The Lower Depths (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Maxim Gorki
- First Published: 1902
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Genres: Naturalistic literature, Drama
- Subjects: Freedom, Nineteenth century, Social issues, Yards or backyards, Poverty or poor people, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Russia or Russian people, Predestination
- Locales: Russia
Places Discussed
Tenement basement. Cellarlike rooming house accommodating a varied group of inhabitants, located in an unspecified Russian town along the Volga River. Representative of the kind of living conditions for a large percentage of Russia’s population in the early twentieth century, the setting of the play is a further statement in protest against inequalities.
The play’s stage set represented a combination of elements actually present in slum apartments, of which there were many. Russia was not a nation of great wealth, natural resources, or manufacturing,...
[The entire page is 519 words long]
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