I.A. Bunin left a fairly rich literary heritage. He wrote stories, novels, and was an amazing poet. But perhaps Bunin’s most famous work is the cycle “ Dark alleys" Each story in this series is dedicated to the theme of love. This feeling for Bunin is incomprehensible, frantic, piercing, happy and sad at the same moment.
One of the most remarkable works of this cycle, in my opinion, is the story “ Clean Monday", written in 1944. Bunin was 74 years old, the Second World War was raging in the world. world war, Russia came under a terrible blow from the enemy army, the fate of our Motherland was being decided. The writer was very worried about Russia; he was with his country with all his heart. The state of instability and anxiety could not but affect Bunin’s work. It was at this time that the writer faced the question of the origins and essence of the Russian language. national character, about the mystery of the Russian soul, about the secrets of national psychology.
It is very difficult to see all these thoughts when reading the story “Clean Monday” superficially, paying attention only to the plot. This work is very deep and ambiguous.
There are only two characters in the story: he and she. They don’t even have names, although this is not immediately noticeable - the storytelling is so easy, interesting, and exciting. The absence of a name is, perhaps, more typical for the heroine, because her spiritual appearance is too complex, elusive, she is mysterious, enigmatic. We hear the whole story as if from first-hand, as the hero himself tells it.
It is noteworthy that although the heroes themselves are not named, Bunin gives us a very clear time frame. The action takes place in December 1911 - March 1912. The writer surrounds us with real historical figures, Bunin’s contemporaries, who became unique “symbols” of the era. The characters meet at a lecture given by Andrei Bely, at a theater skit we see Stanislavsky and Moskvin doing a desperate cancan to the “laughter of the audience”, the heroine is invited to dance by the famous theater figure Sulerzhitsky, and the fairly tipsy Kachalov almost falls, trying to kiss his hand “ Tsar-Maiden."
The alignment of the characters in the work is quite interesting. At the center of the story is the heroine, the hero is, as it were, with her. She makes up the meaning of his life: “... he was incredibly happy with every hour spent near her.” The heroine is wise, she seems to be deeper than a hero. Her statements are striking: “Who knows what love is?..”, “Happiness, happiness... Our happiness, my friend, is like water in delirium: if you pull it, it’s inflated, but if you pull it out, there’s nothing.” The hero is constantly trying to unravel what is the secret of her feminine charm: appearance? gestures? demeanor? He is trying to understand her, to realize what is the source of her spiritual wandering?
Bunin's heroine combines opposite principles, her soul is simply woven from contradictions. On the one hand, she loves luxury, social life, but this coexists in her with an internal craving for something different, significant. She is interested in Western European fashionable writers and, at the same time, loves, understands and knows Russian literature well, which she periodically quotes by heart. Behind the visible European gloss hides the original Russian soul. The heroine talks with quiet delight about the Old Believer funeral, enjoying the sound of the Old Russian name. The complexity and originality of her soul is not revealed to us explicitly, but in passing, in unexpected phrases, wise and original sayings.
The heroine’s experiences are inaccessible to the narrator; he does not understand her behavior. The girl accepts his impudent caresses, but does not allow him to reach the end; she interrupts his conversations about the wedding, about legitimizing their relationship. It seems to me that the hero is too fixated on his feelings for her, which is why he is not able to get to know her deeper, to understand the essence of her actions. It comes as a shock to him that the girl attends the Rogozh Old Believer Church, Novodevichy Convent, Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
The heroine is smart, beautiful, independent, rich, but “it looked like she didn’t need anything: no books, no dinners, no theaters, no dinners outside the city...” In this world she is only painfully searching for herself. The ending of the story, in my opinion, is quite predictable: the girl gives herself to the hero on their last night, and leaves the next day. From the letter, the narrator learns that she is in the monastery on obedience, preparing to take monastic vows.
The hero takes this separation very hard. He walks through the dirtiest taverns, gets drunk, and gets depressed. At one point, a certain hopeless humility nevertheless overtakes him. It was at this moment that he last time meets his lover in the church among other nuns.
Is it possible to imagine the heroine in a situation of worldly happiness? I think this is impossible. In her soul lives an eternal need for spiritual purity, thirst for faith. And the decision to change her life comes to her precisely on Clean Monday, on the first day of Lent. It seems to me that in this work Bunin expressed his hope that soon such a clean Monday will come for all of Russia, it will be cleansed of its sins and spiritually reborn for a new, better life.
“Clean Monday” I.A. Bunin considered his best work. Largely due to its semantic depth and ambiguity of interpretation. The story occupies an important place in the “Dark Alleys” cycle. The time of its writing is considered to be May 1944. During this period of his life, Bunin was in France, far from his homeland, where the Great Patriotic War.
In this light, it is unlikely that the 73-year-old writer devoted his work only to the theme of love. It would be more correct to say that through the description of the relationship between two people, their views and worldviews, the truth is revealed to the reader modern life, its tragic background and the urgency of many moral problems.
At the center of the story is the story of the relationship between a quite wealthy man and a woman, between whom feelings for each other develop. They have an interesting and pleasant time visiting restaurants, theaters, taverns, and many others. etc. The narrator and the main character in one person are drawn to her, but the possibility of marriage is immediately ruled out - the girl clearly believes that she is not suitable for family life.
One day on the eve of Clean Monday on Forgiveness Sunday, she asks to pick her up a little earlier. After which they go to the Novodevichy Convent, visit the local cemetery, walk among the graves and remember the funeral of the archbishop. The heroine understands how much the narrator loves her, and the man himself notices the great religiosity of his companion. The woman talks about life in a monastery and herself threatens to go to the most remote of them. True, the narrator does not attach much importance to her words.
The next day in the evening, at the girl’s request, they go to a theatrical skit. A rather strange choice of place - especially considering that the heroine does not like and does not recognize such gatherings. There she drinks champagne, dances and has fun. After which the narrator brings her home at night. The heroine asks the man to come up to her. They are finally getting closer.
The next morning the girl reports that she is leaving for Tver for a while. After 2 weeks, a letter arrives from her in which she says goodbye to the narrator and asks not to look for her, since “I won’t return to Moscow, I’ll go to obedience for now, then maybe I’ll decide to take monastic vows.”
The man fulfills her request. However, he does not disdain spending time in dirty taverns and taverns, indulging in an indifferent existence - “he got drunk, sinking in every possible way, more and more.” Then he takes a long time to come to his senses, and two years later he decides to go on a trip to all the places that he and his beloved visited on that Forgiveness Sunday. At some point, the hero is overcome by a kind of hopeless resignation. Arriving at the Marfo-Maryinsky monastery, he finds out that there is a service going on there and even goes inside. Here, for the last time, the hero sees his beloved, who participates in the service along with other nuns. At the same time, the girl does not see the man, but her gaze is directed into the darkness, where the narrator stands. After which he quietly leaves the church.
Story composition
The composition of the story is based on three parts. The first serves to introduce the characters, describe their relationships and pastimes. The second part is dedicated to the events of Forgiveness Sunday and Clean Monday. The shortest, but semantically important third part completes the composition.
Reading the works and moving from one part to another, one can see the spiritual maturation of not only the heroine, but also the narrator himself. At the end of the story, we are no longer a frivolous person, but a man who has experienced the bitterness of parting with his beloved, capable of experiencing and comprehending his actions of the past.
Considering that the hero and the narrator are one person, you can see changes in him even with the help of the text itself. The hero’s worldview changes radically after a sad love story. Talking about himself in 1912, the narrator resorts to irony, showing his limitations in the perception of his beloved. Only physical intimacy is important, and the hero himself does not try to understand the woman’s feelings, her religiosity, outlook on life, and much more. etc.
In the final part of the work we see a narrator and a man who understands the meaning of the experience. He evaluates his life retrospectively and the overall tone of writing the story changes, which speaks of the inner maturity of the narrator himself. When reading the third part, one gets the impression that it was written by a completely different person.
According to genre features, most researchers classify “Clean Monday” as a short story, because in the center of the plot there is a turning point that forces a different interpretation of the work. We are talking about the heroine leaving for a monastery.
Novella I.A. Bunin is distinguished by a complex spatiotemporal organization. The action takes place at the end of 1911 - beginning of 1912. This is confirmed by the mention of specific dates and textual references to real historical figures that were known and recognizable at the time. For example, the heroes first meet at a lecture by Andrei Bely, and at a theatrical skit the artist Sulerzhitsky appears before the reader, with whom the heroine dances.
Time range small work wide enough. There are three specific dates: 1912 is the time of the plot events, 1914 is the date last meeting heroes, as well as a certain “today” of the narrator. The entire text is filled with additional time references and references: “the graves of Ertel, Chekhov”, “the house where Griboyedov lived”, pre-Petrine Rus' is mentioned, Chaliapin’s concert, the schismatic Rogozhskoe cemetery, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky and much more. It turns out that the events of the story fit into the general historical context and turn out to be not just a specific description of the relationship between a man and a woman, but personify an entire era.
It is no coincidence that a number of researchers call to see in the heroine the image of Russia itself, and to interpret her action as the author’s call to follow not a revolutionary path, but to seek repentance and do everything to change life the whole country. Hence the title of the short story “Clean Monday”, which, as the first day of Lent, should become the starting point on the path to better things.
Main characters in the story “Clean Monday” there are only two. This is the heroine and the narrator himself. The reader never learns their names.
At the center of the work is the image of the heroine, and the hero is shown through the prism of their relationship. The girl is smart. He often says philosophically wisely: “Our happiness, my friend, is like water in delirium: if you pull it, it’s inflated, but if you pull it out, there’s nothing.”
Opposite essences coexist in the heroine; there are many contradictions in her image. On the one hand, she likes luxury, social life, visiting theaters and restaurants. However, this does not interfere with the internal craving for something different, significant, beautiful, religious. She's addicted literary heritage, and not only domestic, but also European. Often quoted famous works world classics, hagiographic literature talks about ancient rituals and funerals.
The girl categorically denies the possibility of marriage and believes that she is not fit to be a wife. The heroine is looking for herself, often in thought. She is smart, beautiful and wealthy, but the narrator was convinced every day: “it looked like she didn’t need anything: no books, no lunches, no theaters, no dinners outside the city...” In this world she is constantly and to some extent pores pointlessly searching for oneself. She is attracted by the luxurious, cheerful life, but at the same time she is disgusted by it: “I don’t understand how people won’t get tired of this all their lives, having lunch and dinner every day.” True, she herself “had lunch and dinner with a Moscow understanding of the matter. Her obvious weakness was only good clothes, velvet, silk, expensive fur...” Exactly like this controversial image the heroines are created by I.A. Bunin in his work.
Wanting to find something different for herself, she visits churches and cathedrals. The girl manages to break out of her usual environment, albeit not thanks to love, which turns out to be not so sublime and omnipotent. Faith and withdrawal from worldly life help her find herself. This act confirms the strong and strong-willed character of the heroine. This is how she responds to her own thoughts about the meaning of life, understanding the futility of the one she leads into secular society. In the monastery, the main thing for a person becomes love for God, service to him and people, while everything vulgar, base, unworthy and ordinary will no longer bother her.
The main idea of the story by I.A. Bunin "Clean Monday"
In this work, Bunin brings to the fore the history of the relationship between two people, but the main meanings are hidden much deeper. It is impossible to interpret this story unambiguously, since it is simultaneously dedicated to love, morality, philosophy, and history. However, the main direction of the writer’s thought comes down to questions of the fate of Russia itself. According to the author, the country must be cleansed of its sins and reborn spiritually, as the heroine of the work “Clean Monday” did.
She gave up a wonderful future, money and position in society. I decided to leave everything worldly because it became unbearable to stay in the world where I had disappeared true beauty, and all that remained were the “desperate cancans” of Moskvin and Stanislavsky and “pale from drunkenness, with heavy sweat on his forehead,” barely standing on his feet.
The work has a very confusing plot and complex philosophical idea, touching on the problem love relationship and hostility of society towards the individual.
The story is dedicated to the theme of changing eras, the period of nobility and new Russia, where the nobles lost their authority, wealth and meaning of existence.
The gallery of such images could be continued for a long time. Simply in the description of secular Moscow of the 1910s, in reflecting on the heroine’s actions, understanding her own thoughts and statements, it becomes clear main idea story. It is quite simple and complex at the same time: someday Clean Monday will come for every person living in Russia, and for the entire country as a whole. The narrator, having experienced a breakup with his beloved, having spent 2 years in constant reflection, was able not only to understand the girl’s action, but also to take the path of purification. According to the author, only through faith and desire for moral principles you can get rid of the shackles of vulgarity social life, change morally and spiritually for a new and better life.
Theme and idea, the severity of the conflict and artistic features plays
A. P. Chekhova"The Cherry Orchard".
RESPONSE PLAN
1. The origins of the play.
2. Genre features plays.
4. The conflict of comedy and its features.
5. Basic images of comedy.
6. The main idea of the play.
7. The symbolic sound of the title of the play.
1. A.P. Chekhov finished his play “The Cherry Orchard” in 1903, when the new century was knocking on the door. There was a reassessment of centuries-old values. The nobility was ruined and stratified. It was a class doomed to destruction. It was replaced by a powerful force - the bourgeoisie. The dying of the nobility as a class and the arrival of capitalists is the basis of the play. Chekhov understands that the new masters of life will not last long as a class, since another, young force is growing up that will build new life in Russia.
2. The play “The Cherry Orchard” is imbued with a bright, lyrical mood. The author himself emphasized that “The Cherry Orchard” is a comedy, since he managed to combine a dramatic, sometimes tragic beginning with a comic one.
3. The main event of the play is the purchase of the cherry orchard. All the problems and experiences of the characters are built around this. All thoughts and memories are connected with him. Exactly cherry orchard is centrally plays.
4. Truthfully depicting life, the writer talks about the fate of three generations, three social strata of society: the nobility, the bourgeoisie and the progressive intelligentsia. Distinctive feature the plot is the lack of brightness expressed conflict. All events take place in the same estate with permanent characters. External conflict in the play it is replaced by the drama of the characters’ experiences.
5. Old world Serf Russia is personified by the images of Gaev and Ranevskaya, Varya and Firs. Today's world, the world of the business bourgeoisie, is represented by Lopakhin, the world of undecided trends of the future - by Anya and Petya Trofimov.
6. Expectation of changes - here main leitmotif plays. All the heroes of “The Cherry Orchard” are oppressed by the temporality of all things, the frailty of existence. In their life, as in the life of contemporary Russia, “the connecting thread has broken,” the old has been destroyed, but the new has not yet been built, and it is unknown what this new will be like. They all unconsciously grasp at the past, not realizing that it no longer exists.
Hence the feeling of loneliness in this world, the awkwardness of existence. Not only Ranevskaya, Gaev, Lopakhin are lonely and unhappy in this life, but also Charlotte and Epikhodov. All the characters in the play are closed in on themselves, they are so absorbed in their problems that they do not hear or notice others. The unknown and anxiety about the future still gives birth in their hearts to hope for something better. But what is this better future? Chekhov leaves this question open... Petya Trofimov looks at life exclusively from a social point of view. There is a lot of justice in his speeches, but there is no concrete idea of resolution in them eternal questions. He understands little real life. Therefore, Chekhov gives us this image in contradiction: on the one hand, he is an accuser, and on the other, a “klutz,” “an eternal student,” “a shabby gentleman.” Anya is full of hope and vitality, but she still has so much inexperience and childhood.
7. The author does not yet see in Russian life a hero who could become the real owner of the “cherry orchard”, the guardian of its beauty and wealth. Glubokoe ideological content carries the very title of the play. The garden is a symbol of passing life. The end of the garden is the end of the outgoing generation - the nobles. But in the play, the image of a new garden grows, “more luxurious than this.” “All of Russia is our garden.” And this new one blooming garden, with its fragrance, its beauty, will be cultivated by the younger generation.
31. Main themes and ideas of prose I. A. Bunina .
RESPONSE PLAN
1. A word about the writer’s work.
2. The main themes and ideas of I. A. Bunin’s prose:
a) the theme of the passing patriarchal past (“Antonov Apples”);
b) criticism of bourgeois reality (“Mr. from San Francisco”);
c) the system of symbols in I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco”;
d) the theme of love and death (“Mr. from San Francisco”, “Transfiguration”, “Mitya’s Love”, “Dark Alleys”).
3. I. A. Bunin - laureate Nobel Prize.
1. Ivan Alekseevich Bunin (1870-1953) is called “the last classic.” Bunin's reflections on the deep processes of life result in perfect art form, where the originality of the composition, images, details are subordinated to the author’s intense thought.
2. In his stories, novellas, and poems, Bunin shows us the whole range of problems late XIX- beginning of the 20th century. The themes of his works are so diverse that they seem to be life itself. Let's trace how the themes and problems of Bunin's stories changed throughout his life.
A) Main topic the early 1900s - the theme of Russia's fading patriarchal past. Most bright expression problems of changing the system, the collapse of all foundations noble society we see in the story “Antonov Apples”. Bunin regrets Russia's fading past, idealizing the noble way of life. Bunin's best memories of old life saturated with smell Antonov apples. He hopes that together with the dying noble Russia The roots of the nation will still remain in its memory.
b) In the mid-1910s, the themes and problems of Bunin's stories began to change. He moves away from the theme of Russia's patriarchal past to a critique of bourgeois reality. A striking example of this period is his story “The Master from San Francisco.” With the smallest details, mentioning every detail, Bunin describes the luxury that is true life gentlemen of the new time. In the center of the work is the image of a millionaire who doesn’t even have own name, since no one remembered him - and does he even need it? This collective image American bourgeois. “Until the age of 58, his life was devoted to accumulation. Having become a millionaire, he wants to get all the pleasures that money can buy: ... he thought of holding the carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, where at this time the most selective society flocks, where some enthusiastically indulge in automobile and sailing races, others roulette, others to what is commonly called flirting, and fourth to shooting pigeons, which soar very beautifully from cages over the emerald lawn, against the backdrop of a sea the color of forget-me-nots, and immediately hit the ground with white lumps...” - this is a life devoid of internal content . The consumer society has erased everything human in itself, the ability for empathy and condolences. The death of the gentleman from San Francisco is perceived with displeasure, because “the evening was irreparably ruined,” the hotel owner feels guilty, and gives his word that he will take “all measures in his power” to eliminate the trouble. Money decides everything: guests want to have fun for their money, the owner does not want to lose profit, this explains the disrespect for death. Such is the moral decline of society, its inhumanity in its extreme manifestation.
c) There are a lot of allegories, associations and symbols in this story. The ship "Atlantis" acts as a symbol of civilization; The gentleman himself is a symbol of the bourgeois well-being of a society where people eat deliciously, dress elegantly and do not care about the world around them. They are not interested in him. They live in society as if in a case, closed forever to people of another circle. The ship symbolizes this shell, the sea symbolizes the rest of the world, raging, but in no way touching the hero and others like him. And nearby, in the same shell, are the people who control the ship, working hard at the gigantic firebox, which the author calls the ninth circle of hell.
There are many biblical allegories in this story. The hold of a ship can be compared to the underworld. The author hints that the gentleman from San Francisco sold his soul for earthly goods and is now paying for it with death.
Symbolic in the story is the image of a huge, rock-like devil, who is a symbol of the impending catastrophe, a kind of warning to humanity. It is also symbolic in the story that after the death of the rich man, the fun continues, absolutely nothing has changed. The ship sails in the opposite direction, only this time with the rich man’s body in a soda box, and ballroom music thunders again “among the mad blizzard sweeping over the ocean that was buzzing like a funeral mass.”
d) It was important for the author to emphasize the idea of the insignificance of human power in the face of the same mortal outcome for everyone. It turned out that everything accumulated by the master has no meaning before that eternal law to which everyone, without exception, is subject. Obviously, the meaning of life is not in acquiring wealth, but in something else that cannot be assessed monetaryly or aesthetic wisdom. The theme of death receives varied coverage in Bunin's work. This is both the death of Russia and death individual person. Death turns out to be not only the resolver of all contradictions, but also the source of absolute, purifying power (“Transfiguration”, “Mitya’s Love”).
Another of the main themes of the writer’s work is the theme of love. The cycle of stories “Dark Alleys” is devoted to this topic. Bunin considered this book the most perfect in artistic skill. “All the stories in this book are only about love, about its “dark” and most often very gloomy and cruel alleys,” wrote Bunin. The collection “Dark Alleys” is one of latest masterpieces great master.
3. In the literature of Russian abroad, Bunin is a star of the first magnitude. After being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1933, Bunin became a symbol of Russian literature throughout the world.
Analysis of the story by I.A. Bunin "Clean Monday"
The story “Clean Monday” is amazingly beautiful and tragic at the same time. The meeting of two people leads to the emergence of a wonderful feeling - love. But love is not only joy, it is a huge torment, against the background of which many problems and troubles seem invisible. The story described exactly how the man and woman met. But the story begins from the moment at which their relationship had already been going on for quite some time. Bunin pays attention to the smallest details, to how “the Moscow gray winter day darkened,” or to where the lovers went for dinner - “to Prague, to the Hermitage, to the Metropol”...
The tragedy of separation is anticipated at the very beginning of the story. The main character does not know where their relationship will lead. He simply prefers not to think about this: “I didn’t know how it was going to end, and I tried not to think, not to think about it: it was useless - just like talking to her about it: she once and for all turned away conversations about our future.”
Why does the heroine reject conversations about the future? Is she not interested in continuing her relationship with her loved one? Or does she already have some idea about her future? Judging by the way Bunin describes the main character, she appears as a very special woman, unlike many around. She takes courses, not realizing, however, why she needs to study. When asked why she was studying, the girl answered: “Why is everything done in the world? Do we understand anything in our actions?
The girl loves to surround herself with beautiful things, she is educated, sophisticated, smart. But at the same time, she seems somehow surprisingly detached from everything that surrounded her: “It looked like she didn’t need anything: no flowers, no books, no dinners, no theaters, no dinners out of town.” At the same time, she knows how to enjoy life, enjoys reading, delicious food, interesting impressions. It would seem that the lovers have everything they need for happiness: “We were both rich, healthy, young and so good-looking that in restaurants and at concerts they looked at us.” At first it may seem that the story describes a real love idyll. But in reality everything was completely different.
It is no coincidence that the main character comes up with the idea of the strangeness of their love. The girl denies in every possible way the possibility of marriage, she explains that she is not fit to be a wife. The girl cannot find herself, she is in thought. She is attracted to a luxurious, fun life. But at the same time she resists it, wants to find something different for herself. Conflicting feelings arise in the girl’s soul, which are incomprehensible to many young people accustomed to a simple and carefree existence.
The girl visits churches and Kremlin cathedrals. She is drawn to religion, to holiness, herself, perhaps, not realizing why she is attracted to this. Quite suddenly, without explaining anything to anyone, she decides to leave not only her lover, but also her usual way of life. After leaving, the heroine informs in a letter of her intention to decide to take monastic vows. She doesn't want to explain anything to anyone. Parting with his beloved turned out to be a difficult test for the main character. Only after a long time was he able to see her among the line of nuns.
The story is called “Clean Monday” because it was on the eve of this holy day that the first conversation about religiosity took place between the lovers. I didn’t think about it before, I didn’t suspect it main character about the other side of a girl’s nature. She seemed quite happy with her usual life, in which there was a place for theaters, restaurants, and fun. The renunciation of secular joys for the sake of a monastic monastery testifies to the deep internal torment that took place in the soul of the young woman. Perhaps this is precisely what explains the indifference with which she treated her usual life. She could not find a place for herself among everything that surrounded her. And even love could not help her in finding spiritual harmony.
Love and tragedy in this story go hand in hand, as, indeed, in many other works of Bunin. Love itself does not seem to be happiness, but the most difficult test that must be endured with honor. Love is sent to people who cannot, do not know how to understand and appreciate it in time.
What is the tragedy of the main characters in the story “Clean Monday”? The fact is that a man and a woman were never able to understand and appreciate each other properly. Every person is the whole world, the whole Universe. Inner world The girl, the heroine of the story, is very rich. She is in thought, in a spiritual search. She is attracted and at the same time frightened by the surrounding reality; she does not find anything to become attached to. And love appears not as salvation, but as another problem that weighs on her. That is why the heroine decides to give up love.
Refusal of worldly joys and entertainment reveals a strong nature in a girl. This is how she answers her own questions about the meaning of existence. In the monastery she does not have to ask herself any questions; now the meaning of life for her becomes love for God and service to him. Everything vain, vulgar, petty and insignificant will never touch her again. Now she can be in her solitude without worrying that it will be disturbed.
The story may seem sad and even tragic. To some extent this is true. But at the same time, the story “Clean Monday” is sublimely beautiful. It makes you think about true values, that each of us sooner or later has to face a situation of moral choice, and not everyone has the courage to admit that the choice was made incorrectly.
At first, the girl lives the way many of those around her live. But gradually she realizes that she is not satisfied not only with the way of life itself, but also with all the little things and details that surround her. She finds the strength to look for another option and comes to the conclusion that love for God can be her salvation. Love for God simultaneously elevates her, but at the same time makes all her actions completely incomprehensible. The main character, a man in love with her, practically ruins his life. He remains alone. But the point is not that she leaves him completely unexpectedly. She treats him cruelly, making him suffer and suffer. True, he suffers with him. He suffers and suffers of his own free will. This is evidenced by the heroine’s letter: “May God give me the strength not to answer me - it is useless to prolong and increase our torment...”.
Lovers are separated not because unfavorable circumstances arise. In fact, the reason is completely different. The reason is a sublime and at the same time deeply unhappy girl who cannot find the meaning of existence for herself. She cannot but deserve respect - this amazing girl who was not afraid to change her destiny so dramatically. But at the same time, she seems to be an incomprehensible and incomprehensible person, so unlike everyone who surrounded her.
33. Theme of love in prose A.I. Kuprina . (Using the example of one work.)
Option 1
Kuprin portrays true love as the highest value of the world, as an incomprehensible mystery. For such an all-consuming feeling there is no question “to be or not to be?” It is devoid of doubt, and therefore is often fraught with tragedy. “Love is always a tragedy,” wrote Kuprin, “always struggle and achievement, always joy and fear, resurrection and death.”
Kuprin was deeply convinced that even an unrequited feeling can transform a person’s life. He wisely and touchingly spoke about this in “ Garnet bracelet", a sad story about a modest telegraph official Zheltkov, who was so hopelessly and selflessly in love with Countess Vera Sheina.
Pathetic, romantic in the nature of its figurative embodiment central theme love is combined in the “Pomegranate Bracelet” with a carefully reproduced everyday background and reliefly outlined figures of people whose lives have not come into contact with the feeling of great love. The poor official Zheltkov, who had loved Princess Vera Nikolaevna for eight years, while dying, thanks her for the fact that she was for him “the only joy in life, the only consolation, with one thought“, and the prosecutor’s comrade, who thinks that love can be suppressed by administrative measures, are people of two different dimensions in life. But Kuprin’s living environment is not clear-cut. They especially singled out the figure of the old General Anosov, who is sure that high love exists, but it “must be a tragedy. The greatest secret in the world”, which knows no compromises.
In 1937, Ivan Bunin began work on his best book. The collection “Dark Alleys” was first published after the end of World War II. This book is a collection of short tragic stories about love. One of the most famous stories Bunina - “Clean Monday”. Analysis and summary works are presented in today's article.
"Dark Alleys"
The analysis of Bunin’s “Clean Monday” should begin with brief history creation of a work. This is one of latest stories, included in the collection “Dark Alleys”. Bunin completed work on the work “Clean Monday” on May 12, 1944. The story was first published in New York.
The writer was probably pleased with this essay. After all, in his diary, Bunin wrote: “I thank God for the opportunity to create Clean Monday.”
Bunin, in each of his works included in the collection “Dark Alleys,” reveals to the reader the tragedy and catastrophism of love. This feeling is beyond human control. It suddenly comes into his life, gives fleeting happiness, and then certainly causes unbearable pain.
The narration in the story “Clean Monday” by Bunin is told in the first person. The author does not name the names of his heroes. Love breaks out between two young people. They are both beautiful, rich, healthy and seemingly full of energy. But something is missing in their relationship.
They visit restaurants, concerts, theaters. They discuss books and plays. True, the girl often shows indifference, even hostility. “You don’t like everything,” the main character once says, but he himself does not attach any significance to his words. A passionate romance is followed by a sudden separation - unexpected for young man, not for her. The ending is typical of Bunin's style. What caused the break between the lovers?
On the eve of the Orthodox holiday
The story describes their first meeting, but the narrative begins with events that occur some time after they met. The girl attends courses, reads a lot, and otherwise leads an idle lifestyle. And she seems quite happy with everything. But this is only at first glance. He is so absorbed in his feeling, his love for her, that he is not even aware of the other side of her soul.
It is worth paying attention to the title of the story - “Clean Monday”. The meaning of Bunin's story is quite deep. On the eve of the holy day, the lovers have their first conversation about religiosity. Before this, the main character had no idea that the girl was attracted to everything connected with the church. In his absence, she visits Moscow monasteries, moreover, she is thinking about becoming a monk.
Clean Monday is the beginning of Lent. On this day, cleansing rituals are carried out, the transition from fast food to Lenten restrictions.
Parting
One day they go to the Novodevichy Convent. By the way, this is a rather unusual route for him. Previously, they spent time exclusively in entertainment venues. The visit to the monastery is, of course, the idea of the protagonist's beloved.
The next day, intimacy occurs between them for the first time. And then the girl leaves for Tver, from there she sends a letter to her lover. In this message she asks not to wait for her. She became a novice in one of the Tver monasteries, and perhaps she will decide to take monastic vows. He will never see her again.
After receiving from my beloved last letter, the hero began to drink, go downhill, and then finally came to his senses. One day, after a long time, I saw a nun in a Moscow church, in whom I recognized my former beloved. Perhaps the image of his beloved was too firmly entrenched in his mind, and it was not her at all? He didn't tell her anything. He turned and walked out of the temple gates. This is the summary of Bunin’s “Clean Monday”.
Love and tragedy
Bunin's heroes do not find happiness. In "Clean Monday", as in other works of the Russian classic, we are talking about love, which brings only bitterness and disappointment. What is the tragedy of the heroes of this story?
Probably the fact that, being close, they did not know each other at all. Each person is a whole Universe. And sometimes even loved ones cannot unravel his inner world. Bunin spoke about loneliness among people, about love, which is impossible without complete mutual understanding. Analysis work of art cannot be done without characterizing the main characters. What do we know about the girl who, living in prosperity and being loved, went to a monastery?
Main character
When analyzing Bunin’s “Clean Monday”, it is worth paying attention to the portrait of a nameless girl that the author creates at the beginning of the work. She led an idle life. She read a lot, studied music, and loved visiting restaurants. But she did all this somehow indifferently, without much interest.
She is educated, well-read, and enjoys immersing herself in the world of luxurious social life. She likes good cuisine, but she wonders “how people don’t get bored having lunch and dinner every day”? She calls acting skits vulgar, while she ends the relationship with her lover by visiting the theater. Bunin's heroine cannot understand what his purpose in this life is. She is not one of those who is content to live in luxury and talk about literature and art.
The inner world of the main character is very rich. She constantly thinks and is in a spiritual search. The girl is attracted to surrounding reality, but at the same time frightening. Love becomes not a salvation for her, but a problem that terribly burdens her, forcing her to make the only correct sudden decision.
The main character refuses worldly joys, and this shows her strong nature. “Clean Monday” is not the only story from the collection “Dark Alleys” in which the author paid a lot of attention to the female image.
Bunin brought to the fore the hero's experiences. At the same time, it showed a rather contradictory female character. The heroine is satisfied with the lifestyle she leads, but all sorts of details, little things, depress her. Finally, she decides to go to a monastery, thereby destroying the life of the man who loves her. True, by doing this she causes suffering to herself. After all, in the letter that the girl sends to her lover there are the words: “May God give me the strength not to answer you.”
Main character
About how it turned out further fate young man, little is known. He had a hard time being separated from his beloved. He disappeared into the dirtiest taverns, drank and became miserable. But still he came to his senses and returned to his previous way of life. It can be assumed that the pain that this strange, extraordinary and somewhat exalted girl inflicted on him will never subside.
In order to find out who the writer was during his lifetime, you just need to read his books. But is the biography of Ivan Bunin really so tragic? Was there true love in his life?
Ivan Bunin
The writer's first wife, Anna Tsakni, was the daughter of an Odessa Greek, editor of a popular magazine at that time. They got married in 1898. Soon a son was born, who did not live even five years. The child died of meningitis. Bunin took the death of his son very hard. The relationship between the spouses went wrong, but his wife did not give him a divorce for a long time. Even after he connected his life with Vera Muromtseva.
The writer's second wife became his "patient shadow." Muromtseva replaced his secretary, mother, and friend. She did not leave him even when he started an affair with Galina Kuznetsova. Still, it was Galina Muromtseva who was next to the writer in last days his life. The creator of “Dark Alleys” was not deprived of love.
Bunin's tragic love story forms the basis of the story "Clean Monday". Two people suddenly meet, and beauty and beauty flare up between them. pure feeling. Love brings not only joy, lovers experience enormous torment that torments their souls. The work of Ivan Bunin describes the meeting of a man and a woman, which made them forget about all their problems.
The author begins his story not from the very beginning of the novel, but immediately from its development, when the love of two people reaches its climax. I. Bunin perfectly describes all the details of this day: the Moscow day was not only winter, but, according to the author’s description, dark and gray. The lovers dined at different places: today it could be “Prague”, and tomorrow they ate at the “Hermitage”, then it could be “Metropol”, or some other establishment.
From the very beginning of Bunin's work, there is a premonition of some kind of misfortune, a great tragedy. Main character tries not to think about what will happen tomorrow, about what this relationship might lead to. He understood that he shouldn’t talk about the future with someone who was so close to him. After all, she simply did not like these conversations and she did not answer any of his questions.
But why main character didn’t want, like many girls, to dream about the future and make plans? Maybe this is a momentary attraction that should end soon? Or does she already know everything that is about to happen to her in the future? Ivan Bunin describes his heroine as if she were a perfect woman who cannot be compared with other beautiful female images.
The main character is studying in courses, not understanding how she manages to do this later in life. The Bunin girl is well educated, she has a sense of sophistication and intelligence. Everything in her house should be beautiful. But the world around us she is not at all interested, she moves away from him. From her behavior it seemed that she was indifferent to theaters, and to flowers, and to books, and to dinners. And this indifference does not prevent her from completely immersing herself in life and enjoying it, reading books and getting impressions.
The beautiful couple seemed ideal to the people around them; they were even watched as they walked. And there was something to envy! Young, beautiful, rich - all these characteristics suited this couple. This happy idyll turns out to be strange, since the girl does not want to become the wife of the main character. This makes you think about the sincerity of the lover’s and the man’s feelings. For all his questions, the girl finds only one explanation: she does not know how to be a wife.
It is clear that the girl does not understand what her purpose in life is. Her soul is torn: luxurious life she is attracted to him, but she wants something else. That is why she constantly arrives in thoughts and reflections. The feelings that the girl experiences are incomprehensible to her, and the main character cannot understand them either.
She is attracted to religion, the girl goes to church with pleasure, and admires holiness. The heroine herself cannot understand why this attracts her so much. One day she decides to important step- cut my hair into a nun. Without telling her lover anything, the girl leaves. After a while, the main character receives a letter from her, where the young woman reports her action, but she doesn’t even try to explain.
The main character finds it difficult to cope with the actions of his beloved woman. One day he was able to see her by chance among the nuns. It is no coincidence that Bunin gives his work the title “Clean Monday”. The day before this day, the lovers led serious conversation about religion. The main character was surprised for the first time by the thoughts of his bride, they were so new and interesting to him.
External contentment with life hid the depth of this nature, her subtlety and religiosity, her constant torment, which brought the girl to the monastery of a nun. Deep internal searches also help explain the young woman’s indifference to social life. She did not see herself among everything that surrounded her. Happy and mutual love does not help her find harmony in her soul. In this Bunin story, love and tragedy are inseparable. Love is given to the heroes as a kind of test that they have to pass.
The love tragedy of the main characters lies in the fact that they could not fully understand each other and could not correctly evaluate the individuals who had found their soul mate. Bunin, with his story “Clean Monday,” affirms the idea that every person is a huge and richest world. The inner world of a young woman is rich spiritually, but her thoughts and reflections do not find support in this world. Love for the main character is no longer a salvation for her, but the girl sees this as a problem.
The heroine’s strong will helps her to leave love, to abandon it, to abandon it forever. In the monastery, her spiritual search ceases, and the young woman develops new affection and love. The heroine finds the meaning of life in love for God. Everything petty and vulgar now does not concern her; now no one disturbs her loneliness and peace.
Bunin's story is both tragic and sad. Moral choice stands before every person and must be done correctly. The heroine chooses her life path, and the main character, continuing to love her, cannot find himself in this life. His fate is sad and tragic. The young woman’s act towards him is cruel. They both suffer: the hero because of the act of his beloved, and she of her own free will.