A MARXISM STUDY: THE REACTIONS TOWARDS THE EXISTING
POLITICAL SITUATION AS FACED BY PELAGEA NILOVNA,
THE MAIN CHARACTER OF MAXIM GORKY’S MOTHER
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Muhamad Nur Hidayat
Student Number: 041214082
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
i
A MARXISM STUDY: THE REACTIONS TOWARDS THE EXISTING
POLITICAL SITUATION AS FACED BY PELAGEA NILOVNA,
THE MAIN CHARACTER OF MAXIM GORKY’S MOTHER
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Muhamad Nur Hidayat
Student Number: 041214082
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
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MOTTO
The young man [who] consents to become a tool, not an independent workman, a mere means to the fulfillment of others, not the artificer of his own nature feels to be
good. In the moment when he makes his act of consent, something dies within him. He can never again become a whole man, never again have the undamaged self-respect, the upright pride, which might have kept him happy in his soul in spite of all
outward troubles and difficulties. --Bertrand Russell--
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to Most Gracious and Most Merciful Allah SWT for the faith in me and the assistance in the period of bitterness
and happiness in life.
I also owe my deepest gratitude to my major sponsor, Drs. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A., Ph.D., for his guidance, assistance and useful feedbacks during
the completion of this thesis. I also express my sincere appreciation to Mr. Agustinus Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A., and all PBI lecturers and staff whose
dedicated work have made me be able to speak, read, listen to and write English. Now, the world of unlimited knowledge and information is opened for me.
I am deeply indebted to my mother, Murti Sunarni, my father, Subaru and my two beautiful sisters, Rindang and Nisa, whose endless supports and prayer have kept me going. My special gratefulness also goes to my grandparents, uncles and aunts who have been keenly supportive to me.
Further, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all PBI friends, specifically The Grassroots friends: Silvi, Albert, Pius, Tika, Novi, Indri, Rita, Yuni and Riska; for their supports and fresh jokes that keep me sane. I also thank all
of my ex-Orong-Orong friends who have shared their remarkable ideas and knowledge.
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and been very supportive to me. I owe my gratitude specifically to Imam, Nida, Pipik, Nita and Mala, who have become my family. I also express my sincere
gratitude to all lecturers, friends and staff in The University of California Santa Cruz, English Language and International Program who have painted the most
beautiful memories of my life. I thank Chris, Gail and Bill who have been very supportive to my study and who have proofread my Abstract, Chapter 4 and 5. I also thank all of UCSC Inn friends specifically Cindy and Marlene who have been so kind and helpful by sending me precious essays that I could not download them for free from the internet. I love you all and I certainly am coming to Santa Cruz again.
There are many other people whom I cannot mention here one by one but, surely, I cannot complete this thesis without their helps and supports. God bless them all.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ……… ……….… i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ………….………. ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY……….. iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ………..………… v
MOTTO ……….... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………... ix
ABSTRACT ……….... xiii
ABSTRAK ………..…….. xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ………..….. 1
1.1.Background of the Study ………..……. 1
1.2.Objective of the Study ………... 4
1.3.Problem Formulation ……….. 4
1.4.Benefit of the Study ………... 5
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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE………... 8
2.1. Review of Literature Theories………... 8
2.1.1. Theory of Character………... 8
2.1.2. Theory of Characterization………...…. 10
2.1.3. Theory of Personality……….... 13
2.2. Theory of Marxism……….. 14
2.2.1. The Overview of the General Theory of Marxism… 14 2.2.2. Marxist Theory of Social Class………..…... 18
2.2.3. Marxist Theory of Class Consciousness …..…...… 20
2.2.4. Theory of Marxist Literary Criticism ………... 23
2.3. The Contexts of the Novel………... 25
2.3.1. The Social Setting of the Writing of the Novel……. 25
2.3.2. The Social Setting in the Novel………...….. 29
2.4. Theoretical Framework………..….. 30
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ………..…... 32
3.1. Object of the Study ………..…… 32
3.2. Approach of the Study ……….……... 34
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CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS ……….……... 37
4.1. Pelagea Nilovna’s Personality ……….…... 37
4.2. Pelagea Nilovna’s Reactions towards the Political Condition ……….…… 50
4.2.1. Pelagea’s Changes as the Manifestation of her Reactions towards Pavel’s Movement... 50
4.2.2. Pelagea’s Reactions as the Depiction of the Working Class’ Social Consciousness Necessary to Build Gorky’s Model of Revolutionary Society……….……... 62
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . ………. 74
5.1. Conclusions ……….…... 74
5.2. Suggestions for Future Researcher………... 77
5.3. Recommendations for English Instructors to Teach Short Essay Writing I………...……….….. 78
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……….….. 80
APPENDICES ……….. 83
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xiii ABSTRACT
Hidayat, Muhamad Nur. 2009. A Marxism Study: The Reactions towards the Existing Political Situation as Faced by Pelagea Nilovna, the Main Character of Maxim Gorky’s Mother. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyzes a novel written by Maxim Gorky in 1906 entitled Mother. The analysis deals with the reactions of the main character, Pelagea Nilovna, towards the existing political situation in the factory settlement in which she lives. It is highly interesting to analyze the topic because it portrays a massive shift of Pelagea Nilovna, from being a simple and ignorant woman to being a revolutionary militant activist.
In order to achieve the aim, this study focuses on two discussions. Firstly, it deals with the portrayal of Pelagea Nilovna. Secondly, it deals with her reactions towards the existing political condition in the novel. The second discussion is divided into two sections, namely, Pelagea Nilovna’s reactions towards the revolutionary movement of her son, Pavel, and the significance of her reactions.
The theories of character, characterization and personality are applied to answer the first question posed in the first discussion. While the theories of Marxism and Gorky’s socio-political backgrounds are used to answer the second question posed in the second discussion. Meanwhile, the study uses Marxist literary criticism approach.
The findings reveal that during her life with her husband and her early interaction with Pavel’s movement, Pelagea Nilovna is portrayed as being religious, sensitive, fearful, wise and loving. However, after becoming completely involved in the movement, she turns into being brave and less religious. Her reactions towards Pavel’s movement manifest in her change of attitude, beliefs and personality. Her acquaintance with Pavel and his comrades has contributed to her new understanding about the political condition. She has become a new person.
Meanwhile, the significance of her reactions reveals three findings. Firstly, Pelagea represents the emerging social consciousness of simple and traditional people as well as the women’s struggle. Secondly, Pelagea’s social consciousness is acquired primarily due to her being a mother who senses something positive in Pavel’s movement. Thirdly, Pelagea’s depiction as a simple mother acquiring social consciousness also reveals Gorky’s own model of revolutionary society which includes spiritual and emotional fervors and in which women become an important part.
It is suggested that future researchers conduct analyses on other characters’ roles in building Maxim Gorky’s model of revolutionary society and his conception of “God Building.” Lastly, it is also recommended that the novel be used as a teaching-learning resource in Short Essay Writing I of English Language Education Study Program.
xiv ABSTRAK
Hidayat, Muhamad Nur. 2009. A Marxism Study: The Reactions towards the Existing Political Situation as Faced by Pelagea Nilovna, the Main Character of Maxim Gorky’s Mother. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Studi ini menganalisis sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh Maxim Gorky pada tahun 1906 berjudul Mother. Analisis dari novel ini membahas mengenai reaksi dari tokoh utama, Pelagea Nilovna, terhadap situasi politik di pemukiman pabrik dimana ia tinggal. Topik ini sangat menarik untuk dianalisis karena hal ini menggambarkan sebuah perubahan yang besar atas Pelagea Nilovna, dari seorang perempuan sederhana dan bodoh menjadi seorang aktifis militan revolusioner.
Untuk mencapai tujuannya, studi ini mencakup dua pembahasan. Pertama mengenai penokohan Pelagea Nilovna. Kedua menenai reaksinya terhadap situasi politik yang ada. Pembahasan kedua terdiri dari dua bagian yaitu reaksi Pelagea Nilovna terhadap pergerakan revolusioner dari anaknya, Pavel, serta arti penting reaksi tersebut.
Teori mengenai tokoh, penokohan serta kepribadian digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama pada pembahasan pertama. Sedangkan teori-teori mengenai Marxisme serta latar belakang sosial-politiknya Gorky digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua pada pembahasan kedua. Sementara itu, studi ini menggunakan pendekatan kritik sastra Marxisme.
Hasil dari analisa menunjukkan bahwa selama hidup dengan suaminya dan selama interaksi awal dengan pergerakan Pavel, Pelagea Nilovna digambarkan sebagai seorang yang relijius, peka, penakut, bijak dan penyayang. Namun, setelah sepenuhnya bergabung dengan pergerakan itu, dia berubah menjadi seorang yang pemberani dan kurang relijius. Reaksinya terhadap pergerakan Pavel termanifestasikan dalam perubahan sikap, kepercayaan serta kepribadiannya. Hubungannya dengan Pavel dan kawan-kawannya berkontribusi terhadap pemahaman barunya mengenai situasi politik tersebut. Dia telah menjadi manusia yang baru.
Sementara itu, terdapat tiga arti penting dari reaksi tersebut. Pertama, Pelagea mewakili kemunculan kesadaran sosial dari warga tradisional dan sederhana serta mewakili perjuangan wanita pada khususnya. Kedua, kesadaran sosial dari Pelagea diperoleh terutama karena posisi dia sebagai seorang ibu yang dapat merasakan sesuatu yang positif pada pergerakan Pavel. Ketiga, penggambaran Pelagea sebagai seorang sederhana yang memperoleh kesadaran sosial, juga mengungkapkan sebuah model masyarakat revolusionernya Gorky yang memasukkan kualitas-kualitas emosional dan spiritual, dimana kaum perempuan menjadi bagian penting di dalamnya.
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1 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts, namely, Background of the Study, Objectives of the Study, Problem Formulation, Benefits of the Study and Definition of Terms. The first part, Background of the Study, explores the urgency of this study and my personal reasons in selecting the topic of the study. Secondly, the Objectives of the Study, presents the aims of conducting this study. Thirdly, the Problem Formulation presents some problems to limit the scope of study. Fourthly, the Benefits of the Study elaborates the advantages that the reader may gain from reading this study. And the last, the Definition of Terms presents some definitions of key terms used in the study.
1.1. Background of the Study
The interrelationship among characters in a novel can reveal the complexity of human phenomena. Unlike any other living creatures, human beings have the capacity to discern and comprehend various phenomena in society and have the ability to react towards them. On the one hand, human beings are endowed with universal emotional capacity that make them united, have the sense of solidarity, caring and loving to each other. On the other hand, they have the intellectual capacity to cope with the complexity of nature and human phenomena itself. They have the capacities to differentiate between good and evil, truth and wrongness, fact and illusion. Those emotional and intellectual capacities combined make human beings progress through reacting towards the phenomena. And through exercising those capacities, men and women can acquire new knowledge, new understanding, new revelation and even new life.
This thesis analyzes a novel Mother, written by a celebrated Russian author, Maxim Gorky. Mother, which was written in 1906, is said to be one of Gorky’s phenomenal works during his lifetime, which later became the pioneer of the Soviet genre of Socialist Realism. A socialist literature, Terry Eagleton says, must present the realities of the working people without giving any clear-cut solution. He also adds that it must also reveal the struggle of working people to free from oppressions (Eagleton vii). Both qualities that Eagleton says appear in Mother.
being an ignorant and ordinary woman into being a militant activist. The mother has undergone social consciousness. The shift occurs during her acquaintance with and involvement in Pavel’s movement. The movement, whose pledge is to pursue the truth and liberate the working people from the oppressive authority of feudalism, challenges the authority by spreading leaflets into the factories and organizes protests and rallies. Therefore, the topic of the study concerns on the analysis of the reactions of the ordinary woman, Pelagea Nilovna, towards the political situation as seen in her involvement in Pavel’s revolutionary movement.
I am particularly interested in the topic of the study because I am impressed about how Maxim Gorky explores the characters, specifically Pelagea Nilovna, in facing an oppressive authority of feudalism. Furthermore, it is overwhelming to learn the major shift that happens to Pelagea Nilovna in the novel. It is highly appealing to learn that one can acquire such a shift from being a simple person into being a revolutionary activist. Besides, I am keen to verify that such an extraordinary transformation is not gained from a pure spiritual or emotional search, rather, it is with help of Pelagea’s being able to comprehend and analyze the actual conditions that affect her life. I desire to prove that Pelagea’s transformation is a rational choice derived from her analyses of the surrounding phenomena. Moreover, I want to learn why Maxim Gorky reveals a character of mother in a revolutionary movement.
ideas to analyze the topic of the study given that it considers various aspects including the author’s political tendency and the prevailing ideology at the time he wrote the novel.
1.2. Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to show one’s reactions toward the existing socio-cultural and political situation in his or her life as seen Pelagea Nilovna, the main character of Maxim Gorky’s Mother. The discussion deals with the trait and change acquired from comprehending a certain phenomenon.
1.3. Problem Formulation
To achieve the objective and specify the study, some research questions related to the topic have been prepared. The questions are formulated as follows:
1. How is Pelagea Nilovna, the main character of the novel, portrayed in the novel?
2. How does Pelagea Nilovna react toward the existing political situation as seen in the novel?
1.4. Benefits of the Study
understanding of the characterization of Pelagea Nilovna and the emerging social consciousness of working people as revealed from Pelagea Nilovna.
Secondly, the study would help future researchers who want to conduct a literary study on the novel. From this study, the future researchers can gain understanding about the influence of Marxism in the novel. Finally the study is expected to provide us understandings about the social consciousness of the working people and the injustices that they meet in their life. By comprehending the significance of the working people in shaping the structure of society, we realize that the working people have a huge hidden power.
1.5. Definition of Terms
There are several important terminologies to help readers follow the study. The definitions are taken from both printed and online materials
1.5.1. Character and characterization
Character, according to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, means: …the person presented in dynamic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities that are expressed in what they say…[in] the dialogue…[and] by what they do…. (20)
Characterization according to Baldick in his Criticism and Literary Theory (34), characterization is the representation of a person in a dramatic or narrative work with the use of direct method of attribution to the character so that the reader can infer or deduce the qualities from the character’s appearance, action or speech.
1.5.2. Personality
According to Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology, the question of personality concerns with one’s differences in his or her social behavior and his or her disposal to react in certain ways. It also “seeks to characterize in a rigorous way the basis of that difference by identifying characteristic patterns of behavior that are distinctive and consistent across time” (Turner ed. 437). In questioning the personality, many theorists recognize the importance of other social characteristics such as “age, gender, and race and ethnicity, or other personal determinants of behavior, such as attitude” (Turner ed. 438). Therefore in this study, in revealing the characterization of Pelagea Nilovna, it deals with her personality as an individual in reacting to the socio cultural and political condition in the settlement she is living.
1.5.3. Class consciousness
According to Online Dictionary of Social Sciences, class consciousness means:
is associated with the development of a ‘class-for-itself’ where individuals within the class unite to pursue their shared interests. In addition, according to Lukacs, every social class has a determined class consciousness, but in Marxist perspective, class consciousness is not “an origin” but it is “an achievement” that “must be won” by the working people (Lukacs, “Class Consciousness”). The term class consciousness used in this study is the same as the term social consciousness that refers to the awareness of the working people of their condition (economic and social conditions caused by the feudalism structure of society). This awareness sparks the desire to change their life.
1.5.4. Reactions
According to an electronic dictionary, Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, reactions mean “a person’s ability to respond physically and mentally to external stimuli.” In this study, reactions also refer to Pelagea Nilovna’s responses to Pavel’s movement and ideas. The reactions include her attitude, belief, and point of views that are revealed from her interaction with Pavel, his movement and his comrades and that are also revealed from her own reflection of her life and
8 CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter is devoted to present some theories that are used in this study. It is divided into five parts. The first part is the review of literature theory. The second part covers the theories of Marxism. Meanwhile, the third part of this chapter explores the contexts or the social settings both in the novel and the actual social settings at the time Maxim Gorky wrote the novel. And the last part is the theoretical framework.
2.1. Review of Literature Theories
This first part deals with some literature theories which comprise the theories related to character and characterization, and theories related to personality. Those theories are used to help analyze the first problem of this study.
2.1.1. Theory of Character
In short, characters can be defined as the people by whom the author conveys the story. Through dialogues, actions and the author’s narration, we can understand the story of a particular novel. The bases or reasons underlying the character’s “temperament, desires and moral nature for their speech and actions” are called motivation (Abrams 23).
According to Forster (48-54), Aspects of the Novel, there are two types of character, namely, flat and round character.
1. Flat character
Flat character is created in “a single idea or quality” that, in comprehending the character, we do not need any further detailed explanation, and therefore, it is easily recognized by the reader.
2. Round character
Unlike flat character, round character cannot be directly justified in terms of the quality. It has more complex temperament and motivation. It is peculiar and difficult to describe. The uniqueness of round character is the ability to surprise the reader
Abrams adds that a character may be “stable”, or has no gradual change in the outlook and disposition. In addition, there is a character that undergoes “a radical change” through gradual process of motivation and development (Abrams 23).
the character that does not reveal any growth or development. The static character does not undergo changes in the story, whereas, the growing character undergoes changes and development in the story. The change or the development may take form of turning point in life, or the character’s spiritual journey.
In this study, the mother, Pelagea Nilovna, resembles the round and growing character.
2.1.2. Theory of Characterization
If characters are the persons in the story, characterization means the way the author explains or characterizes the characters. By means of characterization, we can be sure that the story is alive. The way the author characterizes his or her characters plays a significant role to help the reader understand the characters. Pelagea Nilovna, the mother, is characterized through various ways by the author in the novel.
In addition to the broad distinctions of characterization explained by Abrams, the classic work of Murphy helps us reveal the ways the author characterize the characters in greater depth. According to Murphy (161-173), there are nine ways of how an author characterizes the characters. They are:
a. Personal description
The author gives the descriptions of personal physical appearances of certain characters to the reader by, for example, telling what the character is wearing, the color of the hair, eye, and so on. There is a good example in Maxim Gorky’s Mother in the way of describing Pelagea:
She was tall and somewhat stooped. … Her wide oval face, puffy and wrinkled, was lighted by dark eyes filled with fear and grief,… Above her right eyebrow was a deep scar… Streaks of white shone in her thick dark hair. She was all softness and sadness and submissiveness… . (16-7)
b. Characters as seen by others
Here, the author characterizes a certain character by means of other characters’ opinions.
c. Speech
What the character says throughout the novel may hint his or her character.
d. Past life
speeches may also be the method of characterizing a particular character. For example when Pavel, Pelagea’s son, told his mother:
Just think of the life we live! Here you are forty years old, and what have you ever known? Father beat you—now I know that he took his troubles out on you, all bitterness of his life. Something kept pressing down on him, but he didn’t know what… What joy have you ever known? ... What good things have you to remember? (21-2)
e. Conversation of others
From the conversation from other characters, the author can also give hints about the characterization of a particular character.
f. Reactions
In order to reveal the characterization of a certain character, it can also be seen from the reactions of the character in dealing with certain conditions or events facing the character.
g. Direct comment
The author can also give direct comments by telling the reader directly through sentences that show the characterization of certain character. For example:
Thus lived Mikhail Vlassov, a sullen, hirsute mechanic with tiny eyes that glared suspiciously and with spiteful scorn from under his bushy eyebrows. He was the best mechanic at the factory and the strongest man in the settlement, but he was surly with his superiors, and for that reason made little money. (12)
In a way of characterizing a person, the author can give “direct knowledge” to the reader so as to know what other people or characters are thinking.
i. Mannerism
In this way, the author describes the character’s manners or habits or traits or behavior in helping the reader understand the character.
These are some specific ways to find the characterization of a particular character in a novel presented in Murphy.
2.1.3. Theory of Personality
According to Hall and Lindzey assert that to fully understand one’s behaviors, the study of the wholeness of the person is highly needed (Hall and Lindzey 6). Furthermore, they maintain that human personality can be assessed from his or her reaction towards various circumstances. In other words, different circumstances that a person meets shape his or her personality.
persons. It happens usually in the relation of parents and their children. The parents have to adapt to the development of their children.
One’s personality change can also be determined from changes in social pressure which is usually resulted from social rejection. Another cause of personality change according to Hurlock is the change of role is society. Strong motivation and changes is self concept may also cause personality change. The desire for acceptance and for better life may provoke people to change their attitudes and finally personality. The last is the use of psychotherapy to change one’s personality and to find out his or her self-concept.
2.2. Theory of Marxism
This is the second part of chapter two. It includes the general theory of Marxism, Marxist perspective on social class, Marxist perspective on class consciousness, and the theory of Marxist literary criticism approach, an approach being used in this study.
2.2.1. The Overview of the General Theory of Marxism
Yet, the focus of attention of Marxism has undergone dialectics since it was first put forward by Engels in the nineteenth century. There are some shifts of focus in the part of the theory following the development of capitalism. Versions and theoretical emphasis of Marxism also develop. It is in the first half of the twentieth century where the relative shift of attention happened. Marxism which aroused outside the USSR centered its attention toward “the way in which industrial capitalism had substituted machine-like relations for genuine human relations.” This, as is expected, shifted the theoretical emphasis away from scientific economic theory (such as Das Capital), towards socio-cultural topics like alienation of workers (the process of workers becoming foreign to the world and life they are living in because they are not valued from the products they work). The latter topic is more focusing on the relation of humans (workers) and the means of production (Harland 137; Marxist Internet Archive). This focus of socio-cultural topics of Marxism is I think in accordance with the story of the novel Mother by Maxim Gorky, which pictures the way workers were reduced to merely mechanical instruments. As shown in the first part of the novel, the results are the depression, hatred, despair, anger, and feeling of utter hopelessness—although eventually, they learn something from socialism ideas that was brought by Pavel, Pelagea’s son.
class which is “increasingly stunted, reduced to meaningless physical activity which, far from developing and exercising their humanity, reduces them to abstract organs of a lifeless mechanism” (Honderich ed. 558).
This is so because the working class “do[es] not experience the products of their labor as their expression, or indeed as theirs in any sense.” They sell their activity to the capitalist for a wage, not for fulfilling their social self-expressions, but for merely sustaining their lives. Marxism as a science of political economy moreover portrays human beings, especially laborers, whose social life and relationships are at the mercy not of their collective choice but of an alien, inhuman mechanism, the marker-place, which allege to be a sphere of individual freedom, but it is in fact a sphere of collective slavery to inhuman and destructive forces. (Honderich ed. 558)
To be free from alienation, Marx asserts that all we need is a “new form of earthly existence,” which is the key to fulfilled human beings, meaning, never lacking material conditions. To gain human freedom, human beings must be self conscious of their “essential human power”, namely the power of production, which in capitalist system, it is constrained. Therefore, only conscious self actualization, human beings can achieve their ultimate freedom. The idea of this consciousness is then of importance.
find the means to achieve them, rather, it is a matter of devoting the conscious revolutionary movements into participating in “an already developing class movement” that happens in the current time, and to define themselves the goals and to realize the goal by using their weapons “inherent in the class’s historical situation” (Honderich ed. 559). So, instead of orthodox and static, revolutionary movements must see the reality surrounding them and find the way to achieve the goals. And in the struggle to achieve that ends, they must not be independent from their historical situation.
With regards to religion and God, which is the central controversy of Marxist doctrine, Marx argues in his Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, that “[t]o abolish religion as the illusory happiness of the people is to demand their real happiness” (Marxist Internet Archive). Since Marxism is a materialistic belief, the idea of God and religion play a parasitic role to building the society of workers.
Marx believed that in classless community, or the eventual communist society, the private ownership of means of production and commodity production is abolished. He believed that in a communist society, all form of human alienation is non existent. Yet, he never stated that this eventual society is a static society and unchanging, instead, it is the truest beginning of the human history that is governed by conscious human development.
Class in Marxist perspective means a group of people who share common relations to labor and means of production. Marx says in his Wage Labour and Capital that:
These social relations between the producers, and the conditions under which they exchange their activities and share in the total act of production, will naturally vary according to the character of the means of production. (Marxist Internet Archive)
The idea of class in Marxist perspective is radically different from that of bourgeoisie social theory or capitalism. In capitalism class is “abstract universal” that is defined by the common attributes of its members and is also defined by “categories and conceptions that have an existence prior to and independent of the people who make up the class.” For example, people who earn less than $ 20,000 a year constitute a lower class. However, the idea of class in Marxist view is that it “includes the development of collective consciousness in a class – arising from the material basis of having in common relations to the labour process and the means of production” (Marxist Internet Archive).
surplus of production. This becomes the central issue of Marxist’s radical antagonism about bourgeoisie and proletariat. As Engels points out, Marx’s most important doctrine is the Inherent Class War between two irreconcilable groups, namely, the Bourgeoisie (the capitalist employers) and the Proletariat (the workers) (Sahakian and Sahakian 79). This inevitable antagonism is stated by Marx in his Communist Manifesto:
The increasing improvement of machinery, ever more rapidly developing, makes their livelihood more and more precarious; the collisions between individual workmen and individual bourgeois take more and more the character of collisions between two classes. Thereupon, the workers begin to form combinations (trade unions) against the bourgeois; they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages; they found permanent associations in order to make provision beforehand for these occasional revolts. Here and there, the contest breaks out into riots. (Marxist Internet Archive)
In resolving this antagonism, and since the two groups have diametrically-opposed interests, one of the group, the bourgeoisie, must be eliminated. The reason is that he Bourgeoisie are responsible for a number of social evils: they have exploited the employee by giving less than they deserve, they have treated the workers as a commodity in market, whose price is dependent upon the market fluctuation rather than upon the worth they have produced; and finally they have commercialize most occupations, including marriage (Sahakian and Sahakian 79).
which is based on “the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange” (Barry 156).
2.2.3. Marxist Theory on Class Consciousness
In order to achieve the classless society, the dictator proletariat society must be instilled. And the proletariat, the workers, must be aware of this. In short they have to be class conscious. According to the Oxford Guide to Philosophy, the term consciousness involves experience and awareness (Honderich ed. 160). According to Online Dictionary of Social Sciences, class consciousness means “The awareness of individuals in a particular social class that they share common interests and a common social situation. Class consciousness is associated with the development of a ‘class-for-itself’ where individuals within the class unite to pursue their shared interests” (Online Dictionary of Social Sciences).
Marx argues that the awareness of the workers arises not from their own spiritual search, instead, it is determined by their social condition. It is dependent on the material condition, namely the economic condition, and ideological situation that prevail in the society (Tucker 4). As Ernest Mandel points out, that in Marxian proposition:
consciousness of the oppressed class. (Mandel, “Bourgeois Ideology and Proletarian Class Consciousness”).
Thus, as a rule, Mandel points out, that the oppressed will formulate class struggle in society.
The problem in capitalist society, is that there is a control tat takes form in ideological manipulation and “mass assimilation of the ruling class’ ideological production” that form some kind of “stability” in the society which, in fact, hinders the emergence of class consciousness of the working people itself. This control is exerted through the internalization of commodity relation which is highly related to reification of labor, as Marx states, and the transformation of the labor power into commodity. In addition, the control also takes form in the exploitation of workers and the lack of leisure time. And to overturn this control, all what is needed is a revolution by which the oppressed class (the workers) can free themselves from the ideology of the ruling class (Mandel, “Bourgeois Ideology and Proletarian Class Consciousness”).
if a class thinks the thoughts imputable to it and which bear upon its interests right through to their logical conclusion and yet fails to strike at the heart of that totality, then such a class is doomed to play only a subordinate role.
(Lukacs, “Class Consciousness”).
Such false consciousness, manifests in the workers’ passivity, aimlessness and, although they may have won some few battles, they “are doomed to ultimate defeat,” to borrow Lukacs words. This means that the control over the mass population, in this respect, the working class, that leads to the workers’ false consciousness is a real challenge to the consciousness of the working class itself. Therefore, arousing the workers’ class consciousness means challenging the prevailing socio-historical, ideological and economic condition that have been historically established in society by the ruling power.
In order to overcome such false consciousness, Georg Lukacs points out that once the workers are conscious, they must organize the whole society in accordance with their own interests, not the interests of the privileged-few.
2.2.4. Theory of Marxist Literary Criticism
more the opinions of the author remains hidden, the better the work of art.” Marxist literary criticism maintains that:
a writer’s social class and its prevailing ‘ideology’ (outlooks, values, tacit assumptions, half-realized allegiances, etc.) have a major bearing on what is written by a member of that class. (Barry 158)
Therefore, a Marxist maintains that all works of arts are not independent from their economic and social contexts in which the author lives. Instead, it is “constantly formed” by the social contexts, consciously or unconsciously. The aim of Marist literary criticism is thus to find out the tendency of political and economic contexts toward the work of art. Marxist literary criticism is based on the philosophical assumption that “consciousness can never be anything else than conscious existence...Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life” (Marx 568-9).
Barry further adds that the social contexts not only form and influence the content of the work of art, but also “the formal aspects of their writing.” In summary,
what Marxist critics do are:
1. They make clear distinction between the “overt” (manifest or surface or what is seen) and “covert” (latent or hidden) content of certain literary work. And then they relate the covert content with the central idea of Marxism, such as class struggle.
3. This approach is also used to describe “the nature of a whole literary genre in terms of the social period which ‘produces’ it.”
4. Marxist literary critics also relate the social assumptions with the work of art. 5. The last, is to politicize the literary form. It means that they are to find out that
2.3. The Contexts of the Novel
In helping the analysis of the problems in this study, it is highly important to comprehend the context of the novel, both the historical context of the novel (the setting of the writing) and the setting or the context in the novel. It is of importance since in analyzing a text using Marxist literary approach, we see the text as not an independent object, rather, it is dependent on the historical situation that can affects the content of the novel.
2.3.1. The Social Setting of the Writing of the Novel
miserable life during his childhood, he became an enthusiastic reader (De Laine, “Maxim Gorky”).
Maxim Gorky is one of the imminent writers and Russia and a symbol of revolutionary movement. His novel, Mother, is said to be his single lengthy and phenomenal work. It was first appear in 1906 while he was visiting the United States. By the time of 1907, he was living in Capri, Italy, to escape from the dangerous situation in Russia. He was assisting revolutionary causes that criticize the government of Russia at that time. And as a result, his works, including Mother, were highly censored by the authority. The novel Mother itself was highly influential outside Russia. Despite the censorship, Gorky’s works were widespread among intellectual circles. And as Werbach points out, Gorky was the influential figure following the Bourgeois revolution in 1905, which installed a feudalistic regime (Werbach, “Literary Models for Alternative Social Development in Russia”).
also in the unique insight of dealing with the lives of Russian workers. As a consequence, Mother became the central model of proletarian literature (De Laine, “Maxim Gorky”). In addition, Werbach maintains:
In the years following the Bolshevik revolution, literature was subjected to state control and forced to follow certain conventions. Socialist Realism, which incorporated elements of traditional Russian culture as well as Bolshevik doctrine, became the only acceptable style for literature. Mother utilized and systematized many of these elements, and from a pre-revolutionary perspective served as a model for both literary and social development. (“Literary Models for Alternative Social Development in Russia”)
Mother was based on real events, namely, a demonstration of factory workers near Nizhni Novgorod in 1902, yet, it was fictionalized. His narrative concerns on “the characters and their evolving social consciousness” rather than detailed description of the events. Characters in the novel, according to Werbach, are highly depersonalized which “reinforced this universalistic message”:
By using sparse descriptive details, with formulaic characteristics to represent traits important to the revolutionary worldview, Gorky shifted the focus from extraordinary individuals to broader social forces. (“Literary Models for Alternative Social Development in Russia”)
direct path to constructing God,” which was highly opposed to Lenin’s stance (Werbach, “Literary Models for Alternative Social Development in Russia”). It is also opposed to Marx’s idea that religion and God is highly parasitical since it causes “illusionary happiness” (Marx, “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law” qtd. in Marxist Internet Archive: encyclopedia page, from www.marxists.org).
In addition to this opposition, Gorky also severely criticized the Bolshevik revolution and the way Lenin suppressed literature to be merely a tool for propaganda. It is no question that Maxim Gorky’s works received much censorship from the Lenin’s government since the literature had to be subjected to state control. This led to the bitter disagreement between Gorky and Lenin. He left Russia in 1921, and then lived in Italy again and did not return to Soviet until his sixtieth birthday in 1928. He accommodated himself with Joseph Stalin ever since until he was assassinated on June 14, 1936 (De Laine, “Maxim Gorky”; Marxist Internet Archive).
2.3.2. The Social Setting in the Novel
The life of the workers is utterly passive, monotonous, static and in a state of fatigue and depressed, but powerless, since they “have been devoured by the factory, whose machines sucked up as much of the workers’ strength as they needed” (10). The only release of this condition is alcohols, fighting to each other and domestic disturbance. Beatings to their wives and children are regularity. The workers spent their evenings to get drunk, and their Sundays and holidays to sleep until afternoon. There are a number of taverns in which people get drunk and play accordion.
People in the settlement are afraid of new ideas and differences. They are weary of people who are not like themselves. The hardship and bitterness of life and the hopelessness that accompanies them makes people die at the age of their fifties. And they regard this life as a normal life. They hold that any change would only increase their hardship.
He organizes a strike and a huge May Day celebration that leads his to be jailed and at the end of the story, exiled in Siberia. This work of stirring up people impresses his mother, Pelagea. And after some inner conflicts, she finally becomes fully involved in the struggle and undergoes a massive shift in her life.
2.4. Theoretical Framework
This part explains the contribution of each of the theories above in solving the problems as stated in Chapter 1. The theory of character and characterization (plus theory of personality) are highly significant in helping solve the first problem, namely, how is Pelagea Nilovna’s portrayed by Maxim Gorky in his Mother.
32 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter elaborates the object of the study, the approach being used in the study and the method of conducting the study.
3.1. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a classic Soviet realist novel called Mother, or MATъ [Mat] in Russian language, written by a famous Russian author, Maxim Gorky. The novel was first published in 1906 in Russia and had since been translated to more than 26 languages in 106 editions by 1946 alone, and has since been filmed into some versions. In this study, I use the English translation of the novel entitled Mother, translated from Russian by Margaret Wettlin and published by Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow. This is an undated version of the novel, yet, after some search in the internet, I found that this English version was published in 1949. It is said that the novel is the single longest and phenomenal work of Maxim Gorky which became the pioneer of Soviet genre of socialist realism. The novel pictures vividly the reality of socio-political condition of the period after 1905 bourgeois revolution which installed feudalism structure of society in Russia.
Pavel Vlassov, in a poor factory settlement. The social condition in the settlement is miserable, as shown in the hopelessness of the workers of being oppressed by the authority. They do monotonous hard work in a poor working condition. Their only reliefs are alcohols, fighting and domestic disturbance. Often, they go to taverns so that they can seep a little happiness by getting drunk. Everybody seems to get used to such a life so that they think that something different would only increase their hardship and bitterness of their lives. Thus lives Pavel Vlassov, a young factory worker who brings the new idea of socialism into the settlement. Pavel and his comrades’ purpose is to raise awareness of the working people that their misery of life is caused by the feudalism structure of society. He spreads forbidden leaflets and books throughout the settlement in order that, eventually, the working people unite to fight for their rights.
In the second part of the novel, Pelagea has accepted the new idea, although at the first time she was skeptical and hesitant. By this time, Pelagea has become part of the struggle and the underground movement to stir up people. The climax is where she openly spreads the leaflets while being caught by the government spy and finally beaten to death.
Pelagea and Pavel are the main characters of the novel, but there are some other important characters. There is Andrei Nakhodka, or the khokhol, or the Ukrainian in Russian language. He is the second closest person to Pelagea after Pavel. There are also Nikolai Ivanovich, Nikolai Vesovshchikov, Sasha, Sophia and Rybin. All of them are Pavel and Pelagea’s comrades in the movement.
3.2. Approach of the Study
This study uses Marxist literary criticism approach since in Marxist literary criticism approach, the context of the writing of the novel is significant to analyzing the novel. In the analysis, the understanding of the social and political context of the period of the writing of the novel is important to comprehend the story. Therefore, the Marxist approach is best used in this study. Moreover, the publication of Maxim Gorky’s novel, Mother, was in the period of emerging Russian revolutionary ideas in the early twentieth century, in which the ideas of Marxism were explored.
the writing of the novel. In addition to showing realities, according to Marxist approach, the novel also reflects the real society (Barry, 2002: 167-8). Through employing Marxist literary criticism, I can also gain invaluable knowledge about Marxist ideas as a critical theory.
3.3. Method of the Study
In conducting the study, library research was applied as the method of the study, which means that the data was gathered from books and related materials. The primary data of this study is the novel Mother by Maxim Gorky, published by Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow in 1949. In accomplishing the study, other references were highly needed as the secondary resource.
The secondary resources include some related references about the theory of Marxism which was primarily taken from the Marxist Internet Archive 2006/2007 (MIA) DVD version, taken from www.marxists.org. This is the encyclopedia of Marxism that comprises the works of more than 300 Marxist writers. Some references from the internet were also used primarily with regards to gaining understanding about the historical background of the author and the writing of the novel.
37 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter consists of two main parts. The first part is the analysis on Pelagea Nilovna’s personality. The second main part analyzes the reactions of Pelagea Nilovna towards political condition in the novel. Pelagea’s reactions are divided into two sections. The first one is Pelagea’s changes as a manifestation of her reactions, which reveals the overt content of the novel. While the second one is the significance of her reactions, which explores the covert content of the novel.
4.1. Pelagea Nilovna’s Personality
The first problem formulation deals with the portrayal of Pelagea Nilovna in Mother. To proceed to the discussion of the topic of the study—showing Pelagea’s reactions towards Pavel’s movement—it is worthwhile to understand how Pelagea is portrayed in the story. The analysis of her trait, specifically her personality, plays an important role in assisting the reader to the next discussion.
of characterization (Murphy 161-173), we can also analyze the personality of the character.
Pelagea Nilovna serves as the main character and the center of attention and development in the novel Mother by Maxim Gorky. Her complexity of personality somehow contributes to the vibrant depiction of the story. She is categorized as complex or round character given that she undergoes a dynamic change and development. She is a growing character that experiences a turning point in life which is derived from extensive and rich mental, spiritual and intellectual journeys.
This portrait of the mother is a familiar and usual in the settlement. It is said in the novel when she was proposed by Mikhail Vlassov, her parents urged Pelagea to accept it. Their stance is that it is lucky for Pelagea that there was a man who liked her and wanted her to be his wife. For her parents, at least one mouth is no longer fed by them so that they found a little release of their hardship. The marriage cripples her and hurts her heart.
4.1.1. Religious
The first obvious kind of personality that Pelagea has is her being religious. She is undoubtedly a devout Christian. As s simple mother, she finds relief of her hardship of life by sinking in her knees before the holy image of Christ. She would serve her life for her boorish husband, although she frequently receives beatings from him. Tears regularly flow down her cheeks while she is doing her prayers, lamenting her miserable yet hopeless condition—a condition that she accepts as a fate.
Gorky extensively pictures her being attached to religion primarily starting from the first part of the novel up to the beginning of the second part. During her efforts to grasp the ideas that Pavel brings, Pelagea often consults God through prayers. Meanwhile, she is disappointed to learn Pavel’s arguing about God. Pavel and all of his comrades in the movement are nonbelievers.
“When it comes to the Lord, you better mind what you say!” She took a deep breath and went on with added fervour. “You can think what you like, but for me, an old woman, there’ll be nothing to turn to for support in my grief if you take the Lord God away!” Her eyes filled with tears and her fingers trembled as she washes the dishes. (63) She is impaired when her divine God is contended against Pavel and his friends’ arguments. She says “It’s beyond my strength to listen to such talk,” (63) while walking away from them and hurt. Although in the end of the story she progresses to be indifferent about religion, her religious personality plays a significant part of making up her intricate personality. In summary, her being religious resembles typical traditional and simple mother who seeks comfort, strength and guidance in dealing with her suffering.
4.1.2. Wise
The dynamics in Pelagea is further explored by Gorky through her depiction as a wise person. Though she feels sorry for Pavel’s and his friends’ being atheists, she by no means stands in their way. This is again a typical personality of a mother who usually succumbs to her children’s will; a mother who does not want to strangle the progress of her children, who does not want to boldly confront with the children’s will; and a mother who does not want to hurt her children’s feeling. Therefore, she always wants to give comfort to her children.
traced from Gorky’s thought to give “direct knowledge” to the reader about what the character thinks:
The mother found that all of them were confident and persistent, and while they were highly individual, their faces seemed to merge into one face resembling that of Christ on the road to Emmaus… (121) Her heart was warmed and caressed by their dreams of the triumph of justice, but some reason she sighed sadly whenever she heard them talk. She was particularly touched by their utter simplicity, and by a fine, sweeping indifference to their own welfare. (122)
It is interesting to note that Christ’s taking a journey to Emmaus without even being noticed by His followers, according to Pelagea, resembles Pavel’s movement. Although the body of Christ was not present, His idea was still firmly attached to His followers. It is analogues to that of Pavel—although he is nonbeliever (his religious belief is not present), the idea that he and his friends bring is still alive, sacred and high, that is, to pursue justice for the working people. Given that Pelagea is able to distinguish between personal business and social movement, I am assured that Pelagea’s realization of this contributes to her wise personality. However, her being wise is not independent from her stance of being a mother. It seems that, as a mother, her view of letting Pavel and his comrades be and do whatever they like is natural for a mother, especially when she senses something positive in their activities.
ignorant mother can value such a high qualification. However, Gorky’s characterization tries to unravel the impossibility. And Pelagea resembles the few ones who survive that antagonism.
She is able to cope with her emotion so that her religious belief does not constraint her relationship with Pavel and friends. Instead, Pelagea reaches the bottom line that what Pavel and friends do is for the good of working people, although their belief is diametrically opposed to that of the mother, who maintains that God is the single most destination. As a mother she is able to be fair to her son and to give comfort by not standing in Pavel’s way.
4.1.3. Sensitive
The astonishing moment happens when she weeps in Mikhail’s funeral, although people say “Pelagea must be dreadful glad he’s gone” (15). Another astonishing moment is that she also pities Isai’s death, a government agent who spies Pavel’s movement; although when he is alive she is repulsive to him. She feels really sorry for him whose life is merely to serve the authority that does not care for his life or death. She feels sorry that nobody feels sorry for him, that while he was alive he was a tool of the authority, that while he was alive he had failed to make his life meaningful (139-40).
As a mother, she senses the sufferings of Pavel’s friends that somehow leads her to become their source of comfort. After she has known them, she becomes their mother who provides foods, shelter, comfort, care, support and attention which are, unconsciously, highly needed by them to deal with their hard struggle.
4.1.4. Fearful
In addition to being a religious, sensitive yet a wise person, Pelagea is also fearful. As a simple mother, she is overwhelmed by fears. From the very beginning of the novel the reader can sense Pelagea’s fears and suspicion of anything. Her being fearful and inferior dominates the first part of the novel and is not overcome until nearly the end of the novel. It is crystal clear that this kind of personality is derived from her hardship and despair during her marriage with Mikhail Vlassov.
simply how to please her husband and evade his beatings and curses so that she can spare another day of being absent from pain, which is a rare occasion during her marriage with Mikhail Vlassov. When Mikhail gets home drunk, which is regular, Pelagea has to be ready to deal with his anger and his curse. The word “bitch” is a sacred word which all the time comes out from his mouth. The emotional and psychological pain of the mother is massive as Gorky pictures it vividly in the beginning of the novel.
One of Murphy’s ways to effectively reveal the characterization of certain character is through description of past life experience (161-173). It is clearly shown when she recalls her past life in a conversation with Andrei Nakhodkha or the khokhol (Ukrainian in Russian language), Pavel best friend:
“When I think of my own life—oh merciful Jesus! What did I ever live for? Drudgery, beatings; never see anyone but my husband, never knew anything but fear! I never even noticed how Pavel grew up, and I don’t know whether I loved him or not while my husband was alive. All my thoughts and all my worries were about one thing—to stuff that brute of mine with food, to do his pleasure without keeping him waiting, so he shouldn’t get angry and beat me—so’s he’d take pity on me just for once! But I don’t remember that he ever did.” (96)
Her fears and inferiority are not simply overcome after Mikhail’s death. Now she turns to be terrorized by the differences in Pavel and his associates from other young people in the settlement. She maintains, at the first time, that changes would only bring further troubles to her family. Moreover, when Pavel starts gathering his friends to hold discussions in his house, his mother is at first dreadfully suspicious to Pavel’s friends, especially Nikholai Vesovshchikov—an unsociable young man whose father is a thief. Asked by Pavel about whether she is afraid or not, Pelagea responds, “How can I help being afraid? All my live I’ve been afraid. My soul is all grown over with fear!” (26).
Finally discovering that Pavel and friends are Socialists, Pelagea is even more terrified. “Socialist,” in her mind, refers to some brutal groups that have killed the tsar and changed the social condition in Russia. Any change of current social situation, to her knowledge, would only increase the suffering (40). Fears have seemingly totally conquered her so that everything different is seen skeptically and negatively.
Such an excessive fear draws a parallel with the dismay, loneliness and remoteness in her life. It is extraordinarily upsetting to discover that a mother, whose life and sacrifice should be honored with the highest degree, endures such an unacceptable torment. Pelagea has severely been reduced to be a mere slave. She has been denied an elementary right of being free from fears.
condition of the people in the factory settlement in general and the condition of mothers in specific.
Furthermore, she feels more afraid when the authority starts to make some arrests to Pavel’s comrades. She is perfectly assured that Pavel’s turn would be the next. Pavel says to his mother, after the khokhol and Vesovschikov’s arrest, “You’ll have to get used to it” (59). Her motherly instinct responds, “Do they torture people? Tear their bodies and break their bones? Whenever I think of that—it’s so awful…” (59).
However, to a greater extent, Pelagea’s fear of losing Pavel demonstrates that she loves him so much. Conversations with other characters play a highly important part to reveal the personality of Pelagea. In the proceedings of the story, Pelagea’s fear of losing Pavel is shown when she recalls her past life in a conversation with Andrei Nakhodka or the khokhol:
“My husband died,” she went on, leaning forward and lowering her voice, “and I turned to my son, but he was taken up with this business. That was hard to bear; I was dreadfully afraid for him. How could I go on living if anything happened to him? What tortures I went through! My heart fairly burst when I thought of what might happen to him.” (97)
And this quotation also hints about her next kind of personality, namely, loving. 4.1.5. Loving
devotes her love and caring to her only son, Pavel. Whatever radical and different Pavel’s stance is, the mother has a firm faith in him, as a consequence of her intellectual and mental efforts to grasp Pavel’s ideas—to pursue justice for working people and unshackle them from tyranny.
Love of a mother for children is seemingly natural. Interestingly, a mother’s love seems divine and unending. A mother will devote her love to her children at all cost. Pelagea, too, finds that Pavel highly needs her love, caring, attention and support after years of being neglected. During her marriage with Mikhail, she barely notices the grow of Pavel. She even does not notice the existence of Pavel since her life is merely to serve her brute husband.
Gorky also portrays that Pelagea is a mother with the highest morale. It is shown in the beginning of the novel, after Mikhail’s death, when she, singled out, prays for Mikhail’s soul to rest in peace (28). Pelagea has forgiven her husband’s mistakes, even though he has incredibly done a lot of harm to the mother and to the family. This is again an exceptional personality which is likely had only by simple mothers. A kind of personality that is hardly achieved by average people. Pelagea is a simple (in fact, ignorant) mother whose love is her primary source of power in her miserable condition.
that he is full-grown and normal, that is, being able to get drunk like every one else in the settlement. Yet, instead of succeeding, his mother is able to make him realize that he has to support Pelagea and stop drinking and hurting his mother’s heart. Her passionate love and true caring to Pavel makes him succumb to Pelagea’s will.
She herself knew that the tavern was the only place where people could squeeze out a drop of happiness. “But you mustn’t,” She said. “Your father drank more than enough for both of you. Didn’t I suffer enough at his hands? Couldn’t you take a little pity on your mother?” (16)
Her love to Pavel is simple as can be seen in the first part of the novel, when, for example, she even feels uneasy and annoyed when Pavel is rebutted in the discussion with his friends. She naively asks the khokhol not to shout at Pavel and asks his promise to guard him in the May Day demonstration (167). Her deep concern about Pavel is revealed when Pelagea urges Pavel not to hold the banner at the May Day demonstration, since the authority might well arrest him. Pavel dismisses her advice and he is arrested.
Pelagea’s love is also devoted to Pavel’s friends, specifically to Andrei or the khokhol. She is impressed by the simplicity of a comradeship shown by Pavel and his
4.1.6. Brave
Although Pelagea Nilovna is pictured by Maxim Gorky in the beginning of his novel as a fearful person, she basically has the quality of being brave. She tries to conquer her fear when the police make a search in her house in the middle of the night to finally pick Andrei and Vesovshchikov up. She argues with the authority. Overwhelmed by hatred, she even challenges the authority and exclaims at them so that Pavel has to calm her (56-7).
She is also considered brave in the sense that she later voluntarily helps Pavel and friends in the movement, by making journeys and distributing leaflets—a really dangerous move. She is the only one who is able to spread leaflets in the factory by disguising as a food trader, while Pavel and friends are in jail (81). When offered by Nikolai Ivanovich to go a village to give leaflets and books to Rybin, she is occupied by the desire to wander, as seen from her own remarks:
