home
Women's names
Vasilisa's dreams from the play at the bottom. M

Vasilisa's dreams from the play at the bottom. M

12.10.2021

Vasilisa is the wife of the owner of the rooming house Kostylev, she represents the “masters of life”. She is cruel, domineering and treacherous. All she cares about in life is money.

Outwardly, she is very beautiful, but this cannot hide the ugliness of her soul. She doesn't love her husband. He is old, and the only reason for their marriage is Vasilisa's desire to have money from her husband's rooming house.

Vasilisa constantly beats her sister, a kind and pure girl, especially after she found out that her young lover Vaska Pepel fell in love with her.

Is the mistress of the Ash thief, threatens him with the police

And incites him to theft, and then to the murder of her husband. Ash characterizes Vasilisa in this way:

“… you don’t have a soul, woman… A woman must have a soul…”;

"The beast! Do you brag about your atrocity?"

After Pepel's refusal, Vasilisa starts beating her sister Natasha. It comes to the fact that she pours boiling water over her. A fight ensues, in which Kostylev is killed.

Vasilisa is arrested along with Ash, but it becomes clear that she will be able to escape punishment.

“Vasilisa - get out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor ... "

(No Ratings Yet)

Vaska Pepel is a strong and passionate person. His whole life is a thief's luck. "Right - I'm not afraid! Even now - I will accept death! Take a knife, strike against the heart ... I will die - I will not groan! Even - with joy, because - from a clean hand ... ”He is a hereditary thief and swindler. He occupies a privileged position in the rooming house - [...] ...
Natasha is the sister of the hostess's wife, a kind and soft-hearted girl. She had a difficult fate - poverty and constant bullying from her sister and husband. And yet she managed to maintain spiritual purity and innocence. It is because of this that the thief Vaska Pepel falls in love with her. He calls her to go with him to Siberia: “I said - I’ll leave [...] ...
Kostylev Kostylev - a character in the work of M. Gorky "At the Bottom"; the landlord of the rooming house in which the action of the play takes place; husband of the cunning and treacherous Vasilisa. Kostylev is 54 years old, and his wife is only 26. She lives with him only because of the money and secretly dreams that he will die soon. By nature, this person is rather greedy, hypocritical and cowardly. He […]
Gorky's dramaturgy is complex and very interesting. The talent of a gifted writer helped him find the right setting and the right conflict to reveal his positions and views. It is also interesting that each replica of any hero is important, has a deep meaning. With each action of the play, the plot heats up, the events become scarier and scarier. One of the highlights of the piece is [...]
Composition: At the bottom This is the owner of the rooming house Kostylev and his wife Vasilisa. K. is a hypocritical, cowardly, disgusting old man who squeezes profit from the living and the dead, from every breath of his victims. In this character, we will not see a drop of sympathy. The inhabitants of the basement, who are socially lower, morally, seem much more humane than this “master of life”. The wife […]
The play "At the Bottom" was written by Gorky in 1902. The author wanted to show that side of life that he knew very well - the life of tramps. In the article “How I Learned to Write,” Gorky will say: “I saw that although they live worse than “ordinary people,” they feel and realize themselves better than them, and this is because they are not greedy, do not choke […]...
Kleshch is a mechanic, a resident of a rooming house, Anna's husband. Tick dreams of returning to normal life through honest and hard work. He works hard and pits himself against the other residents of the rooming house, condemning their way of life: “These? What kind of people are they? Dud, golden company ... people! I am a working person… I am ashamed to look at them… I have been working since I was young… Do you think […]
Vaska Pepel Vaska Pepel - one of the characters in Gorky's play "At the Bottom", a guest of a rooming house, a hereditary thief. He was told from childhood that he would grow up to be a thief, like his father. With such parting words, he grew up. Vaska is 28 years old. He is young, cheerful and naturally kind. He does not want to accept such a life and tries in every possible way [...] ...
Nastya is a fallen woman, a resident of a rooming house. She dreams of romantic love, pure and devoted. In real life, she is surrounded only by poverty, humiliation and hopelessness. She constantly reads tabloid novels, the content of which is a big part of her dreams. Nastya tells the inhabitants of the rooming house about her lover, but calls him either Gaston or Raul: “Here he comes at night [...] ...
Plan Description of the rooming house and its inhabitants: Vasilisa, her husband Kostylev - the owners of the rooming house; Natalya, Vasilisa's sister; Vaska Pepel, thief; Tick, locksmith; Anna, his wife, dying; Nastya, a prostitute; Actor and Satin, gamblers, drunkards; Bubnov, Baron, wanderer Luke and others. Vaska Pepel - Vasilisa's lover, in love with Natalia, her sister. Out of jealousy, Vasilisa beats her sister mercilessly. […]...
Satin is a resident of a rooming house, a former telegraph operator. This man is tired of a beggarly life, it disgusts him. He is addicted to playing cards, which will not lead to anything good, but Satin is not afraid of death, says that "you cannot kill twice." Sateen had never been that kind of person before. He was cheerful and cheerful, “was” a shirt-guy ... danced magnificently, [...] ...
The people of the "bottom" in the social and philosophical drama of M. Gorky are people thrown out of life due to various circumstances, who are not able to resist it. Such is Vaska Pepel, who lives in Kostylev's rooming house. He occupies a privileged position there - a separate room, the respectful attitude of the owner, the love of his wife. But neither relative material well-being nor Vasilisa's caresses bring him happiness. Vaska […]...
Anna is the wife of the locksmith Klesch, who is ill with consumption. The disease has already knocked down Anna, she is dying. She is tired of life and suffering. She herself says that “all my life I was shaking over every piece of bread ... I was tormented ... I walked all my life in rags.” All the inhabitants of the rooming house sympathize with the suffering of the tormented woman. Only her husband expresses indifference and irritation. Anna endured beatings all her life and [...] ...
Luka is an elderly wanderer who appears for a while in a rooming house. L. resembles a member of a religious sect. The character's name is associated with an evangelist; L. says: “Christ took pity on everyone and ordered us so,” but to a direct question whether there is a God, he answers: “If you believe, there is, if you don’t believe, then no ... What you believe, then it is ...” L. caring for [...]
The play does not contain a detailed presentation of the biographies of the heroes, but individual details can be used to restore the image of each of the inhabitants of the cellar. All of them deserve a better life, but cruel circumstances forced them to drag out a miserable existence in a rooming house. The inhabitants of the doss house are very different people. Tick once worked as a mechanic, now he lives with dreams of honest work. He takes out all the anger and hopelessness […]
The actor is an inhabitant of a rooming house, a drunkard. The author does not name the real name of the hero, and he himself has long forgotten it. He only remembers that his stage name was Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky. The actor's memory is destroyed by alcohol, he is constantly trying to remember and recite poems and excerpts from plays. He himself admits: “My body is poisoned by alcohol.” Wanderer Luka brings him hope for recovery, talking about [...] ...
Vasilisa Volodina - astrologer, TV presenter, astropsychologist. Vasilisa Volodina was born on April 16. Interest in esotericism in the biography of Vasilisa Volodina awakened as early as adolescence. From the age of 14, she became interested in card fortune-telling, as well as determining fate along the lines of the palm. Such an interest in predicting the future was approved by the parents. The girl enthusiastically looked at the starry sky, becoming interested in the theory of the existence of UFOs. Together with […]...
The play “At the Bottom” is a deep, ambiguous work in which the author posed complex philosophical and moral problems. Among them are the problem of truth and lies, true and false compassion, the problem of personality degradation, the problem of human relationships. Revealing the last problem, the author cannot but turn to the theme of love, which, even in such inhuman conditions as life in a rooming house, [...] ...
Maxim Gorky wrote the play "At the Bottom" in 1902 for the troupe of the Moscow Public Art Theater. The most difficult thing for the author was choosing the exact title of the play. At first it was called "Nochlezhka", then "Without the sun" and, finally, "At the bottom". The name itself has great meaning. People who have fallen to the bottom will never rise to the light, to a new life. The theme of the humiliated [...]...
Some people enter the false path unwittingly, because there is no straight path for them. Thomas Mann Terrible is he who has nothing to lose. Goethe Despite the fact that A. M. Gorky's play “At the Bottom” was written at the beginning of the last century (in 1902), well-known stage directors have been turning to it for more than a hundred years. In the heroes of the play who descended [...] ...
Gorky's dramaturgy is very interesting for its problems, the power of philosophical reflections. A certain perfection in this regard was achieved by the play "At the Bottom", which represents the totality of the socio-philosophical views of the writer. In the exposition, with the help of an extensive remark by the author and the statements of the characters, a “cave-like basement” is depicted, in which thieves, cheaters, prostitutes, and former employees live, fight, die: locksmith Kleshch, card maker Bubnov, telegrapher Satin, Actor, […]. ..
The play "At the Bottom" was written by M. Gorky in 1902. A year before writing the play, Gorky said this about the idea of a new play: "It will be scary." The same emphasis is also emphasized in its changing titles: “Without the Sun”, “Nochlezhka”, “Bottom”, “At the Bottom of Life”. The title "At the Bottom" first appeared on the posters of the Art Theatre. The author singled out the place of action [...] ...
In 1902, for the troupe of the Moscow Public Art Theater, Maxim Gorky wrote the play "At the Bottom". For a long time the writer could not find the exact title of the play. The first name of the play was "Nochlezhka", then it was renamed to "Without the Sun", and, finally, the author finally called the play "At the Bottom". The title of the play itself carries a lot of meaning. People who got […]
The action of the drama “At the Bottom” takes place at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. This is a time of economic crisis for Russia, many are left without work, lose their status, position in society, and some sink to the "bottom" of life. It is no coincidence that Gorky paints the place where his heroes huddle in this way. Before us is a dirty basement, similar to a cave: a sooty ceiling, heavy stone vaults with crumbling plaster. […]...
The driving force of action in Gorky's drama is the struggle of ideas, and, accordingly, the whole range of artistic techniques used by the author emphasizes this. Both the plot of the play and its composition also contribute to the main line of the drama. The play does not have a bright moving storyline. The heroes of the play are disunited, concentrated in different corners of the stage. The play “At the bottom” is a cycle of small dramas, [...] ...
Gorky's play was written in 1902 for one of the Moscow theaters. The author for a long time could not decide on the spelling in the title of the play itself. Perhaps the very title of the work contains its meaning. People who have fallen to the bottom will never be able to rise again in their lives. The theme of the humiliated and offended is not new in Russian [...] ...
Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is complex and very interesting. In this work, the author managed to combine everyday concreteness and symbols, real human characters and abstract philosophy. Throughout the play, problems of various scales appear and develop before our eyes: from universal to personal. At the end of the work, the author reveals his position to us through the fate of the heroes of the play. The great role […]
Nikolai Almazov Verochka Almazova Character traits Gentle, calm, patient, affectionate, restrained, strong. Characteristics Helpless, passive, furrows forehead and spreads arms in amazement, overly ambitious. Accurate, resourceful, active, quick, active, resolute, absorbed in love for her husband. Faith in the outcome of the case Unsure of success, cannot find a way out. I am confident in the success of the case, I hope for a good outcome. At any […]...
Many heroes of M. Gorky's play "At the bottom" - the Actor, Ashes, Nastya, Natasha, Kleshch - strive to break free from the "bottom" of life. But they feel their own impotence before the constipation of this “prison”. They have a feeling of hopelessness of their fate and a craving for a dream, an illusion that gives at least some hope for the future. The Baron has past wealth, oh […]...
Preparing for the Unified State Examination: Analysis of M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom” (Works, Unified State Examination in Literature 2014) After reading the work of Maxim Gorky “At the Bottom”, we can say with confidence that the author showed us a deep social drama. Readers got acquainted with the play in 1902, for them the genre of this work became innovative and original. Gorky described his creation as "pictures". We are not […]...
The revival of the name of Maxim Gorky after the revision of the place of his work in Russian literature and the renaming of everything that bore the name of this writer must definitely happen. It seems that a significant role in this will be played by the most famous of Gorky's dramatic legacy, the play "At the Bottom". The genre of drama itself implies the relevance of the work in a society where there are many unresolved social problems, where people know what [...] ...
M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom", written during the winter and summer of 1902, brought world fame to the author. It was the writer's response to the most urgent problems of our time. The ideological topicality of this work immediately attracted the attention of the Russian public. Thematically, the play completed the cycle of Gorky's works about "tramps". This is how he himself wrote about his play “At the Bottom”
In the play "At the Bottom" Gorky managed to combine everyday concreteness and symbols, real human characters and abstract philosophical categories. As for the characters, according to the memoirs of the author, their composition was not immediately determined. The author removed some superfluous images, and then the “noble” old man Luka appeared. What in the play precedes its appearance? The curtain rises, and immediately a beggarly, [...] ...
Nikolai Vera Portrait of heroes There is no description of the heroes in the story. Kuprin, it seems to me, intentionally avoids this method of characterization of characters in order to draw the reader's attention to the internal state of the characters, to show their experiences. Characteristics The author's attitude to the characters Throughout the entire work, the author calls the hero only by his first name, Nikolai Evgrafovich, or by his last name, Almazov, thereby emphasizing a certain […]...
The fairy tale by E. Schwartz “Two maples” is a kind and fascinating fairy tale play. It has a lot of cute, likable characters. These are brave, but naive and arrogant brothers, kind and diligent, but narrow-minded and sleepy Bear, energetic, but not very quick-witted Sharik, cunning and resourceful Cat. All fairy-tale characters are interesting and attractive in their own way. And yet the main character, who […]
The work of Antoine de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince" through the prism of a fantastic plot sheds light on simple universal truths that were relevant both in the times of the writer (the work is dated 1943) and now. Deep philosophical ideas of comprehension by the human soul of wisdom, goodness, love and beauty are fully revealed thanks to the system of images of this parable-tale. It is noteworthy that the main character […]
“The Tale of Igor's Campaign” is an amazing, wise and incredibly talented monument of ancient Russian literature. The images of strong men in it are spelled out very brightly and in relief. But a Russian woman, who does not have physical strength and power, is not lost against their background. Yaroslavna is the wife of Prince Igor, a young, fragile and tender woman. She learned about the death of the army, the capture of her husband [...] ...
What is truth? Truth (many may think so) is absolute truth, that is, such truth, which is the same for all cases and for all people. There can be no such truth. Even the fact, it would seem, is an obvious unambiguous event, different people perceive differently. So, for example, the news of death can be understood as news of another, [...] ...
M. Gorky's drama "At the Bottom" was written in 1902. The characters of this play are people who, as a result of social processes that took place at the turn of the century, were thrown to the very bottom of life. The social conflict is present in the play primarily in the form of a confrontation between the owners of the rooming house, the Kostylevs, and its inhabitants. Kostylev appears in the eyes of the overnight stayers as a rich man who thinks […]
Works of fiction that touch on eternal issues usually have great popularity and a long life, since it is the eternal that always resonates in people's hearts. It is precisely such a work that M. Gorky's play “At the Bottom” is. The problem of humanism is most clearly expressed in the play. And humanism is love for a person, a desire to help him. Luka, one of the main characters [...] ...

In the work "At the bottom" the author described the life of people from the lowest social stratum. Such a society included ragamuffins, drunks, homeless people living in a rooming house owned by Mikhail Kostylev. Kostylev was married to a young girl named Vasilisa.

Vasilisa Karpovna was a self-serving woman who loved to rule. She was only 26 years old. Selfish motives forced her to marry old Kostylev. Mikhail Ivanovich was 54 years old. Vasilisa was a beautiful and attractive woman. The heroine has been married for 4 years now. She called her husband a "bug" that sucked her youth out of her. The younger sister of the heroine Natasha lived with them. Mikhail constantly bullied the poor girl. The girls had an uncle who worked in the police. Uncle considered Vasilisa a clever and intelligent woman. Natasha considered her very cunning. Because Vasilisa extricated herself from any circumstance.

Vasilisa Kostyleva was proud and did not ask others for help, alms and attention. According to Bubnov, the heroine was distinguished by cruelty and a harsh disposition. Surrounding called the heroine "poisonous viper" or "devil". Vaska Pepel called her soulless. Vaska stole and lived in a rooming house. He paid for the rent with stolen things. Vasilisa started a love relationship with Vaska. The enterprise and insidiousness of the heroine knew no bounds. Having found out about Vaska's feelings for Natasha, Vasilisa incited the thief to kill Mikhail Kostylev. In return, Kostyleva promises to give money and marry Natasha to him.

To become rich, she turned her sister into a puppet. At the same time, Vasilisa does not hide the benefits, greed and boasts that she will soon become a rich widow. Hearing Vaska's refusal, the heroine reminded him of the time spent with her. To persuade the guy, she began to threaten. Vaska did not give in and did not want to kill old Kostylev. To persuade him, Vasilisa began to bully Natasha, who, therefore, was experiencing difficult times.

Mocking her sister, she spills boiling water on her. In the end, Vasilisa persuaded Pepel to kill her old husband. So Vasilisa became rich. The ability to adapt to the situation, and resourcefulness made Vasilisa a cruel hostess of a rooming house and life.

Essay about Vasilisa

In his play "At the Bottom", Maxim Gorky describes the life of people in a lower social society. Drunkards, vagabonds, tramps inhabit the rooming house, which is maintained by Mikhail Ivanovich Kostylev. He has a wife, a young woman of twenty-six, Vasilisa.

Vasilisa is a power-hungry, mercenary woman. She married Kostylev, who is almost thirty years older than her, not out of love, but out of vile selfish motives. Her greedy nature demands enrichment, and Vasilisa is ready for any step to get rich. She wants wealth while she is still young, so that she can enjoy her life.

Vaska Pepel lives in their rooming house, on a tip from the Kostylev family, he is engaged in theft, and they buy stolen things from him, reselling them at exorbitant prices. Vasilisa began a love relationship with this inhabitant of their rooming house. She is an insidious and enterprising woman, having learned that Vaska Peplu likes her sister Natasha, Vasilisa incites her lover to kill her old husband. Having used all her feminine charm, with cunning and flattery, the heartless hostess tries to convince Vaska to help her get rid of her hated husband. Vasilisa promises to give Ashes her sister, to give him money so that Vaska can hide from the city. For the sake of possessing her husband's wealth, she disposes of Natasha as a thing. Vasilisa does not hide her greed and benefits from her lover, how rich and independent she will become when her husband is gone. When Vaska refuses, Vasilisa reproaches him, recalling the days spent together. She actually threatens him. Ash does not succumb to the persuasion of his former mistress, and then, in order to annoy him, Vasilisa begins to cruelly mock her own sister, who is already not having a sweet life in their house.

In the end, she scalds Natasha with boiling water, guessing that Vaska will come running to help. She provokes her guest, and Vaska, by pure chance, kills Kostylev. So the insidious Vasilisa achieves her goal. It is clear to everyone that a self-serving woman will come out dry from the water. Naturally, in any case, she will pay off the police, which means she will become the sovereign hostess of the rooming house, receive all her husband's fortune, and at the same time get rid of her unwanted sister and former lover. Her resourcefulness and ability to adapt to any circumstances will make Vasilisa an even more cruel and unprincipled mistress of not only a rooming house, but also life.

Some interesting essays

Once we went with my parents and with my brother for mushrooms. The weather was magnificent, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the grass was juicy and green. I was in a great mood and I wanted to run through the forest and collect the most mushrooms.

The image and characteristics of the lady in the story Taras Bulba Gogol essay
The work "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is one of the most famous works of the writer. Rewritten by N.Ya. Prokopovich, the text was published in the second edition and became known to the public.

In my opinion, speech is one of the most important ways of communication. Every day we talk to different people, and everyone expresses their emotions through speech. By the manner in which a person speaks, we can form an impression of him

Features of romanticism and realism in the novel A Hero of Our Time (composition)
A hero of our time is a work whose idea is to more fully reveal the character of the hero, to show the reader the problems of character and the influence of the environment in which the hero was brought up and lived.
Ryukhin in the novel The Master and Margarita image and characterization essay
In Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" there are many representatives of MASSOLIT: writers, writers and poets. One of its participants was a certain Alexander Ryukhin.

Article menu:

The work, written by the Russian writer Maxim Gorky, not only entered the history of literature, but also became the laureate of the Griboedov Prize. The play "At the Bottom", a summary of the actions of the immortal work - the purpose of our article. It is curious that initially Gorky chose between several options for titles for the play: “Without the Sun”, “At the Bottom of Life”, the writer also thought of calling the text “The Nochlezhka” or “The Bottom”. On the advice of the representative of the Silver Age, the writer Leonid Andreev, Gorky settled on the title "At the bottom".

Dear book lovers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the summary of the story “Childhood” by Maxim Gorky, where the author exposes the harsh reality of past centuries.

The play was presented to a wide audience in 1902. The genre of Gorky's work is innovative. For example, there is no traditional plot familiar to the drama, and the action is presented through the dialogues of the characters. The writer chose a rooming house as the scene of action, where people huddled - representatives of the social bottom.

The central idea of "Down Under" focuses on an attempt to answer the question of what is better to choose: truth or suffering. In addition, Gorky wonders what a person needs more. The writer brings out a lot of themes that he forces the reader to think about. Among them: the ontological restlessness of a person and the search for a place in life, the problem of faith in people, lies for the good, the ability of a person to independently change the conditions of his life.

The main characters of "Down Under"

Among the central characters that act in the play, Gorky singles out, in particular:

Mikhail Kostylev– A 54-year-old man who runs a doss house.
Vasilis- Mikhail's wife, who also cheated on her husband with Vaska Pepel; 26 year old girl.
Natasha- Vasilisa's 20-year-old sister, who often suffered beatings from her; once, when Vasilisa once again beat Natasha, she ended up in a hospital ward; the reader says goodbye to Natasha when, after the hospital, the heroine disappears - no one knows where.
Vaska Pepla- a 28-year-old boy who traded in theft; one day Vaska thinks about life, trying to change for the better; the boyfriend's mother gave birth to a son in prison; Vaska sincerely wants to become Natasha's husband, to get rid of Vasilisa's pressure, because the wife of the owner of the rooming house wanted Pepel to kill her husband.
Luca– a 60-year-old traveler who preaches lies for the good (as Gorky says, Luka is an adherent of “comforting lies”); The hero doesn't talk much about himself.
Andrey Mitrich Klesch- the embodiment of the image of a "working person"; he is a 40-year-old man working as a mechanic who dreams that he will someday return to the normal life he once led; having lost his job, Kleshch ends up in a doss house; perhaps Andrei Mitrich is the only character in the play who did not accept the circumstances of life; the man believes that after the death of his wife he will break out of the rooming house and return to his former life; The tick does not consider that he has a place among the other inhabitants of the house;
Bubnov- 45-year-old kartuznik; the man is convinced that not a single person on this planet is capable of having his place; Bubnov does not hide that he loves gambling and alcohol; he ends up in a doss house after the betrayal of his wife, so as not to do a “sin”.
Baron- A 33-year-old man who once led the life of an aristocrat; a former nobleman, the Baron said goodbye to his former life; now the man lives with Nastya.
satin– 40-year-old guest of a doss house; the main idea that Satin "professes" is the conviction of the need for spiritual freedom for every person; in the "past", normal life, Satin is a telegraph operator; once Satin defended the honor of his sister, but killed a man at the same time: for this offense the man was sent to prison, where he spent almost 5 years.
Actor- an image that embodies the unbridled life of creative bohemia; The actor abuses alcohol, adheres to a pessimistic worldview, believing that life cannot be changed; as a result, the Actor commits suicide; pseudonym of the Actor - Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky; the current life of the character is immersed in memories of the past, of the high; The actor is a hero with a fine mental organization; the reader also knows that the Actor has lost his name and reputation.

This list shows the central characters of the work of Maxim Gorky.

Heroes of the second plan

Abram Medvedev- a 50-year-old policeman who is Natasha and Vasilisa's uncle;
Abram- an adherent of discipline and normative human behavior, who believes that people should choose submissive behavior.
Anna- Andrey Mitrich's wife; this is a 30-year-old woman who is distinguished by kindness, calmness; in the end, the unfortunate Anna dies in a doss house.
Aleshki- A 20-year-old boy who works as a shoemaker.
crooked goiter and his friend nicknamed "Tatarin" - male hookers (hired workers who did the work of moving goods).
Nastya- Baron's cohabitants; A 24-year-old prostitute who, meanwhile, cherishes dreams of true and pure love. The profession that the girl chose for herself does not correspond much to the nature of Nastya herself. A prostitute is used to being a joy for a huge number of men completely unfamiliar to her. At the same time, Nastya did not “merge” with her profession and was not disappointed in the representatives of the stronger sex. The girl dreams of big pure love.
sourdough- A 40-year-old woman who trades in dumplings.

Also in the play there are figures of tramps, beggars, who own insignificant remarks.

Summary of the events of the play "At the bottom" by actions

First act

Early spring. The reader's imagination is focused on the scene of action - the doss house. Gorky describes the rooming house as a place resembling a cave. On the stage is Klesch, who is busy selecting keys that fit decrepit locks. Near the man are a small anvil and a vise - the tools with which the hero earns a living. In the center of the scene is a table, untidy and dirty. Kvashnya and the dining Baron are sitting at the table. Also next to the heroes is Nastya, reading an old, dilapidated book.

Dear fans of Maxim Gorky's creativity. We offer you to familiarize yourself with the summary of the story “Old Woman Izergil”

The impromptu "dining room" is separated from other rooms of the rooming house by the same dirty curtain. Behind this partition is a bed. Anna's cough can be heard from the "room" with the bed.

Also in the doss house there is a stove, which the Actor occupied, and bunk beds, where Bubnov is busy sewing a cap.

Freedom is dear to a woman. Therefore, the heroine laments that boyfriends only bother her. Mite disagrees with Kvashnya, claiming that the heroine is lying. In fact, Andrey Mitrich is sure, Kvashnya, without thinking, will agree to become Medvedev's wife, only he does not offer this. Meanwhile, Kvashnya notices that Medvedev is abusing his wife, beating the woman to a pulp.

The reader and the viewer will find out what kind of book Nastya is reading: snatching the book from the girl's hands, the Baron shows the cover - "Fatal Love". The name makes the man laugh. Anna, a sick woman on the verge of death, complains of screaming and swearing. The heroine asks for a peaceful death. However, Andrey Mitrich is angry with his dying wife. Kvashnya, on the contrary, evokes sympathy for Anna: the heroine even treats the woman to hot dumplings. Anna does not eat dumplings, giving treats to her husband. Luka, who is the only one who soothes a sick woman, seems to Anna kind and gentle, like a father.

The dialogue continues, only now the conversation is between Satin, Bubnov, the Actor, and also Klesch. The characters talk about what their past life was like. Satin, for example, believes that he previously led the life of a cultured person. Bubnov's former profession is a skinning master. It turns out that once a man owned his own office, where he worked as a furrier. For the Actor, the main value in life is the possession of talent, and not education.

Kostylev enters the scene: a man is looking for a wife. In an attempt to find his wife, the hero goes to Ash's room. The rooms in the doss house are separated by thin partitions that look like plywood. However, Pepel does not help Kostylev, driving the hero away. Here the reader understands that Vasilisa, the wife of Mikhail Kostylev, is cheating on her husband with Ash. Michael is sure that there is a connection between Vasilisa and Ashes, that they commit adultery. But Kostylev cannot prove this, because he has never seen his wife and Vaska together in the bedroom.

Ash borrows money from Satine. This becomes for the writer a pretext for philosophical reflection on the role and meaning of money. Gorky put this reflection into the mouth of Sateen. The hero is interested in the problem of work and vocation, money and freedom. Life gives pleasure in the event that work is to the person's liking. If you have to work out of duty, then life is like hard labor or slavery.

Satin and the Actor leave the stage, where Natasha enters. The girl is accompanied by a newcomer who has come to the doss house. The man's name is Luke. Ash shows sympathy for Natasha: it is clear that the hero is in love with the girl and demonstrates feelings by flirting with Natasha. However, she does not accept Ash's attentions.

Alyoshka, who has already drunk, appears on the stage. The young man shows bewilderment why no company accepts him. Alyoshka does not think that he is worse than others, so he is surprised and upset because of loneliness.

Tick is sure that he will soon leave the doss house. Here the man is held only by his dying wife: as soon as Anna dies, the Tick will leave. Ashes believes that the friend's hopes are in vain. Andrei Mitrich clearly separates himself from the other "guests" of the rooming house. Ash does not agree with such a division, believing that Klesch is no better and no worse than any other person in the doss house. The Baron leaves the stage with Ashes.

Vasilisa, who appeared on the scene, scolds Alyoshka, who is already quite drunk. The rest of the "guests" of the rooming house also cause the girl's displeasure. Vasilisa asks if Natasha spoke with Ash, after which she leaves the stage.

Screams and noise are heard from the hallway: Vasilisa is beating her younger sister. Bubnov, as well as the uncle of the girls and the ran-in Kvashnya, are trying to stop the fight.

Second act

The location has not changed. Some of the characters are playing cards at the table. Attention to the game was also focused on the Actor, along with Klesch. The checkers game is played by Medvedev and Bubnov. Luka spends time around Anna. A woman complains about the circumstances of life, complaining about what she has to endure. Luka tries to calm Anna down. The husband treated the woman cruelly, humiliating and beating Anna. The tick is a greedy person. Andrei Mitrich starved his wife and forced her to wear rags. The old man tells Anna that after death she will have a better life, rest, peace, absence of diseases.

The actor wants to remember his profession and read a few poems for Luca, but he forgets the words of the poems. Then the hero despairs, realizing that everything good and significant in his life has already happened. The talent of the Actor was spent on drink. Luka reassures the Actor by explaining that there are special hospitals that cure drunkards. But Luka does not remember the city where these hospitals are located. The Elder advises the Actor to give up alcohol, endure the “withdrawal”. According to Luke, a person is capable of everything: what a person receives depends only on the efforts invested.

Ash appears on the scene. The hero is gloomy and melancholy. Pepel starts a conversation with Vasilisa and Natasha's uncle, Medvedev, wondering how much Natasha suffered at the hands of her sister. Medvedev, meanwhile, is slow to respond, believing that these are family matters. Then Vasily threatens to report to the police department about the tricks of the owner of the rooming house with his wife. Kostylev persuaded Pepel to steal some things and then sell the stolen goods.

Luke tries to separate the disputants. Vasily says that Luke is lying, that everything will be fine, wondering about the reasons for this lie. The elder believes that the search for truth is a futile exercise. Instead of this empty business, Ash should go to the gold mines in Siberia, because there Vasily will be able to start his life anew.

Vasilisa enters the scene and enters into a conversation with Ash. The young man says that he does not love the girl, that she is tired of him, because she is empty from the inside. Vasilisa wishes her husband death, inciting Vaska to kill Kostylev. The payment for the murder is Natasha, whom Pepel has long dreamed of marrying. However, Luka recommends that Pepl not accept Vasilisa's offer, but simply leave here with Natasha. Here the owner of the rooming house appears on the scene, trying to fight with Vasily. Luke does not allow men to quarrel.

One of the lodgers peeks behind the curtain separating Anna's "room": the woman is dead. Those present go to the bed of the unfortunate. Anna's death did not cause any emotions. Bubnov cynically declared: Anna's death is for the best, since now the woman's cough will not disturb at night.

Third act

The reader and the viewer find themselves in a "wasteland". The author calls the yard of the doss house, which is overgrown with thickets and shrubs, a wasteland. Here the reader becomes a witness to Nastya's love story. The student loved the girl. The story of the girl makes Baron and Bubnov laugh, who do not believe that Nastya really experienced real, deep feelings. The Baron notices that the student's name changes every time in Nastya's story. The mockery of men leads the girl to despair, Nastya gets upset and cries.

Luke comes to the rescue again. The elder tells Nastya that she really felt the feelings of love, if she believes in it. The fact that the Baron mocks the girl, according to Luke, only indicates that the man did not know true love, and therefore doubts that such feelings exist.

Luke's position forces the "guests" of the doss house to think about what truth and lies are. Natasha expresses the opinion that people create images, come up with the life they dream about. People, special situations, events that you want to experience are also invented. Meanwhile, the girl does not know what she wants and what exactly she is waiting for. The root of this invention of a desired life is the unhappiness that prevails in society.

Bubnov's position differs from Natasha's. The hero believes that you should not indulge yourself with illusions. The right way is the way of the truth, no matter how cruel that truth is. Andrey Mitrich, who is characterized by hatred of people, is also close to Bubnov's thoughts. Having expressed his thoughts about truth and lies, Klesh leaves the stage.

Then Pepel joins the conversation. The hero asks Luke why he tells people lies. Luke encourages all the "guests" of the rooming house, convincing people that there is some kind of bright future. Vasily is interested in why the man says this, because, most likely, there is no bright future. Luke says that the truth is not always a medicine for the soul, so sometimes it is worth resorting to a lie for good. Lies comfort a person in difficult situations. The elder is also about to leave the doss house.

Vasily confesses his love for Natasha, begging the girl to run away from the doss house together. Pepel says that if Natasha agrees, then he will no longer engage in theft. Ash seeks to leave this life, wanting to start over with a clean slate. The goal of a young man is to achieve respect for himself. Natasha thinks and doubts. The reason is the distrust of Ashes. However, after some hesitation, the girl still trusts Vaska.

Kostylev and Vasilisa appear on the stage, who knew about the conversation between Vasily and Natasha. Vasilisa seeks to start a quarrel, involving Ash and her husband in strife. Luke manages to save the situation again: the old man managed to keep Ash from fighting.

The owner of the rooming house and Pepel are talking. Kostylev is convinced that there are certain rules that a person should follow. Respectable people, for example, go with passports. Luka does not hide his thoughts and speaks openly in a conversation with Kostylev. The elder is sure that a man should think about his views on life in order to change himself for the better. But Kostylev will not be able to do this, since soil is needed for any changes, and Mikhail is already too spoiled for change. After this conversation, the "guests" drive Luka away from the doss house. The old man says that he will leave the rooming house at night.

Bubnov's advice: the main thing is to choose the right time to leave. The history of the hero is connected with this principle. When his wife cheated on Bubnov, he went to a rooming house so as not to kill his wife out of anger and jealousy.

Satin and the Actor, in a fit of argument, find themselves in the basement. Satin expresses doubts that the Actor will ever be able to escape from the "bottom". The man is interested in the words that the Actor heard from Luke. Here the reader will also learn about the history of Sateen. It turns out that the hero hit the "bottom", protecting his sister. When the sister's honor was offended, Satin killed the offender in a fit of anger. For the murder, the hero went to prison, which closed the doors to a decent society for a man.

Anna's funeral pulled the last funds out of Andrei Mitrich's pocket: Kleshch even sold all the tools. Now the hero does not know how to make a living.

From the room occupied by Kostylev, screams are heard. The "guests" run to the sounds of a fight: Vasilisa again brutally beats Natasha. Satin, together with the Actor, are trying to figure out the situation. In the hustle and bustle, only broken remarks and exclamations are heard, which make it clear that the inhabitants of the doss house are breaking up the sisters' fight.

Natasha was severely crippled by her sister: Vasilisa poured boiling water over the girl's legs and beat her. With the help of Kvashnya and Nastya, the wounded Natasha is taken to the hospital. The girls are followed by the "guests" of the doss house, as well as Vasilisa and her husband. Vaska, who saw his beloved, beats the owner of the rooming house. Kostylev falls to the ground from surprise and the force of the blow. Vasilisa's cries are heard that her husband has been killed. At the same time, Vasily, whom the girl pointed out as the murderer of her husband, admits that Vasilisa offered to kill her husband in exchange for her sister.

Natasha, hysterical, calls Ash a traitor and believes that the young man conspired with his sister. Almost without feelings, the girl wants to be taken away to a prison cell.

Fourth act

So, the beginning of spring again. The action takes place in the basement of a doss house. There is a table on the stage, behind which Andrey Mitrich, Nastya with the Baron, and Satin are seated. The corner, which was previously occupied by Vasily Pepel (now the room is not fenced, since the partition boards have been removed), is now occupied by Tatarin.

The "guests" are engulfed in memories of Luka: the elder quietly left the rooming house when Pepel accidentally killed Kostylev, and Natasha was taken to the hospital. Nastya is sure that only Luka was aware and understood what was happening, seeing people through and through. It was not for nothing that Luka dubbed the “guests” of the rooming house “rust”. Andrei Mitrich supports the girl's position, considering Luka a good-natured, compassionate, good old man. According to Tatarin, Luka adhered to the "golden rule of morality" in life.

Satin, on the contrary, had no sympathy for Luke. The hero believes that the elder only regaled the “guests” of the doss house with illusions, and besides, he was distinguished by spinelessness and softness. The Baron agrees with Satin, for whom Luka is a swindler, a liar, a charlatan.

Nastya does not like being in the company of the Baron, Satin and other "guests" of the rooming house. The girl wants to leave the “bottom”, people who are disgusting to her, a life that forces her to earn a living by prostitution. Nastya is attracted by the "end of the world" as a symbol of life from scratch. The Baron mocks and laughs at his mistress, teasing the girl with offers to go to the "end of the world" with the Actor, who is also constantly trying to leave the "bottom".

Andrei Mitrich, continuing his reflections on Luke, emphasized that the elder pointed to the goal, but did not show the way to this goal. Luka, admits Kleshch, was a supporter of lies rather than truth, which is logical, because life is unbearable without truth, and even more so with the truth.

Sateen is annoyed by talk about Luke. The man gets angry and asks to stop talking about the old man. Sateen is attracted to the truth, and the lie makes the hero angry. The man believes that Luke felt sorry for people, and therefore he spoke lies, introducing into the illusion. According to Satin, lies and pity are not the best friends of a person. However, Satine's position proceeded from the specifics of the influence of Luke's reasoning on the image of the hero's world: this image crumbled to dust because of Luke's speeches. Satan didn't like it.

The death of Kostylev also falls into the field of attention of the "guests". Natasha, who witnessed the murder of the host of the hostel, disappeared after leaving the hospital. Vasilisa, a nimble and cunning girl, will be able to get out of the water dry. The ashes, no doubt, will end up either in prison, or even in hard labor.

The conversation turns to thinking about the meaning of life. Sateen is convinced that people are worthy of respect. Whatever the person, you can not insult, humiliate the dignity of a person, offend or pity. Pity and respect are incompatible. The baron, who once led the life of an aristocrat, admits that he has already experienced all the good things, and the current life for him is more like a dream than a reality. Baron has not seen the meaning of life for a long time. After jumping off the stove, the Actor suddenly leaves the basement.

Bubnov appears on the stage in the company of Medvedev. The heroes are followed by the rest of the "guests" of the "bottom". The inhabitants of the doss house arrange a place to sleep, others sing songs. Suddenly, the baron's cry is heard in the basement: The actor committed suicide - hanged himself. Satin complains that because of the Baron's screams, the song is ruined.

Gorky's play is ambiguous. "At the bottom" depresses the social problems that the work exposes. For some time, the play was forbidden to be staged, and if they were allowed to play, then with cuts.

Thus, a brief description of the content of the play "At the Bottom" by actions, characters, helps to better understand the author's intention, to reveal the deep meaning of Gorky's work.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Russian Empire was going through a difficult time. Belief in the old values gradually faded away. People did not seek the truth either from the king or from God. Both secular and ecclesiastical authorities were steadily losing their authority in the eyes of the people. The tragedy was that new values had not yet come to replace the old ideals. The inhabitants of the empire have already realized that the past is not able to satisfy their needs. What should be the new benchmark, no one understands.

It was precisely such a desperate society that Gorky portrayed. The heroes of the play represent, in a way, Russia in miniature. Here the reader sees both a ruined nobleman, whom everyone calls the Baron, and an Actor who ruined his life with alcohol. There are also workers in the rooming house, like Klesch, who have not lost faith in the best and the hope that with their work you can get out even from such a bottom. Elder Luke becomes a symbol of human hope.

However, at the end of the play, faith in the future happiness collapses completely. After Luka leaves, everything returns to normal, and then it gets even worse. The inhabitants of the "bottom" are still in their place. Only Vasilisa Karpovna remains the winner. It is quite obvious that the author wanted to convey to the reader the idea that the time for fundamental changes has not yet come. Bloody Sunday 1905 fully confirmed this idea.

Gorky's works are very interesting for their problematics and depth of philosophical reasoning. The play "At the Bottom", in this regard, has reached a certain perfection, since it is a set of socio-philosophical views of the author himself.

With the help of a detailed author's remark and the statements of the play's characters themselves, Gorky very expressively depicts the scene - a rooming house that looks more like a cave. Here live, fight and die cheaters, thieves, prostitutes, former workers (telegraph operator Satin, locksmith Kleshch, card maker Bubnov and others). All of them are in almost the same position, although the degree of their fall to the "bottom" is different. Some seek to escape from poverty, while others have completely renounced normal human life and are subject to the will of circumstances.

The play depicts a social conflict in a very unusual way.

Among the heroes of the work there are not only the inhabitants of the rooming house, who have lost all social signs, but also the so-called "masters of life", which are represented by a couple of Kostylevs, the owners of the rooming house. The hypocritical and cowardly old man Kostylev squeezes profit from each of his victims, and his wife Vasilisa, with the cruelty of a greedy predator, makes her way through crimes.

The owner of the rooming house appears in the first act of the play, and from his very first remark, the reader understands that nothing good can be expected from this character. Kostylev enters the basement, and at this time the Actor helps the dying Anna to go out into the hallway to get some fresh air. The old man mockingly calls them "a couple", not feeling a drop of sympathy for someone else's grief. Later, Kostylev promises Kleshch to throw another “fifty dollars” on his main payment. The tick does not hide his disgust for the owner of the rooming house, who is ready to draw the last means of subsistence out of people. Old Kostylev is a disgusting character. To emphasize this, Gorky gives him the opportunity to speak out about kindness. What a satire in the mouth of Kostylev are the words that kindness is the highest good! The inhabitants of the rooming house, who exist at the very “bottom” of life, seem morally much higher and more worthy of this greedy old man. In every "tramp" you can find some positive qualities, albeit a little distorted by the inhuman conditions of life. In Kostylev, the reader will not find a single good quality.

The image of Vasilisa, Kostylev's wife, is no less indicative in terms of portraying the "masters of life". This woman has no morals. She married an old man for the sake of money and a decent social status. This is her main position in life. Vasilisa is a “smart woman” who knows how to adapt to any circumstances.

The reader immediately learns about Vasilisa that she has the thief Vaska Pepel in her lovers. But of course, she does not have real feelings for him. Having a young lover with an old husband is good, and if there is also a monetary benefit, then it is doubly pleasant. Vasilisa is well aware that Ash depends on her, because at any moment she can hand him over to the police. Therefore, she easily manages to get Vaska to steal for her. The reader does not know how long their relationship lasted, but one day Vaska decides to rebel. He frankly expresses to Vasilisa everything that boiled in his soul during their communication. It turns out that in fact he loves not the soulless Vasilisa, but her younger sister Natasha. Vasilisa immediately finds a way to benefit for herself from the current situation: she is ready to give Vaska her sister on the condition that he kills her husband. Thus, the hostess of the rooming house wants to get rid of all people objectionable to her at once. In case of refusal, she promises the ashes to torture Natasha to death. Finding them together one day, Vasilisa locks Natasha in the house and severely beats her. Behind the beautiful appearance of this woman lies a real monster, capable of terrible deeds.

A conflict occurs between Ash and Kostylev, and Vaska accidentally kills the owner of the rooming house. Now he faces hard labor. Vasilisa, in the end, achieved her goal: she got rid of her husband, lover and sister in one fell swoop. True, she, too, together with Vaska, is taken to the police station. But, of course, she can get out. Only people like Vasilisa are able to exist in such conditions. Nothing can topple her, cunning and resourcefulness will help this woman survive under any circumstances.

Of course, the murder of Kostylev cannot solve the social conflict of the play. Vasilisa will now become the hostess of the rooming house, and its inhabitants will have a very bad time. With the help of the images of Vasilisa and Kostylev, Gorky showed the level of moral decline of the “masters of life”. There is nothing human left in them, and, in this regard, the "tramps" look much more worthy than their "masters".

The play "At the Bottom" was written by Gorky in 1902. The author wanted to show that side of life that he knew very well - the life of tramps. In the article “How I Learned to Write,” Gorky will say: “I saw that although they live worse than“ ordinary people ”, they feel and realize themselves better than them, and this is because they are not greedy, do not strangle each other, do not save money ". Tramps lived in poverty, but in their lives there was no place for philistinism, with which the writer fought all his life. He contrasts the inhabitants of the rooming house with their owners - the husband and wife of the Kostylevs.

The owner of the rooming house, Kostylev, who is fifty-four years old, covers up his greed and stinginess with fake piety. He even walks around the rooming house, singing "something divine." But in fact, all this is hypocrisy - he is trying to take away the last from the disadvantaged, unfortunate people: “How much space are you taking from me for two rubles a month! Bed ... you sit yourself ... y-yes! For five rubles places, by God! I’ll have to throw a fifty dollars on you ... ”he says to Klesh, who is trying with all his might to get out of the rooming house, not realizing that this bloodsucker will take everything from him to the penny. Kostylev explains his greed with religiosity: “And I’ll throw a fifty dollars on you, I’ll buy an olive in a lamp ... and my sacrifice will burn in front of the holy icon ... And the sacrifice will go for me, in retribution for my sins, and for you too.” When the Actor, after listening to Kostylev's praise for his kindness to Anna, asks to reduce his debt, Kostylev replies: “Can kindness of the heart be compared with money? Kindness is above all blessings. And your debt to me - this is the debt! So, you must compensate me for it ... Your kindness to me, an old man, must be rendered free of charge ... ”Despite all his hypocrisy, Kostylev cannot hide his rudeness and desire to humiliate people subject to him. Turning to Natasha, he tells her: “Natasha! What are you doing here, you bastard? Do you gossip? Are you complaining about your family? Is the samovar not ready? Not collected on the table?

Elder Luka immediately guessed the character of Kostylev: “If the Lord God himself says to you: “Mikhailo! Be a man! .. "All the same, there will be no sense ... as you are - you will remain ... "All the hostels hate Kostylev, for them he is not a man, but some kind of nasty insect, and therefore the death of the host of the hostel from Ash's hand is natural, although it happened by accident. Vaska Pepel did not want to kill him, knowing how Vasilisa strives for this in order to get her husband's money.

Vasilisa herself does not cover up her rudeness and greed with either pretense of humility or religiosity. “You don’t have a soul, woman,” Pepel tells her. She brutally beats her sister, persuades Pepel to kill her husband, promising him in this case to give Natasha as his wife. Vasilisa is even worse than her husband, because she is smart and dexterous, and in the end everything happens as she planned: she scalded Natasha's legs with boiling water, knocking over a boiling samovar on her, a turmoil began in which Ash, succumbing to general panic, hit Kostylev and killed him with one blow, without wanting it. Vasilisa got her way, moreover, she inspired Hafaiue with the idea that Ash was at one with her. Discussing these events, the overnight stays think as follows: “Vasilisa will get out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor ... "

The Kostylevs are among those people about whom Satin says that they "live on other people's juices." The “masters of life” in M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom” live at the expense of those people who cannot fight for themselves, for their rights, and people like the Kostylevs push them even further, even lower, so that people of the “bottom” will never did not get to the surface, did not realize their human dignity, could not stand up for the fight.