The Artamonov Business by Maxim Gorky
*The Artamonov Business* by Maxim Gorky is a narrative set in post-Emancipation Russia, revolving around the life and ambitions of Ilya Artamonov and his family as they establish a linen factory in the town of Dromov. Ilya's authoritarian approach to both business and family life creates tension within the community and amongst his relatives, particularly with his son Pyotr and nephew Alexey. As the factory grows, it becomes a focal point of economic opportunity but also resentment among the townspeople, reflecting the societal changes and conflicts of the time.
The story delves into complex family dynamics, including Pyotr's struggle with his responsibilities as a factory director and his relationships with his wife, children, and brother, Nikita, who ultimately seeks solace in monastic life. The narrative captures the challenges faced by the Artamonov family amid personal tragedies, shifting societal norms, and the impending turmoil of World War I. As various family members grapple with their futures and the evolving political landscape, the story presents a poignant exploration of ambition, familial bonds, and the harsh realities of industrialization in early 20th-century Russia.
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The Artamonov Business by Maxim Gorky
First published:Delo Artamonovykh, 1925 (English translation, 1927)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Family
Time of plot: c. 1863-1917
Locale: Russia
Principal characters
Ilya Artamonov , the fatherPyotr Artamonov , his oldest sonNikita Artamonov , his hunchbacked sonAlexey Artamonov , an adopted sonNatalya Baimakov , Pyotr’s wifeUliana Baimakov , the widow of the late mayor and Ilya’s mistressIlya , Pyotr’s first sonYakov , Pyotr’s second sonTikhon Vyalov , a yardkeeper for the Artamonov factory
The Story:
About two years after the liberation of the Russian serfs, Ilya Artamonov arrives with his two sons, Pyotr and Nikita, and Alexey, his nephew and adopted son, in the little town of Dromov along the Vataraksha River. Ilya serves as a bailiff to a prince, and the nobleman recommends him highly to the authorities. Without giving the mayor of Dromov, Evgeny Baimakov, a chance for objections, Artamonov announces that he plans to build a linen factory and that he believes the mayor’s daughter Natalya would be a good wife for his oldest son. Disregarding the resentment his dictatorial behavior provokes in the town, Artamonov goes ahead with plans for the factory and preparations for Pyotr’s marriage. The mayor, who dies before the wedding, advises his wife Uliana to let Artamonov have his way. Pyotr’s marriage to the mayor’s daughter and the prospect of employment for many citizens do not, however, reduce the enmity felt toward the intruders.
When Uliana becomes Ilya’s mistress, she decides to live with the Artamonovs on the other side of the river, where the factory is located. Ilya tries to be a strict but humane superior to his men. Among his workers, Tikhon Vyalov is the ablest, although he begs not to be promoted because he does not want to supervise others. Meanwhile, Nikita, the hunchback, falls in love with Natalya, and when he overhears an unkind remark she makes about him, he tries to hang himself. The attempt fails, and Nikita enters a monastery.
The factory develops rapidly under Ilya’s direction. Pyotr is the second in charge. Alexey is unhappy at the factory and wants to join the army, but Ilya refuses to give him permission to enlist.
When Natalya bears her first child, the baby dies after only five months. Another girl, Elena, follows. Then a much-desired son, also named Ilya, is born. Alexey marries a woman nobody in the family likes or understands.
During the transportation of a heavy steam boiler, Ilya senior suffers a hemorrhage and dies soon afterward. As time passes, Pyotr’s only true happiness is his son. Against his wife’s wishes, he lets Ilya attend a good secondary school away from Dromov. While Pyotr devotes his time almost exclusively to the factory, Alexey makes the necessary business trips to trade fairs and to Moscow. Although Natalya gives birth to a second boy, Yakov, Ilya remains Pyotr’s favorite.
Despite all efforts to prepare Ilya as Pyotr’s successor as the factory director, his son shows a completely different attitude. He likes to talk to Vyalov, the philosopher among the workers, whom Pyotr despises, and he also forms a close friendship with an uneducated child of a worker. After completing his schooling, Ilya announces his desire to become a historian. His father objects because he still wants Ilya to take over the factory. Ilya refuses and leaves Dromov without receiving any financial assistance from his father. Thereafter, Pyotr becomes an unhappy man; his wife cannot please him, and he tries to find distraction with a local prostitute.
Often Pyotr has difficulty in controlling his temper, and one day he accidentally kills Ilya’s former playmate. Vyalov, too, irritates him with philosophizing whenever he has a question to ask. Hoping to find some spiritual guidance, Pyotr finally decides to visit his brother Nikita in the monastery. Nikita explains that he failed in his efforts to become a good monk. Although he considers himself unworthy, the monastery values him highly because he is able to give visiting pilgrims some comfort with patient ears and empty phrases.
When Pyotr fails to find peace of mind with Nikita, he attends a trade fair in a nearby city. Alexey told him so many exciting stories about city life that he hopes to find distraction there. After a series of extended drinking sprees and orgiastic behavior with prostitutes, he is finally discovered by Alexey, who hears from a friend of the family about Pyotr’s disgraceful behavior. Back home, Pyotr hears rumors that his son has become a member of a revolutionary extremist party. He also detects unusual new ideas in Alexey’s son Miron. Only his younger son, Yakov, seems unconcerned about the new ideas that are spreading among workers. Yakov is not good-looking; however, Pyotr considers his interests, mainly women, more normal than all the ideas expressed by the others, ideas that he believes are a threat to the factory.
The rapid growth of the factory brings a large settlement of workers to Dromov, along with many hardship cases. Pyotr tries to show his interest in his workers by building a new hospital or arranging a big party for them.
Alexey dies suddenly. A telegram is sent to summon Nikita, but he has left the monastery. Only Vyalov knows his address. After the funeral, Nikita and Vyalov are seen together frequently. Pyotr’s feelings grow against all people who do not think primarily of the factory, and when Nikita dies four days before the outbreak of World War I, he has no kind word for his dying brother.
When Pyotr grows too old for most of the factory work and Yakov takes over in his place, Yakov also becomes concerned over the growing signs of unrest among the workers. One worker, who spies for him in the factory, becomes his oppressor. Early in the war, many workers are drafted. Some return, crippled, to the factory. Yakov’s fear of being killed by his workers increases rapidly. He plans to go away with his mistress Pauline, a woman of easy virtue and expensive tastes. Trying to avoid suspicion, he lets Pauline leave Dromov first. His own plan is to meet her in Moscow with all the money he can raise, but he never arrives in Moscow. Reports reach Dromov that he has been robbed, killed, and thrown from the train.
Pyotr, who tried to ignore all rumors about uprisings and a new way of life for the workers, lives in a state of semicoma and asks constantly the whereabouts of Ilya and Yakov. He fails to realize what is going on around him until, one day, he feels a sharp sense of hunger and realizes that he is in his garden house. Outside he sees a soldier. When Pyotr calls for his wife, only Vyalov comes. He explains that Pyotr is a prisoner.
At first, Pyotr thinks Vyalov is jeering at him. Later, he believes that he was taken prisoner because someone learned the truth about the death of Ilya’s former playmate. Vyalov tries in vain to inform him about the revolution that took place and to explain that he is still alive only because of Ilya’s influence. Pyotr thinks Vyalov is mad. When Natalya arrives with a cucumber and a piece of bread, Pyotr considers himself insulted that she dares offer him such meager food when he is so hungry. Angrily, he throws away the food and with abusive words asks her to leave him alone.
Bibliography
Clark, Katerina. The Soviet Novel: History as Ritual. 3d ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000. Clark’s chronicle of the development of the Socialist Realist novel includes information about Gorky, his pronouncements on fiction, and The Artamonov Business.
Cornwell, Neil, ed. The Routledge Companion to Russian Literature. New York: Routledge, 2001. Chapters 15 and 16 provide information about Gorky’s contributions to the Russian novel.
Levin, Dan. Stormy Petrel: The Life and Work of Maxim Gorky. New York: Appleton-Century, 1965. One of the best interpretations of Gorky’s life and literary activity. Chapter 34 gives a brief and very precise analysis of The Artamonov Business as a bitter statement about the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
Ovcharenko, Alexander. Maxim Gorky and the Literary Quests of the Twentieth Century. Moscow: Raduga, 1985. Provides a detailed analysis of Gorky’s literary work. Chapter 3 gives a comprehensive analysis of The Artamonov Business, the history of its creation, and the effect it had on world literature.
Scherr, Barry. Maxim Gorky. Boston: Twayne, 1988. Gives a brief biography of Gorky and literary analysis of his short stories, novels, plays, autobiographical writings, and essays on literature. Examines Gorky’s depiction of historical changes in Russia by comparing The Artamonov Business with Gorky’s last novel, The Life of Klim Samgin (1927-1936). A detailed bibliography is included.
Troyat, Henri. Gorky. Translated by Lowell Blair. New York: Crown, 1989. Views Gorky as a writer of the Russian Revolution and the founder of Socialist Realism. Makes brief reference to Gorky’s literary canon, including The Artamonov Business.
Weil, Irwin. Gorky: His Literary Development and Influence on Soviet Intellectual Life. New York: Random House, 1966. An appreciation and evaluation of the social context and artistic merits of Gorky’s works, including a brief and comprehensive analysis of The Artamonov Business.
Yedlin, Tova. Maxim Gorky: A Political Biography. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999. Yedlin’s biography focuses on Gorky’s political and social views and his participation in the political and cultural life of his country. Includes bibliography and index.