Between two works, the play "The Storm" and the drama "Dowry", is twenty years old. The country has changed a lot during this time, the writer himself has changed. All this can be traced by analyzing these works. In this article, we will conduct a comparative description of Katerina and Larisa, the main characters of the two plays.
Features of the merchants in two works
In the Storm, merchants only become the bourgeoisie. It can be seen from the fact that traditional patriarchal relations are obsolete for them, the hypocrisy and deceit (Varvara, Kabanikh), which Katerina disgusts, are being asserted.
In Ostrovsky’s “Dowry”, later merchants, these are no longer petty and ignorant representatives of the so-called “dark kingdom”, but people who pretend to be educated, dressed in European clothes, and reading foreign newspapers.
This should be taken into account when comparing Katerina and Larisa. After all, the merchant environment has largely influenced the development of the characters and fates of these girls.
The social status of the heroines
Our comparative description of Katerina and Larisa begins with determining the social status of girls. In the two plays, the main characters differ significantly by this criterion, but by tragic fate they are very similar. In The Storm, Katerina is the wife of a weak-willed, but wealthy merchant who is wholly influenced by her oppressive mother.
In “Dowry” Larisa is an unmarried beautiful girl who lost her father early and is raised by her mother, a very energetic, poor woman, not prone to tyranny. The boar in its own way cares for the happiness of Tikhon, his son. Ogudalova Harita Ignatievna just as zealously cares about the well-being of Larisa, her daughter, in his own way understanding him. As a result, Katerina rushes to the Volga, and Larisa perishes at the hands of her fiancé. In both cases, the heroines are destined to die, despite the fact that relatives and relatives seem to wish them only good.
What unites these girls?
The comparative characteristics of Katerina and Larisa reveal other common features. Both of these girls strove for freedom, but found it not in our world; both are bright and pure natures and love the unworthy. They show with their whole essence a protest against the so-called dark kingdom (the "Dowry" society fits this definition in the same way as its representatives in the "Thunderstorm").
Time and Place of Two Pieces
Katerina Kabanova lives in a small Volga town, in which life is still largely patriarchal. The Thunderstorm itself takes place before the reform that took place in 1861, which had a huge impact on the province. Larisa Ogudalova lives in a big city, located also on the Volga, which has long lost patriarchy in various fields, including family relations. The Volga River unites such girls as Katerina and Larisa. The comparative characteristics of the heroines show that it symbolizes death and freedom for both: both Larisa and Katerina are overtaken by death on the river. Differences should be noted: Bryakhimov is open - people come here and leave here. The Volga River in “Thunderstorm” is perceived primarily as a border, and in the play “Dowry” it becomes a kind of means of communication with the outside world.
In the drama “Dowry”, the action takes place around the end of the 1870s, when the second decade after the abolition of serfdom ended. At this time, capitalism is developing rapidly. Former merchants, as we have already noted, become millionaire entrepreneurs.
Differences in education and character
We continue the comparison of Katerina and Larisa in "Thunderstorm" and "Dowry". The Ogudalov family is not rich, but the persistence of Larisa’s mother helps to get acquainted with wealthy and influential people. She inspires her daughter that she must certainly marry a wealthy chosen one. The choice for Katerina was made a long time ago, giving off as a limp, unloved, but wealthy Tikhon. The heroine of "Dowry" is used to the laid-back life of the "light" - dancing, music, parties. She herself has abilities - the girl sings well. In such a situation it is impossible to imagine Katerina. It is connected much more with popular beliefs, with nature, and is religious. In difficult times, Larisa also remembers God and dreams, agreeing to associate her fate with Karandyshev, a petty official, to go to the village with him, away from wealthy acquaintances and city temptations. In general, she is, however, a man of a different environment and era than the main character of Thunderstorm. Katerina and Larisa, the comparative characteristics of which we are conducting, are different in character. Larisa has a more subtle psychological makeup, she feels the beauty more subtly than Katerina. This makes her more defenseless against adverse circumstances.
Larisa is also a victim of hypocrisy and deception, but her life values are different, which are unthinkable for another heroine. Their source lies, first of all, in education. The heroine of "Dowry" received a Europeanized education. She longs to find a beautiful, sublime love and the same life. For this, she ultimately requires wealth. But the integrity of nature, strength of character in this girl is not. The cultural and educated Larisa, it would seem, should express, unlike Katerina, at least some semblance of protest. But this girl is a weak nature. And it helps us understand how different they are, Katerina and Larisa, the comparative characteristics of the girls.
Different conflicts in the works
In dramas, the essence of the conflict is also different. The clash in the Storm occurs between the victims of tyrants and tyrants themselves. The motives of isolation of space, suppression, stuffiness, lack of freedom are very strong in the play. Katerina cannot subordinate herself to the laws of the world in which she found herself after marriage. Her position is tragic: her love for Boris contradicts the heroine’s religiosity, this girl’s inability to live in sin. The culmination of the work is the recognition of Katerina. The finale is the death of the main character.
At first glance, in "Dowry" the opposite is true. Larissa is idolized, admired, she is not opposed to the heroes surrounding her. There can be no question of despotism and suppression. However, the motive in the play is very strong, which was not in the Storm - the motive of money. It is he who forms the conflict of drama. Larisa is a dowager, which is what determines her position in the drama. All those around are talking only about money, sale, profit, profit. The human feeling in this world is also becoming a commodity. The clash of material, monetary interests with the personal feelings of the heroine leads to a tragic ending.
Katerina and Larisa: two women - one fate. “Thunderstorm” (Ostrovsky) and “Dowry” (the same author) show that the fate of the girls is tragic both before the abolition of serfdom and after it. Ostrovsky invites us to think about many eternal and pressing issues of our time.