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The fate of Vasilisa in the play at the bottom. Characteristics of Vasilisa from the play “At the bottom” M

The fate of Vasilisa in the play at the bottom. Characteristics of Vasilisa from the play “At the bottom” M

12.10.2021

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 chance. 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.

Vasilisa

Vasilisa - a character in Gorky's play "At the Bottom"; the wife of the host of the hostel, Kostylev, and the mistress of Vaska Pepla. Vasilisa is a cruel and domineering woman. She is 28 years younger than her husband and does not love him at all, most likely, she lives with him for the sake of money. She dreams of getting rid of him as soon as possible and from time to time persuades the guest Vaska the thief to save her from her husband.

Kostylev guesses about his wife's adventures and all the time wants to find her at Vaska's, but to no avail. Vaska, in turn, is in love with Vasilisa's younger sister, Natasha. He dreams of leaving with her somewhere far away, for example, to Siberia and building a new life there. Natasha responds coldly to his courtship, as she knows about their relationship with Vasilisa.

Vasilisa does not like her sister. From envy and anger, she constantly rushes at her with her fists. It even comes to the point that she pours boiling water over her. Ashes Vasilisa gives the following description: “... you don’t have a soul, woman ... A woman must have a soul ...” At the end of the work, she still achieves her goal. Vaska in a fit kills Kostylev who attacked him.

Other works on this topic:

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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
Natasha Natasha is one of the female images in Gorky's play "At the Bottom", the sister of the hostess of the flophouse, a kind and soft-hearted girl. Her image is noticeably different from others ...
Medvedev Medvedev is one of the secondary characters in M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom", the uncle of Vasilisa and Natalia, a policeman. It is the precinct district where the rooming house is located ...
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 your knife...
Anna Anna is a character in the play “At the Bottom”, a consumptive woman living out her last days, the wife of the hard worker Kleshch. She is tired of a life in which she is shaking over ...
Actor Actor - one of the characters in M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom", an inhabitant of a rooming house. He does not name his real name, since he himself forgot it for a reason ...

In my opinion, the most interesting hero of the play "At the Bottom" is Vasilisa. Why? Yes, because Gorky put into this heroine all the negativity of the human soul. She is young, pretty, but at the same time she does not have a drop of sensuality, respect,
trust. Rather, betrayal and lies are the main reflection of her essence. To build a negative character, every author has to experience something similar in his life. For example, Nabokov suffered from pedophilia for a long time until he wrote
his famous novel Lolita. And what happened to Gorky, who inspired him to create the image of Vasilisa? The story is silent about this ... This heroine is ready for anything for the sake of money, even for the murder of her own husband. She is married to a fifty-four-year-old hostess, although she herself is twenty-six. She is full of strength and energy, her husband is almost "dead". During the reading of the play, the theme of Vasilisa's love for her husband never arose in my thoughts. Did she really love him? Probably not, in my opinion she didn’t love anyone at all except herself and MONEY, Money, money. Which she craved more and more, trying to get rid of her husband as soon as possible.

She has a lover, Vaska Pepel, who for her is only an object of achieving her own goals, she does not love him and she does not care who he ends up with ...

Sister Natasha is twenty years old, whom she constantly beats for dating Vaska. Although she perfectly understands that she is wrong and she does not care who she is with. But as a "caring" sister, she must protect her from the Ashes. Everyone with whom she lives considers her a "fierce woman" who does not think about anyone but herself. She considers herself a full-fledged hostess of a rooming house and does not neglect the term “hostess” at all. Yes, she wants to feel like her, bathe in luxury, live with her young husband.
But these are only dreams, and she is only the wife of the owner of the rooming house. Wife, how much is invested in this term, but probably, in the time of Vasilisa, he was represented differently. All the so-called wives wanted only one thing - a rich old husband and a handsome
young lover. But in all this, the parents are probably to blame, who first of all thought about the well-being of their daughter, and not about her happiness.

He talks to the inhabitants of the rooming house in a businesslike way: “But I don’t care who you are! You live out of grace, don't forget! How much do you owe me?” she said, turning to Bubnov. To humiliate others is another property of negativity. And one of the creepiest. Even after living for some time with all the shelters, she treats them. Like the dregs of society, losers.

He treats the life of Tick with contempt, however, just like he himself plays with Vasily, like a fox with a kolobok, he wants only one thing - to get rid of her husband, from whom only one name remains - husband. He tells Ash that they can help each other: he will kill her husband, and she will let him go with her sister. Saying this, she considers herself a resolute, even the mistress of other people's destinies. She holds her sister for a toy that can be presented or "thrown out" along with Vaska. But he does not want this, he says: “The beast! Do you brag about your atrocity?" In front of her husband, she pretends to be a loving wife, but in reality ...

Luke, a righteous man, considers her a "bad person." And in my heart, nevertheless, I think that he forgives her everything. Vasilisa starts a scandal, during which Vasily inadvertently kills Kostylev.

She accuses Vaska of killing her husband, which means that she is a traitor, a liar, and is ready to do anything to get out of this story, which she herself started. She got what she wanted. She accomplished her Evil, to which she had been going for so long. But, it seems to me, she does not think that her hands are covered in blood, rather, on the contrary, she thinks that all the “dirty work” hangs on Vaska Ash, she has nothing to do with it at all, she does not feel any remorse.

Vasilisa and Vaska are taken to the police station...
After that, at the feast, Nastya thinks: “Vasilisa will turn out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor ... "

I think it is. Cunning and prudent people will turn out everywhere! Vasilisa is the concentration of all the bad that is in a person. Gorky tried to use it to show how cruel our world can be. But, on the other hand, if there were no such “negative” heroines and heroes, literature would not be interesting. Negative heroes capture with their hardness and cruelty.

I really like this heroine precisely because she is an absolutely extraordinary villain, all the facets of the bad are strictly defined in her, she is a pure negative hero. Although, maybe there is some ray of light in it, but Gorky did not show it to us, the readers. And he turned Vasilisa into a first-class villainess!

Embodying Vasilisa on stage is much harder than a positive heroine. But it’s also much more interesting, in their opinion, negative characters are even more alive than positive ones, but perhaps they are wrong ...

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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 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 invite you to familiarize yourself with

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 melancholic. 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.

Vasilisa and Vaska are taken to the police station...
After that, at the feast, Nastya thinks: “Vasilisa will turn out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor ... "