Why is Boris a victim of the dark kingdom. How dobrolyubov treats the victims of the dark kingdom

And that tears flow behind these constipations,

invisible and inaudible.

A. N. Ostrovsky

Tyranny and despotism, suppressing in those around them the dream of freedom, of independence, inevitably gives rise to people who are intimidated and downtrodden, who do not dare to live by their own will. Tikhon and Boris in the drama The Thunderstorm belong to such victims of the “dark kingdom”.

From childhood, Tikhon was accustomed to obey his mother in everything, he got used to the fact that in adulthood he was afraid to act against her will. He resignedly endures all the bullying of Kabanikh, not daring to protest. “But how can I, mother, disobey you!” he says, and then adds: “Yes, mama, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live with my will!

The only thing cherished desire Tikhon is to break out, at least for a short time, from under the care of his mother, drink, go on a spree, go on a spree so that on whole year take a walk. In the send-off scene, Kabanikh's despotism reaches its extreme and Tikhon's complete inability to not only protect but also understand Katerina is revealed. Kabanikhi, with her instructions, brought him to complete exhaustion, and he, maintaining a respectful tone, is looking forward to when this torture will end.

Tikhon understands that by doing the will of his mother, he humiliates his wife. He is both ashamed of her and sorry for her, but he cannot disobey his mother. And so, under the dictation of his mother, he teaches Katerina, trying at the same time to soften the rudeness of words and the harshness of his mother's intonations. Powerless to protect his wife, forced to play the miserable role of a tool in the hands of Kabanikh, Tikhon does not deserve respect, soul world Catherine to him, a man not only weak-willed, but also limited, rustic, incomprehensible. “I won’t understand you, Katya! Then you won’t get a word from you, let alone affection; otherwise you climb yourself, ”he tells her. Nor did he understand the drama brewing in his wife's soul. Tikhon unwittingly becomes one of the culprits of her death, as he refused to support Katerina, pushed her away at the most critical moment.

According to Dobrolyubov, Tikhon is "a living corpse - not one, not an exception, but a whole mass of people subject to the pernicious influence of the Wild and Kabanovs!"

Boris, Dikiy's nephew, stands significantly higher than his environment in terms of his level of development. He received a commercial education, not without a "certain degree of nobility" (Dobrolyubov). He understands the savagery and cruelty of the mores of the Kalinovites. But he is powerless, indecisive: material dependence puts pressure on him and turns him into a victim of his uncle-tyrant. “Education took away from him the strength to do dirty tricks ... but did not give him the strength to resist the dirty tricks that others do,” Dobrolyubov notes.

Boris sincerely loves Katerina, is ready to suffer for her, to ease her suffering: “Do with me what you want, just don’t torture her!” He is the only one among all who understands Katerina, but is unable to help her. Boris is a kind, gentle person. But Dobrolyubov is right, who believed that Katerina fell in love with him "more in the absence of people", in the absence of a more worthy person. material from the site

Both of them - both Tikhon and Boris failed to protect and save Katerina. And the "dark kingdom", which turned them into weak-willed, downtrodden people, doomed both of them to "live and suffer." But even such weak, weak-willed, resigned to life, driven to the extreme, people like the inhabitants of Kalinovo are able to condemn the despotism of tyrants. The death of Katerina prompted Kudryash and Varvara to search for another life, for the first time forced Kuligin to turn to petty tyrants with bitter reproach. Even the unfortunate Tikhon comes out of unconditional submission to his mother, regrets that he did not die with his wife: “Good for you, Katya! Why am I left to live in the world and suffer!” Of course, the protest of Varvara, Kudryash, Kuligin, Tikhon has a different character than that of Katerina. But Ostrovsky showed that the “dark kingdom” was beginning to loosen up, and Dikoi and Kabanikha were showing signs of fear of new phenomena that they did not understand in the life around them.

1. Story line Drama Storm.
2. Representatives of the "dark kingdom" - Boar and Wild.
3. Protest against the foundations of hypocritical morality.

Imagine that this same anarchist society was divided into two parts: one reserved the right to be naughty and not know any law, and the other was forced to recognize as law any claim of the first and meekly endure all its whims and outrages.

N. A. Dobrolyubov The great Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky, the author of remarkable plays, is considered a “singer merchant life". Image of the world of Moscow and provincial merchants of the second half of XIX century, which N. A. Dobrolyubov called " dark kingdom", and is the main theme of the work of A. N. Ostrovsky.

The play "Thunderstorm" was published in 1860. Its plot is simple. main character Katerina Kabanova, not finding a response to her feminine feelings in her husband, fell in love with another person. Not wanting to lie, tormented by remorse, she confesses her misdeed publicly, in the church. After that, her existence becomes so unbearable that she throws herself into the Volga and dies. The author reveals to us a whole gallery of types. Here are tyrant merchants (Dikoi), and guardians of local customs (Kabanikha), and praying wanderers who tell fables, taking advantage of the ignorance of the people (Feklusha), and home-grown scientists (Kuligin). But with all the variety of types, it is easy to see that they all diverge on two sides, which could be called: "dark kingdom" and "victims of the dark kingdom."

The "dark kingdom" is represented by people in whose hands the power is. These are the ones who influence public opinion in the city of Kalinov. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova comes to the fore. She is respected in the city, her opinion is taken into account. Kabanova constantly teaches everyone how they "did it in the old days", whether it concerns matchmaking, seeing off and waiting for a husband, or going to church. The boar is the enemy of everything new. She sees him as a threat to the established course of things. She condemns the youth for not having “proper respect” for their elders. She does not welcome enlightenment, because she believes that learning only corrupts the minds. Kabanova says that a person should live in fear of God, and a wife should also live in fear of her husband. The Kabanovs' house is full of pilgrims and wanderers, who are well fed here and who receive other "favors", and in return they tell what they want to hear from them - tales about the lands where people with dog heads live, about "crazy" people in big cities, inventing all sorts of innovations like a steam locomotive and thereby bringing the end of the world closer. Kuligin says about Kabanikh: “A hypocrite. The beggars are clothed, but the household is completely stuck ... ". Indeed, Marfa Ignatievna's behavior in public differs from her behavior at home. The whole family is in fear of her. Tikhon, completely overwhelmed by his domineering mother, lives with only one simple desire - to escape, albeit not for long, from the house to walk to his heart's content. He is so oppressed by the home environment that neither the requests of the wife he loves, nor the affairs can stop him, if given even the slightest opportunity to go somewhere. Tikhon's sister Varvara also experiences all the hardships family life. But she, in comparison with Tikhon, has more strong character. She has the courage, albeit secretly, not to submit to her mother's tough temper.

The head of another family shown in the play is Dikoy Savel Prokofievich. He, unlike Kabanikha, who covers up her tyranny with hypocritical reasoning, does not hide her wild temper. Wild scolds everyone: neighbors, employees, family members. He dissolves his hands, does not pay the workers: “I know that I have to pay, but I still can’t ...”. Dikoy is not ashamed of this, on the contrary, he says that each of the workers will not count a penny, but "I have thousands of this." We know that Dikoy is the guardian of Boris and his sister, who, according to the will of their parents, must receive their inheritance from Dikoy, "if they are respectful with him." Everyone in the city, including Boris himself, understands that he and his sister will not receive an inheritance. After all, nothing and no one will prevent Dikiy from declaring that they were disrespectful to him. Wild directly says that he is not going to part with the money, since he "has his own children."

Tyrants secretly run the city. But this is not only the fault of the representatives of the “dark kingdom” itself, but also of its “victims”. None of them dare to openly protest. Tikhon seeks to escape from the house. Sister Tikhon Varvara dares to protest, but her life philosophy not much different from the views of the representatives of the "dark kingdom". Do what you want, "as long as everything is sewn and covered." She secretly runs on dates and also seduces Katerina. Varvara runs away from home with Kudryash, but her flight is just an attempt to escape from reality, like Tikhon's desire to escape from the house and run into the "tavern". Even Kuligin, a completely independent person, prefers not to mess with Wild. His dreams of technological progress, oh a better life barren and utopian. He only dreams what he would do if he had a million. Although he does nothing to earn this money, he turns to Wild for money to carry out his "projects". Of course, Wild does not give money and drives Kuligin away.

And in this suffocating atmosphere of resourcefulness, lies, rudeness, love arises. Even, probably, not love, but its illusion. Yes, Katherine loved it. I fell in love as only strong, free natures can love. But she was all alone. She does not know how to lie and does not want to, and she cannot bear to live in such a nightmare. No one protects her: neither her husband, nor her lover, nor the townspeople who sympathize with her (Kuligin). Katerina blames only herself for her sin, she does not reproach Boris, who does nothing to help her.

Katerina's death at the end of the work is natural - she has no other choice. She does not join those who preach the principles of the "dark kingdom", but she cannot come to terms with her position. Katerina's guilt is only before herself, before her soul, because she has darkened it with deceit. Realizing this, Katerina does not blame anyone, but understands that to live with pure soul in the "dark kingdom" is impossible. She does not need such a life, and she decides to part with it. Kuligin speaks of this when everyone stood over Katerina's lifeless body: “Her body is here, but her soul is now not yours, she is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!”

Katerina's protest is a protest against the lies and vulgarity of human relations. Against hypocrisy and hypocritical morality. Katerina's voice was lonely, and no one was able to support and understand her. The protest turned out to be self-destructive, but it was the free choice of a woman who did not want to obey the cruel laws that a sanctimonious and ignorant society imposed on her.

1. The storyline of the drama "Thunderstorm".
2. Representatives of the "dark kingdom" - Boar and Wild.
3. Protest against the foundations of hypocritical morality.

Imagine that this same anarchist society was divided into two parts: one reserved the right to be naughty and not know any law, and the other was forced to recognize as law any claim of the first and meekly endure all its whims and outrages.

N. A. Dobrolyubov The great Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky, the author of wonderful plays, is considered a "singer of merchant life." The image of the world of Moscow and provincial merchants of the second half of the 19th century, which N. A. Dobrolyubov called the "dark kingdom", is the main theme of A. N. Ostrovsky's work.

The play "Thunderstorm" was published in 1860. Its plot is simple. The main character Katerina Kabanova, not finding a response to her feminine feelings in her husband, fell in love with another person. Not wanting to lie, tormented by remorse, she confesses her misdeed publicly, in the church. After that, her existence becomes so unbearable that she throws herself into the Volga and dies. The author reveals to us a whole gallery of types. Here are tyrant merchants (Dikoi), and guardians of local customs (Kabanikha), and praying wanderers who tell fables, taking advantage of the ignorance of the people (Feklusha), and home-grown scientists (Kuligin). But with all the variety of types, it is easy to see that they all diverge on two sides, which could be called: "dark kingdom" and "victims of the dark kingdom."

The "dark kingdom" is represented by people in whose hands the power is. These are those who influence public opinion in the city of Kalinov. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova comes to the fore. She is respected in the city, her opinion is taken into account. Kabanova constantly teaches everyone how they "did it in the old days", whether it concerns matchmaking, seeing off and waiting for a husband, or going to church. The boar is the enemy of everything new. She sees him as a threat to the established course of things. She condemns the youth for not having “proper respect” for their elders. She does not welcome enlightenment, because she believes that learning only corrupts the minds. Kabanova says that a person should live in fear of God, and a wife should also live in fear of her husband. The Kabanovs' house is full of pilgrims and wanderers, who are well fed here and who receive other "favors", and in return they tell what they want to hear from them - tales about lands where people with dog heads live, about "crazy" people in large cities inventing all sorts of innovations like a steam locomotive and thereby bringing the end of the world closer. Kuligin says about Kabanikh: “A hypocrite. The beggars are clothed, but the household is completely stuck ... ". Indeed, Marfa Ignatievna's behavior in public differs from her behavior at home. The whole family is in fear of her. Tikhon, completely overwhelmed by his domineering mother, lives with only one simple desire - to escape, albeit not for long, from the house to walk to his heart's content. He is so oppressed by the home environment that neither the requests of the wife he loves, nor the affairs can stop him, if given even the slightest opportunity to go somewhere. Tikhon's sister Varvara also experiences all the hardships of family life. But she, in comparison with Tikhon, has a stronger character. She has the courage, albeit secretly, not to submit to her mother's tough temper.

The head of another family shown in the play is Dikoy Savel Prokofievich. He, unlike Kabanikha, who covers up her tyranny with hypocritical reasoning, does not hide her wild temper. Wild scolds everyone: neighbors, employees, family members. He dissolves his hands, does not pay the workers: “I know that I have to pay, but I still can’t ...”. Dikoy is not ashamed of this, on the contrary, he says that each of the workers will not count a penny, but "I have thousands of this." We know that Dikoy is the guardian of Boris and his sister, who, according to the will of their parents, must receive their inheritance from Dikoy, "if they are respectful with him." Everyone in the city, including Boris himself, understands that he and his sister will not receive an inheritance. After all, nothing and no one will prevent Dikiy from declaring that they were disrespectful to him. Wild directly says that he is not going to part with the money, since he "has his own children."

Tyrants secretly run the city. But this is not only the fault of the representatives of the “dark kingdom” itself, but also of its “victims”. None of them dare to openly protest. Tikhon seeks to escape from the house. Sister Tikhon Varvara dares to protest, but her philosophy of life is not much different from the views of representatives of the "dark kingdom". Do what you want, "as long as everything is sewn and covered." She secretly runs on dates and also seduces Katerina. Varvara runs away from home with Kudryash, but her flight is just an attempt to escape from reality, like Tikhon's desire to escape from the house and run into the "tavern". Even Kuligin, a completely independent person, prefers not to mess with Wild. His dreams of technological progress, of a better life, are fruitless and utopian. He only dreams what he would do if he had a million. Although he does nothing to earn this money, he turns to Wild for money to carry out his "projects". Of course, Wild does not give money and drives Kuligin away.

And in this suffocating atmosphere of resourcefulness, lies, rudeness, love arises. Even, probably, not love, but its illusion. Yes, Katherine loved it. I fell in love as only strong, free natures can love. But she was all alone. She does not know how to lie and does not want to, and she cannot bear to live in such a nightmare. No one protects her: neither her husband, nor her lover, nor the townspeople who sympathize with her (Kuligin). Katerina blames only herself for her sin, she does not reproach Boris, who does nothing to help her.

Katerina's death at the end of the work is natural - she has no other choice. She does not join those who preach the principles of the "dark kingdom", but she cannot come to terms with her position. Katerina's guilt is only before herself, before her soul, because she has darkened it with deceit. Realizing this, Katerina does not blame anyone, but she understands that it is impossible to live with a pure soul in the "dark kingdom". She does not need such a life, and she decides to part with it. Kuligin speaks of this when everyone stood over Katerina's lifeless body: “Her body is here, but her soul is now not yours, she is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!”

Katerina's protest is a protest against the lies and vulgarity of human relations. Against hypocrisy and hypocritical morality. Katerina's voice was lonely, and no one was able to support and understand her. The protest turned out to be self-destructive, but it was the free choice of a woman who did not want to obey the cruel laws that a sanctimonious and ignorant society imposed on her.

In many of his dramas, Ostrovsky portrayed social injustice, human vices and negative sides. Poverty, greed, uncontrollable desire to be in power - these and many other themes can be traced in the plays "Our people will be counted", "Poverty is not a vice", "Dowry". "Thunderstorm" should also be considered in the context of the above works. The world described by the playwright in the text was called by critics the "dark kingdom". It seems to be a kind of swamp, from which it is impossible to find a way out, which sucks a person more and more, killing humanity in him. At first glance, there are very few such victims of the “dark kingdom” in The Thunderstorm.

The first victim of the "dark kingdom" is Katerina Kabanova. Katya is a frequent and honest girl. She was married early, but she never managed to love her husband. Despite this, she still tries to find positive aspects in him in order to maintain established relationships and the marriage itself. Katya is terrorized by Kabanikha, one of the brightest representatives of the "dark kingdom". Marfa Ignatievna insults her daughter-in-law, trying with all her might to break her.

However, not only the confrontation of characters makes Katerina a victim. This, of course, and the circumstances. In the "dark realm" honest life is a priori impossible. Here everything is built on lies, pretense and flattery. Strong is the one who has money. Power in Kalinovo belongs to the rich and merchants, for example, Wild, whose moral standards are very low. Merchants deceive each other, steal from ordinary people, seeking to enrich themselves and increase their influence. The motive of lies is also often found in the description of everyday life. Varvara tells Katya that only lies hold the Kabanov family together, and Boris is surprised by Katya's desire to tell Tikhon and Marfa Ignatievna about their secret relationship. Katerina often compares herself to a bird: the girl wants to escape from this place, but there is no way. The "Dark Kingdom" will find Katya anywhere, because it is not limited to the boundaries of a fictional city. No exit. Katya makes a desperate and final decision: either to live honestly, or not at all. “I live, toil, I don’t see a light for myself. And I won’t see, I know!” The first option, as mentioned earlier, is impossible, so Katya chooses the second. The girl commits suicide not so much because Boris refuses to take her to Siberia, but because she understands that Boris turned out to be the same as the others, and a life full of reproaches and shame can no longer continue. "Here's your Katherine. Her body is here, take it; and the soul is no longer yours: it is now before a judge who is more merciful than you!

”- with these words, Kuligin gives the body of the girl to the Kabanov family. In this remark, the comparison with the Supreme Judge is important. It makes the reader and the viewer think about how rotten the world of the “dark kingdom” is, that even the Last Judgment turns out to be more merciful than the court of “tyrants”.

Tikhon Kabanov also turns out to be a victim in The Thunderstorm. The phrase with which Tikhon appears in the play is very remarkable: “But how can I, mother, disobey you!” His mother's despotism makes him a victim. Tikhon himself is kind and, to some extent, caring. He loves Katya and pities her. But the authority of the mother is unshakable. Tikhon is a weak-willed sissy, whom Marfa Ignatyevna's excessive guardianship made zibity and spineless. He does not understand how it is possible to oppose the will of the Kabanikhi, to have own opinion or other. “Yes, mother, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live with my will! - so Tikhon answers his mother. Kabanov is used to drowning longing in alcohol (he often drinks with Wild). His character underlines the name. Tikhon is unable to understand the power internal conflict his wife, cannot help her, however, Tikhon has a desire to break out of this cage. For example, he is happy about his departure for a short 14 days, because all this time he has a chance to be independent. Above him there will be no "thunderstorm" in the form of a controlling mother. Last phrase Tikhon says that a man understands that it is better to die than to live such a life, but Tikhon cannot decide on suicide.

Kuligin is shown as a dreaming inventor who stands up for the public good. He constantly thinks about how to improve the life of the city, although he understands perfectly well that none of the inhabitants of Kalinov needs this. He understands the beauty of nature, quotes Derzhavin. Kuligin is more educated and higher than ordinary inhabitants, however, he is poor and lonely in his efforts. Wild only laughs at him when the inventor talks about the benefits of a lightning rod. Savl Prokofievich does not believe that money can be earned in an honest way, so he openly mocks and threatens Kuligin. Perhaps Kuligin understood Katya's true motives for suicide. But he is making attempts to mitigate the contradictions, to find a compromise. He has no choice, either this way or nothing. The young man does not see active way to resist "tyrants".

The victims in the play "Thunderstorm" are several characters: Katerina, Kuligin and Tikhon. Boris cannot be called a victim for two reasons: firstly, he came from another city, and secondly, in fact, he is as deceitful and two-faced as the rest of the inhabitants of the “dark kingdom”.

The above description and list of victims of the “dark kingdom” can be used by students of grade 10 when writing an essay on the topic “Victims of the dark kingdom in the play “Thunderstorm””.

Artwork test

All essays on literature for grade 10 Team of authors

1. "The Dark Kingdom" and its victims (based on the play by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm")

Thunderstorm was published in 1859 (the day before revolutionary situation in Russia, in the "pre-storm" era). Its historicism lies in the conflict itself, the irreconcilable contradictions reflected in the play. She responds to the spirit of the times.

"Thunderstorm" is an idyll of the "dark kingdom". Tyranny and silence are brought in it to the limit. In the play, a real heroine from the people's environment appears, and it is the description of her character that is given the main attention, and the little world of the city of Kalinov and the conflict itself are described more generally.

“Their life flows smoothly and peacefully, no interests of the world disturb them, because they do not reach them; kingdoms can collapse, new countries open up, the face of the earth will change... - the inhabitants of the town of Kalinov will continue to exist in complete ignorance of the rest of the world... 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 the daring to persistently seek reasonable grounds ... The information reported by the Feklushs is such that they are not able to inspire a great desire to exchange their lives for another ... A dark mass, terrible in its naivety and sincerity " .

Terrible and hard for everyone is an attempt to go against the requirements and convictions of this dark mass. The absence of any law, any logic - that is the law and logic of this life. In their indisputable, irresponsible dark dominion, giving complete freedom to whims, not putting any laws and logic into anything, the "tyrants" of life begin to feel some kind of discontent and fear, without knowing what and why. They are fiercely looking for their enemy, ready to attack the most innocent, some Kuligin: but there is neither an enemy nor a guilty person who could be destroyed: the law of time, the law of nature and history takes its toll, and the old boars breathe heavily, feeling that there is a power above them, which they cannot overcome ... They do not want to give in, they only care about how it would become in their lifetime ...

Kabanova is very seriously upset by the future of the old order, with which she has outlived a century, talking about the collapse of the established world: “And it will be worse than this, dear,” and in response to the words of the wanderer: “We just don’t live to see it.” The boar throws weightily: "Maybe we'll live." She only consoles herself with the fact that somehow with her help the old order will stand until her death.

The Kabanovs and the wild ones are busy now only to continue the former. They know that their self-will will still have plenty of scope as long as everyone will be shy before them; that's why they are so stubborn.

The image of Katerina is the most important discovery of Ostrovsky - the discovery of the born patriarchal world strong folk character with an awakening sense of identity. The relationship between Katerina and Kabanikha in the play is not an everyday feud between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, their fates expressed the clash of two historical eras which determines the tragic nature of the conflict. In the soul of a completely “Kalinovskaya” woman in terms of upbringing and moral ideas, a new attitude to the world is born, a feeling that is not yet clear to the heroine herself: “Something bad is happening to me, some kind of miracle! I’m just starting to live again, or I don’t know.” Katerina perceives awakened love as a terrible, indelible sin, because love for a stranger for her, married woman, there is a breach of moral duty. With all her heart she wants to be pure and impeccable, her moral demands on herself do not allow compromise. Having already realized her love for Boris, she resists it with all her might, but does not find support in this struggle: “it’s as if I’m standing over an abyss and someone is pushing me there, but there’s nothing for me to hold on to.” Not only external forms household chores, but even prayer becomes inaccessible to her, as she felt the power of sinful passion over herself. She feels fear of herself, of the desire for will that has grown in her, inseparably merged in her mind with love: “Of course, God forbid this should happen! And if it gets too cold for me here, they won't hold me back by any force. I'll throw myself out the window, I'll throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, so I won’t, even if you cut me!”

The consciousness of sin does not leave her at the moment of intoxication with happiness and with huge force takes possession of her when happiness is over. Katerina repents publicly without hope of forgiveness, and precisely complete absence hope pushes her to suicide, a sin even more serious: "Anyway, she already ruined her soul." The complete impossibility of reconciling one's love with the demands of conscience and the physical aversion to home prison, to captivity, kill Katerina.

Katerina is not a victim of anyone personally from her surroundings, but of the course of life. The world of patriarchal relations is dying, and the soul of this world leaves life in torment and suffering, crushed by the form of worldly ties, and passes a moral judgment on itself, because the patriarchal ideal lives in it.