The concept of drama that existed during Ostrovsky's time
Nikolai Alexandrovich further compares “The Thunderstorm” with the drama standards accepted at that time. In the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” a brief summary of which interests us, he examines, in particular, the principle established in literature about the subject of drama. In the struggle between duty and passion, an unhappy ending usually occurs when passion wins, and a happy ending when duty wins. Drama, moreover, should, according to existing tradition, represent a single action. At the same time, it should be written in literary, beautiful language. Dobrolyubov notes that he does not fit the concept in this way.
Why can’t “The Thunderstorm” be considered a drama, according to Dobrolyubov?
Works of this kind must certainly make readers feel respect for duty and expose a passion that is considered harmful. However, the main character is not described in gloomy and dark colors, although she is, according to the rules of the drama, a “criminal”. Thanks to the pen of Ostrovsky (his portrait is presented below), we are imbued with compassion for this heroine. The author of “The Thunderstorm” was able to vividly express how beautifully Katerina speaks and suffers. We see this heroine in a very gloomy environment and because of this we begin to unwittingly justify the vice, speaking out against the girl’s tormentors.
The drama, as a result, does not fulfill its purpose and does not carry its main semantic load. The action itself in the work flows somehow uncertainly and slowly, says the author of the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom.” Its summary continues as follows. Dobrolyubov says that there are no bright and stormy scenes in the work. The accumulation of characters leads to “lethargy” in a work. The language does not withstand any criticism.
Nikolai Aleksandrovich, in the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom,” checks the plays that specifically interest him for compliance with accepted standards, since he comes to the conclusion that the standard, ready-made idea of what should be in a work does not reflect the actual state of affairs. What could you say about a young man who, after meeting a pretty girl, tells her that compared to the Venus de Milo, her figure is not so good? Dobrolyubov poses the question in exactly this way, discussing the standardization of the approach to works of literature. Truth lies in life and truth, and not in various dialectical attitudes, as the author of the article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” believes. The summary of his thesis is that man cannot be said to be inherently evil. Therefore, in the book it is not necessary that good must win and evil must lose.
Quotes from Dobrolyubov
Prepared by: Dmitry Sirotkin
I present to you a selection of quotes from the publicist Nikolai Dobrolyubov (1836 – 1861).
In 25 years of his life, he accomplished a surprising amount .
Quotes are summarized by topic: words, human manifestations, literature, society, patriotism, women, morality, teachers, talent, love, relationships, education, children, people, Russia, education, happiness, work.
About words
The art of speaking words for words has always aroused great admiration in people who have nothing better to do.
Folk wisdom is usually expressed aphoristically.
We do not need rotten and idle words, plunging into self-satisfied slumber and filling the heart with pleasant dreams, but we need fresh and proud words, making the heart boil with the courage of a citizen, captivating us to broad and original activities.
The sooner and more quickly an impression is expressed, the more often it turns out to be superficial and fleeting.
Our Russian language, more than all the new ones, is perhaps capable of approaching the classical languages in its richness, strength, freedom of arrangement, and abundance of forms.
The masses do not know how to speak eloquently; That’s why they don’t know how and don’t like to dwell on a word and enjoy its sound disappearing in space. Their word is never idle; it is spoken by them as a call to action, as a condition for upcoming activity.
By the way, quotes about speech
About human manifestations
Character is not born with a person, but is acquired by him during his upbringing, being finally established in the subsequent troubles of the era.
In a word, this is one of those very common people who do not know how to do what they understand, and do not understand what they do.
The past never has the same power over us that the present has.
No one behaves so rudely with subordinates as those who behave insolently to their superiors.
In its normal position, that is, in combination with energy of character and a correctly developed consciousness of one’s dignity, delicacy constitutes one of the highest virtues of a person. It combines honesty, justice, and active participation in the fate of one’s neighbor.
If you reject in people the possibility of sincere, deep, disinterested conviction, then I can quite reasonably conclude that you yourself are unfamiliar with any convictions.
About literature
Life does not follow literary theories, but literature changes in accordance with the directions of life.
Thus, recognizing the main importance of literature in explaining life phenomena, we demand from it one quality, without which there can be no merit in it, namely, truth.
The business of poetry is life, living activity, its eternal struggle and the eternal desire of man to achieve harmony with himself and with nature.
We consider the best way of criticism to be a presentation of the case itself so that the reader himself, based on the facts presented, can draw his own conclusion.
It has long been noticed that all the heroes of the most remarkable Russian stories and novels suffer because they do not see a goal in life and do not find decent activity for themselves. As a result, they feel boredom and disgust from every activity, in which they present a striking resemblance to Oblomov.
About the society
The natural aspirations of humanity, reduced to the simplest denominator, can be expressed in two words: “So that it would be good for everyone.”
But the worse it gets for people, the more they feel the need to feel good. Deprivations will not stop demands, but will only irritate them; Only eating can satisfy hunger. Until now, therefore, the struggle is not over; natural aspirations, now seeming to be muffled, now appearing stronger, everyone is looking for their satisfaction. This is the essence of history.
The destruction of parasites and the exaltation of labor is a constant trend in history.
The Stoltsevs, people with an integral, active character, in which every thought immediately becomes an aspiration and turns into action, are not yet in the life of our society.
We are only talking about this: why set the past as an ideal for the future, why demand from new generations unconditional, blind submission to the opinions of the previous ones?
About patriotism
In a decent person, patriotism is nothing more than the desire to work for the benefit of his country, and comes from nothing else than the desire to do good - as much as possible and as much better as possible.
A person who hates another people does not love his own.
True patriotism, as a private manifestation of love for humanity, does not coexist with hostility towards individual nationalities.
Living, active patriotism is precisely distinguished by the fact that it excludes any international hostility, and a person, inspired by such patriotism, is ready to work for all mankind, if only he can be useful to him.
In recent times, patriotism consisted of praising everything good that exists in the fatherland; Nowadays this is no longer enough to be a patriot. Nowadays, to the praise of everything good, there has been added an inexorable censure and persecution of everything bad that we still have.
About women
She is looking for light, air, she wants to dream and frolic, water her flowers, look at the sun, at the Volga, send her greetings to all living things - but she is kept in captivity, she is constantly suspected of unclean, depraved intentions.
She speaks so well, suffers so pitifully, everything around her is so bad that you have no indignation against her, you pity her, you arm yourself against her oppressors, and, in this way, justify vice in her person.
A woman who wants to go to the end in her rebellion against the oppression and tyranny of her elders in the Russian family must be filled with heroic self-sacrifice, must decide on anything and be ready for anything.
By the way, quotes about women
About morality
Any intelligent person can understand the truth; Every person who is not devoid of nobility of soul should and wants to strive for good.
It is not the one who can be called a truly moral person who endures the dictates of duty over himself as some kind of heavy yoke, like “moral chains,” but precisely the one who cares to merge the demands of duty with the needs of his inner being, so that they not only become instinctively necessary , but also brought inner pleasure.
Getting used to doing everything without reasoning, without conviction of truth and goodness, but only by order, a person becomes indifferent to good and evil and, without a twinge of conscience, commits acts that are contrary to moral feelings, justifying himself by the fact that “it is so ordered.”
About teachers
The more the teacher remembers that his students look at him as a higher being, the stronger his influence on the children will be, the more joyful his every praise will be, the deeper his every reproach will cut into the heart of the student, and, consequently, everything. the work of education will be incomparably more beneficial.
His very nature should stand much higher than the nature of a child in all respects. Otherwise, what will happen if the teacher, for example, admires Derzhavin and forces the student to learn the ode “God”; and he already likes Pushkin, and the ode “God” is a completely incomprehensible set of words?
By the way, quotes about teachers
About talent
In a writer-artist, talent is the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena.
It seems to us that for criticism, for literature, for society itself, the question of what the artist’s talent is used for, how it is expressed, is much more important than what dimensions and properties it has in itself, in abstraction, in possibility.
Strong minds are distinguished by that inner strength that makes it possible not to succumb to ready-made views, but to create their own views. They do not reject anything at first, but only take note of everything and process it in their own way.
About love
Love is the physiological attraction of the sexes to each other.
When you lose the love of a woman, you can only blame yourself for your inability to keep this love.
The feeling of love can be truly good only with the inner harmony of those who love, and then it constitutes the beginning and guarantee of that social well-being that is promised to us, in the future development of mankind, by the establishment of brotherhood and personal equality between people.
By the way, quotes about love
About relationships
Only those family and social relationships can be strong that stem from inner conviction and are justified by the voluntary, reasonable consent of everyone participating in them.
A person who strictly observes himself does not enter into hypocritical relationships, does not speak at all about things about which, due to some unfavorable circumstances, he cannot express his thoughts, and if he does begin to speak, he speaks a direct and honest word.
By the way, quotes about relationships
About education
The child is preparing to live in a new sphere; the environment of his life will no longer be the same as it was 20–30 years ago when his teacher was educated. And usually the educator not only does not foresee, but even simply does not understand the needs of the new time and considers them absurd.
Only those who do not know how to make anything of themselves and are still waiting to be dragged by the ears to where they themselves should go justify their ignorance by the lack of skill of teachers.
About children
If one cannot see the ideal of moral perfection in children, then at least one cannot but agree that they are incomparably more moral than adults.
An order is given - the child carries it out; for this he is praised and rewarded. But there is nothing worthy of reward in the act itself - the child carried out the order immediately because the ordered deed seemed completely natural to him, that it was in accordance with his own desire; Why is he praised?
By the way, quotes about children
About people
People are tempered not in the bosom of nature, but in the crucible of everyday experience.
We recognize a person who changes his views to please the first person he meets as trashy, vile, and without any convictions.
You can erase a person, turn him into a dirty rag, but still, in the dirtiest folds of this rag, a feeling and a thought are preserved, albeit imperceptible, but still a feeling and a thought.
By the way, quotes about people
About Russia
Our native Rus' interests us most of all with its great future, for which we want to work tirelessly, unselfishly and ardently.
The fact is that now they all have one thing in common - a fruitless desire for activity, the consciousness that a lot could come of them, but nothing will come of it...
About education
We demand that education strive to make a person moral not out of habit, but out of consciousness and conviction.
If we want to pay attention to education, then we must begin by ceasing to despise the nature of children and consider them incapable of perceiving the beliefs of reason.
Oh happiness
A person needs happiness, he has the right to it, he must achieve it at all costs.
Happiness, whatever it may consist of in relation to each person individually, is possible only when the first material needs of a person are satisfied.
By the way, quotes about happiness
About labor
Only work gives the right to enjoy life.
By the degree of greater or lesser respect for work and by the ability to evaluate work according to its true value, you can determine the degree of civilization of a people.
By the way, quotes about work
About miscellaneous
Beauty lies not in individual features and lines, but in the overall expression of the face, in the sense of life that manifests itself in it.
Sympathy for public interests and lively communication with them alone can give science true usefulness and make it interesting and necessary for society.
By health one cannot mean only the external well-being of the body, but one must generally understand the natural harmonious development of the body and the correct performance of all its functions.
We do not attach any practical significance to the beautiful aspirations of the soul as long as they remain only aspirations; Yes, we value only facts and recognize the dignity of people only by actions.
Dobrolyubov openly, as far as possible under censorship conditions, preached revolutionary ideas for the liberation of the Russian people from the oppression of tsarism. During Soviet times, he was lauded as one of the forerunners of the October Revolution. In modern conditions, he would be called the mouthpiece of the color revolution and would hardly be extolled .
Quotes about Dobrolyubov
- N. Chernyshevsky: I have never met a person with a stronger and brighter mind than Nikolai Alexandrovich had. But at the same time he had such a living heart that feeling constantly served as the first stimulator of both his thoughts and deeds.
- N. Nekrasov: All our lives we have not met a Russian youth so pure, fearless in spirit, selfless!... (by the way, quotes from Nekrasov)
- F. Dostoevsky: Mr. Bov is a theorist, sometimes even a dreamer, and in many cases has little knowledge of reality; He sometimes even treats reality too unceremoniously: he bends it this way and that way as he wants, just to put it in such a way that it proves his idea. Mr. Bov writes in simple, clear language, although they say about him that he chews a phrase too much before putting it in the reader’s mouth. (by the way, quotes from Dostoevsky)
- I. Goncharov: He struck me with two of his remarks: this was his insight into what is happening in the artist’s imagination. But how does he, not an artist, know this? With these sparks, scattered here and there, he vividly recalled what was burning like a whole fire in Belinsky... I did not expect such sympathy and aesthetic analysis from him, imagining him much drier. (by the way, quotes from Goncharov)
- I. Turgenev: Dobrolyubov’s death saddened me, although he was going to eat me alive. His last article, as luck would have it, is very smart, calm and practical. (by the way, quotes from Turgenev)
- L. Trotsky: Contempt for the self-sufficient “argumentation of words,” for the hype of “good” words, for the cult of liberal phraseology, stemmed from the main feature of Dobrolyubov’s writer’s physiognomy. This trait, which appeared especially palpably in “The Whistle,” is mental and moral aristocracy.
- V. Lenin: From the analysis of “Oblomov” he made a cry, a call for will, activity in the revolutionary struggle, and from the analysis of “On the Eve” he made a real revolutionary proclamation... This is how it should be written! (by the way, quotes from Lenin)
- A. Lunacharsky: Dobrolyubov was a man of genius. In him we notice a charming combination of large character traits and talent, rarely found together. He was considered cold, mocking, a destroyer, a kind of Mephistopheles - this was partly true. His mind was sharp, insightful and merciless... At the same time, he was a man with the most tender heart.
Then you can move on to other collections:
- Ostrovsky quotes
- quotes from Saltykov-Shchedrin
- Gogol quotes
- Tolstoy quotes
- quotes from Leskov
- Fet quotes
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Dobrolyubov notes the importance of Shakespeare, as well as the opinion of Apollo Grigoriev
Dobrolyubov (“A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom”) also says that for a long time writers did not pay much attention to the movement towards the original beginnings of man, to his roots. Remembering Shakespeare, he notes that this author was able to raise human thought to a new level. After this, Dobrolyubov moves on to other articles dedicated to “The Thunderstorm”. It is mentioned, in particular, that Ostrovsky’s main merit was that his work was popular. Dobrolyubov is trying to answer the question of what this “nationality” consists of. He says that Grigoriev does not explain this concept, so his statement itself cannot be taken seriously.
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Home ~ Literature ~ Aphorisms ~ Search by authors ~ Dobrolyubov N.A. Dobrolyubov Nikolai Alexandrovich (pseudonyms -bov and N. Laibov) - born January 24, 1836, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire. Russian literary critic, publicist, revolutionary democrat. Pedagogical works - “On the importance of authority in education”, “Basic laws of education”, “Essay on the direction of the Jesuit order, especially as applied to the education and training of youth”, “All-Russian illusions destroyed by rods”, “The teacher must serve as an ideal...”. Died November 17, 1861, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire.
An order is given - the child carries it out; for this he is praised and rewarded. But there is nothing worthy of reward in the act itself - the child carried out the order immediately because the ordered deed seemed completely natural to him, that it was in accordance with his own desire; Why is he praised?
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
In its normal position, that is, in combination with energy of character and a correctly developed consciousness of one’s dignity, delicacy constitutes one of the highest virtues of a person. It combines honesty, justice, and active participation in the fate of one’s neighbor.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
In recent times, patriotism consisted of praising everything good that exists in the fatherland; Nowadays this is no longer enough to be a patriot. Nowadays, to the praise of everything good, there has been added an inexorable censure and persecution of everything bad that we still have.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Getting used to doing everything without reasoning, without conviction of truth and goodness, but only by order, a person becomes indifferent to good and evil and, without a twinge of conscience, commits acts that are contrary to moral feelings, justifying himself by the fact that “it is so ordered.”
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Strong minds are distinguished by that inner strength that makes it possible not to succumb to ready-made views, but to create their own views. They do not reject anything at first, but only take note of everything and process it in their own way.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
In a decent person, patriotism is nothing more than the desire to work for the benefit of his country, and comes from nothing else than the desire to do good - as much as possible and as much better as possible.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
By health one cannot mean only the external well-being of the body, but one must generally understand the natural harmonious development of the body and the correct performance of all its functions.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Only those family and social relationships can be strong that stem from inner conviction and are justified by the voluntary, reasonable consent of all those participating in them.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Only those who do not know how to make anything of themselves and are still waiting to be dragged by the ears to where they themselves should go justify their ignorance by the lack of skill of teachers.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
If you reject in people the possibility of sincere, deep, disinterested conviction, then I can quite reasonably conclude that you yourself are unfamiliar with any convictions.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Our Russian language, more than all the new ones, is perhaps capable of approaching the classical languages in its richness, strength, freedom of arrangement, and abundance of forms.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
The natural aspirations of humanity, reduced to the simplest denominator, can be expressed in two words: “So that it would be good for everyone.”
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
If one cannot see the ideal of moral perfection in children, then at least one cannot but agree that they are incomparably more moral than adults.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
The business of poetry is life, living activity, its eternal struggle and the eternal desire of man to achieve harmony with himself and with nature.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
We recognize a person who changes his views to please the first person he meets as trashy, vile, and without any convictions.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Beauty lies not in individual features and lines, but in the overall expression of the face, in the sense of life that manifests itself in it.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Any intelligent person can understand the truth; Every person who is not devoid of nobility of soul should and wants to strive for good.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
True patriotism, as a private manifestation of love for humanity, does not coexist with hostility towards individual nationalities.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
We demand that education strive to make a person moral not out of habit, but out of consciousness and conviction.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
The sooner and more quickly an impression is expressed, the more often it turns out to be superficial and fleeting.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
The art of speaking words for words has always aroused great admiration in people who have nothing better to do.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
No one behaves so rudely with subordinates as those who behave insolently in front of their superiors.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
When you lose the love of a woman, you can only blame yourself for your inability to keep this love.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
A person needs happiness, he has the right to it, he must achieve it at all costs.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
In a writer-artist, talent is the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
We value only facts and recognize the dignity of people only through actions.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
The past never has the same power over us that the present has.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
A person who hates another people does not love his own.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Folk wisdom is usually expressed aphoristically.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Only work gives the right to enjoy life.
Author:
Dobrolyubov N.A.
Ostrovsky's works are “plays of life”
Dobrolyubov then discusses what can be called “plays of life.” “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” (the summary notes only the main points) is an article in which Nikolai Alexandrovich says that Ostrovsky considers life as a whole, without trying to make the righteous happy or punish the villain. He evaluates the general state of affairs and forces the reader to either deny or sympathize, but leaves no one indifferent. Those who do not participate in the intrigue itself cannot be considered superfluous, since without them it would be impossible, as Dobrolyubov notes.
Aphorisms and quotes from books by Russian authors -Baratynsky E. * Batyushkov K. * Berggolts O. * Berdyaev N. * Blok A. * Bulgakov M. * Bunin I. * Bykov V. * Vyazemsky P. * Herzen A. * Gogol N. * Goncharov I. * Gorky M * Griboyedov A. * Green A. * Dobrolyubov N. * Dostoevsky F. * Yesenin S. * Ilf I. * Karamzin N. * Kataev V. * Kolchak A. * Krylov I. * Lermontov M. * Leskov N. - new author, quotes * Likhachev D. * Lomonosov M. * Mayakovsky V. * Nabokov V. * Nekrasov N. * Ostrovsky A. * Petrov E. * Prishvin M. * Pushkin A. - new quotes * Radishchev A. * Roerich N * Saltykov-Shchedrin M. * Simonov K. * Stanislavsky K. * Stanyukovich K. * Stolypin P. * Sumarokov A. * Tolstoy A.K. * Tolstoy A.N. * Tolstoy L.N. * Turgenev I. * Tyutchev F. * Fonvizin D. * Chekhov A. * Schwartz E. * Eisenstein S. * Ehrenburg I.
Russia, end of XX - beginning of XXI
— Akunin B. * Altov S. * Vysotsky V. * Geraskina L. * Dementiev A. * Zadornov M. * Kunin V. * Melikhan K. * Okudzhava B. * Rozhdestvensky R. * Sakharov A. * Snegov S. * Solzhenitsyn A. * Suvorov V. * Talkov I. * Troepolsky G. * Uspensky E. * Filatov L. * Chernykh V. * Shenderovich V. * Shcherbakova G.
Dobrolyubov Nikolai Alexandrovich (1836-1861)
Quotes
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1 () () Biography of N.A.
Dobrolyubova >> Quotes from a critical article by N.A. Dobrolyubov “When will the real day come?”, 1860 (Review of I.S. Turgenev’s story “On the Eve”)
The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions regarding the state of social thought and morality, always knows how to grasp their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of reflective people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, already by virtue of this very recognition, his works provide a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which evoked this or that work in the writer. And the measure of a writer’s talent here will be the extent to which he has captured life, the extent to which the images he has created are durable and vast.
G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of the morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly paid attention (as much as circumstances allowed) to the issue that was on the agenda and was already vaguely beginning to worry society.
Until now, Mr. Turgenev’s path, in accordance with the path of development of our society, has been quite clearly outlined in one direction. He came from the sphere of higher ideas and theoretical aspirations and aimed to bring these ideas and aspirations into the crude and vulgar reality, which had deviated far from them. The preparations for the struggle and the suffering of the hero, who worked for the victory of his principles, and his fall before the overwhelming force of human vulgarity, usually constituted the interest of the stories of Mr. Turgenev. Of course, the very foundations of the struggle, that is, ideas and aspirations, changed in each work or, with the passage of time and circumstances, were expressed more definitely and sharply. Thus, the Superfluous Man was replaced by Pasynkov, Pasynkov by Rudin, Rudin by Lavretsky[*]. Each of these faces was bolder and fuller than the previous ones, but the essence, the basis of their character and their entire existence was the same. They were introducers of new ideas into a well-known circle, educators, propagandists - at least for one female soul, and propagandists. For this they were greatly praised, and indeed - at one time they were apparently very needed, and their work was very difficult, honorable and beneficial. It was not for nothing that everyone greeted them with such love, so sympathized with their mental suffering, and so regretted their fruitless efforts. It was not for nothing that no one then thought to notice that all these gentlemen were excellent, noble, intelligent, but essentially idle people. Drawing their images in different positions and collisions, Mr. Turgenev himself usually treated them with touching sympathy, with heartache for their suffering, and constantly aroused the same feeling among the mass of readers. When one motive for this struggle and suffering began to seem insufficient, when one trait of nobility and sublimity of character began to seem to be covered with some vulgarity, Mr. Turgenev knew how to find other motives, other traits and again fell into the very heart of the reader and again aroused him and his enthusiastic sympathy for the heroes. The item seemed inexhaustible.
Recently, quite noticeably demands have emerged in our society that are completely different from those that brought Rudin and all his brethren to life. There has been a radical change in the attitudes of the educated majority towards these individuals. The question was no longer about the modification of one or another motive, one or another beginning of their aspirations, but about the very essence of their activity. During that period of time, while all these enlightened champions of truth and goodness, eloquent sufferers of lofty convictions, were depicted before us, new people grew up for whom love of truth and honesty of aspirations are no longer a novelty. From childhood, inconspicuously and constantly, they were imbued with those concepts and aspirations for which previously the best people had to struggle, doubt and suffer in adulthood*. Therefore, the very nature of education in today’s young society has taken on a different color. Those concepts and aspirations that previously gave the title** of an advanced person are now considered the first and necessary accessory of the most ordinary education. From a high school student, from a mediocre cadet, even sometimes from a decent seminarian, you will now hear the expression of such convictions for which in the past, for example, Belinsky had to argue and get excited. And the high school student or cadet expresses these concepts - so difficult, previously acquired in battle - completely calmly, without any excitement or complacency, as a thing that cannot be otherwise and is even unthinkable otherwise.
We have already been reproached once for being partial to the younger generation and pointing out the vulgarity and emptiness to which most of its representatives indulge. But we never thought of standing up for all young people indiscriminately, and this would not be consistent with our goal. Vulgarity and emptiness are the heritage of all times and all ages. But we spoke and are now speaking about chosen people, the best people, and not about the crowd, since Rudin and all the people of his caliber did not belong to the crowd, but to the best people of their time.
Meeting a person of the so-called progressive trend, no one today from decent people indulges in surprise and delight, no one looks into his eyes with silent reverence, no one mysteriously shakes his hand and invites him in a whisper to come to his circle of selected people - to talk about it that injustice and slavery are disastrous for the state. […] Now even people who do not like progressive ideas at heart must show that they love them in order to have access to a decent society. It is clear that in this state of affairs, the former sowers of good, people of the Rudin style, are losing a significant share of their former credit. They are respected like old mentors; but rarely does anyone, having entered his mind, be disposed to listen again to those lessons that were received with such greed before, in the age of childhood and initial development.
Belinsky was the foremost of the advanced, none of his peers went further than him, and where 12,000 copies of Belinsky were snapped up in a few months, the Rudins simply had nothing to do. Belinsky’s success proves not at all that his ideas are still new to our society and require great effort to disseminate, but precisely that they are now dear and sacred to the majority and that their preaching no longer requires either heroism or specialness from new figures. talents.
The idea of eternal movement and the eternal change of ideas in society, and therefore of the constant need for preachers of these ideas, is quite fair. But you also need to take into account the fact that societies do not live only to reason and exchange ideas. Ideas and their gradual development have their significance only because they, born from existing facts, always precede changes in reality itself.
After a period of awareness of certain ideas and aspirations, a period of their implementation must appear in society; thinking and talking must be followed by action. The question now is: what has our society been doing in the last 20-30 years? Nothing for now. It studied, developed, listened to the Rudins, sympathized with their failures in the noble struggle for beliefs, prepared for action, but did nothing... So much beauty had accumulated in the head and heart; in the existing order of affairs, so many absurd and dishonest things have been noticed; the mass of people “conscious of themselves above the surrounding reality” is growing every year - so that soon, perhaps, everyone will be above reality... It seems there is nothing to wish for us to continue forever to walk this tedious path of discord, doubt and abstract sorrows and consolations. It seems clear that what we now need is not people who would “elevate us above the surrounding reality” even more, but people who would raise—or teach us to raise—reality itself to the level of those reasonable demands that we have already recognized. In a word, we need people of action, not abstract ones, always a little epicurean reasoning.
The image of Katerina Kabanova
Dobrolyubov’s article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” further continues with the author proceeding to analyze the image of Katerina, the main character, devoting quite a lot of space to it. Nikolai Alexandrovich describes this image as a shaky, indecisive “step forward” in literature. Dobrolyubov says that life itself requires the emergence of active and decisive heroes. The image of Katerina is characterized by an intuitive perception of the truth and a natural understanding of it. Dobrolyubov (“A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom”) says about Katerina that this heroine is selfless, since she prefers to choose death than existence under the old order. This heroine's powerful strength of character lies in her integrity.
Motives for Katerina's actions
In addition to the very image of this girl, Dobrolyubov examines in detail the motives of her actions. He notices that Katerina is not a rebel by nature, she does not show discontent, does not demand destruction. Rather, she is a creator who longs for love. This is precisely what explains her desire to ennoble her actions in her own mind. The girl is young, and the desire for love and tenderness is natural for her. However, Tikhon is so downtrodden and fixated that he cannot understand these desires and feelings of his wife, which he tells her directly.
Finale of the play
The ending of the play is both joyful and tragic. The main idea of the work is getting rid of the shackles of the so-called dark kingdom at any cost. Life is impossible in its environment. Even Tikhon, when his wife’s corpse is pulled out, shouts that she is fine now and asks: “What about me?” The ending of the play and this cry itself provide an unambiguous understanding of the truth. Tikhon’s words make us look at Katerina’s act not as a love affair. A world opens before us in which the dead are envied by the living.
This ends Dobrolyubov’s article “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom.” We have highlighted only the main points, briefly describing its summary. However, some details and comments from the author were missed. “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom” is better read in the original, since this article is a classic of Russian criticism. Dobrolyubov gave a good example of how works should be analyzed.
Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" caused a strong reaction in the field of literary scholars and critics. A. Grigoriev, D. Pisarev, F. Dostoevsky dedicated their articles to this work. N. Dobrolyubov, some time after the publication of “The Thunderstorm,” wrote the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom.” Being a good critic, Dobrolyubov emphasized the author's good style, praising Ostrovsky for his deep knowledge of the Russian soul, and reproached other critics for the lack of a direct view of the work. In general, Dobrolyubov’s view is interesting from several points of view. For example, the critic believed that dramas should show the harmful influence of passion on a person’s life, which is why he calls Katerina a criminal. But Nikolai Alexandrovich nevertheless says that Katerina is also a martyr, because her suffering evokes a response in the soul of the viewer or reader. Dobrolyubov gives very accurate characteristics. It was he who called the merchants the “dark kingdom” in the play “The Thunderstorm”.
If we trace how the merchant class and adjacent social strata were displayed over the decades, a complete picture of degradation and decline emerges. In “The Minor” the Prostakovs are shown as limited people, in “Woe from Wit” the Famusovs are frozen statues who refuse to live honestly. All these images are the predecessors of Kabanikha and Wild. It is these two characters that support the “dark kingdom” in the drama “The Thunderstorm”.
The author introduces us to the morals and customs of the city from the very first lines of the play: “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!” In one of the dialogues between residents, the topic of violence is raised: “Whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor... And among themselves, sir, how they live!... They quarrel with each other.” No matter how much people hide what is happening inside families, others already know everything. Kuligin says that no one has prayed to God here for a long time. All the doors are locked, “so that people don’t see how... they eat their family and tyrannize their family.” Behind the locks there is debauchery and drunkenness. Kabanov goes to Dikoy’s to drink, Dikoy appears drunk in almost all scenes, Kabanikha is also not averse to having a glass - another in the company of Savl Prokofievich.
The entire world in which the inhabitants of the fictional city of Kalinov live is thoroughly saturated with lies and fraud. Power over the “dark kingdom” belongs to tyrants and deceivers. The residents are so accustomed to dispassionately fawning over wealthier people that this lifestyle is the norm for them. People often come to Dikiy to ask for money, knowing that he will humiliate them and not give them the required amount. The merchant's most negative emotions are caused by his own nephew. Not even because Boris flatters Dikoy in order to get money, but because Dikoy himself does not want to part with the inheritance he received. His main traits are rudeness and greed. Dikoy believes that since he has a large amount of money, it means that others should obey him, fear him and at the same time respect him.
Kabanikha advocates for the preservation of the patriarchal system. She is a real tyrant, capable of driving anyone she doesn't like crazy. Marfa Ignatievna, hiding behind the fact that she reveres the old order, essentially destroys the family. Her son, Tikhon, is glad to go as far as possible, just not to hear his mother’s orders, her daughter does not value Kabanikha’s opinion, lies to her, and at the end of the play she simply runs away with Kudryash. Katerina suffered the most. The mother-in-law openly hated her daughter-in-law, controlled her every action, and was dissatisfied with every little thing. The most revealing scene seems to be the farewell scene to Tikhon. Kabanikha was offended by the fact that Katya hugged her husband goodbye. After all, she is a woman, which means she should always be inferior to a man. A wife’s destiny is to throw herself at her husband’s feet and sob, begging for a quick return. Katya does not like this point of view, but she is forced to submit to the will of her mother-in-law.
Dobrolyubov calls Katya “a ray of light in a dark kingdom,” which is also very symbolic. Firstly, Katya is different from the residents of the city. Although she was brought up according to the old laws, the preservation of which Kabanikha often talks about, she has a different idea of life. Katya is kind and pure. She wants to help the poor, she wants to go to church, do household chores, raise children. But in such a situation, all this seems impossible because of one simple fact: in the “dark kingdom” in “The Thunderstorm” it is impossible to find inner peace. People constantly walk in fear, drink, lie, cheat on each other, trying to hide the unsightly sides of life. In such an atmosphere it is impossible to be honest with others, honest with oneself. Secondly, one ray is not enough to illuminate the “kingdom”. Light, according to the laws of physics, must be reflected from some surface. It is also known that black has the ability to absorb other colors. Similar laws apply to the situation with the main character of the play. Katerina does not see in others what is in her. Neither the city residents nor Boris, a “decently educated man,” could understand the reason for Katya’s internal conflict. After all, even Boris is afraid of public opinion, he is dependent on Diky and the possibility of receiving an inheritance. He is also bound by a chain of deception and lies, because Boris supports Varvara’s idea of deceiving Tikhon in order to maintain a secret relationship with Katya. Let's apply the second law here. In Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm,” the “dark kingdom” is so all-consuming that it is impossible to find a way out of it. It eats Katerina, forcing her to take on one of the most terrible sins from the point of view of Christianity - suicide. "The Dark Kingdom" leaves no other choice. It would find her anywhere, even if Katya ran away with Boris, even if she left her husband. No wonder Ostrovsky transfers the action to a fictional city. The author wanted to show the typicality of the situation: such a situation was typical of all Russian cities. But is it only Russia?
Are the findings really that disappointing? The power of the tyrants is gradually beginning to weaken. Kabanikha and Dikoy feel this. They feel that soon other people, new ones, will take their place. People like Katya. Honest and open. And, perhaps, it is in them that those old customs that Marfa Ignatievna zealously defended will be revived. Dobrolyubov wrote that the ending of the play should be viewed in a positive way. “We are pleased to see Katerina’s deliverance - even through death, if it is impossible otherwise. Living in the “dark kingdom” is worse than death.” This is confirmed by the words of Tikhon, who for the first time openly opposes not only his mother, but also the entire order of the city. “The play ends with this exclamation, and it seems to us that nothing could have been invented stronger and more truthful than such an ending. Tikhon’s words make the viewer think not about a love affair, but about this whole life, where the living envy the dead.”
The definition of the “dark kingdom” and the description of the images of its representatives will be useful to 10th grade students when writing an essay on the topic “The Dark Kingdom in the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky.”
Work test
Year of writing:
1860
Reading time:
Description of the work:
In 1860, Nikolai Dobrolyubov wrote a critical article A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom, which became one of the first serious reviews of Alexander Ostrovsky's play entitled The Thunderstorm. The article was published by the Sovremennik magazine in the same 1860.
Let us mention only one character in the play - Katerina, in whom Dobrolyubov saw a decisive, integral, strong character, which was so necessary for society to resist the autocratic system at that time and carry out social reforms.
Below read a summary of the article A ray of light in a dark kingdom.
The article is devoted to Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”. At the beginning of it, Dobrolyubov writes that “Ostrovsky has a deep understanding of Russian life.” Next, he analyzes articles about Ostrovsky by other critics, writing that they “lack a direct view of things.”
Then Dobrolyubov compares “The Thunderstorm” with dramatic canons: “The subject of the drama must certainly be an event where we see the struggle between passion and duty - with the unhappy consequences of the victory of passion or with the happy ones when duty wins.” Also, the drama must have unity of action, and it must be written in high literary language. “The Thunderstorm” at the same time “does not satisfy the most essential goal of the drama - to instill respect for moral duty and show the harmful consequences of being carried away by passion. Katerina, this criminal, appears to us in the drama not only not in a sufficiently gloomy light, but even with the radiance of martyrdom. She speaks so well, suffers so pitifully, everything around her is so bad that you arm yourself against her oppressors and thus justify vice in her person. Consequently, drama does not fulfill its high purpose. All the action is sluggish and slow, because it is cluttered with scenes and faces that are completely unnecessary. Finally, the language in which the characters speak exceeds any patience of a well-bred person.”
Dobrolyubov makes this comparison with the canon in order to show that approaching a work with a ready-made idea of what should be shown in it does not provide true understanding. “What do you think about a man who, when he sees a pretty woman, suddenly begins to resonate that her figure is not like that of the Venus de Milo? The truth is not in dialectical subtleties, but in the living truth of what you are discussing. It cannot be said that people are evil by nature, and therefore one cannot accept for literary works principles such as, for example, that vice always triumphs and virtue is punished.”
“The writer has until now been given a small role in this movement of humanity towards natural principles,” writes Dobrolyubov, after which he recalls Shakespeare, who “moved the general consciousness of people to several levels to which no one had risen before him.” Next, the author turns to other critical articles about “The Thunderstorm,” in particular, by Apollo Grigoriev, who argues that Ostrovsky’s main merit lies in his “nationality.” “But Mr. Grigoriev does not explain what nationality consists of, and therefore his remark seemed very funny to us.”
Then Dobrolyubov comes to define Ostrovsky’s plays in general as “plays of life”: “We want to say that with him the general situation of life is always in the foreground. He punishes neither the villain nor the victim. You see that their situation dominates them, and you only blame them for not showing enough energy to get out of this situation. And that’s why we never dare to consider as unnecessary and superfluous those characters in Ostrovsky’s plays who do not directly participate in the intrigue. From our point of view, these persons are just as necessary for the play as the main ones: they show us the environment in which the action takes place, they depict the situation that determines the meaning of the activities of the main characters in the play.”
In “The Thunderstorm,” the need for “unnecessary” persons (minor and episodic characters) is especially visible. Dobrolyubov analyzes the remarks of Feklusha, Glasha, Dikiy, Kudryash, Kuligin, etc. The author analyzes the internal state of the heroes of the “dark kingdom”: “everything is somehow restless, it’s not good for them. Besides them, without asking them, another life has grown up, with different beginnings, and although it is not yet clearly visible, it is already sending bad visions to the dark tyranny of tyrants. And Kabanova is very seriously upset about the future of the old order, with which she has outlived the century. She foresees their end, tries to maintain their significance, but already feels that there is no former respect for them and that at the first opportunity they will be abandoned.”
Then the author writes that “The Thunderstorm” is “Ostrovsky’s most decisive work; mutual relations of tyranny are brought to the most tragic consequences; and for all that, most of those who have read and seen this play agree that there is even something refreshing and encouraging in “The Thunderstorm”. This “something” is, in our opinion, the background of the play, indicated by us and revealing the precariousness and the near end of tyranny. Then the very character of Katerina, drawn against this background, also breathes on us with new life, which is revealed to us in her very death.”
Further, Dobrolyubov analyzes the image of Katerina, perceiving it as “a step forward in all of our literature”: “Russian life has reached the point where the need for more active and energetic people was felt.” The image of Katerina “is unswervingly faithful to the instinct of natural truth and selfless in the sense that it is better for him to die than to live under those principles that are disgusting to him. In this integrity and harmony of character lies his strength. Free air and light, despite all the precautions of dying tyranny, burst into Katerina’s cell, she is striving for a new life, even if she had to die in this impulse. What does death matter to her? All the same, she doesn’t even consider the vegetation that befell her in the Kabanov family to be life.”
The author analyzes in detail the motives of Katerina’s actions: “Katerina does not at all belong to the violent character, dissatisfied, who loves to destroy. On the contrary, this is a predominantly creative, loving, ideal character. That's why she tries to ennoble everything in her imagination. The feeling of love for a person, the need for tender pleasures naturally opened up in the young woman.” But it won’t be Tikhon Kabanov, who is “too downtrodden to understand the nature of Katerina’s emotions: “If I don’t understand you, Katya,” he tells her, “then you won’t get a word from you, let alone affection, or you’ll do it yourself.” you’re climbing.” This is how spoiled natures usually judge a strong and fresh nature.”
Dobrolyubov comes to the conclusion that in the image of Katerina, Ostrovsky embodied a great popular idea: “in other creations of our literature, strong characters are like fountains, dependent on an extraneous mechanism. Katerina is like a big river: a flat, good bottom - it flows calmly, large stones are encountered - it jumps over them, a cliff - it cascades, they dam it - it rages and breaks through in another place. It bubbles not because the water suddenly wants to make noise or get angry at obstacles, but simply because it needs it to fulfill its natural requirements - for further flow.”
Analyzing Katerina's actions, the author writes that he considers the escape of Katerina and Boris possible as the best solution. Katerina is ready to escape, but here another problem emerges - Boris’s financial dependence on his uncle Dikiy. “We said a few words above about Tikhon; Boris is the same, in essence, only educated.”
At the end of the play, “we are pleased to see Katerina’s deliverance - even through death, if it is impossible otherwise. Living in the “dark kingdom” is worse than death. Tikhon, throwing himself on his wife’s corpse, pulled out of the water, shouts in self-forgetfulness: “Good for you, Katya!” Why did I stay in the world and suffer!“ With this exclamation the play ends, and it seems to us that nothing could have been invented stronger and more truthful than such an ending. Tikhon’s words make the viewer think not about a love affair, but about this whole life, where the living envy the dead.”
In conclusion, Dobrolyubov addresses the readers of the article: “If our readers find that Russian life and Russian strength are called by the artist in “The Thunderstorm” to a decisive cause, and if they feel the legitimacy and importance of this matter, then we are satisfied, no matter what our scientists say and literary judges."
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It is known that extremes are reflected by extremes and that the strongest protest is that which finally rises from the breasts of the weakest and most patient.
Where does a child get the character to resist him with all his might, even if the most terrible punishment was promised for resistance? There is only one answer: the inability to endure what he is forced to do...
Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in a dark kingdom
For people who are theoretically developed and mentally strong, logic and analysis play the main role. Strong minds are precisely distinguished by that inner strength that gives them the opportunity not to succumb to ready-made views and systems, but to create their own views and conclusions.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in a dark kingdom
Of course, there are general concepts and laws that every person certainly has in mind when discussing any subject. But it is necessary to distinguish these natural laws, arising from the very essence of the matter, from the provisions and rules established in some system.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in a dark kingdom
If ignorance and credulity are still so strong among people, this is supported by precisely the mode of critical reasoning that we attack. Synthesis prevails everywhere and in everything; they say in advance: this is useful, and rush in all directions to tidy up the arguments why it is useful; they stun you with the maxim: this is what morality should be, and then they condemn as immoral everything that does not fit the maxim. In this way, human meaning is constantly distorted, the desire and opportunity for everyone to reason for themselves is taken away. It would be completely different if people became accustomed to the analytical method of judgment...
Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in a dark kingdom
Because beauty lies not in individual features and lines, but in the general expression of the face, in the sense of life that manifests itself in it.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. A ray of light in a dark kingdom
But the worse it gets for people, the more they feel the need to feel good. Deprivations will not stop demands, but will only irritate them; Only eating can satisfy hunger. Until now, therefore, the struggle is not over; natural aspirations, now seeming to be muffled, now appearing stronger, everyone is looking for their satisfaction. This is the essence of history.
A ray of light in the dark kingdom summary
The article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom” by Dobrolyubov was written in 1860 and is dedicated to the drama “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky. The title of the critical article quickly became a popular phraseology denoting a bright, soul-encouraging phenomenon in some complex, confusing situation. To better prepare for a literature lesson, we recommend reading online a summary of “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom . A retelling of Dobrolyubov’s article will also be useful for the reader’s diary.
Summary
Nikolai Aleksandrovich begins his article with the recognition that “Ostrovsky has a deep understanding of Russian life and a great ability to depict sharply and vividly its most significant aspects.” Having mentioned several critical articles about the play “The Thunderstorm,” he explains that many of them did not fully reveal the essence of the work.
Next, the publicist cites the “main rules of drama,” among which he especially states that duty necessarily prevails. In addition, in a true drama, “strict unity and consistency” must be observed, the denouement must be a logical continuation of the plot, all characters and all dialogues must take a direct part in the development of the drama, the language must not “move away from literary purity and not turn into vulgarity” .
Starting to analyze Ostrovsky's play, Dobrolyubov points out that the author did not fully reveal the most important task of the drama - “to instill respect for moral duty and show the harmful consequences of being carried away by passion.” Katerina is presented as a martyr, not a criminal. According to Dobrolyubov, the plot is overloaded with details and characters, and the language “exceeds any patience of a well-bred person.” But Nikolai Aleksandrovich immediately admits that criticism, squeezed in the grip of the dominant theory, dooms itself to hostility “to all progress, to everything new and original in literature.” As an example, he cites the work of Shakespeare, who managed to raise the level of human consciousness to previously unattainable heights.
The publicist notes that all of A. N. Ostrovsky’s plays can be safely called “plays of life”, since they are dominated by “a general situation of life, independent of any of the characters.” In his works, the writer “punishes neither the villain nor the victim”: both of them are often funny and not energetic enough to resist fate. Thus, the “struggle required by theory from drama” in Ostrovsky’s plays is carried out not through the monologues of the characters, but due to the circumstances prevailing over them.
Just as in real life, negative characters do not always suffer the punishment they deserve, just as positive characters do not achieve the long-awaited happiness at the end of the work. The publicist carefully examines the inner world of each of the minor and episodic characters. He notes that in the play “the need for so-called “unnecessary” persons” is especially visible, with the help of which the character of the main character is most accurately and clearly outlined, and the meaning of the work becomes more understandable. Dobrolyubov is “Ostrovsky’s most decisive work,” but at the same time it produces “an impression less painful and sad” than all the author’s other plays. There is “something refreshing and encouraging” about “The Thunderstorm.”
Next, Dobrolyubov begins to analyze the image of Katerina, which “is a step forward” not only in Ostrovsky’s work, but in all of Russian literature. Reality has reached the point where it needs “people who, even if less beautiful, are more active and energetic.” Katerina’s strength of character lies in integrity and harmony: for a girl, her own death is preferable to life in circumstances that are contrary and alien to her. Her soul is full of “natural aspirations for beauty, harmony, contentment, happiness.”
Even in the gloomy atmosphere of her new family, Katerina “is looking for light, air, wants to dream and frolic.” At first, she seeks solace in religion and soul-saving conversations, but does not find the bright and fresh impressions she needs. Having realized what she needs, the heroine shows “the full strength of her character, not wasted in petty antics.” Katerina is full of love and creativity. In her imagination, she tries to ennoble the reality that surrounds her. She has a strong “feeling of love for a person, a desire to find a kindred response in another heart.” However, the essence of Katerina is not given to her husband, the downtrodden Tikhon Kabanov, to understand. She tries to believe that her husband is her destiny, “that in him there is the bliss that she so anxiously seeks,” but soon all her illusions are shattered.
It is interesting to compare the heroine with a large, full-flowing river, which deftly and unhindered bypasses all obstacles in its path. Enraged, it even breaks through dams, but its seething is not caused by indignation and anger, but by the need to continue its path.
Analyzing the character and actions of Katerina, Dobrolyubov comes to the conclusion that the best solution for the heroine is her escape with Boris. She does not blame anyone for her bitter fate, and sees death as her only consolation, as a quiet, calm haven. “This kind of liberation is sad, bitter,” but Katerina simply has no other choice. It is the woman’s determination to take this difficult step that makes a “refreshing impression” on readers.
Conclusion In his article, Dobrolyubov emphasizes that you need to have sufficient courage and honesty with yourself in order to carry a living, warming light within yourself. After reading the brief retelling of “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom,” we recommend reading Dobrolyubov’s article in the full version.
