The soullessness of the Kostylev couple. Images of the masters of life based on the play At the Bottom (Gorky Maxim) Who killed Kostylev at the Bottom

The “owners” in Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” can be considered Kostylev and his wife, “boy-woman” Vasilisa.

The acquaintance of readers and viewers with the owner of the flophouse, Kostylev, begins in the first act of the drama. He is looking for his wife Vasilisa. She meets with Vaska Ash. Kostylev is well aware of this, but there is one “but”. He, for all his rudeness and inhumanity, is cowardly. Another man would have long ago, once and for all, put an end to this humiliating situation for every husband and put his wife’s lover in his place. But here’s the paradox: Kostylev is afraid to catch them together. And not because it will hurt him to see his beloved in the arms of another (there is no talk of love here), but because he will have to (so as not to be considered a coward) fight with the offender. But Kostylev is afraid of the desperate Vaska. So he pretends that he knows nothing about his wife’s love affair.

The following episode clearly illustrates the cowardice of this man: Ash shakes Kostylev, angry that he disturbed his peace. And what about Kostylev? He resembles a frightened bunny: “Yes... it’s okay for me... I’ll leave...”

Kostylev is hated in the shelter. Yes, you can’t treat him differently. He is cunning, greedy, and covers up his greed with lofty words about kindness. The meaning of his words comes down to the fact that kindness is above all goods, therefore he, as a good person, cannot equate kindness with money. Kindness is one thing, monetary debt is another: “Can kindness of heart be compared with money?”

Kostylev is a pious man. But, as it seemed to me, not out of love for God, but again out of a feeling of fear, fear that God would punish him. So, taking fifty dollars from Kleshch, he emphasizes that with this money he will buy butter for the lamp, that is, he will use it for God, not for his own needs: “And I’ll throw fifty dollars at you, - I’ll buy butter for the lamp... and it will be in front of the saint my sacrifice will burn like an icon...And the sacrifice will be made for me, and the retribution of my sins, and for you too.”

Kostylev speaks about love for one’s neighbor: “And I love you all... I understand, my beloved brothers, you are worthless, lost...”. What lofty words, how beautiful, but they are worthless! He is somewhat reminiscent of Judushka Golovlev, the hero of Saltykov-Shchedrin...

Kostylev is a fierce beast in relation to people.

He openly bullies his wife’s younger sister, twenty-year-old Natasha: she forces her to serve herself as if she were a serf, humiliates her with the words “beggar”, “freeloader”, “pig”... And reproaches her with every piece of bread.

Kostylev will sell a person for a penny... A penny is like a red price for Kostylev the man, or more precisely, for his humanity.

Kostylev’s wife, Vasilisa, is twenty-six years old. She is very young, her husband is twice her age. Vasilisa appears at the shelter, swearing and swearing at the inhabitants. But it seemed to me that this stern, rude woman was actually very unhappy.

In her family life she is deeply unhappy. “He stuck to me like a bug, sucking me for four years!” - she says about her husband. Of course, this failed female fate led to the desire to find warmth on the side. This is how Vaska Pepel appeared in her life. But this man did not bring her happiness either. He preferred pure, honest Natasha...

And Vasilisa didn’t really love Vaska, she rather loved her hope in him. Vasilisa pinned her hope on Vaska to get out of the whirlpool that had disgusted her, to free herself from her hated husband: “And maybe it wasn’t you, Vasya, that I loved... but my hope, I loved this thought in you... Do you understand? I was waiting for you to pull me out...”

Vasilisa’s desire to escape from the dirty world, the desire to get away from where debauchery reigns, the swearing does not stop, cannot be condemned. But she does not dream of something lofty, like, for example, Vaska, her dreams are vulgar, mundane...

A woman is the personification of femininity, beauty, love, family comfort, motherhood... But not Vasilisa. She dreams of killing her hated husband, not so much for the sake of freedom from Kostylev’s humiliation and beatings. The money owned by the spouse played a significant role in making this decision. This cold-blooded woman persuades her lover to commit murder. She cripples her own sister by scalding her legs with boiling water. No, Vasilisa doesn’t love Vaska, but her pride is hurt.

And what an apt description Vaska Pepel gave her: “... you have no soul, woman... A woman must have a soul... We are animals... we need... we need to be taught...”

And so Vaska killed Kostylev. And this terrible woman screams: “Killed! My husband...that's who killed him! Vaska killed! I saw! Darlings - I saw it! What - Vasya? Police!".

Vasilisa wants to escape from the bottom of life, taking possession of her husband’s money, and live comfortably on it. But this is dirty money made from the suffering of disadvantaged people...

These are the owners in the play “At the Bottom”: rude, cruel, inhuman...

whoever can (help a lot) this is an internal exam in literature 1. What is the tragedy of the love of Zheltkov, the hero of Kuprin’s story “The Garnet Bracelet”?
2. Prove that for the hero of Kuprin’s story “The Garnet Bracelet,” love is the highest value of the world.
3. Show the richness of the spiritual world of the heroine of Kuprin’s story “Olesya”.
4. Prove by giving examples from Kuprin’s works that his favorite hero is a young man, gentle, intelligent, conscientious, ardently sympathetic to his “little brother” and at the same time weak-willed, tragically subject to the forces of environment and circumstances.
5. Why is the era of poets of the early 20th century characterized as the “Silver Age” of Russian poetry? What are its fundamental differences from the “golden age”?
6. What three pieces of advice does the lyrical hero of the poem V.Ya. give to the young poet? Bryusov "To the Young Poet"? Do you agree with his position? What, in your opinion, should a true poet be? Read the poem by heart.
7. Tell us what you know about Bryusov, the translator. Name its main translations. What languages ​​are they used in?
8. How does Balmont’s lyrics show interest in ancient Slavic folklore? What images arise? Analyze the poems “Evil Spells” and “Firebird”.
9. What picture does Balmont paint in the poem “First Love”? Tell us about your perception of this poem.
10. Describe the work of early Mayakovsky. What are its main specific features? Read one poem from this period by heart.
11. “Freedom is the most beautiful thing in life, for the sake of it a person should be ready to sacrifice everything, even his life.” Confirm Gorky’s words with examples from his stories “Makar Chudra” and “Old Woman Izergil”.
12. Prove that even a crazy but extraordinary step, according to Gorky, will remain in people’s memory. Give examples from “The Song of the Falcon”, “The Song of the Petrel”, “The Legend of Marco”.
13. What is the meaning of the title of the play “At the Bottom”? Explain its symbolic meaning.
14. Who is Blok’s cycle of poems “Poems about a Beautiful Lady” dedicated to? What was it written for? Analyze 3 poems from this collection. Read one by heart.
15. How is the theme of the House revealed in Bulgakov’s novel “The White Guard”? What symbolic meaning does the word “house” have for Bulgakov?
16. What philosophical problems are raised in Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”?
17. Show the inextricability of the connection between Tsvetaeva’s fate and creativity and Moscow. Analyze the cycle “Poems about Moscow”. Read one poem by heart.
18. Describe the image of the lyrical heroine of the poem “Requiem”.
19. Describe the Cossack life depicted by Sholokhov. Show the peculiarities of Cossack speech. How they help the writer convey the vitality of the setting. How does a writer depict the life of a village?
20. Describe the family structure of the Melekhovs, Korshunovs, Astakhovs. Make a comparative description.
21. How is the First World War depicted in the novel “Quiet Don”?
22. Compare Aksinya and Natalya, explain Gregory’s feelings for each of them. What is the significance of the heroines' names? Why do they both die?
23. What is the meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man”?
24. Give a detailed description of military prose and poetry. Analyze 2 works.
25. Give a detailed description of urban prose. Analyze 2 works.

Gorky's works are very interesting for their problematics and depth of philosophical reasoning. The play “At the Bottom,” in this regard, has achieved 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 social characteristics, but also the so-called “masters of life”, who are represented by the Kostylev couple, the owners of the shelter. 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 more worthy than this greedy old man. In every “tramp” you can find some positive qualities, albeit slightly distorted by inhumane 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 her main position in life. 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 herself 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, the murder of Kostylev cannot solve the social conflict of the play. 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.”

Characters:

Satin Actor

approximately the same age: about 40 years old.

Crooked goiter Tatar

hook makers

Act one

A cave-like basement. The ceiling is heavy, stone vaults, smoked, with crumbling plaster. Light from the viewer and, from top to bottom, from the square window on the right side. The right corner is occupied by Ash’s room, fenced off by thin partitions, near the door to this room - Bubnov’s bunk. In the left corner there is a large Russian stove; in the left stone wall there is a door to the kitchen where Kvashnya, Baron, Nastya live. Between the stove and the door against the wall there is a wide bed covered with a dirty chintz curtain. There are bunks everywhere along the walls. In the foreground, near the left wall, is a stump of wood with a vice and a small anvil attached to it, and another, lower than the first. On the last one, in front of the anvil, sits Tick, trying on keys to old locks. At his feet are two large bunches of different keys, mounted on wire rings, a damaged samovar made of tin, a hammer, and filings. In the middle of the shelter there is a large table, two benches, a stool, everything is unpainted and dirty. At the table, by the samovar, Kvashnya is in charge, the Baron is chewing black bread, and Nastya is on a stool, reading a tattered book, leaning on the table. Anna is coughing on the bed, covered with a canopy. Bubnov, sitting on his bunk, tries on old, torn trousers on a hat blank, clamped in his knees, figuring out how to cut them. Near it are tattered cardboard from under a hat for visors, pieces of oilcloth, rags. Satin has just woken up, lies on the bunk and growls. On the stove, invisible, the Actor is fiddling and coughing.

The beginning of spring. Morning.