The Lower Depths eBook Maxim Gorky
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The Lower Depths (Russian На дне, Na dne, literally 'At the bottom') is perhaps Maxim Gorky's best-known play. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter near the Volga. Produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, Konstantin Stanislavski directed and starred. It became his first major success, and a hallmark of Russian socialist realism.
The characters of The Lower Depths are said to have been inspired by the denizens of the so-called Bugrov Homeless Shelter (Russian Бугровская ночлежка, Bugrovskaya nochlezhka) in Nizhny Novgorod, which had been built in 1880-83 by the Old Believer grain merchant and philanthropist Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov (Russian Николай Александрович Бугров) (1837—1911) in memory of his father, A.P. Bugrov. When the actors of the Moscow Arts Theatre were preparing the play for its first run in 1902, Maxim Gorky supplied them with photographs of the Nizhny Novgorod underclass taken by the famous local photographer, Maxim Dmitriev (Максим Дмитриев), to help with the realism of the acting and costumes.
When it first appeared, The Lower Depths was criticized for its pessimism and ambiguous ethical message. The presentation of the lower classes was viewed as overly dark and unredemptive, and Gorky was clearly more interested in creating memorable characters than in advancing a formal plot. However, in this respect, the play is generally regarded as a masterwork.
The theme of harsh truth versus the comforting lie pervades the play from start to finish, as most of the characters choose to deceive themselves from the bleak reality of their condition.
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (28 March 1868 – 18 June 1936), primarily known as Maxim Gorky was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.
Gorky’s reputation as a unique literary voice from the bottom strata of society and as a fervent advocate of Russia's social, political, and cultural transformation grew. By 1899, he was openly associating with the emerging Marxist social-democratic movement which helped make him a celebrity among both the intelligentsia and the growing numbers of "conscious" workers. At the heart of all his work was a belief in the inherent worth and potential of the human person (личность, 'lichnost'). In his writing, he counterposed individuals, aware of their natural dignity, and inspired by energy and will, with people who succumb to the degrading conditions of life around them. Both his writings and his letters reveal a "restless man" (a frequent self-description) struggling to resolve contradictory feelings of faith and skepticism, love of life and disgust at the vulgarity and pettiness of the human world.
He publicly opposed the Tsarist regime and was arrested many times. Gorky befriended many revolutionaries and became Lenin's personal friend after they met in 1902. He exposed governmental control of the press. In 1902, Gorky was elected an honorary Academician of Literature, but Tsar Nicholas II ordered this annulled. In protest, Anton Chekhov and Vladimir Korolenko left the Academy.
From 1900 to 1905, Gorky’s writings became more optimistic. He became more involved in the opposition movement, for which he was again briefly imprisoned in 1901. In 1904, having severed his relationship with the Moscow Art Theatre in the wake of conflict with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Gorky returned to Nizhny Novgorod to establish a theatre of his own. Both Constantin Stanislavski and Savva Morozov provided financial support for the venture. Stanislavski saw in Gorky's theatre an opportunity to develop the network of provincial theatres that he hoped would reform the art of the stage in Russia, of which he had dreamed since the 1890s.
The Lower Depths eBook Maxim Gorky
Great play of hopeless poverty and its human violence or delusion. Biographical of Gorky's childhood at the bottom.Product details
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The Lower Depths eBook Maxim Gorky Reviews
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The central theme of "The Lower Depths" is not only the total aniquilation of human personality by misery,in the harsh struggle for life that,so many times takes Men to degrade themselves but also,a statement that that aniquilation never is complete and that the very "Ex-Men",like in another book Gorki will call them,still have a conscience,the dream to overcome misery itself,a human warmth capable of being shared and ease.
A Must-read!
This is a warning. This is an atrocious translation and should be avoided. Hopkins, who translated this work in 1906 is either sloppy or just a poor translator. The English is awkward, and what is most reprehensible, Hopkins just plain omits two of the most important factual items of the entire play--1) Gone is Pepel's admission that he spend time in prison because he murdered a man, and 2) and this is the most grievous of all, the fact that Actor hanged himself at the play's cnclusion (almost the last words of the play which produces an immense impoact) is also omitted. There is no good reason other than monetary since all copywrite is probably gone for this edition, to republish it. I learned this the hard way, using it in a class amd now have subjected my students to this particular translation. It is a wonderful play, but this edition should be taken off the market.
In a crowded dark room live the dregs of Russian society a thief, a prostitute, her pimp, and several other criminals and outcasts. The general humdrum drama of their lives goes on as they get into fights, have disagreements, counsel one another over their losses, and so on.
Luka, an idealistic spiritual sort, finds his way into the group, and starts to spread his message of hope and positive thinking. This spurs the plot along a bit, because many in the group are hard-bitten realists who have no truck with faith or hope.
This is a fine play by Maxim Gorky. Gorky doesn't have the number of famous plays that someone like Henrik Ibsen or George Bernard Shaw does. In fact, he might be better known for his memoir of his childhood than for this play.
Nevertheless, The Lower Depths is a great play. The gritty element described in the play makes it seem much more like a modern play than the 1902 publication date would indicate. The realistic dialogue and streetwise characters make it hard to put down.
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The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky, born Aleksei Peshkov in Nizhny Novgorod in 1868, is a dark drama that justifies his reputation as a founder of social realism, even if his works can also be regarded as agitprop for the Bolshevik Revolution. The characters were inspired by indigents Gorky consorted with at the Bugrov Homeless Shelter in his birthplace of Nizhny Novgorod. The play is a relentless and even, at least superficially, unsympathetic examination of Russia's underclass, gouging from a harsh urban landscape for a living by thievery, prostitution, and poorly paid piece work, savagely turned against each other by the oppressive poverty that denies them any upward opportunity, even for crime.
One of the few significant foci of the play is the arrival at the boarding house of Luka, people by seventeen brawling, abject inmates. Luka is an apparent innocent who believes, that every human being matters. This faith makes him eccentric rather than hero, and recalls the ineffectual Prince Mishkin of Dostoievski's "The Idiot" whose well-meaning idiocy further complicates the difficulties of those deluded by his naïve faith. Luka's compassion makes him a visionary but he cannot offer any path to the higher regions, but only a soothing dream. This dream is Gorky's realism
The hopeless characters must either plunge into despair, or concoct delusions that make life bearable. The play offers no redemptive resolution, except through self- delusion, a phantasm that is, ironically, life-saving. Those strong enough to face the truth of despair can find freedom in self-destruction, or, for the society round them, through nihilism.
The work is propelled by social anger, but it can transcend the politics of agitprop, especially as it lacks empathy for the miserable personae. Gorky does not make his social pariahs likeable, though their humanity is to the fore. Like the lives of the characters, the play is disordered, and apparently devoid of purpose, with only snippets of their existences, arguing, playing cards or drinking; merely passing the time that offers no respite. The best they can hope for is to fritter away the hours their lives from which they can expect nothing that they want.
Not as great as some of his other work, but still interesting.
Great play of hopeless poverty and its human violence or delusion. Biographical of Gorky's childhood at the bottom.
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