Characteristics of the characters in the play at the bottom of the basilisk. M. Gorky "At the Bottom": description, characters, analysis of the play. Several interesting essays

In my opinion, the most interesting hero of the play “At the Lower Depths” this is Vasilisa. Why? Yes, because Gorky put all the negativity into this heroine human soul. She is young, pretty, but at the same time there is not a drop of sensuality or respect in her,
trust. Rather, betrayal and lies are the main reflection of its essence. To build negative character, every author has to experience something similar in their life. For example, Nabokov suffered from pedophilia for a long time until he wrote
mine famous novel"Lolita". What happened to Gorky, who inspired him to create the image of Vasilisa? History is silent about this... This heroine is ready to do anything for the sake of money, even to kill her own husband. She is married to a fifty-four-year-old rooming house keeper, although she is twenty-six herself. She is full of strength and energy, her husband is already almost “dead”. While reading the play, the topic of Vasilisa’s love for her husband never once arose in my thoughts. But did she really love him? Probably not, in my opinion she didn’t love anyone at all except herself and MONEY, Money, money. Which she craved more and more, trying to get rid of her husband as quickly as possible.

She has a lover, Vaska Pepel, who for her is only an object for achieving her own goals, she does not love him and she is completely indifferent to whom he ends up with...

Sister Natasha is twenty years old, whom she constantly beats for dating Vaska. Although she understands perfectly well that she is wrong and she doesn’t care who she’s with. But as a “caring” sister, she must protect her from the Ashes. Everyone she lives with considers her a “fierce woman” who doesn’t think about anyone but herself. She considers herself the full-fledged mistress of the shelter and does not disdain the term “hostess” at all. Yes, she wants to feel like one, bathe in luxury, live with her young husband.
But these are only dreams, and she is only the wife of the owner of the shelter. Wife, how much is invested in this term, but probably in Vasilisa’s time, it was represented differently. All the so-called wives only wanted one-rich old husband and handsome
young lover. But in all this, the parents are probably to blame, who first of all thought about their daughter’s well-being, and not about her happiness.

He talks to the residents of the shelter like a businessman: “I don’t care who you are! You live out of mercy - don’t forget! How much do you owe me?” she said turning to Bubnov. Humiliating others is another property of negativity. And one of the most disgusting. Even after living for some time with all the night shelters, she relates to them. Like the dregs of society, losers.

He treats Kleshch's life with contempt, however, just like he himself plays with Vasily, like a fox with a kolobok, he wants only one thing - to get rid of his husband, of whom only one name remains - husband. He tells Ash that they can help each other: he will kill her husband, and she will let him and his sister go. Saying this, she considers herself a decisive woman, even the mistress of other people's destinies. She holds her sister for a toy that she can give or “throw away” along with Vaska. But he doesn’t want this, he says: “Beast! Are you boasting about your atrocity? Acts out in front of her husband loving wife, but in fact...

Luke, the righteous man, considers her " bad person" But in my heart, nevertheless, I think that he forgives her everything. Vasilisa starts a scandal, during which Vasily inadvertently kills Kostylev.

She accuses Vaska of killing her husband, which suggests that she is a traitor, a liar, and is ready to do anything to get out of this story, which she herself started. She achieved what she wanted. She accomplished her Evil, which she had been going towards for so long. But, it seems to me, she does not think that there is blood on her hands, rather, on the contrary, she thinks that all the “dirty work” hangs on Vaska Peple, she has nothing to do with it at all, she does not feel any remorse.

Vasilisa and Vaska are taken to the police station...
After this, at the feast, Nastya reflects: “Vasilisa will turn out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor..."

I think that's exactly the case. Cunning and calculating people will turn out everywhere! Vasilisa is the concentration of everything bad that is in a person. Gorky tried to use it to show how cruel our world can be. But, on the other hand, without such “negative” heroines and heroes, literature would not be interesting. Negative heroes captivate with their firmness and cruelty.

I really like this heroine precisely because she is a completely extraordinary villain, all the facets of badness are strictly defined in her, she is a pure negative hero. Although there may be some ray of light in it, Gorky did not show it to us, the readers. And he turned Vasilisa into a first-class villain!

It is much more difficult to embody Vasilisa on stage than a positive heroine. But much more interesting, in their opinion negative heroes even more alive than the positive ones, but perhaps they are wrong...

In the work “At the Bottom,” the author described the life of people from the lowest social class. This society included ragamuffins, drunks, and homeless people living in a shelter owned by Mikhail Kostylev. Kostylev was married to a young girl named Vasilisa.

Vasilisa Karpovna was a selfish woman who loved to rule. She was only 26 years old. Selfish motives forced her to marry old Kostylev. Mikhail Ivanovich was 54 years old. Vasilisa was a beautiful and attractive woman. The heroine has been married for 4 years. She called her husband a “bug” who was sucking the youth out of her. The heroine's younger sister Natasha lived with them. Mikhail constantly mocked the poor girl. The girls had an uncle who worked in the police. The uncle considered Vasilisa clever and smart woman. Natasha thought she was very cunning. Because Vasilisa extricated herself from any circumstance.

Vasilisa Kostyleva was proud and did not ask others for help, alms or attention. According to Bubnov, the heroine was distinguished by her cruelty and stern disposition. Those around her called the heroine a “poisonous viper” or “devil.” Vaska Pepel called her soulless. Vaska stole and lived in a shelter. He paid for the rent with stolen items. Vasilisa started with Vaska love relationship. The heroine's enterprise and cunning knew no bounds. Having found out about Vaska’s feelings for Natasha, Vasilisa incited the thief to kill Mikhail Kostylev. In return, Kostyleva promises to give him money and marry Natasha to him.

To become rich, she turned her sister into a puppet. At the same time, Vasilisa does not hide her profit, greed and boasts that she will soon become a rich widow. Hearing Vaska’s refusal, the heroine reminded him of the time spent with her. To persuade the guy, she began to threaten. Vaska did not give in and did not want to kill old Kostylev. To persuade him, Vasilisa began to mock Natasha, who, therefore, was experiencing difficult times.

Mocking her sister, she spills boiling water on her. In the end, Vasilisa persuaded Ash to kill her old husband. So Vasilisa became rich. The ability to adapt to the situation and resourcefulness made Vasilisa a cruel mistress of the shelter and life.

Essay about Vasilisa

In his play “At the Depths,” Maxim Gorky describes the life of people of the lower social society. Drunkards, tramps, and tramps inhabit the shelter, which is maintained by Mikhail Ivanovich Kostylev. He has a wife, a young woman of twenty-six years old, Vasilisa.

Vasilisa is a power-hungry, selfish woman. She married Kostylev, who is almost thirty years older than her, not out of love, but out of base, selfish motives. Her greedy nature requires enrichment, and Vasilisa is ready to take any step to get rich. She wants wealth while she is still young so she can live for her own pleasure.

Vaska Pepel lives in their shelter; on a tip from the Kostylev family, he is engaged in theft, and they buy stolen things from him, reselling them at exorbitant prices. Vasilisa began a love relationship with this inhabitant of their shelter. She is an insidious and enterprising woman; having learned that Vaska Ash likes her sister Natasha, Vasilisa incites her lover to kill her old husband. Using all her feminine charm, the heartless housewife uses cunning and flattery to convince Vaska to help her get rid of her hated husband. Vasilisa promises to give Ash her sister and give him money so that Vaska can escape from the city. For the sake of possessing her husband’s wealth, she disposes of Natasha like a thing. Vasilisa does not hide from her lover her greed and profit, how rich and independent she will become when her husband is gone. When Vaska refuses, Vasilisa reproaches him, reminding him of the days spent together. She is, in fact, threatening him. Ash does not give in to persuasion ex-lover, and then, to annoy him, Vasilisa begins to cruelly mock her own sister, who already has a hard time living in their house.

In the end, she scalds Natasha with boiling water, guessing that Vaska will come running to help. She provokes her guest, and Vaska, by pure chance, kills Kostylev. This is how the insidious Vasilisa achieves her goal. It is clear to everyone that a selfish woman will come out unscathed. Naturally, in any case, she will pay off the police, which means she will become the full owner of the shelter, receive all her husband’s fortune, and at the same time get rid of both her unnecessary sister and her former lover. Her resourcefulness and ability to adapt to any circumstances will make Vasilisa an even more cruel and unprincipled mistress of not only the shelter, but also life.

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Gorky's dramaturgy is very interesting for its problematics and the power of its philosophical reflections. The play “At the Depths,” which represents the totality of the writer’s social and philosophical views, achieved a certain perfection in this regard.

The exhibition, with the help of extensive author's remarks and statements of the characters, depicts a “cave-like basement” in which thieves, cheaters, prostitutes, former employees: mechanic Kleshch, cap maker Bubnov, telegraph operator Satin, Actor, Baron. Their situation is not much different from each other, despite the fact that some, like Kleshch, hope to “break out”, others, like Satin, want to “forget about human life" All of them are at different stages of falling “to the bottom,” but nevertheless, they are freed from social characteristics and differences, remaining naked.

This characterization of the characters makes it possible to show social conflict from an unusual point of view. There are masters here too, but they operate on a microscopic scale. So, the “masters of life” in the work are represented by the hostel owner Kostylev, a hypocritical, cowardly, disgusting old man who squeezes profit from the living and the dead, from every breath of his victims, and his wife Vasilisa, a cruel, greedy predator who makes her way through crimes.

Kostylev, the owner of the flophouse, appears in the play in the first act. And his very first phrase can inspire hostility towards him. The old man enters the basement at the moment when the Actor is trying to take the dying Anna out into the hallway to breathe. fresh air. Seeing them, Kostylev declares: “Oh, what a nice couple, a ram and a little lamb.” It immediately becomes clear that we will not see a drop of sympathy in this character. A little later, the owner of the shelter promises Kleshch to throw another “fifty kopecks” onto his main payment. To this Kleshch answers him: “You throw a noose around me and crush me... You’ll die soon, but you’re still thinking about fifty dollars...” Kostylev is a disgusting character, Gorky, in order to emphasize this, gives him the opportunity to talk about kindness. What satire!.. “Can kindness of heart be compared with money? Kindness is above all good things.” And we hear these words from a man who literally crushes his inhabitants with inhuman conditions, about which he himself later says: “And I love you all... I understand, my brothers, you are unfortunate, worthless, lost...”. Those who are socially inferior, in morally the inhabitants of the basement seem much more humane than this “master of life.” In almost every basement "tramp" you can find some kind of good qualities, albeit perverted due to such an inhuman life, but they exist. We cannot find a single positive trait in Kostylev.

The image of Kostylev’s wife Vasilisa is also indicative in terms of the “masters of life”. This woman has no morals. Marrying an old man for money and a certain social status, she showed her position in life. She is a “smart woman” and knows how to adapt to any situation.

Initially, we only learn about Vasilisa that she is the mistress of the thief Vaska Ash. But what is it? Real feelings, emotions or again cold calculation, search for permanent benefit? More likely the second. Of course, with an old husband it’s good to have a young lover, but if there is another, monetary benefit from the lover... Vasilisa knows that Vaska depends on her, understands that she can hand him over to the police at any moment and forces him to steal. How long this lasted is unknown. Gorky brings us to the moment when Ash decided to rebel: “You are beautiful, Vaska... but my heart was never in love with you... And I lived with you and that’s all... but I never liked you... “It turns out that Vaska Pepel loves Vasilisa’s younger sister. And it is impossible to love the hostess of the shelter, because she is a beautifully built monster. Behind the beautiful appearance there is a terrible, ugly essence. Ash himself speaks about her very precisely: “you have no soul, woman... A woman must have a soul... We are animals... we need... we need to be taught... and what have you taught me to do?..”. But even in this situation, Vasilisa is not lost, but invites Vasily to give up his younger sister Natasha, for which he will have to kill Kostylev. It immediately becomes clear to us that Vasilisa did not have any bright emotions for Ash. Wanting to deal with everyone in one fell swoop, she incites Vaska to commit a crime. Otherwise, she promises to completely torture her younger sister. And everything turned out exactly as Vasilisa had planned. Seeing Vaska and Natasha talking, she drives her sister home, locks herself in the room with her and begins to brutally beat her. Gorky does not show us this scene, but already knowing what this monstrous woman is capable of, it becomes scary.

The fight scene can be called the climax of the social conflict of the drama. Through negligence, Ash still kills Kostylev. Now he faces prison or hard labor. Vasilisa did her terrible job; in one fell swoop she got rid of three people at once: her husband, her lover and her sister. And it’s okay that they take her to the police station along with Vaska. She is a “smart woman” and can always get out. It is precisely such people who are capable of living in such living conditions. It’s unlikely that anything will ever bring her down; she’s too cunning and resourceful for that. And if we talk about resolving the social conflict, the murder of Kostylev was completely senseless. It didn't allow social contradictions. The inhabitants of the shelter returned to their activities. And Vasilisa will most likely act as the owner of the basement, and it is easy to imagine that life under her yoke will become completely unbearable for the “tramps”.

Thus, Gorky, through the images of Kostylev and Vasilisa, showed the moral level of the “masters of life” of the bottom. In this regard, they fell even lower than the inhabitants of the shelter, for there was nothing human left in them.

Vasilisa is the wife of the hostel owner Kostylev, she represents the “masters of life.” She is cruel, domineering and treacherous. In life, she is only interested in money.

She is very beautiful on the outside, but this cannot hide the ugliness of her soul. She doesn't love her husband. He's old and the only reason their marriage - Vasilisa’s desire to have money from her husband’s shelter.

Vasilisa constantly beats her sister, a kind and pure girl, especially after she found out that her young lover Vaska Pepel fell in love with her.

Is the lover of the thief Ash, threatens him with the police

And he incites him to steal, and then to kill his husband. Ash characterizes Vasilisa this way:

“... there is no soul in you, woman... A woman must have a soul...”;

"Beast! Are you boasting about your atrocity?”

After Ash refuses, Vasilisa begins beating her sister Natasha. It comes to the point that she pours boiling water on her. A fight ensues in which Kostylev is killed.

Vasilisa is arrested along with Ash, but it becomes clear that she will be able to escape punishment.

“Vasilisa will turn out! She is cunning. And Vaska will be sent to hard labor..."


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  36. Work by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry “ The Little Prince” through the prism of a fantastic plot, sheds light on simple universal truths that were relevant both in the time of the writer (the work is dated 1943) and now. Deep philosophical ideas of the human soul’s comprehension of wisdom, goodness, love and beauty are fully revealed thanks to the system of images of this parable-fairy tale. It is noteworthy that the main character [...]
  37. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is an amazing, wise and incredibly talented monument ancient Russian literature. Images strong men it is written very clearly and clearly. But a Russian woman, who does not have physical strength and power, is not lost against their background. Yaroslavna is the wife of Prince Igor, a young, fragile and tender woman. She learned about the death of the army, the capture of her husband […]...
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  39. M. Gorky's drama “At the Lower Depths” was written in 1902. The characters in this play are people who, as a result of social processes that took place at the turn of the century, found themselves thrown to the very bottom of life. Social conflict is present in the play primarily in the form of a confrontation between the owners of the shelter, the Kostylevs, and its inhabitants. Kostylev appears in the eyes of the night shelters as a rich man who thinks [...]
  40. Works fiction, which touch on eternal issues, usually have great popularity and long life, since it is the eternal that always resonates in human hearts. M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” is exactly such a work. The problem of humanism is most clearly expressed in the play. And humanism is love for a person, a desire to help him. Luke, one of the main characters [...]

Gorky's works are very interesting for their problematics and depth of philosophical reasoning. The play “At the Bottom,” in this regard, has reached a certain perfection, since it represents a set of social and philosophical views of the author himself.

With the help of the author's detailed remarks and statements from the characters in the play themselves, Gorky very expressively depicts the scene of action - a flophouse that looks more like a cave. Sharpers, thieves, prostitutes, former workers (telegraph operator Satin, mechanic Kleshch, cap maker Bubnov and others) live, fight and die here. All of them are in almost the same position, although the degree to which they fall to the “bottom” is different. Some strive to escape poverty, while others have completely renounced normal human life and are subject to the will of circumstances.

The play depicts social conflict in a very unusual way.

Among the heroes of the work there are not only the inhabitants of the shelter, who have lost all sorts of social signs, but also the so-called “masters of life”, who are represented by a couple of Kostylevs, the owners of the flophouse. The hypocritical and cowardly old man Kostylev squeezes profit out of each of his victims, and his wife Vasilisa, with the cruelty of a greedy predator, makes her way through crimes.

The owner of the flophouse appears in the first act of the play, and from his very first remark the reader understands that nothing good should be expected from this character. Kostylev enters the basement, and at this time the Actor helps the dying Anna go out into the hallway to get some fresh air. The old man mockingly calls them a “couple,” without feeling a drop of sympathy for the grief of others. Later, Kostylev promises Kleshch to throw another “fifty kopecks” onto his main board. The tick does not hide his disgust for the owner of the shelter, who is ready to extract the last means of subsistence from people. Old man Kostylev is a disgusting character. To emphasize this, Gorky gives him the opportunity to speak about kindness. What satire are the words from Kostylev’s mouth that kindness is the highest good! The inhabitants of the shelter, existing at the very “bottom” of life, seem morally much higher and worthy than this greedy old man. In every "tramp" you can find some positive qualities, albeit slightly distorted by inhuman living conditions. The reader will not find a single good quality in Kostylev.

The image of Vasilisa, Kostylev’s wife, is no less indicative in terms of depicting the “masters of life.” This woman has no moral principles. She married an old man for money and decent social status. This is its main life position. Vasilisa is a “smart woman” who knows how to adapt to any circumstances.

The reader immediately learns about Vasilisa that she has the thief Vaska Ash as her lover. But, of course, she doesn’t have real feelings for him. Having a young lover with an old husband is good, but if there is also monetary gain, then it is doubly pleasant. Vasilisa understands perfectly well that Ash depends on her, because at any moment she can hand him over to the police. Therefore, she easily manages to force Vaska to steal for her. The reader does not know how long their relationship lasted, but one day Vaska decides to rebel. He openly expresses to Vasilisa everything that has boiled in his soul during their communication. It turns out that in fact he loves not the soulless Vasilisa, but her younger sister Natasha. Vasilisa immediately finds a way to benefit from the current situation: she is ready to give Vaska her sister on the condition that he kills her husband. Thus, the hostess of the shelter wants to get rid of all the people she dislikes at once. If she refuses, she promises the ashes to torture Natasha to death. Having caught them together one day, Vasilisa locks Natasha in the house and brutally beats her. Behind this woman's beautiful appearance lies a real monster capable of terrible things.

A conflict occurs between Ash and Kostylev, and Vaska accidentally kills the owner of the shelter. Now he faces hard labor. Vasilisa eventually achieved her goal: she got rid of her husband, lover and sister in one fell swoop. True, she, too, along with Vaska, is taken to the police station. But, of course, she can get out. Only people like Vasilisa are able to exist in such conditions. Nothing can bring her down; cunning and resourcefulness will help this woman survive under any circumstances.

Of course, killing Kostylev cannot solve social conflict plays. Vasilisa will now become the owner of the shelter, and it will be very bad for its inhabitants. With the help of the images of Vasilisa and Kostylev, Gorky showed the level of moral decline of the “masters of life.” There is nothing human left in them, and, in this regard, the “tramps” look much more worthy than their “masters.”