In the middle of the nineteenth century, Russia was in a period of feudal serfdom, patriarchal manor life had been destroyed, bourgeois revolutionary democrats had entered the stage of history, social change movements had risen vigorously, and by the early sixties, serfdom had been abolished in Russia.
The young Raisky was an artistic man, and he aspired to be an artist. On the surface, he was a kind and upright and well-educated young man, but in fact he also lived by the blood and sweat of serfs. He was a fantasist, a talker. For example, he favored the emancipation of serfs, preached humanitarianism, preached the meaning of labor, and the shamefulness of parasitic life, etc., which were all topics of conversation when he wanted to pursue women. There were fifty serfs in his little manor, and he vowed to give them freedom, and when something concrete happened, he did nothing.
Vera is a beautiful and moving girl, she is proud, independent, idealistic, and ambitious. Although she lived on her grandmother's small estate, she was eager to win the right to study and work.
Raisky is Vera's "eight-shot" cousin, and he pursues her bitterly and is captivated by her beauty.
Vera saw through Rysky, a young man with shallow art and no depth of thought, so she rejected him.
When Vera inadvertently meets Mark and is immediately attracted to his character and thoughts, believing that he can guide her to "new truths", Vera falls deeply in love with Mark.
However, the two of them disagree about love and have to go their separate ways, and Vera's heart is hurt.
Later, Vera fell in love with Du Xin again. He was an emerging landowner-bourgeois, running forestry and agriculture. Vera believes that Duxin is a man with a brain and an action, representing a reliable future for Russia, so Vera throws herself into Duxin's arms.
Mavenka is Vera's younger sister, looks like a flower, she has no spiritual pursuit in her heart, she likes Vicentiev, hopes to marry him and have children, and be a good wife and mother.
The Cliff is the work of the Russian critical realist writer Gonchanov (1812-1891) that reflects the social life of Russia in the middle of the nineteenth century and the different fates of young Russian people on the eve of the bourgeois-democratic revolution.
