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The Philosophy of Man in M. Gorky's Play “The Lower Depths”

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Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 5 (2016 9) 1089-1100 ~ ~ ~ УДК 82-21 The Philosophy of Man in M. Gorky’s Play “The Lower Depths” Olga V. Bogdanova* St.-Petersburg State University 11 Universitetskaya nab., St.-Petersburg, 199134, Russia Received 13.03.2016, received in revised form 20.03.2016, accepted 24.04.2016 A new approach to understanding ideological and philosophical structure of M. Gorky’s play «The Lower Depths» (1902) is offered in the article. According to the analysis, it is not a dualistic opposition of the concepts of “verity” or “compassion”, “truth” or “lie” that lies at the heart of the play, but progressive synthesis of the philosophical ideas, formed by the progression from the lowest to the highest. In contrast to the customary dualism, traditional for Russian Gorky’s work studies, the triad of Gorky’s philosophical ideas “paganism – Christianity – a new philosophy” that is consistently mediated by the ideas of Platonism, the doctrine of Leo Tolstoy and nietzscheanism is studied in the article. The article studies how the system of characters in Gorky’s play has disintegrates into three conventional groups, through which the gradual evolution of formation of Gorky’s image of Man is traced. The analysis shows how from the “wild” human-animals (according to Plato), through religious acceptance of one God (Christ), the characters of the play come to the highest step of the evolutionary ladder – to the Proud Man (following Nietzsche). Each of the Gorky’s drama characters embodies a certain stage of ascension: Kvashnya, Nastya and the Baron are “wild” Plato’s human- animals, the Actor and Luka are the representatives of the humanistic ideas of Christianity, mediated by the doctrine of L. Tolstoy, Satine is a premonition of the future ideal Proud Man praised by Gorky. In the course of the play analysis an assumption about who was a real killer of the shelter’s owner Kostylоff is made and the interpretation of “ambiguous” final words of the play is offered. Keywords: history of Russian literature of the 20th century, plays, M. Gorky, play “The Lower Depths”, philosophical structure, the system of images. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-2016-9-5-1089-1100. Research area: philology. Introduction. The play by Maxim Gorky subject of numerous monographs, anthologies, “The Lower Depths” was written in 1902, it was multi-authored books, etc., and the institutes staged in the same year and in 1903 it was first for the study of the Soviet classic heritage were published. For more than a century of researchers established. However, until today the play “The studying the text of the play, an enormous Lower Depths” is full of the neglected research amount of bibliographic sources has been puzzles, even now the text creates possibilities accumulated, the play the analysis has been the for new interpretations, related to the release of © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 1089 – Olga V. Bogdanova. The Philosophy of Man in M. Gorky’s Play “The Lower Depths” scientific consciousness from the framework of 1986, 890) – detects the connection of Gorky’s the ideology of “socialist realism”. key ideologemes with Plato’s eidos and uncovers Statement of the problem. It is customary mythopoetic allusions1. Plato’s myth of the cave to think that paradiastole, proposed by Gorky: becomes an explicated “cipher” to perceive the which is better, the truth or compassion, is semantic significance of the Gorky’s play, the fundamental in the interpretation of the play “The condition of overcoming specifics and a way to Lower Depths”. However, modern analysis of the the scope of comprehension of human existence. text reveals that the view, proposed by writer, has With the help of hidden citations of the myth been interpreted narrowly and that the simplified about the cave Gorky specifies the coordinates scheme-opposition, represented by the playwright of the ideological dispute and sets boundaries in a newspaper interview can be represented of philosophical dispute about the man. Without differently. This article is devoted to an attempt bringing ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes to identify different philosophical disposition of on stage, the playwright reincarnated him out the play, to move away from the usual ideological of stage through his unspoken, but audible antithesis “truth – lie” (“verity – compassion”), in the subtext invectives: “I am Looking for to discover other theoretical and philosophical Man!”. foundations of the text. Plato’s implication in the text by Gorky is Methods. Synthesis of the basic methods not limited by the metaphor of the world-cave. and principles of scientific research, among Already the next image-detail the keys that appear which, primarily, contextual (the techniques in the text of the opening remarks, actualizes of historical, contrastive-comparative and Plato’s understanding of truth as a transition intertextual analysis), phenomenological from nonexistence to existence, overcoming the (including biographical) and formal and boundaries of enlightenment/unenlightenment. structural (typological and poetological) in their At the forefront of the stage space the playwright interrelation and complementarity form the basis displays the image of Kleeshtsh-Charon, who of analysis. was sitting, “trying the keys to the old locks”, and Problem and analytical part. According to “there were two large bundles of different keys, the traditional and established vector of Gorky’s put on rings of wire at his feet” (Gorky, 1986, works study, fundamentally significant for the 890)2. Keys, as a capacious complex of meanings, writer philosopheme of Man that organizes his symbolize the path of wisdom perception and ideological system, is central for the play “The hidden knowledge, a possibility of choice that Lower Depths”. Accordingly, the alternative a person gives to him/herself. The use of the dilemma True / False that determines the basic archaism “arches” in the shelter description paradigmatics of Gorky’s theory, acts as a tool (Gorky, 1986, 890) gives the image of an invisible that reveals the ideological nature of the approved mystical arched door, the keys of which belong to philosophy, its conclusiveness and validity. the characters. However, even before the dramatic action, The image-motif of the dirt that creates the Gorky, at the level of introductory remark background atmosphere of the initial picture introduces a signal word that symbolically (a dispute about who will sweep the floor of highlights another prospect of philosophical the shelter lasts almost the entire first scene) is debates of drama-discussion. Already the first conceptually significant. The motif shows a phrase – “Cellar that looks like a cave” (Gorky, genetic link with the theories of Plato, with his – 1090 – Olga V. Bogdanova. The Philosophy of Man in M. Gorky’s Play “The Lower Depths” concept of the nasty nature of man, subjected to Emotional intentions of Gorky’s characters, transformation and beautification. inner impulses of their actions, the etiology of Even to the greater extent the philosophical behavioral manners and even love moderations layer of the Platonic intertext is actualized in the of the characters are largely mediated by the scenographic composition of the play, in focusing Platonic pretext. In line with Plato implicits, activities around the motif of Plato’s feast – a images of the direct inhabitants of the cellar- necessary condition for wise men-philosophers cave are presented in the drama-discussion. to enter into a polylogue, to agree with an According to Plato, the unenlightened (or opponent or challenge someone else’s opinion, uninitiated) people, like cattle, comprise the anyway to come closer to the understand the lowe s t s t a ge of t he hu m a n h ie r a r chy; t hei r dow n - true nature of things. One of the most significant to-earth animal nature dominates, revealing Plato’s dialogues “The Feast” was made in that their zoomorphic features. In accordance way, giving the opportunity to implement the with Plato, it is the embodiment of perverse main method of cognition for the philosopher – souls, uncleared of dirt. It is in this way Gorky dialectics, the art of sprouting the truth in dispute- represents “cave dwellers” of the shelter – they discussion. Gorky organizes metatextual space in either have “insect surname” (like Kleeshtsh) the similar manner, revealing dialogical intentions or make sounds like a beast growling (like of the characters by unusual for classical drama Satine – “lying on the bunk and growls”), or practice of Mise-en-scène. The use of “Plato’s” get alias and abusive nicknames (Kvashnya – intention is specifically represented in the final “an old dog”, Kleeshtsh – “a red goat”, etc.). scene of the last act of the play by Gorky: the Establishing connection with Plato’s dialogues final monologues of Satin become the apotheosis on the basis of zoomorphic method appeared of Gorky’s eristic in the format of “The Feast” through and permeates the entire play (The by Plato. Platonic Tradition, 2014). The essence of the component – inspiring All the characters of the cave express and fertilizing Gorky’s Thought largely derives understanding the “unworthy” truths gradually, from the ideological and metaphorical Plato’s but consistently, in their own way exposing and imagery. Thus, in the dialogue “Phaedrus”, Plato illustrating a certain amount of truth by their reasons about the soul, which he represents in the own destinies. Appearing at the stage almost form of a winged chariot drawn by two horses. simultaneously, the characters gain “the right to The mind in Plato’s chariot acts as a charioteer. express their opinion” sequentially, and in this In Gorky’s work a “free friend of Man” Thought sense it is important that dwellers of the shelter, looks at everything and everywhere with a who live in the kitchen (Kvashnya, the dumplings “vigilant and quick eye” to “trample everything seller, the Baron and Nastya) start the dispute old, everything tight and dirty <...> and create about the man and the truth.
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