Larisa Ogudalova and Katerina Kabanova: comparison experience. Comparison of "Thunderstorm" and "Dowry" A

1. Introduction.

After reading the plays by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" and "Dowry", I decided to compare them with each other as the only dramatic works of this author, which were written at different times, but with many similarities. A comparison of these plays is also suggested by the fact that in both of them a drama of an outstanding female nature unfolds before us, leading to a tragic denouement. Finally, it is also important that in both plays an important role is played by the image of the Volga city in which the action takes place.

2. Similarities and differences.

2.1. Both plays in question belong to the genre of drama, although the exact genre of The Thunderstorm remains a controversial issue in Russian literature. This play combines features of both tragedy and drama (that is, "everyday tragedy"). The tragic genre is characterized by an insoluble conflict between the personal aspirations of the hero and the laws of life, which is inherent in both plays.

2.2. By the time of writing, "Thunderstorm" is the main work of Ostrovsky's pre-reform dramaturgy, "Dowry" absorbs many motifs of the playwright's post-reform work. The difference between the epochs depicted in these plays has led to a complete dissimilarity of the artistic world; "Dowry" is a drama of the bourgeois era - a new time, when ties with a thousand-year-old folk tradition are broken, a time that liberated a person not only from the foundations of morality, but also from shame, honor, conscience - and this decisively affects its problems. The culture of the people in Groz is inspired by the moral values ​​of Orthodoxy. Residents of the city of Kalinov still live according to the "Domostroy", life is still largely patriarchal.

2.3. Born in Zamoskvorechye, Ostrovsky knows the life and customs of the merchants well and explores the various characters of this circle in his work. His plays are densely populated with merchants and clerks, their children and wives. The playwright is interested in any little things, from the description of the costume and the furnishings of the house, to the individuality of each character's speech. Ostrovsky was completely original in portraying the characters.

2.4. In my opinion, in particular, the author succeeds in female types - "hot hearts".
Two dramas by A.N. devoted to the same problem - the position of women in Russian society. Of course, these women are extraordinary personalities. I want to dwell on the female heroines.

2.4.1. First of all, this is Katerina from the play "Thunderstorm". She is religious and romantic at the same time. Her soul strives for happiness, breaks free. Katerina is a merchant's daughter, married without love to Tikhon, she finds herself in an atmosphere of cruelty. In this environment, family duties are performed not from the heart, but “from under bondage”, and Katerina is connected for life with a stupid and narrow-minded husband, with an evil and quarrelsome mother-in-law.
But her romantic impulses find a way out, Katerina falls passionately in love with a young man, Boris, who stands out for his decent manners and some education. Two principles struggle in the heroine: sincere feeling, love and consciousness of the duty of a married woman. This internal struggle causes Katerina to strive for personal freedom. Having cheated on her husband, Katerina herself repents before him, but, exhausted by the homely atmosphere, she prefers death to returning to her family. Honest, sincere and principled, she is not capable of deceit and falsehood, of resourcefulness and opportunism.
She talks about her desire to fly several times. By this, Ostrovsky emphasizes the romantic sublimity of Katerina's soul. She would like to become a bird flying wherever she wants: “Why don't people fly! .. Why don't people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you are drawn to fly. That's how I would have fled, raised my hands and flew, - she says to Varvara, Tikhon's sister, - how frisky I was! And you have withered completely ... ”The harsh reality returns the heroine to the world of the Kabanovs and the Wild. Here you need to lie, quietly do what you want, outwardly observing the rules of decency. Barbara, who grew up in the house, perfectly mastered this science. Barbara is the exact opposite of Katerina. She is not superstitious, she is not afraid of thunderstorms, she does not consider it necessary to strictly observe established customs. Katerina is disgusted with such behavior.
Therefore, in a merciless world where Wild and Boar reign, her life turns out to be unbearable, impossible and ends so tragically. Katerina's protest against Kabanikha is a struggle of light, pure, human against the darkness of lies and cruelty of the "dark kingdom". Katerina has a very peculiar character: she is God-fearing and rebellious at the same time. For her, this is not suicide, but liberation from the hardships of life, hopelessness.

2.4.2. The situation is different in the drama "Dowry". The main character Larisa is not a simple girl from the bourgeois environment, she is an educated, cultured, thinking girl. She received a noble upbringing and, unlike Katerina, grew up in conditions where the weak are humiliated, where the strongest survive. In her character there is no integrity that is in Katerina. Therefore, Larisa does not strive, and cannot make her dreams and desires come true. She is oppressed by poverty and humiliation of position. Larisa does not accept the world in which she lives. She wants to get out of it at any cost.
For the mother of Larisa, who was left a widow with three daughters, the ostentatious elegance and nobility of family life is not a normal state, but a decoration for arranging profitable marriages for her daughters. For her, flattery and cunning are the main principles of communication with rich people who visit the house. Larisa is the youngest daughter, the last one left in the house, and her mother must get rid of her, without even pretending to be very lucky. All this puts an outstanding girl in a difficult position. Around Larisa there is a motley and dubious crowd of admirers and contenders for a hand, among which there are many "all sorts of rabble." Life in her house is like a “bazaar” or a “gypsy camp”. The heroine is forced not only to endure the falsity surrounding her, cunning, hypocrisy, but also to take part in them.
Larisa becomes a victim of the noble brilliance, irresistibility of Sergei Sergeevich Paratov. She sees in him the "ideal of a man", a man who cannot be disobeyed, who cannot be distrusted. Larisa does not see the insignificance and pettiness of his nature. Having lost hope for happiness with Sergey Sergeyevich, Larisa is ready to marry anyone who will take her away from the house that looks like a fair. She does not love Karandyshev, does not even respect him, but she hopes for him. But in this world there is no nobility. Larisa soon realized this. “I am a thing,” she says to Karandyshev. Realizing this, Larisa wants to sell herself at a higher price. The heroine is overcome by internal contradictions. She is ashamed of her thoughts, wants a clean and honest life, but does not see the way there. She wants to die, and has no strength, so Larisa Karandysheva takes the shot as a blessing, getting rid of the oppression of unsolvable problems. The death of the heroine is a worthy departure from her life.

2.5. Plays by A. Ostrovsky are full of various symbols. First of all, these are symbols associated with the natural world: forest, thunderstorm, river, bird, flight. The names of the characters also play a very important role in the plays, most often the names of ancient origin: ancient Greek and Roman.
2.5.1. Women's names in Ostrovsky's plays are very bizarre, but the name of the main character almost always extremely accurately characterizes her role in the plot and fate. Larisa - "seagull" in Greek, Katerina - "clean". Larisa is a victim of Paratov's pirate trade deals: he sells "birds" - "Swallow" (steamboat) and then Larisa - a seagull. Katerina is a victim of her purity, her religiosity, she could not bear the splitting of her soul, because she loved - not her husband, and severely punished herself for this. It is interesting that Kharita and Marfa (in "Dowry" and in "Thunderstorm") are both Ignatievnas, that is, "ignorant" or, scientifically, "ignoring". They stand, as it were, aloof from the tragedy of Larisa and Katerina, although both, of course, are to blame (not directly, but indirectly) for the death of their daughter and daughter-in-law.
2.5.2. Paratov is both a parade and a pirate. Also, of course, the obvious comparison of Paratov with the “horned” beast, that is, powerful, predatory, strong and merciless. His predatory behavior in the play is best described by this surname.
The names of Dikoy and Kabanov do not need to be commented on. Yes, and Tikhon - Kabanov, no matter how "quiet" he is. So Katerina is rushing about in this dark forest among animal-like creatures. She chose Boris almost unconsciously, the only difference between him and Tikhon is his name (Boris is Bulgarian for “fighter”).
Wild, self-willed characters, except for the Wild, are represented in the play by Barbara (she is a pagan, a “barbarian”, not a Christian and behaves accordingly).
Kuligin, in addition to the well-known associations with Kulibins, also evokes the impression of something small, defenseless: in this terrible swamp he is a sandpiper - a bird and nothing more. He praises Kalinov as a sandpiper praises his swamp.
Larisa in “Dowry” is not surrounded by “animals”. Mokiy - “blasphemous”, Vasily - “king”, Julius is, of course, Julius Caesar, and even Kapitonych, that is, living with his head (kaput - head), or maybe striving to be the main one.
And finally, Kharita - the mother of three daughters - is associated with the Kharites, the goddesses of youth and beauty, of which there were three, but she also destroys them (remember the terrible fate of the other two sisters - one married a cheater, the other was stabbed by a Caucasian husband).

3. Conclusions

3.1. "Thunderstorm" and "Dowry" are Ostrovsky's best plays, showing the reader and viewer the hitherto unknown world of the merchant class with its passions and pain, sorrows and joys. This world stepped onto the stage of the Russian theater, showing the full depth and diversity of natures, unbridled and rich in passions, petty and cruel, kind and noble, but weak, unable to fend for themselves.
The female images created by the playwright have taken their rightful place in classical Russian literature.

3.2. Katerina and Larisa have different upbringings, different characters, different ages, but they are united by the desire to love and be loved, to find understanding, in a word, to become happy. And each goes to this goal, overcoming the obstacles created by the foundations of society. For Katerina, money still does not matter, she is ready to follow Boris on foot, if only he agrees to take her with him. Larisa is poisoned by the brilliance of gold, she does not want to vegetate with her miserable and poor husband.
Katerina cannot connect with her loved one and finds a way out in death.
Larisa's situation is more complicated. She was disappointed in the person she loved and stopped believing in the existence of love and happiness. Realizing that she is surrounded by lies and deceit, Larisa sees two ways out of the current situation: either the search for material values, or death. And under the circumstances, she chooses the first. But the author does not want to see her as an ordinary dependent woman, and she passes away.

3.3. The characters of the main characters are very similar. These are natures living with the mind of the heart, dreaming of happiness and love, idealizing the world. But the play "Dowry" was created in a different socio-political situation than "Thunderstorm". Hopes for the correction of society and the human race arouse sincere doubts of the playwright, therefore the finals of these plays differ significantly. If, after the death of Katerina, the world of the "dark kingdom" realizes its guilt, and Tikhon defiantly turns to his mother, blaming her for the death of his wife, then the murder of Larisa Ogudalova does not cause such a resonance. The author deliberately emphasizes the indifference of others; the scene of the death of the heroine is voiced by the singing of a gypsy choir.

3.4. The disclosure of the meaning of names and surnames in Ostrovsky's plays helps to comprehend both the plot and the main images. Although surnames and names cannot be called “speaking” in this case, since this is a feature of the plays of classicism, they are speaking in the broad - symbolic - sense of the word.

In the best plays of A.N. Ostrovsky, the most interesting are the female characters, in which, with all the individual differences, there is a similarity. Katerina Kabanova from the drama "Thunderstorm" and Larisa Ogudalova from "Dowry" are united by their doom in the environment from which they came out.

In the atmosphere of lies and violence that prevails in The Thunderstorm, only Katerina looks natural, but her sincerity is not needed by others. The true tragedy of the heroine lies in the fact that she is hopelessly alone in this world. The sublime and poetic soul of Katerina, the soul-bird, has no place in the city of Kalinov.

Katerina - a firm, strong-willed, resolute and at the same time soft, reverent nature - dies not only because of a collision with the "dark kingdom" of petty tyrants, but also because, having given vent to her feelings, she violated her moral duty - not so much to her husband, but to yourself. Her exactingness to herself is boundless and does not tolerate compromises. The tragedy of Katerina is a tragedy of conscience, a drama of a woman who fell in love, but could not live a lie, bring suffering to people and herself.

Katerina does not know how to lie and deceive. “To live in the world and suffer” she cannot. Where to go? Nowhere. And you can't run from yourself. No one condemned Katerina more mercilessly than herself. The repentance of the heroine led her to death. What else was left for her? Suicide became a deliverance from earthly torments, which seemed to her worse than hellish ...

The Dowry was published nineteen years after The Storm, in 1879. Much has changed during this time in Russia. It would seem that the city of Bryakhimov is in no way comparable to the patriarchal Kalinov. The drowsy silence of the Volga province is now broken not by burlak songs, but by the piercing whistles of steamboats.

Ignorant shopkeepers were replaced by industrialists and merchants, managing firms and trading houses, traveling to Paris for an exhibition. But, alas, in a civilized, at first glance, world, cruelty, lies, calculation, injustice reign. The highest value here is money, not a person's personality.

In the world of buying and selling, a wonderful person with a “warm heart” lives, loves, suffers - Larisa Ogudalova. The originality, the sublime structure of the soul make her related to Katerina. Larisa does not have a dowry, so Paratov, whom she trustingly and selflessly fell in love with, cannot marry her. But it's not just about dowry. Paratov in this play also appears as an object of bargaining: having squandered his fortune, he is sold to a rich bride. He is incapable of bearing responsibility for the fate of another person (namely, this is what true love implies). All his life Paratov was looking for feelings that bring him pleasure. He deceives Larisa, obeying his own whim, without thinking about the future fate of this girl.

For Karandyshev, marriage with Larisa is necessary as a means of self-affirmation, a revenge on wounded pride. Who is he? A petty official, bypassed by fortune. “I am a funny person,” he says of himself. But why does he, knowing the pain of offended dignity, offend and humiliate Larisa? Karandyshev is attracted to her only by the desire to prove that he is no worse than Paratov, Knurov, Vozhevatov. And Larisa understands this well.

“Friendship” of Vozhevatov, “loyalty” of Knurov, “love” of Paratov and Karandyshev - everything turns out to be fake. Before Larisa, deeply feeling, thinking, but reduced to the status of a thing, only one way out dawns - death. Therefore, the denouement of "Dowry" is natural.

So, both heroines of Ostrovsky are killed by the cruelty and vulgarity of the surrounding life, the apostasy of the heart's chosen ones. Both Katerina and Larisa are looking for love in life, but they do not find it. Their departure is a protest against a society in which there is no place for sincere feelings.

In Ostrovsky's play "Dowry", as in the work "Thunderstorm", we see a city dominated by immorality and materialism. In Besprilannitsa, power belongs to those who have money, and rich people like Paratov can afford everything. These rich people have no moral values.

They are only interested in personal gain and fun. If, on the one hand, the city is ruled by rich people who are only interested in having fun, on the other hand, we see a very cunning and scarlet Ogudalova.

She cares

Only about his well-being and sinks to the point that he blatantly lies for the sake of extra money.

In a city with a corrupted dominant society, in a city where material well-being "likes" people, where money, title and genealogy are placed above moral values, the "dark kingdom" undoubtedly dominates.

Poor Larisa becomes a victim of this "dark kingdom". Since she is a dowry, they do not want to take her as a wife. Larisa is to blame only for the fact that she does not have a dowry, so she is forced to suffer. This confirms the correctness of our judgments about the materialism of the inhabitants of the city.

Larisa is a meek, smart girl. She is very sweet and talented. Her "trouble" is that she has no cunning.

This is what sets her apart from society. Larisa is not particularly interested in money, she is not ruled by avarice. They say about her that she was born to shine, but she has morality, spiritual purity. Larisa has enough pride and self-esteem in order not to lower herself for the sake of money like Ogudalova.

She's only looking for peace of mind. Larisa is pure and unsophisticated. It is difficult for her to survive in such a society.

If we compare Larisa and Katerina, then at first their fates are very similar. They both strive for harmony in their personal lives. Neither Larisa nor Katerina have happiness, no love.

Both of them are opposed to society, the “dark kingdom”. Both are pure and kindhearted. Also, the heroines are brought together by the motive of the Volga river: for both of them, the river symbolizes death. Both Katerina and Larisa are overtaken by death on the river.

But unlike Larisa, Katerina commits suicide. Katherine is wrong. But based on this act, we can conclude that she is bolder than Larisa.

I think that's where their difference lies. They both protest against the "dark kingdom". But their main difference is in the expression of this protest.

The world of the merchants in Ostrovsky's play "The Dowry" is shown very vividly and in detail. Uptsy in the work are clean and decent. Knurov, for example, joined the culture: he reads French newspapers. Vozhevatov is dressed in a European costume.

These merchants make themselves Europeans, ridicule the uncultured. They do not spare money for lunch, entertainment, gifts. If we compare them with the merchants from Groza, they are well-mannered and educated, but morally they turn out to be no higher than the ignorant tyrant merchants.

This is revealed through their attitude towards Larisa. In "Dowry" the merchant's world has an outward brilliance, education, but in this world there is no place for love, compassion, mercy.

Paratov is one of the main characters of the play. He is the most respected person in the city. He leads a royal lifestyle: everyone obeys him and admires him. He owes his money to this attention.

Also, Paratov is characterized by the desire to rule, to humiliate. We see the manifestation of this quality in his attitude towards Karandyshev. This combination of qualities in Paratov is not accidental.

In my opinion, the image of Paratov is a generalizing meaning of power. power over man. It also reflects the values ​​of society.

If he, a rich and immoral man, rules a society, then it is not difficult to guess what this society wants and what it really is.

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29. In Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm" there is a conflict between the old and the new way of life, which formed the basis of the work. This conflict took place between old principles and modern aspirations for freedom. This gloomy world of despotism does not give ordinary people a peaceful life. Incorrigible things happen there, and invisible tears are shed. But suddenly among these people there appears a completely different, dissimilar [...] ...
30. Katerina's last meeting with Boris takes place in the third scene of the fifth act of the play "Thunderstorm". This scene is of the utmost importance for the disclosure of the images of Katerina and Boris. And also it is she who is the turning point in all the action. We can say that this scene led the play to a tragic ending. Before the last meeting, Katerina is already driven to despair. In the second phenomenon, we [...] ...
31. The drama "Thunderstorm", written by A. N. Ostrovsky in 1859, is a socio-psychological drama in its genre, but it is close to tragedy. This is proved not only by the tragic ending - the suicide of the heroine, but also by the strongest passions, the classic contradiction between feeling and duty in Katerina's soul. As a subtle master psychologist, the author draws the heroine's deep feelings, her suffering, her mood swings. […]...
32. The action of the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky “The Dowry” takes place in the 70s of the XIX century in the big city of Bryakhimov, on the Volga. The writer shows how the tragedy of a young girl living according to the laws of a “hot heart” is played out in a noble-merchant environment. Larisa Ogudalova is beautiful, talented, she is surrounded by many fans. Each of them plays a certain role in her destiny. Knurov and Vozhevatov [...] ...
33. Ostrovsky wrote the drama "Dowry" in 1879, that is, in the last, third period of his work. Prior to this, the playwright had already created the plays “Thunderstorm” and “Hot Heart”. These three dramatic creations of Ostrovsky are united by a single theme. Katerina in The Thunderstorm, Parasha in The Warm Heart, Larisa in The Dowry - they all belong to the same type of women, women with a rebellious soul. […]...
34. The drama "Thunderstorm", created by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, is the most significant and thorough work, which became the result of the first half of the author's work. In the drama, Ostrovsky resorted to his favorite theme, depicting a domestic conflict from the point of view of internal dramatic development, giving it a decisive denouement and, thus, for the first time he went beyond the boundaries of the comedy genre. In his work, the author depicted more [...] ...
35. If we talk about dramatic works and their role in literature, then first of all I recall the work of A. N. Ostrovsky, since, in my opinion, no other writer has addressed this form so thoroughly. In his plays, the playwright touched on various themes that excited and excite people of all times and peoples. Morality, morality, society are the main […]
36. Everyone knows the great Russian writer A. N. Ostrovsky and his works. He created a lot of wonderful dramas, one of them is "Thunderstorm". This work reveals various aspects of life, conflicts between people: the opposition of the old and the new generation, the dark kingdom of people and their subordinates, poverty and wealth. The conflict between mind and soul comes to the fore. We […]...
37. The play "Thunderstorm" is the pinnacle of creativity A. N. Ostrovsky. The main character of the drama is Katerina, who was “a ray of light in a dark kingdom”. It belongs to the old patriarchal world and comes into irreconcilable conflict with it. Using her example, the author shows how hard and terrible it is for a person to live in the “kingdom of despots and petty tyrants”. Katerina resist this […]...
38. Epigraph: “The sunset said that a certain person once gave fire to the sun. The secret fire that fills everything now and dictates the meaning of life…” (Vladislav Valov). Russia opened up to writers from different sides and from different angles of view in different eras. The most important thing, which A.N. Ostrovsky did not pass by, was serfdom, freedom and dignity of a person, [...] ...
39. Strength does not get along with untruth... N. Nekrasov A. N. Ostrovsky's drama "Thunderstorm" is one of the most significant works not only in the writer's work, but in all Russian drama. The central conflict of the play, conceived as a social drama, gradually reaches true tragedy, which is facilitated by the image of the main character of the play, Katerina. Herzen wrote about Groz: “In his drama […]...
40. In the play "Thunderstorm" A. N. Ostrovsky creates a completely new female image, a simple, deep character. We are talking about Katerina, the main character of the drama "Thunderstorm". She differs from the previously created heroines of the writer by her strength of mind, the harmony of her personality, and her own worldview. In my opinion, Katerina is a poetic, bright, sublime, dreamy nature, who has a highly developed imagination. After all, Katerina's memories are […]

In Ostrovsky's play "Dowry", as in the work "Thunderstorm", we see a city dominated by immorality and materialism. In Besprilannitsa, power belongs to those who have money, and rich people like Paratov can afford everything. These rich people have no moral values. They are only interested in personal gain and fun. If, on the one hand, the city is ruled by rich people who are only interested in having fun, on the other hand, we see a very cunning and greedy Ogudalova. She cares only about her well-being and sinks to the point that she blatantly lies for the sake of extra money. In a city with a corrupted dominant society, in a city where material well-being "likes" people, where money, title and genealogy are placed above moral values, the "dark kingdom" undoubtedly dominates.

Poor Larisa becomes a victim of this "dark kingdom". Since she is a dowry, they do not want to take her as a wife. Larisa is to blame only for the fact that she does not have a dowry, so she is forced to suffer. This confirms the correctness of our judgments about the materialism of the inhabitants of the city. Larisa is a meek, smart girl. She is very sweet and talented. Her "trouble" is that she has no cunning. This is what sets her apart from society. Larisa is not particularly interested in money, she is not ruled by greed. They say about her that she was born to shine, but she has morality, spiritual purity. Larisa has enough pride and self-esteem in order not to lower herself for the sake of money like Ogudalova. She's only looking for peace of mind. Larisa is pure and unsophisticated. It is difficult for her to survive in such a society.

If we compare Larisa and Katerina, then at first their fates are very similar. They both strive for harmony in their personal lives. Neither Larisa nor Katerina have happiness, no love. Both of them are opposed to society, the "dark kingdom". Both are pure and kindhearted. Also, the heroines are brought together by the motive of the Volga river: for both of them, the river symbolizes death. Both Katerina and Larisa are overtaken by death on the river. But unlike Larisa, Katerina commits suicide. Katherine is wrong. But based on this act, we can conclude that she is bolder than Larisa. I think that's where their difference lies. They both protest against the "dark kingdom". But their main difference is in the expression of this protest.

The world of the merchants in Ostrovsky's play "The Dowry" is shown very vividly and in detail. Merchants in the work are clean and decent. Knurov, for example, joined the culture: he reads French newspapers. Vozhevatov is dressed in a European costume. These merchants make themselves Europeans, ridicule the uncultured. They do not spare money for lunch, entertainment, gifts. If we compare them with the merchants from the "Thunderstorm", they are well-mannered and educated, but morally they turn out to be no higher than the ignorant tyrant merchants. This is revealed through their attitude towards Larisa. In "Dowry" the merchant's world has an external brilliance, education, but in this world there is no place for love, compassion, mercy.

Paratov is one of the main characters of the play. He is the most respected person in the city. He leads a royal lifestyle: everyone obeys him and admires him. He owes his money to this attention. Also, Paratov is characterized by the desire to rule, to humiliate. We see the manifestation of this quality in his attitude towards Karandyshev. This combination of qualities in Paratov is not accidental. In my opinion, the image of Paratov is a generalizing meaning of power. power over man. It also reflects the values ​​of society. If he, a rich and immoral man, rules a society, then it is not difficult to guess what this society wants, and what it really is.