What is the dark kingdom in the work of a thunderstorm. Essay on the theme “The Dark Kingdom in the play by Ostrovsky Thunderstorm. The broad meaning of the "dark kingdom"

The play by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm" was written in 1859. At this time, Russian society wondered about the future path of development of Russia. Slavophiles and Westernizers fiercely argued about which is better: patriarchy (autocracy, nationality, Orthodoxy) or value orientation Western Europe.
The author of "The Groza", as is known, was a Slavophile. However, this work of Ostrovsky testifies to his “disappointment” in patriarchal Russia, in the ideas to build a socially prosperous society on its basis. What makes the person who wrote and read the play to come to this conclusion? What conflicts of the play "Thunderstorm", declared and developed by the playwright, testify to the imperfection of the "old order", the perniciousness of the Kalinovs' cities?
Let's look at the conflict between Katerina (the main character of the drama) and the city of Kalinov, a symbol of patriarchal Russia. The conflict between the "ray of light" and the "dark kingdom" (N. A. Dobrolyubov).
The city of Kalinov is a provincial town typical of Russia at that time. Dobrolyubov describes it as follows: “The concepts and way of life they have adopted are the best in the world, everything new comes from evil spirits... They find it awkward and even insolent to persistently seek reasonable grounds ... A dark mass, terrible in its hatred and sincerity. " Kalinovtsy are either poor, or "tyrants". “Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but coarseness and naked poverty. And we, sir, will never get out of this pore! Because honest work will never earn us more daily bread... And whoever has money, sir, is trying to enslave the poor, so that for his labors free more more money make money "- this is the characteristic of Kalinov by Kuligin, a man who, although different from the" dark mass ", is not able to resist it, like Katerina, since his position in life is" ... one must try to please somehow! " The real threat to the "dark kingdom" is Katerina. She is a "ray of light" capable of illuminating "... the kingdom of the Wild." What is Katerina? “Katerina did not kill the human in herself. nature ... Russian a strong character amazes us with its opposite to all self-styled principles ... The character is creative, loving, ideal "- this is how N. A. Dobrolyubov described her. Katerina is a human “ new era”. Her protest against the "tyrannical force" and the "world of quietly sighing sorrow" is that "it is no longer possible to live with violent, deadening principles."
Naturally, this protest, this conflict of Katerina with the “dark kingdom” is inevitable, since she cannot coexist harmoniously with such a world.
Katerina's opponent in this clash is Kabanova, or Kabanikha. We will mainly consider the conflict between Katerina and Kabanova, since the latter, in our opinion, is the most sharply opposed to Katerina, the most convinced of her righteousness.
What is Kabanikha? In the playbill she is presented as “a rich merchant's wife, a widow”. A little later we hear how the “wanderer” Feklusha praises her for her virtue, and we learn the characteristics of Kuligin: “Hamka, sir! She clothe the beggars, but she ate the household altogether. " After we form for ourselves a vague impression of Kabanova, the author gives us the opportunity to learn about her "first-hand". The scene of the return from church and the subsequent conversations with Kabanova make the reader give preference to Kuligin's characterization.
The power and despotism of Kabanikha are based on the distorted “Domostroy”; in her opinion, the family should be based on the words "fear" and "order". Therefore, Katerina, for whom the family is “love” and “will,” collides with Kabanova.
Although Catherine is a product of the patriarchal world, she is sharply different from him. We can say that she "absorbed" only the good side patriarchy. Katerina's striving for freedom and “space for life” contradicts Kabanikha's position. That is why the latter hates the “ray of light” so much, feels a threat to her existence.
From the first pages of the play, you can see how much Katerina is hated by Kabanikha, how much the latter wants to “kill her daughter-in-law”. To Katerina's sincere words: “For me, mamma, everything is the same as my own mother and what you are,” Kabanikha replies rudely: “You could ... be silent if they didn’t ask you.” It is disgusting to Katerina to repeat promises to Tikhon after her mother-in-law, as disgusting as “to another good wife who saw her husband off for an hour and a half, to lie on the porch”. We can say that for Katerina, it is not the form that is important, but the true feelings that are clothed in it. So, she prefers to "throw herself on Tikhon's neck" rather than "at his feet."
Thanks to her childhood, Katerina managed, as mentioned above, to get the correct idea of the family, a family in which there is no place for violence and coercion, where the husband is not only the “master”, but also the “protector” of the wife. In Kabanova's house, "everything seems to be out of bondage." Therefore, the values of Katerina and Kabanikha are so different.
Katerina's conflict with the "dark kingdom" is a tragic conflict, at its core is the contradiction between the hero and society. But he is not the only one who brings Katerina “into the pool”. Perhaps even more attention than social conflict, Ostrovsky devoted to the internal conflict in the soul of Katerina.
Brought up on patriarchal ideas about the family, about the duty of the wife, Katerina could not live, having committed such a terrible sin, according to the canons of Domostroi, as treason to her husband. At the same time, she could not help but love Boris. To this she was led by the desire for freedom, to “fly like a bird”, tired of the hopeless life in the Kabanovs' house. This love is both inevitable and contrary to morality. Katerina, with a solid character, cannot find “ the golden mean"In such a situation, make a compromise with herself, like Varvara, who lives by the principle" if only everything is sewn and covered. " “It’s as if I’m standing over an abyss and someone is pushing me there, but I have nothing to hold on to,” she complains to Varvara. Indeed, the weak-willed Tikhon cannot help his wife in any way, he is not even capable of taking a “terrible oath” from her.
Having committed a sin, Katerina cannot keep it secret (because of her internal installations). Moreover, for her anyway, there was no longer any hope either that she would be forgiven, or that she would be able to continue to live the way she does. "Am I afraid of human judgment!" she exclaims.
So, the inability to love Boris because of his spiritual values (that is, to be “free”) and the understanding that such a life “in chains” is impossible (“what's home, what's in the grave ... it's better in the grave”), lead Katerina to death, into a whirlpool. The Volga for Katerina is a symbol of will and freedom. Ostrovsky's landscape (“natural elements”) is not just a background, but also “helps” the main character to resist the “dark kingdom”.
The feeling of tragic guilt leads Katerina inexorably to death. In the “fall” of Katerina, one can see the idea of rock, inevitability. Therefore, it can be argued that the tragic, internal conflict in the play "The Thunderstorm", along with the dramatic (social), plays an important role. Both of these conflicts are resolved by the death of the main character. Nevertheless, the end of the drama, Tikhon's attempt to go against the will of his mother give hopes for the collapse of the “dark kingdom”.
Katerina is a person of a new era. She is not a bearer of new ideals, but only a victim of old ones. At the same time, her fate denounces the patriarchal world. “When the old ideal is worn out, then it begins, first of all, to contradict the entire system of life, and not the new ideal,” wrote Ostrovsky. Although the conflict she enters into has led to her death, it clearly shows that “the old Kabanovs are breathing heavily” and that the future is not theirs.

", A.N. Ostrovsky for the first time depicts the realistic world of the "dark kingdom". Who was it? This is a large part of that society - tyrants who had the power of money in their hands, who wanted to enslave the poor and profit even more from their free labor. Ostrovsky for the first time opens the world of merchants with all the realities and true events. There is nothing human, kind in this world. There is no faith in a free person, in happiness, in love and decent work.

What is the conflict in the play? In the clash of interests and morals of the obsolete and future generations of people. Complex images of the characters of this play are depicted with special meaning. A wealthy merchant, Wild, is a fairly important person in the city. Kudryash, tobish Savel Prokofievich - imagines himself the ruler of the world and the master of the life around him. Many characters are afraid of him and are simply in awe of his image. The chaos in the behavior of the Wild is covered by the power and significance of his monetary state. He has the patronage of the government.

Ostrovsky creates a rather ambiguous and complex image of the Wild. This character is faced with the problem of not external opposition to his person. He is experiencing an inner protest. The hero understands how callous his middle and his heart are. He tells the story of how a peasant who was carrying firewood was scolding for nothing. Dikoy pounced on him and almost nailed him with nothing. And then he began to repent and ask for forgiveness. And he confessed that his heart was so “wild”.

It is in this image that we see the secret meaning of the "dark kingdom". It outlived itself from within. The internal protest of tyrants of that time destroyed themselves.

Analyzing another image of the play "The Dark Kingdom", one can notice other features of the tyrants of that time.

The persona puzzles us. In her opinion, all relationships in the family should be subject to fear. She is despotic and hypocritical. She is used to living according to the foundations of the old society. She completely ate up all the household and does not give them a calm life.

The secondary image of the wanderer Feklusha speaks in defense of the dying "dark kingdom". She enters into a conversation with Kabanikha and preaches her thoughts about the imminent death of the "dark kingdom".

In his play, in order to convey to the reader all his thoughts and reasoning, Ostrovsky creates many symbolic images. Thunderstorm is one of them. The finale of the play conveys the author's thoughts that life in such a "dark kingdom" is unbearable and terrible. The reader understands that the world of tyrants is overwhelmed by an awakened person who is filled with real, human feelings, who can overcome the falsity and hypocrisy of that “dark kingdom”.

Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" caused a stormy reaction in the field of literary scholars and critics. A. Grigoriev, D. Pisarev, F. Dostoevsky devoted their articles to this work. N. Dobrolyubov, some time after the publication of "Storm" in print, wrote an article "A ray of light in the dark kingdom." Being a good critic, Dobrolyubov stressed good style the author, praising Ostrovsky for his deep knowledge of the Russian soul, and reproached other critics for the lack of a direct look at the work. In general, Dobrolyubov's view is interesting from several points of view. For example, the critic believed that dramas should show the harmful influence of passion on a person's life, so he calls Katerina a criminal. But Nikolai Alexandrovich nevertheless says that Katerina is also a martyr, because her sufferings evoke a response in the soul of the viewer or reader. Dobrolyubov gives very accurate characteristics. It was he who called the merchants "the dark kingdom" in the play "The Thunderstorm".

If we trace how the merchants and the social strata adjacent to them have been reflected over the course of decades, then a complete picture of degradation and decline emerges. In "Nedoroslya" the Prostakovs show limited people, in "Woe from Wit" the Famusovs are frozen statues that refuse to live honestly. All these images are the predecessors of Kabanikha and the Wild. It is on these two characters that the "dark kingdom" in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is based. The author introduces us to the customs and customs of the city from the very first lines of the play: "Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel!" In one of the dialogues between the residents, the topic of violence is raised: "Whoever has money, sir, is trying to enslave the poor ... And between themselves, sir, how they live! ... They are at enmity with each other." No matter how many people hide what is happening within families, the rest and so everything is known. Kuligin says that no one has been praying to God here for a long time. All doors are locked, "so that people do not see how ... they eat their families and tyrannize their families." Behind the locks - debauchery and drunkenness. Kabanov goes to drink at the Dikoy's, Dikoy appears drunk in almost all scenes, Kabanikha is also not averse to having a glass - another in the company of Savl Prokofievich.

The whole world in which the inhabitants of the fictional city of Kalinov live is saturated with lies and deceit. Power over the "dark kingdom" belongs to tyrants and deceivers. Residents are so accustomed to dispassionate subservience to richer people that such a lifestyle is the norm for them. People often come to Dikiy to ask for money, while knowing that he will humiliate them, but will not give the required amount. Most negative emotions the merchant is called by his own nephew. Not even because Boris flatters Dikoy in order to get money, but because Dikoy himself does not want to part with the inheritance he has received. Its main features are rudeness and greed. Dikoy believes that since he has a large number of money, which means that others must obey him, be afraid of him and respect him at the same time.

Kabanikha stands up for the preservation of the patriarchal system. She is a true tyrant, capable of driving crazy anyone she doesn't like. Marfa Ignatievna, hiding behind the fact that she honors the old order, in fact, destroys the family. Her son, Tikhon, is happy to leave as far as possible, just not to hear the orders of his mother, her daughter does not care about Kabanikha's opinion, lies to her, and at the end of the play she simply runs away with Kudryash. Katerina got the most. The mother-in-law openly hated her daughter-in-law, controlled her every action, was dissatisfied with any little things. The scene of farewell to Tikhon seems to be the most revealing. The boar was offended by the fact that Katya hugged her husband goodbye. After all, she is a woman, which means that she should always be lower than a man. The wife's lot is to throw herself at her husband's feet and sob, praying for a quick return. Katya does not like this point of view, but she is forced to submit to the will of her mother-in-law.

Dobrolyubov calls Katya "a ray of light in the dark kingdom", which is also very symbolic. First, Katya is different from the inhabitants of the city. She, although she was brought up according to the old laws, about the preservation of which Kabanikha often speaks, has a different idea of life. Katya is kind and clean. She wants to help the poor, wants to go to church, do household chores, raise children. But in such an environment, all this seems impossible due to one simple fact: in the "dark kingdom" in the "Thunderstorm" it is impossible to find inner calm... People constantly walk in fear, drink, lie, cheat on each other, trying to hide the unsightly sides of life. In such an atmosphere, it is impossible to be honest with others, honest to oneself. Secondly, one ray is not enough to illuminate the "kingdom." Light, according to the laws of physics, must be reflected from some surface. It is also known that black has the ability to absorb other colors. Similar laws apply to the situation with the play's protagonist. Katerina does not see in others what is in her. Neither the residents of the city, nor Boris, "a decently educated person," could understand the reason for Katya's internal conflict. After all, even Boris is afraid of public opinion, he is dependent on the Wild and the possibility of inheritance. He is also bound by a chain of deception and lies, because Boris supports Varvara's idea of deceiving Tikhon in order to maintain a secret relationship with Katya. Let us apply the second law here. In Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm", the "dark kingdom" is so all-consuming that it is impossible to find a way out of it. It eats up Katerina, forcing her to take on one of the most terrible sins from the point of view of Christianity - suicide. The "dark kingdom" leaves no other choice. It will find her anywhere, even if Katya ran away with Boris, even if she left her husband. No wonder Ostrovsky transfers the action to a fictional city. The author wanted to show the typicality of the situation: this situation was typical of all cities in Russia. But is it only Russia?

Are the conclusions really so disappointing? The power of tyrants is gradually beginning to weaken. This is felt by Kabanikha and Dikoy. They feel that other people, new ones, will soon take their place. Such as Katya. Honest and open. And, perhaps, it is in them that those old customs that Marfa Ignatievna zealously defended will be revived. Dobrolyubov wrote that the ending of the play should be viewed in a positive way. “We are glad to see Katerina's deliverance - even through death, if it is impossible otherwise. Living in the "dark kingdom" is worse than death. " This is confirmed by the words of Tikhon, who for the first time openly opposes not only his mother, but also the entire order of the city. “The play ends with this exclamation, and it seems to us that nothing could have been more powerful and more truthful than such an ending. Tikhon's words make the viewer think not about a love affair, but about this whole life, where the living envy the dead. "

The definition of the "dark kingdom" and the description of the images of its representatives will be useful to pupils of the 10th grade when writing an essay on the topic "The Dark Kingdom in the play" The Thunderstorm "by Ostrovsky."

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"The Dark Kingdom" in the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm": Wild and Kabanikha

A.N. Ostrovsky possessed a high understanding of Russian life and a great ability to depict sharply and vividly the most significant
her side. Dobrolyubov called the world depicted by the playwright "the dark kingdom."
So what is this "dark kingdom"?
Getting acquainted with the situation and lifestyle of the inhabitants of Kalinov, from the very first pictures of the drama, we can judge the philistinism
cities.
"Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel!"
Per high fences Tears are falling behind the heavy locks. “Whoever has money, sir, is trying to kill the poor ...
among themselves - that, sir, how they live! ... They are at enmity with each other. " Who are they? Rude, scoundrels, envious people, oppressors.
Dobrolyubov calls this type of people "tyrants of Russian life." Dikoy and
Kabanikha.
The meaning of Dikov's life is to acquire, increase his wealth. For this, he does not disdain any
means. The mayor, to whom the peasants complained that Dikoy was robbing them, he replies: “Is it worth it, your
high nobility, we should talk about such trifles! I have a lot a year - sometimes people come to visit: you - then understand:
I will not pay them extra for a penny per person, but I have thousands of this, so it is good for me! "
The main features of the Wild are greed and rudeness. With thousands, he feels his strength and brazenly demands universal respect and
obedience. He considers himself entitled to scold all people in a row.
His whole life is based on curses. "Most of all, because of money, not a single calculation is complete without abuse." No one and
he does not dare to utter a word about his salary, he scolds him for whatever it is worth. Everyone in the house is afraid of him, they try not to make him angry in the morning,
otherwise the whole day will find fault with everyone. And the trouble is if his is a man whom he does not dare to curse; right there home
hold on. “As if I fell off the chain,” Kudryash characterizes him.
Showing his power, Dikoy says to Kulizhin: “I say that you are a robber, and the end! What are you, to sue, or something with me
you will! So you know that you are a worm. If I want - I will have mercy, if I want - I will crush ”.
But not everyone is scolded by Dikoy, not everyone speaks like that. As soon as you run into resistance, the tone immediately changes.
He is afraid of his clerk Kudryash. “He is the word, and I am ten; spit and go. No, I really do not slave to him
I will, ”says Kudryash. He does not dare to scold Kabanikha either.
It turns out that it is not so difficult to humble the Wild one; it is enough to show him at least some resistance. But the trouble is
the fact that he hardly meets this resistance.
The wild's speech characterizes him as an extremely rude, ignorant, uneducated person. He doesn't want to know anything
about science, culture, inventions. When Kuligin asks him for money for sundial Wild won't even understand, oh
what we are talking about.
On quotes from Derzhavin's poems, Dikoy says to Kuligin: "Don't you dare be rude to me!"
The limit of the power of tyrants depends on the degree of obedience of those around them. This was well understood by another mistress of the "dark kingdom"
Kabanikha. She is outwardly calm, well-controlled. "The hypocrite, he clothe the beggars, but ate the household completely," - so he says about
her Kuligin. Measuredly, monotonously, without raising her voice, she exhausts her household with her endless moralizing,
reproaches, reproaches, complaints: “If a parent says something when and offensive, according to your pride, I think it would be possible
postpone".
She does not get tired of repeating that taking care not of herself, but of children:
love and scold you - then everyone thinks to teach good. "
But from her love and care, Tikhon comes to stupidity, runs from the house of Varvara. Her constant tyranny has tortured Katherine
led her to death. The boar constantly pretends to be offended, unhappy: “Mother is old, stupid; well, and you young people
smart, should not collect from us, fools, ”. She sees her main concern in preventing any possibility
disobedience. The wild boar eats domestic animals in order to kill their will, any ability to resist. She supports
superstitions and prejudices, strictly observes old customs and orders: “Why are you standing, don’t you know the order? Order
wife - how to live without you! "
The boar is a domineering, proud, wayward woman, accustomed only to unquestioning obedience and humiliation
others: “Well, well, order! So that I can hear what you are ordering her! "
“In the night, in the night,” he orders Tikhon. This is not a woman, but a heartless one, cruel executioner... Even at the sight of pulled from
Volga of Katerina's body, she maintains an icy calm. Kabanikha understands that only fear can keep people in
submission, to extend the rule of tyrants. In response to Tikhon's words, why should his wife be afraid of him, Kabanikha exclaims in horror: “How
why be afraid! Are you crazy, or what? They will not be afraid of you, and even more so ”.
She defends the law according to which the weak should fear the strong, according to which a person should not have his own will. After
of Katerina's confessions, she loudly, triumphantly says to Tikhon: “What, son! Where does the will lead? I told you, so you and
I didn't want to listen. So I waited! "
Indeed, according to Dobrolyubov, "Nothing is sacred, nothing is pure, nothing is right in this dark world." The critic exclaimed:
“Petty tyranny, wild, insane, drove out of him all consciousness of honor and right ...
dignity, personal freedom, faith in love and happiness. "
The power of Kabanikha and the Wild is still great “But - a wonderful thing! ... tyrants begin to feel some kind of discontent and fear,
without knowing before what and why. Apart from them, without asking them, another life has grown, with different principles. She is still far away, but
already gives itself a presentiment and sends not good visions to the dark arbitrariness of tyrants. "

Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" caused a stormy reaction in the field of literary scholars and critics. A. Grigoriev, D. Pisarev, F. Dostoevsky devoted their articles to this work. N. Dobrolyubov, some time after the publication of "Storm" in print, wrote an article "A ray of light in the dark kingdom." As a good critic, Dobrolyubov emphasized the author's good style, praising Ostrovsky for his deep knowledge of the Russian soul, and rebuked other critics for not taking a direct look at the work. In general, Dobrolyubov's view is interesting from several points of view. For example, the critic believed that dramas should show the harmful influence of passion on a person's life, so he calls Katerina a criminal. But Nikolai Alexandrovich nevertheless says that Katerina is also a martyr, because her sufferings evoke a response in the soul of the viewer or reader. Dobrolyubov gives very accurate characteristics. It was he who called the merchants "the dark kingdom" in the play "The Thunderstorm".

If we trace how the merchants and the social strata adjacent to them have been reflected over the course of decades, then a complete picture of degradation and decline emerges. In "Minor" the Prostakovs are shown as limited people, in "Woe from Wit" the Famusovs are frozen statues that refuse to live honestly. All these images are the predecessors of Kabanikha and the Wild. It is on these two characters that the "dark kingdom" in the drama "The Thunderstorm" is based. The author introduces us to the customs and customs of the city from the very first lines of the play: "Cruel manners, sir, in our city, cruel!" In one of the dialogues between the residents, the topic of violence is raised: "Whoever has money, sir, is trying to enslave the poor ... And between themselves, sir, how they live! ... They are at enmity with each other." No matter how many people hide what is happening within families, the rest and so everything is known. Kuligin says that no one has been praying to God here for a long time. All doors are locked, "so that people do not see how ... they eat their families and tyrannize their families." Behind the locks - debauchery and drunkenness. Kabanov goes to drink at the Dikoy's, Dikoy appears drunk in almost all scenes, Kabanikha is also not averse to having a glass - another in the company of Savl Prokofievich.

The whole world in which the inhabitants of the fictional city of Kalinov live is saturated with lies and deceit. Power over the "dark kingdom" belongs to tyrants and deceivers. Residents are so accustomed to dispassionate subservience to richer people that such a lifestyle is the norm for them. People often come to Dikiy to ask for money, while knowing that he will humiliate them, but will not give the required amount. Most of all negative emotions in a merchant are caused by his own nephew. Not even because Boris flatters Dikoy in order to get money, but because Dikoy himself does not want to part with the inheritance he received. Its main features are rudeness and greed. Dikoy believes that since he has a large amount of money, it means that others should obey him, be afraid of him and at the same time respect him.

Dobrolyubov calls Katya "a ray of light in the dark kingdom", which is also very symbolic. First, Katya is different from the inhabitants of the city. She, although she was brought up according to the old laws, about the preservation of which Kabanikha often speaks, has a different idea of life. Katya is kind and clean. She wants to help the poor, wants to go to church, do household chores, raise children. But in such an environment, all this seems impossible due to one simple fact: in the "dark kingdom" in the "Thunderstorm" it is impossible to find inner peace. People constantly walk in fear, drink, lie, cheat on each other, trying to hide the unsightly sides of life. In such an atmosphere, it is impossible to be honest with others, honest to oneself. Secondly, one ray is not enough to illuminate the "kingdom." Light, according to the laws of physics, must be reflected from some surface. It is also known that black has the ability to absorb other colors. Similar laws apply to the situation with the play's protagonist. Katerina does not see in others what is in her. Neither the residents of the city, nor Boris, "a decently educated person," could understand the reason for Katya's internal conflict. After all, even Boris is afraid of public opinion, he is dependent on the Wild and the possibility of inheritance. He is also bound by a chain of deception and lies, because Boris supports Varvara's idea of deceiving Tikhon in order to maintain a secret relationship with Katya. Let us apply the second law here. In Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm", the "dark kingdom" is so all-consuming that it is impossible to find a way out of it. It eats up Katerina, forcing her to take on one of the most terrible sins from the point of view of Christianity - suicide. The "dark kingdom" leaves no other choice. It will find her anywhere, even if Katya ran away with Boris, even if she left her husband. No wonder Ostrovsky transfers the action to a fictional city. The author wanted to show the typicality of the situation: this situation was typical of all cities in Russia. But is it only Russia?

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