Dec 22, 2009

The Lower Depths | The Lower Depths

At a glance:

Author: Maxim Gorki
First Published: 1902
Type of Work: Play
Type of Plot: Naturalism
Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
Setting: Russia
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

Characters Discussed

Mikhail Kostilyoff (mih-hah- IHL kohs-tih-LYOHF), the greedy and corrupt landlord of the flophouse in which the characters live and the action takes place. Suspicious of his wife, he trails her constantly. A superstitious hypocrite, he says pious platitudes and then raises the rent on Kleshtch, an impoverished tenant. He cowers before Pepel, to whom he owes money for stolen goods, and he bullies his sister-in-law, Natasha. No one misses him in the slightest when he is killed during a brawl.

Vassilisa Karpovna (vah-sih- LIH-sah kahr-POHV-nah), his...

[The entire page is 1145 words long]

The Lower Depths | The Lower Depths

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

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