Who gives the first characteristic of the boar. Thunderstorm characterization of the image of the boar marfa Ignatievna

According to I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky "brought a whole library of works of art as a gift to literature, created his own special world for the stage." The world of Ostrovsky's works is amazing. He created characters large and solid, was able to emphasize comic or dramatic properties in them, to draw the reader's attention to the merits or vices of his heroes.

Special attention should be paid to the heroes of the play "Gro-za" - Savel Prokofievich Dikoy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova.

Savel Prokofievich Dikoy is a merchant, a significant person in the city of Kalinov. Eloquent characteristics are given to him by the heroes of the play. “He belongs everywhere. He's afraid that he is who! " - says Kudryash about him. Dikoy, in fact, does not recognize anything except his own will. He does not care about the thoughts and feelings of other people. To curse, humiliate, insult Savel Prokofievich is worth nothing. With those around him, he behaves as if he “broke loose”, and without this he “cannot breathe”. "... You are a worm," he says to Kuligi-well. - If I want - I will have mercy, if I want - I will crush ”.

The power of the Wild is the stronger, the weaker, the more weak-willed the person is. So Kudryash, for example, knows how to resist the Wild. “... He is the word, and I am ten; will spit, and will go. No, I will not become a slave to him, ”says Kudryash about his relationship with the merchant. Another person is the Dikiy's nephew, Boris. “Boris Grigorich made it to him as a sacrifice, and so he drives it,” others note. Wild is not embarrassed by the fact that Boris is an orphan and that he has no one closer to his uncle. The merchant realizes that the fate of his nephew is in his hands, and takes advantage of this. "Hunted down, hammered ...", - Boris says bitterly. The merchant is no less cruel to his workers: “No one here dares to utter a word about the sting; On someone else's slave labor and deceit, the shameless Dikoy makes his fortune: "... I will not pay them for some kopeck ... and I make up thousands of this ...". Anyway, sometimes he finds insight into the Wild, and he realizes that he is going too far: "After all, I already know that I have to give it back, but I can't do everything good."

Dikoy is a despot and a tyrant in his family, “his own people cannot please him in any way”, “when he is offended by such a person whom he does not dare to curse; hold on to your pets! "

The rich Kalinovskaya merchant's wife is not inferior to the Wild and Kabanikha. The boar is a prude, she does everything "under the guise of piety." Outwardly, she is very devout. However, as Kuligin notes, Kabanikha “clothe the beggars, but ate the family altogether”. The main object of her tyranny is her own son Tikhon. As an adult, married man, he is completely in the power of his mother, does not have his own opinion, is afraid to contradict her. Kabanikha "builds" his relationship with his wife, she guides his every act, every word. Complete obedience is all she wants to see in her son. The power-hungry Kabanikha does not notice that under her oppression a cowardly, pitiful, weak-willed, irresponsible person has grown up. Having escaped for some time from under the supervision of his mother, he chokes on freedom and drinks, because he does not know how to use freedom in any other way. "... Not a step out of your will," he repeats to his mother, and "he thinks about how he can get out as soon as possible."

Kabanikha is jealous of his son's daughter-in-law, constantly reproaches him with Katerina, “he eats as a meal”. “I can see that I’m a hindrance to you,” she says to Tikhon. Kabanikha believes that the husband's wife should be afraid, precisely afraid, and not love or respect. In her opinion, the right relationship is built precisely on the suppression of one person by another, on humiliation, on lack of freedom. An indicator in this respect is the scene of Katerina's farewell to her husband, when all Tikhon's words addressed to his wife are just a repetition of Kabanikha's instigations.

If Tikhon, crushed by her, suffers from Kabanikha from childhood, then the life of such a dreamy, poetic and integral nature like Katerina, in the house of a merchant's wife, becomes unbearable at all. “It is all the same what I got married here, what they buried,” says Boris.

Constant pressure makes Kabanikha's daughter, Varvara, adapt. “Do what you want, as long as it is sewn and covered,” she says.

Assessing the images of the "masters of life", N. Dobro-lyubov shows Dikiy and Kabanikha as tyrants, with their "constant suspicion, nagging and captiousness." According to the critic, "Gro-za" is the most decisive work of Ostrovsky "in this play" the mutual relations of tyranny and speechlessness have been brought ... to the most tragic consequences ... ".

In the play "" we meet with a large number of characters who appear in front of us in various scenes. Heroes are divided into two categories: those who were adherents of the "dark kingdom" and those who were against the rich and hypocritical tyrants.

One of the main characters of the "dark kingdom" is the merchant Marfa Kabanova. The author gives her the nickname Kabanikha, and it fully corresponds to her external and internal world.

She was a woman of advanced age, stubborn and callous, cruel and wayward. She often seized all the household and constantly expressed dissatisfaction with their behavior. Kabanikha adhered to the old foundations of life, observed old customs and traditions. She also forced her relatives to abide by the norms of morality. And if someone showed disobedience, she was angry and angry. None of her household could say a word. Her son completely ceased to show resistance to the activities of the mother and simply obediently obeyed her will.

Kabanikha feels contempt for her daughter-in-law and constantly repeats that the younger generation is completely out of the hands of the elders, does not honor and does not respect old age at all. Although these were just prejudices. Martha Kabanova felt that the end of the rule of the "dark kingdom" was coming. She was afraid of losing power over her subordinates and servants.

The nature of Kabanikha is quite religious, she believes in hellish torment after death for her sins. And at the same time, he continues to lead a depressing lifestyle, humiliate others, show the power of his position and money.

Her behavior leads to sad consequences. It was she who became the last straw in the decision to commit suicide. She expressed intolerable humiliation towards her daughter-in-law. She turned her son into a spineless creature that obeyed the will of an oppressive mother. ran away from home, so as not to have the influence of an unbearable old woman.

So much for the image of a rich merchant who brought so many troubles to her family. The rest of the persons of the "dark kingdom" were very similar to the image of Martha Kabanova.

In 1856 A. N. Ostrovsky travels along the Volga. The impressions of the trip are reflected in his work, "The Thunderstorm" was also written based on this trip. This is a story about a merchant's wife, brought up in severity and morality, who fell in love with a young man. Having cheated on her husband, she is unable to hide it. Publicly repenting of treason, she rushes into the Volga.

In contact with

The contradictory image of Martha Ignatievna Kabanova

The play is built on the juxtaposition of two strong opposite images: Ekaterina and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova. In fact, they have a lot in common: the primacy of the patriarchal world, maximalism inherent in both, strong characters. Despite their religiosity, they do not compromise and are not inclined to mercy. This is where their similarities end. They are at different poles of the patriarchal world. The boar is an earthly woman, she is worried about keeping order to the smallest detail. She is not interested in human relationships. The patriarchal way of life for Katerina lies in dreaminess, spirituality.

The image of the Kabanikha in the play "The Storm" is one of the central... She is a widow with two children, Varvara and Tikhon. She can rightly be called harsh and merciless for Tikhon's reproaches that he loves his mother less than his wife Katerina, and constantly strives to get away from the mother's will.

The predominant personality trait of Kabanikha can be called tyranny but not extravagance... Each of her demands to those around her, be it her son or daughter-in-law, is subordinated to the moral and everyday code "Domostroi". Therefore, she sacredly believes in the principles that it says, and considers it correct to adhere to them unswervingly. Referring to Domostroy concepts, she believes that children should respect their parents so much that the will of the children does not matter. Relationships between spouses should be based on the wife's fear of her husband, unquestioning obedience to him.

Boar in the speech of strangers

The characterization of Kabanikha is made clear to the reader, thanks to the statements of the characters in the play. The first mention of Martha Ignatievna comes from Feklusha. This is a beggar wanderer who is grateful for her kindness and generosity. In contrast, the words of Kuligin sound that she is generous to the poor, and not to her relatives. After these brief descriptions, the reader gets to know Kabanikha. Kuligin's words are confirmed. The mother finds fault with the words of her son and daughter-in-law. Even with her meekness and sincerity, Katerina does not inspire confidence in her. Reproaches fly towards the son for the lack of love for the mother.

Opinion about Kabanova of her family members

One of the most emotional moments in the play is the scene of seeing off the son of Tikhon... Kabanikha reproaches him for not bowing to his mother's feet, and saying goodbye to his wife is not the way it should be. Katerina, after Tikhon's departure, according to Kabanikha, must show her love for him - howl and lie on the porch. The young generation violates all customs and traditions, and this leads Kabanikha to sad reflections.

Katerina, the daughter-in-law, gets the most of the rest. Any of her words are cut short by harsh attacks and remarks. Noticing affection, not fear, in dealing with Tikhon, Kabanikha angrily reproaches her. Her ruthlessness reaches the limit after Katherine's confession. In her opinion, the daughter-in-law is worthy to be buried alive in the ground.

Boar treats Katherine with contempt considering her an example of how disrespectful young people are to the older generation. Most of all, she is burdened by the idea that she can be left without power. Her behavior leads to a tragic ending to the play. Katerina's suicide is also her fault. The daughter-in-law endured humiliation for a long time and once could not stand it.

Obeying the orders of a wacky mother Tikhon becomes a spineless creature... The daughter runs away, tired of the parent's constant interference in her personal life. The ancient way of life with a true high morality disappears from life, leaving only a dead pressure shell. The young characters in the play pretend to keep patriarchal commandments. Tikhon pretends to love his mother, Varvara goes on secret dates, only Katerina is tormented by conflicting feelings.

Marfa Ignatievna is busy with earthly affairs. She considers herself fair, because, in her opinion, the strictness of the parents will reflect in the best way on the children - they will learn to be kind. But the old way of life is crumbling, the patriarchal system is disappearing. This is a tragedy for Martha Ignatievna. However, hot temper and extravagance are not in her nature. She is unhappy with the irascibility of her godfather Wild. Dikoy's willful behavior and complaints about the family annoy her.

The boar is devoted to the traditions of her family and ancestors and honors them without condemning, evaluating or complaining about them. If you live according to the will of the fathers, it will lead to peace and order on earth. There is religiosity in the character of Kabanikha. She believes that a person will go to hell for committing evil deeds, but at the same time she does not consider herself guilty of anything. Humiliation of others at the expense of her wealth and power is in the order of things for her.

Kabanikhe characterized by authority, cruelty and confidence in the correctness of their views... In her opinion, maintaining the old order will be able to save her house from the riots taking place outside of her home. Therefore, the rigidity and hardness is manifested in her character more and more clearly. And having eradicated his own, unnecessary emotions, he cannot stand their manifestations in others. For disobeying her words, the closest people are punished with cold-blooded humiliation and insults. At the same time, this does not apply to strangers, with them she is pious and respectful.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is an ambiguous character, it is difficult to regret or only condemn her. On the one hand, she hurts her family members, and on the other, she firmly believes in the correctness of her behavior. Thus, the negative qualities of Kabanikha's character can be called:

• cruelty;
• imperiousness;
• composure.

And positive:

• strong unshakable character;
• religiosity;
• "Kindness and generosity to strangers."

Article menu:

In the literature, very often there are images that are extremely negative. At a time when the opinion is mainly expressed about the duality of the human soul and nature and the presence of both positive and negative sides of the personality, the masters of the artistic word now and then deliberately endow their characters with only bad character traits, excluding even the slightest manifestations of the positive influence of the hero's activity.

In the play "The Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky, one of these characters is Kabanikha.

Characteristics of the personality of Kabanikha

The full name of the heroine is Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova, but in the text she is most often called Kabanikha. Marfa Ignatievna is on friendly terms with Dikim, he is also her godfather. It is worth noting that such a friendship is not surprising, because both characters are very similar in character.

Dear Readers! On our site you can familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the city of Kalinov in Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm".

The boar is a wealthy merchant's wife. Her position in society implied a tolerant attitude towards others, but in fact her habits were not at all noble. Kabanikha has a firm and unshakable character. She is a cruel and rude woman.

Marfa Ignatievna is too conservative, she is "stuck" in the past tense and lives by the principles and foundations long gone, not realizing that changes have taken place in the world and it is no longer possible to live in the old way. She believes that the wisdom of a person is determined by his age - young people a priori cannot be smart, this is only the prerogative of old people: “Do not judge yourself when you are older! They know more than you do.

Kabanikha is sure that children must bow at the feet of their parents, and the husband must “order” his wife all the time. Marfa Ignatievna is very upset when these norms of behavior are not observed and thinks that this is a problem of the bad manners of the younger generation: "They know nothing, no order."

Kabanikha is used to playing in public - she tries in the eyes of society to be a virtuous and noble woman, although in fact she is not. Martha Ignatievna often gives alms to the poor, but she does it not at the behest of her heart, but so that everyone thinks that she is a kind and generous woman.

Kabanikha is a very pious woman, but, apparently, her religiosity is also feigned, since in spite of everything, Kabanikha does not adhere to the laws of God and often neglects the basic rules of behavior in relation to other people.

Family and attitude towards relatives

The complexity of character is manifested in full force in relation to his loved ones. There are three people in her family - a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law. With all of them, Kabanikha developed extremely contradictory relations.

All difficulties and conflicts in the family are associated with the authoritarian nature of the mother, her conservatism and a special love for scandals.

We invite thoughtful readers to familiarize themselves with the characterization of Katerina in Ostrovsky's play “The Thunderstorm”.

The son of Kabanikha - Tikhon - at the time of the story is already an adult, he could be completely independent, but his mother does not give him the opportunity to do this. The woman takes care of her son all the time and tries to control his every step, referring not to Tikhon's incompetence. As a result

Kabanikha began not only to give advice to her son, but literally to live in his place: “she eats while she eats, does not give a pass”.

Marfa Ignatievna constantly interferes in the relationship between her son and daughter-in-law and sometimes orders her son's wife to be beaten, for this is the order: “But I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. He beat me a little, and even then my mother ordered. "

Tikhon, despite his age and beliefs that such rude actions in relation to his wife are not needed, nevertheless unquestioningly fulfills the will of his mother.

Kabanikha does not have the best attitude towards the young daughter-in-law Katerina - she is always unhappy with her and will always find something to reproach the young girl with. The reason for this attitude lies not in Katerina's dishonest attitude towards Kabanikha or not in Katerina's failure to fulfill her duties, but in Kabanikha's habit of commanding everyone and jealousy that arose in relation to her daughter-in-law.

Kabanikha cannot accept the adulthood of her son, she is offended that Tikhon gives preference to his wife, not his mother.

Kabanikha's daughter Varvara is not so straightforward, she has long understood that she will never be able to defend her position: her mother, who was essentially a domestic tyrant, simply could not stand anything like this and did not allow any liberties. The girl found only one way out of this situation - to deceive her mother. Varvara always said what Marfa Ignatievna wanted to hear, but she acted as she wanted: “Our whole house is based on that. And I was not a deceiver, but I learned when I needed to. "

Such actions within the family on the part of Kabanikha become the cause of many tragedies. Her daughter Barbara runs away from home, never to appear here - for the girl, the escape became the only salvation from her mother's domestic tyranny. Tikhon and Katerina, who did not even think about how it was possible to change their situation, but only took a wait-and-see attitude and silently endured insults and humiliation from their mother, could not succeed.

Katerina, having cheated on her husband in order to feel happy, under the pressure of morality and shame, confesses her act, and then, but already under the pressure of Kabanikha's humiliation, ends her life by suicide. It was only after the death of Katerina that Tikhon found the strength to verbally rebuff his mother and reproach her for unlawful actions in relation to her loved ones: “You ruined her! You! You!". However, due to the soft nature of Tikhon, it is unlikely that he will be able to defend his position to the end.

Attitude of others to Kabanikha

Despite all efforts to convince others that she is a kind and good woman, Marfa Ignatievna did not succeed. The truth about her quarrelsome nature and love of tyranny has leaked out anyway, and others gossip about it from time to time.

The main incriminating array of information about the character of Kabanikha falls on the statements of Kuligin and Kudryash. Kudryash denounces the duality of her behavior. Marfa Ignatievna lives "to show people" and "as it really is." According to Kudryash, in Kabanikha everything happens "under the guise of piety."

Kuligin develops the same theme in his stories: “Prude, sir! She clothe the beggars, but she ate the household altogether. "

Thus, thanks to the literary hoax, the reader has the opportunity to see an unusual image, consisting exclusively of negative character traits. Kabanikha is trying with her cardinal actions to preserve the old system, which is rapidly collapsing, she cannot achieve a positive result with such methods, but at the same time Marfa Ignatievna destroys the fate of her children, which looks extremely sad.

Dikoy is depicted in only three scenes, but the playwright created a complete image, a type of tyrant. Ostrovsky not only introduced the word "tyrant" into literature, but also artistically developed the very phenomenon of tyranny, revealed on what basis it arises and develops.

Dikoy swaggers in front of his nephew, in front of his family, but retreats in front of those who are able to repulse him. Rude and unceremonious, he can no longer be different. His speech cannot be confused with the language of the rest of The Storms characters. Already the first appearance of the Wild on stage reveals his nature. He takes advantage of the fact that his nephew is financially dependent on him. Savel Prokofievich's lexicon is replete with swear words, rude expressions. This is how he speaks to Boris: “Hey, why, I came here to beat! The parasite! Damn you ”. The reason for this attitude towards people is in the awareness of their superiority and complete impunity.

Dikoy behaves differently with Kabanova, although out of habit she is rude to her. I wonder how they call each other: "kum", "kuma". This is how the people usually turned to well-known old people who were in friendly relations. There are almost no directions in this scene, the dialogue is calm and peaceful. It is with Kabanova Dikoy that he seeks solace, having fought at home: “Talk to me so that my heart will pass. You are the only one in the whole city who knows how to make me talk. " Frivolity and licentiousness are, of course, not purely individual qualities of the Wild. These are typical features of patriarchal merchants. But it stood out from the people’s environment. But, breaking away from folk culture, this part of the merchant class lost the best aspects of the national character.

There are traits in the Dick that are inherent in the people. So, he perceives natural phenomena in purely religious traditions. Dikoy proudly replies to Kuligin's request for money for the construction of a lightning conductor: “Here’s the vanity.” In general, the words of Kuligin - in the view of Dikoy - is already a crime before what even he, Dikoy, respects.

Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is perceived as a strong and domineering character. She is the opposite of Katherine. True, both of them are united by the most serious attitude to the Domostroy order and uncompromising attitude. It seems that she is sincerely saddened by the fall in morality among the younger generation, by the disrespectful attitude towards the laws to which she herself obeyed unconditionally. She stands up for a strong, strong family, for order in the house, which, according to her ideas, is possible only if the rules prescribed by the house-building are observed. She cares about the future of her children - Tikhon and Varvara.

The playwright motivates Kabanova's actions with the peculiarities of her character, the conditions of the social and domestic order, and purely maternal feelings. Therefore, the image turned out to be so convincing and impressive. Kabanikha's son Tikhon is married. Until now, he lived only for her, mother, mind, was her property, never contradicted her in anything. As a result, a person grew out of him, deprived of independence, firmness, the ability to stand up for himself. He loves his wife Katerina, cannot and does not want to keep her in fear, does not demand reverence from her. The mother feels that the son is gradually leaving her power, that he has a life of his own, that he does not treat his wife as a master, but in his own way reaches out to her. Ostrovsky showed maternal jealousy in Kabanova, explained her active dislike for Katerina. Marfa Ignatievna is convinced of her righteousness, of the necessity of her honored laws. A loving mother, she is also a very domineering woman. Only a strong personality can resist her.

The confrontation is shown in "The Thunderstorm" already at the very beginning of the action, where the irreconcilability of two different worlds, the world of Kabanova and the world of Katerina, is felt. The family scene on the boulevard, although it does not take place behind a high fence, immerses us in the atmosphere of the Kabanovs' house. The first remark of the head of the family is an order: "If you want to listen to your mother, then, as you arrive there, do as I ordered you." This is followed by Tikhon's submissive answer: "How can I, mamma, disobey you!" The family scene is one of the leading in the play, but the events mainly take place on the street, in the world - Ostrovsky correctly captured and conveyed that the life of the merchant class, which has not yet broken with the traditions of folk life, despite high fences and strong bolts, has an open character , in which it is impossible to hide what is happening in this or that family.

Let us listen to Kabanikha's remarks: “The elders are not respected very much nowadays”; “If only they remembered how many diseases mothers endure from their children”; “What a mother does not see with her eyes, so her heart is a prophet, she can feel with her heart. Al's wife, or something, takes you away from me, I do not know. " There seems to be nothing offensive, nothing unpleasant in Kabanikha's complaints. But the conversation is structured by the playwright in such a way that sympathy for Marfa Ignatievna does not arise, she does not evoke sympathy. Kabanova is present in many scenes, she is much more than Dikiy assigned to the work of time: she is one of those who actively move the action, bringing it closer to a tragic denouement. She reckons with what is accepted, what the order requires, honors the traditions and rituals that have developed in her class. She is deeply convinced that a wife should submit to her husband, live in fear of him. Kabanikha admonishes Tikhon, who does not understand why Katerina should be afraid of him: “Why be afraid! Are you crazy, or what? They will not be afraid of you, and even less so. What kind of order will it be in the house? " Kabanova firmly holds on to order, to the observance of the form. This is especially evident in the scene of farewell to Tikhon. The mother demands that the son give orders to his wife for order: do not be rude to the mother-in-law, do not sit around, so that she does not look at other people's men. The savagery and absurdity of this “order” are obvious. The main thing for Kabanikha is to say, to observe the ritual. She is convinced that if the house-building laws are not observed, human life will lose support, the family will collapse.

It turns out that “stopping” the Wild is not so difficult: he resigns himself at the slightest resistance; and the whole trouble is that he meets almost no one resistance. However, this inner weakness of his, this cowardice testifies to the fact that the Wild, like the Kabanikha, is short-lived, that the rule of the Wild is coming to an end.

The events of "The Thunderstorm", the characters, the course of the dramatic action are not only addressed to the tragic aspects of Russian patriarchal life, with its darkness, limitation, savagery, but also open up the prospect of a renewal of life. Ostrovsky conveyed to the whole formation of the play how heated the stifling atmosphere of Kalinov was. The demand for uncomplaining obedience, absolute submission is already meeting spontaneous resistance. Other times come when a voice of protest is heard among weak people, when other principles penetrate the world of the dark kingdom.

The boar is very rich. This can be judged because her commercial affairs go beyond Kalinov (on her behalf, Tikhon traveled to Moscow), that Dikoy respects her. But Kabanikha's affairs are of little interest to the playwright: in the play she is assigned a different role. If Dick shows the brute force of tyranny, then Kabanikha is the spokesman for the ideas and principles of the "dark kingdom". She understands that some money is not yet given to the authorities, another indispensable condition is the obedience of those who have no money. And she sees her main concern in preventing any possibility of disobedience. She "eats" her household in order to kill their will, any ability to resist. With Jesuitical sophistication, she drains their souls out of them, insults their human dignity with unsubstantiated suspicions. She skillfully uses various techniques to assert her will.

Kabanikha knows how to speak in a benevolent and instructive way (“I know, I know that my words are not to your liking, but what can I do, I’m not a stranger to you, my heart hurts about you”), and hypocritically groveling (“Mother is old , stupid; well, you, young people, smart, should not exact from us, fools "), and command powerfully (" Look, remember! Cut your nose on your nose! "," Bow down at your feet! "). Kabanikha tries to show her religiosity. Words: “Oh, grave sin! How long is it to sin! "," Only one sin! " - constantly accompany her speech. She supports superstitions and prejudices, strictly observes ancient customs. It is not known whether Kabanikha believes in Feklusha's ridiculous tales and the omens of the townspeople, she herself does not say anything like that. But it resolutely suppresses all manifestations of free thought. She condemns Kuligin's statements against prejudices and superstitions, and she supports the superstitious prophecies of the townspeople that “this storm will not pass in vain” and edifyingly tells her son: “Do not judge yourself when you are older! They know more than you do. Old people have all the signs. The old man will not say a word to the wind. " Both in religion and in ancient customs, she sees the main goal: to push a person, to keep him in eternal fear. She understands that only fear can keep people in subjection, prolong the shaken domination of tyrants. In response to Tikhon's words, why should his wife be afraid of him, Kabanova exclaims in horror: “How, why be afraid! How, why be afraid! Are you crazy, or what? They will not be afraid of you, and even less so. What kind of order will it be in the house? After all, you, tea, live with her in law. Ali, do you think the law means nothing? " She defends the law according to which the weak should fear the strong, according to which a person should not have his own will. As the faithful guardian of this order, she instructs her household in full view of the crowd of townspeople. After Katerina's confession, she loudly, triumphantly says to Tikhon: “What, son! Where will the will lead! I said that you didn't want to listen. So I waited! " In the son of Kabanikha, Tikhon, we see the living embodiment of the goal to which the rulers of the "dark kingdom" are striving. They would be completely calm if they could make all people the same downtrodden and weak-willed. Thanks to the efforts of "mama" Tikhon was so imbued with fear and submission that he did not even dare to think about living with his own mind and will. “Yes, mamma, I don’t want to live by my own will. Where can I live by my own will! " - he assures the mother.

But Tikhon is by nature a good person. He is kind, sympathetic, sincerely loves and pity Katerina, he is alien to any selfish aspirations. But everything human is suppressed in him by the despotism of his mother, he becomes a submissive executor of her will. However, the tragedy of Katerina makes even the humble Tikhon raise his voice of protest. If Tikhon's first words in the play are: "How can I, mamma, disobey you!" You! You!" An unbearable life under the yoke of Kabanikha, a longing for freedom, a desire for love and devotion - all this, which did not find a response in Tikhon, was the reason for the birth of Katerina's feelings for Boris. Boris is not like the rest of Kalinov's inhabitants. He is educated and seems to be a person from another world. Like Katerina, he is also depressed, and this gives the young woman the hope of finding in him a kindred spirit capable of responding to her ardent feelings. But Katerina was bitterly deceived in Boris. Boris only outwardly seems better than Tikhon, in reality he is worse than him. Like Tikhon, Boris has no will of his own and resignedly obeys.