About the work
Comedy in four acts by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, written between 1846 and 1849 under the title "The Bankrupt" and first published in March 1850, as "It's a Family Affair," in the journal "Moskvityanin." Banned outright by the censor for its negative portrayal of the merchant class, the play — fitted with a different ending demanded by the authorities — did not reach the stage until 16 January 1861, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St Petersburg; its original version was not performed until 1881.
Plot
The merchant Bolshov tries to cheat his creditors by signing his fortune over, ostensibly, to his clerk Podkhalyuzin, at the same time giving him his daughter Olimpiada in marriage. After the wedding, the couple refuse to bail out the now destitute and arrested Bolshov, squandering his fortune instead — until Podkhalyuzin himself falls under suspicion for the fraud.
Cultural significance
With its unsparing picture of a merchant undone by his own greed, the play, by Ostrovsky's own account, was the first to bring Moscow's merchant world to the stage without embellishment, establishing his reputation as its sharpest chronicler. Leo Tolstoy responded enthusiastically after reading the debut play, judging the young Ostrovsky an exceptional dramatic talent.