The play "At the Bottom" is considered one of the pinnacles of Gorky's work. This work is one of the most famous of this writer. Consider the features of a love conflict in the play "At the Bottom". According to the genre, it is socio-philosophical, but in this work it is multifaceted, associated, among others, with the theme of love. This problem in Maxim Gorky acts as part of a social conflict. She is paired in the play primarily with the so-called "love triangle", which is formed by the thief Vaska Pepel, Vasilisa Kostyleva, as well as her sister - Natalya.
Life of Vasilisa
The host of the overnight stay, 54-year-old Kostylev, had a young wife Vasilisa, whose age was only 26 years old. The relationship between these two heroes is dramatic. Vasilisa, not by love, but by calculation, married Kostylev, and he constantly reproaches the heroine with poverty (“pig”, “beggar”). It is unlikely that a husband truly loves his wife. The love conflict in the play "At the Bottom" does not concern him. This is a greedy, money-grubber, a hypocrite, to whom pure, bright feelings are alien. “Foul,” he calls her. For Vasilisa, life with such a person is hell, their relationship is far from love. Therefore, she cheats on him with another hero, Vaska Ashes. It is around the latter that the characteristics of a love conflict in the play "At the Bottom" are built.
Vasilisa and Natasha
Vasilisa, this cruel, angry woman with a "devilish character", is fighting for Ashes, the methods of which are very doubtful. She is jealous of Natasha, her disenfranchised sister, in everything that depends on her. Natasha likes the dwellers, but they don’t favor Vasilis. Kostyleva’s sister is a “nice girl”, “a reliable person”, and the wife of the owner of a rooming house is a “poisonous viper”. Natasha has many advantages, therefore Vaska Ashes is not indifferent to her. He reproaches the imperious sister in the absence of a soul. With Kostyleva, this hero is sincere and directly says that he never loved her, but lived with her just for fun, just like that. In the end, Vaska leaves Vasilisa for the sake of Natasha. Kostyleva cannot bear the love of this hero for her sister. This vengeful nature, seized with rage, constantly strikes and torments Natasha. The latter, being in conditions so unbearable for herself, is ready to run away with Ashes to the ends of the world.
The relationship between him and Natasha enriches the hero, gives hope for a completely different, new life, as shown by M. Gorky ("At the Bottom").
Does Vasilisa love Vaska Ashes?
Vasilisa is shown in the play as a greedy person. In her connection with Ashes, she sees not just the opportunity to find female happiness. Kostyleva hoped that Vaska would help her to get rid of her husband, after which she would be the sovereign mistress of his establishment. The play by Maxim Gorky “At the Bottom” makes you think a lot. A logical question arises: "Does Vasilisa Pepl really love?" It seems that no. Would she push him otherwise to a crime, dooming herself to inevitable separation from her beloved? Would she incite him to theft, and then buy up stolen goods? At the last moment, Vasilisa still thinks to persuade Ashes to conspire with her. She even agrees to marry him with Natasha, promises Vaska a monetary reward.
Essence of Kostyleva
Features of a love conflict in the play "At the Bottom" reveal the true essence of Vasilisa. Ash feels her. He says that Vasilisa needs only money and will, "in order to debauch." Vaska could even fall in love with this heroine, go for anything for her happiness, but his passion for money pushed him away. He cannot come to terms with this in the character of Vasilisa.
Kostyleva confuses Ash. Stepping once for Natasha, who was boiled with boiling water and brutally beaten by her husband and wife, Vaska kills the owner of the overnight stay in a fight. This is what Vasilisa wanted. There was nothing human left in it, only a complete moral decline, which undoubtedly shows the play by Maxim Gorky, "At the Bottom."
Prostitute Nastya
Speaking about the love theme in the work, it is necessary to say a few words about another heroine of the play - the prostitute Nastya. It is no accident that M. Gorky introduces the story (“At the Bottom”). Baron and Bubnov mock, laugh at Nastya, at her fictional love story. This heroine dreams of Raoul, an imaginary admirer, thinking that he loves her sublimely and passionately. Nastya read romance novels, introducing herself as their heroine. This is the only thing good in her hard life. Trading her body, she still reaches out to the soul for warmth, light, participation and kindness. Behind this invention lies the heroine’s deep need for love. Nastya does not lose hope, does not stop believing that a great and pure feeling would change her whole life, lifting it from the bottom.
These are the characteristics of the love conflict in the play "At the Bottom". Maxim Gorky in this play shows how a person cripples the inhuman conditions of existence, disfiguring lofty feelings, leading to the degradation and destruction of the human "I". Spiritual, moral and social are closely related in the work of this writer, which once again proves in the work of M. Gorky. “At the bottom” is therefore rightfully considered a socio-philosophical play.