The image of Katerina in the play “The Thunderstorm”: the tragedy of the “female lot” in the interpretation of A. Ostrovsky

Analysis of the love of Katerina Kabanova (based on the play “The Thunderstorm” by A.N. Ostrovsky)

Was the love of Katerina Kabanova from A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” a crime? Did the poor woman deserve such a terrible punishment?

Katerina's misfortunes begin after she marries Tikhon Kabanov and moves into his house. There the young woman realizes that she has found herself in an environment alien to her, in the realm of ignorance, inertia and tyranny. Katerina is trying with all her might to resist him, which is expressed in a conflict with the most prominent representative of this world - Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova.

The hostility that immediately arose between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is largely based on the difference in their characters.

Katerina’s inner world was mainly formed in accordance with the lifestyle that she led before her marriage. She grew up kind, sympathetic, very religious (she found solace and strength in faith) and dreamy. Her imagination carried her far away from the colorless world in which she now lived. One of the main features that distinguishes Katerina from others is that the essence of everything that happens is important to her, and not the form; she cannot live among dead formulas that have lost their meaning.

And for Marfa Ignatievna, maintaining order, strictly following the ancient foundations is the meaning and purpose of life. She eagerly seeks out apostates. But compliance with the rules of “Domostroy” only serves as an explanation for the despotism that stifles all manifestations of life and will.

At first, Katerina tries to come to terms with the atmosphere in which she found herself, to extinguish her protest against “fading” under the yoke of Marfa Ignatievna. But constant pressure, infringement of rights and loneliness took their toll: Katerina resisted. Her protest found expression in her love for Dikiy’s nephew Boris Grigorievich, since love was the only thing in which a woman of that time could express herself.

And now, having understood the situation Katerina found herself in, is it possible to blame her for an involuntary impulse, a sudden feeling? After all, the girl was married off very early. “You didn’t have to go for a walk with the girls, but your heart hasn’t gone away yet!” - Varvara tells her. And who did they give it for? For someone who cannot take a step without a “mother’s” word, let alone stand up for his wife! So Katerina found herself face to face with Marfa Ignatievna.

Therefore, Katerina is subconsciously looking for someone who could become her support, give her support, and understand her. She chooses Boris because, at first glance, he is very different from the people around whom the heroine finds herself. But it gradually becomes clear that Boris Grigorievich is only an “educated Tikhon.” He does not have the determination that Katerina has. He, seeing all the absurdity of the world of the Wild and Kabanovs, cannot and does not want to do anything to rid himself of his influence and, in spite of him, be happy with his beloved. Like Tikhon, Boris only complains about his fate and laments: “Oh, if only there was strength!” For him, Katerina is too complex, deep nature. He subconsciously understands this and after a while wants to move away from her, to run away.

The heroine, dreaming of finding consolation, hope and new strength from Boris, plunges into a feeling, as if in a pool, without thinking about the consequences and without fear of any judgment: neither divine nor human.

But, after some time, insight inevitably comes. Katerina realizes that she has committed a grave sin by cheating on her husband. And all excuses, all hopes for the future recede and collapse before the terrible word “treason.”

In order to continue the relationship with Boris after her husband’s arrival, it was necessary to hide and be cunning; She didn’t want it and couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to live like Varvara: “Do what you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered.” Katerina is already beginning to feel how this double life is dragging her down. After all, she sinned, but outwardly she remained an honest woman.

It seems to me that if for many people the most terrible punishment is human trial, then for Katerina the most terrible punishment is pangs of conscience. Of course, by committing a “crime,” she knew that she would set all the residents of the city of Kalinov against her. But the heroine reasoned: “If I was not afraid of sin, will I be afraid of human judgment?” Griboyedov’s phrase immediately comes to mind: “Who are the judges?” After all, in the city of Kalinov, anyone who deviates from ancient traditions and established orders is already a criminal. And are the “judges” themselves really so righteous? No, it’s just that everything is “closed up and covered up”, everything is “under the guise of piety”!

Therefore, it was not human judgment, but remorse that became real retribution for Katerina. And the first thing that came to her mind was God’s punishment. After all, from childhood the heroine believed that God sees everything, that not a single sin can be hidden from him, and at the “Last Judgment” nothing can be justified. “What if I appear before God as I am, with all my sins - that’s what’s scary!”

This situation is unbearable for Katerina: days and nights she kept thinking, suffering and decided that she needed to repent and announce her actions. And this will not be an admission of guilt, not a renunciation of the right to freedom, but, on the contrary, the only form of protection of internal freedom - the freedom of conscience.

A thunderstorm, a prophecy of a crazy lady, a painting of “The Last Judgment” that she sees on the walls of the gallery - all this drives her into a frenzy, and in this state the heroine confesses her “sin” to her husband in front of everyone. Katerina does not repent of what she did in the absence of her husband, but only opens up in order to atone for her guilt by confessing.

It seems to me that loving Boris is not a serious crime, but the only possible form of protest for a poor woman left alone in the “kingdom of tyrants.” I believe that the punishment taken by Katerina is too cruel. I sincerely feel sorry for the heroine, who, by the will of fate, was given a choice: love, which means life, or “withering” under the yoke of Kabanova, but without confronting her conscience.

", A.N. Ostrovsky reveals several problematic lines to readers, thereby making the plot fascinating and exciting.

Of course, the main problematic line of the play is the attempt to free herself and her soul from the oppressive oppression of her relatives. Life in the estate was a real punishment for her. Therefore, as the plot develops, we become fascinated by the problematic line of love that arises between Katerina and Boris.

Why does this girl have loving feelings not for her husband, but for someone else’s man? Yes, because she didn't love. She married him only because he did not dislike her. She never experienced real feelings of love for Tikhon Kabanov. Therefore, she is overcome by real love emotions, which the girl experiences for the first time in her life. And she can't resist them.

What attracted her to Boris? He was not like the rest of the inhabitants of her estate. He looked like a man of a new generation. It is he who changes not only Katerina’s inner world, but also her general worldview.

Chatting with her, she tells her about her dreams, that she no longer sees trees and birds. She feels the call of her native voice, she experiences a passionate embrace. It is precisely such changes in her consciousness that lead to that risky step. She goes on a date with her lover. Her brave act was done not only to meet love feelings. She yearns for freedom and liberation from domestic oppression, he has eternal clashes with Kabanikha, from the weak-willed Tikhon.

With Boris, Katerina experiences wonderful feelings of love, but, as we see further, the girl’s heart is wrong. Boris differed from the representatives of the “dark kingdom” only in his appearance. In fact, he was just as cowardly and spineless as Tikhon. He was afraid of the influence of his uncle Dikiy, and therefore could not protect poor Katerina from the shame and ridicule that befell the girl after admitting her betrayal. Boris does not take his beloved with him. He leaves her among those callous and cruel people. And how does the girl behave? She is not angry, does not scold Boris, but only quietly and tenderly says goodbye to him. Her love was so high and pure. She was the highest value in life for Katerina.

After parting with Boris, Katerina decides to free herself from the heavy burden of life and jumps from a river cliff into the raging waves of the Volga. The girl dies, but at the same time her soul is freed from the cruel and hypocritical world of tyrants from the “dark kingdom.”

In Katerina’s situation we see that all the “ideas” instilled in her from childhood, all the principles environment- rebel against her natural aspirations and actions. The terrible struggle to which the young woman is condemned takes place in every word, in every movement of the drama, and this is where the full importance of the introductory characters for which Ostrovsky is so reproached appears. Take a good look: you see that Katerina was brought up in concepts identical to the concepts of the environment in which she lives, and cannot renounce them, not having any theoretical education. Although the stories of wanderers and the suggestions of her family were processed by her in her own way, they could not help but leave an ugly trace in her soul: and indeed, we see in the play that Katerina, having lost her bright dreams and ideal, lofty aspirations, retained one thing from her upbringing a strong feeling - fear of some dark forces, something unknown, which she could not explain to herself well or reject. She is afraid for her every thought, for the simplest feeling she expects punishment; it seems to her that the thunderstorm will kill her, because she is a sinner, the pictures of fiery hell on the church wall seem to her to be a harbinger of her eternal torment... And everything around her supports and develops this fear in her: Feklushi goes to Kabanikha to talk about the last times; Dikoy insists that the thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we feel; the arriving lady, instilling fear in everyone in the city, appears several times in order to shout over Katerina in an ominous voice: “You will all burn in unquenchable fire.” Everyone around is full of superstitious fear, and everyone around, in agreement with the concepts of Katerina herself, should look at her feelings for Boris as the greatest crime. Even the daring Kudryash, the esprit-fort * of this environment, even finds that girls can hang out with guys as much as they want - that’s okay, but women should be locked up. This conviction is so strong in him that, having learned about Boris’s love for Katerina, he, despite his daring and some kind of outrage, says that “this matter must be abandoned.” Everything is against Katerina, even her own concepts of good and evil; everything must force her to drown out her impulses and wither in the cold and gloomy formalism of family silence and humility, without any living aspirations, without will, without love, or learn to deceive people and conscience.<…>

The environment in which Katerina lives requires her to lie and deceive; “You can’t live without this,” Varvara tells her, “remember where you live; Our whole house rests on this. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.” Katerina succumbs to her position, goes out to Boris at night, hides her feelings from her mother-in-law for ten days... You might think: here is another woman who has lost her way, learned to deceive her family and will be debauched on the sly, falsely caressing her husband and wearing a disgusting mask of a meek woman! It would be impossible to strictly blame her for this either: her situation is so difficult! But then she would have been one of the dozens of faces of the type that has already become so worn out in stories that showed how “the environment eats up good people.” Katerina is not like that: the denouement of her love, despite all the homely surroundings, is visible in advance, even when she is just approaching the matter. She doesn't study psychological analysis and therefore cannot express subtle observations of himself; what she says about herself means that she strongly makes herself known to her. And she, at Varvara’s first proposal about a date with Boris, screams: “No, no, don’t! God forbid: if I see him even once, I’ll run away from home, I won’t go home for anything in the world!” It’s not reasonable precaution that speaks in her, it’s passion; and it is clear that no matter how she restrains herself, passion is higher than her, higher than all her prejudices and fears, higher than all suggestions. heard by her since childhood. Her whole life lies in this passion; all the strength of her nature, all her living aspirations merge here. What attracts her to Boris is not just the fact that she likes him, that he, both in appearance and in speech, is not like the others around her; She is drawn to him by the need for love, which has not found a response in her husband, and the offended feeling of a wife and woman, and the mortal melancholy of her monotonous life, and the desire for freedom, space, hot, unfettered freedom. She keeps dreaming of how she could “fly invisibly wherever she wants”; and then such a thought comes: “if it were up to me, I would now ride on the Volga, on a boat, with songs, or on a good troika, hugging each other”... “Just not with my husband,” Varya tells her, and Katerina doesn’t can hide his feelings and immediately opens up to her with the question: “how do you know?” It is clear that Varvara’s remark explained a lot to her: while telling her dreams so naively, she did not yet fully understand their meaning. But one word is enough to give her thoughts the certainty that she herself was afraid to give them. Until now, she could still doubt whether this new feeling really contained the bliss that she was so painfully seeking. But once she has uttered the word of secret, she will not give up on it even in her thoughts. Fear, doubt, the thought of sin and human judgment - all this comes to her mind, but no longer has power over her; This is just a formality, to clear your conscience. In the monologue with the key (the last one in the second act) we see a woman in whose soul a decisive step has already been taken, but who only wants to somehow “talk” herself. She makes an attempt to stand somewhat aside from herself and judge the action she has decided to take as an extraneous matter; but her thoughts are all directed towards justifying this act. “Now,” he says, “how long will it take to die... In captivity, someone is having fun... Even though I’m living now, I’m toiling, I don’t see any light for myself... my mother-in-law crushed me”... etc. d. - all exculpatory articles. And then there are some more relieving considerations: “it’s already clear that fate wants it this way. .. But what a sin is there in this, if I look at it once... Yes, even if I talk, it’s not a problem. Or maybe such a case will not happen in my entire life...” This monologue aroused in some critics the desire to sneer at Katerina as a shameless critic *; but we know of no greater shamelessness than to assure that we or any of our ideal friends are not involved in such transactions with conscience... In these transactions, it is not the individuals who are to blame, but those concepts that have been hammered into their heads from childhood and which so often they are contrary to the natural course of the living aspirations of the soul. Until these concepts are driven out of society, until the complete harmony of ideas and the needs of nature is restored in the human being, such transactions are inevitable. It’s also good if, when doing them, they come to what seems natural and common sense, and do not fall under the yoke of conventional instructions of artificial morality. This is precisely what Katerina gained strength for, and the stronger her nature speaks, the calmer she faces the childish nonsense that those around her have taught her to fear. Therefore, it even seems to us that the artist playing the role of Katerina on the St. Petersburg stage is making a small mistake, giving the monologue we are talking about too much heat and tragedy. She obviously wants to express the struggle taking place in Katerina’s soul, and from this point of view she conveys the difficult monologue perfectly. But it seems to us that it is more consistent with Katerina’s character and position in this case to give her words more calmness and lightness. The struggle, in fact, is already over, only a little thought remains, the old rag still covers Katerina, and little by little she throws it off. The end of the monologue betrays her heart. “Come what may, I will see Boris,” she concludes, and in the oblivion of foreboding, she exclaims: “Oh, if only the night would speed up!”

Such love, such a feeling will not live within the walls of Kabanov’s house, with pretense and deception. Although Katerina decided to go on a secret date, for the first time, in the delight of love, she says to Boris, who assures that no one will find out anything: “Eh, why feel sorry for me, it’s no one’s fault—she went for it herself. Don't be sorry, destroy me! Let everyone know, let everyone see what I’m doing... If I wasn’t afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?”

And for sure, she is not afraid of anything except being deprived of the opportunity to see her chosen one, talk to him, enjoy these summer nights with him, these new feelings for her. Her husband arrived, and life became difficult for her. It was necessary to hide, to be cunning; she didn’t want it and couldn’t do it; she had to return again to her callous, dreary life - this seemed to her more bitter than before. Moreover, I had to be afraid every minute for myself, for my every word, especially in front of my mother-in-law; one also had to be afraid of terrible punishment for the soul... This situation was unbearable for Katerina: days and nights she kept thinking, suffering, exalting her imagination, which was already hotter, and the end was one that she could not endure - despite everything the people crowded in the gallery of the ancient church, she repented of everything to her husband. His first movement was fear of what his mother would say. “Don’t, don’t say, mother is here,” he whispers, confused. But the mother has already listened and demands a full confession, at the end of which she draws out her moral: “What, son, where does the will lead?”

It is difficult, of course, to ridicule common sense more than Kabanikha does in her exclamation. But in the “dark kingdom” common sense means nothing: with the “criminal” they took measures that were completely contrary to him, but usual in that life: the husband, at the behest of his mother, beat his wife, the mother-in-law locked her up and began to eat. ..

The will and peace of the poor woman are gone: before, at least they couldn’t reproach her, even though she could feel that she was completely right in front of these people. But now, one way or another, she is to blame for them, she violated her duties to them, brought grief and shame to the family; Now the most cruel treatment of her already has reasons and justification. What remains for her?

<…>Another solution would have been less impossible - to flee with Boris from the tyranny and violence of the family. Despite the strictness of the formal law, despite the cruelty of rude tyranny, such steps do not represent an impossibility in themselves, especially for such characters as Katerina. And she does not neglect this way out, because she is not an abstract heroine who wants death on principle. Having run away from home to see Boris, and already thinking about death, she, however, is not at all averse to escaping; Having learned that Boris is going far away, to Siberia, she very simply tells him: “Take me with you from here.” But then a stone appears in front of us for a minute, which keeps people in the depths of the pool that we call the “dark kingdom.” This stone is material dependence. Boris has nothing and is completely dependent on his uncle, Dikiy; Dikoy and the Kabanovs agreed to send him to Kyakhta, and, of course, they will not allow him to take Katerina with him. That’s why he answers her: “It’s impossible, Katya; I’m not going of my own free will, my uncle is sending me, the horses are ready,” etc. Boris is not a hero, he is far from worthy of Katerina, and she fell in love with him more in solitude. He has had enough “education” and cannot cope with the old way of life, nor with his heart, nor with common sense - he walks as if lost. He lives with his uncle because he must give him and his sister part of his grandmother’s inheritance, “if they are respectful to him.” Boris understands well that Dikoy will never recognize him as respectful and, therefore, will not give him anything; Yes, that's not enough. Boris reasons like this: “No, he will first break with us, scold us in every possible way, as his heart desires, but he will still end up not giving anything or so, just some little thing, and will even begin to tell that he gave out of mercy, that even this should not have happened.” And yet he lives with his uncle and endures his curses; For what? - unknown. On her first date with Katerina, when she talks about what awaits her for this, Boris interrupts her with the words: “Well, what should we think about it, fortunately we are fine now.” And when last date cries: “Who knew that we would have to suffer so much with you for our love! It would be better for me to run then!” In a word, this is one of those very common people who do not know how to do what they understand, and do not understand what they do. Their type has been portrayed many times in our fiction - sometimes with exaggerated compassion for them, sometimes with excessive bitterness against them. Ostrovsky gives them to us as they are, and with his special skill he depicts with two or three features their complete insignificance, although, however, not devoid of a certain degree of spiritual nobility. There is no need to expand on Boris; in fact, he should also be attributed to the situation in which the heroine of the play finds herself. He represents one of the circumstances that makes her fatal end necessary. If it were a different person and in a different position, then there would be no need to throw yourself into the water. But the fact of the matter is that an environment subordinated to the power of the Wild and Kabanovs usually produces Tikhonovs and Borisovs, unable to perk up and accept their human nature, even when faced with characters such as Katerina. We said a few words above about Tikhon; Boris is essentially the same, only “educated”. Education took away from him the power to do dirty tricks, it’s true; but it did not give him the strength to resist the dirty tricks that others do; it has not even developed in him the ability to behave in such a way as to remain alien to everything disgusting that swarms around him. No, not only does he not resist, he submits to other people’s nasty things, he willy-nilly participates in them and must accept all their consequences. But he understands his position, talks about it and often even deceives, for the first time, truly living and strong natures, who, judging by themselves, think that if a person thinks so, understands so, then he should do so. Looking from their point of view, such natures will not find it difficult to say to “educated” sufferers moving away from the sad circumstances of life: “Take me with you, I will follow you everywhere.” But this is where the powerlessness of the sufferers turns out to be; it turns out that they did not foresee it, and that they curse themselves, and that they would be glad, but they cannot, and that they have no will, and most importantly, that they have nothing in their souls and that in order to continue their existence they must serve that to the Wild One, from whom we would like to get rid of...

There is nothing to praise or scold these people, but you need to pay attention to the practical ground on which the question moves; it must be admitted that it is difficult for a person expecting an inheritance from his uncle to shake off his dependence on this uncle, and then he must give up unnecessary hopes for his nephews expecting an inheritance. even if they were “educated” it is absolutely impossible. If we look at who is to blame here, then it will be not so much the nephews who are to blame as the uncles, or, better said, their inheritance.

Dobrolyubov N.A. "A ray of light in a dark kingdom"

Lesson topic: “Who is to blame for the death of Katerina?” (Katerina’s love in A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”)

The purpose of the lesson:-analyze the image of the heroine; understand why she decided to love Boris, what this love led to.

Find out Katerina's suicide - strength or weakness.

Find out Katerina’s character traits, why she cannot live according to the laws of the “dark kingdom”.

Learn to conduct research work according to the text.

Learn to express your opinion.

Lesson form: dispute

Methodical techniques: conversation with analysis of episodes, student reports, musical accompaniment, use of film and illustrations .

Equipment: A. N. Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm", illustrations for the play, portraits of the actresses who played Katerina, the film "The Thunderstorm", musical accompaniment, poems by A. Dementyev and P. Vegin .

During the classes:

Organizing time.

Organize the group for work, mark those who are absent.

Communicate the topic and objectives of the lesson.

Love is stronger than death, stronger than the fear of death.

(I.S. Turgenev)

Music sounds: romance “Under the caress of a plush blanket” - 2 min 35 sec.

What kind of love is sung about in the romance? (love is self-sacrifice, which leads to death).

Love also led to death for the main character of the play “The Thunderstorm.”

The topic of our lesson: “Do not tempt me by loving!” (Katerina’s love in A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”)

Epigraph of the lesson: “Love is stronger than death, stronger than the fear of death.”

How do you understand these words?

When a person loves, he is ready to do anything, ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his beloved, ready to perform a feat in the name of love. The main character of the play, Katerina, is ready to sacrifice a lot in the name of love, even her principles; she throws herself into the pool, without fear of God's punishment.

We must figure out why Katerina decided to love Boris, why Katerina committed suicide, Katerina’s death - victory or defeat, identify Katerina’s character traits, why she cannot live according to the laws of the “dark kingdom”, what are the origins of Katerina’s character. We conduct the lesson in the form of a debate, in which you must express your opinion - love Katerina's weakness Is it this or the power? Katerina's suicide - is it a victory or a defeat? Can this be called Katerina’s protest against the “dark kingdom”? During the lesson, each of you should form your own opinion on this matter, which you will express during the debate.

Implementation homework.

To better understand the image of Katerina and its incompatibility with the norm and morality of the “dark kingdom,” let us remember the previous lesson, the life and customs of the city of Kalinov, after completing the tasks.

Assignments: “Do you know the play “The Thunderstorm” (handout)

Students read the question and answer it orally

Homework question: Which of the characters in the play is neither a “victim” nor a “master” of the city of Kalinov? (Katerina Kabanova). Why? (She does not subordinate anyone to herself and does not know how to obey herself)

New material.

1) Katerina's character traits.

Katerina, the main character of Ostrovsky’s play, does not obey the “masters” of life (Kabanikha and Dikiy), the laws of the dark kingdom are alien to her, she lives as her conscience tells her. The names of the heroes have symbolic meaning: Katerina – Greek. “cleanliness”, “decency”; but the name of Kabanikha is Martha - Greek. “mistress”, “mistress”, that’s how she feels in the play; Kabanikha’s daughter, Varvara, means “foreign”, “rude” in Greek. This is Katerina because of her character.

What character traits are evident from Katerina’s very first remarks? (read out remarks) - inability to be a hypocrite, directness.

From the very first remarks of Katerina, conflict is felt.

Where did such character traits of Katerina come from, if the city of Kalinov lives according to different principles? (upbringing in childhood, in home)

Let's compare Katerina's life in Kabanikha's house and in her parents' house.

At the parents' house:

- “like a bird in the wild”

- “mama doted on her”

- “they were not forced to work”

- “I embroidered, went to church, walked”

In her parents' house, Katerina felt the cordial attitude of her relatives, relative freedom, listened to the stories of wanderers, praying prayers, and attended church. Hence Katerina has a painful impressionability and a romantic attitude towards life.

In Kabanikha's house:

-"withered like a flower"

- “They scold you out of love”

- “everything is under duress”

- “He won’t be afraid of me, and even less so of you”

In Kabanova’s house, Katerina experienced her mother-in-law’s cruel attitude towards her, which caused a constant spiritual rebellion, and Tikhon did not understand Katerina. And he lived according to Kabanikha’s orders.

The influence of life with the Kabanovs on Katerina:

A) Awareness of one’s doom

B) Isolation, disappointment in family life.

C) Passionate desire for freedom, love, happiness.

Now let's find out the character traits main character and what is her conflict with those around her?

Katerina's character traits - principles of life in Kabanikha's house

Love of freedom - submission

Independence - giving up one's will

Self-esteem – humiliation by reproaches and suspicions

Dreaminess and poetry - lack of spiritual principles

Religiosity - religious hypocrisy

Decisiveness - not letting one live according to one’s will (captivity)

Kindness, selflessness - rudeness and abuse

Honesty, spontaneity - deception

Conclusion: For Katerina, the main thing is to live according to your soul, but for Kabanikha, the main thing is to subjugate and not let you live according to your own way. A sharp contrast arises here - an irreconcilable conflict ensues.

Your opinion on the question: How does Katerina differ from the residents of the city of Kalinova? (spontaneity, kindness, sincerity, honesty, etc.)

Is Katerina’s desire for freedom a protest or a state of mind? (Students' opinions)

2) Katerina’s love for Boris – a protest or a sincere feeling?

Love is the driving force of the plot. What is love? Definition according to Ozhegov’s dictionary (Love of children, parents, friends, high feeling)

1) all the characters talk about love, and especially Katerina.

2) We are talking about different types of love (the love of parents, friendship, sons

and about love as a high spiritual feeling.)

3) The first and last remarks about love belong to Katerina.

4) In 4.D, where the scene of Katerina’s repentance is described, there are no lines at all with the word “love”

Is Katerina’s tragedy a tragedy of love or conscience?

Poem by A. Dementyev “The soul does not want change”

Love not only elevates.

Love sometimes destroys us.

Breaks destinies and hearts...

Beautiful in her desires,

She can be so dangerous

Like an explosion, like nine grams of lead.

She bursts in suddenly.

And you can no longer tomorrow

Don't see a cute face.

Love not only elevates.

Love accomplishes and decides everything.

And we go into this captivity.

And we don’t dream of freedom.

While the dawn rises in the soul,

The soul does not want change.

So Katerina’s love is not only sublime feeling, but the destructive feeling, which played a fatal role in her fate, led the heroine to death. Cases of suicide in the patriarchal merchant world were not isolated - we will see this from the history of the creation of the play “The Thunderstorm” (student report)

“On the instructions of His Imperial Highness, Admiral General, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, prominent Russian writers who already had travel experience and a taste for essayistic prose were sent around the country for new materials for the “Sea Collection”. They were supposed to study and describe folk crafts associated with the sea, lakes and rivers, methods of local shipbuilding and navigation, the situation of domestic fisheries and the very state of Russian waterways.

Ostrovsky inherited the Upper Volga from its source to Nizhny Novgorod. And he got down to business with enthusiasm.”

“In the ancient dispute between the Volga cities about which of them, by the will of Ostrovsky, was turned into Kalinov (the location of the play “The Thunderstorm”), arguments in favor of Kineshma, Tver, and Kostroma are most often heard. The debaters seemed to have forgotten about Rzhev, and yet Rzhev was clearly involved in the birth of the mysterious plan of “The Thunderstorm”!

It is not known exactly where “The Thunderstorm” was written - at a dacha near Moscow or in Shchelykovo on the Volga, but it was created with amazing speed, truly by inspiration, in a few months of 1859.

For quite a long time, it was believed that Ostrovsky took the plot of “The Thunderstorm” from the life of the Kostroma merchants, that it was based on the Klykov case, which was sensational in Kostroma at the end of the summer of 1859. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Kostroma residents proudly pointed to the site of Katerina’s suicide - a gazebo at the end of a small boulevard, which in those years literally hung over the Volga. They also showed the house where she lived, next to the Church of the Assumption. And when “The Thunderstorm” was first performed on the stage of the Kostroma Theater, the artists made themselves up “to look like the Klykovs.”

Kostroma local historians then thoroughly examined the “Klykovo Case” in the archives and, with documents in hand, came to the conclusion that it was this story that Ostrovsky used in his work on “The Thunderstorm.” The coincidences were almost literal. A.P. Klykova was extradited at the age of sixteen to a gloomy and unsociable merchant family, consisting of old parents, a son and an unmarried daughter. The mistress of the house, stern and obstinate, depersonalized her husband and children with her despotism. She forced her young daughter-in-law to do any menial work and refused her requests to see her family.

At the time of the drama, Klykova was 19 years old. In the past, she was brought up in love and affection by her doting grandmother, she was cheerful, cheerful, and lively. Now she found herself unkind and alien in the family. Her young husband, Klykov, a carefree and apathetic man, could not protect his wife from the oppression of his mother-in-law and treated her indifferently. The Klykovs had no children. And then another man stood in the way of the young woman, Maryin, an employee at the post office. Suspicions and scenes of jealousy began. It ended with the fact that on November 10, 1859, the body of A.P. Klykova was found in the Volga. A long trial began, which received wide publicity even outside the Kostroma province, and none of the Kostroma residents doubted that Ostrovsky had used the materials of this case in “The Thunderstorm.”

Many decades passed before researchers of Ostrovsky’s work established for sure that “The Thunderstorm” was written before the Kostroma merchant Klykova rushed into the Volga. Ostrovsky began work on “The Thunderstorm” in June-July 1859 and finished it on October 9 of the same year.

We can conclude that such cases happened among the merchants, because the patriarchal foundations of society did not allow them to live freely, independently, but subjugated and enslaved. A woman could not love whoever she wanted, she was not married for love, and she had to accept her fate.

Katerina Kabanova did not accept it, just like A.P. Klykova.

Reading the dialogue between Katerina and Varvara (D.2, episode 2)

Who did Katerina fall in love with?

Why does Varvara guess about Katerina’s love?

What can be said about the principles of the Kabanov house? How did Varvara adapt?

Katerina fell in love with Boris, but Katerina’s conscience, her religiosity does not allow her to transgress the moral law - to cheat on her husband. Katerina’s torment was noticed by Varvara, who adapted to the laws of the “dark kingdom”, learned to deceive, and secretly from her mother met with her beloved Kudryash. It is Varvara who arranges a meeting between Katerina and Boris when Tikhon leaves on business.

Analysis of the scene “Tikhon’s Farewell” D2, appearances 3,4,5.

(Reading by roles)

How do the characters behave in this scene, how does this characterize them?

What significance does this scene have in the development of events?

(In this scene, Kabanikha’s despotism is revealed to the extreme, Tikhon’s complete inability not only to protect, but also to understand Katerina is revealed. This scene explains Katerina’s decision to go on a date with Boris.)

How does Tikhon behave before leaving?

(To understand Tikhon’s state of mind before leaving, you need to clearly imagine his position in his mother’s house, his desire to be free from care for at least two weeks. With a feeling of relief, Tikhon pronounces his line: “Yes, sir, mamma, it’s time.” But it turns out that That’s not all. His mother demands that he give Katerina instructions on how to live without him. Tikhon understands that by fulfilling his mother’s will, he is humiliating his wife.

When Kabanikha’s instructions become completely offensive, Tikhon tries to object to Katerina’s bullying, but his mother is adamant, and he quietly, embarrassed, as if apologizing to his wife, says: “Don’t look at the guys!” Kabanikha’s goal is to bring her family and, above all, the wayward Katerina to complete obedience)

Analysis of a monologue with a key. D 2, appearance 10.

Let's try to understand why Katerina fell in love with Boris?

We will find the answer in Dobrolyubov’s article: “For her, her whole life lies in this passion; all the strength of her nature, all her living aspirations merge here. What attracts her to Boris is not just the fact that she likes him, that he is different in appearance and speech from the rest of those around her, she is drawn to him by her need for love, which has not found a response in her husband, and by the offended feeling of a wife and woman, and the mortal melancholy of her monotonous life, and the desire for freedom, space, hot, unfettered freedom.”

Reading a monologue (read by a student)

What feelings does Katerina experience, how are these feelings reflected in her speech? What is the significance of the scene?

(Here the victory of Katerina’s natural feelings over the dogmas of the house-building is revealed. Katerina’s speech is full of short, abrupt interrogative and exclamatory sentences, repetitions, comparisons conveying the tension of Katerina’s feelings.

After the excited introduction, Katerina’s bitter thoughts about life in captivity follow. Speech becomes more restrained and balanced. Katerina disputes the initial decision to throw the key: “What a sin is it if I look at it once, even from afar! Yes, at least I’ll talk!.. But he himself didn’t want to.” This part of the monologue is accompanied by remarks: after thinking, silence, thinking, thoughtfully looking at the key, characterizing Katerina’s state.

The monologue ends with a strong outburst of feelings: “I would even die to see him...”

Love choice dooms Katerina to torment. She meets with Boris.

Excerpt from the film “The Thunderstorm” (scene “Date”)

What is the complexity of Katerina’s internal state?

(Katerina commits deception and stands on a par with Varvara; this is not typical of Katerina’s nature. The author shows the evolution of the heroine’s state of mind - from confusion to the assertion of the right to love. Katerina “quietly walks down the path,... with her eyes cast down to the ground,” addresses to Boris “with fear, but without raising his eyes”, “raises his eyes and looks at Boris”, “throws himself at his neck.”)

How is Katerina’s struggle with herself shown in these monologues? (her monologues are intense, emotional, it is not the mind that speaks in them, but the heart.)

How is Katerina’s determination expressed? (decided on love with Boris, acted at the behest of the heart, not the law)

Conclusion: Katerina’s love is a sincere feeling, she is not capable of hypocrisy and pretending, she acts at the behest of her heart, violating the moral and religious law - cheating on her husband, and Tikhon did not strive to win Katerina’s love, but lived according to the orders and instructions of his “mama”, therefore Katerina did not find support and love in him, so she is looking for it on the side.

So. Is Katerina’s love a sincere feeling or a protest? (students' opinions )

Repentance of Katerina (D.4, Rev. 6)

After her husband’s arrival, Katerina “simply became her own person... She’s trembling all over, as if she’s got a fever; so pale, rushing around the house, as if looking for something. The eyes are like those of a madwoman."

Why did the changes occur in Katerina? (Katerina was religious, cheating on her husband, she committed a grave sin, she committed deception, which is contrary to her nature, so Katerina has a hard time in her soul, it is easier for her to confess and repent)

Since the drama is called “The Thunderstorm,” the thunderstorm motif is present throughout the entire play. Let's try to figure out how the title of the play determines the actions of the main character.

What do you think is the meaning of the title?

(Thunderstorm - in nature - the motif of an approaching thunderstorm is constantly heard.

The storm in Katerina’s soul - disagreement with the morality of the “dark kingdom”, the desire to live according to her heart’s wishes, love for Boris, leads to confusion of the soul.

There is a storm in society - a conflict is brewing, the reluctance of many to live according to the norms and

rules of house-building, in an unfree society free feelings awaken.)

Thunderstorm in nature - refreshing

Thunderstorm in the soul - cleanses

A thunderstorm in society enlightens.

How the residents of Kalinov perceived the thunderstorm (as a divine phenomenon. As punishment from God, Katerina is no exception, she is afraid of thunderstorms, following religious motives)

How is the repentance scene motivated? (read an excerpt from the play)

(A thunderstorm is approaching, which, according to the Kalinovites, “is being sent to us as punishment.” The gloomy flavor is intensified by the action scene - instead of a panorama of the Volga, there is a narrow gallery with oppressive arches. Katerina is now “unarmed.” She is hurt by both Kabanikha’s hints and Tikhon’s affectionate joke. Affection the husband to whom she is guilty is torture for her)

What is the difference in Katerina’s state of mind in D.1 and D.4?

(The difference in Katerina’s state of mind is also expressed in her exclamations after the lady’s departure in D.1: “Oh, how she scared me, I’m trembling all over, as if she was prophesying something for me; D.4: “Oh, I’m dying!” Katerina awaits God's punishment. She seeks protection from God, kneels down and sees in front of her an image of hell. This is how Ostrovsky leads to the climax of the play - the scene of repentance.)

D.4.yav.6. - Read the passage. What feelings does Katerina have now?

(If in the monologue with the key and in the meeting scene the victory of love in Katerina’s soul is revealed, then in the scene of repentance the power of the norms of religious morality weighing on Katerina is clearly revealed.)

(If Katerina had hidden her sin, learned to pretend and deceive, and continued to go on dates with Boris, then this would have meant that Katerina had adapted to the surrounding society, reconciled with its moral principles and despotism)

What explains Katerina's repentance?

(Katerina’s repentance is explained not only by the fear of God’s punishment, but also by the fact that her high morality rebels against the deception that entered her life. She said about herself: “I don’t know how to deceive, I can’t hide anything.” For Katerina’s moral assessment of her actions and thoughts constitutes an important aspect of spiritual life, and in Katerina’s popular recognition one can see an attempt to atone for her guilt, to severely punish herself, an attempt at moral cleansing.)

Could Katerina find a way to save her soul? Why? (students' opinions)

Farewell to Boris. (D.5, Rev. 3.4)

(Reading passage)

The romance “And lastly I’ll say” sounds

Katerina rushes into the Volga, not reconciled with the laws of the “dark kingdom”.

Why couldn’t Boris save Katerina (He was a “victim” of the “dark kingdom”, lived under the influence of the Wild One, and could not disobey him, obeyed him and could not, like Katerina, oppose captivity because of the fear of the “victim”)

What can be concluded?

Conclusion: Katerina never betrayed herself, she decided to love at the behest of her heart, she admitted to betrayal out of an inner sense of freedom (a lie is lack of freedom), she says goodbye to Boris not only because of the feeling of love, but also because he suffered because of her, she rushed into the Volga at the request of a free soul.

Prove that Katerina's death is a protest.

(Timic Tikhon blames his mother for the death of his wife, Varvara runs away from home)

Who will pray for the heroines who died for love?

Poem by P. Vegin “Keeper of the Hearth”

You are destroying the hearth.

The blue fire is boiling

In desperate eyes.

Warrior in love

What is drama to you, what is shame?

And you destroy the house

To build a temple.

The heroine of the play, destroying her family, went to love, experienced moments of happiness, built a temple of love, probably the goddess of love will pray for her soul.

Will the city of Kalinov be able to live as before after Katerina’s death? (students' opinions)

Work according to the textbook (Reserve)

The role of Katerina was played by many actresses, everyone had different approaches to the interpretation of this image

"Performers of the roles of Katerina"

1- Kositskaya

2-Fedotova

3-Strepetova

4-Ermolova

5-Tarasova

6-Kozyreva

Work according to the textbook: How did the actresses embody the image of Katerina?

Conclusion: Diverse stage incarnations are a continuation of the debate: is it strength or weakness? Protest or humility?

6.Critics about the play.

“What is a critic supposed to do here?”

Student message

Dobrolyubov “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”

- “Thunderstorm” is the revolutionary forces maturing in the depths of Russia

The critic noted strong, rebellious motives in the character of Katerina

In Katerina we see a protest against Kabanov’s concepts of morality.

Katerina is a healthy person. Who found the determination to end this rotten life at any cost.

D. Pisarev “Motives of Russian drama”

Katerina is a “crazy dreamer”

Katerina's whole life consists of internal contradictions

She constantly goes from one extreme to another

She confuses her life and the lives of others at every step.

Having confused everything, she cuts through the lingering knots with the most stupid means - suicide.

Apollon Grigoriev

I saw poetry in Katerina folk life

He noted the beauty of nature, the Volga, against the backdrop of which the action unfolds: “It’s as if not an artist, but a whole people created here!”

7. Fastening.

T eating task.

Lesson summary.

So, in the lesson we looked at the image of the main character of Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”, what conclusion can be drawn about her? (strong, decisive, capable of love, defending her feelings, but unable to lie, deceive, fearing God - all this led the heroine to death)

Disassemble the diagram. (Met Zolotareva p. 196) – draw a conclusion from the lesson

Give ratings.

Lesson conclusion: Katerina – strong personality who knew how to love, is ready to sacrifice herself in the name of love, but she is honest, sincere and therefore she is not able to pretend, deceive, i.e. to live according to the laws of the “dark kingdom”, she chose a way out - suicide, in order to rid herself and her soul of remorse and get away from the norms and rules of the city of Kalinov.

The romance “Love” sounds Wonderland»

9. D/z

Write a description literary hero–Katerina according to plan (see stand)