Mother

Mother is a novel by Maxim Gorky, written between 1905 and 1906. It is considered Gorky's only major work dedicated to the Russian revolutionary movement. The novel was adapted into a silent film by Vsevolod Pudovkin in 1926 and a play by Bertolt Brecht in 1930-1931.1

Maxim Gorky, born Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, was a Russian writer known for his naturalistic and sympathetic portrayals of social outcasts. His experiences with poverty and hardship in Russia deeply influenced his writing, leading him to adopt the pseudonym "Gorky," meaning "bitter". He was also a prominent figure in Marxist political activity, supporting the Bolshevik wing of the Social Democratic Party.1

Mother is a significant work within the context of Socialist Realism, the officially sanctioned literary method in the Soviet Union from the 1930s to the mid-1980s. Socialist Realism aimed to portray the building of socialism and a classless society in a positive and optimistic light, often featuring a "positive hero" who overcomes obstacles.2