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  • Essay / Two Katerinas from The Tempest by Alexander Ostrovsky and Lady Macbeth from Msensk by Nikolai Leskov: not as similar as they seem

    Two Katerinas, two lives, two tragedies… These heartbreaking words about two characters from Russian literature : Katerina Kabanova from Alexander Ostrovsky's The Tempest and Katerina Ismailova from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Nikolai Leskov. These women are going through the most difficult trials of their lives. They have such a difficult destiny because of chance, but they determine their own destiny by their decisions. The Katerinas represent two origins of female temperament that are completely opposite, however, their depictions are eternal and are not tied to the era. Although many literary critics support the opinion that these two women have almost the same nature, the analysis of their behavior and temperament will show that both Katerinas are completely different women with a similar fate. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayKaterina Kabanova, the main character of The Storm by Alexander Ostrovsky, is a young, intelligent, kind and open-minded person . Her parents raised her in love and freedom. She marries Tihon Kabanov not for love, so she is deeply unhappy. Her stepmother – the ruthless and wicked Kabaniha – constantly hurts the helpless Katerina. Tihon didn't even defend his wife; moreover, he often offends her. One day, Katerina falls in love with the young and attractive Boris. She secretly meets with him several times while her husband is out of town. Subsequently, she cheated on her husband with him. Katerina cannot lie about this, but Boris does not share her feelings and leaves the city, but does not take her with him, despite all her begging. The woman decides to tell Tihon the truth about her adultery, but coincidentally, all the citizens hear her confession. Unable to bear the suffering, Katerina throws herself into the Volga. Another character, Katerina Ismailova from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Nikolai Leskov, marries Zinoviy, who is constantly engaged in work. The husband is infertile, but he and his father accuse Katerina of not having children. All the while, she lives under their pressure. Katerina soon falls in love with the young handsome Sergey, who has been trying to attract her attention for a long time. Little by little, his passion turns into desire and obsession, and the lovers spend the night together. The woman is ready to do anything for her beloved. To be happy, Katerina poisons her father-in-law, then kills her husband with Sergey, then strangles with a pillow her juvenile nephew Fedya, who could have challenged her rights to inheritance. After all, they are caught and Sergey confesses to all his actions, although Katerina denies everything for the sake of her beloved. She doesn't know that her beloved betrayed her. The murderers are sent into exile in Siberia. Sergey instantly loses interest in Katerina and begins an affair with the new lover, Sonetka. He even ridicules his ex-lover's feelings. Katerina, who feels completely devastated, throws herself and Sonetka into the cold waters of the Volga, where they die. Their stories are absolutely different. Nevertheless, literary critics claim that the similarities in the fates of the characters are obvious. First, since marriage was considered one of the most important aspects of women's lives in the 19th century and both women were from poor families, the characters are challenged to marry in order not to be a burden to their parents. That is, Katerina Kabanova and Katerina Ismailova had a joyful childhood, and they did not think that anything would change after marriage. HAS.