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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going to sing songs?
Silence.
Nan
Daddy! Daddy, I say! They are digging! theyâre diggingâ âdonât you hear? Blest if theyâre not, theyâre digging!
MĂtritch
What are you dreaming about? Digging! Digging in the night! Whoâs digging? The cowâs rubbing herself, thatâs all. Digging indeed! Go to sleep I tell you, else Iâll just put out the light!
Nan
Daddy darling, donât put it out! I wonâtâ ââ ⊠truly, truly, I wonât. Itâs so frightful!
MĂtritch
Frightful? Donât be afraid and then it wonât be frightful. Look at her, sheâs afraid, and then says itâs frightful. How can it help being frightful if you are afraid? Eh, what a stupid little girl!
Silence. The cricket chirps.
Nan
Whispers. Daddy! I say, daddy! Are you asleep?
MĂtritch
Now then, what dâyou want?
Nan
Whatâs the bogey like?
MĂtritch
Why, like this! When he finds such a one as you, who wonât sleep, he comes with a sack and pops the girl into it, then in he gets himself, head and all, lifts her dress, and gives her a fine whipping!
Nan
What with?
MĂtritch
He takes a birch-broom with him.
Nan
But he canât see thereâ âinside the sack!
MĂtritch
Heâll see, no fear!
Nan
But Iâll bite him.
MĂtritch
No, friend, him you canât bite!
Nan
Daddy, thereâs someone coming! Who is it? Oh gracious goodness! Who can it be?
MĂtritch
Well, if someoneâs coming, let them come! Whatâs the matter with you? I suppose itâs your mother!
Enter AnĂsya.
AnĂsya
Nan! Nan pretends to be asleep. MĂtritch!
MĂtritch
What?
AnĂsya
Whatâs the lamp burning for? We are going to sleep in the summer-hut.
MĂtritch
Why, you see Iâve only just got straight. Iâll put the light out all right.
AnĂsya
Rummages in her box and grumbles. When a thingâs wanted one never can find it!
MĂtritch
Why, what is it you are looking for?
AnĂsya
Iâm looking for a cross. Suppose it were to die unbaptized! It would be a sin, you know!
MĂtritch
Of course it would! Everything in due order.â ââ ⊠Have you found it?
AnĂsya
Yes, Iâve found it. Exit.
MĂtritch
Thatâs right, else Iâd have lent her mine. Oh Lord!
Nan
Jumps up trembling. Oh, oh, daddy! Donât go to sleep; for goodnessâ sake, donât! Itâs so frightful!
MĂtritch
Whatâs frightful?
Nan
It will dieâ âthe little baby will! At Aunt Ireneâs the old woman also baptized the baby, and it died!
MĂtritch
If it dies, theyâll bury it!
Nan
But maybe it wouldnât have died, only old Granny MatryĂłnaâs there! Didnât I hear what granny was saying? I heard her! Blest if I didnât!
MĂtritch
What did you hear? Go to sleep, I tell you. Cover yourself up, head and all, and letâs have an end of it!
Nan
If it lived, Iâd nurse it!
MĂtritch
Roars. Oh Lord!
Nan
Where will they put it?
MĂtritch
In the right place! Itâs no business of yours! Go to sleep I tell you, else mother will come; sheâll give it you! Silence.
Nan
Daddy! Eh, daddy! That girl, you know, you were telling aboutâ âthey didnât kill her?
MĂtritch
That girl? Oh yes. That girl turned out all right!
Nan
How was it? You were saying you found her?
MĂtritch
Well, we just found her!
Nan
But where did you find her? Do tell!
MĂtritch
Why, in their own house; thatâs where! We came to a village, the soldiers began hunting about in the house, when suddenly thereâs that same little girl lying on the floor, flat on her stomach. We were going to give her a knock on the head, but all at once I felt that sorry, that I took her up in my arms; but no, she wouldnât let me! Made herself so heavy, quite a hundredweight, and caught hold where she could with her hands, so that one couldnât get them off! Well, so I began stroking her head. It was so bristlyâ âjust like a hedgehog! So I stroked and stroked, and she quieted down at last. I soaked a bit of rusk and gave it her. She understood that, and began nibbling. What were we to do with her? We took her; took her, and began feeding and feeding her, and she got so used to us that we took her with us on the march, and so she went about with us. Ah, she was a fine girl!
Nan
Yes, and not baptized?
MĂtritch
Who can tell! They used to say, not altogether. âCos why, those people werenât our own.
Nan
Germans?
MĂtritch
What an idea! Germans! Not Germans, but Asiatics. They are just the same as Jews, but still not Jews. Polish, yet Asiatics. Curlsâ ââ ⊠or, Curdlys is their name.â ââ ⊠Iâve forgotten what it is!8 We called the girl SĂĄshka. She was a fine girl, SĂĄshka was! There now, Iâve forgotten everything I used to know! But that girlâ âthe deuce take herâ âseems to be before my eyes now! Out of all my time of service, I remember how they flogged me, and I remember that girl. Thatâs all I remember! Sheâd hang round oneâs neck, and one âud carry her so. That was a girlâ âif you wanted a better youâd not find one! We gave her away afterwards. The captainâs wife took her to bring up as her daughter. Soâ âshe was all right! How sorry the soldiers were to let her go!
Nan
There now, daddy, and I remember when father was dyingâ âyou were not living with us then. Well, he called NikĂta and says, âForgive me, NikĂta!â he says, and begins to cry. Sighs. That also felt very sad!
MĂtritch
Yes; there now, so it isâ ââ âŠ
Nan
Daddy! Daddy, I say! There they are again, making a noise in the cellar! Oh gracious heavens! Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh, daddy! Theyâll do something to it! Theyâll make away with it, and itâs so little! Oh, oh! Covers up her head and cries.
MĂtritch
Listening. Really theyâre up to some villainy, blow them to shivers! Oh, these women are vile creatures! One canât say much for men either; but women!â ââ ⊠They are like wild beasts, and stick at nothing!
Nan
Rising. Daddy; I say, daddy!
MĂtritch
Well, what now?
Nan
The other
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