In 1859, Ostrovsky wrote the play The Storm, inspired by his own drama. The writer was in love with a married woman, but he himself was in a relationship. The author defined the work as a social drama. However, many critics call the work of Ostrovsky a household tragedy. One thing is for sure: in the play there is both drama and tragedy.
(334 words) The play takes place in the small fictional city of Kalinov. Residents of the city are uneducated people who are not interested in what is happening outside their city. They do not want to change the usual foundations and go beyond their comfort. The main character is Katerina. A girl with a vulnerable soul from a noble environment. At the behest of fate, she lives with her husband-merchant and mother-in-law, who often degrades her daughter-in-law. Katerina is tired of enduring insults, her delicate mental organization does not withstand attacks from her husband and his mother. But here the husband leaves on business, and his sister Varya offers Katerina the key to the gate in the garden. She herself secretly meets with Kudryash and wishes her friend only good. And the main character herself admitted that she likes Boris, the nephew of a famous merchant in the city. Wild (the same merchant) is popular for his tyranny, because he does not give Boris and his sister the rightful inheritance.
The girl falls in love with Boris, this is mutual. She meets with him and feels happy, but after the return of her husband, she can’t keep it in herself and is recognized throughout her family. Katerina is a believing girl, therefore, along with love, she felt shame from having a relationship with her lover. Thunderstorm, like heavenly punishment, made her confess everything. Tikhon, Katerina’s husband, a weak and soft-skinned man who finds it difficult to go against his mother’s will, wants to forgive his wife’s deed, but Kabanikh, his mother, does not allow him. The main character is in despair, because she sees no way out of this situation: at home she receives only reproaches and bullying. Nothing works with Boris either, because he is leaving and cannot take her with him, otherwise his uncle will leave him and his sister without a legal inheritance and livelihood. Katerina does not know what to do. The girl does not want to go home. At this time, a thunderstorm occurs again, but they cannot find the missing Katerina ...
In the morning, some woman is found in the river. Katerina could not withstand the onslaught of her husband and mother-in-law, of society and betrayal, in her opinion, of the “ideal” Boris. For the first time in his life, Tikhon contradicted his mother. He accused her of Katerina’s death. And his sister ran away from home with Kudryash.
The play by Ostrovsky is considered a classic, on which all are aligned. This work indicates the mores gone into oblivion, the stupidity of the people and the lack of education. Kalinov is a city where stupid but rich people rule, where there are no places for spiritual and kind people like Katerina.
