Kabanikha and the wild patriarchal way of life. Essay Ostrovsky A
A. N. Ostrovsky's play “The Thunderstorm” was written in 1859. However, interest in it does not decrease even today. What does this do? small piece so relevant? What problems does the playwright raise in the work?
At the center of the story social conflict, reflecting the confrontation between old and new forces. Vivid personifications of the old world are Savel Prokofievich Dikoy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova.
These are typical representatives of society, which the critic Dobrolyubov rightly and aptly called the “dark kingdom.” The despotism of these people knows no bounds. They, like an octopus spreading its tentacles, strive to extend their power to those around them.
The wealthy merchant Dikoy cannot but arouse angry rejection. He has sufficient influence in Kalinov. He is known to the townspeople as a brawler and a stingy guy. Swearing became his integral part. Savel Prokofievich cannot live a day without moralizing speeches. He will always find an object of attack, be it relatives, nephew or employees. He is very strict towards all members of the household, does not allow anyone to breathe freely.
In his tone one can always recognize menacing notes of instructiveness.
Dikoy is obscenely greedy. He puts his own nephews in a humiliating position, not wanting to give them the inheritance bequeathed by his grandmother. In an effort to gain his own benefit, he stipulates conditions. So, Boris, in order not to anger his uncle, should behave respectfully, carry out all his instructions, and endure his tyranny. The wild one will always find something to complain about. Dejected Boris does not really believe that his uncle will fulfill his grandmother’s will.
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is not inferior to Dikiy in ignorance and rudeness. Everyone in the house groans from her.
Kabanikha keeps everyone in complete submission.
Obedience became the norm for her son. His mother’s control turns Tikhon into a wordless shadow that has nothing to do with the concept of “man.” He cannot even protect his wife from his mother’s despotism.
Varvara Kabanikha’s daughter drove her to the point that she was forced to lie to her all the time, because she did not want to live according to the laws established by her mother.
Katerina becomes the real victim of Kabanikha’s despotism.
The mother-in-law believes that the daughter-in-law should unquestioningly obey her husband in everything. Manifestation of one's own will unacceptable. Moreover, it is punishable! Her savagery, ignorance and despotism persistently formed in her mind the idea that the husband should “educate” his wife by beating. No warm ones human relations there shouldn't be any between them. Kindness to your wife is, according to Marfa Ignatievna, a manifestation of weakness. The daughter-in-law is obliged to subserviently to her husband, to serve him and his mother.
Thus, " cruel morals“The cities of Kalinov have their own inspirers, who are represented by the images of the Wild and Kabanikha.
Option 2
A.N. Ostrovsky reflects in The Thunderstorm the world of tyranny, tyranny and stupidity. And also the reality of people who do not resist this evil. All this literary critic Dobrolyubov called it “the dark kingdom.” And this concept stuck.
The play takes place in the Volga city of Kalinov. The name is fictitious. What is described in prose was the reality of everyone Russian cities that time. A locality, fenced off from the outside world by a large river, is even more closed and conservative. Therefore, residents learn about everything from holy fools. And they believe that rulers with dog heads live somewhere, and the people are even more oppressed. This means they themselves are still living well. And we must pray for local “benefactors.”
Kalinov’s “Dark Kingdom” rests on two people: Dikiy and Kabanikha. Self-will, selfishness, unlimited rudeness, toughness, love of power are common traits of these two personalities. These are stupid and tyrannical people. They are the strength and power in this city. Even the mayor will not contradict them. Savel Prokofievich is a wealthy merchant, “whose whole life is based on swearing.” Every day he tyrannizes, humiliates, scolds someone. And if he comes across a person over whom the Wild has no power and they answer him with the same abuse, then he takes out all his anger on his family. They will not answer, the family is defenseless against him. The merchant's wife, his children and his nephew Boris, who gets the most, suffer and are afraid.
The hero is also despotic in relation to his workers. Dikoy is very greedy. He does not tolerate it at all when people talk to him about money. Even if he himself understands that he owes the person to pay or repay the debt. Rarely does a master pay what is due to men. And I'm happy with that. He even explains to the mayor what profit he has if each employee is not paid extra. And he punishes his nephew to work. And the salary will be in a year, as much as the uncle wants to give. Selfishness is his main thing distinguishing feature. This man only respects the rich. He cruelly humiliates everyone who is lower than him in material terms.
The boar, on the contrary, cannot be called greedy. Marfa Ignatieva is generous in public and even kind to some extent. He welcomes wanderers and praying mantises into his home. He feeds them and gives them alms. All so that these old men praise her publicly, this pleases her pride. Tikhon's mother is no less willful and selfish than Dikoy. And he also likes to assert himself by belittling the dignity of others. She shows self-will and excesses only in the family. He is kind to strangers, but he is “stuffed up with food” at home. Whereas Savel Prokofievich does not make exceptions for anyone. But Kabanova’s emotional torture is much more sophisticated. She even turned her own son into a weak-willed creature. And the worst thing is that she is confident that she is right. She is older, wiser and knows everything better. Who else will teach the youth? They have no mind of their own, they must live by the mind of their parents. This means that what she does is not tyranny and tyranny. And the manifestation mother's love and worries.
Dikoy and Kabanikha differ only in their approach to humiliating others. They understand that they are, in fact, weak and may lose power. That's why they put people in a vice. So that no one would have the thought of opposing them.
Wild and Kabanikha in the story Groz Ostrovsky
The play “The Thunderstorm” by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky shows the main characters and the clash between them, associated with their different views on the world, dissimilar ideas and values. The work proves that with the passage of time, the principles of life are constantly changing. Representatives " dark kingdom", the merchant Dikoy and Kabanikha, live according to the house-building order, which dictates patriarchal norms, old traditions to the new generation, which leads to the emergence interpersonal conflict in the work.
Kabanikha, the merchant widow Marfa Kabanova, appears to the reader as a tyrant and a bigot. Being a conservative due to his illiteracy, he does not know and does not even think that it is possible to live in any other way, he actively preaches his ideals, since he believes that the eldest in the family is the boss (based on the norms of patriarchy). Kabanova understands that the patriarchal structure is collapsing, so she enforces it even more harshly, this further serves as the cause of the collapse of the family.
Kabanikha tries to hold on to the old, because of which she absolutely does not see real feelings and does not experience them, suppresses them in others. She is ashamed that Katerina openly shows feelings for her son, since she considers it unacceptable to “hang” on her husband’s neck, forcing her to bow at his feet. She speaks in a commanding tone with rude expressions, believing that she has the right to indicate because she is the eldest, the head of the house. A maximalist, she never makes concessions, does not tolerate will, believing in the customs of antiquity.
Merchant Dikoy is also a representative of the “dark kingdom”, a supporter of Kabanikha. But his image has several differences from the image of Kabanikha. The tyranny of the Wild lies in the worship of money. A stingy egoist who seeks profit in everything, when he suffers losses, he loses his temper, gets irritated, and perceives it as punishment.
A. N. Ostrovsky shows Dikoy’s lack of education in the scene of his dialogue with Kuligin, a self-taught mechanic, who proposes to install a lightning rod, but Dikoy, who believes that the thunderstorm is sent as punishment, begins to shout at Kuligin. The abuse of this hero is his kind of defense. Dikoy is used to intimidating everyone, suppressing others, the feeling of power over others brings him confidence and pleasure.
It should be noted that A. N. Ostrovsky endowed the heroes with “talking” surnames, which reveal the essence of their rude, absurd characters.
Thus, the problem of the existence of representatives of the “dark kingdom” who try to hold on to fossilized forms of life finds a place in Russian classical literature, affects not only everyday life in the work, but covers other areas of life and develops into a larger-scale conflict.
Sample 4
The provincial town of Kalinov, in which the play “The Thunderstorm” takes place, is located on the high bank of the Volga. It would seem that the life of the city's inhabitants against the backdrop beautiful landscape should have proceeded calmly and smoothly. But that's not true. Behind the external calm lie cruel morals. Kuligin, a self-taught mechanic, telling Boris about the difficult situation of ordinary residents of the city, says: “What are the rich doing?.. Do you think they are doing work or praying to God? No, sir! And they don’t lock themselves away from thieves, but so that people don’t see how they eat their own family and tyrannize their family!..”
Depicting the life and customs of the city, A.N. Ostrovsky denounces the masters of life in the person of the merchants Dikiy and Kabanikha.
Savel Profyich Dikoy is a despot, ignorant, rude. He demands unquestioning obedience from everyone. His family suffers: they hide from the wrath of the Wild One so as not to catch his eye. The hardest time is for Boris, Dikiy’s nephew, who depends on him financially. Dikoy holds the entire city in his hands, mocking people. Humiliates Kuligin when he asks him for money sundial for the city. Money is everything for Dikiy; he cannot part with it. For the sake of money, he is ready to commit deception and fraud. He underpays his employees. It is useless to complain about Dikiy; he is on friendly terms with the mayor himself. For his rudeness and swearing, the clerk Kudryash calls Diky “a shrill man.”
Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is the head of the Kabanov house, a tyrant and despot. Everything in the house always happens only according to her will. She completely controls the family and keeps the entire house in fear. Kabanikha is an ardent supporter of the old principles of life, customs and rituals. She says that Domostroy should be observed, but she herself takes from there only the most cruel norms that justify her despotism. The boar is superstitious, attends all church services, gives money to the poor, and receives strangers in her house. But this is ostentatious piety. And the worst thing is that Kabanikha does not doubt that she is right.
Kabanikha tortures and pursues her victims day after day, eroding them “like rusting iron.” Her son Tikhon grew up to be a weak-willed and spineless man. He loves his wife and tries to calm her down after her mother’s attacks, but he is unable to change anything and advises Katerina not to pay attention to her mother. Whenever possible, Tikhon tries to get out of the house and get drunk. Kabanikha brought Katerina to the grave. Varvara, Tikhon’s sister, adapted to such a life; she learned to hide the truth from her mother. But Varvara can’t stand it either and leaves home after Katerina’s death. The morals of this house are capable of destroying every person who ends up there.
The patriarchal world, of which Dikoy and Kabanikha are representatives, is strong and merciless, but it is already on the verge of collapse.
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Having written “The Thunderstorm,” A. N. Ostrovsky, as it were, included himself in the ranks of such writers as N. V. Gogol and M. Yu. Lermontov. He created another one, his own model of a city where a traditional way of life reigns. But unlike Gogol’s city, Kalinov is shown ambiguously by Ostrovsky. On the one hand, beautiful nature (“The view is extraordinary! Beauty! The soul rejoices”), and on the other, the callousness of people, the ignorance that reigns in the city, anger, and so on.
All residents of this city can be divided into two groups: despots and those who obey them. We can safely classify the two most despots as influential people city: Dikiy and Kabanova, whom everyone in the city calls Kabanikha. The names of these people say a lot about their characters. After all, it’s not for nothing that no one (except Feklushi) calls Diky Savel Prokofievich, and Kabanikha Marfa Ignatievna.
Both Dikoya and Kabanikha feel like full-fledged masters in the city. Everyone obeys them: some willingly (“It’s better to endure”), others not, but all their protests are expressed only in words (“We don’t have enough guys to take my stand, otherwise we’d teach him to stop being naughty”). And that is why they do what they want, and no one dares to object to them.
The main feature that unites these merchants is the love of money. All relationships between people, in their opinion, are built on wealth. Kabanikha is richer than Dikoy, and therefore she is the only person in the city with whom Dikoy must be polite. (“Well, don’t be too loose-lipped! Find me cheaper! And I’m dear to you!”) Another feature that unites them is religiosity. But they perceive God not as someone who forgives, but as someone who can only punish.
But to better understand these characters, let's look at each one individually. Savel Prokofievich Dikoy is a greedy and very rude person. He can be compared to Gogol's Plyushkin. He also bargains for literally every penny. (“...What are you going to tell me to do with myself when my heart is like this! After all, I already know that I have to give, but I can’t give everything good. You are my friend, and I have to give to you, but if you come to me ask - I’ll scold you.”) Dikoy does everything in his power just to accumulate more money. (“I’ll underpay them by just a penny per person, but this makes up thousands for me.”) But his main drawback is that he considers himself the same as everyone else. (“Well, what is it? Who doesn’t feel sorry for their own goods?”) Dikoy is very calculating. He will never allow himself to be rude to someone who is stronger and more powerful than him (“...you’ve been fighting with women all your life”). This is also evidenced by the story with the hussar (Dikoy silently listened to how he was scolded and did not object).
Kabanikha’s character is a little different. It was formulated quite clearly by Kudryash; to Shapkin’s statement “Kabanikha is also good,” he replies: “Well, at least she, at least, is all under the guise of piety.”... Kabanova, like no one else, reflects this city’s entire commitment to old traditions. (She teaches Katerina, Tikhon and others how to live in general and how to behave in a particular case.) Kabanova tries to seem like a kind, sensitive, sincere, and most importantly, unhappy woman. He tries to justify his actions by his age: “Mother is old and stupid; Well, you, young people, smart ones, shouldn’t exact it from us fools.” But this statement looks more like irony than sincere recognition. Kabanova considers herself the center of the universe; she cannot imagine what will happen to the whole world after her death.
In his work, Ostrovsky showed a city whose inhabitants are ignorant (they do not want to read books or learn anything, but are happy to listen to wanderers who have never been anywhere themselves). Such concepts as love, friendship, mutual assistance are alien to them. (“I’ll spend it, and it won’t cost him a penny.”) But this world is not so serene. Katerina’s protest, that is, her suicide, shakes their settled, quiet life.
And Katerina’s death is not accidental, because she was the only “ray of light in the dark kingdom.”
What are the characters in Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”, Dikaya and Kabanikh? First of all, it should be said about their cruelty and heartlessness. Dikoy does not regard not only those around him, but even his family and friends. His family lives in constant fear of his wrath. Kabanikha Dikoy behaves in exactly the same way and mocks his nephew in every possible way. It is enough to remember his words: “I told you once, I told you twice: “Don’t you dare come across me”; you're itching for everything! Not enough space for you? Wherever you go, here you are. Ugh, damn you! Why are you standing like a pillar! Are they telling you no?”
Dikoy openly shows that he does not respect his nephew at all. He puts himself above everyone around him. And no one offers him the slightest resistance. Is it any wonder that Dikoy is becoming more and more firmly convinced of the impunity of his actions, and as a result feels like a full-fledged master of life?
Kudryash says: “This is such an establishment among our merchants.” He means that all the merchants of the city of Kalinov, and all of Russia, behave in a similar way. Kabanova, or Kabanikha, as she is called in the city, is no different from Dikiy. Kabanova hides under the mask of piety. As Kuligin says about her: “Prudence, sir! He gives money to the poor, but completely eats up his family.” How false and hypocritical the joy of the wanderer Feklushi seems: “Bla-ale-pie, dear, blaalepie! Wonderful beauty! What can I say! You live in the promised land! And the merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues! Generosity and many donations! I’m so pleased, so, mother, completely satisfied! For our failure to leave them even more bounties, and especially to the Kabanovs’ house.”
Can the merchants be called a pious people? In no case, because in the work from the lips of Kuligin one can clearly hear the exposure of the existence of representatives of the merchant class. People are mired in arrogance, anger, debauchery and drunkenness. And they consider this the norm of life. The whole way of life in the city is such that being there to an unusual person It's simply impossible. It is no coincidence that Boris says that his mother could not be with her relatives even for several days. She was noble origin, therefore, the merchant order did not suit her at all.
Dikiy and Kabanikha, on the one hand, can be called typical representatives of the Russian merchant class. After all, the way of life was the same everywhere, so it is not surprising that everyone had similar qualities and characteristics. The behavior of Wild and Kabanikha does not surprise anyone. Both Dikoy and Kabanova are at the head of their own family. That is why they dispose of others as they see fit.
On the one hand, we can state the fact that all Russian merchants of the 19th century. mired in vulgarity, cruelty and stupidity. But I immediately remember the story of Boris, whose father “married a noble,” that is, a woman of noble origin. But Boris’s father was the brother of the merchant Dikiy. What does this mean? This suggests that even people born and raised in the same family could differ significantly from each other. Boris's father grew up in the same conditions as the merchant Dikoy. But nevertheless, he led a completely different life from his brother. This means that Dikoy, despite all his similarities to other representatives of his class, still cannot be called typical.
The same can be said about Kabanova. She is the mother of the family, but at the same time she treats her family so much that there can be no talk of any maternal love. She torments not only Katerina, who is essentially a stranger to her, with nagging and reproaches, but also her own son and daughter. Isn't it normal person will behave In a similar way? Most likely no. Katerina’s story about her childhood immediately comes to mind. The girl talks about her mother, who loved and cared for her very much. But Katerina’s parents belonged to the same merchant class as Kabanova. Katerina’s mother had sensitivity, kindness and sincerely loved her children. And Kabanikha is not capable of loving anyone.
Therefore, we can conclude that Dikiy and Kabanikha cannot be considered typical representatives of the merchant class. These characters in Ostrovsky's drama are distinguished by selfish inclinations; they think only about themselves. And even their own children seem to them to be a hindrance to some extent. Such an attitude cannot decorate people, which is why Dikoy and Kabanikha cause persistent negative emotions from readers.
All residents of this city can be divided into two groups: despots and those who obey them. The two most influential people in the city can easily be considered despots: Dikiy and Kabanova, whom everyone in the city calls Kabanikha. The names of these people say a lot about their characters. After all, it’s not for nothing that no one (except Feklushi) calls Dikiy Savel Prokofievich, and Kabanikha Marfa Ignatievna.
Both Dikoya and Kabanikha feel like full-fledged masters in the city. Everyone obeys them: some willingly (“It’s better to endure”), others not, but all their protests are expressed only in words (“We don’t have enough guys to take my stand, otherwise we’d teach him not to be naughty”). And that is why they do what they want, and no one dares to object to them.
The main feature that unites these merchants is the love of money. All relationships between people, in their opinion, are built on wealth. as well as Tikhon. Already on the list characters it is said about him that he is “her son,” that is, the son of Kabanikha. He really is more likely just Kabanikha’s son than a person. Tikhon has no willpower. This person’s only desire is to escape from his mother’s care so that he can take the whole year off. Tikhon is also unable to help Katerina. Both Boris and Tikhon leave her alone with their inner experiences.
If Kabanikha and Dikoy belong to the old way of life, Kuligin carries the ideas of enlightenment, then Katerina is at a crossroads. Growing up and brought up in a patriarchal spirit, Katerina fully follows this way of life. Cheating here is considered unforgivable, and having cheated on her husband, Katerina sees this as a sin before God. But her character is naturally proud, independent and free. Her dream of flying means breaking free from the power of her oppressive mother-in-law and from the stuffy world of the Kabanovs' house. As a child, she once, offended by something, went to the Volga in the evening. The same protest can be heard in her words addressed to Varya: “And if I’m really tired of being here, they won’t hold me back by any force. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, I won’t do this, even if you cut me!” In Katerina’s soul there is a struggle between the pangs of conscience and the desire for freedom. She does not know how to adapt to life, to be a hypocrite and pretend, as Kabanikha does, she does not know how to look at the world as easily as Varya.
The morals of the Kabanov house drive Katerina to suicide.
“And they don’t lock themselves away from thieves, but so that people don’t see
how they eat their own family and tyrannize their families.”
As Dobrolyubov correctly noted, Ostrovsky in one of his plays depicts a truly “dark kingdom” - a world of tyranny, betrayal and stupidity. The drama takes place in the city of Kalinov, which stands on the banks of the Volga. There is a certain symbolic parallelism in the location of the city: the rapid flow of the river is contrasted with an atmosphere of stagnation, lawlessness and oppression. It seems as if the city is isolated from the outside world. Residents learn news thanks to the stories of wanderers. Moreover, this news is of very dubious and sometimes completely absurd content. The Kalinovites blindly believe the stories of crazy old people about unrighteous countries, lands that have fallen from heaven and rulers with dog heads. People are accustomed to living in fear not only of the world, but also of the rulers of the “dark kingdom.” This is their comfort zone that no one intends to leave. If, in principle, everything is clear with ordinary people, then what about the above-mentioned rulers? In “The Thunderstorm,” Dikoy and Kabanikha represent the “dark kingdom.” They are both the masters and creators of this world. The tyranny of the Wild and Kabani knows no bounds.
In the city, power does not belong to the mayor, but to the merchants, who, thanks to their connections and profits, were able to receive support from higher authorities. They mock the bourgeoisie and deceive ordinary people. In the text of the work, this image is embodied in Savl Prokofievich Diky, a middle-aged merchant who keeps everyone in fear, lends money at huge interest rates and deceives other merchants. In Kalinov there are legends about his cruelty. No one except Kudryashch can answer the Wild One in an appropriate way, and the merchant actively takes advantage of this. He asserts himself through humiliation and mockery, and the feeling of impunity only increases the degree of cruelty. “Look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich! He will never cut off a person,” this is what the residents themselves say about Dikiy. It is interesting that Dikoy takes out his anger only on those he knows, or on the residents of the city - the weak-willed and downtrodden. This is evidenced by the episode of Dikiy’s quarrel with the hussar: the hussar scolded Saul Prokofievich so much that he did not say a word, but then everyone at home “hid in attics and basements” for two weeks.
Enlightenment and new technologies simply cannot penetrate Kalinov. Residents are distrustful of all innovations. So, in one of the last appearances, Kuligin tells Diky about the benefits of a lightning rod, but he doesn’t want to listen. Dikoy is only rude to Kuligin and says that it is impossible to earn money honestly, which once again proves that he did not receive his wealth through daily efforts. Negative attitude to change - common feature Wild and Kabanikha. Marfa Ignatievna advocates for observing old traditions. It is important to her how they enter the house, how they express feelings, how they go for walks. At the same time, neither the internal content of such actions nor other problems (for example, her son’s alcoholism) bother her. Tikhon’s words that his wife’s embrace is enough for him seem unconvincing to Marfa Ignatievna: Katerina must “howl” when she says goodbye to her husband and throw herself at his feet. By the way, external ritualism and attribution are characteristic of life position Marfa Ignatievna in general. A woman treats religion in exactly the same way, forgetting that in addition to weekly trips to church, faith must come from the heart. In addition, Christianity in the minds of these people was mixed with pagan superstitions, which can be seen in the scene with the thunderstorm.
Kabanikha believes that the whole world rests on those who follow the old laws: “something will happen when the old people die, I don’t even know how the light will last.” She also convinces the merchant of this. From the dialogue between Wild and Kabanikha, one can see a certain hierarchy in their relationship. Savl Prokofievich recognizes Kabanikha’s unspoken leadership, her strength of character and intelligence. Dikoy understands that he is incapable of such manipulative hysterics as Marfa Ignatievna throws at her family every day.
The comparative characterization of the Wild and Kabanikha from the play “The Thunderstorm” is also quite interesting. The despotism of the Wild is directed more towards external world- on the residents of the city, only relatives suffer from Marfa Ignatievna’s tyranny, and in society the woman maintains the image of a respectable mother and housewife. Marfa Ignatievna, like Dikiy, is not at all embarrassed by gossip and conversations, because both are confident that they are right. Neither one nor the other cares about the happiness of loved ones. Family relationships for each of these characters must be built on fear and oppression. This can be seen especially clearly in Kabanova’s behavior.
As can be seen from the examples above, Kabanikha and Dikiy have similarities and differences. But most of all, they are united by a sense of permissiveness and an unshakable confidence that this is exactly how everything should be.
Work test
Such and such a scolder like ours
Savel Prokofich, look again!
A. N. Ostrovsky
Drama by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm” long years became a textbook work that depicted “ dark kingdom", which suppresses the best human feelings and aspirations, trying to force everyone to live by his rough laws. No free-thinking - unconditional and complete submission to elders. The bearers of this “ideology” are Dikoy and Kabanikha. Internally they are very similar, but some external difference present in their characters.
The boar is a prude and a hypocrite. Under the guise of piety, she, “like rusting iron,” eats her household members, completely suppressing their will. Kabanikha raised a weak-willed son and wants to control his every step. She hates the very idea that Tikhon can make his own decisions without looking back at his mother. “I would believe you, my friend,” she says to Tikhon, “if I had not seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears what kind of respect for parents from children has now become! If only they remembered how many illnesses mothers suffer from their children.”
Kabanikha not only humiliates the children herself, she teaches Tikhon this too, forcing him to torture his wife. This old woman is suspicious of everything. If she had not been so fierce, Katerina would not have rushed first into the arms of Boris, and then into the Volga. The wild one just pounces on everyone like a chain. Kudryash, however, is sure that “...we don’t have many guys like me, otherwise we would have taught him not to be naughty.” This is absolutely true. Dikoy does not meet adequate resistance, and therefore suppresses everyone. The capital behind him is the basis of his outrages, which is why he behaves this way. For the Wild there is one law - money. With them he determines the “value” of a person. Swearing is a normal state for him. They say about him: “We should look for another scolder like our Savel Prokofich. There’s no way he’ll cut someone off.”
Kabanikha and Dikoy are “pillars of society”, spiritual mentors in the city of Kalinov. They have established unbearable orders, from which one rushes into the Volga, others run wherever they want, and still others become drunkards.
Kabanikha is quite confident that she is right; she alone knows the ultimate truth. That is why he behaves so unceremoniously. She is the enemy of everything new, young, fresh. “That’s how the old man comes out. I don’t even want to go to another house. And if you get up, you’ll spit, but get out quickly. What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t know. Well, at least it’s good that I won’t see anything.”
Dikiy has a pathological love of money. In them he sees the basis of his unlimited power over people. Moreover, for him, all means are good in making money: he cheats the townspeople, “he won’t cheat a single one,” he makes up “thousands” from unpaid kopecks, and quite calmly appropriates the inheritance of his nephews. Dikoy is not scrupulous in his choice of funds.
Under the yoke of the Wild and Boars, not only their households groan, but the entire city. “Fat is powerful” opens up for them the unlimited possibility of arbitrariness and tyranny. “The absence of any law, any logic - this is the law and logic of this life,” writes Dobrolyubov about the life of the city of Kalinov, and, consequently, of any other city in Tsarist Russia.
In the play "The Thunderstorm" Ostrovsky gives a true picture of the musty atmosphere provincial town. The reader and viewer get a terrifying impression, but why is the drama still relevant 140 years after its creation? Little has changed in human psychology. Whoever is rich and in power is right, unfortunately, to this day.