginning of the work: Katerina tells Varvara about her dreams and hints at her secret love. Almost immediately after this, a thunderstorm is approaching: “... there is no way the thunderstorm is setting ...”
At the beginning of the fourth act, a dream is also gathering, foreshadowing a tragedy: “Remember my words that this thunderstorm will not pass in vain ...”
A thunderstorm breaks out only in the scene of Katerina's confession - at the climax of the play, when the heroine speaks about her sin to her husband and mother-in-law, not ashamed of the presence of other townspeople.
Thunderstorm is directly involved in the action as a real natural phenomenon. It affects the behavior of the characters: after all, it is during a thunderstorm that Katerina confesses her sin. They even talk about a thunderstorm as if it were alive (“It’s raining, no matter how the thunderstorm gathers?”, “And it’s crawling on us, it’s crawling like it’s alive!”).
But the storm in the play also has figurative meaning. For example, Tikhon calls the swearing, scolding and antics of his mother a thunderstorm: “Yes, as I know now that there will be no thunderstorm over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so am I up to my wife?”
The following fact is also noteworthy: Kuligin is a supporter of the peaceful eradication of vices (he wants to ridicule bad morals in the book: “I used to want to depict all this in verse ...”). And it is he who offers Diky to make a lightning rod (“a copper plate”), which serves here as an allegory, because soft and peaceful opposition to vices by exposing them in books is a kind of lightning rod.
In addition, a thunderstorm is perceived differently by all characters. So, Dikoy says: “Thunderstorm is sent to us as a punishment.” Wild declares that people should be afraid of thunderstorms, and yet his power and tyranny are based precisely on people's fear of him. Evidence of this is the fate of Boris. He is afraid of not receiving an inheritance and therefore submits to the Wild. So, this fear is beneficial for the Wild. He wants everyone to be afraid of thunderstorms, just like him.
But Kuligin treats a thunderstorm differently: “Now every blade of grass, every flower rejoices, but we hide, we are afraid, just what kind of misfortune!” He sees a life-giving force in a thunderstorm. It is interesting that not only the attitude to a thunderstorm, but also the principles of Dikoy and Kuligin are different. Kuligin condemns the way of life of Dikoy, Kabanova and their morals: “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! ..”
So the image of a thunderstorm turns out to be connected with the disclosure of the characters of the characters in the drama.
Katerina is also afraid of thunderstorms, but not in the same way as Dikoy. She sincerely believes that the storm is God's punishment. Katerina does not talk about the benefits of a thunderstorm, she is not afraid of punishment, but of sins. Her fear is associated with a deep, strong faith and high moral ideals. Therefore, in her words about the fear of a thunderstorm, there is not complacency, like that of Diky, but rather repentance: “It’s not scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all evil thoughts ...”
The heroine herself also resembles a thunderstorm. Firstly, the theme of a thunderstorm is connected with Katerina's feelings and state of mind. In the first act, a thunderstorm gathers, as if a harbinger of tragedy and as an expression of the heroine's troubled soul. It was then that Katerina confesses to Varvara that she loves another - not her husband.
The storm did not disturb Katerina during her meeting with Boris, when she suddenly felt happy. A thunderstorm appears whenever storms rage in the soul of the heroine herself: the words “With Boris Grigorievich!” (in the scene of Katerina's confession) - and again, according to the author's remark, a “thunderclap” is heard.
Secondly, the recognition of Katerina and her suicide was a challenge to the forces of the "dark kingdom" and its principles ("closed-closed"). Love itself, which Katerina did not hide,
her desire for freedom is also a protest, a challenge that thundered over the forces of the "dark kingdom" like a thunderstorm. Katerina's victory in that there will be rumors about Kabanikh, about her role in the suicide of her daughter-in-law, will not be able to hide the truth. Even Tikhon begins to weakly protest. “You ruined her! You! You!" he shouts to his mother.
So, Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm, despite its tragedy, produces a refreshing, encouraging impression, about which Dobrolyubov spoke: “... the end (of the play) ... seems to us encouraging, it is easy to understand why: it gives a terrible challenge to self-foolish power. ..”
Katerina does not adapt to the principles of Kabanova, she did not want to lie and listen to someone else's lies: “You are talking about me, mother, in vain you say this ...”
A thunderstorm is also not subject to anything and no one - it happens both in summer and in spring, not limited to the season, like precipitation. It is not for nothing that in many pagan religions the main god is the Thunderer, the lord of thunder and lightning (thunderstorms).
As in nature, a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's play combines destructive and creative power: "Thunderstorm will kill!", "This is not a thunderstorm, but grace!"
So, the image of a thunderstorm in Ostrovsky's drama is multi-valued and not one-sided: while symbolically expressing the idea of the work, at the same time it directly participates in the action. The image of a thunderstorm illuminates almost all facets of the play's tragic collision, which is why the meaning of the title becomes so important for readers to understand the play.
So what is this symbol that Ostrovsky displays in the title - a thunderstorm?
For people of the 19th century, who did not know about electricity and physical laws, a thunderstorm was a terrible, frightening act. Lightning flashed in the sky, sometimes they reached the ground and killed people, burned buildings and trees. Everywhere there was an indescribable roar. However, even now thunderstorms on earth are exactly the same as 150 years ago. Only they are not so scary anymore, because we know how they happen. But our ancestors endowed this natural phenomenon with a mysterious meaning.
So, on the one hand, a belief about the wrath of the Lord was associated with a thunderstorm. She falls on people to scare and remind of the day doomsday where sinners will pay for their crimes against God. On the other hand, thunderstorms are a herald of renewal, as they are mainly associated with the onset of spring. Heavy rains with thunder purify the air, wash the ground, foliage. Before a thunderstorm it is usually stuffy, and after it it becomes easy and fun to breathe. Fear passes, and joyful renewal comes. Nature and people begin to live again, but only in a pure world.
Thus, a thunderstorm in the mind of a person is associated both with a positive beginning, becoming a symbol of new life, and with a negative one. In the second case, the thunderstorm becomes the embodiment of a just, well-deserved and terrible punishment.
In his play, Ostrovsky masterfully uses both of these meanings. He introduces into the text of the narrative both the thunderstorm itself as part of nature, and its symbolic expression - Katerina, who plays the role of a purifying force in the life of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov.
But why can Katerina be called a thunderstorm? What did this fragile girl do that could be compared with a strong natural phenomenon?
This image receives full compliance with its symbolic sound at the end of the play. The death, or rather, the suicide of the heroine, was a truly terrible event for the city. It stirred the hearts of people, turned their familiar world upside down and made them think. No wonder Tikhon, Katerina's husband, standing over the lifeless body of his wife, will reproach her mother for being the one to blame for this terrible death. He will reproach his mother, whom he previously could not say a word across. This is truly a breakthrough. And it was Katerina's death, her self-sacrifice and liberation that gave rise to this breakthrough.
It is no coincidence that critic Dobrolyubov called Katerina Kabanova "a ray of light in dark kingdom". But a ray of light is, perhaps, lightning? ..
But, as was said, there is another meaning of this symbol - a well-deserved punishment. Here, Katerina has nothing to do with it. She is not a tool, but a cause. This means that the thunderstorm itself, as a natural phenomenon, acted here as a character that reminded the heroine of her crime - betrayal of her husband.
It is also necessary to say that Katerina and the thunderstorm have another similarity. As conceived by the author, they play the role of antithesis in relation to the reality surrounding them. The heroine confronts the stuffy society of the city of Kalinov, and a thunderstorm destroys the stuffiness of the air.
In the text of the work, a thunderstorm like rain with lightning and thunder and the thunderous meaning of Katerina's suicide coincide in a strong culmination. Ostrovsky puts an end to the play's conflict. With one stroke of the pen, he solves the problem of confrontation between Katerina and Kabanikh, instantly makes the girl a winner and punishes those responsible for what happened.
This is how the title of Ostrovsky's play contained both the problems, the theme, and the idea of the work, and also explained the meaning of the image of the main character.
The storm is also present in the lives of other residents of the city. For Kabanova and wild thunderstorm appears in the face of Kuligin and Katerina. These heroes testify to the fact that changes are coming, which Kalinov's inert people refuse to accept.
"Thunderstorm" - the greatest work of A.N. Ostrovsky. It was founded in 1859, during a period of cardinal changes in Russian society. Therefore, it is not surprising that the author gave this name to his work. The word "thunderstorm" has several meanings in the play. Firstly, this is a natural phenomenon, and secondly, a symbol of impending changes in the "dark kingdom" - the centuries-old social order in Russia.
Conflict in the work
The work is based on the conflict between conservatives and innovators. In the bosom of beautiful nature, Ostrovsky draws the unbearable life of the townspeople of Kalinov. Katerina - main character, does not withstand oppression, which is expressed in changes in nature - clouds are gathering, thunder is heard. Some terrible changes are coming.
Tikhon is the first to pronounce the word "thunderstorm", calling it the atmosphere of fear and despotism in his own house. Wild, speaking of a thunderstorm, recalls such a concept as punishment. The fear of divine retribution terrifies all the heroes, including the religious Katerina, who is aware of the sinfulness of her connection with Boris.
Only the mechanic Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm, perceiving it as some kind of majestic spectacle, a manifestation of the power of the elements, and not a danger to people.
Thunderstorm in society
So, the storm in society has already begun. Katerina is no longer able to live according to the old house-building principles, she longs for freedom, but she no longer has the strength to fight the system. Thunder rolls predict the heroine's imminent death. The prediction of the crazy lady was the impetus for the denouement of events.
Katerina is scared because she is a deeply religious person. She could not bear the burden of sin in her heart, could not come to terms with the structure of society, its rules, so she threw herself into the arms of the Volga.
Thunderstorm as a sign of love
A thunderstorm is also a sign of love between Katerina and Boris. Their relationship is a real element that does not bring joy to either him or her. Boris was the only one who understood the tragedy of Katerina, but could not help her in any way, because he lacked determination. Did he really love the girl? I don't think so. Otherwise, he would have easily sacrificed everything for her well-being. He exchanged his feelings for an inheritance, which he will not receive anyway.
"Thunderstorm" was the pinnacle of A.N. Ostrovsky. In terms of artistic expressiveness, "Thunderstorm" can be compared with other large and significant works of Russian and world literature.
Great artists sometimes have a desire when creating their main work, as it were, to go beyond the designated topic. So, for example, when Gogol was working on " Dead souls", he wanted to portray "all of Russia, at least from one side." This is nothing more than an attempt to go beyond the boundaries of a narrow topic. In the same way, in "Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky, perhaps involuntarily turned to a question that, in its essence goes far beyond the depicted events.
The playwright turned to the question of how a person should behave in "stormy" conditions, what should he do if he feels the presence of bright spiritual forces in himself, if he wants to join something pure, perfect, especially when he is endowed with character and does not tolerate humiliation. How can he live in this world, where cruel customs, lies and humility prevail? Here is the question posed by Ostrovsky. He, as we know, did not find an answer to it, and this is not his fault. But the merit of Ostrovsky as a playwright is that he showed the drama of the tragic inconsistency of spiritual purity, conscience, beauty with the heavy force of human tyranny, lies and moral oppression.
In the play, everything is subordinated to the disclosure of this drama not as a particular case, but as an event that has a deep moral, psychological and social meaning.
The name of the play is symbolic - "Thunderstorm". This is primarily a thunderstorm within human social relations. One goes against the other, and all against one. This society is dominated by the law of the jungle - every man for himself. No one really cares about what's going on around. People begin to be interested in others only if what is happening in one way or another concerns them.
Almost before the eyes of the entire boulevard, Kabanikha swears with his son and daughter-in-law, shouts at the whole street, unfairly accusing them of almost all mortal sins. And no one really cares about that. In Tikhon's house, his mother runs everything, and he himself does not dare to set foot or speak against her. Almost the same situation is observed in the house of the Wild, who tyrannizes not only his relatives, but also employees. Therefore, the thunderstorm symbol takes on a second meaning here - it is also a thunderstorm family life. Indeed, Katerina's life in her husband's house is filled with a sense of impending disaster. Even before she met Boris, Katerina felt that she would not stay long in this world, that thunderstorms would touch her, that clouds were gathering over her head.
Finally, the third meaning of the title of the play. A thunderstorm is also a symbol of punishment for an unrighteous, with a private violation of moral laws, life. In addition, this is Katerina's punishment for the sin she committed. After all, whatever you say, betrayal of marital duty has always been considered a sin in Russia. And Katerina is also very religious. Therefore, she is very tormented by her act, which constitutes a genuine and insoluble drama.
Of course, we fully understand the impulse of a young woman, an attempt by a bright personality to break through to a bright beginning. Katerina is trying to find herself in love with Boris and through this state to feel at least a piece of happiness. But this attempt by a strong personality to defend itself leads to sin.
Oppression from the cruel human environment gives rise to gifted natures desire to overcome oppression, to defend their right to happiness. However, the ways to achieve it turn out to be false. This is exactly the position that Katerina found herself in.
The key to unraveling the character of Katerina, and with it the symbol of the thunderstorm, is given to us by the seventh appearance of the first act. Here the exposition is still taking place, the very beginning of the drama.
Let's remember Katerina's famous monologue ("Why don't people fly...") and all further conversation with Varvara. This episode reveals Katerina as a poetic, beautiful nature, which is in no way consistent with the outside world. And we understand that trouble awaits such an exalted soul one way or another. It's like a foretaste of a thunderstorm. This feeling is strengthened in us after Katerina's meeting with the lady who has lost her mind.
Katerina is already aware of all the sinfulness of her love, and then this madwoman begins to accuse her of human debauchery, of vulgarizing beauty ... Of course, we understand that her words do not apply specifically to Katerina, and earlier this scene was perceived as a characteristic of a dark , ignorant environment. But at the same time, the symbolic meaning of the words of the old woman was also obscured.
Beauty as a means of satisfying personal interests is not only a sin, but also the destruction of a person. Such beauty is soulless and leads to a tragic denouement.
As for Katerina, she perceives the old woman as the personification of the dark side of fate. And so the girl decides to commit suicide before she suffers retribution. She wanted to be cleansed, and she saw purification in drawing closer to God.
It may seem strange that Katerina dared such an act - after all, suicide is no less a sin than treason. But it seems to me that a soul that loves and suffered a lot in this life deserves forgiveness. And it turned out that with her resolute movement, the desire to go to the court, the heroine partially atoned for her sin.
Hence another meaning of the name: a thunderstorm is not only a punishment, it is also a purification. After all, after a thunderstorm, the air becomes fresher, the earth is cleaner. This means that Katerina's impulse did not go unnoticed. Perhaps he will make some of the inhabitants of Kalinov think. And with them and us.
