Symbol of a thunderstorm. What is the symbolic meaning of the title of the play Thunderstorm?

A. N. Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" shows us life in the city of Kalinov, which is disrupted every now and then various manifestations thunderstorms The image of this natural phenomenon in drama is very multifaceted: it is both the character of the play and its idea.

One of the most striking manifestations of the image of a thunderstorm is the characterization of the characters in the drama. For example, we can say with confidence that Kabanikha’s character is quite similar to the sound of thunder: she also frightens the people around her, and can even destroy her. Let us remember Tikhon’s words before leaving: “As I know now that there won’t be any thunderstorms over me for two weeks, there are no shackles on my legs, so what do I care about my wife?” The native son, speaking of a thunderstorm, means tyranny in the house. A similar situation reigned in Dikiy’s house. He got angry, swore, and sometimes even assaulted him over all sorts of little things. Curly said about him: “A shrill man!” - and for sure, the character of the Wild can pierce anyone, like an electric shock.

But the thunderstorm in the work characterizes not only the “cruel morals” in Kalinov. It is noticeable that the most bright moments bad weather coincides with Katerina’s mental torment. Let us remember when Katerina admitted to Varvara that she loved someone else, a thunderstorm began. But Katerina’s soul was also restless; her impulsiveness made itself felt: even without having done anything wrong, but only thinking not about her husband, Katerina began talking about imminent death, running away from home and terrible sins. Upon Kabanov’s return, hurricanes raged in Katerina’s soul, and at the same time, peals of thunder were heard on the streets, frightening the townspeople.

Also, the image of a thunderstorm appears before readers as punishment for sins committed. Katerina said about the thunderstorm: “Everyone should be afraid. It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all your evil thoughts.” We can understand that a thunderstorm for the townspeople is only suffering. This same idea is confirmed by the words of Dikiy: “A thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we can feel it, but you want to defend yourself, God forgive me, with poles and some kind of rods.” This fear of a thunderstorm-punishment characterizes the Wild as an adherent of old mores, if we consider the thunderstorm in its following image: a symbol of change.

The thunderstorm as a symbol of the new is clearly shown in Kuligin’s monologue: “This is not a thunderstorm, but grace!” Kuligin, being a hero-reasoner, reveals to readers the point of view of Ostrovsky himself: change is always for the better, one cannot be afraid of it.

Thus, it becomes obvious that A. N. Ostrovsky, skillfully using the image of a thunderstorm in its various manifestations, showed all aspects of life in a typical Russian provincial town, starting with the tragedy " cruel morals"and ending with everyone's personal tragedy.

In 1859, the premiere took place on the stage of one of the capital's theaters. The audience saw a drama created by a young writer - Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. This work is considered unique of its kind. Drama does not follow many of the rules of the genre.

"The Thunderstorm" was written in the era of realism. This means that the work is filled with symbols and images. Consequently, in our article you will learn about the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky.

First image of a thunderstorm

The image of a thunderstorm in this work is multifaceted. This natural phenomenon is both the idea and the character of the drama. Why do you think Ostrovsky used the image of a thunderstorm? Let's think about this.

Please note that this natural phenomenon in the work appears to the reader in several forms. Firstly, the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism drama "The Thunderstorm" is that initially the reader sees a natural phenomenon. The city of Kalinov, described in the work, as well as its inhabitants live in anticipation and expectation of a thunderstorm. Everything that happens in the play lasts about two weeks. Every now and then on the streets of the town you can hear talk that a storm is approaching.

Compositionally, the thunderstorm is also the climax! It is the powerful peals of thunder that force Katerina to admit to deception and treason. Attentive readers will notice that action 4 is accompanied by peals. One gets the impression that the writer was preparing the reader and viewer for the climax. But that's not all. Secondly, the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm” has another core. Let's look at that too.

Second image of a thunderstorm

It turns out that each character in the work understands the thunderstorm differently, that is, in their own way:

• The inventor Kuligin is not afraid of it, since he does not see anything mystical in this natural phenomenon.
• Dikoy perceives the thunderstorm as a punishment; he considers it an occasion to remember the Almighty.
• Unhappy Catherine saw in the thunderstorm the symbolism of fate and fate. So, after the most terrible clap of thunder, the young lady confessed her feelings for Boris. She is afraid of thunderstorms because she considers them to be God's judgment. This concludes the search for the meaning of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” by A.N. Ostrovsky does not end there. This natural phenomenon helps Katerina take a desperate step. Thanks to her, she admits to herself and becomes honest.
• Kabanov, her husband, sees a different meaning in the thunderstorm. The reader learns this at the very beginning of the play. He needs to leave for a while, thanks to this he will get rid of his mother’s excessive control, as well as her unbearable orders. He says that there will be no thunderstorm and no shackles over him. These words contain a comparison natural disaster with Kabanikha’s endless hysterics.

The author's interpretation of the meaning of the title and figurative symbolism of the drama "The Thunderstorm"

We have already said above that the image of a thunderstorm is symbolic, multifaceted, and also multi-valued. This suggests that the title of the play contains many meanings that complement and combine with each other. All this allows the reader to understand the problem comprehensively.

It is worth noting that the reader has a huge number of associations with the name. It is noteworthy that the author’s interpretation of the work does not limit the reader, so we do not know exactly how to decipher the image-symbol that interests us.

Nevertheless, the meaning of the title and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm” is understood by the author as a natural phenomenon, the beginning of which the reader observes in the first act. And in the fourth, the thunderstorm impulsively gains strength.

The city lives in fear of the coming thunderstorm. Only Kuligin is not afraid of her. After all, he alone leads a righteous life - he earns his living by honest labor and so on. He does not understand the primitive fear of the townspeople.

One gets the impression that the image of a thunderstorm carries negative symbolism. However, it is not. The role of this natural phenomenon in the play is to stimulate and refresh social life and people. It's not in vain literary critic Dobrolyubov wrote that the city of Kalinov is a remote kingdom in which the spirit of vices and stagnation lives. Man has become a fool because he does not know and does not understand his own culture, which means he does not know how to be a Man.

A thunderstorm phenomenon is trying to destroy the trap and enter the city. But one such thunderstorm will not be enough, as will the death of Katerina. The death of the young lady led to the fact that for the first time the indecisive husband acts as his conscience tells him.

River image

As you may have guessed, the image of a thunderstorm in this work is pervasive. That is, he is embodied and appears before the reader in different guises. However, there is another equally important image in the drama, which also contains the figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm”.

We move on to consider the image of the Volga River. Ostrovsky depicted it as a border that separates opposite worlds - cruel kingdom the city of Kalinov and the ideal world invented by each hero of the work. The lady repeated several times that the river attracts any beauty, since it is a whirlpool. The supposed symbol of freedom in Kabanikha’s mind turns out to be a symbol of death.

Conclusion

We looked at the work of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky - “The Thunderstorm”. The drama was written in the era of realism, which means it is filled with many meanings and images.

We saw that the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm” is relevant even today. The author's skill lies in the fact that he was able to depict the image of a thunderstorm in various phenomena. With the help of a natural phenomenon, he showed all sides of Russian society early XIX centuries, starting from wild morals and ending with the personal drama of each of the heroes.

The realistic method of writing enriched literature with images and symbols. Griboedov used this technique in the comedy “Woe from Wit.” The point is that objects are endowed with a certain symbolic meaning. Symbolic images can be end-to-end, that is, repeated several times throughout the text. In this case, the meaning of the symbol becomes significant for the plot. Particular attention should be paid to those images-symbols that are included in the title of the work. That is why emphasis should be placed on the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm”.

To answer the question of what the symbolism of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” contains, it is important to know why and why the playwright used this particular image. The thunderstorm in the drama appears in several forms. The first is a natural phenomenon. Kalinov and its inhabitants seem to live in anticipation of thunderstorms and rain. The events that unfold in the play take place over approximately 14 days. All this time from passers-by or from the main characters There are phrases that say that a thunderstorm is approaching. The violence of the elements is the culmination of the play: it is the thunderstorm and the clap of thunder that force the heroine to admit to treason. Moreover, thunderclaps accompany almost the entire fourth act. With each blow the sound becomes louder: Ostrovsky seems to be preparing readers for highest point intensity of the conflict.

The symbolism of a thunderstorm includes another meaning. "Thunderstorm" is understood different heroes differently. Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm, because he does not see anything mystical in it. Dikoy considers the thunderstorm a punishment and a reason to remember the existence of God. Katerina sees in a thunderstorm a symbol of rock and fate - after the loudest thunderclap, the girl confesses her feelings for Boris. Katerina is afraid of thunderstorms, because for her it is equivalent Last Judgment. At the same time, the thunderstorm helps the girl decide to take a desperate step, after which she becomes honest with herself. For Kabanov, Katerina’s husband, the thunderstorm has its own meaning. He talks about this at the beginning of the story: Tikhon needs to leave for a while, which means he will lose his mother’s control and orders. “For two weeks there will be no thunderstorm over me, there are no shackles on my legs...” Tikhon compares the riot of nature with the incessant hysterics and whims of Marfa Ignatievna.

One of the main symbols in Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm” can be called the Volga River. It’s as if she separates two worlds: the city of Kalinov, “ dark kingdom"and that one perfect world, which each of the characters came up with for themselves. The words of Barynya are indicative in this regard. Twice the woman said that the river is a whirlpool that draws in beauty. From a symbol of supposed freedom, the river turns into a symbol of death.

Katerina often compares herself to a bird. She dreams of flying away, breaking out of this addictive space. “I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly,” says Katya to Varvara. Birds symbolize freedom and lightness, which the girl is deprived of.

The title of the play alone contains all the main motives for its understanding. The thunderstorm is the ideological symbol of Ostrovsky's work. In the first act, when Catherine made a hint to her mother-in-law about her secret love, a thunderstorm began to approach almost immediately. The approaching thunderstorm - this commemorates the tragedy in the play. But it breaks out only when main character tells her husband and mother-in-law about her sin.

The image of a thunderstorm-threat is closely related to the feeling of fear. “Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell! Now every grass, every flower is rejoicing, but we are hiding, afraid, as if some kind of misfortune is coming! The thunderstorm will kill! This is not a thunderstorm, but grace! Yes, grace! It's a storm for everyone!" - Kuligin shames his fellow citizens who tremble at the sounds of thunder. Indeed, a thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon is as necessary as sunny weather. Rain washes away dirt, cleanses the earth, promotes better growth plants. A person who sees a thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon in the cycle of life, and not as a sign of divine wrath, does not experience fear. The attitude towards the thunderstorm in a certain way characterizes the heroes of the play. The fatalistic superstition associated with thunderstorms and widespread among the people is voiced by the tyrant Dikoy and the woman hiding from the thunderstorm: “The thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we feel...”; “No matter how you hide! If it’s destined for someone, you won’t go anywhere.” But in the perception of Dikiy, Kabanikha and many others, fear of a thunderstorm is something familiar and not a very vivid experience. “That’s it, you have to live in such a way that you are always ready for anything; “For fear this wouldn’t happen,” Kabanikha coolly notes. She has no doubt that the thunderstorm is a sign of God's wrath. But the heroine is so convinced that she is leading the right lifestyle that she does not experience any anxiety.

In the play, only Katerina experiences the most lively trepidation before a thunderstorm. We can say that this fear clearly demonstrates her mental discord. On the one hand, Katerina longs to challenge her hateful existence and meet her love halfway. On the other hand, she is not able to renounce the ideas instilled in the environment in which she grew up and continues to live. Fear, according to Katerina, is an integral element of life, and it is not so much the fear of death as such, but the fear of future punishment, of one’s spiritual failure: “Everyone should be afraid. It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins, with all your evil thoughts.”

In the play we also find a different attitude towards the thunderstorm, towards the fear that it supposedly must certainly evoke. “I’m not afraid,” say Varvara and the inventor Kuligin. The attitude towards a thunderstorm also characterizes the interaction of one or another character in the play with time. Dikoy, Kabanikha and those who share their view of the thunderstorm as a manifestation of heavenly displeasure are, of course, inextricably linked with the past. Internal conflict Katerina comes from the fact that she is neither able to break with ideas that are a thing of the past, nor to keep the precepts of “Domostroy” in inviolable purity. Thus, she is at the point of the present, in a contradictory, turning point time, when a person must choose what to do. Varvara and Kuligin are looking to the future. In the fate of Varvara, this is emphasized due to the fact that she leaves her home to an unknown destination, almost like heroes of folklore going in search of happiness, and Kuligin is constantly in scientific search.

M.Yu. Lermontov (Hero of our time)

The realistic method of writing enriched literature with images and symbols. Griboedov used this technique in the comedy “Woe from Wit.” The point is that objects are endowed with a certain symbolic meaning. Symbolic images can be end-to-end, that is, repeated several times throughout the text. In this case, the meaning of the symbol becomes significant for the plot. Particular attention should be paid to those images-symbols that are included in the title of the work. That is why emphasis should be placed on the meaning of the name and figurative symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm”.

To answer the question of what the symbolism of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” contains, it is important to know why and why the playwright used this particular image. The thunderstorm in the drama appears in several forms. The first is a natural phenomenon. Kalinov and its inhabitants seem to live in anticipation of thunderstorms and rain. The events that unfold in the play take place over approximately 14 days. All this time, phrases are heard from passers-by or from the main characters that a thunderstorm is approaching. The violence of the elements is the culmination of the play: it is the thunderstorm and the clap of thunder that force the heroine to admit to treason. Moreover, thunderclaps accompany almost the entire fourth act. With each blow the sound becomes louder: Ostrovsky seems to be preparing readers for the highest point of conflict.

The symbolism of a thunderstorm includes another meaning. “Thunderstorm” is understood differently by different heroes. Kuligin is not afraid of a thunderstorm, because he does not see anything mystical in it. Dikoy considers the thunderstorm a punishment and a reason to remember the existence of God. Katerina sees in a thunderstorm a symbol of rock and fate - after the loudest thunderclap, the girl confesses her feelings for Boris. Katerina is afraid of thunderstorms, because for her it is equivalent to the Last Judgment. At the same time, the thunderstorm helps the girl decide to take a desperate step, after which she becomes honest with herself. For Kabanov, Katerina’s husband, the thunderstorm has its own meaning. He talks about this at the beginning of the story: Tikhon needs to leave for a while, which means he will lose his mother’s control and orders. “For two weeks there will be no thunderstorm over me, there are no shackles on my legs...” Tikhon compares the riot of nature with the incessant hysterics and whims of Marfa Ignatievna.

One of the main symbols in Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm” can be called the Volga River. It’s as if she separates two worlds: the city of Kalinov, the “dark kingdom” and the ideal world that each of the characters invented for themselves. The words of Barynya are indicative in this regard. Twice the woman said that the river is a whirlpool that draws in beauty. From a symbol of supposed freedom, the river turns into a symbol of death.

Katerina often compares herself to a bird. She dreams of flying away, breaking out of this addictive space. “I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly,” says Katya to Varvara. Birds symbolize freedom and lightness, which the girl is deprived of.

The symbol of the court is not difficult to trace: it appears several times throughout the work. Kuligin, in conversations with Boris, mentions the trial in the context of the “cruel morals of the city.” The court appears to be a bureaucratic apparatus that is not called upon to seek the truth and punish violations. All he can do is waste time and money. Feklusha talks about refereeing in other countries. From her point of view, only Christian court and court according to the laws of the economy can judge righteously, while the rest are mired in sin.
Katerina talks about the Almighty and about human judgment when she tells Boris about her feelings. For her, Christian laws come first, not public opinion: “If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment?”

On the walls of the dilapidated gallery, past which residents of Kalinov walk, scenes from the Holy Letter are depicted. In particular, pictures of fiery Gehenna. Katerina herself remembers this mythical place. Hell becomes synonymous with mustiness and stagnation, which Katya fears. She chooses death, knowing that this is one of the most terrible Christian sins. But at the same time, through death, the girl gains freedom.

The symbolism of the drama “The Thunderstorm” is developed in detail and includes several symbolic images. With this technique, the author wanted to convey the severity and depth of the conflict that existed both in society and within each person. This information will be useful for 10th graders when writing an essay on the topic “The meaning of the title and symbolism of the play “The Thunderstorm”.”

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