Alexander Ostrovsky is one of the brightest representatives of Russian drama of the 19th century. He wrote over fifty plays, some of which are still relevant and are included in the repertoire of many theaters. His work caused sharp controversy in literary circles and misunderstanding among Tsar Nicholas I. However, this did not prevent the playwright from achieving popular recognition.
Childhood and youth
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was born on April 12, 1823 in Moscow. His father was an official, for a long time served as a judicial solicitor, and then received the title of a hereditary nobleman. The mother came from a priest's family. In the family, in addition to Alexander, there were three more children. When Ostrovsky was eight years old, his mother died. Soon the father remarried the daughter of a fairly Russified baron from Sweden.
Alexander spent his childhood and youth in Zamoskvorechye. Today it is the area of Pyatnitskaya and Bolshaya Ordynka streets. Later, he recalled that he copied the types of heroes in his plays from people living in this particular area of Moscow.
The stepmother showed loyalty in raising her stepchildren. Most of the time they were on their own while she went about her business. Meanwhile, it was the stepmother who supported Alexander's interest in learning foreign languages. By adolescence, he was fluent in German, Greek and Latin. Subsequently he mastered Spanish, English and Italian.
In his free time, Ostrovsky read a lot. My father dreamed that he would become a lawyer. And after the gymnasium, Alexander entered the law department of Moscow University. However, he soon realized that this was not his path at all, and dropped out. Then his father put him in the office of the capital's Conscientious Court, and then in the Commercial Court, where he served for more than five years.
Career
In parallel with his work in the courts, Ostrovsky is mastering the literary field. The playwright's biographers agree that he began to write actively in 1843. Then from under his pen sketches of merchant life and the first comedies came out. Soon Ostrovsky wrote the essay "Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident" It is dated 1847. It was then that the essay was published in the newspaper "Moscow City Leaf", but Ostrovsky did not put his signature under it.
The playwright became famous two years later. Then he published the satirical comedy "Bankrupt" in the magazine "Moskvityanin". The work was later renamed "Our people - we will be numbered." In the center of the plot is the merchant Bolshov, who faced the treachery of his family members. The play is based on Ostrovsky's observations during his work in the courts. It featured vivid descriptions of merchant life and the unique coloring of the characters' speeches.
Thanks to her publication, the magazine has doubled the number of subscribers. The play was an incredible success with the readers. However, Nicholas I soon found out about her, who did not see anything funny in the comedy. He hastened to impose a ban on her production. It was removed only 11 years later. Despite the years passed, the play was also successful on the theater stage. During Ostrovsky's lifetime alone, it was performed about 800 times. The audience was delighted, and the theaters earned good money.
Ostrovsky was inspired by the triumph and began to write plays even more actively. In 1852, the playwright wrote the comedy Don't Get Into Your Sleigh, which was originally titled Don't Seek Good From Good. Then followed "Poverty is not a vice", where he showed the life of the common people. The works were a success, and literary scholars hastened to put Ostrovsky on a par with Gogol and Fonvizin.
In 1859 the play "The Thunderstorm" was published. In fact, this is a household drama seasoned with tragedy. Ostrovsky confronted two female characters in the play - daughters-in-law and mother-in-law: Catherine and Kabanikha. The latter quickly became a household name. Theatrical performances of the play were popular with the audience.
It should be noted the famous fairy-tale play "Snow Maiden". It was based on folklore. After its publication, a flurry of criticism fell upon the playwright. Literary critics hastened to call it "meaningless" and "fantastic."
Subsequently, Ostrovsky wrote standard dramatic plays - "Dowry", "Talents and admirers", "Guilty without guilt". They were also popular with viewers, which allowed Ostrovsky to earn a lot of money for their productions.
In 1884 he became the head of the repertoire of the capital's theaters. The playwright dreamed of this for a long time. It turns out that it was with him that Russian theater began in the current sense.
By 1886, Ostrovsky was already weak. He was crippled by angina pectoris, which he inherited. On June 4 of the same year, he died in a quiet place near Kostroma - the village of Shchelykovo. He and his family moved there from noisy Moscow back in 1848. There was an estate in Shchelykovo, which his father bought at an auction. The playwright loved to enjoy the beauty of Kostroma that inspired him. He got along well with the local peasants and allowed them to mow their floodplains. When Ostrovsky died, they carried him in their arms from home to church as a token of gratitude for his good-natured attitude towards them.
Personal life
Alexander Ostrovsky was married twice. His first wife Agafya was from the common people. The playwright's father did not like this. For this reason, Ostrovsky quarreled with him and stopped communicating. In a marriage with Agafya, four children were born. She soon fell ill with tuberculosis and died.
The second time the playwright married actress Maria Vasilyeva, who shone on the stage of the Maly Theater. In this marriage, Ostrovsky had five children.
