Childhood

Author: Maxim Gorky
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: Childhood is the th volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy, encompassing a slice of life from his childhood years, spanning from the age of three to ten. After losing his father at the age of three, Alisa Pyeshkov was taken to his grandmother's home by his mother and grandmother. His grandmother's father, Kashlin, was a small dye merchant on the brink of bankruptcy. He was irritable, resentful, greedy, and selfish. His two uncles, Mikhail and Yakov, were also vulgar and selfish petty bourgeoisie, and even the third generation was deeply influenced by their negativity. In his grandmother's house, a thick fog of intense hatred lingered between people; the adults were poisoned by hatred, and even the children actively participated in it. It was a typical Russian petty bourgeois family. His grandmother's father frequently brutally beat his grandmother and the children, even striking young Alisa unconscious, leaving him seriously ill; on one occasion, he violently beat his grandmother's head, causing hairpins to pierce her scalp. Childhood and the entire autobiographical trilogy undoubtedly belong to the ranks of Gorky's finest works, or can be considered the representative works of his middle period. The creation of Childhood, whether in terms of expression or artistic style, also differs greatly from the earlier works, showing the characteristics of the new creative period. Childhood is the th volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy.