Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich, Russian writer, unsurpassed master of theatrical drama, was born on March 31, 1823 in Moscow. Ostrovsky’s biography is short, but substantial. The playwright is the founder of the Russian national repertoire. He divided his work into two components: psychological dramas and acutely satirical comedies. Ostrovsky’s characters represented the entire multilayered society of Russia of the 19th century, starting from wealthy merchants, whose thirst for profit was the main and only passion in life, and ending with small people: servants, kept women, poor wanderers.
First comedy
At forty, Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich, whose brief biography contains only a few pages, was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg. This high title did not affect the playwright's work in any way; he did not touch science. The writer devoted his whole life to Russian theatrical art; starting in 1847, Ostrovsky wrote plays and comedies, which enjoyed constant success with the metropolitan audience. The first comedy "Family Picture" was read to a narrow circle of like-minded people and unconditionally approved by them. Thus, Ostrovsky’s biography, brief in essence, marks the beginning of the writer's work.
Milestones
In 1849, the comedy “Our People - Let's Get Rid” was staged on the theater stage about the bankruptcy of a prosperous merchant, with numerous conflicts, betrayal of family members, greed, manifestation of base human instincts and many other unpleasant events. Then the plays were written: “Poverty is not a vice” and “Do not sit down in your sled”, in which the playwright tried to present Russian society as not alien to nobility, possessing poetic aspirations.
Journalism
In addition to dramaturgy, A. N. Ostrovsky (a short biography does not reflect all the changes in his life) gravitated to journalism, and in 1850 he became an employee of Moskvityanin, a well-known magazine, the bulk of whose readership consisted of ordinary people, farmers, small employees and housewives. Alexander Nikolaevich intended to reveal the life of the patriarchal merchants on the pages of the magazine, however, the editorial board of the publication did not welcome the writer's critical approach, disputes and conflicts began. In the end, Ostrovsky left the Moskvityan.
Thunderstorm - a masterpiece of drama
The next edition, in which the writer decided to try his luck, was the St. Petersburg magazine Sovremennik, which was headed by N. A. Nekrasov, who sincerely considered Ostrovsky the most outstanding playwright of our time. And in 1859 the first collected works of Alexander Nikolaevich saw the light of day. Ostrovsky’s biography is brief, but nevertheless, it outlines the main milestones of creativity. Then “Thunderstorm” was written - the first significant work of the author in the genre of tragedy, unprecedented in narrative power, revealing the conflict between two women: Katerina and her mother-in-law Marfa Ignatievna. The stunning drama of Thunderstorm, Katerina’s slow progress toward suicide, her attempts to make a choice between love and the traditional way of life make the theater audience deeply empathize and sympathize with the unfortunate woman.
Ostrovsky’s biography is short, but it contains several more pages from the life of the famous playwright, which we will discuss in another article.