A summary of "Mother" by Maxim Gorky Automatic translate

This book is the first major literary monument to socialism, written in 1906. The narrative centers on the spiritual transformation of a downtrodden female worker. She gradually comes to understand the righteousness of the working class’s social struggle. The text is imbued with a spirit of protest, reflecting the harsh reality of factory life at the time.

The work has been adapted for cinema screens several times. Director Vsevolod Pudovkin made a famous silent film in 1926. Later adaptations appeared, directed by Mark Donskoy in 1955 and Gleb Panfilov in 1989. Panfilov’s film won the Special Jury Prize at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

Life in a factory village

The days of the factory workers in the small town are similar. Gloomy, exhausted by work, they walk to the tall stone buildings of the factory every morning. In the evenings, they return home, visit taverns, drink vodka, and brutally beat their wives. Young men get into drunken brawls, which sometimes end in death.

This is how Mikhail Vlasov lives. He’s rude, drinks heavily, and regularly beats his wife, Pelageya Nilovna. The mechanic barely communicates with his son, Pavel. He has a shaggy dog that always accompanies him. After Mikhail’s sudden death from a hernia, silence reigns in the Vlasov household.

At first, Pavel tries to live by the old rules. One Sunday, he gets very drunk. Nilovna is pained to see this, and she begs her son to spare himself. The young man withdraws from the pub’s revelry and begins bringing home banned publications. Gradually, he changes, becoming strict.

This change frightens his mother. Pavel bluntly explains his intentions to fight for the truth. He reminds Nilovna of her husband’s beatings and her hopeless youth. Vlasova cries, foreseeing prison and hard labor, but her son’s words warm her tormented soul.

New people in the Vlasov house

Soon Pavel begins to host guests. A Ukrainian, Andrei Nakhodka, whom his mother calls a "khokhol," arrives. A peasant girl, Natasha, the reclusive Nikolai Vesovshchikov, Fedya Mazin, and Samoilov also appear. The young men and women read illegal literature, discuss injustice, and argue about the path to liberation for the people.

A tall young lady, Sashenka, appears. She is strict with herself and those around her. The girl becomes a frequent guest, and Nilovna notices a mutual attraction between her and Pavel. Khokhol also falls in love with Natasha, but the friends decide to sacrifice their personal happiness for the greater good. This renunciation of ordinary joys leaves Nilovna in awe of the stern youth.

Nilovna is amazed by their sobriety and mutual respect. At first, she’s afraid of these people, but then she develops a warm, maternal feeling for them. Andrei Nakhodka moves into the Vlasovs’ house and becomes a second son to Pelageya. He helps chop wood and repair the porch.

Leaflets written in blue ink begin appearing at the factory. Older workers scold the troublemakers, while young people read the proclamations with gusto. Gendarmes conduct a nighttime search of the Vlasovs’ house. An officer behaves arrogantly, insulting Nilovna. Andrei Nakhodka and Vesovshchikov are taken away.

After the search, the stoker Rybin comes to Pavel. This imposing, black-bearded man argues that the beginning must be the restructuring of the human heart. He argues with Pavel about religion, claiming that priests have replaced the true God, causing the people to live in fear.

Swamp kopeck

The factory director decides to drain a nearby swamp, deducting a kopeck from every ruble earned. The workers are outraged. Pavel urges them to demand the tax be abolished. He delivers a fiery speech, arguing that the workers are the creators of all wealth.

The director appears, arrogantly refuses to listen to the delegates, and orders them to return to their machines. Pavel proposes a strike, but the crowd disperses. The workers return to the factory. The young man takes this defeat hard, feeling misunderstood.

That night, the gendarmes come to the Vlasovs again. An officer mocks the mother. Pavel is arrested. Nilovna is left alone, devastated and frightened. Her comrades, Yegor Ivanovich and Samoilov, secretly come to see her. They ask her to help deliver leaflets.

Posing as Marya Korsunova, a sales assistant, the mother smuggles banned literature onto the factory premises. The duped guards and detectives notice nothing. The leaflets reappear, causing alarm among management. The workers are inspired by their comrades’ courage.

Return of the comrades

Andrei Nakhodka is released from prison, then Fedya Mazin and Vesovshchikov. Finally, Pavel returns. Nilovna is happy, but now she better understands the dangers of their path. She has developed a new habit: thinking about all the people who have been wronged.

Fireman Rybin decides to leave for the village to educate the peasants. At the factory, timekeeper Isai Gorbov is actively spying on his comrades. Suddenly, he is found murdered. Suspicion falls on Vesovshchikov, but something else emerges.

Andrey Nakhodka struck, unable to withstand the spy’s brazen provocations. The crest is deeply affected by his actions, though he feels no guilt before the system. His mother sympathizes with Andrey, seeing how his pure soul suffers from this forced sin.

May Day dawns. Pavel takes up the red banner, Andrei walks beside him. A crowd of workers marches through the streets, singing. A line of soldiers comes out to intercept them. An officer orders the banner taken away. Pavel and his friends refuse. The soldiers hold back the advance group. Nilovna picks up the broken flagpole and addresses the crowd.

Life in the city

After her son’s arrest, Nilovna moves to the city to live with Nikolai Ivanovich. His apartment is quiet. Nikolai is engaged in the illegal publication of papers. His sister, Sophia, a vibrant woman who has dedicated her life to underground activities, comes to visit him.

Life with Nikolai Ivanovich opens new horizons for Nilovna. In the evenings, she stares at pictures in thick books, marveling at the world’s riches and beauty. Nikolai tells her about the unfair distribution of wealth. His speeches are filled with calm, unshakable confidence. Nilovna herself becomes an experienced underground worker, adept at deceiving detectives.

Disguised as a lace seller or a wanderer, she delivers banned newspapers to villages. During one of her trips with Sofya, Nilovna visits Rybin at the tar factory. There, she sees young men eager for knowledge.

On another trip, she witnesses Rybin being brutally beaten by a police officer in the village square of Nikolskoye. The beaten stoker calls on the peasants to wake up. Nilovna resists the urge to rush to him to protect the literature she brought. Peasant Pyotr Ryabinin helps her hide the suitcase.

Yegor’s death and trial

In the city, the police continue to hunt down undesirables. Yegor, suffering from tuberculosis, dies in the hospital. A wreath procession escalates into a clash with the police. A violent fight ensues at the cemetery. Nilovna saves the wounded young worker Ivan.

Soon, the gendarmes take Nikolai Ivanovich away. His mother goes to live with the stern but dedicated Lyudmila. His comrades hatch a plan to escape Pavel from prison. Sasha, secretly in love with Vlasov, takes on the task of organizing it.

Nilovna is nearby and sees Rybin and another prisoner climbing over the wall. But Pavel refuses to escape. In a note he passed on, he explains that he must use the open trial to expose the existing system.

The day of the trial arrives. The mother carefully examines the judges. The senior judge resembles a withered stick, the fat judge constantly yawns, and the third one looks gravely ill. Their faces express only fatigue and boredom. The prosecutor speaks in a colorless and dry voice. The lawyers try to defend the young men, but the judges constantly interrupt them.

When Pavel’s turn comes, he delivers a confident speech about class struggle and the inevitability of workers’ victory. The senior judge tries in vain to stop him. Khokhol mocks the court, calling them defenders of the rich. Fyodor Mazin, with tears in his eyes, declares that he will escape any exile. Vasily Bukin delivers naive but powerful words about justice. The court delivers the verdict: exile to Siberia.

Pavel’s speech is quickly typed up in a secret printing press. Nilovna agrees to deliver stacks of copies to another city. At the train station, she notices someone following her. A spy points her out to the guards. The woman realizes her arrest is inevitable.

To preserve her son’s promise, she opens her suitcase and proudly tosses the prints into the crowd of passengers. Nilovna loudly denounces the authorities’ lies. The gendarmes and detectives pounce on her, punch her in the face, and strangle her. Covered in blood, she continues to scream about the immortality of the soul.