Is it possible to forgive Katerina's betrayal in a thunderstorm. The culmination of the development of the conflict. The scene of Katerina's confession. Episode analysis. Heartbreak of the main character

The problematics of a work in literary criticism is a range of problems that are somehow touched upon in the text. This may be one or more aspects that the author focuses on. In this work, we will focus on the problems of Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm. A. N. Ostrovsky received a literary vocation after the first published play. “Poverty is not a vice”, “Dowry”, “Profitable place” - these and many other works are devoted to social and everyday topics, but the issue of the play “Thunderstorm” should be considered separately.

The play received mixed reviews from critics. Dobrolyubov saw in Katerina hope for new life, Ap. Grigoriev noticed the emerging protest against the existing order, and L. Tolstoy did not accept the play at all. The plot of "Thunderstorm", at first glance, is quite simple: everything is based on a love collision. Katerina secretly meets with a young man, while her husband has gone to another city on business. Unable to cope with the pangs of conscience, the girl confesses to treason, after which she rushes into the Volga. However, behind all this everyday, domestic, lies much larger things that threaten to grow to the scale of space. Dobrolyubov calls the “dark kingdom” the situation that is described in the text. An atmosphere of lies and betrayal. In Kalinovo, people are so accustomed to moral dirt that their uncomplaining consent only exacerbates the situation. It becomes scary from the realization that this place did not make people like this, it was people who independently turned the city into a kind of accumulation of vices. And now the "dark kingdom" begins to influence the inhabitants. After a detailed acquaintance with the text, one can notice how widely developed the problems of the work "Thunderstorm".

The problems in Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" are diverse, but at the same time they do not have a hierarchy. Each individual problem is important in itself.

The problem of fathers and children

Here we are not talking about misunderstanding, but about total control, about patriarchal orders. The play shows the life of the Kabanov family. At that time, the opinion of the eldest man in the family was undeniable, and wives and daughters were practically deprived of rights. The head of the family is Marfa Ignatievna, a widow. She took over the male functions. This is a powerful and prudent woman. Kabanikha believes that she takes care of her children, ordering them to do as she wants. This behavior led to quite logical consequences. Her son, Tikhon, is a weak and spineless person. Mother, it seems, wanted to see him like that, because in this case it is easier to control a person. Tikhon is afraid to say anything, to express his opinion; in one of the scenes, he admits that he does not have his own point of view at all. Tikhon cannot protect either himself or his wife from the tantrums and cruelty of his mother. The daughter of Kabanikhi, Varvara, on the contrary, managed to adapt to this way of life. She easily lies to her mother, the girl even changed the lock on the gate in the garden in order to freely go on dates with Curly. Tikhon is not capable of any kind of rebellion, while Varvara, in the finale of the play, escapes from her parents' house with her lover.

The problem of self-realization

When talking about the problems of the "Thunderstorm" one cannot fail to mention this aspect. The problem is realized in the image of Kuligin. This self-taught inventor dreams of making something useful for all the inhabitants of the city. His plans include assembling a perpetu mobile, building a lightning rod, and getting electricity. But this whole dark, semi-pagan world needs neither light nor enlightenment. Dikoy laughs at Kuligin's plans to find an honest income, openly mocks him. Boris, after talking with Kuligin, understands that the inventor will never invent a single thing. Perhaps Kuligin himself understands this. One could call him naive, but he knows what morals reign in Kalinovo, what goes on behind the scenes. behind closed doors who are those in whose hands power is concentrated. Kuligin learned to live in this world without losing himself. But he is not able to feel the conflict between reality and dreams as keenly as Katerina did.

The Problem of Power

In the city of Kalinov, power is not in the hands of the relevant authorities, but in those who have money. Proof of this is the dialogue between the merchant Wild and the mayor. The mayor tells the merchant that complaints are being received against the latter. To this Savl Prokofievich replies rudely. Dikoi does not hide the fact that he cheats ordinary peasants, he speaks of deceit as a normal phenomenon: if merchants steal from each other, then you can steal from ordinary residents. In Kalinov, nominal power decides absolutely nothing, and this is fundamentally wrong. After all, it turns out that without money in such a city it is simply impossible to live. Dikoy fancies himself almost a father-king, deciding who to lend money to and who not. “So know that you are a worm. If I want to, I'll have mercy, if I want to, I'll crush it, ”this is how Dikoy Kuligin answers.

The problem of love

In "Thunderstorm" the problem of love is realized in pairs Katerina - Tikhon and Katerina - Boris. The girl is forced to live with her husband, although she does not feel any feelings other than pity for him. Katya rushes from one extreme to another: she thinks between the option of staying with her husband and learning to love him or leaving Tikhon. Katya's feelings for Boris flare up instantly. This passion pushes the girl to take a decisive step: Katya goes against public opinion and Christian morality. Her feelings were mutual, but for Boris this love meant much less. Katya believed that Boris, just like her, was incapable of living in a frozen city and lying for profit. Katerina often compared herself to a bird, she wanted to fly away, to escape from that metaphorical cage, and in Boris Katya saw that air, that freedom that she lacked so much. Unfortunately, the girl made a mistake in Boris. The young man turned out to be the same as the inhabitants of Kalinov. He wanted to improve relations with Wild for the sake of getting money, he spoke with Varvara that it was better to keep feelings for Katya secret for as long as possible.

Conflict of old and new

It is about resisting the patriarchal way of life with the new order, which implies equality and freedom. This topic was very relevant. Recall that the play was written in 1859, and serfdom was abolished in 1861. Social contradictions reached their apogee. The author wanted to show what the absence of reforms and decisive action can lead to. Confirmation of this are the final words of Tikhon. “Good for you, Katya! Why am I left to live in the world and suffer!” In such a world, the living envy the dead.

Most of all, this contradiction was reflected in the main character of the play. Katerina cannot understand how one can live in lies and animal humility. The girl was suffocating in the atmosphere that was created by the inhabitants of Kalinov for a long time. She is honest and pure, so her only desire was so small and so great at the same time. Katya just wanted to be herself, to live the way she was raised. Katerina sees that everything is not at all the way she imagined before marriage. She cannot even afford a sincere impulse - to hug her husband - Kabanikha controlled and prevented any attempts by Katya to be sincere. Varvara supports Katya, but cannot understand her. Katerina is left alone in this world of deceit and dirt. The girl could not endure such pressure, she finds salvation in death. Death frees Katya from the burden of earthly life, turning her soul into something light, capable of flying away from the "dark kingdom".

It can be concluded that the problems in the drama "Thunderstorm" are significant and relevant to this day. These are unresolved issues of human existence, which will worry a person at all times. It is thanks to this formulation of the question that the play "Thunderstorm" can be called a work out of time.

Artwork test

The drama "Thunderstorm", written by A.N. Ostrovsky in 1859, in its genre - a socio-psychological drama, but it is close to tragedy. This is proved not only by the tragic ending - the suicide of the heroine, but also by the strongest passions, the classic contradiction between feeling and duty in Katerina's soul. As a subtle master psychologist, the author draws the heroine's deep feelings, her suffering, her mood swings. He draws just as brightly and touchingly. last date Katerina with Boris, forcing readers to sympathize with the heroine in the difficult situation in which she found herself. Having publicly confessed her sin of betrayal to a weak-willed weak husband who failed to understand Katerina and protect her from the attacks of her mother-in-law, Katerina provokes a flurry of reproaches and humiliation, universal condemnation. Tikhon feels sorry for her, but most of all he feels sorry for himself, so he only drinks and complains about life. Boris is sent for three years "to Tyakhta, to the Chinese," to the office of a familiar merchant. He cries and only asks not to torment Katerina, but no one can protect her. The heroine is so hard that she is a sword

melts about death as the only deliverance from suffering, and the only thing that could console her somehow is to see Boris. Love for him remained in her heart. “Violent winds, transfer my sadness and longing to him!” - this poetic lamentation of Katerina is akin to folklore. As if in response to her call to "Answer!" Boris appears, having heard the voice of the heroine. Their joy from the meeting is sincere and immediate, but this is rather the last opportunity for Katerina to cry on the chest of a loved one, and there is little joy in this meeting. Katerina asks forgiveness from Boris that she betrayed the secret of their love, that she could not hide it in her soul. She considers herself to be guilty of everything, sincerely wishing Boris "not to grieve" about her for a long time. It is very difficult for her at home, and she artlessly talks about it: her mother-in-law tortures her, locks her up, her husband is either angry or affectionate, but “his caress ... is worse than beatings.” Her only request to Boris is to take her with him. But Boris is just as weak and weak-willed as Tikhon. Depending on his uncle financially, he cannot disobey him: “I can’t, Katya. I’m not going of my own free will ... ”Once he didn’t want to think about what awaits him and Katerina:“ Well, what to think about it, since we are good now! Now he suffers: “Who knew it that we should suffer so much with you for our love! I'd better run then!" He worries first of all about himself, he is afraid that they will not be caught. Realizing his weakness, cursing those on whom he depends, he exclaims in despair: “Oh, if only there was strength!” In this scene, Katerina is morally much higher than Boris: she is ready for both love and self-sacrifice. “Now I saw you, they won’t take that away from me, and I don’t need anything else.” Her inner world is much richer, thinner, filled with stronger feelings. In selfless love for the heroine, the main thing is that Boris does not get angry with her, curse her, his happiness and peace of mind are dearer to her than her own. Therefore, after breaking up with him, she has nothing more to expect from life. Boris suspected something was wrong, he even had a premonition that Katerina was up to something. But, having asked him to give alms along the way to all the poor with the order to pray for her sinful soul, Katerina insists on a speedy farewell. Sobbing Boris leaves, and now Katerina is left alone, and she has nothing more to expect from life.

This scene reveals more deeply the inner world of both characters: the weakness, powerlessness and selfishness of Boris and the deep suffering and selfless love of Katerina. The moral superiority of the heroine is also revealed: it is clear that Boris is not a hero, and N.A. was right. Dobrolyubov, claiming that Katerina fell in love with him more "on the desert". But, in addition to a more complete disclosure of the characters' characters, this scene is important for another reason: it psychologically motivates Katerina's subsequent suicide, preparing the reader for the perception of further events. All this gives us reason to draw a conclusion about the importance and significance of the scene in the tragedy, as well as about the brilliant skill of Ostrovsky the playwright, who created many unforgettable masterpieces of the Russian theater.

Essay No. 1

A person who has committed treason is inevitably punished. First of all, he loses his composure. Conscience is the most cruel judge of a traitor. Betrayal can not only kill relationships, but sometimes people, and also become a blow to the interests of the whole state. If it is so dangerous, what could motivate such an act? There must be a very good reason. This question is complex and multifaceted, therefore it is often touched upon in the literature.

Katerina, the heroine of the drama A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm", after marriage, life was not easy. Her truthful, pure and dreamy nature aspired to something high, real, truthful. And in her husband's house, she was surrounded by hypocrisy and arbitrariness on the part of her mother-in-law. And the husband Tikhon himself was simply pathetic. The woman wanted to break out of this circle, at least in her thoughts. She fell in love with a man from the "other" world: educated, dressed in a European manner, affectionate and humble Boris. And she cheated on her husband. It was terrible mistake not only because betrayal is a terrible sin, which is terrible for the believing Katerina, but also because Boris is just as pathetic as Tikhon. Katerina was driven to betrayal by love, so necessary in this gray and cruel world around her. For this, the heroine paid the price: she could not hide her sin, she confessed, and then her conscience and mother-in-law finished her off, and she drowned herself. This means that the causes of betrayal can be passion and hatred for what one should be faithful to.

Much worse than betrayal in love is betrayal of the Motherland, albeit for the sake of an equally wonderful feeling. Andriy, the hero of the story N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba", was dreamy, vulnerable, longing for feelings and passions - not at all like a harsh Cossack, for whom the interests of the Zaporizhzhya Sich are at the forefront. Andriy was waiting for love. And she overtook him in the war, the hero was fascinated by the Polish lady, for her sake he went over to the side of the enemy, saying: “My fatherland is you! ... and everything that is, I will sell, give, I will destroy for such a fatherland.” He was driven to betrayal by love. That is why it is impossible to put a woman above the Motherland, it was precisely such a testament that Father Taras Bulba gave him.

Often, circumstances that are stronger than us are pushing for treason. Often, as a result of betrayal, tempting prospects loom. Often it is betrayal that seems to be a salvation from everything that is tired and tortured in life. However, betrayal is the worst way out of any situation.

Essay No. 2

The concept of betrayal is quite broad. You can change yourself, the Motherland, a loved one. There are reasons for every specific case. Of course, betrayal cannot be justified, but one can at least understand its reasons. Nothing in life just happens. Sometimes a person lacks love, support, then he betrays a loved one. Disappointed in his state, he goes to treason to his homeland. In no way do I justify such actions, I'm just trying to figure out what pushes a person to cheat and how to avoid it in my life.

Almost all types of betrayal have been described in the literature: to a loved one, to the Motherland, to oneself. If we talk about betrayal in love, then L.N. Tolstoy "Anna Karenina". A woman married an old man, never loved him, cheated on him with another man and paid for it with her own life. Such a model is found not only in this particular work, but also in Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm.

Both women, Anna Karenina and Katerina Kabanova, lacked love and attention from their husbands. They both met young people, fell in love with no memory and committed a sin. The authors carry a very important idea: you cannot build a strong marriage without feelings, because a sudden surging feeling can ruin lives. You can also say that these two women did not have clear life principles if they succumbed to the dictates of the heart.

For example, Tatyana Larina from the novel "Eugene Onegin" also loved the main character, but she had to marry another person. But the woman did not dare to commit adultery, because she could not betray her moral ideals. My point of view on this very difficult issue is this: only a weak-minded person can allow betrayal.

Treason to the motherland is a fairly common situation in literature. In the story of A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" Shvabrin is shown as a real traitor. He is despised because he betrayed not only the Motherland, but also his beloved girl. He grovels before the enemy, so as not to die and not to fight. I think that fear is the main reason for his behavior. He is afraid of difficulties, afraid to die for the Motherland and has no honor, unlike Pyotr Grinev.

Cheating is a very difficult situation that affects others quite a lot. People should be faithful to each other, it is better to immediately confess their intentions than to brazenly betray the one who believes you.

Essay No. 3

What is treason? And why do people cheat on each other? These are complex, philosophical and rather vital questions, which, probably, everyone thought about. In my opinion, treason is betrayal, treachery, violation of loyalty to someone. I know people cheat for a variety of reasons. For some, these are new sensations, for others, material gain, for others, a feeling of love and passion. But I believe cheating is a sin. A person should not cheat on those people who love, honor and respect him. It will destroy everything that lovers have built for so long.

Many writers have addressed this topic in their works. The epic novel by Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace" makes the reader think about the relationship between people in love. One of the main characters of the work is a young girl Natasha Rostova.

She is quite perspicacious, playful, sensual, gentle and romantic nature. Natasha Rostova is sweet and kind to everyone, always ready to help everyone. Such a charming girl is hard not to notice. That is why the protagonist of the work Andrei Bolkonsky falls in love with her. He does not take care of Natasha for long, because she has reciprocal feelings for him. Their love is beautiful, sensual, tender. But not everything is so simple. Young people have to postpone the wedding for a year, because Andrei Bolkonsky needed treatment abroad. Natasha has been waiting for her chosen one for a long time. It was already time for the meeting. But suddenly the girl realized that she wants to love right now, this very minute. And, as luck would have it, Anatole Kuragin, a secular lion who conquered many women's hearts, appears in her life. He liked Natasha Rostova, and he decided to make her fall in love with him. And she, stupid and gullible, fell for sweet speeches, passionate kisses and the beauty of the hero. Natasha Rostova fell in love with Anatole Kuragin and cheated on her chosen one. The girl wanted love, affection, tenderness, hugs, kisses, because she is such a nature, she lives with feelings. Therefore, due to a long separation from Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha could not resist the onslaught of the experienced and deceitful Anatole Kuragin. Her need to love was stronger than loyalty to a loved one. Natasha Rostova needed someone to give her tender feelings, which is why she went for treason. The betrayal of the girl destroyed her relationship with Andrei Bolkonsky, and in the end she was left alone.

I will give an argument from another literary work. This is a sentimental story by N.M. Karamzin "Poor Liza". In it, the writer talks about two young people: a poor girl Lisa and a fairly wealthy young man Eraste, who led a distracted life, thought only of his own pleasure, looking for it in secular amusements. The immaculate beauty of Liza at the first meeting shocked him: it seemed to him that in her he found exactly what he had been looking for for a long time. They met while Lisa was selling flowers at the market and fell in love almost immediately. Young people spent quite a lot of time together, often walked, talked a lot. Lisa was very happy with him. But over time everything changed. Erast began to treat Lisa in a different way. One day, he told her that he was being drafted into the army and they would have to part for several months. However, he promises to love her and hope for a new meeting. Lisa believed his words, hope settled in her heart. But a few months later, in the city, Lisa saw Erast riding in a luxurious carriage. She immediately threw herself into his arms. But he silently took her to the office and told her that everything had changed, and now he was engaged to rich woman. This startled poor Lisa. After all, Erast swore love and fidelity. She hoped for his feelings. But it turned out that the young man preferred money to his beloved girl and betrayed her. Lisa could not stand the betrayal of her beloved and committed suicide. But Erast was unhappy until the end of his life. He did not deceive Lisa when he told her that he was going to the army, but instead of fighting the enemy, he played cards and lost all his fortune, which is why he got married. Upon learning of Lisa's fate, he could not console himself and tormented himself with thoughts that it was he who had killed Lisa. Erast regretted many times that he had betrayed Lisa, their beautiful love, that he had chosen money, and not sincere feelings. After all, betrayal never leads to anything good.

Summing up all of the above, I will conclude: treason is an impulse from the hopelessness of any situations, because there are many reasons for this. But the main thing in this act is that many people do not even think about the consequences of this act. It's easier to break than to build.

"Thunderstorm". This is a young woman who does not yet have children and lives in her mother-in-law's house, where, in addition to her and her husband Tikhon, Tikhon's unmarried sister, Varvara, also lives. Katerina has been in love with Boris, who lives in the house of Dikiy, his orphaned nephew, for some time.

While her husband is nearby, she secretly dreams of Boris, but after his departure, Katerina begins to meet with a young man and enters into a love affair with him, with the aid of her daughter-in-law, to whom Katerina's connection is even beneficial.

The main conflict in the novel is the confrontation between Katerina and her mother-in-law, Tikhon's mother, Kabanikha. Life in the city of Kalinov is a deep swamp that sucks deeper and deeper. "Old concepts" prevail over everything. Whatever the “seniors” do, they should get away with everything, free-thinking will not be tolerated here, the “wild nobility” here feels like a fish in water.

The mother-in-law is jealous of a young attractive daughter-in-law, feeling that with the marriage of her son, her power over him rests only on constant reproaches and moral pressure. In her daughter-in-law, despite her dependent position, Kabanikha feels a strong opponent, a whole nature that does not succumb to her tyrant oppression.

Katerina does not have due respect for her, does not tremble and does not look Kabanikhe in the mouth, catching her every word. She does not act sad when her husband leaves, she does not try to be useful to her mother-in-law in order to earn a favorable nod - she is different, her nature resists pressure.

Katerina is a believing woman, and for her sin is a crime that she cannot hide. In the house of her parents, she lived as she wanted, and did what she liked: she planted flowers, prayed earnestly in church, experiencing a sense of enlightenment, listened with curiosity to the stories of wanderers. She was always loved, and she developed a strong, self-willed character, she did not tolerate any injustice and could not lie and maneuver.

At the mother-in-law, however, constant unfair reproaches await her. She is guilty of the fact that Tikhon does not, as before, show proper respect for his mother, and does not demand it from his wife either. The boar reproaches her son for not appreciating the mother's suffering in his name. The power of the tyrant slips out of the hands right before our eyes.

The betrayal of the daughter-in-law, in which the impressionable Katerina confessed in public, is the reason for Kabanikh to rejoice and repeat:

“I told you! And no one listened to me!

All sins and transgressions are due to the fact that, perceiving new trends, they do not listen to the elders. The world in which the eldest Kabanova lives suits her quite well: power over her family and in the city, wealth, severe moral pressure over her family. This is the life of Kabanikh, this is how her parents lived, and their parents - and this has not changed.

While the girl is young, she does what she wants, but when she gets married, she seems to die for the world, appearing with her family only in the market and in the church, and occasionally in crowded places. So Katerina, having come to her husband's house after a free and happy youth, also had to symbolically die, but she could not.

The same feeling of a miracle that is about to come, the expectation of the unknown, the desire to fly in and soar, which had been with her since her free youth, did not disappear anywhere, and the explosion would have happened anyway. Even if not by a connection with Boris, Katerina would still challenge the world into which she came after marriage.

It would be easier for Katerina if she loved her husband. But every day, watching how Tikhon is mercilessly suppressed by her mother-in-law, she lost her feelings, and even the remnants of respect for him. She felt sorry for him, encouraging him from time to time, and not even being very offended when Tikhon, humiliated by his mother, takes out his insult on her.

Boris seems different to her, although he is in the same humiliated position because of his sister as Tikhon. Since Katerina sees him briefly, she cannot appreciate his spiritual qualities. And when two weeks of love dope are dispelled with the arrival of her husband, she is too busy with mental anguish and her guilt to understand that his situation is no better than that of Tikhon. Boris, still clinging to a faint hope that he will get something from his grandmother's fortune, is forced to leave. He does not call Katerina with him, his mental strength is not enough for this, and he leaves with tears:

“Oh, if only there was strength!”

Katerina has no way out. The daughter-in-law has fled, the husband is broken, the lover is leaving. She remains in the power of the Kabanikha, and understands that now she will not let the guilty daughter-in-law do anything ... if she scolded her for nothing before. Further - this is a slow death, not a day without reproaches, a weak husband and there is no way to see Boris. And believing Katerina prefers to all this a terrible mortal sin - suicide - as a liberation from earthly torments.

She realizes that her impulse is terrible, but for her it is even more preferable to punish for sin than to live in the same house with the Boar before her physical death - the spiritual one has already happened.

A whole and freedom-loving nature can never withstand pressure and mockery.

Katerina could have run away, but she had no one with her. Because - suicide, quick death instead of slow. She nevertheless made her escape from the realm of "tyrants of Russian life".

The scene of Katerina's confession of sin takes place at the end of the 4th act. Her compositional role is the culmination of Katerina's conflict with Kabanikha and one of the culminations of the development of an internal conflict in Katerina's soul, when the desire for a lively and free feeling struggles with the religious fears of punishment for sins and the moral duty of the heroine.

The aggravation of conflicts is caused and prepared by a number of previous circumstances:

· in the 3rd apparition, sensitive and quick-witted Varvara warns Boris that Katerina is suffering very much and can confess, but Boris was afraid only for himself;

It is no coincidence that it is at the end of their conversation that the first thunderclaps are heard, a thunderstorm begins;

Secondary characters passing by, with their remarks about the inevitability of punishment and that “this thunderstorm will not pass in vain”, increase the fear of a thunderstorm and prepare, predict trouble; Katerina also foresees this misfortune;

· Kuligin's “blasphemous” speeches about electricity and that “thunderstorm is grace” contrast with these remarks, and this also exacerbates what is happening;

Finally, the words of a half-mad lady addressed directly to Katerina are heard, and the thunderstorm is also intensifying.

Katerina exclaims in a fit of fear and shame: “I am a sinner before God and before you!” The reason for its recognition is not only in religious fear, but also in moral torments, torments of conscience, and a sense of guilt. Indeed, in the fifth act, at the moment of parting with life, she will overcome religious fears, the moral feeling will triumph (“Whoever loves, he will pray”), and the decisive factor for her will no longer be the fear of punishment, but the fear of losing freedom again (“and they will catch and return home …”).

The motive of the bird, flight, outlined in the monologues of the first act, reaches its climax, developing the conflict of Pushkin's "Prisoner": captivity is impossible for a free being.

The death of Katerina is the only way for her to regain her freedom.

The reaction of other heroes to Katerina's confession is interesting and important:

· Barbara, as a true friend, tries to prevent trouble, to calm Katerina, to protect her (“She is lying…”);

Tikhon suffers not so much from betrayal as from the fact that this happened under his mother: he does not want upheavals, he does not need this truth, and even more so in its public version, which destroys the usual principle of “shit-covered”; besides, he himself is not without sin;

For Kabanova, the moment of the triumph of her rules comes (“I said ...”);

Where is Boris? At the decisive moment, he cowardly withdrew.

The recognition itself occurs when everything comes together for the heroine: pangs of conscience, fear of a thunderstorm as a punishment for sins, predictions of passers-by and their own forebodings, Kabanikh’s speeches about beauty and whirlpool, Boris’s betrayal and, finally, the thunderstorm itself.

Katerina confesses her sin in public, in the church, as is customary in the Orthodox world, which confirms her closeness with the people, shows the heroine's truly Russian soul.