<…>We can trace it [ feminine energetic character] development according to Katerina’s personality.
First of all, “you are struck by the extraordinary originality of this character. There is nothing external or alien in him, but everything somehow comes out from within him; every impression is processed in it and then grows organically with it. We see this, for example, in Katerina’s simple-minded story about her childhood and life in her mother’s house. It turns out that her upbringing and young life gave her nothing; in her mother’s house it was the same as at the Kabanovs’: they went to church, sewed with gold on velvet, listened to the stories of wanderers, had dinner, walked in the garden, again talked with the pilgrims and prayed themselves... After listening to Katerina’s story, Varvara, her sister husband, remarks with surprise: “But it’s the same with us.” But Katerina defines the difference very quickly in five words: “yes, everything here seems to be from under captivity!” And further conversation shows that in all this appearance, which is so commonplace everywhere, Katerina knew how to find her own special meaning, apply it to her needs and aspirations, until Kabanikha’s heavy hand fell on her. Katerina does not at all belong to the violent character, never satisfied, who loves to destroy at all costs... On the contrary, she is primarily a creative, loving, ideal character. That is why she tries to comprehend and ennoble everything in her imagination;<…>She tries to reconcile any external dissonance with the harmony of her soul, covering any shortcoming from the fullness of her inner strength. Rough, superstitious stories and senseless ravings of wanderers turn into golden, poetic dreams of the imagination, not frightening, but clear, kind. Her images are poor because the materials presented to her by reality are so monotonous; but even with these meager means, her imagination works tirelessly and takes her to a new world, quiet and bright. It’s not the rituals that occupy her in the church: she doesn’t even hear what they sing and read there; she has different music in her soul, different visions, for her the service ends imperceptibly, as if in one second. She looks at the trees, strangely drawn on the images, and imagines a whole country of gardens, where all the trees are like this and everything is blooming, fragrant, everything is full of heavenly singing. Otherwise, on a sunny day, she will see “such a bright pillar coming down from the dome and smoke moving in this pillar, like clouds,” and now she sees, “as if angels are flying and singing in this pillar.” Sometimes she will present herself - why shouldn’t she fly? and when she stands on the mountain, she just wants to fly: she would run like that, raise her arms, and fly. She is strange, extravagant from the point of view of others; but this is because she cannot in any way accept their views and inclinations. She takes materials from them because there is nowhere else to get them from; but she does not draw conclusions, but searches for them herself and often comes to a conclusion that is not at all what they settle on. We notice a similar attitude to external impressions in other environments, in people who, by their upbringing, are accustomed to abstract reasoning and know how to analyze their feelings. The whole difference is that with Katerina, as a direct, lively personality, everything is done according to the desire of nature, without a clear consciousness, but with people who are theoretically developed and strong in mind main role Logic and analysis play a role. Strong minds are precisely what distinguishes them inner strength, which gives them the opportunity not to succumb to ready-made views and systems, but to create their own views and conclusions based on living impressions. They do not reject anything at first, but they do not stop at anything, but only take note of everything and process it in their own way. Katerina also presents us with similar results, although she does not resonate and does not even understand her own feelings, but is driven directly by nature. In the dry, monotonous life of his youth, in rude and superstitious concepts environment she constantly knew how to take what agreed with her natural aspirations for beauty, harmony, contentment, happiness. In the conversations of the wanderers, in the prostrations and lamentations, she saw not a dead form, but something else, to which her heart was constantly striving. Based on them, she built her ideal world, without passions, without need, without grief, a world entirely dedicated to goodness and pleasure. But what is real good and true pleasure for a person, she could not determine for herself; This is why these sudden impulses of some unaccountable, unclear aspirations, which she recalls: “Sometimes, it used to be, early in the morning I would go to the garden, the sun was still rising, I would fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know, about what I pray for and what I cry about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I don’t need anything, I had enough of everything.” A poor girl who has not received a broad theoretical education, who does not know everything that is going on in the world, who does not even properly understand her own needs, cannot, of course, give herself an account of what she needs. While she lives with her mother, in complete freedom, without any everyday worries, while the needs and passions of an adult have not yet emerged in her, she does not even know how to distinguish her own dreams, her inner world from external impressions. Losing herself among the praying mantises in her iridescent thoughts and walking in her bright kingdom, she keeps thinking that her contentment comes precisely from these praying mantises, from the lamps lit in all corners of the house, from the lamentations heard around her; with her feelings she animates the dead environment in which she lives and merges with it inner world your soul.<…>
In a gloomy environment new family Katerina began to feel the insufficiency of her appearance, with which she had thought to be content before. Under the heavy hand of the soulless Kabanikha there is no scope for her bright visions, just as there is no freedom for her feelings. In a fit of tenderness for her husband, she wants to hug him, - the old woman shouts: “Why are you hanging around your neck, shameless one? Bow down at your feet!” She wants to stay alone and be sad quietly, as before, but her mother-in-law says: “Why aren’t you howling?” She is looking for light, air, she wants to dream and frolic, water her flowers, look at the sun, at the Volga, send her greetings to all living things - but she is kept in captivity, she is constantly suspected of unclean, depraved intentions. She still seeks refuge in religious practice, in going to church, in soul-saving conversations; but even here he no longer finds the same impressions. Killed by her daily work and eternal bondage, she can no longer dream with the same clarity of angels singing in a dusty pillar illuminated by the sun, she cannot imagine the Gardens of Eden with their undisturbed appearance and joy. Everything is gloomy, scary around her, everything emanates coldness and some kind of irresistible threat; and the faces of the saints are so stern, and the church readings are so menacing, and the stories of the wanderers are so monstrous... They are still the same in essence, they have not changed at all, but she herself has changed: she no longer has the desire to construct aerial visions, and indeed what satisfies her is the vague imagination of the bliss that she enjoyed before. She matured, other desires awoke in her, more real ones; not knowing any other career than the family, any other world than the one that has developed for her in the society of her town, she, of course, begins to recognize of all human aspirations the one that is most inevitable and closest to her - the desire for love and devotion . In the past, her heart was too full of dreams, she did not pay attention to the young people who looked at her, but only laughed. When she married Tikhon Kabanov, she did not love him either, she still did not understand this feeling; They told her that every girl should get married, showed Tikhon as her future husband, and she married him, remaining completely indifferent to this step. And here, too, a peculiarity of character is manifested: according to our usual concepts, she should be resisted if she has a decisive character; but she does not even think about resistance, because she does not have enough reasons for this. She has no particular desire to get married, but she also has no aversion to marriage; There is no love in her for Tikhon, but there is no love for anyone else either. She doesn’t care for now, that’s why she allows you to do whatever you want to her. In this one cannot see either powerlessness or apathy, but one can only find a lack of experience, and even too great a readiness to do everything for others, caring little about oneself. She has little knowledge and a lot of gullibility, which is why for the time being she does not show opposition to those around her and decides to endure better than to spite them.
But when she understands what she needs and wants to achieve something, she will achieve her goal at all costs: then the strength of her character will fully manifest itself, not wasted in petty antics. At first, out of the innate kindness and nobility of her soul, she will make every possible effort so as not to violate the peace and rights of others, in order to get what she wants with the greatest possible compliance with all the requirements that are imposed on her by people connected with her in some way; and if they are able to take advantage of this initial mood and decide to give her complete satisfaction, then it will be good for both her and them. But if not, she will stop at nothing: law, kinship, custom, human court, rules of prudence - everything disappears for her before the power of internal attraction; she does not spare herself and does not think about others. This was exactly the way out that presented itself to Katerina, and nothing else could have been expected given the situation in which she found herself.
Dobrolyubov N.A. "A ray of light in dark kingdom"
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The question of choosing a soul mate has always been problematic for young people. Now we have the right to choose a life partner ourselves; previously, the final decision in marriage was made by the parents. Naturally, parents first of all looked at the well-being of their future son-in-law and his moral character. This choice promised an excellent material and moral existence for children, but the intimate side of marriage often suffered. Spouses understand that they should treat each other favorably and respectfully, but the lack of passion does not affect in the best possible way. There are many examples in the literature of such dissatisfaction and the search for fulfillment of one’s intimate life.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with A. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”
This topic is not new in Russian literature. From time to time it is raised by writers. A. Ostrovsky in the play “The Thunderstorm” portrayed a unique image of the woman Katerina, who, in search of personal happiness, under the influence of Orthodox morality and the emerging love feeling, comes to a dead end.
Katerina's life story
The main character of Ostrovsky's play is Katerina Kabanova. Since childhood, she was brought up with love and affection. Her mother felt sorry for her daughter, and sometimes freed her from all work, leaving Katerina to do what she wanted. But the girl did not grow up lazy.
After the wedding with Tikhon Kabanov, the girl lives in the house of her husband’s parents. Tikhon has no father. And the mother manages all processes in the house. The mother-in-law has an authoritarian character; she suppresses all family members with her authority: her son Tikhon, her daughter Varya and her young daughter-in-law.
Katerina finds herself in a completely unfamiliar world - her mother-in-law often scolds her for no reason, her husband is also not distinguished by tenderness and care - sometimes he beats her. Katerina and Tikhon have no children. This fact is incredibly upsetting for the woman - she likes to babysit children.
One day the woman falls in love. She is married and understands perfectly well that her love has no right to life, but still, over time, she gives in to her desire while her husband is in another city.
Upon her husband’s return, Katerina experiences pangs of conscience and confesses her action to her mother-in-law and husband, which causes a wave of indignation. Tikhon beats her. The mother-in-law says that the woman needs to be buried in the ground. The situation in the family, already unhappy and tense, worsens to the point of impossibility. Seeing no other way out, the woman commits suicide by drowning herself in the river. On the last pages of the play we learn that Tikhon still loved his wife, and his behavior towards her was provoked by his mother’s instigation.
Appearance of Katerina Kabanova
The author does not provide a detailed description of Katerina Petrovna’s appearance. We learn about the woman’s appearance from the lips of other characters in the play - most of the characters consider her beautiful and delightful. We also know little about Katerina’s age - the fact that she is in the prime of her life allows us to define her as a young woman. Before the wedding, she was full of aspirations and glowing with happiness.
Life in her mother-in-law's house did not have the best effect on her: she noticeably withered, but was still pretty. Her girlish gaiety and cheerfulness quickly disappeared - their place was taken by despondency and sadness.
Family relationships
Katerina’s mother-in-law is a very complex person; she runs everything in the house. This applies not only to household chores, but also to all relationships within the family. The woman finds it difficult to cope with her emotions - she is jealous of her son for Katerina, she wants Tikhon to pay attention not to his wife, but to her, his mother. Jealousy eats up the mother-in-law and does not give her the opportunity to enjoy life - she is always dissatisfied with something, constantly finding fault with everyone, especially with her young daughter-in-law. She doesn’t even try to hide this fact - those around her make fun of old Kabanikha, saying that she tortured everyone in the house.
Katerina respects old Kabanikha, despite the fact that she literally does not give her a pass with her nagging. The same cannot be said about other family members.
Katerina’s husband, Tikhon, also loves his mother. His mother's authoritarianism and despotism broke him, as did his wife. He is torn by feelings of love for his mother and wife. Tikhon does not try to somehow resolve the difficult situation in his family and finds solace in drinking and carousing. Kabanikha’s youngest daughter and Tikhon’s sister, Varvara, is more pragmatic, she understands that you cannot break through a wall with your forehead, in this case you need to act with cunning and intelligence. Her respect for her mother is ostentatious; she says what her mother wants to hear, but in reality she does everything her own way. Unable to bear life at home, Varvara runs away.
Despite the dissimilarity of the girls, Varvara and Katerina become friends. They support each other in difficult situations. Varvara incites Katerina to secret meetings with Boris, helps the lovers organize dates for the lovers. Varvara does not mean anything bad in these actions - the girl herself often resorts to such dates - this is her way of not going crazy, she wants to bring at least a piece of happiness into Katerina’s life, but the result is the opposite.
Katerina also has a difficult relationship with her husband. This is primarily due to Tikhon’s spinelessness. He does not know how to defend his position, even if his mother’s wishes clearly contradict his intentions. Her husband has no opinion of his own - he is a “mama’s boy”, unquestioningly fulfilling the will of his parent. He often, at his mother’s instigation, scolds his young wife and sometimes beats her. Naturally, such behavior does not bring joy and harmony to the relationship between spouses.
Katerina's dissatisfaction is growing day by day. She feels unhappy. Understanding that the nitpicking addressed to her is far-fetched still does not allow her to live a full life.
From time to time, intentions arise in Katerina’s thoughts to change something in her life, but she cannot find a way out of the situation - the thought of suicide visits Katerina Petrovna more and more often.
Character traits
Katerina has a meek and kind disposition. She doesn't know how to stand up for herself. Katerina Petrovna is a soft, romantic girl. She loves to indulge in dreams and fantasies.
She has an inquisitive mind. She is interested in the most unusual things, for example, why people cannot fly. Because of this, others consider her a little strange.
Katerina is patient and non-conflict by nature. She forgives the unfair and cruel attitude of her husband and mother-in-law towards her.
In general, those around you, if you don’t take into account Tikhon and Kabanikha good opinion about Katerina, they think that she is a sweet and lovely girl.
The desire for freedom
Katerina Petrovna has a unique concept of freedom. At a time when most people understand freedom as a physical state in which they are free to carry out those actions and actions that they prefer, Katerina prefers moral freedom, devoid of psychological pressure, allowing them to control their own destiny.
Katerina Kabanova is not so decisive as to put her mother-in-law in her place, but her desire for freedom does not allow her to live by the rules within which she finds herself - the idea of death as a way to gain freedom appears in the text several times before Katerina’s romantic relationship with Boris . The publication of information about Katerina's betrayal of her husband and the further reaction of her relatives, in particular her mother-in-law, become just a catalyst for her suicidal tendencies.
Katerina's religiosity
The issue of religiosity and the influence of religion on people's lives has always been quite controversial. This trend is especially clearly questionable in times of active scientific and technological revolution and progress.
In relation to Katerina Kabanova, this trend does not work. A woman, not finding joy in the ordinary, worldly life, is imbued with special love and reverence for religion. Her attachment to the church is also strengthened by the fact that her mother-in-law is religious. While old Kabanikha’s religiosity is only ostentatious (in fact, she does not adhere to the basic canons and postulates of the church that regulate relationships between people), Katerina’s religiosity is true. She firmly believes in the commandments of God and always tries to observe the laws of existence.
While praying and being in church, Katerina experiences special pleasure and relief. At such moments she looks like an angel.
However, the desire to experience happiness and true love takes precedence over religious vision. Knowing that adultery- a terrible sin, a woman still succumbs to temptation. For happiness lasting ten days, she pays with another, most terrible sin in the eyes of a believing Christian - suicide.
Katerina Petrovna realizes the gravity of her act, but the concept that her life will never change forces her to ignore this prohibition. It should be noted that the thought of such an end life path had already arisen, but, despite the hardships of her life, it was not carried out. Perhaps the fact that pressure from her mother-in-law was painful for her played here, but the concept that it had no basis stopped the girl. After her family finds out about the betrayal - the reproaches against her become justified - she really tarnished her reputation and the reputation of the family. Another reason for this outcome of events could be the fact that Boris refuses the woman and does not take her with him. Katerina must somehow solve the current situation herself and she doesn’t see a better option than throwing herself into the river.
Katerina and Boris
Before Boris appeared in the fictional city of Kalinov, finding personal, intimate happiness was not relevant for Katerina. She did not try to make up for the lack of love from her husband on the side.
The image of Boris awakens in Katerina a faded feeling of passionate love. A woman realizes the severity of a love relationship with another man, and therefore languishes with the feeling that has arisen, but does not accept any prerequisites to turn her dreams into reality.
Varvara convinces Katerina that Kabanova needs to meet alone with her lover. The brother’s sister knows very well that the feelings of young people are mutual, in addition, the coolness of the relationship between Tikhon and Katerina is not news to her, therefore she regards her act as an opportunity to show her sweet and kind daughter-in-law what it is like real love.
Katerina cannot make up her mind for a long time, but the water wears away the stone, the woman agrees to the meeting. Finding herself captive of her desires, strengthened by a kindred feeling on the part of Boris, the woman cannot deny herself further meetings. The absence of her husband plays into her hands - for 10 days she lived as if in paradise. Boris loves her more than life itself, he is affectionate and gentle with her. With him, Katerina feels like a real woman. She thinks she has finally found happiness. Everything changes with Tikhon's arrival. Nobody knows about the secret meetings, but Katerina is tormented, she is seriously afraid of punishment from God, her psychological state reaches its climax and she admits to committing a sin.
After this event, the woman’s life turns into hell - the already falling reproaches from her mother-in-law become unbearable, and her husband beats her.
The woman still has hope for a successful outcome of the event - she believes that Boris will not leave her in trouble. However, her lover is in no hurry to help her - he is afraid of angering his uncle and being left without his inheritance, so he refuses to take Katerina with him to Siberia.
For a woman, this becomes a new blow, she is no longer able to survive it - death becomes her only way out.
Thus, Katerina Kabanova is the owner of the kindest and most gentle qualities human soul. A woman is especially sensitive to the feelings of other people. Her inability to give a sharp rebuff becomes the reason for constant ridicule and reproaches from her mother-in-law and husband, which further drives her into a dead end. Death in her case becomes an opportunity to find happiness and freedom. Awareness of this fact evokes the saddest feelings among readers.
Using the example of the life of a single family from the fictional city of Kalinov in the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky, the whole essence of the outdated patriarchal structure is shown Russia XIX century. Katerina - main character works. She is contrasted with all the other characters in the tragedy, even from Kuligin, who also stands out among the residents of Kalinov, Katya is distinguished by her strength of protest. The description of Katerina from “The Thunderstorm”, the characteristics of other characters, the description of the life of the city - all this adds up to a revealing tragic picture, conveyed photographically accurately. The characterization of Katerina from the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky is not limited only to the author’s commentary in the list characters. The playwright does not evaluate the actions of the heroine, relieving himself of the responsibilities of an all-knowing author. Thanks to this position, each perceiving subject, be it a reader or a viewer, can himself evaluate the heroine based on his own moral convictions.
Katya was married to Tikhon Kabanov, the son of a merchant's wife. It was given out, because then, according to the domostroy, marriage was more likely the will of the parents than the decision of the young people. Katya's husband is a pitiful sight. The child's irresponsibility and immaturity, bordering on idiocy, led to the fact that Tikhon is incapable of anything other than drunkenness. In Marfa Kabanova, the ideas of tyranny and hypocrisy inherent in the entire “dark kingdom” were fully embodied.
Katya strives for freedom, comparing herself to a bird. It is difficult for her to survive in conditions of stagnation and slavish worship of false idols. Katerina is truly religious, every trip to church seems like a holiday for her, and as a child, Katya more than once fancied that she heard angels singing. It happened that Katya prayed in the garden, because she believed that the Lord would hear her prayers anywhere, not just in church. But in Kalinov, the Christian faith was deprived of any internal content.
Katerina's dreams allow her to briefly escape from the real world. There she is free, like a bird, free to fly wherever she wants, not subject to any laws. “And what dreams I had, Varenka,” continues Katerina, “what dreams! Either the temples are golden, or the gardens are extraordinary, and everyone is singing invisible voices, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air.” However, in Lately Katerina began to have a certain mysticism. Everywhere she begins to see imminent death, and in her dreams she sees the evil one who warmly embraces her and then destroys her. These dreams were prophetic.
Katya is dreamy and tender, but along with her fragility, Katerina’s monologues from “The Thunderstorm” reveal perseverance and strength. For example, a girl decides to go out to meet Boris. She was overcome by doubts, she wanted to throw the key to the gate into the Volga, thought about the consequences, but still took an important step for herself: “Throw the key! No, not for anything in the world! He’s mine now... Whatever happens, I’ll see Boris!” Katya is disgusted with Kabanikha’s house; the girl doesn’t like Tikhon. She thought about leaving her husband and, having received a divorce, living honestly with Boris. But there was nowhere to hide from the tyranny of the mother-in-law. With her hysterics, Kabanikha turned the house into hell, stopping any opportunity for escape.
Katerina is surprisingly insightful towards herself. The girl knows about her character traits, about her decisive disposition: “I was born this way, hot! I was only six years old, no more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, and it was late in the evening, it was already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they found it, about ten miles away! Such a person will not submit to tyranny, will not be subject to dirty manipulations by Kabanikha. It’s not Katerina’s fault that she was born at a time when a wife had to unquestioningly obey her husband and was an almost powerless appendage whose function was childbearing. By the way, Katya herself says that children could be her joy. But Katya has no children.
The motif of freedom is repeated many times in the work. The parallel between Katerina and Varvara seems interesting. Sister Tikhon also strives to be free, but this freedom must be physical, freedom from despotism and mother’s prohibitions. At the end of the play, the girl runs away from home, finding what she dreamed of. Katerina understands freedom differently. For her, this is an opportunity to do as she wants, take responsibility for her life, and not obey stupid orders. This is freedom of the soul. Katerina, like Varvara, gains freedom. But such freedom is achievable only through suicide.
In Ostrovsky’s work “The Thunderstorm,” Katerina and the characteristics of her image were perceived differently by critics. If Dobrolyubov saw in the girl a symbol of the Russian soul, tormented by the patriarchal house-building, then Pisarev saw a weak girl who had driven herself into such a situation.
Work test
The play “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky was published in 1860. A revolutionary situation was brewing in Russia; the times were quite difficult. In the summer of 1856, the writer traveled along the Volga. In the play, he conveyed his impressions of this trip, however, he did not describe specific cities and persons, but depicted generalized, but deeply typical paintings life in Rus'.
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In general, Ostrovsky is considered a real “singer of merchant life.” He is the author of numerous plays, the central theme of which was the depiction of the merchant world of the second half of the 19th century century.
The drama is characterized by the fact that it is based on an insoluble conflict that leads to the death of the main character. A conflict arises between Katerina Kabanova and the “dark kingdom” of the merchant world, which is represented by Kabanikha and her entourage. Katerina commits suicide - an act that is considered to be a manifestation of cowardice and weakness of character. I would like to understand this issue in more detail.
So, Katerina Kabanova is the main character of the play “The Thunderstorm”, Tikhon’s wife and Kabanikha’s daughter-in-law. The image of Katerina is endowed strong character and represents a personality awakening in patriarchal conditions. The origins of Katerina's character are hidden in the conditions of her life before marriage. Talking about the heroine's girlhood, the author depicts the patriarchal world in its ideal manifestation. The main thing in this world is a huge and mutual feeling of love.
In Katerina’s parental home, the same rules reigned as in Kabanikha’s house. But there Katerina occupied the position of a beloved daughter, and in Kabanikha’s house she occupied the position of a subordinate daughter-in-law. Therefore, as a girl, Katerina did not know the coercion and violence that she encountered after marriage. For her, patriarchal harmony of family life is moral ideal, but in her husband’s house she does not find this harmony. Katerina was married off at a very young age, that’s what her parents decided, and she obediently submitted to their will, because that’s the custom. But it was submission with love and respect, and when she got to her mother-in-law’s house, Katerina was surprised to discover that there was no one to respect here. After some time, a new outlook on life begins to form in her soul, a different attitude towards people and herself. This is manifested in her first independent choice - passionate love for Boris. Katerina is religious and the awakened strong feeling frightens her. She perceives this love as a terrible sin, resisting it in every possible way. But the heroine lacks support and inner strength. A terrible storm is growing in Katerina’s soul. “Sinful” love flared up in her with incredible strength, the desire for freedom grew every day, but religious fear also became stronger. Katerina could no longer resist passion and cheated on her husband, and then publicly confessed to her sin, not hoping for forgiveness. It was the lack of hope that pushed the heroine to an even greater sin - suicide. She could not reconcile her love for Boris with the demands of her conscience, and the thought of returning to the home prison where Kabanikha imprisoned her caused physical disgust. The hopelessness of this situation led Katerina to death.
The image of Katerina personifies the spiritual beauty and moral purity of a Russian woman. In one of his articles, A. N. Dobrolyubov wrote about this heroine, calling her “a ray of light in a dark kingdom.” Katerina is amazingly natural, simple and sincere. The play repeatedly mentions the image of a free bird. Indeed, the heroine resembles a bird locked in an iron cage. She strives for freedom, because living in captivity has become simply unbearable. In my opinion, her suicide is more of a protest against the “dark kingdom” and a selfless desire for freedom than a weakness of character, although there are other points of view.
Updated: 2012-08-09
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Katerina is the wife of Tikhon Kabanov and daughter-in-law of Kabanikha. This central character a play with the help of which Ostrovsky shows the fate of the strong, extraordinary personality in the conditions of a small patriarchal town. Since childhood, Katerina has a very strong desire for happiness, which as she grows up develops into a desire mutual love. Despite her religiosity, Katerina remains an earthly and lively girl, experiencing a feeling of love. But as much as her heart is full of love, just as strongly the main character feels her sinfulness. She is married, and the object of her admiration is a completely stranger, a strange man. Katerina tries to find peace with the help of religion and love for her lawful husband, but her free nature turns out to be stronger. Perhaps if she had felt the support of her husband at this dramatic moment in her life, she would have been able to cope with herself. But her husband is weak person, whose will is subordinated to his mother, Kabanikha. And so Tikhon drives off, and the feeling as a result of a fierce internal struggle takes over morality: “I would even die to see him.”
After cheating on her husband, Katerina’s religiosity only intensifies. The heroine, who at her core is a simple provincial girl, turns out to be unprepared for the abyss opening before her. Katerina feels growing fear; it seems to her that she will definitely be punished by heaven for her sins. Finally, at the moment of a thunderstorm, she repents of her betrayal in front of everyone.
"The Thunderstorm" is not only a love drama, but also a tragedy strong man who, after an offense, does not feel sorry for himself, but, on the contrary, deliberately submits himself to the judgment of others without hope of forgiveness. And by committing treason, Katerina, in fact, makes a kind of existential choice in favor of her real self. And for this choice she had to pay with her life.