The play by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. In the same year, it was staged in theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and for many years has not left the stages of all theaters in the world. Such popularity and relevance of the play is explained by the fact that the "Thunderstorm" combines features of social drama and high tragedy.
The plot of the play is centered on the conflict of feeling and duty in the soul of the main character, Katerina Kabanova. This conflict is a sign of 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 put the Domostroy order and way of life above all else. Naturally, Kabaniha forced everyone in her family to follow her Charter. But Katerina, a bright and free person, could not come to terms with the tight and stifling world of Domostroi. She strove 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 that she would not be able to live. The sin of treason lay like a heavy stone on the soul of the heroine, with whom she simply could not exist. The thunderstorm in the city hastened the nationwide recognition of Katerina - she repented of her betrayal.
Kabanikha also learned 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, with her reproaches and admonitions, would have brought the woman to the grave.
But the worst thing for Katerina was not that. The worst thing for the heroine is her inner punishment, her inner judgment. She herself could not forgive herself for her betrayal, her terrible sin. Therefore, the conflict in the play is resolved in the tradition of classic tragedy: the heroine dies.
But Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the play, readers think "not about a love affair, but about their whole life." This means that the accusatory notes of the work concerned the most diverse aspects of Russian life. The play takes place in the provincial merchant town of Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga River. Everything in this place is so monotonous and stable that even news from other cities and from the capital does not reach here. The inhabitants of the city are withdrawn, distrustful, hate everything new and blindly follow the Domostroy way of life, which has long outlived its usefulness.
Dikoy and Kabanikha personify the "fathers of the city" 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 him back. Kuligin notes that all the atrocities in the city take place 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", pass judgment on him, even, to some extent, reflect the position of the author.
Other minor characters also play an important role in the play. So, for example, the wanderer Feklusha reveals all the ignorance and backwardness of the "dark kingdom", as well as his 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 \u200b\u200bsinfulness and inevitable punishment for both Katerina and the entire "dark kingdom".
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Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" raises the problem of a turning point in public life, a change in social foundations. The author cannot be absolutely impartial, his position is revealed in the remarks, which are not very numerous, and they are not expressive enough. There is only one option left: the author's position is represented through a certain hero, through composition, symbolism.
The names are very symbolic in the play. The "speaking names" used in "The Thunderstorm" are an echo of the classicist theater, the features of which have been preserved in the late sixties of the 19th century.
The name of Kabanova vividly depicts a heavy, heavy woman for us, and the nickname "Kabanikha" complements this unpleasant picture. The author characterizes the wild as a wild, unrestrained person. Kuligin's name is ambiguous. On the one hand, it is consonant with the name of Kulibin, a self-taught mechanic. On the other hand, "kuliga" is a swamp. There is a saying: "Every sandpiper praises his swamp." This proverb can explain Kuligin's exalted praise of the Volga. His name refers him to the "swamp" of the city of Kalinov, he is a natural inhabitant of the city. Female Greek names are also important. Katerina means "pure", and indeed, the whole play is tormented by the problem of purification. Opposed to her, Barbara ("Barbarian") does not go deep into her soul, lives naturally and does not think about her sinfulness. She believes that every sin can be atoned for.
Dobrolyubov called Katerina "a ray of light in the dark kingdom", and later, a few years later, Ostrovsky himself gave people like her a name - "hot hearts". The play shows the conflict of the "hot heart" with the surrounding icy environment. And the thunderstorm is trying to melt this ice. Another meaning put by the author in the word "thunderstorm" symbolizes the wrath of God. All who are afraid of a thunderstorm are not ready to accept death and appear before the judgment of God. The author puts his words into the mouth of Kuligin. “The judge is more merciful than you,” he says. Thus, he characterizes his attitude towards this society.
The motive of the ascent runs through the entire play, relying on Katerina's words about the field and the landscape. The author managed to convey the landscape with limited means: the view of the Trans-Volga region, opening from the cliff, creates the feeling that Kalinov is not the only place suitable for humans, as Kalinovites think. For Katerina it is a city of thunderstorms, a city of retribution. Once you leave it, and you find yourself in a new world, one with God and nature - on the Volga, the greatest river in Russia. 11o you can come to the Volga only at night, when you cannot see your own or other people's sins. Another path to freedom is through the cliff, through death. Ostrovsky realizes that the swamp, the "kuliga" - the city of Kalinov - tightens and does not let go.
In the stage directions, that is, at the beginning of the play, Boris is named the only person wearing a European costume. And his name is Boris - "fighter". But at first he sinks to a relationship with a married woman, and then, unable to fight, leaves, sent away by Dikim. If at first he said that he lives in Kali ion only because of the inheritance left by his grandmother, now, even when he perfectly understands that he will not be given money, he remains here because this environment swallowed him.
When Katherine talks about her home, she describes the ideal of the patriarchal Christian family. But this ideal is already changing. And it is precisely the initial non-compliance with the canons that will lead to spiritual and social conflict. All her life Katerina dreamed of flying. It is the desire to fly that will push Katerina into the abyss.
The peculiarity of the composition, which also expresses the author's position, is two possible variants of the climax and denouement. If we assume that the culmination occurs when Katerina goes for a walk on the Volga, then repentance will become the denouement, that is, the drama of a free woman comes to the fore. But repentance doesn't happen at the very end. Then what is the death of Katerina? There is another option - the spiritual struggle of Katerina, the culmination of which is repentance, and the denouement is death.
In connection with this question, the problem of determining the genre of the play arises. Ostrovsky himself called it a drama, because after the greatest tragedies of Antigone or Phaedra, it would be unthinkable to call the story of a simple merchant a tragedy. By definition, tragedy is an internal conflict of the hero, in which the hero himself pushes himself towards death. This definition fits the second composition. If we consider social conflict, then this is a drama.
Equally ambiguous is the question of the meaning of the name. The thunderstorm breaks out on two levels - external and internal. All the action takes place to the sound of thunder, and each of the characters is characterized through their attitude to the thunderstorm. Kabanikha says that one must be ready for death, Dikaya - that it is impossible and sinful to resist lightning, Kuligin talks about the process of mechanization and offers to escape from the storm, and Katerina is madly afraid of her, which shows her spiritual confusion. Internal, invisible thunderstorm occurs in the soul of Katerina. While an external thunderstorm brings relief and cleansing, a thunderstorm in Catherine introduces her into a terrible sin - suicide.
Material overview
Material overview
A number of lessons are presented, accompanied by presentations. Lesson number 1, 2. Play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" (1859). Traditions and customs of the city of Kalinov. Lesson number 3, 4. Katerina in the fight for her human rights.
Lesson number 1, 2. Play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" (1859). Traditions and customs of the city of Kalinov.
The purpose of the lesson: trace the reflection of the era in the play, its life and customs; determine the moral issues of the play and its universal significance.
Tasks:
Acquaintance with the history of the creation of the play "The Thunderstorm", the actors, the definition of the theme, idea, the main conflict of the play.
Development of skills in analyzing a dramatic work, the ability to determine the author's position in a work.
Equipment: multimedia projector, screen, textbooks, notebooks, text of the play, presentation for the lesson.
Course of the lesson
1. Organizational moment.
The history of writing the play (Presentation No. 1 "History of the creation of the play").
The play was started by Alexander Ostrovsky in July and completed on October 9, 1859. On October 9, the playwright graduated from The Thunderstorm, and on October 14 he already sent the play to St. Petersburg for censorship. The manuscript is at the Russian State Library.
The writer's personal drama is also connected with the writing of the play "The Thunderstorm". In the manuscript of the play, next to the famous monologue of Katerina: “And what dreams I dreamed, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and everyone sings invisible voices ... ", there is Ostrovsky's entry:" I heard from LP about the same dream ... ". L. P. is the actress Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya, with whom the young playwright had a very difficult personal relationship: both had families. The husband of the actress was the artist of the Maly Theater I.M. Nikulin. And Alexander Nikolaevich also had a family: he lived in a civil marriage with a commoner Agafya Ivanovna, with whom he had children in common (they all died as children). Ostrovsky lived with Agafya Ivanovna for nearly twenty years.
It was Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya who served as the prototype for the image of the heroine of the play Katerina, she also became the first performer of the role.
In 1848, Alexander Ostrovsky went with his family to Kostroma, to the Shchelykovo estate. The natural beauty of the Volga region amazed the playwright, and then he thought about the play. For a long time it was believed that the plot of the drama "The Thunderstorm" was taken by Ostrovsky from the life of the Kostroma merchants. Kostroma residents at the beginning of the 20th century could accurately indicate the place of Katerina's suicide.
In his play, Ostrovsky raises the problem of the turning point in social life that occurred in the 1850s, the problem of changing social foundations.
2. Genre features of the play "Thunderstorm".
A thunderstorm is thundering in Moscow, notice how cleverly it is said, and be surprised.
The epigraph for the lesson presents the words of the actress L.P. Kositskaya-Nikulina, who played the main character of the play Katerina, who became the playwright's wife.
Today we will begin our acquaintance with the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm". Here are different points of view on the appearance of this play and the definition of the genre. Analyze the choice of the genre of the authors of these quotes and highlight the features that the author emphasizes.
The premiere took place on November 16, 1859.<...> The play did the collection, because in addition to subtle connoisseurs and connoisseurs of the elegant, the Moscow audience flowed and flowed to the performances, attracted by the name of the playwright and the controversy surrounding the play. There were many spectators in "wolf coats", the simplest, most direct, and therefore the most dear to the heart of the author.<...> As for the people of the old aesthetic concepts, whose tastes and morality lived out their days, they could no longer noticeably damage the success of the drama. The Thunderstorm was a turning point for this public. They still grumbled at her, but after the success was determined, a new count of the author's fame began precisely from this drama. And already to his next works "The Thunderstorm" was applied as a measure of "graceful", and his new plays were reproached with the merits of the old, grumpy masterpiece. This is how literary history moves.
From the day of the first performance of "The Storm" in literary and theatrical criticism up to the present day, there have been disputes about the genre of this play and the originality of its main conflict. The author himself, paying tribute to traditions, as well as a number of critics and literary scholars, saw in "The Thunderstorm" a social and everyday drama, since it is characterized by special attention to everyday life. In addition, the whole history of the drama that preceded Ostrovsky did not know such a tragedy in which the heroes were individuals, and not historical or legendary ones.
SP Shevyrev, who was at one of the first performances, considered "The Thunderstorm" a philistine comedy.
Ostrovsky wrote down the Russian comedy to the merchant's guild, began with the first, brought it to the third - and now, having gone bankrupt, she is being discharged with tears to the bourgeoisie. Here is the result of "Thunderstorm", which I saw last week ... I think Kositskaya should have strangled herself, not drown herself. The latter is too old ... Strangling would be more modern.S. P. Shevyrev - A. N. Verstovsky. October 25, 1859
You have never revealed your poetic powers so much as in this play ... In The Thunderstorm, you took on a plot that is full of poetry through and through - a plot impossible for someone who does not have poetry ... Katerina's love belongs to the same phenomena of moral nature, which include world cataclysms in physical nature ... Simplicity, naturalness and some kind of meek horizon that clothe all this drama, along which heavy and ominous clouds pass from time to time, further enhances the impression of an imminent catastrophe.
The impression is strong, deep and mainly positively general was produced not by the second action of the drama, which, although with some difficulty, can still be drawn to the punishing and accusatory kind of literature, but the end of the third, in which (the end) there is absolutely nothing else , except for the poetry of folk life - boldly, widely and freely captured by the artist in one of its essential moments, which do not allow not only exposure, but even criticism and analysis, so this moment is captured and transmitted poetically directly ... The name for this writer, for such a great, despite his flaws, shortcomings, a writer is not a satirist, but a folk poet. The word for solving his activity is not "tyranny", but "nationality". Only this word can be the key to understanding his works.
The Thunderstorm is undoubtedly Ostrovsky's most decisive work; the mutual relations of petty tyranny and speechlessness are brought in it to the most tragic consequences ... There is even something refreshing and encouraging in "The Storm". This “something” is, in our opinion, the background of the play, indicated by us and revealing the instability and imminent end of tyranny. Then the very character of Katerina, depicted against this background, also blows on us with a new life, which opens up to us in her very death ... Russian life has finally reached the point that virtuous and respectable, but weak and impersonal creatures do not satisfy public consciousness and are recognized worthless. An urgent need was felt for people, albeit less beautiful, but more active and energetic.
If we understand the death of Katerina as a result of a collision with her mother-in-law, if we see her as a victim of family oppression, then the scale of the heroes will indeed turn out to be too small for a tragedy. But if you see that the fate of Katerina was determined by the collision of two historical eras, then the "heroic" interpretation of her character, proposed by Dobrolyubov, will turn out to be quite legitimate.
The Thunderstorm is a classic tragedy. Her characters appear from the very beginning as complete types - carriers of one character or another - and no longer change to the end. The classicism of the play is emphasized not only by the traditional tragic conflict between duty and feeling, but above all by the system of image-types.<...> It is no coincidence that the play's resonator Kuligin endlessly recites classicistic poetry. The lines of Lomonosov and Derzhavin are called upon to play the role of a kind of positive beginning in the hopeless atmosphere of the "Thunderstorm".<...>
Kuligin reads verses of high calm to the place and out of place, and Ostrovsky subtly puts into his mouth not the main, not decisive words of the great poets. But both the author and the educated connoisseur of the play knew what lines followed the bully declaration. Eternal doubts: "I am a king - I am a slave - I am a worm - I am God!", The last questions: "But where, nature, is your law?" and "Tell me, why are we so sick?"
These unsolvable problems are solved by "Thunderstorm". Therefore, Ostrovsky so persistently appeals to classicism that he seeks to give significance to the philistine drama. The level of approach is overestimated, just as the remarks establish the point of view of the city of Kalinov - from top to bottom, from the “high bank of the Volga”.As a result, the philistine drama turns into a philistine tragedy.P.L. Weil, A.A.Genis. Native speech. 1991
♦ What is your impression after reading The Storm on your own? Whose point of view about the genre of the play seems more convincing to you?
3. Let's reread the play
Exercise 1
Alexander Ostrovsky
Storm
Drama in five acts
Drama as a genre of literature is one of the main genres (types) of drama as a kind of literature, along with tragedy and comedy. The drama predominantly reproduces the private life of people, but its main goal is not to ridicule morals, but to portray the personality in its dramatic relationship with society.
At the same time, like tragedy, drama tends to recreate acute contradictions, but at the same time these contradictions are not so intense and allow for the possibility of a successful resolution.
The concept of drama as a genre took shape in the second half of the 18th century. from the educators. 19-20 century drama is predominantly psychological. Certain varieties of drama merge with related genres, using their means of expression, for example, the techniques of tragicomedy, farce, and theater of masks.
Assignment 2
The list of characters (poster) of the play is a very significant part of its exposition and gives the first idea of \u200b\u200bthe city of Kalinov and its inhabitants. What ideas can a viewer get by opening this poster? Pay attention to: a) the order of the characters in the list (social and family plans); b) the nature of the names and surnames; c) the situation in the city; d) place and time of action.
Note: Revealing the meaning of names and surnames in the plays of A.N. Ostrovsky helps to comprehend both the plot and the main images. Although surnames and first names cannot be called “speaking” in this case, since this is a feature of the plays of classicism, they are speaking in a broad - symbolic - sense of the word.
Persons:
Savel Prokofievich Dikoy, merchant, significant person in the city.
Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, a young man, decently educated.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha), a wealthy merchant's wife, a widow.
Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov, her son.
Katerina, his wife.
Varvara, sister of Tikhon.
Kuligin, a philistine, self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile.
Vanya Kudryash, a young man, Dikov's clerk.
Shapkin, tradesman.
Feklusha, the wanderer.
Glasha, the girl in Kabanova's house.
A lady with two footmen, an old woman of 70, half-mad.
Urban residents of both sexes.
The action takes place in the city of Kalinovo, on the banks of the Volga, in the summer.
10 days pass between actions 3 and 4.
Assignment 3
E. G. Kholodov speaks of A. N. Ostrovsky's amazing ability to find such names, patronymics and surnames for his characters, which are so organic and natural that they seem the only possible ones. He cites the opinions of various literary scholars that the names indicate the author's attitude to his characters, that they reflect their significant moral aspirations or inner qualities, that, using meaningful names and surnames in order to characterize the characters, Ostrovsky strictly followed the traditions of classicism.
♦ Do you think Ostrovsky followed the classicist tradition in choosing names and surnames for his characters? Explanations for the assignment. To prove the thesis about following Ostrovsky's rules of classicism, researchers put forward the following assumptions: Katerina in translation from Greek means "eternally pure", her patronymic is Petrovna, which translates as "stone" - by her name and patronymic the playwright allegedly emphasizes high morality, strength, decisiveness, the character of the heroine. Wild's patronymic "Prokofich" in translation from Greek means "successful", Barbara - "rough", Glasha - "smooth", that is, sensible, reasonable.
Assignment 4
Please note that in the list of characters, some characters are presented in full - first name, patronymic, last name, others - only first name and patronymic, others - only first name or only patronymic. Is this accidental? Try to explain why.
4. Checking homework: Students' performance on the topic "Character analysis by type" (individual messages).
1. Savel Prokofievich Wild, a merchant, a significant person in the city.
Wild in the northern Russian regions meant "stupid, crazy, insane, insane, crazy", and wild - "to fool, bliss, go crazy." Initially, Ostrovsky intended to give the hero a patronymic Petrovich (from Peter - "stone"), but there was no strength, firmness in this character, and the playwright gave the Wild patronymic Prokofievich (from Prokofiy - "successful"). This was more suitable for a greedy, ignorant, cruel and rude person who at the same time was one of the richest and most powerful merchants in the city.
The principles of character naming, i.e. the use of a one-term, two-term and three-term anthroponym are directly related to the social status of the character. The three-member is found not only among the heads of families (i.e., emphasizes the family role), but also among the nobility, wealthy merchants, i.e. people with high social status. It doesn't matter what his place in the character system is, his role in the plot. For example, in the play "The Thunderstorm" Savel Prokofievich Dikoy has a three-term anthroponym, an episodic character participating in three phenomena.
2. Boris Grigorievich, his nephew, a young man, decently educated.
Boris Grigorievich - Dikiy's nephew. He is one of the most feeble characters in the play. Boris himself says about himself: “I’m walking completely killed… I’m driven, hammered…”
After all, Boris's mother "could not get along with her relatives", "it seemed very wild to her." This means that Boris is Dikoy by his father. What follows from this? And then it follows that he was unable to defend his love and protect Katerina. After all, he is flesh of the flesh of his ancestors and knows that he is entirely in the power of the “dark kingdom”.
Boris is a kind, well-educated person. It stands out sharply against the background of the merchant environment. But he is by nature a weak person. Boris is forced to humiliate himself in front of his uncle, Dikim, for the hope of an inheritance that he will leave him. Although the hero himself knows that this will never happen, he, nevertheless, curses up with the tyrant, enduring his antics. Boris is unable to defend himself or his beloved Katerina. In misfortune, he only rushes about and cries: “Oh, if these people knew how it feels for me to say goodbye to you! Oh my God! God grant that someday they would feel as sweet as I am now ... You villains! Fiends! Eh, if only there were strength! " But Boris does not have this power, so he is not able to alleviate Katerina's suffering and support her choice, taking her with him.
Katerina cannot love and respect such her husband, and her soul longs for love. She falls in love with Dikiy's nephew, Boris. But Katerina fell in love with him, as Dobrolyubov aptly put it, “out of people,” because, in essence, Boris is not much different from Tikhon, except that he is a little more educated. She chose Boris almost unconsciously, the only difference between him and Tikhon is that the name (Boris in Bulgarian means "fighter").
Boris's lack of will, his desire to receive his part of his grandmother's inheritance (and he will receive it only if he is respectful to his uncle) turned out to be stronger than love.
3. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova (Kabanikha), a wealthy merchant's wife, a widow.
Kabanova is a heavy, heavy woman. It is no coincidence that Kabanova bears the name Martha - "mistress, mistress of the house": she really holds the house completely in her hands, all household members are forced to obey her. In the New Testament, Martha is the sister of Mary and Lazarus, in whose house Christ stayed. When Christ comes to them, both sisters tried to show respect to the distinguished Guest. Martha, distinguished by her lively and active disposition, immediately began to take care of the preparation of the treat. Her sister Mary, a quiet and contemplative person, sat down at the Savior's feet in deep humility and listened to His words. The different character of the sisters - the practical Martha and the contemplative Mary - became a symbol of different attitudes in the life of Christians. These two attitudes can also be seen in Ostrovsky's play: Kabanikha mainly perceives the formal side of the patriarchal world, which has developed over centuries of lifestyle, so she tries so hard to preserve long-obsolete customs, the meaning of which she no longer understands. Katerina, like Mary, embodies a different approach to life: she sees the poetry of the patriarchal world, it is no coincidence that ideal patriarchal relationships based on mutual love are recreated in her monologue: “I used to get up early; If in the summer, I'll go to the spring, wash, bring some water with me and that's it, I'll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go with mamma to church, all the pilgrims — our house was full of pilgrims; yes praying mantis. And we will come back from church, sit down for some work, more on velvet in gold, and the wanderers will begin to tell: where have they been, what they have seen, they have different lives, or they sing poems. So the time will pass until lunchtime. Here the old women will fall asleep, and I walk in the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good! " The difference between Kabanikha and Katerina in their views on life is clearly manifested in the scene of Tikhon's departure.
Kabanova. You boasted that you loved your husband very much; I see your love now. Another good wife, after seeing her husband off, howls for an hour and a half, lies on the porch; and you, apparently, nothing.
Katerina. There is nothing! And I don't know how. What makes people laugh!
Kabanova. The trick is not great. If she loved, I would have learned. If you don’t know how to do it, you would at least make this example; still more decent; but that, apparently, only in words.
In fact, Katerina is very worried, seeing off Tikhon: it is no coincidence that she rushes to his neck, asks to take her with him, wants him to take from her a terrible oath of allegiance. But Kabanikha misunderstands her actions: “What are you hanging around your neck, shameless woman! You don't say goodbye to your lover! He is your husband - the head! Don't you know the order? Bow at your feet! " Kabanikha's teachings echo the words of Martha, who is unhappy that Mary does not help her, but listens to Christ.
It is interesting that Ignatievna, that is, “not knowing” or “ignoring”. They do not notice what is happening with people close to them, do not understand that their ideas about happiness are completely different. Both are absolutely sure that they are right, they force others to live by their own rules. And thus, they are indirectly to blame for the tragedy of Larisa and Katerina, Kabanikha provokes Barbara to escape.
Her speech is a mixture of rudeness, cold commanding tone with feigned resignation and sanctimonious sighs. From her words, one can see her attitude towards her family: she despises Tikhon, is cold to Varvara and hates Katerina.
Widows in Ostrovsky's plays, as a rule, regardless of their social status, have three-member anthroponyms: these are independent women who have to raise children, arrange their fates. In the plays analyzed, both widows also have a high social position.
4. Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov, her son.
The connection with the word "quiet" is obvious. Tikhon is afraid to contradict his mother, he can not even stand up for Katerina, protect her from her unfair accusations.
Kabanov Tikhon Ivanovich - one of the main characters, the son of Kabanikha, husband of Katerina. In the list of characters, it follows directly behind Kabanova, and it is said about him - "her son". This is the actual position of Tikhon in the city of Kalinov and in the family. Belonging, like a number of other characters in the play (Varvara, Kudryash, Shapkin), to the younger generation of Kalinovites, T, in its own way, marks the end of the patriarchal order. Kalinov's youth no longer wants to adhere to the old ways in everyday life. However, Tikhon, Varvara, Kudryash are alien to Katerina's maximalism, and unlike the central heroines of the play, Katerina and Kabanikha, all these characters take the position of everyday compromises. Of course, the oppression of their elders is hard for them, but they have learned to bypass it, each in accordance with their character. Formally recognizing the authority of elders and the authority of customs over themselves, they constantly go against them. But it is against the background of their unconscious and compromising position that Katerina looks significant and morally high.
Tikhon in no way corresponds to the role of a husband in a patriarchal family: to be the ruler, but also to support and protect the wife. A gentle and weak man, he rushes between the harsh demands of his mother and compassion for his wife. He loves Katerina, but not in the way that a husband should love according to the norms of patriarchal morality, and the feeling for Katerina is not what she should have for him according to her own ideas: “No, how not to love! I feel very sorry for him! " she says to Barbara. “If it's a pity, it's not love. And there’s nothing at all, we must tell the truth, ”Varvara answers. For Tikhon, breaking free from the care of his mother means going on a spree, drinking. “Yes, mamma, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live by my own will! " - he answers the endless reproaches and instructions of Kabanikha. Humiliated by the reproaches of his mother, he is ready to frustrate his vexation with Katerina, and only the intercession of his sister Varvara, letting him secretly from his mother to have a drink at a party, ends the scene.
At the same time, Tikhon loves Katerina, trying to teach her to live in her own way ("Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her talk, but let her go deaf ears!" He consoles his wife, upset by the attacks of her mother-in-law). And yet he does not want to sacrifice two weeks "without a thunderstorm" over him, to take Katerina on a trip. He generally does not understand very clearly what is happening to her. When his mother makes him pronounce a ritual order to his wife, how to live without him, how to behave in the absence of her husband, neither Kabanikh nor he, saying: “Don't look at the guys,” do not suspect how close all this is to the situation in their family. And yet Tikhon's attitude to his wife is human, it has a personal connotation. After all, it is he who objects to his mother: “Why should she be afraid? It's enough for me that she loves me. " Finally, when Katerina asks to take the terrible vows from her in parting, T. fearfully replies: “What are you! What are you! What a sin! I don't want to listen! " But, paradoxically, it is precisely T.'s softness in Katerina's eyes that is not so much a virtue as a disadvantage. He cannot help her either when she is struggling with sinful passion, or after her public repentance. And his reaction to treason is not at all the same as the patriarchal morality dictates in such a situation: “Here mama says that she must be buried alive in the ground so that she is executed! And I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. " He cannot fulfill the advice of Kuligin, he cannot protect Katerina from the wrath of her mother, from the ridicule of the household. He is "sometimes affectionate, sometimes angry, but he drinks everything." And only over the body of his dead wife did T. decide to rebel against her mother, publicly accusing her of the death of Katerina, and it was with this publicity that he inflicted the most terrible blow on Kabanikha.
Young Kabanov not only does not respect himself, but also allows his mother to treat his wife roughly. This is especially evident in the scene of farewell before leaving for the fair. Tikhon word for word repeats all the instructions and moral teachings of his mother. Kabanov could not resist his mother in anything, he slowly drank himself and thus became even more weak-willed and quiet.
Tikhon is a kind, but weak person, he rushes between fear of his mother and compassion for his wife. The hero loves Katerina, but not in the way Kabanikha demands - harshly, "like a man." He does not want to prove his power to his wife, he needs warmth and affection: “Why should she be afraid? It's enough for me that she loves me. " But Tikhon does not receive this in the house of Kabanikha. At home, he is forced to play the role of an obedient son: “Yes, mamma, I don’t want to live by my own will! Where can I live by my own will! " His only outlet is business trips, where he forgets all his humiliations, drowning them in wine. Despite the fact that Tikhon loves Katerina, he does not understand what is happening to his wife, what mental anguish she is experiencing. Tikhon's softness is one of his negative qualities. It is because of her that he cannot help his wife in her struggle with passion for Boris, he cannot alleviate the fate of Katerina even after her public repentance. Although he himself reacted to his wife's betrayal gently, not being angry with her: “Here mamma says that she must be buried alive in the ground so that she would be executed! And I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. " Only over the body of his dead wife Tikhon decides to rebel against his mother, publicly blaming her for the death of Katerina. It is this riot in public that inflicts the worst blow on Kabanikha.
It is significant that Tikhon, the married son of Kabanikha, is designated as her son: he was never able to free himself from the power of his mother, to become truly independent.
5. Katerina, his wife.
Katherine is translated from Greek as "pure". Despite the fact that she commits two terrible sins: adultery and suicide, she remains morally pure, therefore, she is opposed to all other characters. The heroine realizes her guilt, cannot hide it, and therefore confesses to Tikhon that she has committed a sin right on the street. She feels the need for punishment; sincerely he suffers that he cannot repent, that he cannot feel the sinfulness of his love. She silently endures Kabanikha's reproaches, realizing their justice (before the heroine did not want to listen to undeserved reproaches), and, according to Tikhon, “melts like wax”. An important role in the fate of Katerina was played by Varvara, who herself arranged her meeting with Boris. Ostrovsky uses not the canonical form (Catherine), but the folk, emphasizing the folk-poetic side of the heroine's character, her folk worldview, which is expressed in the desire to fly, the idea of \u200b\u200ba "grave": "Under the tree is a grave ... how good! .. Her sun it warms, wets it with rain ... in the spring the grass will grow on it, so soft ... the birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, the children will be brought out, the flowers will bloom: yellow, red, blue ... all sorts. " A large number of words with diminutive suffixes are also characteristic of folklore.
This image, in its own way, indicates the end of the patriarchal order. T. no longer considers it necessary to adhere to the old rules in everyday life. But, by virtue of his character, he cannot act as he sees fit and go against his mother. His choice is an everyday compromise: “Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her talk, and let her go deaf ears! "
All the characters call Katerina only by her first name; Boris calls her first name and patronymic once when she comes to see him. The appeal is also conditioned by the communication situation: Boris is surprised that Katerina made a date herself, he is afraid to approach her and start a conversation.
A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" was written in the 50s-60s of the 19th century. This is the time when serfdom existed in Russia, but the arrival of a new force - the commoners-intellectuals - was clearly seen. A new topic has appeared in the literature - the position of women in the family and society. The central place in the drama is occupied by the image of Katerina. The relationship with the rest of the characters in the play determines its fate. Many events in the drama are played with thunder. On the one hand, this is a natural phenomenon, on the other, it is a symbol of the state of mind, therefore, each of the characters is characterized through their attitude to the thunderstorm. Katerina is insanely afraid of thunderstorms, which shows her mental confusion. An internal, invisible thunderstorm rages in the soul of the heroine herself.
To understand the tragic fate of Katerina, consider what this girl is. Her childhood was spent in the patriarchal-domostroevsky time, which left an imprint on the character of the heroine and her outlook on life. Katerina's childhood years were happy and cloudless. Her mother was very fond of her, in the words of Ostrovsky, "doted on her soul." The girl took care of flowers, which were in the house a lot, embroidered "on velvet with gold", listened to the stories of the praying moths, went with her mother to church. Katerina is a dreamer, but her dream world does not always correspond to reality. The girl does not even seek to understand real life, she can at any moment give up everything that does not suit her, and again plunge into her world, where she sees angels. Her upbringing gave her dreams a religious flavor. This girl, so inconspicuous at first glance, has a strong will, pride and independence, which manifested itself already in childhood. While still a six-year-old girl, Katerina, offended by something, ran away to the Volga in the evening. It was a kind of protest of a child. And later, in a conversation with Varya, she will point out one more side of her character: "This is how I was born hot." Her free and independent nature is revealed through the desire to fly. "Why don't people fly like birds?" - these seemingly strange words emphasize the independence of Katerina's character.
Katerina appears before us as if from two perspectives. On the one hand, she is a strong, proud, independent person, on the other, a quiet, religious and submissive girl to fate and parental will. Katerina's mother was convinced that her daughter "would love any husband," and, flattered by a profitable marriage, she married her to Tikhon Kabanov. Katerina did not love her future husband, but meekly obeyed her mother's will. Moreover, because of her religiosity, she believes that a husband is given by God, and tries to love him: “I will love my husband. Tisha, my dear, I will not trade you for anyone. " Having married Kabanov, Katerina found herself in a completely different world, alien to her. But you cannot leave him, she is a married woman, the concept of sinfulness binds her. The cruel, closed world of Kalinov is fenced off by an invisible wall from the external "unrestrainedly huge" world. We understand why Katerina wants so much to escape from the city and fly over the Volga, over the meadows: "I would fly out into the field and fly from cornflower to cornflower in the wind, like a butterfly."
Imprisoned in the "dark kingdom" of the ignorant wild and boar, faced with a rude and oppressive mother-in-law, an inert husband, in whom she does not see support and support, Katerina protests. Her protest turns into love for Boris. Boris is not much different from her husband, except perhaps in education. He studied in Moscow, at the commercial academy, his horizons are broader in comparison with other representatives of the city of Kalinov. It is difficult for him, like Katerina, to get along with the Wild and the Kabanovs, but he is just as inert and weak-willed as Tikhon. Boris cannot do anything for Katerina, he understands her tragedy, but advises her to submit to fate and thereby betrays her. Desperate Katerina reproaches him for ruining her. But Boris is only an indirect reason. After all, Katerina is not afraid of human condemnation, she is afraid of the wrath of God. The main tragedy takes place in her soul. Being religious, she understands that cheating on her husband is a sin, but the strong side of her nature cannot come to terms with the environment of the Kabanovs. Katerina is tormented by terrible conscience. She is torn between her lawful husband and Boris, between a righteous life and a fall. She cannot forbid herself to love Boris, but she executes herself in her soul, believing that by her act she is rejecting God. These sufferings bring her to the point that, unable to withstand the pangs of conscience and fearing God's punishment, she throws herself at her husband's feet and confesses everything to him, giving her life into his hands. Katerina's mental anguish is intensified by a storm.
It's not for nothing that Dikoy says that the storm is sending punishment. “I didn’t know that you were so afraid of a thunderstorm,” Varvara tells her. “How, girl, do not be afraid! - answers Katerina. - Everyone should be afraid. Not that it’s scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins ... ”The thunderclap was the last straw that filled the cup of Katerina's suffering. Everyone around reacts to her recognition in their own way. Kabanova offers to bury her in the earth alive, Tikhon, on the contrary, forgives Katerina. The husband forgave, Katerina, as it were, received absolution.
But her conscience remained troubled, and she did not find the desired freedom and was again forced to live in the "dark kingdom." The pangs of conscience and the fear of forever staying among the Kabanovs and becoming one of them lead Katerina to the idea of \u200b\u200bsuicide. How could a devout woman decide to commit suicide? Endure torment and the evil that is here on earth, or get away from all this on your own? Katerina is driven to despair by the soulless attitude of people towards her and the pangs of conscience, so she rejects the opportunity to stay alive. Her death was inevitable.
In the image of his heroine, Ostrovsky painted a new type of an original, whole, selfless Russian girl who challenged the kingdom of the wild and boar. Dobrolyubov rightly called Katerina "a bright ray in the dark kingdom."
6. Barbara, sister of Tikhon.
Wild, headstrong characters, except for the Wild one, are represented in the play by Barbara (she is a pagan, "barbarian", not a Christian and behaves accordingly).
Her name means “rough” when translated from Greek.
This heroine is really quite simple spiritually, rude. She knows how to lie when needed. Its principle is “do what you want, if only it is sewn and covered”. Varvara is kind in her own way, loves Katerina, she helps her, as it seems to her, to find love, arranges a date, but does not think about the consequences of all this. This heroine is in many ways opposed to Katerina - according to the principle of contrast, the scenes of the meeting between Kudryash and Varvara, on the one hand, and Katerina and Boris, on the other, are constructed.
Barbara from Greek as “came from foreign lands”, ie ignorant wild (neighboring peoples were backward in comparison with the Greeks). Indeed, Varvara easily transcends morality: she meets Kudryash, then, when her mother locks her up, runs away with him. She does not obey the rules that forbid her to do what she wants without feeling the slightest remorse. Her motto is: “do what you want, if only it is sewn and covered”. Therefore, she does not understand the torment of Katerina, she does not feel guilty that she pushed her to sin.
Barbara cannot be denied intelligence, cunning and lightness; before marriage, she wants to be in time everywhere, to try everything, because she knows that “girls walk for themselves as they want, father and mother do not care. Only women are locked up. " Lying is the norm for her. In a conversation with Katerina, she directly says this:
“Katerina. I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.
Barbara. Well, without this it is impossible ... Our whole house rests on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when I needed to. "
Barbara adapted to the "dark kingdom", learned its laws and rules. In her, one feels authority, strength, a desire to deceive. She is, in fact, the future Kabanikha, because the apple falls not far from the apple tree.
7. Kuligin, philistine, self-taught watchmaker looking for a perpetuum mobile.
"Self-taught mechanic", as the hero presents himself. Kuligin, in addition to the well-known associations with Kulibin, also evokes the impression of something small, defenseless: in this terrible swamp he is a sandpiper - a bird and nothing else. He praises Kalinov as a sandpiper praises its swamp.
P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky wrote in his review of The Thunderstorm: "... Mr. Ostrovsky very skillfully gave this man the famous name of Kulibin, who in the past century and at the beginning of this one brilliantly proved what an unlearned Russian man can do by the power of his genius and unbending will."
But not everything is so gloomy; living, sensitive souls are also found in the "dark kingdom". This is a self-taught mechanic Kuligin, looking for a perpetual motion machine. He is kind and active, obsessed with a constant desire to do something useful for people. However, all his good intentions run up against a thick wall of misunderstanding, indifference, ignorance. So, on an attempt to put steel lightning rods on houses, he receives a fierce rebuff from the Wild: “A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and rods of some sort, God forgive me”.
Kuligin is a reasoner in the play, a condemnation of the “dark kingdom” is put into his mouth: “Cruel, sir, manners in our city, cruel ... ... "
But Kuligin, like Tikhon, Boris, Varvara, Kudryash, adapted to the "dark kingdom", resigned himself to such a life, he is just one of the inhabitants of the "dark kingdom".
8. Vanya Kudryash, a young man, Dikov's clerk.
The use of the diminutive form of the name is indicative: not Ivan, but Vanya, he is not yet independent in everything: he serves the Wild, although he can afford to be rude to him, knowing that he needs him.
It is unclear whether the anthroponym Kudryash is a surname or a nickname. Such a surname exists in the language along with the surname Kudryashov. Most likely, the anthroponym reflects the process of transition from a nickname to a surname, which corresponds to the anthroponymic situation in the second half of the 19th century. The use of an anthroponym in the play is close to the use of a surname: in the list of characters he is designated as Vanya Kudryash, and Tikhon says that Varvara "ran away with Kudryash and Vanka."
Clerk of the Wild, but unlike other employees of the merchant, knows how to stand up for himself. He is smart and sharp in language, his characteristics of other characters, judgments about life are accurate and figurative. The image of Kudryash has analogies in Koltsov's poetry. You can, for example, establish a connection with Likhach Kudryavich ("The first song of Likhach Kudryavich"), about which it is said:
With joy, fun
Hop curls curl;
With no care
They don't split ...
On time and on time
The rivers flow like honey;
And from morning to night
Songs are sung ...
Barbara's friend, Ivan Kudryash, is a match for her. He is the only one in the city of Kalinov who can answer Dikiy. “I am considered rude; what is he holding me for? Therefore, he needs me. Well, that means I'm not afraid of him, but let him be afraid of me ... ”, - says Kudryash. In conversation, he behaves cheekily, smartly, boldly, bragging about his prowess, red tape, knowledge of the "merchant institution". Kudryash is the second Wild, only he is still young.
In the end, Barbara and Kudryash leave the "dark kingdom", but does this escape mean that they have completely freed themselves from old traditions and laws and will become a source of new laws of life and honest rules? Hardly. Once free, they will most likely try to become the masters of life themselves.
9. Shapkin, tradesman.
The townspeople are often named by their last names: Kuligin, Shapkin.
10. Feklusha, the wanderer.
Feklusha tells the residents of the city about other countries. They listen to her, focus their attention only on this. At the same time, she, unnoticed by others, speaks the truth about people. But they don't hear it, because they don't want to hear it. Feklusha praises the city of Kalinov, a quiet life in it. People are happy that their city is so magnificent, they don't need anything else. They only support Feklusha with alms, which is what she wants
The wanderer Feklusha is called by everyone by name, they use the folk diminutive form, which reflects the real use of names in speech (remember, for example, the wanderer Fedosyushka in Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace").
In the "dark kingdom" the wanderer Feklusha enjoys great reverence and respect. Feklushi's stories about the lands where people with dog heads live are perceived as irrefutable information about the world.
11. Glasha, the girl in Kabanova's house.
Servants, shop assistants in Ostrovsky's drama are named, as a rule, only by name: often the diminutive form of the name is used: Glasha.
Here, it was the satirical female images that were one of the expressions of the comedic principle. These include the wanderer Feklusha and the "girl" Glasha. Both images can be safely called grotesque-comedic. Feklusha seems to be a teller of folk legends and legends, pleasing those around her with her stories about how "the Saltans rule the earth" and "whatever they judge, everything is wrong", and about the lands "where all people are with dreadful heads." Glasha, on the other hand, is a typical reflection of ordinary "Kalinovites", listening with reverence to such Feklush, confident that "it's still good that there are good people; no, no, yes, and you will hear what is happening in the world, otherwise you would have died like fools. " Both Feklusha and Glasha belong to the "dark kingdom", dividing this world into "ours" and "alien", into patriarchal "virtue", where everything is "cool and decent," and into external vanity, from which the old order and time begin "To come into belittling". With these characters, Ostrovsky introduces the problem of the absurd ignorance and ignorance of the old conservative way of life, its inconsistency with modern trends.
12. A lady with two footmen, an old woman of 70 years old, half-mad.
13. Urban residents of both sexes.
The supporting characters are the background against which the tragedy of a desperate woman unfolds. Each person in the play, each image was a rung of the ladder that led Katerina to the bank of the Volga, to a tragic death.
Compose a story, using the material you have heard, on the theme "Traditions and customs of the city of Klinov."
Traditions and customs of the city of Klinov.
Reading the works of Ostrovsky, we involuntarily find ourselves in the atmosphere that prevails in this society, and become direct participants in those events that take place on the stage. We merge with the crowd and, as it were, observe the life of the heroes from the sidelines.
So, finding ourselves in the Volga city of Kalinov, we can observe the life and customs of its inhabitants. The bulk of them are merchants, whose life with such skill and knowledge was shown by the playwright in his plays. It is this that is the "dark kingdom" that rules the ball in such quiet provincial Volga cities as Kalinov.
Let's get acquainted with representatives of this society. At the very beginning of the work, we learn about Dick, a "significant person" in the city, a merchant. Here is how Shapkin says about him: “Look for such and such a scolder like Savel Prokofich here. No way will he cut off a person. " Immediately we hear about Kabanikha and understand that he and Dikim are "of the same field of berries."
“The view is unusual! The beauty! The soul rejoices, "exclaims Kuligin, but against the background of this beautiful landscape, a bleak picture of life is drawn, which appears before us in The Thunderstorm. It is Kuligin who gives an accurate and clear description of the way of life, manners and customs prevailing in the city of Kalinov. He is one of the few who understands the atmosphere that has developed in the city. He speaks directly about the ignorance and ignorance of the masses, about the impossibility of earning money by honest labor, of getting out of the bondage of noble and important persons in the city. They live far from civilization and do not really strive for it. The preservation of the old foundations, fear of everything new, the absence of any law and the rule of force - these are the law and the norm of their life, this is what these people live and are content with. They subjugate everyone around them, suppress any protest, any manifestation of personality.
Ostrovsky shows us typical representatives of this society - Kabanikha and Dikiy. These persons occupy a special position in society, they are feared and therefore respected, they have capital and, consequently, power. There are no general laws for them, they have created their own and force others to live in accordance with them. They strive to subdue those who are weaker and “butter up” those who are stronger. They are despots both in life and in the family. We see this unquestioning submission of Tikhon to his mother, and Boris to his uncle. But if Kabanikha scolds "under the guise of piety", then Dikoy swears "as if he broke off the chain." Neither one nor the other wants to recognize anything new, but wants to live according to the house-building order. Their ignorance, combined with stinginess, makes us not only laugh, but also a bitter smile. Let us recall the reasoning of Dikiy: "What kind of electricity is there! .. A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we feel, and you want to use some kind of poles and rods, God forgive me, to defend ourselves."
We are amazed at their heartlessness towards people dependent on them, their unwillingness to part with money, to cheat when making payments to workers. Let us recall what Dikoy says: “Somehow about fasting, about great things, I was fasting, but here it’s not easy and slip the peasant; I came for money, brought firewood ... I have sinned: I scolded, so scolded ... I almost nailed it. "
These rulers also have those who unwittingly help them to exercise their rule. This is Tikhon, who with his silence and weakness only helps to strengthen the power of mama. This is Feklusha, an uneducated, stupid writer of all sorts of fables about the civilized world, these are the townspeople who live in this city and have resigned themselves to such orders. All of them together are the "dark kingdom" that is presented in the play.
Ostrovsky, using various artistic means, showed us a typical provincial city with its customs and manners, a city where arbitrariness, violence, complete ignorance reign, where any manifestation of freedom, freedom of spirit is suppressed. "
These are the cruel customs of the city of Kalinov. The inhabitants can be divided into representatives of the "dark kingdom" and representatives of the new life. How do they live together?
Which of the heroes was able to challenge the cruel world of the "dark kingdom"? Yes, this is Katerina. Why does the author choose it?
5. Working with the tutorial on the page
The main character of the play is a young merchant's wife Katerina Kabanova. But in order to understand her character, the reasons for her actions, you need to know among which people she lives, who surrounds her. The introduction to the characters takes place in the first act of the play. 1-4, the appearance of the first act is the exposure, and in the fifth or ninth acts, the actual outset of the action of the drama takes place.
So Katerina is rushing about in this dark forest among animal-like creatures. The female names in Ostrovsky's plays are very bizarre, but the name of the main character almost always extremely accurately characterizes her role in the plot and fate. Katerina is "clean". Katerina is a victim of her purity, her religiosity, she could not stand the split in her soul, because she loved - not her husband, and severely punished herself for this. It is interesting that Marfa Ignatievna, that is, “ignorant” or, scientifically, “ignoring”, stands as if aloof from Katerina's tragedy, but she is certainly guilty (not directly, but indirectly) in the death of her daughter-in-law.
6. Let's sum up the drama "Thunderstorm"
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Theme of the play "Thunderstorm" |
The clash between new trends and old traditions, between those who oppress and those who are oppressed, between the desire for the free expression of their feelings, human rights, spiritual needs and the social and family order that prevailed in pre-reform Russia. |
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The idea of \u200b\u200bthe play |
Exposing social orders. The nature in which people live is beautiful, but the social order is ugly. Under these orders, the majority of the population is materially and spiritually dependent on the wealthy minority. |
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Conflicts |
The main one is between the old, already obsolete, authoritarian social and everyday principles, which are based on feudal-serf relations, and new, progressive aspirations for equality, freedom of the human person. The main conflict combines a knot of conflicts: identify these conflicts and fill in the table in the following lessons. |
6. Homework:by action. Tasks number 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26.
Individual task: prepare a presentation on the topic
1) "Symbolism of the play" The Thunderstorm ";
2) "The image of Katerina assessed by critics" (according to articles by Dobrolyubov and Pisarev).
Lesson number 3, 4. Play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" (1859). Katerina in the fight for her human rights.
The purpose of the lesson: to trace the reflection of the era in the play; to reveal the meaning of the name of the drama; to determine the moral issues of the play and its universal human significance.
Tasks:
Determination of the compositional structure of the play and artistic analysis of leading scenes; acquaintance with critical articles to the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm", analysis of the play's symbolism;
Developing the skills of analyzing a dramatic work and the ability to determine the author's position in a work;
Education of students' moral reading position, interest in Russian classical literature, history and culture.
Equipment: multimedia projector, screen, textbooks, notebooks, play texts, lesson presentation.
1. Organizational moment.
2. Song composition(Presentation "To the Play").
In The Thunderstorm, as in a dramatic work, the basis of the plot is the development of the conflict. The drama consists of five acts, each of which depicts a certain stage of the struggle.
1 action - the social and everyday background of the conflict, the inevitability (premonition) of the conflict;
Action 2 - the irreconcilability of contradictions and the acuteness of Katerina's conflict with the "dark kingdom"
3 act - freedom gained by Katerina - a step towards the tragic death of the heroine;
4 action - Katerina's mental confusion - a consequence of the freedom she gained;
Action 5 - Katerina's suicide as a challenge to petty tyranny.
Each action is split into separate scenes, i.e. such segments of the text, in which the development of the conflict is depicted from any one angle, is seen through the eyes of any one character. The conflict in "The Thunderstorm" develops rapidly and tensely, which is achieved by a special arrangement of scenes: with each new scene, starting from the beginning of the conflict, the tension (dramatic intensity) of the struggle grows.
3. Turning the pages of the play.
FIRST ACTION
First action. Public garden on the high bank of the Volga; rural view beyond the Volga. There are two benches and a few bushes on the stage.
The social and everyday background of the conflict, the inevitability (premonition) of the conflict - the exposition.
Assignment 5
Some researchers (A.I. Revyakin, A.A. depicting the main characters in the action itself, dialogues, etc. Some consider the entire first act as an exposition, others limit it to the first three phenomena.
Find the exposure limits in the first act of "Thunderstorms" and justify your opinion. What is the effectiveness of the "Storms" exposition, what is its significance for understanding the conflict in the play? At what point does the beginning of the action take place? Justify your point of view.
Assignment 6
Checking homework: a detailed description on the theme "Landscape of the city of Kalinov", using the remarks, monologues of Kuligin, replicas of the characters (action I - remark, phenomenon 1; action III - phenomenon 3; action IV - remark).
What, in your opinion, is the role of landscape in the play?
- What picture appears before the viewer when the curtain opens? Why is the author painting this picturesque picture in front of us? (The beauty of nature emphasizes the ugliness, the tragedy of what is happening in the human world). For another reason, Ostrovsky chose a public garden as the scene of the play, and as the time of the action - after the service in the church - it is easier and more natural to introduce the characters, whose path lies across the boulevard.
Assignment 7
Please note that immediately after Kuligin's accusatory monologue "Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel" is followed by Feklusha's remark addressed to her interlocutor: "Blaalepie, dear, blaalepie! .. You live in the promised land! And the merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues! .. ”(act I - phenomenon 3).
Why, in your opinion, Ostrovsky put together the evaluative statements of Kuligin and Feklusha? What role do they play in the first act when they are placed side by side?
Assignment 8
Homework check: What are they talking about with their young relatives Dikoy and Kabanikha?
Compare the features of their language. What vocabulary prevails in their speech? Give examples (action I - phenomena 2, 5).
Assignment 9
Homework check: Katerina's story about her life before marriage in her home (act I - phenomenon 7).
Think why the world in which her childhood and early adolescence passed seems to her so joyful, free and happy, and in the Kabanovs' house “everything seems to be out of bondage,” although, according to Varvara, “we have the same the most ".
What does the word "order" mean in the mouth of Kabanikha?
How is the emergence of a frank conversation between Katerina and Varvara motivated?
Analyze Katherine's speech. How does the heroine's speech reveal her inner world?
♦ Is it possible to find an explanation for this in the following excerpts from the book of the 16th century "Domostroy" (Monument of Old Russian Literature of the 1st half of the 16th century), which critics and literary scholars often refer to when considering the "Thunderstorm" conflict? Is Domostroy to blame for the tragic fate of Katerina in the Kabanovs' house?
I bless, a sinner named, and I teach, and instruct, and admonish my son, a name, and his wife, and their children, and household members: to follow all Christian laws and live with a clear conscience and righteousness, faithfully doing the will of God and keeping the commandments him, and affirming himself in the fear of God, in a righteous life, and teaching his wife, instructing his household in the same way, not by violence, not by beatings, not by grievous slavery, but as children, so that they would always be reassured, fed and clothed, and in warmth home, and always in order.<...>
<...> Yes, to myself, master, and wife, and children, and household members - do not steal, do not fornicate, do not lie, do not slander, do not envy, do not offend, do not talk about, do not encroach on someone else's, do not condemn, do not hawk, do not ridicule, not remember evil, not be angry with anyone, be obedient and obedient to the elders, friendly to the middle ones, friendly and merciful to the young and the poor, manage everything without red tape and especially not offend the employee in paying, endure any offense with gratitude For God's sake: both reproach and reproach, if they rightfully reproach and reproach, accept with love and avoid such recklessness, and in return do not take revenge.<...>
Husbands should teach their wives with love and exemplary instruction; the wives of their husbands inquire about the strict order, about how to save the soul, please God and the husband, and build their house well, and submit to the husband in everything; and whatever the husband punishes, so willingly agree and fulfill according to his instruction: and above all, to have the fear of God and to remain in bodily purity ... Whether the husband will come, whether it is a simple guest - she would always sit over the needlework herself: for that, she will be honored and glory, and praise to the husband, the servants would never wake the hostess, but the hostess herself woke the servants and, going to bed, after the labors, would always pray.<...>
<...> Invite the churchmen, and the poor, and the weak, and the poor, and the afflicted, and the strangers into your house, and feed them, give them water, and warm them up, and give alms from your righteous labors, for in the house, and in the market, and on the way all sins are cleansed by this: for they are intercessors before God for our sins.
Domostroy. Monument of Old Russian literature of the first half of the 16th century
♦ What housebuilding norms do the characters of "The Thunderstorm" observe and violate in their daily life? How is this reflected in the development of the play's main conflict?
Assignment 10
Get acquainted with the point of view of a modern literary critic on the monologue of Katerina under consideration. Do you agree with her? If yes, then give the development of this idea by involving the text of the entire play.
It is very important that Katerina ... did not appear from somewhere from the vastness of another life, another historical time (after all, the patriarchal Kalinov and his contemporary Moscow, where vanity is in full swing, or the railway that Feklusha talks about is a different historical time), but was born, formed in the same "Kalinovskiy" conditions. Ostrovsky speaks in detail about this already in the exposition of the play, when Katerina tells Varvara about her life as a girl. This is one of the most poetic monologues of Katerina. Here is drawn the ideal version of patriarchal relations and the patriarchal world in general. The main motive of this story is the motive of all-pervading mutual love ... But it was a "will" that did not at all contradict the centuries-old closed way of life, the whole circle of which was limited to domestic work and religious dreams. This is a world in which it does not occur to a person to oppose himself to the general, since he has not yet separated himself from this community. Therefore, there is no violence or compulsion here. The idyllic harmony of patriarchal family life has remained in the very distant past.<...>
Katerina lives in an era when the very spirit of this morality - harmony between the individual and the moral concepts of the environment - has disappeared and the ossified form of relations rests on violence and coercion. Sensitive Katerina caught it ...
A.I. Zhuravleva. Millennial monument to Russia. 1995
SECOND ACTION
Second action. A room in the Kabanovs' house.
The irreconcilability of the contradictions and the acuteness of Katerina's conflict with the "dark kingdom" are the outset.
Assignment 11
Some critics, contemporaries of Ostrovsky, reproached him for deviating from the laws of the performing arts, in particular in the abundance of characters and scenes that were completely unnecessary, not related to the basis of the play. These persons include Feklusha and Glasha, Kuligin and Dikoy, Kudryash and Shapkin, a lady with two footmen. These reproaches addressed to the playwright were refuted by N.A.Dobrolyubov:
In The Thunderstorm, the need for so-called “unnecessary faces” is especially visible: without them we cannot understand the heroine's face and can easily distort the meaning of the entire play, which is what happened with most critics.N. A. Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in the dark kingdom. 1860
Try to figure out the meaning of the second act in the play, the dialogue between Feklusha and Glasha, which seems to be very far from the events depicted in The Thunderstorm. (If this task turns out to be difficult for you, find one of the possible answers in the article by N. A. Dobrolyubov "A ray of light in the dark kingdom" (part 2)).
Assignment 12
Checking homework: It is believed that the scene of Tikhon's departure is one of the most important in the play both for revealing the characters of the heroes and for its function in the development of intrigue (phenomenon 3).
Determine the role of this scene in the development of the "Thunderstorm" action. Does Katerina's attitude towards her husband change at the moment of parting?
What feelings do Katerina and Kabanikha experience at the same time? Write directorial remarks for their lines to help them understand their emotional state.
Why does Kabanikha limit herself to just a remark, displeasure that Katerina does not howl on the porch after her husband's departure, but does not insist, does not dare to force her daughter-in-law to fulfill this custom?
Task 13
Let's return to the conversation between Katerina and Tikhon before his departure:
“Kabanov. After all, you are not alone, you will stay with your mother.
Katerina. Do not tell me about her, do not tyrannize my heart! Oh, my trouble, trouble! (Cries.) Where can I go, poor girl? Who should I grab onto? My priests, I am perishing! "
Before that, Katerina says about Kabanikha: “She offended me!”, And Tikhon replies: “Take everything to heart, so you will soon fall into consumption. Why listen to her! She needs to say something! Well, let her talk, and you just let it go. "
What is Katerina's offense? Why isn't Tikhon's words soothing her, his advice not to pay attention to her mother-in-law? Can Katerina, as we know her from the first two actions, not take to heart, pretend that she obeys Kabanikha's absurd requirements and thereby ensure herself a relatively calm existence in the house?
What is the meaning of the word "heart" in this dialogue?
Is this fragment of the dialogue between Katerina and Tikhon connected with her final decision to meet with Boris, and if so, to what extent?
Task 14
Reread the final monologue of Katerina about the key in the second act and observe how in her reflections she gradually comes to the decision to meet with Boris (from the words “Throw him, throw him far away, throw him into the river so that they will never be found” to the words “Oh, if it’s night as soon as possible! .. ”) What phrases of this monologue do you consider defining and why?
Task 15
An interesting testimony of a contemporary about how one of the famous actresses played Kabanova: in the first act she appeared on the stage as a strong, domineering, "flint-woman", threateningly pronounced her instructions to her son and daughter-in-law, then, left on the stage alone, suddenly everything changed and became good-natured. It was clear that the formidable appearance was only a mask that she wears in order to "maintain order in the house." Kabanova herself knows that the future is not hers: "Well, at least it's good that I won't see anything." (According to the book: M.P. Lobanov, Ostrovsky. 1979.)
Is such a stage interpretation of the image of Kabanikha possible? What is the reason for Kabanikha's very condescending attitude towards Varvara's behavior and uncompromising severity towards Katerina?
Do you agree with the statement that Marfa Ignatievna is far from insensitive as a mother?
THIRD ACTION
Third action. Scene 1. Street. The gates of the Kabanovs' house, a bench in front of the gates.
The freedom gained by Katerina is a step towards the tragic death of the heroine - development.
Task 16
Homework Check: Expressively read the dialogue between Kabanikha and Feklusha from Phenomenon I.
What is its main implication? Determine the mood of the interlocutors. What intonation means can you express it?
What is more comic or dramatic in the scene? Can we say that it is topical today?
Task 17
Homework Check: Why do you think Dikiy needed to “confess” to Kabanikha (apparition II)?
Why does he, the tyrant, the sovereign ruler of his household, do not want to return home ("I have a war going on there")? What is Dikaya so worried about?
Task 18
In a conversation with Kabanikha Dika, she constantly uses the word "heart": "... But why would you order me to do with yourself when I have such a heart!", "Here it is, what a heart I have!" what my heart brings me ... "; in parallel, the words "angry", "angry", "angry" are heard. Kabanikha asks: "Why are you bringing yourself into your heart on purpose?"
What is the meaning of Ostrovsky and his characters in the word "heart"?
Task 19
Read a critic's rave assessment of the scene in the ravine.
You know this moment, magnificent in its poetry - this hitherto unprecedented night of a date in a ravine, all breathing with the proximity of the Volga, all fragrant with the scent of grass of its wide meadows, all sounding free songs, "funny" secret speeches, all full of deep and tragic passion full of charm. fatal. After all, it was created as if not an artist, but a whole people created here.A. A. Grigoriev - I. S. Turgenev. 1860
Is this really a key stage in determining the direction of the play?
What do you think attracts Katerina to Boris?
Task 20
Building the stage in a ravine according to the laws of music, Ostrovsky leads in it two contrasting themes that merge in a common chord towards the finale: the disturbing, difficult love of Katerina and Boris and the free, reckless love of Varvara and Kudryash. It is these two faces - Varvara and Kudryash - who most powerfully personify the will, which even Kabanikha and Dikoy cannot suppress.
A. N. Anastas'ev. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm". 1975
Do you agree with this point of view of a literary critic? Are there any other assessments of the characters in The Storm in this scene and in its composition itself?
Homework check: What role do the songs of Kudryash and Varvara play in these scenes?
FOURTH ACTION
Action four. In the foreground there is a narrow gallery with vaults of an old building that is beginning to collapse; here and there grass and bushes; behind the arches there is a bank and a view of the Volga.
Katerina's mental confusion - a consequence of the freedom she has gained - is the culmination.
Task 21
Homework check: What is new in the customs of the "dark kingdom" we learn from the dialogue between Kuligin and Boris? How does the topic of this dialogue compare with the conversation between Kudryash and Boris preceding the meeting? How are these dialogues related to the main event of the third act?
Task 22
Read the second phenomenon of the fourth act, analyze the author's remarks and, on the basis of this, write director's remarks to the dialogue between Dikiy and Kuligin, revealing the inner state of the speakers. They will help you determine your interpretation of these characters in the play.
Sample assignment
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Director's remarks |
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Kuligin. Yes, even for you, your degree, Savel Prokofich. That would be, sir, on the boulevard, in a clean place and put it. And what is the expense? The expense is empty: a stone column (shows with gestures the size of each thing), a copper plate, so round, and a straight hairpin (shows with a gesture), the simplest one. I'll fix it all up, and I'll cut out the numbers myself. Now you, your dignity, when you deign to walk, or others who are walking, now come up and see what time it is. And that kind of place is beautiful, and the view, and that's all, but it seems empty. With us, too, your degree, there are travelers, they go there to see our views, after all, decoration is more pleasant for the eyes. |
option: persistently, with dignity, bitterness, restrained, quiet, etc. option: loudly, excitedly, hastily, respectfully, etc. (Options of your choice.) |
♦ Checking homework: Why is Ostrovsky much more likely to accompany Diky's speech with his own remarks than Kuligin's?
Why did Derzhavin's verses quoted by Kuligin anger Dikiy? Why did he promise to send Kuligin to the mayor? What did he see in the verses? ("Hey, honorable ones, listen to what he says!")
Task 23
In criticism and literary criticism, Kuligin was usually assessed either as an advanced person, an intellectual from the people, associating his surname with the surname of the inventor Kulibin, or as a person who understood everything, but downtrodden, a kind of victim of the "dark kingdom".
Meet another point of view belonging to a modern literary critic:
Not only the dark Kalinov inhabitants, but also Kuligin, who performs some of the functions of the hero-resonator in the play, is still flesh from the flesh of the Kalinov world. His image is consistently colored in archaic tones ... Kuligin's technical ideas are a clear anachronism. The sundial that he dreams of comes from antiquity, the lightning rod is a technical discovery of the 18th century. Kuligin is a dreamer and a poet, but he writes “in the old fashioned way”, like Lomonosov and Derzhavin. And his stories about the customs of the Kalinovka inhabitants are sustained in even older stylistic traditions, recalling old moralizing stories and apocrypha. Kind and delicate, dreaming of changing the lives of his fellow countrymen, having received an award for the discovery of a perpetual motion machine, he seems to them something like an urban holy fool.
A.I. Zhuravleva. Millennial monument to Russia. 1995
Task 24
Review the following interpretations of Katherine's repentance scene.
Reviewing the production of The Storm at the Maly Theater (1962), E. G. Kholodov notes that in the scene of repentance, Rufina Nifontova, who played Katerina, rises to a truly tragic force.
No, it was not a thunderstorm, not the prophecies of a crazy old woman, not fear of the fire of hell that prompted this Katerina to confess. For her honest and whole nature, the false position in which she found herself is unbearable. How humanely, with what deep pity Katerina says, looking into Tikhon's eyes: "My dear!" At that moment, it seems, she forgot not only Boris, but herself. And it is in this state of self-forgetfulness that she shouts out words of recognition, without thinking about the consequences. And when Kabanikha asks: "With whom ... Well, with whom?", She firmly and proudly, without challenge, but with dignity replies: "With Boris Grigorievich."
E. G. Kholodov. "Storm". Small theater. A. N. Ostrovsky on the Soviet stage. 1974
If Katerina was led to Boris by the passion that gripped her, then why, in the fourth act, did she publicly, publicly repent of her sin? After all, she knew, could not help but know that this would entail shame, abuse, not to mention the collapse of love. However, even in this most difficult and risky scene, Ostrovsky created a psychologically undeniable situation in which Katerina could not act differently if she remained herself. Not "a confluence of empty circumstances", but the greatest, cruel, insurmountable test for a pure and believing soul, Katerina met in the destroyed church gallery. Consistently - in full agreement with the truth of life, with the reality of the situation and at the same time with the great dramatic art - the writer pounds his heroine blow after blow.
In the sequence of these blows - as in music - one can feel the contrast, the intensification of the action, the foreshadowing of the thunderstorm and the thunderstorm itself. First, a woman’s remark, thrown in passing: “If it’s written to someone, you won’t go anywhere.” Then Tikhon's joke, seemingly inappropriate in this tense atmosphere: "Katya, repent, brother, if you are in any way sinful." Further - the unexpected appearance of Boris - a living reminder of unfortunate love. In the discord of the conversation, one can hear that the thunderstorm will kill someone today - "therefore, look, what color is unmarked!" A sharp note of increasing tension is brought in by the Lady with her prophecies. But this is not enough! Hiding by the wall, Katerina sees the image of "fiery hell" and can no longer stand it - she tells everything ...
In the drama "Thunderstorm" there is absolutely no concept of "fate", the hero's tragic guilt and retribution as a constructive element. Moreover, the author's efforts are aimed at criticizing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe hero's tragic guilt. Ostrovsky convincingly shows that modern society ruins the best, most gifted and pure natures, but such observations force him to conclude that the relations that prevail in modern society are subject to change.L. M. Lotman. A. N. Ostrovsky and Russian drama of his time. 1961
Compare the proposed interpretations. Which one, in your opinion, helps to better understand the motives of Katerina's behavior?
Task 25
A. N. Anastasiev. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm". 1975It is important that it is here, in Kalinov, in the soul of an extraordinary, poetic Kalinov woman, a new attitude to the world is born, a new feeling, which is still unclear to the heroine herself ... This vague feeling, which Katerina cannot, of course, explain rationally, is the awakening sense of personality ... In the soul of the heroine, it naturally takes not the form of a civil, public protest - this would be inconsistent with the structure of concepts and the entire sphere of the life of a merchant's wife - but the form of individual, personal love.A.I. Zhuravleva. Millennial monument to Russia. 1995
Why was suicide for Katerina the only way out of this situation?
4. The main characters of the play.
Task 29
The world of patriarchal relations is dying, and the soul of this world leaves life in torment and suffering, crushed by the ossified form of everyday connections that has lost its meaning and in itself makes a moral judgment, because in it the patriarchal ideal lives in its original content. That is why in the center of "Groza" next to Katerina there is not one of the heroes of the "love triangle", not Boris or Tikhon, heroes of a completely different, everyday, everyday scale, but Kabanikha ... Both of them are maximalists, both will never reconcile with human weaknesses and do not compromise. Finally, both of them believe in the same way, their religion is harsh and merciless, there is no forgiveness for sin, and they both do not remember mercy. Only Kabanikha is chained to the ground, all her forces are directed at holding, collecting, defending the way of life, she is the guardian of the form. And Katerina embodies the spirit of this world, its dream, its impulse. Ostrovsky showed that in the ossified world of the city of Kalinov a folk character of amazing beauty and strength can arise, whose faith - truly Kalinov's - is still based on love, on a free dream of justice, beauty, some kind of higher truth.
A.I. Zhuravleva. Millennial monument to Russia. 1995
Who, in your opinion, along with Katerina, can be called the main characters of the play and why?
Can we agree with Zhuravleva and take Katerina and Kabanikha for the two poles of the Kalinov world? If so, argue with examples from the text of the play.
Task 30
The fact is that the character of Katerina, as it is performed in The Storm, is a step forward not only in Ostrovsky's dramatic activities, but also in all of our literature. It corresponds to the new phase of our people's life, it has long demanded its implementation in literature, our best writers have been circling around it; but they only knew how to understand its need and could not comprehend and feel its essence; Ostrovsky managed to do it ...
In Katerina we see a protest against Kaban's notions of morality, a protest brought to the end, proclaimed both under domestic torture, and over the abyss into which the poor woman threw herself.N. A. Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in the dark kingdom. 1860
Katerina's whole life consists of constant internal contradictions; she rushes from one extreme to another every minute; today she regrets what she did yesterday, and yet she herself does not know what she will do tomorrow; at every step she confuses her own life and the lives of other people; finally, confusing everything that was at her fingertips, she cuts through the tightened knots with the most stupid means, suicide, and even such a suicide, which is completely unexpected for herself.D.I. Pisarev. Motives of the Russian drama. 1864
How paradoxical it may seem at first glance, it seems to us that both critics in this case were still right. Each from his own position, although within the framework of the same ideological and socio-political tradition. The very character of Katerina objectively, as you can see, contained such elements that opened the possibility for a certain duality in his assessment: under the same conditions, the “Katerina” could “overthrow the Dark Kingdom” and become an element of a renewed society - such an opportunity was objectively laid down by history in their character; under other historical circumstances, the "catherines" submitted to the social routine of this kingdom and themselves appeared as an element of this kingdom of the Foolovites. Dobrolyubov, evaluating Katerina from only one side, concentrated all his attention as a critic only on the spontaneously rebellious side of her nature; Pisarev was struck by the exceptional darkness of Katerina, the antediluvian nature of her social consciousness, her peculiar social "oblomovism", political bad manners.
A. A. Lebedev. Playwright in the face of criticism. 1974
♦ Can this point of view of a modern literary critic serve as an explanation of the reasons for the disagreement between Dobrolyubov and Pisarev in the assessment of Katerina?
5. Symbols of "Thunderstorms" (Presentation "Symbols of the play").
1. The names of the heroes (see above). There are two main trends in the use of proper names. Real (or existing) names and place names are used, albeit unusual (Ostrovsky does not give widely used surnames to his heroes, he often chooses rare names); surnames can be invented, but without fail taking into account the anthroponymic norms of the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, Ostrovsky strove to make names and surnames "speaking", he often "revived" the semantics of even the most common name.
The semantics of the surname in many cases turns out to be veiled, the names and patronymics can be neutral.
The semantics of the anthroponym may not be at all connected with the character of the character: Ostrovsky, most likely, strove to ensure that the viewer did not have the desire to always correlate the name and character.
At the same time, the playwright took into account the use of the name in a particular social environment. And here the naming principles (one-term, two-term, three-term) are especially important. The functioning of anthroponyms in a work is primarily determined by social and family roles.
2. Place names in Ostrovsky's plays are expressive.
In The Thunderstorm, the action takes place in the city of Kalinov. There are two cities of Kalinov, perhaps during Ostrovsky's time these were villages. Kalina is often mentioned in proverbs and sayings, and in folk songs it is a steady parallelism to the girl.
All the settlements mentioned by the heroes really exist: Moscow, Paris, Tyakhta, the place where Dikoy sends Boris - a village in the Altai Territory.
It is unlikely that Ostrovsky hoped that the audience knew this village, so he specifies that Boris is going to the "Chinese", which is not far from the truth, he takes into account the phonosemantics of the toponym: only a very remote place can be called this way.
3. One of the important symbols is the Volga river and the rural view on the other side.
The river as a border between the dependent, unbearable for many life on the bank, on which the patriarchal Kalinov stands, and a free, cheerful life there, on the other bank. The opposite bank of the Volga is associated with Katerina, the main character of the play, with childhood, with life before marriage: “How frisky I was! I have wilted completely. " Katerina wants to be free from her weak-willed husband and despotic mother-in-law, to “fly away” from the family with the principles of house-building. “I say: why do people not fly like birds? You know, sometimes it seems to me that I am a bird. When you stand on the torus, you are drawn to fly, ”says Katerina to Varvara. Katerina recalls birds as a symbol of freedom before throwing herself off the cliff into the Volga: “It's better in the grave ... Under the tree there is a grave ... how good! ... The sun warms her up, wets her with rain ... in the spring the grass grows on it, so soft ... the birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, the children will be taken out ... "
The river also symbolizes an escape towards freedom, but it turns out that this is an escape towards death.
And in the words of a lady, a half-crazy old woman, the Volga is a pool that draws in beauty: “This beauty leads somewhere. Here, here, in the very whirlpool! "
4. The symbol of a bird and flight in Katerina's dreams. The images from Katerina's childhood dreams and the fantastic images in the wanderer's story are no less symbolic. Outside gardens and palaces, the singing of angelic voices, flying in a dream - all these are symbols of a pure soul, which does not yet know contradictions and doubts. But the unrestrained movement of time finds expression in Katerina's dreams: “I do not dream, Varya, as before, of paradise trees and mountains; but as if someone hugs me so hotly and hotly and leads me somewhere, and I follow him, I go ... ". This is how Katerina's experiences are reflected in dreams. What she tries to suppress in herself rises from the depths of the unconscious.
5. Some motives in the heroes' monologues also have a symbolic meaning.
In act 3, Kuligin says that the home life of the rich people of the city is very different from the public one. Locks and closed gates, behind which "the household eat and tyrannize the family", are a symbol of secrecy and hypocrisy.
In this monologue, Kuligin denounces the “dark kingdom” of tyrants and tyrants, whose symbol is a lock on a closed gate so that no one can see and condemn them for bullying family members.
In the monologues of Kuligin and Feklusha, the motive of the trial sounds. Feklusha talks about the trial, which is unjust, even though it is Orthodox. Kuligin, on the other hand, talks about the trial between merchants in Kalinov, but this trial cannot be considered fair, since the main reason for the emergence of court cases is envy, and because of the bureaucracy in the judicial authorities, cases are dragged out, and every merchant is happy only that “yes, already and he will be a penny. " The motive of judgment in the play symbolizes the injustice prevailing in the "dark kingdom".
The pictures on the walls of the gallery, where everyone runs during a thunderstorm, also have a certain meaning. The paintings symbolize obedience in society, and "fiery hell" is hell, which Katerina is afraid of, who was looking for happiness and independence, and is not afraid of Kabanikh, since outside the house she is a respectable Christian and she is not afraid of God's judgment.
Tikhon's last words also carry another meaning: “It's good for you, Katya! Why am I left to live and suffer! " The point is that Katerina, through death, gained freedom in a world unknown to us, and Tikhon will never have enough fortitude and strength of character to fight his mother or end his life, since he is weak-willed and weak-willed.
6. Thunderstorm symbolism. The meaning of the title of the play is "The Thunderstorm".
The thunderstorm in the play has many faces. Heroes perceive thunderstorms differently.
A thunderstorm in society is a feeling by people who stand up for the immutability of the world, something incomprehensible, amazed that someone went against it.
For example, Dikoy believes that a thunderstorm is sent by God as a punishment, so that people remember about God, that is, he perceives a thunderstorm in a pagan way. Kuligin says that a thunderstorm is electricity, but this is a very simplified understanding of the symbol. But then, calling the storm a grace, Kuligin thereby reveals the highest pathos of Christianity.
- To reveal the meaning of the name "Thunderstorms", the symbolic meaning of this image, one should recall (or write in a notebook) fragments of text, remarks that mention a thunderstorm and its perception by residents of the city of Kalinov. What are the possible interpretations of this symbol in the play? An excerpt from the book Ostrovsky by V. Ya. Lakshin will help you prepare an answer to this question. Choose from it the materials necessary for your analysis:
This is an image of fear: punishment, sin, parental authority, human judgment. “There won't be any thunderstorm over me for two weeks,” Tikhon rejoices as he leaves for Moscow. The Tales of Feklusha, this Kalinovskaya oral newspaper, which readily condemns foreign things and praises native themes, with its mentions of Makhnut-Saltan and the “Judges of the Unrighteous” reveal yet another literary source of the image of a thunderstorm in the play. This is "The Legend of Mahmet-Saltan" by Ivan Peresvetov. The image of a thunderstorm as fear is a cross-cutting one in the work of this ancient writer who wants to support and instruct his sovereign, Ivan the Terrible. The Turkish king Mahmet-Saltan, according to Peresvetov's story, brought order to his kingdom with the help of a "great storm." He ordered the unrighteous judges to be “ripped off”, and on their skin to write: “Without such a thunderstorm of truth, it is impossible to enter the kingdom into the kingdom ... Like a horse under a king without a bridle, so a kingdom without a thunderstorm”.
Of course, this is only one facet of the image, and the thunderstorm in the play lives with all the naturalness of a natural diva: it moves in heavy clouds, thickens with immobile stuffiness, bursts out with thunder and lightning and refreshing rain - and with all this, a state of depression, moments of horror of public repentance and then a tragic release, a relief in Katerina's soul.V. Ya. Lakshin. Ostrovsky. 1976
Thunderstorm as a natural (? Physical) phenomenon.
There is another interpretation of the main symbol of the play:
The image of a thunderstorm, which closes the general meaning of the play, is also endowed with special symbolism: it is a reminder of the presence in the world of a higher power, and therefore of the higher supra-personal meaning of life, in front of which such lofty aspirations for freedom, for the assertion of one's will, are truly comical. Before the storm of God, all the Katerina and Marfa Kabanovs, Boris and Savela Wild, Kuligins and Kudryasha are united. And nothing better than a thunderstorm can convey this ancient and eternal presence of God's will, which a person must comprehend and with which it is senseless to compete.
A. A. Anikin. To reading the play by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm". 1988
For the first time, the lady appears before the first thunderstorm and frightens Katerina with her words about the disastrous beauty. These words and thunder in the mind of Katerina become prophetic. Katerina wants to run away to the house from the thunderstorm, as she sees God's punishment in her, but at the same time she is not afraid of death, but is afraid to appear before God after talking with Barbara about Boris, considering these thoughts to be sinful. Katerina is very religious, but this perception of a thunderstorm is more pagan than Christian.
A thunderstorm is an image of a spiritual upheaval.
- How do you react to the given point of view of a modern literary critic? Does it reflect, in your opinion, the playwright's intention?
- Summing up what has been said, we can say that the role of symbolism is very important in the play. Endowing phenomena, objects, landscape, words of heroes with another, deeper meaning, Ostrovsky wanted to show how serious a conflict existed at that time not only between, but also within each of them.
6. Criticism about the play "Thunderstorm" (Presentation "Criticism to the drama" Thunderstorm ").
The Thunderstorm became the subject of bitter controversy among critics in both the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century, Dobrolyubov (article "A ray of light in the dark kingdom") and Apollo Grigoriev wrote about her from opposite positions. In the XX century - Mikhail Lobanov (in the book "Ostrovsky", published in the series "ZhZL") and Lakshin.
In the drama "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky's most advanced, progressive aspirations were especially clearly manifested. Katerina's clash with the terrible world of the Wild, Kabanovs, with its bestial laws based on cruelty, lies, deceit, mockery and humiliation of man, is shown in her with tremendous power.
"The Thunderstorm" was written by Ostrovsky in the years when the theme of "freedom of feeling", "liberation of women", "family foundations" was very popular and topical. In literature and drama, a number of works were dedicated to her. All these works were united, however, by the fact that they glided over the surface of phenomena, did not penetrate into the depths of the contradictions of modern life. Their authors did not see hopeless conflicts in the surrounding reality. They thought that with the era of changes a new era was opening for Russia, that a turning point was near and inevitable in all spheres and areas of life.
Liberal illusions and hopes were alien to Ostrovsky. Therefore, the "Thunderstorm" against the background of such literature turned out to be a completely unusual phenomenon. She sounded among the works about the "liberation of a woman" with a clear dissonance.
Thanks to Ostrovsky's penetration into the very essence of the contradictions of contemporary life, Katerina's suffering and death acquire the meaning of a genuine social tragedy. Ostrovsky's theme of "the liberation of a woman" is organically linked with criticism of the entire social system; the tragic death of Katerina is shown by the playwright as a direct consequence of her hopeless position in the “dark kingdom”. Kabanikha's despotism grows not only from the waywardness of her character. Her views and actions are determined by the primordial laws of Domostroi. The boar is an active and merciless guardian and keeper of all the "foundations" of his world. Kabanikha, as Dobrolyubov pointed out, "has created for herself a whole world of special rules and superstitious customs, for which she stands with all the stupidity of tyranny."
In accordance with the ideological concept of the drama, Ostrovsky singles out in the image of Katerina those features that in no way allow her to come to terms with the “laws” of the environment based on lies and deceit. The main character of Katerina is his integrity, freedom-loving and sincerity. Katerina is a heroic sublime image, raised above the little things, everyday life. Her feelings are full-blooded, spontaneous and deeply human.
Ostrovsky shows at the same time Katerina's inner constraint with the norms of Christian morality. The consequence of this is a kind of interweaving in the image of Katerina of elements of "religious exaltation" with the desire for will, with the desire to defend his personality, to break the deadening narrowness of the family order protected by Kabanikha.
7. Reflection.
- Imagine that you are going to stage Alexander Ostrovsky's The Thunderstorm on the stage of a modern theater.
- In what genre would you stage this play, what would you highlight as the main conflict?
Questions about the play. What are the similarities and differences between the characters of Tikhon and Boris? How do they feel about Katherine? Presentation
Download materialThe Wild's speech characterizes him as an extremely rude and ignorant person. He doesn't want to know anything about science, culture, inventions that improve life. Kuligin's proposal to install a lightning rod infuriates him. By his behavior, he fully justifies the surname given to him. "How I fell off the chain!" Kudryash characterizes him. But Dikoy fights only with those who are afraid of him or are completely in his hands. Cowardice as a characteristic feature of tyranny Dobrolyubov noted in his article "The Dark Kingdom": "Just show yourself somewhere a strong and decisive rebuff, the tyranny's strength falls, he begins to coward and get lost." And indeed, Dikoy never ceases to scold Boris, his family, peasants, even the meek Kuligin who is completely outsider to him, but from his clerk Kudryash he gets a decent rebuff. “… He is the word, and I am ten; will spit, and will go. No, I will not become a slave to him, ”Kudryash says. It turns out that the limit of the tyrant's power depends on the degree of obedience of others. This was well understood by another mistress of the "dark kingdom" - Kabanikha.
In the appearance of the Wild, despite all his belligerence, there are features of the comic: the contradiction of his behavior to reason, a painful unwillingness to part with money looks too ridiculous. The boar, with her cunning, hypocrisy, cold, inexorable cruelty, is truly terrible. She is outwardly calm, well-controlled. Measuredly, monotonously, without raising her voice, she exhausts her family with her endless moralizing. If Dikoy seeks to rudely assert his power, then Kabanikha acts under the guise of piety. She does not get tired of repeating that she cares not about herself, but about the children: “Because of love, parents are strict with you, they scold you because of love, everyone thinks to teach good. Well, I don't like that nowadays. " But her "love" is only a hypocritical mask for the assertion of personal power. From her "care" Tikhon reaches complete stupidity, flees from the house of Varvara. Her methodical, constant. tyranny tortured Katherine, brought her to death. “If it’s not a mother-in-law! ..” says Katerina. “She crushed me… she made the house hateful to me; the walls are even disgusting. " Kabanikha is a cruel, heartless executioner. Even at the sight of Katerina's body pulled out of the Volga, she remains icy calm
Literature and Library Science
The role of minor characters in the artistic structure of the play. Such popularity and relevance of the play is explained by the fact that the Thunderstorm combines features of social drama and high tragedy. In the center of the plot of the play is the conflict of feeling and duty in the soul of the main character Katerina Kabanova. But Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the play, readers do not think about a love affair, but about their whole life.
Features of drama and tragedy in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm". The role of minor characters in the artistic structure of the play.
The play by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. In the same year it was staged in theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg and for many years has not left the stages of all theaters in the world. Such popularity and relevance of the play is explained by the fact that the "Thunderstorm" combines features of social drama and high tragedy.
In the center of the plot of the play is the conflict of feeling and duty in the soul of the main character, Katerina Kabanova. This conflict is a sign of 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 put the Domostroy order and way of life above all else. Naturally, Kabaniha 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 stifling world of Domostroi. She strove 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 that she would not be able to live. The sin of treason lay like a heavy stone on the soul of the heroine, with whom she simply could not exist. The thunderstorm in the city hastened the nationwide recognition of Katerina - she repented of her betrayal.
Kabanikha also learned 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, with her reproaches and instructions, would have brought the woman to the grave.
But the worst thing for Katerina was not that. The worst thing for the heroine is her inner punishment, her inner judgment. She herself could not forgive herself for her betrayal, her terrible sin. Therefore, the conflict in the play is resolved in the tradition of classic tragedy: the heroine dies.
But Dobrolyubov also pointed out that throughout the play, readers think "not about a love affair, but about their whole life." This means that the accusatory notes of the work concerned the most diverse aspects of Russian life. The play takes place in the provincial merchant town of Kalinov, located on the banks of the Volga River. Everything in this place is so monotonous and stable that even news from other cities and from the capital does not reach here. The inhabitants of the city are withdrawn, distrustful, hate everything new and blindly follow the Domostroy way of life, which has long outlived its usefulness.
Dikoy and Kabanikha personify the "fathers of the city" 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 rebuff him. Kuligin notes that all the atrocities in the city take place 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", pass judgment on him, and even, to some extent, reflect the position of the author.
Other minor characters also play an important role in the play. So, for example, the wanderer Feklusha reveals all the ignorance and backwardness of the "dark kingdom", as well as his imminent death, because a society oriented towards such views cannot exist. An important role in the play is also played by the image of the half-crazy Lady, who voices the idea of \u200b\u200bsinfulness and inevitable punishment of both Katerina and the entire “dark kingdom”.
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