→ Why is love tragic in Bunin’s portrayal? The theme of tragic love in Bunin's works

Why is love tragic in Bunin’s portrayal? The theme of tragic love in Bunin's works

The theme of love always worried Bunin, and he dedicated his most famous works to it: the novel “The Life of Arsenyev”, the stories “Easy Breathing”, “Mitya’s Love”, “Sunstroke” and others. But at the end of his life he turns to her again, creating a cycle of stories “ Dark alleys”, rethinking love, passion, life and death. In these stories, love is most often divided (Bunin does not show the tragedy of unrequited love), but this feeling always ends in separation, death, murder or suicide. According to Bunin, love, the strongest and deepest human experience, is always only short-lived. bright flash which leaves its mark for life, it always makes you suffer, this is the drama of human life.

In the story “Dark Alleys,” which opens the collection, the same idea can be traced: love cannot be happy, it can transform a person’s entire life, but it always leads to separation. The plot of the story is very simple: an old military man passing through stops at an inn, the owner of which turns out to be a former serf with whom he once had a close relationship. It turns out that she still loves him, has not forgotten anything, and has not even gotten married. The hero of the story, Nikolai Alekseevich, remembers the past, his love, the happiness that this woman gave him. But he cannot imagine her as his wife; he leaves, full of previous experiences, memories and sadness. At first glance, everything is very simple, but in fact this plot allows you to describe the entire life of the characters, explain their characters, behavior, and outlook on life.

Very often, Bunin’s stories begin with a landscape, and this one was no exception: “In cold autumn weather, on one of the big Tula roads, flooded with rain and cut by many black ruts, a tarantass rolled up covered in mud.”

This landscape immediately evokes a gloomy mood and sadness on the reader. The main character of the story has the same mood, but it changes when the owner of the inn comes - “a dark-haired, also black-browed and also beautiful woman beyond her age, looking like an elderly gypsy.” If she had not called him by his first name and patronymic, he would not have recognized her. He is surprised that she, with her beauty, did not get married. Her words make him blush: “Everyone’s youth passes, but love is another matter... It’s too late to reproach me now, because, really, they would have abandoned me very heartlessly - how many times have I wanted to lay hands on myself out of resentment from one, no longer talking about everything else. After all, there was a time, Nikolai Alekseevich, when I called you Nikolenka, and you remember me? And they deigned to read all the poems to me about all sorts of “dark alleys.” The heroine kept her love and carried this feeling throughout her life. She cannot forgive him: “Just as I didn’t have anything more valuable than you at that time, I didn’t have anything later. That’s why you can’t forgive me.” The hero of the story was also not happy: his wife left him, his son grew up to be a scoundrel. He realizes that he has lost the most precious thing he had, that best moments he spent his life with Nadezhda. However, the hero quickly calms down, thinking: “What if I hadn’t left her? What nonsense! This same Nadezhda is not the innkeeper, but my wife, the mistress of my St. Petersburg house, the mother of my children?”

Leaving the inn, he recalls the lines from Ogarev’s poem: “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around, there were dark linden alleys...” These lines add poetry and a slight sadness to the story of past love. This love remained with Nadezhda for the rest of her life, these were “truly magical” moments in the hero’s life, and although love did not take place, it will remain in their lives forever, it left a deep mark in the human soul.

Love as depicted by Bunin is very tragic, but always beautiful; love is a great gift that is not given to everyone. We find confirmation of this in the story “Dark Alleys”.


^ Why is love in the image of I.A. Is Bunina tragic?

Many of IA Bunin’s works are devoted to the theme of love, in particular the cycle of stories “Dark Alleys,” which is rightly called the pinnacle of the writer’s creativity. But a strange feeling remains after reading these works of his - sadness, sympathy for the heroes, their tragic, unfulfilled fate. The heroes die, break up, commit suicide - they are all unhappy. Why is this happening? Love is shown by the writer as a powerful force that can turn a person’s life around. The lieutenant, the heroes of the story “Sunstroke,” did not think about it at all, having, as I say, a light affair with an attractive fellow traveler. But. having parted

with her, he suddenly realizes that he cannot forget her, that seeing the heroine again is “more necessary than LIFE” for him. With deep psychologism, the writer reveals the hero’s inner experiences, his spiritual maturation. The lieutenant feels the peace and serenity of the surrounding life - and this only intensifies his suffering: “Probably, I’m the only one so terribly unhappy in this city.” Bunin often resorts to such techniques as antithesis (contrast) and oxymoron (a combination of incompatible concepts) in order to more clearly reveal the inner world of the hero, who feels extraordinary joy in everything and at the same time torment, tearing his heart, happiness in his soul and tears in his eyes . With tears in his eyes, he fell asleep, and in the evening, sitting on the deck of the ship, he felt ten years older. The hero is in the power of love, his feelings do not depend on him, but they transform him spiritually - this is Pushkin’s awakening of the soul, which is more important than a person’s entire worldview. Mitya, the hero of the story “Mitya’s Love,” is jealous and suffers, feeling Katya’s disdain for him, some kind of falseness in her behavior, which she herself does not even realize yet. He is waiting for a letter from her, and how painfully the author shows this expectation, and how quickly Mitya’s joy gives way to the expectation of the next message, even more painful. Moreover, physiology does not replace love, and the episode with Alenka convincingly proves this - the power of love is in the harmony of the carnal and spiritual, in its spiritual significance. And so vivid, so painful is Mitya’s suffering, having received the news of Katya’s betrayal and their inevitable breakup, that he shoots himself “with pleasure” just to stop this pain that is tearing his heart apart. Of course, such intensity of passions is incompatible with ordinary life, because in life there is often so much dirt, rough prose of everyday life, petty calculations, lust that kill love. The victim of this was Olya Meshcherskaya, the heroine of the story “Easy Breathing,” whose pure soul was ready for love and was waiting for extraordinary happiness. Submitting to social prejudices, Nikolai Alekseevich, the hero of the story “Dark Alleys,” abandons Nadezhda. - and he himself does not see happiness in his future destiny. I will remember the heroine of the story for the rest of my life. Cold autumn"a farewell evening with the groom, who was later killed in the war. And her entire future life is simply existence, everyday prose, and in her soul there is only a cold farewell evening and poetry that her beloved reads to her. Therefore, I think it can be argued that in the image of I.A. Bunina's love is such a rise in spirit

shi, which is not given to everyone, but which everyone who has experienced this will never forget.

^ Why is the love of the heroes in the story by I.A. Bunin " Clean Monday"called "weird"?

The story "Clean Monday", written in 1944. - one of the author's favorite stories. I.A. Bunin recounts the events of the distant past from the narrator - a young wealthy man with no special occupation. The hero is in love, and the heroine, as he sees her, makes a strange impression on the reader. She is good-looking, loves luxury, comfort, expensive restaurants, and at the same time she is a “modest student” and has breakfast in a vegetarian canteen on Arbai. She has a very critical attitude towards many fashionable works of literature, famous people. And she's clearly not that in love with the hero. how he would like it. To his proposal of marriage, she replies that she is not fit to be a wife. "Odd love!" - the hero thinks about this. The heroine’s inner world is revealed completely unexpectedly for him: it turns out that she often goes to churches, is deeply passionate about religion and church rituals. For her, this is not just religiosity - it is the need of her soul, her sense of homeland, antiquity, which is internally necessary for the heroine. The hero believes, “This is just “Moscow quirks,” he cannot understand her and is deeply disappointed by her choice, when after their only night of love she decides to leave and then go to a monastery. For him, the collapse of love is a catastrophe of a lifetime, unthinkable suffering. For her, the strength of faith, the preservation of her inner world turned out to be higher than love, she decides to devote herself to God, renouncing everything worldly. The author does not reveal the reasons for her moral choice, what influenced her decision - social circumstances or moral and religious quests, but he. clearly shows that the life of the soul is not subject to reason. This is especially emphasized in the episode of the last meeting of the heroes in the Martha-Marninsky monastery. The heroes of the Armed Forces see as much as they feel each other, THEY control their feelings: the hero “for some reason” wanted to go to the temple, the heroine is internally shocked by his presence. This the riddle, the mystery of human sensations is one of the inherent properties of love in Bunin’s depiction, a tragic and powerful force that can turn a person’s whole life upside down.

^ Why does the main character of I. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” have no name or psychology?

In the story “Mr. and I San Francisco,” I. Bunin very vividly and in detail depicts the world of luxury and prosperity, the world of rich people who can afford themselves. One of them - a gentleman from San Francisco - is the main character. In his attitude, appearance, and demeanor, the author shows the vices of the “golden” circle to which the character belongs. But the most striking feature that immediately catches your eye when reading is this. that nowhere in the story is the name of the hero mentioned and her inner world is not depicted.

Who is this gentleman from San Francisco? In the very first lines, the author writes that “no one remembered her name either in Naples or Capri.”

It would seem that the main thing actor, the main events of the work unfold around him, and suddenly not even the name of the first character is mentioned. It's immediately obvious That the writer is dismissive of the character. The appearance and actions of the gentleman are described in great detail: tuxedo, underwear and even large gold teeth. Much attention is paid to the details of the external description. The hero is presented as a solid, respectable, wealthy man who is able to buy everything. whatever he wants. The story shows how the hero visits cultural monuments, but he is indifferent to everything, he is not interested in art. The author deliberately describes in detail how the characters eat, drink, dress, and talk. Bunin laughs at this “artificial” life.

Why, while paying great attention to appearance and actions, does the writer not show the inner world? hero's psychology? This is all because the gentleman from San Francisco simply has no inner peace. souls. He devoted his entire life to making a fortune and creating capital. The hero worked in duty and did not enrich himself spiritually. And by the time he reaches maturity, having made a fortune, he doesn’t know what to do with himself, because he is unspiritual. His life is scheduled by the hour; there is no place for culture or soul in it. The hero's inner world is empty and needs only external impressions. The gentleman from San Francisco lacks any purpose in life. The whole purpose of his existence comes down to the satisfaction of his fnziolo! ical needs for sleep, food, clothing. The hero doesn't even try to change anything. L his death pass.np

unnoticed by everyone, only his wife and daughter feel sorry for him. And returning home in a box in the luggage compartment speaks vividly of his place among people.

And Bunin in the story shows complete disgust and contempt for such people. He ridicules their measured, minute-by-minute life, exposes their vices, depicts the emptiness of the inner world and the absence of any spirituality. The author sincerely hopes that such people will gradually disappear along with their shortcomings, and there will be no “gentlemen from San Francisco” left in the world.

^ Is it possible to call the story “Mr. from San Francisco” by I.A. Bunin a work of symbolism?

ii In 1915, Bunin wrote his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.” The title alone creates an impression of uncertainty, even mystery, in the reader. Indeed, throughout the entire work, the author did not use either his first or last name - nothing that would indicate his personality, because personality is something individual, inherent only to this person. But. After reading just a few lines, we understand that it could not have been otherwise: he was one of many, like everyone else. The main thing is that he wanted to be like that. The first half of his life he did not live, he only worked. He worked only to spend the rest of his days with dignity. Worthy in a hundred sense - it is so. as is customary, as all people in his circle do. It was fashionable in the world to begin your enjoyment of life with a trip to Europe. And, naturally, our master immediately went there. He began his journey on the huge liner Atlantis. In my opinion, the image of this ship is very symbolic. Respectable and wealthy Americans go on vacation to Europe on it and, as we learn at the end of the work, they return on it. The name of the ship itself is unusual, because Atlantis is an island. On it, people get for money what is called happiness in the world.

But Atlantis is a dead island; the souls of the people inhabiting it drowned in vulgarity and gluttony. The gentleman himself from San Francisco did not seem to live. His death shows us this. In the world in which he exists, money decides everything: if you have money, you are given respect and honor. If not, you're not

you can exist in it. For Bunin, someone who does not have his own inner world cannot exist in this real one. And if he doesn't exist, why does he need a name?

I believe that Bunin’s story can be considered a realistic work, in which, however, symbols play a large role. The ship "Atlantis", a pair of "lovers" hired for money, a burning furnace mouth, a devil watching the ship, people without a name - these are symbols of the author's contemporary world, standing on the edge of inevitable death.

"Mr. from San Francisco"

a typical hero of the early 20th century?

In I. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” we learn the story of a man who embodied the image of a typical capitalist. Working long and hard, he achieved a lot and went on vacation to Europe with his family. However, there was no rest because “the weather was not good” and “the mood was bad.”

The author says at the very beginning of the story that in his youth a gentleman from San Francisco set himself the goal of achieving prosperity richest people. And by the end of his life he achieved his goal. He entered the circle of people who are commonly called the “elite.” But Bunin repeatedly emphasizes that the gentleman’s lifestyle was a blind copy of the lifestyle of this “elite.” The “elite,” unfortunately, is not an intellectual one, where it is customary to have one’s own views and opinions, but a financial “elite,” where a person is valued only by his money. For a gentleman from San Francisco, the trip gave hope for “ happy meeting"with a billionaire examining the frescoes, which very much characterizes his views on values human qualities. So, people of this circle used to relax, traveling in Europe and Asia. And the gentleman from San Francisco went to Europe only because everyone else did. His entire vacation was planned in advance according to a given pattern.

Bunin describes in sufficient detail the daily routine on the ship "Atlantis". It all came down to food, entertainment and "working up an appetite." The second gentleman from San Francisco also took part in

life in ship life on an equal basis with everyone else. And life in Italy was not very diverse: breakfast, sightseeing. lunch and so on. But the weather seemed to oppose the recall of the family from San Francisco. It rained often, it was damp and cold. The receptionist answered questions about the weather that there had been no weather in December for a long time, although he had been repeating this phrase for several years.

In a word, in the story “Gentlemen from San Francisco.. Bunin does not hide his indifference to his hero, notifying us of this in the very first sentences. that no one remembered his name anywhere. Describing it in detail appearance, the writer stamps on his hero the slightest movements of the soul, any thoughts. He simply doesn't have them. since he is a collection of images of rich people, which in itself denies the possibility of the existence of a personality for the gentleman from San Francisco. He is not a fully formed person, but only a cast. His world is a Tat steamship - a hotel with all the amenities, built according to a plan, devoid of thought and impulse of the soul. And such a person cannot even have elementary psychologism, an inner world that is imputed to the image of a rich man.

^ Why does Satin defend Luka in a dispute with the night shelters? (but M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)

Gorky's play “At the Depths” - philosophical work. The main conflict of the play is a dispute about the truth. What is necessary for a person) I a Finding the meaning of life: cruel truth or compassion?

Satin in Maxim Gorky’s play “At the Depths” is Luke’s ideological opponent. Although it was the old man who led him to think, Satin adheres to other principles and raises the thought of the value of man to an unattainable height: “Man is free!”

And even though Satin is more a man of words than of body, his speech and his understanding testify that faith in life, the spark of life itself has not gone out “in the sun.” In one of his aphorisms, Satin acts as a fierce opponent of Luke: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the God of a free man."

The views and worldview of both characters are very important. With the appearance of Luka, the inhabitants of the shelter began to think, search, they wanted more bright life, cat they are. probably understood from CMJ i but.

If you don't push the wheel, it won't roll. It was at Luke’s suggestion that Satin, in his reflections, came to the conclusion about the significance of the human claim. He went further than Luke because he chose a more direct and honest path. It was Satin who managed to embrace man and reject Luke’s false humanism: “Man is the truth!” But, having come to the right conclusions, Satin remained the individualist he was before.

A person cannot change immediately; it takes time. This is how it happens in life. There are times when Luke with his consolation is needed. encouragement, attention to others, but there are also moments WHEN only Satin’s decisive word will carry the truth to the human heart.

Luke and Satin are philosophers, so they understand each other. And one is simply obliged to protect the other.

^ Does Grigory Melekhov have a future? (based on the epic novel by M.A. Sholokhov “ Quiet Don»)

The main characters of the epic novel M.A. Sholokhov “Quiet Don” Grigory Melekhov is a tragic figure of a turning point for Russia. Usually his story is viewed as a search for peaceful happiness and rushing from the Reds to the Whites, then to Fomin’s gang, and then attempts to escape from everyone to another life. But this does not exhaust the essence of his character. First of all, he has a pronounced desire for freedom in his actions and decisions. His love for Aksinya, impossible according to the rules of public morality, eventually became so important for him that he, a Cossack, leaves his home to become a farm laborer on Listnitsky’s estate. What a strong will it was necessary to have in order to ignore public opinion and commit an act impossible for a Cossack, which would disgrace him in the eyes of the entire village. But happiness with the woman he loved turned out to be more important and dearer to him. Having suffered a lot, having seen war and violence, Gregory, it would seem, got used to this life. But he is not a “man of war,” unlike Mitka Korshunov and Koshevoy, for whom the element of struggle with its “extremes” and mercilessness is natural. He is tired of the war, he realizes the futility of choosing between two camps - red and white. He notices what others are indifferent to: he spoke to Shtokman about inequality among the Red Army soldiers - the commissar “is all in

Zhu climbed in,” and “Vanek” is in wraps, he doesn’t even have enough for shoes, but this is only the beginning of a new government, “and if they strengthen, where will equality go?” But he feels just as alien, an uneducated man “from the plow” among white officers. And in the end, he, the destroyer of the foundations of the family, once capable of giving up everything and leaving with someone else’s wife for someone else’s bread, becomes a defender and zealot for the idea of ​​home, family, hearth. He understands that Russia is looking for a new destiny - and does not regret Nicholas I, the “shitty tsar” who abandoned power, does not sympathize with the generals leading White movement - in his opinion, they are “blind” who know nothing about the people. For Gregory, the main thing is to return to himself, to the origins of life, to his native steppe, songs, conversations with his mother, to caring for children. All the most valuable things that remain in his life. - this is love for Aksinya. And it is no coincidence that when he buries her, struck by a stray bullet, he sees above him, raising his eyes, the black dazzling disk of the sun in the black sky. And his last value is his son. with whom he sees on the banks of the Don, near his home. The ending of the novel is open, but it does not reduce the tragedy of the hero’s fate, his doom before the future.

At all times, the theme of love has been the main one; many writers glorified the relationship between a man and a woman. Ivan Alekseevich was no exception; he writes about love in many stories. Love is the purest and brightest feeling in the world. The theme of love is eternal in any era.

In Bunin's works, the writer describes the intimate and secret things that happen between two people. The work of Ivan Alekseevich can be divided into periods. Thus, the collection “Dark Alleys,” written during the World War, is dedicated entirely to love. The collection contains so much love and warm feelings, it is simply filled with love.

Bunin believes that love is a great feeling, even if this love is unrequited. The writer believes that any love has the right to life. Also, having read the stories of Ivan Alekseevich, you can see that love in his works goes next to death. He seems to draw the line that behind a great bright feeling there can be death.

In some of his stories, Bunin writes that love is not always beautiful and sunny, and maybe the love story will end tragically. So, for example, in the story “Sunstroke” his characters meet on a ship, where a wonderful feeling flares up between them. The girl in love tells the lieutenant that the feeling that visited them was like a sunstroke that clouded their minds. She says that she has never experienced anything like this and is unlikely to ever experience it. Unfortunately, the lieutenant realizes very late how much he fell in love with the girl, because he did not even know her last name or where she lives.

The lieutenant was ready to die for one more day spent with the girl he loved so much. He was overwhelmed with feelings, but they were big and bright.

In another story, Bunin describes unrequited love a young guy to a girl who doesn't pay any attention to him. Nothing pleases a girl and even a guy’s love doesn’t make her happy. At the end of the story, she goes to a monastery, where she thinks she will find happiness.

In another story, Ivan Alekseevich writes about a triangle in which a guy cannot choose between passion and love. The whole story he rushes between girls and everything ends tragically.

In Bunin's works, where he writes about love, all aspects of this feeling are described. After all, love is not only joy and happiness, but also suffering and grief. Love is a great feeling that you often have to fight for.

Essay Theme of love in the works of Bunin

The theme of love has always been and is an integral part of any work. I. A. Bunin revealed it especially clearly in his stories. The writer described love as a tragic and deep feeling; he tried to reveal to the reader all the secret corners of this strong attraction.

In Bunin’s works, such as “Dark Alleys”, “Cold Autumn”, “Sunstroke”, love is shown from several sides. On the one hand, this feeling can bring great happiness, on the other hand, a bright and ardent feeling inflicts deep wounds on a person’s soul, causing days of only suffering.

For the author, love was not just a naive feeling, it was strong and real, often accompanied by tragedy, and in some moments, death. The theme of love, in different times creative path, opened from different sides. At the beginning of his work, Bunin described love between young people as something easy, natural and open. She is beautiful and gentle, but at the same time she can be disappointing. For example, in the story “Dawn All Night” he describes the strong love of a simple girl for young man. She is ready to give all her youth and soul to her loved one, to completely dissolve in him. But reality can be cruel, and as often happens, falling in love passes and a person begins to look at many things differently. And in this work he clearly describes the breakdown of a relationship that brought only pain and disappointment.

At a certain period of his time, Bunin emigrated from Russia. It was at this time that love became a mature and deep feeling for him. He began to write about her with sadness and longing, remembering his past years of life. This is clearly reflected in the novel “Mitya’s Love,” written by him in 1924. At first everything goes well, feelings are strong and reliable, but later they will lead the main character to death. Bunin wrote not only about the mutual love of two young people, but in some of his works one can also find a love triangle: “The Caucasus” and “The Fairest of the Sun.” The happiness of some inevitably brings heartache and disappointment for the third.

Love played a special role in his great work, “Dark Alleys,” written during the war years. In it, it is depicted as great happiness, despite the fact that it ends in tragedy in the end. The love of two people who met each other already in mature age, shown in the story "Sunstroke". It was during this period of life that they so needed to experience this true feeling. The love of a lieutenant and a mature woman was doomed in advance and could not unite them for life. But after parting, she left the sweet bitterness of pleasant memories in their hearts.

In all his stories, Bunin glorifies love, its diversity and contradictions. If there is love, a person becomes infinitely bright, the true beauty of his inner world and values ​​​​in relation to his loved one are revealed. Love in Bunin’s understanding is a true, selfless, pure feeling, even if after a sudden outbreak and attraction it can lead to tragedy and deep disappointment.

Several interesting essays

Composition

There was, however, one problem that Bunin not only was not afraid of, but, on the contrary, went towards it with all his soul. He was occupied with it for a long time, he wrote in the full sense, as they would say now, enlisted, and neither war nor revolution could shake him, tied to it, - we're talking about about love.

Here, in a field full of unexpressed shades and ambiguities, his gift found worthy use. He described love in all states - and in emigration even more closely, more concentratedly - he knew how to find it even where it was not yet there, waiting, like that nurse on the train (“Sister”), in whom “it’s quiet and sinful.” iconographic black eyes shine,” and where she barely dreams and will never come true (“Old Port”), and where she languishes unrecognized (“Ida”), and where she meekly serves something infinitely alien to her (“Gotami”), turns into passion (“The Killer”) or, in amazement, does not discover his past, subject to destructive time (“In the Night Sea”). All this was grasped in new details that had not yet been given to anyone and became fresh, today’s for any time.

Love in Bunin’s depiction amazes not only with the power of artistic representation, but also with its subordination to some internal laws unknown to man. They rarely break through to the surface: most people do not experience their fatal effects until the end of their days. Such a depiction of love unexpectedly gives Bunin’s sober, “merciless” talent a romantic glow. The proximity of love and death, their conjugation was an obvious fact for Bunin, never subject to doubt. However, the catastrophic nature of existence, the fragility of human relationships and existence itself - all these favorite Bunin themes after the gigantic social cataclysms that shook Russia were filled with a new, formidable meaning. “Love is beautiful” and “love is doomed” - these concepts, having finally shifted, coincided, carrying in the depths, in the grain of each story, the personal grief of Bunin the emigrant.

He is looking for examples of a volcanic eruption of passion, tragically subordinating a person to its blind forces, and is ready to follow such plots, without fear of breakdowns, runs to other levels, which under other circumstances his strict taste would not allow, as, for example, in “The Case of the Cornet Elagin "(1925). Extraordinary strength and sincerity of feeling are characteristic of the heroes of Bunin's stories. Is Sunstroke (1925) a retelling of run-of-the-mill adultery? “I give you my word of honor,” the woman says to the lieutenant, “that I am not at all what you might think of me. Nothing even similar to what happened has ever happened to me, and there never will be again. It was as if an eclipse had come over me... Or, rather, we both got something like sunstroke...” It is difficult to find a story that in such a condensed form and with such force would convey the drama of people who suddenly knew true, too happy love; so happy that the intimacy with this little woman lasted one more day (both know this), and the love that illuminated their whole gray life would immediately leave them, cease to be a “sunstroke.” During the years of loneliness, memories and a slow, but, as it might have seemed then, oblivion that surrounded him for a long time, Bunin’s work concentrated attention on several “first-born” problems - love, death, the memory of Russia. However, the Russian language, the same one that supported Turgenev “in the days of grave doubts about the fate of the homeland,” remained with him and continued to be the best manifestation of his talent. In Bunin’s speech, the art of description was preserved and continued to be improved, the same art that Leo Tolstoy recognized when reading his early prose (“it’s raining, and it’s written so that Turgenev wouldn’t have written like that, and there’s nothing to say about me”). And although Bunin did not hear this review, his “rains” continued to amaze the reader...

Among the various topics that occupied Bunin in turn, at this time there was also some common desire. It began soon after his first moment of irritation passed and he wrote all the speeches, speeches and half-stories, half-articles with which he responded to the events that brought him to other shores. Further, the more often and in more detail the image of Russia, which he knew and now changed his mind again, began to return to his short stories, the more noticeable was their closeness and attraction to each other. Sometimes these were entire series, consisting of sketch stories, seemingly completed, and at the same time open, pointing somewhere further (“Rusak”, “In the Garden”, “Snowdrop”, etc.) - like sketch sheets from the same album; sometimes something larger, like a completed fragment, some corner of a picture to be painted (“Distant”) - but one way or another this whole suggested itself more and more insistently, was indicated. Somewhere inside him, “The Life of Arsenyev” (1927-1937), a huge canvas depicting old Russia, was already preparing and coming forward.

 

 
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