The Power of Darkness by Leo Tolstoy (best reads of all time .TXT) đ
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The Power of Darkness is a five-act drama that follows the downfall of the peasants AnĂsya and NikĂta as they succumb to a series of sordid temptations, from adultery and drunkenness to outright murder. Written in 1886 but suppressed by censors until 1902, the play is a realist portrayal of some of the darkest elements of Russian peasant life. Similar to some other late Tolstoy works, like Resurrection, the playâs psychological exploration of human depravity is accompanied by a sharp social critique of the Russian Empire and its role in perpetuating poverty and ignorance among its lowest and most marginalized classes.
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mean.
MĂtritch
Fatness makes even a dog go mad; howâs one not to get spoilt by fat living? Myself now; how I went on with fat living. I drank for three weeks without being sober. I drank my last breeches. When I had nothing left, I gave it up. Now Iâve determined not to. Bother it!
AkĂm
And whereâs what dâyou call, your old woman?
MĂtritch
My old woman has found her right place, old fellow. Sheâs hanging about the gin-shops in town. Sheâs a swell too; one eye knocked out, and the other black, and her muzzle twisted to one side. And sheâs never sober; drat her!
AkĂm
Oh, oh, oh, howâs that?
MĂtritch
And whereâs a soldierâs wife to go? She has found her right place. Silence.
AkĂm
To AnĂsya. And NikĂtaâ âhas he what dâyou call it, taken anything up to town? I mean, anything to sell?
AnĂsya
Laying the table and serving up. No, heâs taken nothing. Heâs gone to get money from the bank.
AkĂm
Sitting down to supper. Why? Dâyou wish to put it to another use, the money I mean?
AnĂsya
No, we donât touch it. Only some twenty or thirty roubles as have come due; they must be taken.
AkĂm
Must be taken. Why take it, the money I mean? Youâll take some today I mean, and some tomorrow; and so youâll what dâyou call it, take it all, I mean.
AnĂsya
We get this besides. The money is all safe.
AkĂm
All safe? Howâs that, safe? You take it, and it what dâyou call it, itâs all safe. Howâs that? You put a heap of meal into a bin, or a barn, I mean, and go on taking meal, will it remain there what dâyou call it, all safe I mean? Thatâs, what dâyou call it, itâs cheating. Youâd better find out, or else theyâll cheat you. Safe indeed! I mean you what dâye callâ ââ ⊠you take it and it remains all safe there?
AnĂsya
I know nothing about it. IvĂĄn MosĂ©itch advised us at the time. âPut the money in the bank,â he said, âthe money will be safe, and youâll get interest,â he said.
MĂtritch
Having finished his supper. Thatâs so. Iâve lived with a tradesman. They all do like that. Put the money in the bank, then lie down on the oven and it will keep coming in.
AkĂm
Thatâs queer talk. Howâs thatâ âwhat dâye call, coming in, howâs that coming in, and they, who do they get it from I mean, the money I mean?
AnĂsya
They take the money out of the bank.
MĂtritch
Get along! âTainât a thing a woman can understand! You look here, Iâll make it all clear to you. Mind and remember. You see, suppose youâve got some money, and I, for instance, have spring coming on, my landâs idle, Iâve got no seeds, or I have to pay taxes. So, you see, I go to you. âAkĂm,â I say, âgive us a ten-rouble note, and when Iâve harvested in autumn Iâll return it, and till two acres for you besides, for having obliged me!â And you, seeing Iâve something to fall back onâ âa horse say, or a cowâ âyou say, âNo, give two or three roubles for the obligation,â and thereâs an end of it. Iâm stuck in the mud, and canât do without. So I say, âAll right!â and take a tenner. In the autumn, when Iâve made my turnover, I bring it back, and you squeeze the extra three roubles out of me.
AkĂm
Yes, but thatâs what peasants do when they what dâye call it, when they forget God. Itâs not honest, I mean, itâs no good, I mean.
MĂtritch
You wait. Youâll see it comes just to the same thing. Now donât forget how youâve skinned me. And AnĂsya, say, has got some money lying idle. She does not know what to do with it, besides, sheâs a woman, and does not know how to use it. She comes to you. âCouldnât you make some profit with my money too?â she says. âWhy not?â say you, and you wait. Before the summer I come again and say, âGive me another tenner, and Iâll be obliged.â Then you find out if my hide isnât all gone, and if I can be skinned again you give me AnĂsyaâs money. But supposing Iâm clean shornâ âhave nothing to eatâ âthen you see I canât be fleeced any more, and you say, âGo your way, friend,â and you look out for another, and lend him your own and AnĂsyaâs money and skin him. Thatâs what the bank is. So it goes round and round. Itâs a cute thing, old fellow!
AkĂm
Excitedly. Gracious me, whatever is that like? Itâs what dâye call it, itâs filthy! The peasantsâ âwhat dâye call it, the peasants do so I mean, and know itâs, what dâye call it, a sin! Itâs what dâyou call, not right, not right, I mean. Itâs filthy! How can people as have learntâ ââ ⊠what dâye call itâ ââ âŠ
MĂtritch
That, old fellow, is just what theyâre fond of! And remember, them that are stupid, or the women folk, as canât put their money into use themselves, they take it to the bank, and they there, deuce take âem, clutch hold of it, and with this money they fleece the people. Itâs a cute thing!
AkĂm
Sighing. Oh dear, I see, what dâye call it, without money itâs bad, and with money itâs worse! Howâs that? God told us to work, but you, what dâye callâ ââ ⊠I mean you put money into the bank and go to sleep, and the money will what dâye call it, will feed you while you sleep. Itâs filthy, thatâs what I call it; itâs not right.
MĂtritch
Not right? Eh, old fellow, who cares about that nowadays? And how clean they pluck you, too! Thatâs the fact of the matter.
AkĂm
Sighs. Ah yes, seems the timeâs what dâye call it, the timeâs growing ripe. There, Iâve had a look at the closets in town. What
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