The article offers a new perspective on the reading of the play «The lower depths» (1902) by M. Gorky and a new insight into understanding its ideological and philosophical framework.

As the analysis shows, in the heart of the play is not a dualistic opposition of concepts «verity» or «compassion», «truth» or «lie», but a progressive synthesis of the philosophical ideas that was formed by the movement from lowest to highest. As a result, in contrast to the usual dualism that accepted in Russian science the article examines the triad of the philosophical ideas «platonism — Christianity — the new philosophy», which is consistently mediated by the ideas of Platonism, the doctrine of Leo Tolstoy and nietzscheanism. The article discusses how the character system of Gorky’s play disintegrates into three conventional groups, through which the gradual evolution in the formation of image of Gorky’s Man traces. The article shows how «wild» humans-animals (according to Plato), through religious believers in one God (Christ), the heroes of the play climb to the highest step of the evolutionary ladder — to a Proud Man (following Nietzsche). So, each of the characters of the Gorky’s drama embodies a certain stage of ascension: Kvashnya, Nastya, Baron are «wild» Plato people-animals, Actor and Luke are the representatives of the humanistic ideas of Christianity, mediated by the doctrine of L. Tolstoy, Satin is a harbinger of Gorky ideas of the future ideal of a Proud Man. The analysis of the play suggests a solution of the question who was a real killer of the owner of the house Kostylev and offers the interpretation of «ambiguous» final words of the play.