The Lower Depths and Other Plays

by Maxim Gorky, Alexander Bakshy (Translator), Paul S. Nathan (Translator)

In addition to the celebrated Lower Depths , this volume contains a biographical sketch of Gorky by Alexander Bakshy and two of his less well-known plays, Enemies and The Zykovs.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Russian Literature, Drama, Russia, Theatre, College

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1959

About the author

Russian writer Aleksei Maksimovich Peshkov (Russian: Алексей Максимович Пешков) supported the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and helped to develop socialist realism as the officially accepted literary aesthetic; his works include The Life of Klim Samgin (1927-1936), an unfinished cycle of novels.

This Soviet author founded the socialist realism literary method and a political activist. People also nominated him five times for the Nobel Prize in literature. From 1906 to 1913 and from 1921 to 1929, he lived abroad, mostly in Capri, Italy; after his return to the Soviet Union, he accepted the cultural policies of the time.

Reviews

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im greatly surprised that the stand-out play in this book is not The Lower Depths, but Enemies. It has that satisfying feeling of "sharpness" that great dialogue has. The drama is almost exclusively characters pontificating about their own politics and philosophies, growing more incensed as the drama surrounding them degrades further.

That said, the Lower Depths was still quite poignant, but I am especially interested in Kurosawa's adaptation of it.

In the third play I was just particularly struck by the character of Sophia and the philosophy espoused by a couple characters that one of the greatest plagues on society is the apathy or unwillingness to actively oppose evil, not just not being directly complicit in it.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lower Depths is perhaps the best known of Maxim Gorky's plays. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter near the Volga. Produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, Konstantin Stanislavski directed and starred. It became his first major success, and a hallmark of Russian social realism.

The characters of The Lower Depths are said to have been inspired by the denizens of the Bugrov Homeless Shelter in Nizhny Novgorod, which had been built in 1880–83 by the Old Believer grain merchant and philanthropist Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov (1837–1911) in memory of his father, A. P. Bugrov. When the actors of the Moscow Arts Theatre were preparing the play for its first run in 1902, Maxim Gorky supplied them with photographs of the Nizhny Novgorod underclass taken by the famous local photographer, Maxim Dmitriev , to help with the realism of the acting and costumes.

When it first appeared, The Lower Depths was criticized for its pessimism and ambiguous ethical message. The presentation of the lower classes was viewed as overly dark and unredemptive, and Gorky was clearly more interested in creating memorable characters than in advancing a formal plot. However, in this respect, the play is generally regarded as a masterwork.

The theme of harsh truth versus the comforting lie pervades the play from start to finish, as most of the characters choose to deceive themselves over the bleak reality of their condition.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of social realism (The Lower Depths) and an interesting array of down and out characters who ponder such questions as "What is the Truth?" and "But I must have been born for some reason?". Resolutions are difficult to come by for the characters - they range from "Lying's the religion of slaves and masters; Truth's the good of the free man." to "It's good to feel yourself a man." to the plaintive "The sun it rises and it sets." Classic depressive Russian literature.

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Enemeis and The Zykovs (particularly this one) more than the Lower Depths, which I thought a bit flat. Not that any of these plays were remarkable, good though.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sense this is a book I would like better either 1) performed live or 2) on a reread, as the level of density in these plays, while commendable, manages to undercut some of the drama for me to where the story beats did not always perfectly land for me.

[Serdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

To also be enjoyed (if that word applies to a work of grim social realism) along with Akira Kurosawa's film adaptation.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Enemies" was probably my favorite play out of the three presented in this volume. Gorky creates some really amazing characters. I was particularly fascinated by his female characters like Sonya and Nadya and Tatyana. They were so strong and flippant. The way wives and marriage were handled in general is something to take note of. Wife beating seemed an inherent activity in marriage and I wonder if Gorky was speaking to the proletariat status of women in the nuclear family. Gorky has some great lines and great epigrams and great characters; the plots, well, they aren't as developed or driven as his characters are, which is fine and works in its own way. It would be interesting to see these plays performed since they seem to demand so much of the actors despite its lull in action.

[Jonette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lower depths is a wonderful play! If you read this play be sure to watch the Akira Kurosawa film of the same title.