To V. I. Nemirovitch Dantchenko
Yalta, November 2, 1903.
... About the play.
1. Anya can be played by anyone you like, even by a quite unknown actress, so long as she is young and looks like a girl, and speaks in a youthful singing voice. It is not an important part.
(2) Varya is a more serious part.... She is a character in a black dress, something of a nun, foolish, tearful, etc.
... Gorky is younger than you or I, he has his life before him.... As for the Nizhni theatre, that’s a mere episode; Gorky will try it, “sniff it and reject it.” And while we are on this subject, the whole idea of a “people’s” theatre and “people’s” literature is foolishness and lollipops for the people. We mustn’t bring Gogol down to the people but raise the people up to Gogol....