The symbolism of the title of A.N. Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm". The meaning of the name and figurative symbolism in the drama "The Thunderstorm" (not from the Internet) The symbolism of the work The Thunderstorm

Essay plan
1. Introduction. Variety of symbolism in the play.
2. Main part. Motives and themes of the play, artistic foreshadowing, symbolism of images, phenomena, details.
— Folklore motifs as an artistic anticipation of the heroine’s situation.
— Katerina’s dreams and symbolism of images.
— A story about childhood as a compositional prelude.
— The motive of sin and retribution in the play. Kabanova and Dikoy.
— The motive of sin in the images of Feklusha and the half-crazy lady.
— The motive of sin in the images of Kudryash, Varvara and Tikhon.
— Katerina’s perception of sin.
— The idea of ​​the play.
— The symbolic meaning of the images of the play.
— Symbolism of objects.
3. Conclusion. Philosophical and poetic subtext of the play.

Symbolism in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky is diverse. The very name of the play, the theme of a thunderstorm, the motives of sin and judgment are symbolic. Landscape paintings, objects, and some images are symbolic. Some motifs and themes of folk songs acquire an allegorical meaning.
At the very beginning of the play, the song “Among the Flat Valley...” (sung by Kuligin) sounds, which already at the very beginning introduces the motive of a thunderstorm and the motive of death. If we remember the entire lyrics of the song, then there are the following lines:

Where can I rest my heart?
When will the storm rise?
A gentle friend sleeps in damp earth,
He won't come to help.

The theme of loneliness, orphanhood, and life without love also arises in it. All these motives seem to precede Katerina’s life situation at the beginning of the play:

Oh, it's boring to be lonely
And the tree grows!
Oh, it’s bitter, it’s bitter for the fellow
Lead a life without a sweetheart!

The dreams of the heroine in “The Thunderstorm” also acquire a symbolic meaning. So, Katerina is sad because people don’t fly. “Why don’t people fly!.. 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. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Is there anything I should try now?” she says to Varvara. In her parents’ house, Katerina lived like a “bird in the wild.” She dreams about how she flies. Elsewhere in the play she dreams of becoming a butterfly. The theme of birds introduces the motif of captivity and cages into the narrative. Here we can recall the symbolic ritual of the Slavs releasing birds from cages, which is based on the Slavs’ belief in the ability of reincarnation of the human soul. As noted by Yu.V. Lebedev, “the Slavs believed that the human soul was capable of turning into a butterfly or a bird. In folk songs, a woman yearning on the wrong side of an unloved family turns into a cuckoo, flies into the garden to her beloved mother, and complains to her about her hard lot.” But the theme of birds also sets the motive for death here. Thus, in many cultures the Milky Way is called the “bird road” because the souls flying along this road to heaven were imagined as birds. Thus, already at the beginning of the play we notice the motives that precede the death of the heroine.
Katerina’s story about her childhood also becomes a kind of artistic prelude: “...I was born so hot! I was still six years old, no more, so I did it! They offended me with something at home, and it was late in the evening, it was already dark; I ran out to the Volga, got into the boat and pushed it away from the shore. The next morning they found it about ten miles away!” But Katerina’s story is also a compositional preview of the play’s finale. For her, the Volga is a symbol of will, space, and free choice. And in the end she makes her choice.
The final scenes of “The Thunderstorm” are also preceded by Kudryash’s song:

Like a Don Cossack, the Cossack led his horse to water,
Good fellow, he’s already standing at the gate.
Standing at the gate, he himself is thinking,
Dumu thinks about how he will destroy his wife.
How a wife prayed to her husband,
Soon she bowed to him:
You, father, are you a dear, dear friend!
Don't hit me, don't destroy me this evening!
You kill, ruin me from midnight!
Let my little children sleep
To little children, to all our close neighbors.

This song develops in the play the motif of sin and retribution, which runs through the entire narrative. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova constantly remembers sin: “What a long time to sin! A conversation close to the heart will go well, and you will sin, you will get angry,” “Enough, come on, don’t be afraid! Sin!”, “What can I say to a fool! There’s only one sin!” Judging by these remarks, sin for Kabanova is irritation, anger, lies and deception. However, in this case, Marfa Ignatievna constantly sins. She often gets irritated and angry with her son and daughter-in-law. While preaching religious commandments, she forgets about love for her neighbor and therefore lies to others. “A prude... she lavishes on the poor, but completely eats up her family,” Kuligin says about her. Kabanova is far from true mercy, her faith is harsh and merciless. Dikoy also mentions sin in the play. Sin for him is his “swearing”, anger, nonsense of character. Dikoy “sins” often: he gets it from his family, his nephew, Kuligin, and the peasants.
The wanderer Feklusha thoughtfully reflects on sin in the play: “It’s impossible, mother, without sin: we live in the world,” she says to Glasha. For Feklusha, sin is anger, quarrel, absurdity of character, gluttony. She admits to herself only one of these sins - gluttony: “I have one sin, for sure; I myself know that there is. I love to eat sweets." However, at the same time, Feklusha is also prone to deception and suspicion; she tells Glasha to look after “the wretched one” so that she “doesn’t steal anything.” The motive of sin is also embodied in the image of a half-crazy lady who sinned a lot from her youth. Since then, she prophesies to everyone a “pool”, “fire... unquenchable.”
In a conversation with Boris, Kudryash also mentions sin. Noticing Boris Grigoryich near the Kabanovs’ garden and at first considering him a rival, Kudryash warns the young man: “I love you, sir, and I’m ready for any service to you, but on this path you don’t meet me at night, so that, God forbid, you don’t commit any sin.” it came out." Knowing Kudryash’s character, we can guess what kind of “sins” he has. In the play, Varvara “sins” without discussing sin. This concept lives in her mind only in the usual everyday life, but she obviously does not consider herself a sinner. Tikhon also has his sins. He himself admits this in a conversation with Kuligin: “I went to Moscow, you know? On the way, my mother read, gave me instructions, but as soon as I left, I went on a spree. I’m very glad that I broke free. And he drank all the way, and in Moscow he drank everything, so it’s a lot, what the heck! So that you can take a break for the whole year. I never even remembered the house.” Kuligin advises him to forgive his wife: “You yourself, tea, are also not without sin!” Tikhon agrees unconditionally: “What can I say!”
Katerina often thinks about sin in the play. This is exactly how she evaluates her love for Boris. Already in the first conversation about this with Varya, she clearly indicates her feelings: “Oh, Varya, sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, what I didn’t do to myself! I can't escape this sin. Can't go anywhere. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love someone else?” Moreover, for Katerina, a sin is not only the act as such, but also the thought about it: “I’m not afraid to die, but when I think that suddenly I will appear before God as I am here with you, then I’ll talk,” That's what's scary. What's on my mind! What a sin! It’s scary to say!” Katerina recognizes her sin the moment she meets Boris. “If I was not afraid of sin for you, will I be afraid of human judgment? They say it’s even easier when you suffer for some sin here on earth.” However, then the heroine begins to suffer from the consciousness of her own sin. Her own behavior diverges from her ideal ideas about the world, of which she herself is a particle. Katerina introduces into the narrative the motive of repentance, retribution for sins, and God's punishment.
And the theme of God's punishment is connected both with the title of the play and with the thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon. Ostrovsky’s theme is symbolic. However, what meaning does the playwright give to the concept of “thunderstorm”? If we remember the Bible, then the peals of thunder there are likened to the voice of the Lord. Almost all Kalinovites have an unambiguous attitude towards thunderstorms: it instills in them a mystical fear, reminds them of God’s wrath and moral responsibility. Dikoy says: “...a thunderstorm is sent to us as punishment, so that we feel...”. The prophecies of the crazy lady also hint at God’s punishment: “You’ll have to answer for everything... You can’t escape God.” Katerina perceives the thunderstorm in exactly the same way: she is convinced that this is nothing more than retribution for her sins. However, the Bible also has another meaning for this phenomenon. The Gospel sermon is compared to thunder here. And this, I think, is the true meaning of this symbol in the play. The thunderstorm is “designed” to crush the stubbornness and cruelty of the Kalinovites, to remind them of love and forgiveness.
This is exactly what the Kalinovites should have done with Katerina. The heroine’s public repentance is an attempt at her reconciliation with the world, at reconciliation with herself. The subtext of the play contains biblical wisdom: “Judge not, lest ye be judged, for by whatever judgment you judge, so will you be judged...” Thus, the motifs of sin and judgment, intertwined, form a deep semantic subtext in “The Thunderstorm,” bringing us close to the biblical parable.
In addition to themes and motifs, we note the symbolic meaning of some images of the play. Kuligin introduces ideas and themes of enlightenment thinking into the play, and this character also introduces the image of natural harmony and grace. Ostrovsky’s image of a half-crazy lady is a symbol of Katerina’s sick conscience, while the image of Feklusha is a symbol of the old patriarchal world, the foundations of which are crumbling.
The last times of the “dark kingdom” are also symbolized by some objects in the play, in particular an ancient gallery and a key. In the fourth act, we see in the foreground a narrow gallery with an ancient building that is beginning to collapse. Its painting is reminiscent of very specific subjects - “fiery hell”, the battle between the Russians and Lithuania. However, now it has almost completely collapsed, everything is overgrown, and after the fire it was never repaired. A symbolic detail is the key that Varvara gives to Katerina. The scene with the key plays a vital role in the development of the conflict of the play. There is an internal struggle going on in Katerina’s soul. She perceives the key as a temptation, as a sign of impending doom. But the thirst for happiness wins: “Why am I saying that I’m deceiving myself? I could even die to see him. Who am I pretending to be!.. Throw in the key! No, not for anything in the world! He’s mine now... Whatever happens, I’ll see Boris! Oh, if only the night could come sooner!..” The key here becomes a symbol of freedom for the heroine, as if it unlocks her soul languishing in captivity.
Thus, Ostrovsky’s play has both poetic and philosophical overtones, expressed in motifs, images and details. The thunderstorm that swept over Kalinov becomes “a cleansing storm, sweeping away deeply rooted prejudices and clearing the way for other “mores.”

1. Lebedev Yu.V. Russian literature of the 19th century. Second half. Book for teachers. M., 1990, p. 169–170.

2. Lyon P.E., Lokhova N.M. Decree. cit., p.255.

3. Buslakova T.P. Russian literature of the 19th century. Minimum educational requirement for applicants. M., 2005, p. 531.

1. Image of a thunderstorm. Time in the play.
2. Katerina’s dreams and symbolic images of the end of the world.
3. Hero-symbols: Wild and Kabanikha.

The very name of A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is symbolic. A thunderstorm is not only an atmospheric phenomenon, it is an allegorical designation of the relationship between elders and younger ones, those who have power and those who are dependent. “...For two weeks there will be no thunderstorm over me, there are no shackles on my legs...” - Tikhon Kabanov is glad to escape from the house, at least for a little while, where his mother “gives orders, one more menacing than the other.”

The image of a thunderstorm—a 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 soil, and promotes better plant growth. 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. Katerina’s internal conflict stems from the fact that she is unable to either break with ideas that are a thing of the past, or keep the precepts of “Domostroi” 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.

The image of time slips into the play every now and then. Time does not move evenly: it sometimes shrinks to a few moments, sometimes it drags on for an incredibly long time. These transformations symbolize different sensations and changes, depending on the context. “Sure, it happened that I entered heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Just like it all happened in one second” - this is how Katerina characterizes the special state of spiritual flight that she experienced as a child, attending church.

“The last times... by all accounts the last times. There is also paradise and silence in your city, but in other cities it’s just so much chaos, mother: noise, running around, incessant driving! People are just scurrying around, one here, another there.” The wanderer Feklusha interprets the acceleration of the pace of life as approaching the end of the world. It is interesting that the subjective feeling of time compression is experienced differently by Katerina and Feklusha. If for Katerina the quickly passing time of the church service is associated with a feeling of indescribable happiness, then for Feklushi the “decreasing” of time is an apocalyptic symbol: “...Time is getting shorter. It used to be that summer or winter drag on and on, you can’t wait for it to end, and now you won’t even see it fly by. The days and hours still seem to remain the same; and time, because of our sins, is becoming shorter and shorter.”

No less symbolic are the images from Katerina’s childhood dreams and the fantastic images in the wanderer’s story. Unearthly gardens and palaces, the singing of angelic voices, flying in a dream - all these are symbols of a pure soul, not yet aware of contradictions and doubts. But the uncontrollable movement of time also finds expression in Katerina’s dreams: “I no longer dream, Varya, of paradise trees and mountains as before; and it’s as if someone is hugging me so warmly and warmly and leading me somewhere, and I follow him, I go...” This is how Katerina’s experiences are reflected in dreams. What she tries to suppress in herself rises from the depths of the unconscious.

The motifs of “vanity”, “fiery serpent” that appear in Feklushi’s story are not just the result of a fantastic perception of reality by a simple person, ignorant and superstitious. The themes in the wanderer's story are closely related to both folklore and biblical motifs. If the fiery serpent is just a train, then vanity in Feklusha’s view is a capacious and multi-valued image. How often people are in a hurry to do something, not always correctly assessing the real significance of their affairs and aspirations: “It seems to him that he is running after something; he’s in a hurry, poor thing, he doesn’t recognize people, he imagines that someone is beckoning him; but when he comes to the place, it’s empty, there’s nothing, just a dream.”

But in the play “The Thunderstorm” not only phenomena and concepts are symbolic. The figures of the characters in the play are also symbolic. This especially applies to the merchant Dikiy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, nicknamed Kabanikha in the city. A symbolic nickname, and the surname of the venerable Savel Prokofich can rightfully be called telling. This is not accidental, because it was in the images of these people that the thunderstorm was embodied, not mystical heavenly wrath, but a very real tyrannical power, firmly entrenched on the sinful earth.

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 the thunderstorm as 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.

A. N. Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" shows us life in the city of Kalinov, now and then disrupted by various manifestations of a thunderstorm. 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 striking moments of the bad weather coincide 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 to talk 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 of “cruel morals” and ending with the personal tragedy of everyone.

The play “The Thunderstorm” is one of Ostrovsky’s brightest works, which expresses a protest against the tyranny and despotism reigning in the “dark kingdom” of the merchant class of the 19th century. “The Thunderstorm” was written by Alexander Nikolaevich during the fundamental changes taking place in Russian society, so it was no coincidence that Ostrovsky chose this title for his drama. The word “thunderstorm” plays a big role in understanding the play; it has many meanings. On the one hand, a thunderstorm is a natural phenomenon, which is one of the actors.

On the other hand, a thunderstorm symbolizes the processes that take place in Russian society itself. Finally, the “thunderstorm” is the internal conflict of the main character of the drama, Katerina.

The thunderstorm occupies an important place in the composition of the drama. In the first act, Katerina’s dialogue with Varvara, in which the heroine admits her feelings for Boris, is accompanied by a picture of an approaching thunderstorm. In the fourth act, one of the residents of the city of Kalinov, looking at the gathering thunderstorm, foreshadows inevitable death: “Remember my word that this thunderstorm will not pass in vain! ... Either he will kill someone, or the house will burn down...” The climax of the play - the scene of Katerina's repentance for cheating on her husband - takes place against the backdrop of thunder. In addition, the writer more than once personifies a thunderstorm in the dialogues of residents of the city of Kalinova: “And so it creeps towards us, and crawls like a living thing.” Thus, Ostrovsky shows that the thunderstorm is one of the direct characters in the play.

But the image of a thunderstorm also has a symbolic meaning. Thus, Tikhon calls the scolding of his mother Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova a “thunderstorm”. Dikoy scolds so much that for his loved ones he is a real “thunderstorm”. And the “dark kingdom” itself can be viewed as a patriarchal society in which ignorance, cruelty, and deception are thunderclouds frightening in their blackness.

The thunderstorm is perceived by the heroes in different ways. So, Dikoy says: “A thunderstorm is being sent to us as punishment,” and the crazy lady at the first strikes of thunder proclaims: “You will all burn in unquenchable fire!” Thus, the writer creates a picture of a gloomy religious consciousness, which also influences Katerina’s attitude towards the thunderstorm as God’s punishment: “It’s not so scary that it will kill you, but that death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins...” In At the same time, the play gives an idea of ​​the thunderstorm as a cleansing element. Kuligin says about her: “Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell! Every grass, every flower is happy, but we are hiding, afraid, as if some misfortune is coming! The thunderstorm will kill! This is not a thunderstorm, but grace! The passing thunderstorm seems to wash away the lies and hypocrisy that reign in the “dark kingdom”; Katerina’s suicide makes obvious the moral callousness of Kabanikha and those who led the heroine to such a finale, making Tikhon’s rebellion against the foundations of patriarchal society possible.

“Thunderstorm” is also a symbol of Katerina’s spiritual drama. In the heroine, there is an internal conflict between a religious feeling, an understanding of “indelible sin” and the desire for love, for inner freedom. Katerina constantly senses an impending catastrophe. But this, according to Ostrovsky, is the logic of the heroine’s image - Katerina is unable to live according to the laws of the “dark kingdom,” but she is also unable to prevent the tragedy.

The title of Ostrovsky's play takes on many shades and becomes ambiguous. The image of a thunderstorm illuminates all aspects of the tragic conflict of the play. And we, readers, thanks to the genius of the artist of words, can discover for ourselves each time new shades of meaning inherent in the work.