Ostrovsky thunderstorm characteristic of Katerina and boar. The image and characteristics of the Kabanikh in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm": a description of the character, a portrait in quotations. Boar in the speech of strangers

According to I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky “donated a whole library of works of art to literature, created his own special world for the stage.” The world of Ostrovsky's works is amazing. He created large and solid characters, knew how to emphasize comic or dramatic properties in them, draw the reader's attention to the merits or vices of his characters.

The heroes of the play "Thunderstorm" - Savel Prokofievich Dikoy and Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova - deserve special attention.

Savel Prokofievich Wild - 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, what, he’s someone! ” - says Kudryash about him. Wild, in fact, does not recognize anything but her own will. He does not care about the thoughts and feelings of other people. Cursing, humiliating, insulting Savel Prokofievich is worth nothing. With those around him, he behaves as if he had "lost the chain", and without this he "cannot breathe." “... You are a worm,” he says to Kuligi-nu. “If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”

The power of the Wild is the stronger, the weaker, weaker the person. So Curly, for example, knows how to resist the Wild One. “...He is the word, and I am ten; spit, and go. No, I won’t become a slave to him, ”says Kudryash about his relationship with the merchant. Another man is Dikiy's nephew, Boris. “Boris Grigorievich got it as a sacrifice, so he rides on it,” people around notice. 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. "Driven, beaten ...", Boris says with sorrow. The merchant is no less cruel to his employees: “With us, no one dares to utter a word about a salary, he scolds what the world is worth.” On someone else's slave labor and deceit, the unscrupulous Wild makes his fortune: "... I will not pay them for some penny ... and I make thousands of this ... ". However, sometimes an epiphany comes to the Wild, and he realizes that he is going too far: “After all, I know what I need to give, but I can’t do everything with kindness.”

Dikoi is a despot and 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 scold; stay at home here!”

Not inferior to Wild and Kabanikha, a rich Kalinovskaya merchant's wife. The boar is a hypocrite, she does everything "under the guise of piety." Outwardly, she is very pious. However, as Kuligin notes, Kabanikha “clothes the poor, but ate the household completely.” The main object of her tyranny is her own son Tikhon. As an adult, a married man, he is completely at the mercy of his mother, does not have his own opinion, is afraid to argue with her. The boar "builds" his relationship with his wife, she directs his every deed, every word. Complete obedience is all she wants to see in her son. The power-hungry Kabanikha does not notice that under her yoke a cowardly, pitiful, weak-willed, irresponsible person has grown up. Having escaped for some time from the supervision of his mother, he chokes on freedom and drinks, because he does not know how to use freedom in another way. “... Not a single step out of your will,” he repeats to his mother, but “he himself thinks how he could break out as soon as possible.”

The boar is jealous of her son's daughter-in-law, constantly reproaches him with Katerina, "eating eats." “I already see that I am a hindrance to you,” she saws Tikhon. Kabanikha believes that the wife of her husband should be afraid, namely afraid, and not love and respect. In her opinion, the right relationship is built precisely on the suppression of one person by another, on humiliation, on lack of freedom. Indicative in this regard is the scene of Katerina's farewell to her husband, when all the words of Tikhon addressed to his wife are only a repetition of Kabanikh's instigations.

If Tikhon, crushed by her, suffers from the Kabanikh from childhood, then the life of such a dreamy, poetic and whole nature as Katerina in the house of a merchant becomes completely unbearable. “Here that she married, that she was buried - it doesn’t matter,” Boris talks about this.

Constant pressure forces Kabanikh's daughter, Varvara, to adapt. “Do whatever you want, as long as it’s sewn and covered,” she argues.

Giving an assessment to the images of the "masters of life", N. Dobro-lyubov shows Wild and Kabanikha as tyrants, with their "constant suspicion, squeamishness and captiousness." According to the critic, "Thunderstorm" is the most decisive work of Ostrovsky" in this play "the mutual relations of tyranny and voicelessness are brought ... to the most tragic consequences ...".

The play "Thunderstorm" is one of the most famous in the work of Ostrovsky. A bright, social drama, the events of which take place in the 19th century in the town of Kalinovo. The female images in the play deserve special attention. They are colorful and unique. The image and characterization of Kabanikha in the play "Thunderstorm" is undoubtedly important in the work. She is the main despot and tyrant in the play. She is responsible for Katerina's death. The goal of Kabanikha is to subjugate as many people as possible in order to hang on them the customs, traditions and laws that she sacredly observes. True fear crept into her soul when she realized that a new time was approaching, a time of change that she could not resist.



Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova- she is a Kabanikha. Widow. Merchant. Mother of Barbara and Tikhon.

Image and characteristics

The surname Kabanova suits the main character very accurately, characterizing her from the first minutes. A wild animal is able to pounce on a person for no good reason, so is the Boar. Furious, ferocious. She is able to “bite to death” a person if he is not pleasing to her, which happened to Katerina, whom the widow simply died from the light. It's impossible to please her. She will always find something to complain about, no matter how hard she tries.

Kabanikha, after the death of her husband, was left with two small children in her arms. There was no time to despair. I had to take care and raise Varvara and Tikhon. Brother and sister are completely different in character and outwardly, although they were brought up the same way.

Powerful, domineering woman, keeping in fear not only the household, but the entire district.

“Mommy is painfully cool with you ...”

To subdue and rule is her credo. I am absolutely convinced that the family is built on fear and subordination of the younger to the elders. “Don’t judge yourself older! They know more than you. Old people have signs of everything.” He does not see anything abnormal in his attitude towards children.

“After all, out of love, parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good.”

Religious. This is not the faith of a religious fanatic who sacredly observes all fasts and God's laws. More like a tribute to tradition. She performs rituals on the machine, not really delving into the process and its meaning. She has no faith in forgiveness and mercy. For her, the main thing is the strict implementation of patriarchal orders. This is sacred.

“Well, I’ll go pray to God; Do not bother me…".

She is as demanding of others as she is of herself. What people themselves think about this and what feelings they experience is deeply indifferent to her.

Nerd. Always dissatisfied with everything. Buzzing about and without. It's hard to please her. Her own family annoys her, especially her son and daughter-in-law. That's where Kabanikha comes off in full. Sticks his nose into their lives, climbs with advice. He believes that the son, after marriage, cooled off towards his mother, turning into a rag and henpecked.

“Maybe you loved your mother while you were single. Do you care about me, you have a young wife.

Daughter-in-law is a separate issue. The behavior of the daughter-in-law is out of the ordinary. She doesn’t follow traditions, she doesn’t put her husband in anything. Completely out of hand. Old age does not respect and does not honor.

Self-confident. She is convinced that she is doing everything right. He sincerely believes that if you maintain the old order and way of life, then the house will not suffer from external chaos. The economy is managed harshly, worse than a peasant. She doesn't show emotions. In her opinion, this is redundant. At the slightest manifestation of rebellion on the part of the household, the Kabanikha stops everything in the bud. Any misconduct on their part entails punishment. She is immediately infuriated if they young people try to go against her. Strangers are dearer to her than her son and daughter-in-law.

"Prude, sir! She clothes the poor, but she eats the household completely ... ”.

He will say a good word, he will reward with alms.

Loves money. The boar is accustomed to keeping the entire household on her own. She is sure that the one who has more cash in his pocket is right. Having settled at her place, she hears their laudatory speeches addressed to her every day. Flattering grandmothers completely fooled her head. The boar does not even allow the thought that he can do something wrong. With their talk about the end of the world, the old women support Kabanikh's idea of ​​life on earth.

The rich merchant's wife Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is one of the main pillars of the "dark kingdom". This is an imperious, cruel, superstitious woman who treats everything new with deep distrust and even contempt. In the progressive phenomena of her time, she sees only evil, therefore Kabanikha with such jealousy protects her little world from their invasion. Because of this, her children, despite many good traits, nevertheless grew up as morally crippled people who do not have enough strength to openly confront the world of cruelty, inertia and despotism. Kabanova, simply not realizing that Varvara and Tikhon are already adults with their own thoughts and feelings, continues to treat them like property. She considers herself, perhaps, a slightly strict, but loving and fair parent: “After all, out of love, parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good.”

The gradual destruction of the patriarchal way of life, which is already being felt even in such provincial towns as Kalinov, instills fear in her. As a smart person, she understands that times are changing and the younger generation is increasingly resisting the old order with more force. But she is not ready to accept these changes, and along with fear, her heart is filled with even more anger. Especially goes to Katerina. "Bow at your feet!" - orders Kabanikha to Katerina, who says goodbye to her husband. And when Katerina died, she only grumbled: ““ She did little shame to us. It’s enough, it’s a sin to cry about her. ”

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Very often negative images appear in the literature. At a time when the opinion is mainly expressed about the duality of the human soul and nature and the presence of both the 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 "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky, one of these characters is Kabanikha.

Characteristics of the personality of Kabanikhi

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 Wild, he is also her godfather. It is worth noting that such friendship is not surprising, because both characters are very similar in character.

Dear readers! On our website you can get acquainted with Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".

Kabanikha 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. The boar has a firm and unshakable character. She is a cruel and rude woman.


Marfa Ignatievna is too conservative, she is “stuck” in the past and lives by the principles and foundations of the past, 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 the elderly: “Do not judge yourself older! They know more than you."

Kabanikha is sure that children must bow at the feet of their parents, and the husband must always “order” his wife. Marfa Ignatyevna is very upset when these norms of behavior are not observed and she thinks that this is a problem of bad manners of the younger generation: “They don’t know anything, there is no order.”

The boar is used to playing for the public - she tries to be a virtuous and noble woman in the eyes of society, although in reality she is not. Marfa 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, because in spite of everything, Kabanikha does not adhere to the laws of God and often neglects the basic rules of behavior towards other people.

Family and relationships

The complexity of the character manifests itself in full force in relation to its native people. Her family consists of three people - a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law. With all of them, Kabanikhi developed extremely contradictory relations.

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

We invite thoughtful readers to familiarize themselves with Ostrovsky's play "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

The boar began not only to give advice to her son, but literally to live instead of him: “he eats food, 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, because this is the order: “But I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. He beat me a little, and even that was ordered by my mother.

Tikhon, despite his age and belief that such rude actions towards 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 dishonorable attitude towards Kabanikha, or not in Katerina's failure to fulfill her duties, but in Kabanikha's habit of commanding everyone and the jealousy that arose in relation to her daughter-in-law.

The boar cannot accept the adulthood of her son, she is offended that Tikhon prefers his wife, and not his mother.

The daughter of Kabanikha Varvara is not so straightforward, she has long understood that she will never succeed in defending her position: her mother, who was essentially a domestic tyrant, simply could not stand anything like this and did not allow any liberties. From this situation, the girl found only one way out - to deceive her mother. Varvara always said what Marfa Ignatyevna wanted to hear, but she acted as she wanted: “Our whole house rests on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.

Such actions within the family on the part of the Kabanikha cause many tragedies. Her daughter Varvara runs away from home, never to appear here again - 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, confesses her act under the pressure of morality and shame, and then, but under the pressure of Kabanikh's humiliation, commits suicide. Only after the death of Katerina did Tikhon find the strength to verbally rebuff his mother and reproach her for unlawful actions towards her loved ones: “You ruined her! You! You!". However, due to the softness of Tikhon's character, he is unlikely to be able to defend his position to the end.

The attitude of others to Kabanikhe

Despite all the 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 still leaked out and those around her periodically gossip about it.

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

Kuligin also develops the same theme in his stories: “The hypocrite, sir! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely.

Thus, thanks to a 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.

Article menu:

Very often negative images appear in the literature. At a time when the opinion is mainly expressed about the duality of the human soul and nature and the presence of both the 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 "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky, one of these characters is Kabanikha.

Characteristics of the personality of Kabanikhi

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 Wild, he is also her godfather. It is worth noting that such friendship is not surprising, because both characters are very similar in character.

Dear readers! On our site you can get acquainted with the characteristics of the city of Kalinov in Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm".

Kabanikha 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. The boar has a firm and unshakable character. She is a cruel and rude woman.


Marfa Ignatievna is too conservative, she is “stuck” in the past and lives by the principles and foundations of the past, 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 the elderly: “Do not judge yourself older! They know more than you."

Kabanikha is sure that children must bow at the feet of their parents, and the husband must always “order” his wife. Marfa Ignatyevna is very upset when these norms of behavior are not observed and she thinks that this is a problem of bad manners of the younger generation: “They don’t know anything, there is no order.”

The boar is used to playing for the public - she tries to be a virtuous and noble woman in the eyes of society, although in reality she is not. Marfa 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, because in spite of everything, Kabanikha does not adhere to the laws of God and often neglects the basic rules of behavior towards other people.

Family and relationships

The complexity of the character manifests itself in full force in relation to its native people. Her family consists of three people - a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law. With all of them, Kabanikhi developed extremely contradictory relations.

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

We invite thoughtful readers to familiarize themselves with the characterization of Katerina in Ostrovsky's play "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

The boar began not only to give advice to her son, but literally to live instead of him: “he eats food, 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, because this is the order: “But I love her, I'm sorry to touch her with my finger. He beat me a little, and even that was ordered by my mother.

Tikhon, despite his age and belief that such rude actions towards 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 dishonorable attitude towards Kabanikha, or not in Katerina's failure to fulfill her duties, but in Kabanikha's habit of commanding everyone and the jealousy that arose in relation to her daughter-in-law.

The boar cannot accept the adulthood of her son, she is offended that Tikhon prefers his wife, and not his mother.

The daughter of Kabanikha Varvara is not so straightforward, she has long understood that she will never succeed in defending her position: her mother, who was essentially a domestic tyrant, simply could not stand anything like this and did not allow any liberties. From this situation, the girl found only one way out - to deceive her mother. Varvara always said what Marfa Ignatyevna wanted to hear, but she acted as she wanted: “Our whole house rests on that. And I was not a liar, but I learned when it became necessary.

Such actions within the family on the part of the Kabanikha cause many tragedies. Her daughter Varvara runs away from home, never to appear here again - 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, confesses her act under the pressure of morality and shame, and then, but under the pressure of Kabanikh's humiliation, commits suicide. Only after the death of Katerina did Tikhon find the strength to verbally rebuff his mother and reproach her for unlawful actions towards her loved ones: “You ruined her! You! You!". However, due to the softness of Tikhon's character, he is unlikely to be able to defend his position to the end.

The attitude of others to Kabanikhe

Despite all the 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 still leaked out and those around her periodically gossip about it.

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

Kuligin also develops the same theme in his stories: “The hypocrite, sir! She clothes the poor, but eats the household completely.

Thus, thanks to a 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.