"The Tragic Fate of Katerina"- A Study Based on Alexander Ostrovsky's 'The Thunder Storm'

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was the Russian dramatist of the 19th century. Ostrovsky is generally considered as the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. His works deals with the daily life and social customs of particular groups and classes. He was more dispassionate and less distorted in the treatment of his characters. His dramas are among the most widely read and frequently performed stage plays in Russia. Ostrovsky’s The Thunder Storm (1859) is a five-act tragedy which portrays a realistic picture of the Russian patriarchal life. The play is a social criticism, which is pointed particularly towards the Russian merchant class. It depicts the desperation of a young wife who takes a lover hoping he will change her existence but his failure to do so leads her to commit suicide. Katerina’s longing for freedom from the bondage of a loveless marriage and the ferocious mother-in-law symbolize every woman’s longing for their own freedom from the patriarchal society.