How Western "democracy" likes to call us "unwashed Russia". In response, we can be quietly offended or loudly indignant, but do we think that this definition stuck to us with the light hand of Lermontov - our own compatriot? Here I am, such a scoundrel, I take offense when Western authors, if they happen to write about our country, make all Russians fools, always gushing vodka, living in the mud, alien to kindness and beauty, greedy, mean, evil, always putting hands on them. And why, in fact, I take offense at foreigners when our home-grown writers, in this case Gorky, see us just like that. And depicts. To the whole world. And we erect monuments to him, rename cities in his honor, go through schools. Bravo, they say, master! How did you grasp the very essence? Yes, we are all cattle (applause in the hall); dirty, embittered, stupid, always drunk redneck (in the hall there is applause and shouts of approval from the back rows).

Further, a little scientific theory. Among the cattle, suddenly, out of nowhere, a spark of revolution flares up. And immediately transforms everyone who touches. And who does not concern - also transforms! The vicious, stupid and eternally drunken masses of Russians are not to blame for their anger, drunkenness, or stupidity; they simply do not know that one can dream of a revolution, which means not to be angry, stupid and drunk! But when they find out ... When the revolution occurs, and everyone will be given communism in their arms, then the Russians will suddenly stop drinking, hitting and blunting, and will become a model of humanity for all mankind. (“Why was I bad - because I didn't have a bicycle. And now I’ll start getting better right away.” ©)

And I, nevertheless, believe that everything depends on the person. If he wants to see dirt, drunkenness and meanness around - he will always see only them. And if he wants to see light in people - even in the most difficult times, he will see this - light. You just need to want to see not a crowd of people, but the personalities of which this crowd consists: people with their emotions, thoughts, fears and aspirations - everyone has them. Gorky wanted to see an unwashed herd, and among this herd he created his own artificial superheroes: revolutionaries with pure hearts ... He snatched them out, painted their souls ... And the more colors went to these "snatched" heroes, the darker, dumber and unnecessary the remaining herd of extras turned out to be. Therefore, the godlike heroes of Gorky were never touched. It is precisely by its artificial animation against the background of the denial of everything human in those around.

And, to be honest, implausibility. Gray trash around, stupid downtrodden people. And suddenly - here! - one of these cattle, a semi-literate house-building housewife is imbued with the ideas of the revolution. Having penetrated, he begins to love the ideas of his son more than the son himself, getting more and more drunk from his importance in the world of "smart" people. And in this book, the word "mother" is nothing more than the party name of the activist, but in no way the social status of a woman, which imposes on her the obligation to blindly love her child and suffer for him. Here: no love, no suffering. Some kind of dope. If not to say - frenzy.

The only plus of the book is that it once possessed a powerful educational moment.

Rating: 4

Spoilers!

M. Gorky - Mother. This work is worthy of the highest praise. I really liked it. The beauty of this work is in its scale and globality of the problems raised. The people are at a turning point. In the life of the people, something needs to be changed, because it is no longer possible to live like Pavel Vlasov's father. So Paul decides it's time for a change. He becomes a socialist revolutionary. Pavel has a hard lot, he has to defend the rights of the workers, oppressed by the heavy hand of the current government. But the main character does not give up, carried away by the purest thoughts of doing good, he, with a banner in his hands, proudly walks towards the weapon raised at him. While reading, you are imbued with true love for Paul, you empathize with him, you understand him. It is not for nothing that Maxim Gorky called the novel "Mother", the mother of the protagonist is a real heroine. Having learned that her son was engaged in a forbidden business in the name of the people, she did not turn away from him, but, on the contrary, supported him in all his endeavors. She brought him news and food during his imprisonment, joined the ranks of the revolutionaries in his place. Pavel Vlasov is covered by feelings of pain for the people, for injustice in relation to ordinary workers. The most important thing is that Pavel Vlasov acquired the meaning of life, and therefore, there is no doubt that he will not live this life in vain. The novel reads easily and interestingly, naturally. Although a whole century has passed since the book was written, the work is still relevant today. This work raises a lot of problems, if you think about these topics, then a year will not be enough to get to the point, this novel is so deep. Love for the homeland helped Gorky write this novel, inspired him, guided his thoughts.

This work helps to understand and more clearly make out a very difficult segment of the life of our country.

Score: 9

It seems that I read excerpts from "Mother" as a teenager. I wonder how this book could have been in the school curriculum at the turn of the century. But nevertheless, this work was almost forgotten by me (this is a dubious thing, to get acquainted with the book in fragments). Thanks to the members of the forum for helping to remember it. Now I read it in between nonfiction, like most voluminous books lately. A small novel, swallowed in a week.

I now agree that at the time of writing it was "a very timely book." Although by the second half of the century it became obsolete and became more of a literary monument, now it is becoming relevant again.

Briefly about the plot. Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The mother of the worker, following her son, is drawn into underground revolutionary activity. All this completely changes a seemingly already established middle-aged woman. Despite the absence of a happy ending, the book leaves a surprisingly bright impression. The life of the heroes is difficult and dangerous, but it causes envy, because they have a clear goal.

P. S. As I wrote in my review for "Ariel", a hundred years ago it was the norm to write "nod your head". This phrase is often found in the book.

Score: 8

The image of Pavel Vlasov

novel"Mother" reveals the author's absolutely clear position in relation to social transformations; the work is imbued with the pathos of the struggle for the reorganization of life, which for a long time gave rise to a very one-sided assessment of it within the framework of Soviet ideology. Behind the "heroic struggle of a new generation of revolutionaries" they did not notice / or did not want to notice / living people, with their inner contradictions, sufferings, moral quests. And after all, it was the inner spiritual world of man that was of interest to the greatest Russian writers, whose works are recognized as classics of world literature. The one-sided approach to this work, imposed by the communist ideology, undoubtedly cannot satisfy the modern reader.

It would probably be more appropriate to consider this work, exploring the spiritual world of the heroes. Thus, the best feelings arising in the hearts call people to the service of a lofty and bright idea. But when this idea overshadows everything else, enslaving a person, it suppresses in his soul the very feelings that prompted him to serve her.

This paradox is tragic. And it is most clearly manifested in the image of Pavel Vlasov, who was considered until recently as unconditionally positive. But it is in him that the "obsession with the idea" is manifested most strongly, it is here that this phenomenon takes on the most destructive forms. The striving for his own high goal, growing into fanaticism, suppresses in his soul such eternal human feelings as sons' love, love for a home, for a woman. Cruelly, not in a filial way, he tells his mother that he is doomed to die for his idea, he does not want to listen to it before the demonstration.

The image of Pavel Vlasov as a revolutionary worker largely determines the innovative essence of M. Gorky's novel. This image embodies the main meaning of historical time, those tendencies of it that are directed into the future.

In our opinion, analyzing the image of Paul, one cannot confine oneself to searching for an answer to the question: how did an ordinary working guy master the theory and practice of revolutionary struggle? After all, the path of Paul is associated with inner growth, with the formation of character, with decisive changes in the psychology of the working person.

Let us consider one of the most striking episodes where the greatness of the spirit of a young revolutionary, the strength of his ideological conviction, and unshakable purposefulness are fully revealed. There is a situation in the novel "Mother": during the May Day demonstration, there comes a moment when the head of the crowd "definitely hit something": the street was blocked by a gray wall of soldiers. From this silent, motionless wall, cold breathed on the workers, and people backed away, began to move aside, clinging to houses and fences. But Paul's voice was still clear and clear.

"Comrades!" Pavel said. "All my life ahead - there is no other road for us!"

Next to Pavel at the demonstration, his comrades are people who consciously chose the path of struggle, who did not flinch when meeting with the soldiers. Why is Paul still ahead? Why does he insist on his right to carry the banner? Of course, he is guided not by ambitious considerations, but by the interests of the cause he serves: he was the first to start work on educating the masses in the suburb, he was at the head of the Social Democratic circle, they came to him for advice, they believed in him. He represented the party of revolutionaries, and when the party took the lead in the political struggle of the workers, he had to stand in the most prominent and dangerous place. The attitude of the workers to revolutionary propaganda depended on this, and the truth, which for Paul was dearer than life.

The first application for independence was a protest against the beatings of his father. A fourteen-year-old teenager stopped a hand raised above his head and firmly declared: "I will not give in any more ...".

More serious evidence of the birth of a personality is dissatisfaction with the usual life of factory youth, the search for another road. When Pavel tells Nilovna that he reads forbidden books, that they could be imprisoned for this, the mother, who measures all the troubles that threaten her son with her heart, will sigh: "You have changed dangerously, oh Lord!"

An independent, courageous mind and great courage were needed so that, contrary to centuries-old traditions, contrary to the rules and customs to which both fathers and grandfathers obeyed, to get out of the way, to choose the difficult path to the kingdom of justice. Didn't this mean taking that step forward, which only heroic natures can do?

And Paul will always be ready to face danger in the name of the Truth, understood by him. When unrest arises at the factory because of the "swamp penny", Vlasov will stand next to the director and on behalf of the workers loudly demand that the order to deduct the penny be canceled. But for this they could be kicked out of work, arrested.

When the wall of soldiers bristling with bayonets "evenly and coldly" moves towards the demonstrators and Andrei involuntarily rushes forward to block Pavel, he will sharply demand: "Come along, comrade! .. Ahead is the banner!"

When comrades invited Pavel to escape from prison, he rejected this plan: he had to "stand up to his full height," openly, loudly proclaim the slogans of Social Democracy, and lay out the program of his party.

The portrait of Paul is almost always given through the perception of the mother, who, worried about him, still cannot help but admire and be proud of him: "The eyes of his son burned beautifully and lightly", "His blue eyes, always serious and stern, now burned so softly and affectionately "," he was the most beautiful of all "," Mother looked into his face and saw only eyes, proud and bold, burning "," saw the face of her son, his bronze forehead and eyes, burning with the bright fire of faith. " The image of the son through the perception of the mother is one of the methods of expressing the author's position. By infecting the reader with the feelings of his mother, making him proud and admiring Pavel, Gorky asserts his aesthetic ideal.

Looking at the portrait characteristics of Paul, one cannot fail to notice that they repeat the same definitions that describe Danko.

The fire of love for people is also burning in Paul's heart, and the main motive of his activity is the same as that of the hero of the legend - "What will I do for people?"

The hero of the Gorky legend is a symbol that reflected the thirst for a heroic cause, which was more and more clearly felt in the advanced Russian society, in the proletarian environment at the turn of two centuries.

In real life circumstances, the determination to change the world in the name of the triumph of Truth and Justice led the proletarians to the ideas of socialism. In specific historical conditions, a new type of leader was formed - a class-conscious worker, a fighter for socialism. In the novel "Mother", Gorky creates a realistic image of a revolutionary worker, shows a hero of the new era in typical life circumstances. The character of Pavel Vlasov is given in development, in formation, in internal growth.

Here Paul listens to his mother's soft reproaches and, as if for the first time, sees her, tortured by work, humiliated by fear, prematurely aging, and for the first time thinks about her fate. This pity for the mother, thoughts about her life are so natural, so humanly understandable. At the same time, perhaps, from this moment, the spiritual awakening of Paul begins, the work of consciousness, which will lead him on a revolutionary path: from thinking about the suffering of a loved one - to thinking about the life of the working class - to realizing the historical role of the class, by whose hands all.

Here is the first speech about the truth. Paul's conviction and youth are very well felt in her. He speaks excitedly, ardently, rejoicing that he found words that his mother could understand, - "young pride, through the power of the word, raised his faith in himself."

And after an unsuccessful attempt to organize a strike, Pavel walks gloomily, tired: "I am young, weak in strength - that's what! They did not believe me, did not follow my truth, so I did not know how to say it! .." But he does not retreat, he believes: today did not understand - tomorrow they will understand. In communicating with people, with the mass of workers, he checks the truth of the knowledge gained from books, acquires the necessary experience, and is formed as a leader. And here we have a revolutionary with an established worldview, an active fighter against the evil existing in the world. His speech at the trial not only sparks, it convinces with irrefutable logic.

Among the methods of creating character, an important role is played by dialogues, disputes, in which the reader involuntarily also gets involved: he compares the positions of the disputants, ponders the thoughts expressed by them, looks for arguments for or against. One of the problems discussed in the pages of the novel is the power of the mind and heart. "Only reason will free man!" Paul said firmly. "Reason does not give strength!" Objected Rybin loudly and persistently. "The heart gives strength - not the head ..."

Who is right? What is the strength of the mind and what is the strength of the heart?

The power of reason, in the understanding of Paul, is, first of all, the power of advanced social ideas, revolutionary theory, which allows you to see the deep processes of life, to understand its laws, like a searchlight, illuminates the path to the future. However, advanced theories are not the fruit of cold calculations of the mind. They appear on the basis of the difficult experience of many generations, are often paid for by the feat of self-denial, selfless sacrifices.

Nilovna, thinking about people who "suffer for the people, go to prisons and to Siberia," says: "They love! Here they are purely in love!" And the workers followed Paul, because his heart was turned to them.

It was noted above that Paul often appears before the reader, illuminated by motherly love, and in this way the author expresses his attitude towards the hero. But the maternal perception of the son and his deeds is also tested by the opinion of the people: the workers of the suburb have recognized their leader in him, his fate worries the people who are not familiar to his mother who have gathered at the courthouse, his name is pronounced with pride and admiration by the members of the workers' circles in the city ("He was the first to openly raised the banner our party! "), leaflets with his words are eagerly snatched from the hands of Nilovna by the people at the station.

There is no love affair in the novel, which was often the driving force of the plot in Russian novels of the 19th century known to students. However, the question of what place love and family occupies in the life of a revolutionary arises more than once in the course of the story of the life of Paul and his comrades.

A person who has chosen the path of struggle must know what awaits his family, his children, must find the strength to endure longing for and fear for loved ones. No less moral strength is needed in order to put the work above all else and abandon the family. But such self-denial does not at all speak of inferiority, of heart deafness. Not many pages of the novel speak of love, but from these pages comes the light of high humanity, moral purity. The love of Paul and Sasha is chaste and strict. Words are rare and stingy, in which restrained tenderness breaks through, but these words are precious, since they are genuine. Worried about Pavel's health and life, Sasha realizes that the most important thing for him is business, and, allowing herself to dream a little about how she will settle in Siberia with Pavel and, perhaps, children will be, she returns to reality, ready for new partings: after all, Pavel will not live in Siberia, he will definitely leave in order to continue the struggle. "He should not reckon with me, and I will not embarrass him. It will be difficult for me to part with him, but, of course, I can handle it."

As we can see, the image of Paul is the image of a man who, although not out of malice, makes those to whom he is dear unhappy. This is especially evident from the story of his love. In life, he constantly faces a choice between an idea and a living soul. And he chooses an idea ... Therefore, the image of Pavel Vlasov, in our opinion, is tragic. In the soul of this person there was a discord between the deepest, root, vital foundations and the idea, the goal set by him.

The image of Andrey Nakhodka

Comprehending the character of Paul, it is impossible to bypass Andrei Nakhodka. By placing these heroes side by side, the writer encourages readers to compare and contrast them, and through this comparison, the meaning of the artistic picture and the assessment of life phenomena contained in it are more deeply comprehended.

The find is usually liked by readers. He is simpler, clearer than Paul.

Readers usually have a good idea of ​​Andrei's appearance: an awkward long figure in which there was something amusing and inviting, a round cropped head, soft light of blue eyes and a smile, so wide that it seemed as if "the ears had moved to the back of the head." The find attracts readers with cordiality, sensitivity, attentive attitude to people, and a willingness to help them.

The find rejects a world in which malice and hatred prevail. He lives with the dream of a time when there will be no wars, enmity, cruelty, lies on earth, "when people will admire each other, when everyone will be like a star in front of the other." But is it bad that in his soul there is so clearly, so tangibly the idea of ​​"a future holiday for everyone on earth" that he so wants to see people kind, strong, free and proud? After all, it is this bright dream, the "amazing" that is in his soul, that makes him strong and resilient, helps him on the thorny revolutionary path.

We see how Nakhodka suffers from the fact that he did not prevent the murder of the vile and pathetic spy Isaika, his heart revolts against cruelty. However, Andrei immediately says that for the sake of his comrades, for the sake of the cause, he can do anything: "If Judas stands in the way of the honest, waiting to betray them - I will be Judas myself, when I do not destroy him!"

He knows that the revolution will not be bloodless, that victory can only be achieved with arms in hand, and in this struggle there is no place for pity for the enemies of the people: after all, "every drop of their blood is washed in advance by lakes of people's tears ..."

In the novel, Nakhodka is shown as a consistent and tenacious fighter. More than once he was persecuted, spent many days in prisons, but did not retreat, was not afraid of danger. None of Nakhodka's comrades doubts the purity and sincerity of his convictions, his reliability and loyalty. Rybin speaks of this gentle and kind man as follows: "Sometimes I listen to him speak at the factory, and I think that you can’t doubt that, only death will overcome him. A wiry man!"

Pavel and Andrey are two different characters. However, they are not opposed by the writer. What is the basis of the strong friendship of these very different people? Of course, sympathy, interest in another person, the need to communicate with him can arise and without account. But true friendship requires mutual understanding, similarities in basic life positions. Pavel and Andrey are like-minded people, associates. Disputes often arise between them, but in disputes only the commonality of their views is strengthened. In the main, they understand each other and trust each other. They are everywhere nearby. During the May Day demonstration, Andrei is ready to carry the banner in order to take the brunt of the blow. And although Pavel defended his right to go ahead, Nakhodka does not lag behind him. In the general chorus of voices singing a revolutionary song, Andrei's soft and strong voice merges with Pavel's thick, bass voice. Together they go to the menacingly bristling line of soldiers. "As long as we are together - we will go everywhere alongside, - just know!" - says Andrey Nilovna.

Perhaps the most touching moment in the history of their relationship is the “explanation in friendship” after Andrei “spanked” Paul, who offended his mother with a harsh word (Chapter XXIII of the first part). Pavel, embarrassed, admits his guilt, Nilovna is moved, in whose heart the resentment against her son lingered for a short time. Shocked by the power of maternal love, Andrei is especially acutely aware of how dear these people are to him - both his son and his mother. And now comes the moment of complete spiritual unity, when three hearts, overflowing with love and gratitude, merge into one. Andrey "looked at his mother and son with slightly reddened eyes and, blinking, said in a low voice:

Two bodies - one soul ... In the context of the work, and in this way, as well as in the plot line "Pavel and Andrei" in general, the unity of workers of different nations is affirmed, that international brotherhood, about which Pavel Vlasov's comrades spoke with such enthusiasm in the classroom.

Two fates, closely intertwined in the plot of the novel, developed with almost the same completeness, suggest that both heroes are necessary in the sound of the main theme - the theme of revolution. Paul's perseverance and will, his mind, striving to understand the causes of all phenomena, looking for a connecting thread in the diversity of facts, the iron logic of his accusations are complemented by Andrey's ardent aspiration for the future, his bright dream of a kingdom of kind heart.

If by the image of Paul the writer proves the regularity of the revolution and the attainability of the future, then the main meaning of the image of Nakhodka is that the socialist ideal, the image of the future, appears before the readers tangibly, concretely.

The image of Pelageya Nilovna

The central image of the novel"Mother" is the image of Pelagia. Nilovna takes part in all the events of the novel. The name of the novel stems from this compositional role of the image. It was she who was "entrusted" with her heart to judge Rybin, Fedya Mazin, and Sophia. Her assessments of the people in the novel are extraordinary; she feels what others do not yet see; Her "dreams" in the novel are subtle and symbolic. In the novel "Mother", Gorky shows the process of enriching the mother's natural love for her child with a sense of spiritual closeness. The theme of the resurrection of the human soul, the theme of the second birth of man is associated with the image of the mother. Gorky takes the most difficult version of this resurrection. Firstly, Nilovna - 45 - "woman's age", for a woman of that time it was a lot. Take the difficult version of the reincarnation of an old person with an already established destiny and character. Secondly, Gorky chooses a religious woman as his heroine; the writer sees in the mother's faith a certain system of values, views of the world, helping her to live; that is why she is so afraid of the destruction of her faith in God. This means that the process of the mother's rebirth is associated with changes in the worldview. Thirdly, Nilovna is a woman, and according to traditional views, the role of a woman was limited to family and children, and this also complicates her inclusion in active activities. The main source of the rebirth process is mother's love. The desire to be closer to his son, or at least not to anger him, grows the desire to understand him and help him. But this is only the beginning, then the idea itself captured her. The fate of Nilovna is proof of the fruitfulness of revolutionary ideas.

The main change in Nilovna is overcoming the fear of life. In her lived a fear of the new appearance of her son. Participation in the affairs of her son, expanding the circle of acquaintances helps her to better understand and love people. It is this love, benevolence that leads Nilovna to the fact that she ceases to be afraid of people. She becomes a mother to all her close friends and even distant people. The state of mind of Nilovna can be seen in her portraits: "She was tall, a little stooped, her body, broken by hard work and beating her husband, moved silently and somehow sideways, as if she was afraid to hurt something ... She was all soft, sad, submissive … ".

Nilovna is undoubtedly a hero who carries a spiritual principle, in whom the best human feelings are strong. The mighty power of her motherly love keeps Paul from being completely immersed and into fanatical madness. It was in the image of the mother that belief in a high goal and the richest spiritual world were most organically combined. Here, of course, it is necessary to note Nilovna's deep and strong connection with the people, which has always been evaluated in Russian literature as the wealth of a person's soul, his proximity to the origins, roots of national culture. The idea inspires Nilovna, allows her to rise, gain faith in herself, but does not develop in her mind into a goal for fanatical service. This does not happen, probably because Nilovna's connection with folk roots is very strong. Obviously, it is this connection that determines the inner strength of a person. Note that Andrei Nakhodka, Paul's associate, is much deeper than him spiritually. This image is also close to the people, this is evidenced by his attitude towards Nilovna: tenderness, care, affection. Paul doesn't have that. The author shows how dangerous it is for a person to move away from folk roots when all true spiritual values ​​are lost.

The name of the novel was not chosen by the writer by chance. After all, it is the mother / eternal image / that is the true, human, loving, sincere image.

The peasantry in the novel

One of the main meaning and plot-forming ideas of the novel is the idea of ​​uniting people in the revolutionary struggle.

An important aspect of uniting people in a revolutionary cause is to overcome distrust of man, especially among people of different social groups, primarily the distrust of workers and peasants in the intelligentsia. Gorky soberly sees the difficulties arising in the course of the revolutionary process, with the artist's instinct he foresees ways to overcome them.

The topic of the peasantry occupied Gorky, because Russia is a primordially peasant country, embarks on the path of the revolutionary struggle and brings into this struggle the traditions of peasant ideology and behavior.

In the conversation between Pavel and Andrei, Gorky's attitude to this is clearly manifested: "We must go our way, not stepping aside a step," Pavel said firmly.

And on the way to stumble upon tens of millions of people who will meet us as enemies ...

Mother understood that Pavel did not like peasants, and the Little Russian stood up for them, proves that peasants should also be taught good ... She understood Andrei more, and he seemed right to her ... "

As the central image, Gorky chooses Mikhail Rybin, a figure seemingly atypical for peasants: he is a worker who has already found his place in the working class. But Rybin has a typically peasant psychology, not altered even by a proper stay in the city, Gorky puts him at the center of "peasant" events.

In the novel, Rybin's appearance is created in relief: a solid, sedate man with burning piercing eyes and a black beard, he causes both respect and at the same time fear.

Rybin's every word is weighed and filled with inner strength. Rybin loves people who "do not jump without measuring," - this is how he says about Paul. It is this inner strength and significance that makes those around him listen to him and allows him to become a propagandist among the peasants. Rybin pays a dear emotional price for every word. Rybin correctly says that "the beginning is not in the head, but in the heart! ..", "the heart gives strength, not the head."

Rybin has a peculiar view of man. At the beginning of the novel, he proceeds from a distrust of people in general. A person, according to Rybin, is "unkind", there is a lot of anger, resentment, "jagging" in him, which prevent people from joining together. Rybin, not without reason, believes that "his own", in the narrow sense of the word, is too dear to people and, not seeing prospects, they can refuse to enrich themselves in the future in the name of a "short" present. On this he bases his reasoning when a strike fails because of a "swamp penny". Rybin's ideal is the moral renewal of a person through suffering, which gives him the right to influence others.

But on his way to renewal Rybin, who stands up for justice, is ready to use forms and methods that are not at all from the arsenal of conscience. Rybin gradually overcomes his distrust of man and reason. It was he who asks Pavel and takes from Nilovna books and leaflets for the peasants, with the help of books influencing their consciousness.

The power of Rybin's image is in its non-uniformity, non-straightness. the writer clearly reveals in him the power of the earth, so strong in the peasant. Gorky gives Rybin a difficult and difficult fate not only in the prehistory, but also in the plot of the novel. And this is natural, since different people have different paths to revolution. For people like Rybin, he could not be simple. Gorky led his heroes to revolution, each in his own way.

It is important to find in the fish and in the peasants what is universal and eternal. Psychologically, it is important for peasants to have predecessors and followers in order to be included in the new. Only a few are able to pave the way (Paul). The path of Rybin and many others to the revolution is different from that of Paul.

They go not through book ideas to "business", but through "business" - to the book. It is more important for them to be convinced of the facts and to create a theory. It is important for them to have their own point of view - someone else's experience, three times good, is not as important to them as their own, suffered. The complexities of the path of such people into the revolution cannot be ignored.

Remarkable are the images of the peasant Peter, who came to listen to Nilovna after Rybin's arrest, he will follow the path of the revolution to the end.

It is curious how Gorky paints rural landscapes. It would seem that after urban scenes, the countryside landscapes should be light. However, this is not the case. Gloomy pictures of nature fit more accurately into the general ideological and artistic concept of Gorky's worldview

Old world portrayal in the novel "Mother"

One of the key problems of analysis, the most closely related with the aspirations of a modern person - the theme of the formation of personality.

For Gorky, one of the stimuli for staging it was the process of "destruction of the personality" observed by him in Russia under capitalism, when the majority of people from the top to the bottom become a slave to private property.

In the novel "Mother", Gorky relies on his artistic experience.

Gorky notes that both in a big capitalist city and in a workers' suburb, a person is a slave. It is important to highlight several groups of enemies in the novel. After all, this world is not "sterile". The first group - the tsar, the provincial prosecutor, judges, officers, sotsky, soldiers, spies.

The second group - people from the same sphere as the main characters of the novel, but defending the ideology of the ruling class - master Vavilov, spy Isaik Gorbov, innkeeper Beguntsov.

It is characteristic that the first group remains unnamed, and the enemies "from the bottom" are given a surname. In addition to these characters, there is an unnamed environment of people who are hostile or wary of the activities of the revolutionaries. It should be noted that in the novel, in addition to real figures, there is one more collective image of the enemy - what Pavel, Andrei, Nikolai Vesovshchikov, Rybin, Samoilov think and say about enemies - the image of an enemy in the minds of revolutionaries. This is important for understanding the novel.

All the "enemies" portrayed by Gorky and their servants are shown precisely as "mechanical people", parts of the state machine: a gendarme, a judge, a prosecutor, a tsar. They all have functions: to judge, to arrest, to follow, but they are not personalities "even their faces are erased."

In the description of enemies, it is not by chance that the details of the external appearance prevail, the most noticeable, superficially observed, mustache, beard, checker, spurs. The gray color of the dust accompanies the description of the enemies. By this, Gorky emphasizes the exclusion of enemies. We do not see a soul in any of them, and in none of them the inner world is shown. Their souls seem to have been eaten. Under capitalism, there is a constant "killing of the soul" as Paul calls it.

Anger towards enemies and fear for oneself, calm, indifferent, even lazy performance of their duties is what the bitter notes of the servants of capital. They don't have a big idea to inspire them.

Studying the summary of the chapters of Gorky's novel "Mother", one can understand why this work was first published in the United States. It was published by the author only in 1907–1908; it had major changes regarding censorship. Original unaltered Russian readers were able to see after.

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History of creation

Although work on the work took place in mid-1906, the first sketches were made back in 1903. By mid-October, Gorky moved from America closer to Rossi and - to Italy, where he finished the first edition. The history of the creation of the novel is associated with a close acquaintance between the author and the workers-Sormovites. The actions taking place at the Sormovo plant in Nizhny Novgorod served as material for the creation of the novel "Mother".

He witnessed the preparations for the May demonstration and the trial of its participants. Close communication with the labor collective of the enterprise in 1901-1902. allowed Gorky to collect material that served basis for creating a novel, where the main character Pavel Vlasov and his friend Andrei Nakhodka are experiencing similar events.

Important! The author's attention is paid to the strength of the protesting oppressed class called the proletariat. He displays his struggles in other early works as well. For example, the play "Bourgeois", revealing the image of a worker revolutionary or "Enemies", reflecting the events of the first Russian revolution.

The main character's family

The image of Pavel Vlasov in Gorky's novel "Mother" begins with a description of the hero at the age of 14. The father of the protagonist was called Mikhail, he was a factory locksmith who was disliked by his colleagues. A rude, grumpy character, reflecting on loved ones: the wife and child were periodically beaten. Before his death, having come home from work, he decided to teach his son a lesson, to pull his hair. Pavel grabbed a heavy hammer - his father was afraid to touch the young man. After the incident Mikhail closed himself off, and when he died of a hernia, no one regretted.

After that, Pavel continues to work at the factory. Suddenly he changes, on holidays he starts walking, brings and reads forbidden literature. Mother explains her behavior wanting to know the truth for which they can be sent to hard labor, put in prison.

Revolutionaries gather in the hero's house every Saturday. They read books, sing forbidden songs, characterize the state system, discuss the life of workers.

The mother understands that "socialist" is a terrible word, but she sympathizes with her son's comrades. Nilovna is only 40 years old, but the author describes her as an elderly woman, broken by a difficult hopeless life, a difficult fate.

Development of the plot

Maxim Gorky in the novel "Mother" revealed Nilovna's motherly love: she gets closer to her son's friends, while relations with Pavel are getting better. Among the guests visiting the house, the author distinguishes several:

• Natasha is a young girl from a wealthy family who left her parents and came to work as a teacher;
• Nikolai Ivanovich is a well-read, intelligent man who can always find an interesting topic and tell the workers;
• Sasha is the daughter of a landowner who left the family for the sake of an idea;
• Andrey Nakhodka is a young man who grew up an orphan.

The retelling of the summary of Gorky's novel "Mother" reveals the life of revolutionaries. Nilovna feels that Pavel and Sasha love each other however, for the good of the revolution, young people refuse to start a family, as this may distract from important business. Andrei Nakhodka understands what maternal love is: the hostess of the house treats him like her own. Soon the Vlasovs invite him to live with them, and he agrees.

The promotion of the plot and the next presentation of the image of Pavel Mikhailovich Vlasov in Gorky's novel "Mother" begins with an episode called "Swamp penny"... The summary is as follows: the management of the factory imposes an additional levy on the already small wages of workers. It will be intended for habitation of swamp lands located near the walls of the enterprise. The main character decides to pay attention to this and writes a note to the city newspaper. The mother of the traitor is called to take the text to the editorial office. At this time, he himself is leading a rally at the plant. However, the director calms the crowd from the first word and sends everyone to their jobs. Paul understands that people do not trust him because of his young age. At night, the gendarmes take Pavel to prison.

Mother of a traitor

What the work of Gorky "Mother" is about becomes clear from the first chapters. The main problem is to reveal the image and spirit of workers, fighting against the current government and extortions. After reading the novel, the name by which the mother of the protagonist was called would hardly have been remembered if it were not for the subsequent events in which she appears in the foreground of the plot of the novel. Gradually analyzing the meaning of the book by chapters, the motivation of the elderly woman's actions becomes clear: this is mother's love.

Immediately after the arrest, a friend of his son comes to Nilovna and asks for help. The fact is that a total of 50 people were arrested, but it is only possible to prove their innocence to the rally by continuing distribution of leaflets... The mother of the traitorous son agrees to carry the papers to the factory. She begins to deliver to the factory lunches for the workers, which are prepared by a woman she knows, she takes advantage of the fact that the old woman is not searched. After a while, the main characters, Andrei Nakhodka and Pavel Vlasov, are released.

Attention! In the novel by Maxim Gorky "Mother", the image of the main characters is depicted in such a way that after they are released from prison, they are not frightened, but continue to engage in underground activities.

Arrest again

Workers are preparing for the May Day holiday. It is planned to march through the streets of the city and make a speech at the factory square. Paul cannot think of anything, except that he will lead the procession, carrying in his hands the red banner of freedom.

However, gendarmes and soldiers block the path of the demonstrators and disperse the procession. Many end up behind bars, and Vlasov is among them.

Nilovna was present at the arrest of her son, she saw everything. The one who wrote "Mother" perfectly understood what was going on in the mother's heart. The further development of events is characterized by the spontaneous and thoughtless actions of an elderly woman: she picks up a piece of the banner carried by her only son and takes it home.

After the events described, Nikolai Ivanovich picks up the old woman (such conditions between him, Andrei and Pavel were agreed upon in advance). The flame of desire for a better life and simultaneous resentment for the fate of her son burns in the mother's heart, so she leads active underground activities:

• delivers clandestine books, magazines;
• talks to people, listens to stories;
• convinces them to join.

Traveling around the province, Nilovna sees how poor the common people live, unable to use the enormous riches of their native land. Returning back, the mother hurries to a date with Pavel. Friends are worried about their best friend, trying to arrange an escape, initiated by Sasha. The hero refuses help, explaining his actions by the desire to make a speech before the court.

At the trial

Maxim Gorky wrote about Paul's trial as a sad picture of the past: the speeches of a lawyer, judge, prosecutor are perceived as one. Pavel Vlasov's words sounded loud and bold. He did not begin to speak words of excuse, the young man tried to explain to those present who they were - people of modern times... Although they are called rebels, they are socialists. The slogan consists of simple, understandable words:

• Power to the people!
• Means of production for the people!
• Labor is obligatory for all citizens!

The judge reacted negatively to the statements of the young revolutionary and pronounced the verdict: "All the detainees are sent to settle in Siberia." The mother is skeptical about the verdict for her son, realizing the court's decision only after some time. Nilovna does not believe in the possibility of separation from the only Pavel for many years.

The problematic of Gorky's novel "Mother" touches upon the last chapters of the work. The court pronounces the verdict: the defendants refer to the settlement. Sasha is going to follow her lover, Nilovna plans to come if her son has grandchildren.

However, during the transport of Paul's printed judicial speech to a nearby town, an elderly woman recognizes in the look young man's familiar features.

He was present in the courthouse, next to the prison. The guy whispers to the watchman, he goes up to his mother, calls her a thief. The latter, in turn, calls the accusation a lie, holding out leaflets with her son's speech to those around her. The gendarme who came to the rescue grabs the woman by the throat, in response there is a wheezing and exclamations of people who see this spectacle.

Gradually following the chapters, the woman does not realize: from an ordinary mother, whose son is imprisoned, she turned into the mother of a traitor. The summary of the plot of the work does not allow to completely plunge into the cycle of problems that flooded the simple Russian heroine. The problematic of Gorky's novel Mother touches upon a broad the popularity of revolutionary ideas among the working class.

As a depicted subject, the author shows the life of an ordinary person who becomes a person, able to think and reflect. The work is a socio-political book, pushing to identify a promising idea of ​​the emergence of a stubborn struggle against the oppressive class.

A summary of Gorky's novel "Mother"

Analysis of the novel "Mother" by Maxim Gorky

Output

Separately, it should be mentioned that the main characters of Gorky's novel "Mother" were invented after meeting the revolutionaries, because of which the author had to emigrate to America. The significance of the novel is that the author wrote for millions, he tried to make his works simple and understandable. But despite this, after the novel was written and published, Gorky was not satisfied with his work, just like many others.

Neither in the works of Gorky himself before 1905, nor in the works of any other Russian or foreign writer, has there ever been such a heartfelt depiction of the process of soul renewal, such a subtle disclosure of all the nuances of the formation of a new revolutionary consciousness that we find in the novel Mother.

The above applies primarily to the image of Nilovna. She is the main, main character of the novel. The decisive importance of this image in the structure of the book can be seen already from its title.

The most remarkable thing in the history of Nilovna is

harmonious connection of the theme of the mother's heart with the theme of social and political.

A kind of psychological chronicle unfolds before us.

And how many emotional nuances are captured in it! The quiet and submissive sadness of a woman, downtrodden by her degraded, feral husband; the same submissive and painful sadness, caused by the fact that the young man-son seemed to have moved along the father's - wild and inhuman - path; the first joys in her life, experienced by her, when her son managed to overcome the cheap temptations of intoxicating and wild entertainments; then a new anxiety in the mother's heart at the sight that the son “with concentration and stubbornness

floats somewhere to the side from the dark stream of life ”... The author is in no hurry. He knows that there is no instant renewal of the soul, And day after day passes before us in the life of a mother; we observe her doubts, and the alienation from her son and his friends that arose at certain moments - and we observe how new moods and concepts are gradually formed in her spiritual world. And how complex, how rich her spiritual world turns out to be!

In Gorky's novel, the eternal acquires a new meaning and new acuteness, for it is shown in the most complex dramatic social context; and the ideological searches and insights of women of the late 19th - early 20th centuries become quiveringly alive, because they are permeated with the eternal light of maternal feelings.

The appearance of a new historical era and a new literary era was announced to the world by the image of Pavel Vlasov, not so saturated with psychological nuances as the image of the Mother, but also charming, monumental, full of deep meaning. This was the first image in world literature of a political leader of the workers, carrying the ideas of scientific socialism to the masses, organizing the masses for a living, practical, revolutionary cause.

The image of Paul, like the image of the Mother, is drawn at the same time in soberly realistic and in a lifted romantic tone. These colors are suggested to the writer by life itself. The revolutionary struggle of the working class demanded a scientific comprehension of social reality, a strict consideration of all its factors, and it also demanded that spiritual upsurge, that enthusiasm, without which victory would have been impossible. Therefore, Pavel Vlasov is shown as a sober analyst, as a highly restrained person, who understands his duty to “monastic severity,” and he is also shown in dramatic moments of his life, when he wanted to “throw his heart to people, kindled with the fire of dreams of truth. ”. Reading such lines, we remember Danko. But if the hero of the legend was tragically lonely, then the hero of the novel is strong in his ever-growing connection with the working collective, with the advanced intelligentsia. The era of the historical creativity of the broadest strata of the working people - workers and peasants - has come, an era that has put forward a completely new type of hero. And this is beautifully shown in the novel.

Gorky's innovation was also manifested in the disclosure of those beneficial changes that the socialist ideal brought about in family relations. We see how the friendship between Pelageya Vlasova and Pavel Vlasov arises and develops, a friendship that was engendered not only by maternal love and filial love, but also by joint participation in a great historical cause. The most complex dialectic of the relationship between these two remarkable people is very subtly and penetratingly revealed by Gorky. Paul has a strong spiritual impact on Nilovna. Communication with her son reopens her eyes to the world. However, she also affects her son. And her influence, as Gorky shows with the help of subtle psychological and everyday nuances, was no less significant. Maybe even more significant! Communication with the Mother was for the stern, at first somewhat straightforward and harsh Paul, the school of kindness, modesty and tact. He became softer in relation to close people, his soul became more flexible, sensitive and wise. Thanks to communication with the Mother, he achieved that high humanity, without which a true revolutionary is unthinkable.

Sources:

Gorky M. Favorites / Preface. N. N. Zhegalova; Il. B. A. Dekhtereva. - M .: Children. lit., 1985.- 686 p., ill., 9 p. il.Annotation: This volume includes selected works of M. Gorky: the stories “Childhood” and “In people”, stories “Makar Chudra”, “Chelkash”, “Song of the Falcon”, “Once in the fall”, “Konovalov”, “Former people ”and others.


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