The history of the creation of the play "Groza" NA. Ostrovsky

50-60 years of the XIX century - a rather difficult time for the whole of Russia. It was marked by a broad social upsurge that took place in connection with the emergence of new democratically minded forces and the actualization of the question of serfdom. Against this background, loudly began to talk about the existing contradictions between the generations and the situation of the Russian woman in the conditions of patriarchal relations, still preserved in the greater territory of the country.

In such a difficult situation, it was written, then it was put on the stage and published a rather sensational in those years work of Alexander Ostrovsky.

Chronology of work on drama

Many questions arise from the history of the creation of the play "The Storm". Briefly it can be designated as follows.

Ostrovsky, most likely, began work on the work in July 1859 (at least not later than this month), and in early October sent the finished text to the publishing house. This is proved by the original manuscript, which is still stored in the Russian State Library. A month later the play was already staged on the Petersburg stage: on November 16, the premiere took place at the Maly Theater, on December 2, in Alexandria. The following year it was printed in the "Library for Reading" (in No. 1), a little later, from a distance, by a separate book.

The reaction of progressive minds to the appearance of a play

The new drama of the then famous "Columbus Zamoskvorechye" was met with stormy reviews and comments, both positive (for example, the assessment of N. Dobrolyubov, I. Goncharov, P. Pletnev), and the condemning ones (L. Tolstoy, A. Fet). Ambiguously took the new offspring of Ostrovsky and the then recognized critic D. Pisarev, who in this connection entered into polemics with Dobrolyubov on a number of issues. Be that as it may, "The Storm" has always been among the best plays of the playwright. And the real award was undoubtedly the Great Uvarov Prize awarded to authors only for truly brilliant works written for the stage.

The plot and heroes

The history of the creation of the play "The Storm" is largely explained by the drama that unfolds in a small town with a beautiful name Kalinov, located on the bank of the Volga. At acquaintance he looks quite happy: a magnificent landscape, giving a sense of peace and quiet. One of the first phrases a spectator hears from a local resident: "Beauty!" But as you get acquainted with the characters, the mood and the general atmosphere change. The playwright skillfully exposes the vices of society, which for centuries lived according to the laws of the house-building. Hence, perhaps, the name of the city - Kalinov, came from Russian folklore. It is a symbol of an established, terrible, "fairy" world, which is difficult to destroy.

And now, in the midst of "evil" and powerful forces, a man appears who has decided to openly oppose their power - Katerina. The fate of the heroine is tragic, since she still does not find any like-minded people or defenders (in the person of, for example, the same husband) who can support her in the confrontation that has begun. A young man, in whom she sees her future happiness and a better destiny, is also cowed, not realizing Katerina. In conditions when all moral principles are destroyed, it is difficult to find the perpetrators of the death of the girl.

Disputes over the origins of the plot

Statements about the prototypes and the plot of the work are very contradictory. So, for Kostroma, the creative history of the creation of the play "Groza" was directly related to the recent tragic events in their city. Some details indicated that the prototype of Katerina could become the familiar writer L. Kositskaya. People who knew the playwright personally believed that the appearance of "Thunderstorms" was the result of Ostrovsky's journey along the Volga.

What were the reasons for such judgments?

The tragedy of the Klykov family

According to the first version, the history of the creation of the play "Groza" is connected with the incident in the city of Kostroma. In early November 1859, one of the residents of the city of Alexander Klykov, who was only 19 years old, disappeared. Later her body was found in the Volga waters, and a criminal case was opened on this fact. Two versions were considered: suicide or murder and an attempt to conceal a crime. During the investigation it was found out that recently the girl was married, and she got into a merchant family, where the despotic and not considered mother-in-law were completely in power. Raised in other conditions, Alexandra could not reconcile herself to her fate and settle down in a new family. She did not find support in her husband - quiet, obedient, in all the inferior mother. All these details are easily recognizable in drama. That is why after the appearance of the book in Kostroma, locals stubbornly began to talk about the fact that the creation of the play "Groza" is directly related to the life of the Klykov family. And although later it turned out that the work was written a month before this tragedy, the actors who played on the local stage, long makeup just under the family Klykov. A place on the bank of the Volga, from which it allegedly rushed into the waters of Katerina-Aleksandra, was one of the local attractions.

Is thunderstorm a personal drama of Alexander Ostrovsky?

Another version, concerning the prototype of the main character, is associated with the note of the playwright in the text. Next to the monologue of Katerina, in which she tells Varenka about her dream, it is written: "I heard from L.P. About the same dream ... "For L.P. Hides a famous actress L. Kositskaya, who with Ostrovsky, most likely had a relationship. Both are family people, therefore forced to hide their affection. Researchers explaining the creation of the play "The Storm" by Ostrovsky and considering this version, refer to the fact that Kosikskaya played the role of the main character for the first time. And the playwright, as you know, preferred to choose actors for his own works in the Maly Theater.

A trip along the Volga

Finally, the third and more probable version - the history of the creation of the "Thunderstorm" play is connected with the author's travels along the great Russian river.

In the summer months of 1856-57, Ostrovsky took part in the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society on the Volga. He visited a lot of settlements located along the banks of the river, met and talked for a long time with local residents, studied the specifics of their way of life. Ostrovsky witnessed many scenes unfolding in individual families and in the city as a whole. He was interested in the smallest details, which he later analyzed in his essay "Journey through the Volga."

Echoes of these observations can be found in the drama: a living folk language, typical scenes of communication between people (they, incidentally, are often not directly related to the plot, but well characterize the overall atmosphere of the city), perfectly illustrated, and from different sides, the peculiarities of life. All this confirms that the history of the creation of the play "The Thunderstorm" of Ostrovsky originates in his personal observations and attempts to understand what a Russian person lives by, which hinders the development of the entire social structure of Russia.

A dramatist-visionary?

Thus, the tragedy that occurred in Kostroma in the autumn of 1859 was foreseen by Ostrovsky, who was well aware of the peculiarities of the life of the Russian merchants in the middle of the 19th century. This is a typical situation that could occur in any family living in the vast territory of the Russian state. The playwright successfully portrays the moment when the old forces still cling to the outgoing and try to keep their power in every way, and new ones, just emerging, enter into a difficult struggle, the outcome of which will determine the future fate of Russia. Against this background, it is not so important as the history of the creation of the "Thunderstorm" play. The main thing is that this could serve as the beginning of progressive changes in the whole life of the country.