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In 'The Lower Depths', some characters provoke contempt, others compassion but the general sense at the end of the play is that social change is necessary. There is very little colour in the setting conveying a sense of the impoverished conditions of the lodgers and attribute to them a feeling of desolation and despair. They generate in the audience the sense that these conditions are inhumane and should be changed.
When the play was first presented by the Moscow Arts Theatre in 1902, it was met with mixed criticism but spectacular popular success. Many critics took issue with the play's unconventional structure and lack of plot. However, debate over the play's chief theme - the merits of "truth" versus "the consoling lie" - continue today.
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