The Lower Depths (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Maxim Gorki
- First Published: 1902
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Setting: Russia
- Principal Characters: Kostilyoff, Vassilisa, Natasha, Vaska, Kleshtch, Anna, Nastya, The Baron, Luka, Satine, The Actor
- 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
The Story:
The cellar resembled a cave, with only one small window to illuminate its dank recesses. In a corner, thin boards partitioned off the room of Vaska, the young thief. In the kitchen lived Kvashnya, a vendor of meat pies, the decrepit Baron, and the streetwalker, Nastya. All around the room were bunks occupied by other lodgers.
Nastya, her head bent down, was absorbed in reading a novel entitled Fatal Love. The Baron, who lived largely on her earnings, seized the book and read its title aloud. Then he banged Nastya over the head with it and called her a...
[The entire page is 2040 words long]
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