''Children of the Sun'' (russian: Дети солнца, Deti solntsa) is a 1905 play by

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

, written while he was briefly imprisoned in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

's Peter and Paul Fortress during the abortive

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

. Gorky appears to have written the play chiefly during the last eight days of his imprisonment, before his February 2, 1905 release, in response to the international protests over the imprisonment of such a prominent writer. It was nominally set during an 1862 cholera epidemic, but was universally understood to relate to contemporary events.

Production history

The play was initially banned, but imperial authorities allowed it to premiere in October of 1905 at the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre and Moscow Art Theatre. Given conditions in the city, the atmosphere was so tense that the audience began to panic in response to the mob noises in Act III. Kachalov had to stop the play to assure them that, while his character might be in danger from a mob, the audience was not.

Characters

* Professor Pavel Protasov * Yelena, his wife * Lisa, his sister * Dmitry Vagin, an artist * Boris Chepurnoy * Melanya, his sister * Nazar Avdeyevich * Misha, his son * Yakov Troshin * Egor, a locksmith * Avdotya, his wife * Antonovna, the nanny * Fima, the maid * Lusha, the maid * Roman * The Doctor

Plot

The title refers to the privileged intellectual elite of Russia, epitomised by Protassoff, high-minded and idealistic, but basically unaware of what is going on around them in the lower depths. Lisa, in contrast, is sickly, nervous, and

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

ically aware of impending crisis. It is set during an 1862 cholera epidemic in Russia in which fear drove people to mob action. Protassov's detachment leaves him oblivious to the nearly mad Melanya's love for him; to his wife's confused love for his best friend and artist, Dmitri Vaguin; to the brutality of his assistant Yegor, and ultimately to the danger of the armed mob that comes to attack him.

References

* Adler, Jacob (1999). ''A Life on the Stage: A Memoir'', translated and with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld. New York: Knopf. , 333-336 (commentary). {{Authority control 1905 plays Plays by Maxim Gorky