"Columbus of Zamoskvorechye", the author of plays that turned Russian drama into "real" literature, is A. N. Ostrovsky, whose works have become the main ones in the Maly Theater repertoire since the mid-19th century. Everything that he wrote was done not for reading, but for staging on stage. The result of 40 years of creative activity was the original (about 50), co-authored, processed and translated plays.
Sources of inspiration"
All Ostrovsky's works are based on constant observation of the life of various classes, mainly merchants and the local nobility.
The playwright’s childhood and youth passed in Zamoskvorechye - the old district of Moscow, which was mainly inhabited by the townspeople. Therefore, Ostrovsky was well acquainted with their way of life and the peculiarities of family and social relations. By the middle of the XIX century, the so-called "dealers" appeared more and more here - they would enter the new merchants.
It turned out to be very useful to work in the office of the Moscow Conscientious Court, where Alexander Nikolaevich entered in 1843. Eight years of observation of numerous litigations and quarrels between merchants and relatives allowed us to accumulate valuable material on the basis of which Ostrovsky's best works will be written.
In the work of the playwright, it is customary to distinguish 4 main periods. Each was marked by a special approach to the depiction of reality and the appearance of vivid plays.
1847-1851 years. First experiences
Essays written in the spirit of the “natural school” and in accordance with the traditions laid down by Gogol brought the novice writer the title “Columbus of Zamoskvorechye”. But pretty soon they were replaced by plays that completely replaced the epic genres.
Ostrovsky’s first work is “The Family Picture,” first read by the author at an evening with S. Shevyrev. However, “Bankrut” brings fame, later renamed to “Our People - Let's Count!” The response to the play was instant. Censorship immediately banned it (it was written in 1849, it hit the scene only in 1861), and V. Odoyevsky put it on a par with “Undergrowth”, “Woe from Wit” and “The Examiner”. For several years, the work was successfully read in circles and at literary evenings, providing universal recognition to the young author.
1852-1855 years. Moskvityaninsky period
This is the time when Ostrovsky joined the "young edition" of the magazine, which preached the ideas of soil cultivation and had an interest in merchants. Representatives of the social estate, not associated with serfdom and not torn off from the people, could, according to A. Grigoriev, become a new force capable of influencing the development of Russia. Only 3 works of Ostrovsky belong to this period, one of which is “Poverty is not a vice”.
The plot is based on the image of relationships in the family of the merchant Tortsov. The imperious and tyrannical father, Gordey, plans to marry his daughter in love with a poor clerk for the dexterous and rich Korshunov. This is a new generation merchant who will never miss his own. The Beloved succeeds in convincing the brother-tyrant — he is prone to drunkenness, who has not accumulated a fortune, but in all the following moral laws. As a result, the matter is resolved safely for Luba, and the playwright claims the victory of Russian folk culture and traditions over European ones.
1856-1860 years. Rapprochement with Sovremennik
The works of this period: "Profitable place", "In a strange feast hangover" and, of course, "Thunderstorm" - were the result of rethinking the role of the patriarchal merchants in the life of the country. It no longer attracted the playwright, but more and more acquired the features of tyranny and desperately tried to confront everything new and democratic (the result of the influence of the contemporaries from Sovremennik). This “dark kingdom” was most vividly shown in the only tragedy of the playwright “Thunderstorm”. Young people appear here who do not want to put up with home-building laws.
Analyzing the works created in the 40-50s, A. Grigoriev called Ostrovsky A. N. truly a “folk poet”, which emphasized the scale of the paintings he depicted.
1861-1886 years. Mature creativity
Over the 25 years of reform, the playwright has written vivid works that are diverse in genre and theme. They can be combined into several groups.
- A comedy about the life of the merchants: "The truth is good, but happiness is better", "Not all cats are Pancake week."
- Satire: “Wolves and Sheep”, “Mad Money”, “Forest”, etc.
- “Pictures of Moscow life” and “prices from the outback” about “little” people: “Hard days”, “An old friend is better than the new two”, etc.
- Chronicles on a historical theme: “Kozma Zakharich Minin-Sukhoruk” and others.
- Psychological drama: “The Last Victim”, “Dowry”.
The play-tale “The Snow Maiden” stands apart.
The works of the last decades acquire tragic and philosophical-psychological features and are distinguished by their artistic perfection and realistic approach to the image.
The creator of the national theater
Centuries pass, but the works of Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich still collect full houses on the leading stages of the country, confirming the phrase of I. Goncharov: "... after you we ... we can proudly say: we have our own Russian national theater." “Poor bride” and “Do not sit down in your sled”, “Balsaminov’s marriage” and “Heart is not a stone”, “There wasn’t a penny, but suddenly an Altyn” and “For every sage there is quite simplicity” ... This list is well-known to every theater-goer the titles of Ostrovsky's plays can be continued for a long time. Thanks to the skill of the playwright, a special world came to life on stage, filled with problems that will always excite humanity.