Description of Anna in a play at the bottom. Composition "The role of female images in the play M
Young people tend to build "castles in the air", dream of something. Few people in their youth have the idea that he will never achieve anything in life, eke out a miserable existence, or even sink to the very bottom of life. More often than not, people dream of eternal love, glory, a comfortable life, service to the people, and simple human happiness. The play by M. Gorky “At the bottom” is about the same people, people who were “at the bottom”.
Initially, the play had another no less telling title, "Without the Sun." Then this name was transformed into Nochlezhka. But this option was discarded by the author. After much thought, a new version is approved - "At the bottom of life." Just before the release of the play - in 1902 - the name was reduced by one word. In the final version, the name was the most suitable of all previously voiced. The play reflected many of the contradictions of the early twentieth century. It reflects both social and philosophical conflict. There is a place and love drama. The play takes place in the Kostylev’s rooming house, where “everything is unpainted and dirty,” “stone vaults ... with loose stucco.” The inhabitants of the "bottom" - the residents of the Kostylev overnight shelter - were thrown out of their ranks by society. The "bottom" threatens stumbling, weak, unsettled people with moral or physical death. Here were people with different characters, fates and different social backgrounds: a worker and a thief, a ruined baron and a drunken actor, a woman of easy virtue and a righteous man. At the first meeting with the inhabitants of the shelter, it is clear that we are faced with suffering and very lonely people. Gorky intentionally does not give a complete biography of the characters. We can build it only according to individual remarks. So what can we say about each hero?
In general, all the inhabitants of the shelter can be divided into three groups. The first are those who are reconciled with the existing state of affairs. Having found a saving dream, lying and unrealizable in its essence, they found an excuse for refusing an active life position. The second are those people who would like to start a new life, get out of the "bottom". And the third, last way is Satin, taken separately from the others. We now consider each group separately.
Representatives of the first group are Bubnov, Nastya, Baron, Actor and Anna. We learn about Bubnov by his stories: he was once the owner of a dyeing workshop. His wife soon agreed with the master, and Bubnov, fearing for his life, preferred to simply leave. According to his theory, the very environment in which a person is placed forms the latter, puts him in complete dependence before himself. The truth of Bubnov is the truth of external circumstances, in which a person is denied personal initiative. Here we observe a true adherent of fatalism. The environment that surrounds him is mean and dirty. There are no good people, and therefore there is nothing to "paint" yourself.
Nastya is a girl of easy virtue. Despite all the cruelty, humiliation and insults, she did not despair, did not become cruel and soulless. On the contrary, she sincerely dreams of big and bright love. But in real, surrounding reality there is no place for pure love, except for its face value on pieces of paper. Not wanting to soberly look at reality, she created herself a past in which a large and pure love supposedly "lived". She gives her created world as real.
Baron - as well as Nastya lives in the past, but unlike her really took place. From time to time, recalling his former state, his famous family, the Baron is not able to deal with difficult reality. He finds salvation from the memories and bitterness of loss at the bottom of the glass. The author’s attitude to such a hero is expressed by the following phrase: "You can’t get far in the carriage of the past." So it is: the "carriage" of the Baron stands in place, and he himself does not take any steps to change his life.
The actor is another inhabitant of the rooming house. The real name of the hero is not known. In the past, he is a representative of the creative intelligentsia, but now he is simply a person with no name. Recalling its former glory, each time it colors it in brighter colors than it actually was. It is saved from the bitter "truth of life" as well as the previous hero - drunkenness.
The most miserable and tragic character, in my opinion, is Anna. She is the hardest of all: she is sick and is dying away every day. Gorky Anna is a collective image of an ordinary woman of the early twentieth century. She describes her life as follows: “I don’t remember when I was full ... Shaking over every piece of bread ... I trembled all my life ... I was tormented ... as if I couldn’t eat more than others ... All my life in rags I went ... all my unhappy life.” Most likely she was born in an ordinary poor family. Then she got married, not so much for love as for necessity. Anna’s image is rather neutral, characterizing the general mass of gray people: not doing evil in life, but also not being a bright image. She completely reconciled with the environment really Tew, hoping only for good luck in the next world.
All these people, having sunk to the very bottom after many hardships, have become ruthless to themselves and to others. In response to their complaints, they receive only laughter and bullying from others. The baron, living at the expense of Nastya, is amused by her fantasies and tears. Each is locked on his grief and leads an endless story about him, not listening to those who may also need help.
The only one who believes in the opportunity to be saved, to break out of the "bottom" is Mite - a representative of the second group. Yes, he is embittered by people, sometimes cruel to Anna - his wife. But the only one who sees salvation in a grueling, hard, but honest work: "I am a working man ... I am ashamed to look at them ... I have been working since childhood ... Do you think I will not break out of here? I will get out ... I’ll tear off my skin and crawl out. "
And finally, the third, last group. Her only representative is Konstantin Satin. Why does he stand out among others? He is the bearer of the philosophy of the truth of life in a dispute with Luke. In his opinion, one should not give up, one must openly look at troubles and try to solve them. We only know about him that in the present he is a card cheat. Previously, he worked as a telegraph operator, but after the crime committed by him, he was at the bottom. In many ways, he stands out against the background of the total mass of "gray" shelters: his remarks, education and intelligence. In a dispute with Luke, they are united by the fact that both stand on the positions of respect for man. But only everyone sees it in their own way. Satin, in his fiery monologue, argues that "lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the God of a free man." He is also against any compassion for a person: "One must respect a person! Do not be sorry ... do not humiliate him with pity." And therefore, apparently, he opens his eyes to Luke’s deceit: the actor assures that there are no free hospitals for alcoholics, Vaska Pepla jokes him to a crime. And what did such truth ultimately lead to? To the death of the Actor and the exile of Ashes to Siberia. That’s the whole truth of Konstantin Satin.
Poor and miserable before us are bedsiders. None of them could get out of the "bottom", could not change anything in themselves. So they all remained to live out their short century "at the bottom."
Gorky's play “At the Bottom” is complex and very interesting. In this work, the author was able to combine everyday concreteness and symbols, real human characters and abstract philosophy. Of course, Gorky's special skill was reflected in the description of the inhabitants of the overnight stay. You may notice that female images play an important role in the play.
Vasilisa, Natasha, Anna, Nastya, Kvashnya are interesting characters, but after reading the work it becomes bitter from the sight of women who have sunk to the bottom. As a rule, a woman is a symbol of all that is beautiful. This is an image of beauty, purity, tenderness, motherhood ... But Gorky shows us the other side of life. How will a woman behave in terrible, inhuman conditions? He will try to survive by trading himself, or will forget about all his bright feelings and will only love money, or will not stand the yoke of the most difficult social conditions and will become mortally ill ... But first things first.
Trading in dumplings Kvashnya "free woman, her own mistress." She is not yet completely hardened, capable of sympathy. At the very beginning of the play, she tries to feed the dying Anna with dumplings: “And you sing. Hot - softens. I’ll put it in your cup and leave it ... You want when, and eat! ”This woman is strong, she does not allow men to freely treat themselves. Somewhat perplexing is her sharp negative for marriage. She does not, under any pretext, want to agree to Medvedev’s proposal: “Yes, even if he is an American prince, I won’t think about marrying him.” But then we find out that Kvashnya was once married. “To marry a woman, it’s the same as jumping into an ice-hole in the winter: once she’s done, it’s memorable for her whole life ... As my dear hubby died, he wouldn’t have any tires, so I sat alone all day from joy: I’m sitting and I don’t believe my happiness ... ”The seemingly inappropriate verb“ dead ”is surprising. And you start to wonder if he speaks about the inhumanity of Kvashny or her husband? .. Unfortunately, in those terrible social conditions, the cruelty of her husband was far from rare. And immediately, we can imagine how the poor woman lived, if she was able to so enjoy the death of her husband.
From here you can smoothly go to the image of Anna. An unhappy woman is dying. Anyone can show sympathy for her, except for the Tick. At the request of his wife not to make noise, he replies: "She ached." Anna is a woman patiently blowing everything. She had long been accustomed to the beating of her husband, his rudeness and cruelty. Anna symbolizes all women like her, who believe that rude attitude is the norm in family life. And it becomes scary from such a calm attitude to eternal humiliation! And in spite of everything, Anna continues to take care of her cruel and indifferent husband: “Andrei Mitrich ... There Kvashnya left me dumplings ... take it, eat it.” From such a life there is only one salvation - death. But Anna is only thirty years old ...
The girl Nastya is always reading a tabloid romance about love and passion. The thirst for pure feelings encounters the dirt and baseness of the surrounding atmosphere, and she can only dream of. She tells her cohabitants sweet tales of unhappy love, where her lover's name is either Raul or Gaston: “Here he comes into the garden at night, into the gazebo, as we talked about ... and I have been waiting for him for a long time and trembling with fear and grief. He, too, is trembling all over — white as chalk, and in his hands is a left handed ... ”Nastya replies to the ridicule and frank mockery of her roommates:“ Silence ... miserable! Ah ... stray dogs! Is it ... can you understand ... Love? True love? And I - she had ... real! ”All this is fantasy, and in her life she is surrounded by dirt and vulgarity. After all, Nastya is a prostitute. And the only way to forget all this is to get drunk.
Vasilisa is the wife of the owner of the rooming house, symbolizing the "masters of life." But are the owners of the "bottom" different from the inhabitants of this "bottom"? Not. It is almost impossible for a person to maintain a human appearance while in a menagerie. Vasilisa is a domineering, cruel, insensitive woman. In this life, she loves only money. Vasilisa - the lover of the thief Vaska ash. But the thief, the man who has descended, has more human qualities than the "mistress of life." He speaks of his mistress: "... there is no soul in you, woman ... There must be a soul in a woman ..." And the truth is that it seems that there is no soul in Vasilisa. External beauty is opposed to internal ugliness. Assuring Ash in her love, she prompted him to steal. And then, after learning that he loves her younger sister Natasha, he promises to give her back if he kills Kostylev, Vasilisa’s husband. The mistress of the rooming house begins to hammer her sister, as if taking revenge on her for being abandoned by her lover. She cruelly mocks Natasha, knowing that she can do nothing to her in response. For by nature Natasha is a very kind and gentle person, she is still able to sincerely sympathize with people. This is precisely what attracted Vaska Ashes in it. But she does not love him enough to follow him to Siberia. Maybe she just does not dare to break with her past terrible life? Seeing Natasha and Ash together, Vasilisa closes her sister at home and begins to brutally beat and mock her. But Natasha is saved on time, not allowing Vasilisa to get to the murder of her sister. Unable to withstand such bullying anymore, Natasha shouts: “Take me too ... to prison me!” For Christ’s sake ... imprison me! .. ”Later we learn that Natasha went to the clinic, from where she later left in an unknown direction. Just not to return to that terrible house.
What about Vasilisa? She is a “smart woman”, she will probably be able to get out and, having escaped prison, will continue her former life. It is such people who can survive in these terrible conditions.
Of course, all the characters in the play are interesting in their own way, each of them, one way or another, expresses the author's position. But it is through female images that we can fully see the inhuman living conditions of both the inhabitants of the basement and the owners of the overnight stay. And it becomes uncomfortable at the sight of the complete degradation of the initially more sensitive female souls.
There are five female characters in the play. Anna is the wife of the Tick, dying humbly in the second act, compassionate and economic Kvashnya, young Vasilisa - the wife of the host of the overnight stay and mistress Vaska Pepla, young and crammed Natasha, and Nastya, indicated in the author's remark by the shy word “girl”.
In the semantic context of the work, female images are represented by two pairs of opposite characters: Kvashnya - Nastya and Vasilisa - Natasha. Beyond these pairs is Anna, who personifies pure suffering in the play. Her image is not obscured by passions and desires. She dies patiently and dutifully. It is not so much from a mortal illness that dies, but from the consciousness of its uselessness to the world. She is one of those “naked people” for whom the truth of being is unbearable. “I'm sick,” she confesses to Luka. The only aspect of death that worries her: “Is there flour, too?” Hammered, unfit for anything in this world, it resembles a thing. She does not move around the stage - they move her. Withdraw, leave in the kitchen, forget. Just as with a thing, it is treated after death. “We have to drag! “Pull it out ...” She passed away - as if the props were taken away. "Coughing, then, stopped."
Not so with the rest. In the first pair, Kvashnya represents the semantic dominant. She is almost always an au pair. Lives from his labors. Makes dumplings and trades them. What are these dumplings and who eats them - God alone knows. She lived married and now that she’s married, that noose: “Once I did it - it’s memorable for a lifetime ...” And when her husband “died”, she “sat alone” all day with happiness and joy. She is always alone in the play. Conversations and events concerns the region, as if the inhabitants of the shelter are afraid of it. Even Medvedev, the personification of law and power, her cohabitant, speaks respectfully with Kvasha — there is too much inexplicable reason, common sense and hidden aggression in her.
Her opposite, Nastya, is unprotected and accessible. She is not busy with anything, does nothing. She is a "damsel." She almost does not respond to the realities of the world. Her mind is not burdened by reflection. It is just as self-sufficient as the Kvashnya. Gorky implanted her with a strange, not invented world of “female novels”, a meager and meaningless dream of a beautiful life. She is literate and therefore reads. “There, in the kitchen, the girl sits, reads a book and cries,” Luka wonders. This is Nastya. She sobs over fiction, which miraculously seems to her her own life. She reminds a little girl who dreamed of a toy. Waking up, she tugs at her parents, demands this toy for herself. At a tender age, children do not separate sleep from reality. This happens later in the process of growing up. Nastya not only does not grow up - she does not wake up. She wakingly dreams of these candy stores, sinless dreams: “And his left hand tool is agronomic and loaded with ten bullets ... My unforgettable friend ... Raul ...” Baron rolls over her: “Nastya! Why ... after all, the last time was Gaston! ”Nastya behaves like a child. Having poked her nose into reality, she is naughty, hot, throws a cup on the floor, threatens the inhabitants: "I’ll get drunk today ... So get drunk." To get drunk means to get away from reality again. To be forgotten. Judging by indirect hints, the Baron is with her in gigolos, but she does not even recognize this. The rays of reality only glare on the surface of its consciousness, without penetrating inside. Once Nastya opens up, and it becomes clear that her life is fed by the energy of hatred. Running away, she shouts to everyone: “Wolves! So that you die! Wolves! ”She pronounces this remark at the end of the fourth act, and therefore, there is a hope to wake up.
Vasilisa represents the imperious beginning of the play. She is Athena Pallas of an overnight stay, her evil genius. She acts alone - all the others exist. The criminal and melodramatic plot intrigues are associated with her image. There are no internal bans for Vasilisa. She, like everyone in the rooming house, is a "naked man," she "is everything allowed." And Vasilisa uses this while the rest are just talking. The author presented her with a cruel and merciless character. The concept of “impossible” lies beyond the limits of her moral consciousness. And she thinks in a consistent way: "Enjoy - kill, to enjoy." Her antipode Natasha is the purest and brightest image of the play. Out of jealousy for Vaska, Pepla Vasilisa is constantly beating and tormenting Natasha, her husband, old Kostylev, helps her. Triggered instinct. Natasha is one of all who believes and still hopes, not waiting for haberdashery, but true love, looking for her. But,
unfortunately, the geography of her search occurs on that section of the bottom where the Spanish galleons loaded with gold do not rest. The dim light reaching “from above, from the viewer” allows us to consider only the faces of the permanent inhabitants. Natasha doesn’t believe anyone. Neither Luke nor Ash. It's just that she, like Marmeladov, has nowhere to go. When Kostylev is killed, she shouts: “Take me too ... to prison me!” Natasha is clear - the Ashes did not kill. All fault. They all killed. That is her truth. Her, not Satin. Not really a proud, strong person, but the truth of the humiliated and offended.
Female images in Gorky's play “At the Bottom” carry a serious semantic load. The damaging world of the inhabitants of the shelter thanks to their presence becomes closer and more understandable. They are, as it were, guarantors of its reliability. It is through their voices that the author openly speaks of compassion, of the unbearable boredom of life. They have their own forerunners in books, many literary projections from the previous artistic tradition come together on them. The author does not hide this. More important is another: it is they that cause the most sincere feelings of hatred or compassion among readers and spectators of the play.
/ / / The role of female images in Gorky's play “At the Bottom”
The play by M. Gorky "" is filled with various female characters, each of which has its own role. Reading the play, we get acquainted with such interesting female images as Anna, Kvashnya, Natasha, Vasilisa, Nastya. And every woman has her own story, which touches and surprises.
All these women are trying to survive in that social unevenness and poverty. Kvashnya was engaged in trade in dumplings. She used to consider herself a free woman. Her role in this play is not quite callous and rude. In one of the episodes of the play, she shows pity for the suffering Anna and tries to feed her hot dumplings.
The sour woman is wary of men, as her unsuccessful marriage left nothing good in her memory. Her husband died and she was happy about it, she was happy that she had finally got rid of him. What kind of feeling can arise among us, the readers of this woman after such words. But, we have no right to judge. After all, no one knows how the deceased husband treated his wife. At that time, the beating of a woman was considered completely normal, therefore, perhaps, Kvashnya more than once fell under a hot hand. All this aroused the woman’s fear of marriage, and she vowed to no longer agree to the proposals of men.
Anna is shown to the reader by an absolutely unhappy woman. She is near death, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Her serious condition causes compassion for everyone except her own husband. He is cruel and callous. He repeatedly beat Anna, and she suffered all offenses and considered them the norm of family life. Her character shows a generalized image of all the women of that time. Almost all of them fell under the brutality of men and endured it. Therefore, in such a terrible situation, it was death that could be the only way out for Anna.
Reckless girl Nastya is constantly passionate about reading romance novels. She dreams of meeting her love, she comes up with fairy tales about her love suitors, whom she named differently each time. She dissuaded her neighbors from all the ridicule and kept telling them all about true love. But all this is fantasy, because Nastya was a prostitute. She was surrounded by filth and humiliation. And the only salvation was in an alcoholic glass.
Vasilisa is a special woman whose appearance is absolutely opposed to the inner ugly world. She is cruel and insensitive, she pushes her lover to kill her husband, she eats away her younger sister because her lover abandoned her. There is no soul in this woman. She is dry and callous.
Natasha, Vasilisa’s sister, was a rather gentle and sensual person. She does not dare to leave with Ashes in Siberia. Vasilisa, hating her, closes Natasha at home and beat him, almost to death. The heroine is saved, after which she ends up in the clinic and no longer wants to return to this terrible house.
The play “At the Bottom” is a rather complicated, but very interesting piece by Gorky. The author managed to combine in it everyday specifics and generalized symbols, real human images and abstract philosophy. Gorky’s mastery was especially evident in the description of such unlike each other, the inhabitants of the shelter. An important role in the work is played by female images.
Natasha, Vasilisa, Nastya, Anna, Kvashnya are very interesting and peculiar characters. These women sank to the very “bottom” of life, their appearance is depressing and causes bitter feelings in the reader. Usually, a woman is a symbol of the beautiful, pure and bright. The female image is an image of tenderness, love and motherhood. However, Gorky shows the reader a completely different side of life. When a woman finds herself in terrible and cruel conditions, she is forced to behave somewhat differently.
Someone will try to survive by selling themselves, while someone will break down and become mortally ill, unable to withstand heavy oppression. Consider specific images from the play.
Saucer is a dumpling trader, a free and strong woman; she does not allow any man to freely treat her. Her attitude towards marriage is sharply negative. It turns out that Kvashnya was already married once, but this bitter experience left an indelible mark on her soul for life. You can imagine how cruel her husband was, and how unhappy their family life was, if a woman was so happy about her husband's death that she simply could not believe her happiness.
But, in spite of everything, Kvashnya remained sensitive to someone else's grief and did not lose its humanity. She pities the dying Anna and tries to feed her dumplings. But she won’t marry anymore, even enough for the prince, enough.
The next heroine of the play is an unfortunate woman named Anna. She is seriously ill and is near death. Many sympathize with her, regret and try to ease the torment of the last days of her life. Only Tick, her husband, is still rude and indifferent to Anna. She is accustomed to his cruelty and patiently perceives this behavior of her husband. Anna symbolizes all women who consider rudeness to be the norm of family relations. Even, being on the verge of death, she takes care of her indifferent and callous husband (she offers to eat dumplings, which the Kvashnya left for her). Anna is only thirty years old, she is dying, and there is nothing bright in her existence.
The girl Nastya reads tabloid romances, dreams of lofty feelings, of bright love, but in her life she is surrounded by baseness and filth, vulgarity and rudeness. She tells the cohabitants sweet tales of love that are born in her imagination. She is openly mocked at, because Nastya is an ordinary prostitute, she can only dream of pure and true love. Her only opportunity to forget about all this is to get drunk.
Vasilisa - is a representative of the "masters of life", because she is the wife of the owner of the rooming house. But the owners of the "bottom" are not much different from its inhabitants. It is almost impossible to maintain a human appearance if you are constantly in the menagerie. Vasilisa is an imperious, insensitive and cruel woman who loves only money. Her lover Vaska Ashes, a thief who has no moral principles, and he notices that this woman has no soul. Her external beauty is opposed to internal ugliness. She swears to Ash the love and pushes him to steal. Then he finds out that he loves her sister Natasha and promises to give her to him if Ashes kill Kostylev, Vasilisa’s wife. Then the mistress of the rooming house begins to cruelly mock her sister. She is angry with Natasha and takes revenge on her for leaving her lover. Natasha cannot answer her anything; she, by her nature, is a kind and gentle person, capable of sympathizing with another's grief. Seeing Natasha once with Ash, Vasilisa becomes enraged and, having locked her sister in the house, beat her to death. Natasha is ready to go even to jail for Ashes, just not to return to Vasilisa’s house. She gets to the clinic, and from there disappears in an unknown direction, fleeing from the cruelty of her sister.
Vasilisa, for sure, will be able to get out and avoid prison. She will continue her former life, since only with a character like her can one survive in these monstrous conditions.
