Äiti

by Maksim Gorky

"Äiti" by Maksim Gorky is a novel written in 1906 about revolutionary factory workers in Russia. The story follows Pelageya Nilovna Vlasova, a woman enduring brutal poverty and manual labor, whose life transforms when her son Pavel becomes involved in revolutionary activities. Though initially illiterate and politically unaware, maternal love drives her to overcome ignorance and join the movement herself. Filled with Biblical imagery and themes of awakening, the novel portrays revolutionaries as saints willing to sacrifice for truth and justice in pre-revolutionary Russia.