Summery: The Mother of a Traitor - Maxim Gorky

Summery

The Mother of a Traitor

Maxim Gorky

The Mother of a Traitor, a story of a conflict between 'ambition' characterized by a 'traitor' a brave but heartless son; and 'life 'represented and characterized by the 'Mother of a Traitor', where the heartless son appears with power and prowess, is easily victimized in the hand and lap of a mother who is appeared in the story very ordinary developed because of the urgency of time. It also signifies throughout the history, such ambitions appeared in the name of war; however, ultimately, the life got the victory over the death and human civilized continued, through such difficult hurdles.

The story is a study on the underlying essence of the mothers, who are more than kind-hearted and loving, a cruel destroyer for the sake of preservation of life, for which she has especial duty imparted by the nature. Moreover, this story is another quest within human psychology, which shows there is another truth within human mind, and man is something, more than a selfish creature, which makes one dedicated for the sake of society in the cost of the complete destruction of the selfish interests. Usually, the son is the most lovely and precious one for a mother, for which she is always ready to sacrifice any things even her life. However, the mother sacrifices the life of her son for the preservation of the society and herself for the sake of her love to her son, in this story. To get to such truth the writer leads us through the imagined situation for the story to develop, where the enemy has surrounded a city for several days and each and every part of the hope for life of the citizen has-been lost. There is nothing else than the shadow of death for the citizen. Gradually, the cause after such situation is revealed, the most loving son of another is leading the enemy to attack upon the city to fulfill the hunger of his ambition, without caring the old men, children, women and anything in the city. It hurts the mother extremely, who is so despised by the citizen that, either they don't care her at all or she listens herself the mothers cursing her womb staying at the side of their slain sons.

The incident of the central character Mona Mariana’s encounter with the mother of slain man, breaks and balance and intensifies the story forcing her to take bold decision for the sake of her city where she was born, and where her forefathers spent their lives for its construction and even their bones are buried there, and which is going to be cruelly destroyed by her lovely son. First she thinks of persuading her son to cancel such evil and desires to take most difficult departure from the loving city and meet her son, the piece of her heart. She feels proud of her son, so smart, active and brave, and proudly raises her head, while listening to the enemy soldiers singing a song on his admiration. However, all of her proud on her son is sunk down, when the son didn't care at all for her feelings, in spite of his love for her. When she got tired of persuading her son, for the preservation of the city, the conflict between her love for the son and her love for the city got into the climax. Meanwhile, she looked to the city through a tend hole, which was waiting for her decision for its life's sake, like a wounded and dumb animal, she couldn't ignore the expectation of the city for its life's sake. She took unexpected and drastic decision of killing her son for the sake of the preservation of the city and killed herself for the sake of her son and to remain together and to share the fate of the son.

This story starts from the conflict within the mind of a mother ends at the solution of the problem at the cost of the life of a traitor and his mother. On the other hand the wounded and hopeless city gets life and lives new life after the end of the story.