Indifference in Ostrovsky's work is a dowry. "Dowry": analysis of the play (detailed)
Many poets and writers dedicated their lines to women, the beautiful half of humanity. In Russian literature, the image of a woman was depicted with great warmth, her best features were sung: loyalty, sincerity, beauty, intelligence, nobility, tenderness and selfless love.
Larisa is an unusually interesting and attractive character in A.N. Ostrovsky's play "Dowry".
The meaning of the life of the main character is love. Larisa is a beautiful, smart, gentle, multi-talented girl with a pure soul. She lives in a provincial town, in a family without sufficient means of subsistence. But the girl does not chase a successful match, she waits and hopes that true love will come to her.
Kharita Ignatievna is trying to arrange the fate of her daughter, so she is busy looking for the best groom, but the main condition is money. The girl’s mother is not interested in the education and decency of the groom, just to marry off her daughter more profitably.
Frequent receptions are held in the house with the money of Knurov and Vozhevatov. The audience is very diverse: rich merchants and the modest Karandyshev, officials and the brilliant nobleman Sergei Sergeevich Paratov. Larisa fell in love with Sergei Sergeevich with all her soul. He is handsome, charming, smart, courteous and calculating. But the girl does not notice his shortcomings, forgives him any sin, condemns herself to shame for his pleasure and is ready to follow him to the ends of the earth.
Having squandered his fortune, Paratov is forced to marry a rich bride. Larisa is deceived, disgraced and abandoned. Desperate, she is ready to marry Karandyshev, hoping to find peace with him. Childhood friend Vasya Vozhevatov plays her toss with the elderly and serious merchant Knurov. Like a person , Larisa is not interested in any of them. For them, she is a “thing,” dear and beautiful. Having lost everything, the girl is ready to become a “thing.” Karandyshev’s shot brings her deliverance: she dies free, without becoming anyone’s. Larisa’s death is perceived as deliverance from torment: “I was looking for love and didn’t find it. They looked at me and look at me as if I was a joke. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I didn’t see sympathy from anyone, I didn’t hear a warm, heartfelt word.”
Sincere and proud Larisa was alien to cunning and lies, she is a woman with a “warm heart”. Such people are not capable of compromise. They can either win or die. Beauty and youth are ruined, but Larisa dies free.
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky is an excellent Russian playwright, whose work significantly influenced the development of both Russian literature and Russian theater. Ostrovsky wrote many plays that have not lost popularity to this day. They are often staged on stages in Russian and foreign theaters. One of these works is the drama “Dowry”.
The title of the play reflects the everyday side of Larisa’s misfortune - she is “dowryless.” But, as the plot develops, the reader understands that Larisa’s problem lies not only in her poverty, but also in her mental inconsistency with this world, with the people around her, with society.
Initially, Ostrovsky planned to write a drama in three acts, but later his plans changed a little.
But the partial change of form did not in the least prevent the playwright from conveying his main idea and reveal all the problems. The play is constructed very musically, without any obtrusive rhythm. It contains both the everyday side of life and drama and internal conflict heroines.
The play reveals many different themes: everyday (Ogudalova), comic (Robinson), tragicomic (Karandyshev), lyrical (Larisa), until the intensity of passions with the main character reaches the level of modern drama.
The subject matter of the drama is also very wide. The play covers many moral problems, such as the problem of honor and duty, buying and selling a person, choosing the goal and meaning of life, the problem of a broken dream, the conflict between fathers and children. Also conveyed in “Dowry” social problems: the difference in the life and morality of the rich and the poor, as well as the position of women in society.
Many of these problems are still relevant today.
The main idea of the work is that in a bourgeois-capitalist society there are orders that allow rich immoral people to buy others. They treat a person as a thing, each of which has a price. In such a society, where everyone is obsessed with power and the thirst for profit, there is simply no place for morality and humanity.
Ostrovsky masterfully portrayed the heroes of the drama. The play depicts very vividly, but not intrusively, the prudence, heartlessness and toughness of Paratov, Vozhevatov and Knurov, the cunning and dexterity of Ogudalova, the emotionality and sensitivity of Larisa. The characters seem to come straight out of the pages of a play, and their character traits, good or bad, seem as realistic as possible. The author manages to create integral, psychologically full-blooded social types.
Alexander Nikolaevich paid special attention to the language of his characters and its sound. He tries to convey the social affiliation of the characters not only with the help of characteristic vocabulary, certain words, which sometimes look ridiculous in combination with inappropriate speech patterns. Ostrovsky uses different aspects speech: morphological, phonetic, syntactic and lexical, in order to more clearly and accurately show the characters’ belonging to a certain social environment.
“Dowry” has a very strong impact on the reader. This play makes you think about many moral issues. Reading it, we think about justice, honor and honesty, humanity and much more. I believe that this drama is capable of touching the farthest corners of the soul of every reader.
Updated: 2017-02-19
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Larisa Ogudalova - main character A. N. Ostrovsky's play "Dowry", which was first published in " Domestic notes"in 1879. In Ostrovsky's dramaturgy of the 70s and 80s, the main theme becomes the power of money, property, and wealth in the era of the “triumph of the bourgeoisie.” The playwright continues to search for forces in Russian life that could withstand the elements of unbridled predation and humiliation human dignity, cold calculation and selfishness. The writer’s concern for the fate of a person “with a warm heart” is especially felt, who, even in this calculating time, continues to live by feeling, looking for love, understanding, and happiness. Such is the heroine of the play “Dowry”.
Larisa has everything - intelligence, talent, beauty, sensitivity. She is pure in soul and selfless. She reaches out to people, believes them, hopes for understanding and reciprocal feeling. But Larisa is homeless, and this predetermines her tragic fate.
Larisa's mother strives to get her daughter married at a better price; she is trying to teach Larisa to live by the rules that time dictates, forcing her daughter to lie and be nice to richer young people. But the heroine of the play cannot act according to calculation. She gives her heart to Sergei Sergeevich Paratov, handsome, smart and strong. But Paratov is a man of his time, living by the principle: “Every product has a price.” Larisa is also a commodity for him. And he is not ready to pay his material well-being for love and happiness. Paratov marries a rich bride, or rather, the gold mines that are given to her as a dowry.
Not finding love, Larisa tries to live “like everyone else.” She decides to marry the poor official Yuli Kapitonovich Karandyshev. In her chosen one, Larisa looks for traits worthy of respect: “I should at least respect my husband,” she says. But it is difficult to respect Karandyshev. In his vain attempts to compare with Knurov and Vozhevatov, he looks ridiculous and pathetic. He does not hear Larisa’s plea to go to the village, where she hopes to find at least peace of mind. It is more important for Yuliy Kapitonovich to “in turn laugh” at those whose humiliation he endured for three years. He has no time for Larisa’s torment!
After breaking up with Karandyshev, after Paratov’s deception, Larisa seeks simple human sympathy, turning to her childhood friend Vozhevatov: “Well, at least cry with me,” she asks him. However, Vozhevatov has already lost to Knurov the opportunity to influence Larisa’s fate. “I can’t, I can’t do anything,” is Vozhevatov’s answer to Larisa. Material from the site
Having found neither love, nor respect, nor simple compassion and understanding, Larisa loses the meaning of life. She says bitterly: “They looked at me and still look at me as if I was a joke. No one ever tried to look into my soul, I didn’t see sympathy from anyone, I didn’t hear a warm, heartfelt word. But it’s cold to live like this.”
Karandyshev's shot becomes for her a deliverance from mental anguish, from vulgar life“things”, toys in the hands of those who can pay for it. “To die while there is still nothing to reproach yourself with” is the best thing that remains for a “hot heart” in the world of calculation and vanity.
In that personal tragedy Larisa. But this is also the tragedy of a society where money rules and a person’s happiness is measured only by their quantity.
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Now the triumph of the bourgeoisie... in the full sense, the golden age is coming.
A. Ostrovsky
Money, gold, and material values have at all times been of no small importance for humans and society. But there are times in history when money begins to play a primary role. They push aside all other values because everything becomes a commodity. And then “it’s good for those who have a lot of money,” as Mokiy Parmenych Knurov says in “Dowry.” Ostrovsky dedicated this play to precisely one of these periods, when a new bourgeois class was being formed in Russia and capitalist relations were being formed. “These are vile times,” according to the playwright himself. But they are inevitable in the development of the economy and are repeated at every new turn of history. Today we live in similar times. Therefore, Ostrovsky’s play is relevant and interesting for the modern reader.
The theme of money in “Dowry” is already evident in its very title. From the first pages of the play, money is the main subject of conversation. Their presence or absence determines a person’s place in society and attitude towards him. The owner of a huge fortune, Mokiy Parmenych Knurov, has no one to talk to in the city. Even the bartender Tavrilo understands that he can only speak with his equals. And there are “two or three such rich people in the city.” Among them is the young merchant Vozhevatov. Even on holidays, while walking, they talk about profitable deals and new acquisitions. They speak with the same feelings about the brilliant four horses of the rich man Chirkov, and about Larisa Dmitrievna. After all, she is also a commodity, an “expensive diamond” that people look at and ask the price of. When you read the play, you get the feeling that you are in an unusual market where everything is bought and sold: Knurov and Vozhevatov buy pleasure - with small gifts they pay for the opportunity to be in society charming girl, and her mother cleverly and willingly trades on her daughter’s youth, talent and beauty. “You have to pay for pleasure” - this rule is accepted unconditionally, and failure to comply with it would be simply indecent. Paratov is selling not only his favorite ship, but also his will. The ship is cheap, but the shipowner valued his willow at half a million. This is the dowry new bride. But he almost “made people laugh” by succumbing to feelings and marrying the dowry Larisa. But a business person must know that “every product has a price,” even if we're talking about about love, beauty, happiness.
Poor official Karandyshev hates the rich and self-confident owners of his new life. But at the same time he really wants to become his own person among them. And he finds a way: to marry the dowry Larisa with a good noble surname. But he has no intention of paying for his purchase, believing that his very act is worthy of the eternal love and gratitude of the poor bride. For him, marrying Larisa is compensation for moral damage, inflicted on the pride, pride and vanity of a poor person who wanted to live like a rich man.
Even the main character, despairing of finding love and understanding, decides to look for money: “If you are a thing, there is only one consolation - to be expensive, very expensive.” But when Karandyshev’s shot prevented her from carrying out her plan, she thanks him for the “good deed” that he did for her.
There will always be people who can't fit into new public relations. They do not want to accept other people's rules or live by moral standards that are not typical for them. And they have a choice: remain themselves or become like everyone else. And to do this, you need to “step over” your beliefs, abandon your own life values, that is, make a deal with time, which dictates its terms.
L. Tolstoy and F. Dostoevsky will write about the difficulties of choice. And Ostrovsky’s heroine leaves the stage, passes away. Now is not her time. The “Golden Age” is not for everyone.
Ostrovsky's drama "Dowry" shows readers the tragedy of Larisa Ogudalova, who became a weak-willed toy in the hands of those around her. Larisa Ogudalova, like Katerina Kabanova, the main character of another Ostrovsky drama, also becomes a victim. However, Larisa initially has different qualities than Katerina, who grew up in a patriarchal environment. The drama "Dowry" was written in 1879. At this time, capitalist relations had already been established in Russia. This means that patriarchal foundations are gradually losing their relevance.
Larisa Ogudalova received a good education. She is refined in a European way. Larisa dreams of love. The girl has a warm heart. She cannot allow her life to be connected with an unloved person. But Larisa’s desire for love coincides with her dream and beautiful life. Larisa is poor, but in order to become happy, she also needs wealth.
Larisa is surrounded by petty, ignoble people. The brilliant master Paratov perceives Larisa only as beautiful thing. This imposing, narcissistic man seems to the girl the embodiment of the ideal. But in fact, Paratov has neither nobility nor kindness. He is selfish, petty, cruel, calculating.
However, Karandyshev, who is initially not perceived as a worthy match for Larisa, is not much different from him. Larisa is young and inexperienced. She does not have strong character to cope with current circumstances. It’s as if she’s playing by someone else’s rules, becoming a toy in someone else’s hands. Even Larisa's mother perceives her daughter only as a commodity. She is ready to sacrifice Larisa’s beauty and youth, since this makes it possible to receive material benefits and strengthen the social position of the Ogudalovs.
Everyone who surrounds Larisa thinks of her exclusively as a thing, an object of entertainment. It is no coincidence that she is being played toss. All best qualities Larisa, her soul, her feelings are of no interest to anyone. People only think about her external beauty. After all, this is what makes it such an attractive toy.
Karandyshev tells Larisa: “They don’t look at you as a woman, as a person... they look at you as a thing.” Ogudalova herself agrees with this: “A thing... yes, a thing! They are right, I am a thing, I am not a person...” In my opinion, the main tragedy of the girl lies precisely in the fact that Larisa has a warm heart. If she had been cold-blooded, calculating, cunning, Larisa, with her external data and ability to present herself, would have managed to get a very good job in life. However, the heroine’s ardor, emotionality, and openness make her suffer more from the role assigned to her. Larisa’s love and feelings are of no interest to anyone, she is needed solely for entertainment. At the end of the drama, the girl ends up crushed and destroyed. This leads to the fact that the desperate Larisa even agrees to accept Knurov’s conditions.
The tragic ending of "The Dowry" is a salvation for the heroine, a deliverance from humiliation. Now she belongs to no one. Death seems to be a blessing for Larisa. After all, humiliated, unhappy, she sees no point in later life. The act of Sergei Sergeevich Paratov makes the girl realize that scary fact that the ending of her life will inevitably be tragic. Yes, now someone besides Sergei Paratov still needs her, but years will pass, her youth will fade and Larisa will simply be thrown away by one of her rich owners, like a worn-out and unnecessary thing.
The drama "Dowry" again makes us think about the place of a woman in the world. If in the play “The Thunderstorm” Katerina became a victim of the Domostroevsky way of life, then Larisa is a victim of new, capitalist relations. It is noteworthy that the rules by which society lives are changing. And the woman still remains a powerless creature. Katerina Kabanova finds the strength to protest. After all, her suicide is a clear protest against the reality4 in which the heroine had to live. Larisa does not have the courage to even attempt to protest. She remains a toy in the hands of circumstances until the very end. Perhaps the reason for this is the upbringing that Larisa Ogudalova received. If we turn again to the image of Katerina from “The Thunderstorm,” we can recall that this girl grew up in an atmosphere parental love and guardianship. Therefore, she was very sensitive to her current powerless situation. As for the heroine of the drama "Dowry", here, apparently, Larisa was initially prepared by her mother specifically for the role of a commodity, a toy. Hence the girl’s passivity, lack of desire to fight, to defend her rights.
Larisa's fate is regrettable. But at the same time, you can’t help but wonder why the heroine, who has an ardent heart and passionately desires to love, does not find another outlet for her passions. After all, she, who received a Europeanized upbringing, could have guessed that her lover sees in her only entertainment. However, Larisa was raised in such an atmosphere that the opportunity to profitably sell herself, her beauty and talent seemed quite acceptable. It is no coincidence that Larisa’s mother is depicted as very selfish. It’s sad that from all of Larisa’s circle there is no one who would not be so indifferent and cruel to the fate of the young girl.
