The theme of love in the story “Garnet Bracelet. Essay “Garnet bracelet: the theme of love What kind of love appears before me?”
A.I. Kuprin wrote a beautiful and sad story about love that every person would like to experience. The story “The Garnet Bracelet” is about just such a sublime and selfless feeling. And now readers continue to debate whether the main character did the right thing by refusing her admirer. Or perhaps an admirer would make her happy? To talk about this topic, you need to characterize Zheltkov from " Garnet bracelet".
Description of the appearance of a fan of Vera
What is remarkable about this gentleman and why did the author decide to make him the main character? Maybe there is something unusual in the characterization of Zheltkov in the story “The Garnet Bracelet”? For example, in many romantic stories The main characters have a beautiful or memorable appearance. It should be immediately noted that the name of the main character is not indicated in the story (perhaps his name is George). This can be explained by the writer’s attempts to show the insignificance of a person in the eyes of society.
Zheltkov was tall and had a thin build. His face looks more like a girl’s: soft features, blue eyes and a stubborn chin with a dimple. It is the last point that indicates that despite the apparent pliability of nature, this person is actually stubborn and does not like to back down from his decisions.
He looked to be 30-35 years old, i.e. he was already an adult man and a fully formed personality. There was a nervousness in all his movements: his fingers were constantly fiddling with the buttons, and he himself was pale, which indicates his strong mental agitation. If you rely on external characteristics Zheltkov from “The Garnet Bracelet”, we can conclude that he has a soft, receptive nature, is prone to experiences, but at the same time is not devoid of perseverance.
The situation in the main character's room
For the first time, Kuprin “brings” his character to the reader during the visit of her husband and brother main character. Before this, its existence was known only through letters. To the characterization of Zheltkov in “The Garnet Bracelet” we can add a description of his living conditions. The sparse decoration of the room emphasizes it social status. After all, the reason that he could not openly communicate with Vera was social inequality.
The room had low ceilings and round windows barely illuminated it. The only furniture was a narrow bed, an old sofa and a table covered with a tablecloth. The whole situation suggests that the apartment is occupied by a person who is not at all rich and does not strive for comfort. But Zheltkov didn’t need this: there was only one woman in his life with whom he could be happy, but she was already married. Therefore, the man did not even think about starting a family. That is, Zheltkov’s characterization in “The Garnet Bracelet” is complemented by an important quality - he is monogamous.
The fact that the house has small windows is indicative. The room is a reflection of the existence of the main character. There were few joys in his life, it was full of difficulties and the only bright ray for the unfortunate man was Vera.
Zheltkov's character
Despite the insignificance of his position, main character had a sublime nature, otherwise he would not have been capable of such selfless love. The man served as an official in some chamber. The fact that he had money is informed to the reader from a letter in which Zheltkov writes that he could not give Vera a gift worthy of her due to limited funds.
Zheltkov was a well-mannered and modest person; he did not consider himself endowed with subtle taste. For the owner of the room he rented, Zheltkov became like his own son - his manner was so courteous and kind-hearted.
Vera's husband discerned in him a noble and honest nature that was incapable of deception. The main character immediately admits to him that he cannot stop loving Vera, because this feeling is stronger than him. But he will no longer bother her, because she asked for it, and the peace and happiness of his beloved is more important than anything else.
The story of Zheltkov’s love for Vera
Despite the fact that this is an unrequited romance in letters, the writer was able to show a sublime feeling. Therefore unusual love story has occupied the minds of readers for several decades. As for Zheltkov’s characterization in “The Garnet Bracelet,” it is precisely his willingness to be content with little, the ability for selfless love, that reveals the nobility of his soul.
He first saw Vera 8 years ago and immediately realized that she was the one, simply because there is no better woman in the world.
And all this time Zhelktov continued to love her, not expecting any reciprocity. He followed her, wrote letters, but not for the purpose of persecution, but simply because he sincerely loved her. Zheltkov did not want anything for himself - for him, the most important thing was Vera’s well-being. The man did not understand what he did to deserve such happiness - a bright feeling for her. Vera's tragedy is that she only realized at the very end that this was the very love that women dream of. She felt that Zheltkov forgave her because his love was selfless and sublime. In Kuprin's "Garnet Bracelet", Zheltkov's characterization is not a description of one person, but of a true, constant, precious feeling.
Yes, I foresee suffering, blood and death. And I think that it is difficult for the body to part with the soul, but, Beautiful One, praise to you, passionate praise and quiet love. "Hallowed be Thy name"...
In my sad dying hour, I pray only to you. Life could be wonderful for me too. Don't complain, poor heart, don't complain. In my soul I call upon death, but in my heart I am full of praise to you: “Hallowed be thy name”...
A. Kuprin
In the 20th century, in an era of cataclysms, during a period of political and social instability, when a new attitude towards universal human values began to take shape, love often became the only moral category that survived in a collapsing and dying world. The theme of love became central in the works of many writers at the beginning of the century. It became one of the central themes in the work of A. I. Kuprin. Love in his works is always unselfish, selfless, it is not touched by “any of life’s conveniences, calculations and compromises.” But this love is always tragic, obviously doomed to suffering. Heroes pass away. But their feelings stronger than death. Their feelings don't die. Is this why the images of “Olesya”, “The Duel”, “Shulamithi”, “Garnet Bracelet” remain in the memory for so long?
The story "Shulamith" (1908), written based on the biblical Song of Songs, presents Kuprin's ideal of love. He describes such “tender and fiery, devoted and beautiful love, which alone is more valuable than wealth, glory and wisdom, which is more valuable than life itself, because it does not even value life and is not afraid of death.” The story "The Garnet Bracelet" (1911) was intended to prove that such love exists in modern world, and refute the opinion expressed in the work by General Anosov, the grandfather of the main character: “... love among people has taken... vulgar forms and has simply descended to some kind of everyday convenience, to a little entertainment.” And men are to blame for this, “at twenty years old, jaded, with chicken bodies and hare souls, incapable of strong desires, of heroic deeds, of tenderness and adoration before love...”
Kuprin presented the story, which others perceive as an anecdote about a telegraph operator who fell in love, as a touching and sublime Song of Songs about true love.
The hero of the story is Zheltkov G.S. Pan Yezhiy - an official of the control chamber, a young man of pleasant appearance, “about thirty, thirty-five years old.” He is “tall, thin, with long fluffy, soft hair”, “very pale, with a gentle girlish face, with blue eyes and a stubborn childish chin with a dimple in the middle." We learn that Zheltkov is musical and endowed with a sense of beauty. The spiritual appearance of the hero is revealed in his letters to Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina, in a conversation with her husband on the eve of suicide, but he is most fully characterized by "seven years of hopeless and polite love."
Vera Nikolaevna Sheina, with whom the hero is in love, attracts with her “aristocratic” beauty, inherited from her mother, “with her tall flexible figure, gentle, but cold and proud face, beautiful, although rather large hands and that charming sloping shoulders that can be seen on ancient miniatures." Zheltkov considers her extraordinary, sophisticated and musical. He “began to pursue her with his love” two years before his marriage. When he first saw the princess in a box at the circus, he said to himself: “I love her because there is nothing like her in the world, there is nothing better, there is no animal, no plant, no star, no more beautiful... and more tender person.” ". He admits that since then he “has no interest in anything in life: neither politics, nor science, nor philosophy, nor concern for the future happiness of people.” For Zheltkov, in Vera Nikolaevna “it’s as if all the beauty of the earth was embodied.” It is no coincidence that he constantly talks about God: “God was pleased to send me, as great happiness, love for you,” “love with which God was pleased to reward me for something.”
At first, Zheltkov’s letters to Princess Vera were of a “vulgar and curiously ardent” nature, “although they were quite chaste.” But over time, he began to reveal his feelings more restrainedly and delicately: “I blush at the memory of my audacity seven years ago, when I dared to write stupid and wild letters to you, young lady... Now only awe, eternal admiration remains in me and slavish devotion." “For me, my whole life lies only in you,” writes Zheltkov to Vera Nikolaevna. In this life, every moment is precious to him when he sees the princess or watches her with excitement at a ball or in the theater. When he leaves this life, he burns everything dear to his heart: Vera’s handkerchief, which she forgot at the ball in the Noble Assembly, her note asking “not to bother her anymore with your outpourings of love,” the program for the art exhibition that the princess held in her hand, and then I forgot it on the chair when leaving.
Knowing full well that his feelings are unrequited, Zheltkov hopes and is “even sure” that someday Vera Nikolaevna will remember him. She, without knowing it, hurts him painfully, pushes him to suicide, uttering the phrase in a telephone conversation: “Oh, if you only knew how tired I am of this whole story. Please stop it as soon as possible.” However, in farewell letter the hero “from the depths of his soul” thanks Vera Nikolaevna for the fact that she was his “only joy in life, the only consolation.” He wishes her happiness and that “nothing temporary or worldly should disturb” her “beautiful soul.”
Zheltkov is the chosen one. His love is “selfless, selfless, not expecting reward...”. The one about which it is said “strong as death”... the kind of love “for which to accomplish any feat, to give one’s life, to go to torment is not work at all, but one joy...”. In his own words, this love was sent to him by God. He loves, and his feeling “contains the whole meaning of life - the whole universe!” Every woman, in the depths of her heart, dreams of such love - “holy, pure, eternal... unearthly,” “united, all-forgiving, ready for anything.”
And Vera Nikolaevna is also the chosen one, because it was her life’s path that was “crossed” by the real, “modest and selfless” true love. And if “almost every woman is capable of the highest heroism in love,” then men in the modern world, unfortunately, have become impoverished in spirit and body; But Zheltkov is not like that. The date scene reveals many aspects of this person's character. At first he is lost (“jumped up, ran to the window, fiddling with his hair”), admits that now “the most difficult moment has come” in his life, and his whole appearance testifies to indescribable mental anguish: he speaks with Shein and Tuganovsky “with only his jaws” , and his lips are “white... like a dead man’s.” But self-control quickly returns to him, Zheltkov again regains the gift of speech and the ability to reason sensibly. As a sensitive person and able to understand people, he immediately rebuffed Nikolai Nikolaevich, stopped paying attention to his stupid threats, but in Vasily Lvovich he guessed a smart, understanding person, capable of listening to his confession. During this meeting, when a difficult conversation took place with the husband and brother of his beloved and Zheltkov was returned his gift - a wonderful garnet bracelet, a family heirloom, which he calls a “modest loyal offering,” the hero demonstrated a strong will.
After calling Vera Nikolaevna, he decided that he had only one way out - to die, so as not to cause any more inconvenience to his beloved. This step was the only possible one, because his whole life was centered around his beloved, and now he is denied even the last little thing: to stay in the city, “so that he can see her at least occasionally, of course, without showing his face to her.” Zheltkov understands that life away from Vera Nikolaevna will not bring relief from “sweet delirium,” because wherever he is, his heart will remain at the feet of his beloved, “every moment of the day” will be filled with Her, the thought of Her, dreams of Her. Having made this difficult decision, Zheltkov finds the strength to explain himself. His excitement is revealed by his behavior (“he has ceased to act like a gentleman”) and his speech, which becomes businesslike, categorical and harsh. “That’s all,” said Zheltkov, smiling arrogantly. “You will never hear from me again and, of course, you will never see me again... It seems that I did everything I could?”
For the hero, farewell to Vera Nikolaevna is farewell to life. It is no coincidence that Princess Vera, bending over the deceased to place a rose, notices that “deep importance” is hidden in his closed eyes, and his lips smile “blissfully and serenely, as if he, before parting with life, had learned some deep and sweet secret that had resolved his entire human life." Last words Zheltkova - words of gratitude for the fact that the princess was his “only joy in life, the only consolation, the only thought”, wishes for the happiness of his beloved and the hope that she will fulfill his last request: to perform the Sonata in D major No. 2, op. 2.
All of the above convinces us that the image of Zheltkov, painted by Kuprin with such nobility and enlightened love, is not the image of a “small”, pitiful, defeated by love, poor in spirit person. No, when he passes away, Zheltkov remains strong and selflessly loving. He reserves the right to choose and protects his human dignity. Even Vera Nikolaevna’s husband understood how deep this man’s feeling was and treated him with respect: “I will say that he loved you, and was not crazy at all,” Shein reports after meeting Zheltkov. “I didn’t take my eyes off him.” and I saw every movement, every change in his face. And for him there was no life without you. It seemed to me that I was present at the enormous suffering from which people die."
Inconspicuous official, " small man"with a funny surname Zheltkov performed a feat of self-sacrifice in the name of the happiness and tranquility of his beloved woman. Yes, he was obsessed, but obsessed with a high feeling. It was “not a disease, not a manic idea.” It was love - great and poetic, filling life with meaning and content that saves a person and humanity itself from moral degeneration. Love, which only the chosen ones are capable of. Love, “which every woman dreams of... love that is repeated only once in a thousand years.”
Kuprin in his works shows us true love, where there is not an ounce of self-interest, and which does not crave any reward. And love in the story “The Garnet Bracelet” is described as all-consuming, it is not just a hobby, but a great feeling for life.
In the story we see the true love of one poor official Zheltkov for the married Vera Shein, how happy he is to simply love, without demanding anything in return. And as we see, it didn’t matter to him at all that she didn’t need him. And as proof of his boundless love, he gives Vera Nikolaevna a garnet bracelet, the only valuable thing that he inherited from his mother.
Vera’s relatives, dissatisfied with the interference in their personal life, ask Zheltkov to leave her alone and not write letters, which she doesn’t care about anyway. But is it really possible to take away love?
The only joy and meaning in Zheltkov’s life was his love for Vera. He did not have any goals in life, he was no longer interested in anything.
As a result, he decides to commit suicide and fulfills Vera’s will by leaving her. Zheltkova’s love will remain unrequited...
She will realize late that it was real love, the one that many can only dream of, passed her by. Later, looking at the dead Zheltkov, Vera will compare him with the greatest people.
The story “The Garnet Bracelet” colorfully shows us all the torment and tender feelings that are contrasted with the lack of spirituality in this world, where a lover is ready to do anything for the sake of his beloved.
A person who has managed to love so reverently has some special concept of life. And even though Zheltkov was only an ordinary person, he turned out to be above all established norms and standards.
Kuprin portrays love as an unattainable mystery, but for such love there is no doubt. “The Garnet Bracelet” is a very interesting and at the same time sad work, in which Kuprin tried to teach us to appreciate something in life in a timely manner...
Thanks to his works, we find ourselves in a world where selfless and good people. Love is passion, it is a powerful and real feeling that shows the best qualities of the soul. But besides all this, love is truthfulness and sincerity in relationships.
Option 2
Love - this word evokes completely different emotions. It can carry both a positive and negative attitude. Kuprin was a unique author who could combine several areas of love in his works. One of these stories was “The Garnet Bracelet.”
The author has always been sensitive to such a phenomenon as love, and in his story he exalted it, one might say, idolized it, which made his work so magical. The main character, the official Zheltkov, was madly in love with a lady named Vera, although he was able to open up to her entirely only at the end of his life. life path. At first Vera did not know how to react, because she received letters with declarations of love, and her family laughed and mocked her. Only Vera’s grandfather suggested that the words written in the letters may not be empty, then the granddaughter will miss the love that all girls in the world dream of.
Love is shown as a bright, pure feeling, and the object of official Zheltkov’s adoration appears before us as an example of the female ideal. Our hero is ready to envy absolutely everything that surrounds and touches Vera. He envies the trees she could touch as she passed, the people she talked to along the way. Therefore, when the realization of the hopelessness of his love and life came to him, he decides to give the woman he loves a gift with which, although not on his own, he will be able to touch her. This bracelet was the most expensive item our poor hero had.
Love at a distance was very difficult for him, but he cherished it in his heart for a long time. In parting, before his death, he wrote her one last letter, in which he said that he was leaving this life at the behest of God, and that he was blessing her and wishing her further happiness. But one can understand that Vera, who realized her chance too late, will no longer be able to live calmly and happily; perhaps this was the only true and sincere love that was waiting for her in life, and she missed it.
In this story by Kuprin, love has a tragic connotation, because it remained an unopened flower in the lives of two people. At first she was unresponsive for a very long time, but when she began to sprout into the second heart, the first, already exhausted from waiting, stopped beating.
The work “Garnet Bracelet” can be perceived not only as an “ode” to love, but also as a prayer for love. Zheltkov in his letter used the expression “hallowed be thy name,” which is a reference to the scriptures of God. He deified his chosen one, which, unfortunately, still could not bring his life to a joyful end. But he did not suffer, he loved, and this feeling was a gift, because not everyone is given the opportunity to experience such a strong feeling at least once in their life, for which our hero remained grateful to his chosen one. She gave him, albeit unrequited, but true love!
Essay Love in the work of Kuprin Garnet bracelet
Over the many centuries of human existence, countless works have been written on the topic of love. And this is not without reason. After all, love occupies a huge place in the life of every person, giving it a special meaning. Among all these works, one can single out very few that describe as strong a feeling of love as Kuprin’s work “Garnet Bracelet”.
The main character, official Zheltkov, as he himself describes his feeling, has the happiness of experiencing real, boundless love. His feeling is so strong that in some places he can be mistaken for an unhealthy, mentally ill person. The peculiarity of Zheltkov’s feeling is that this person in no way wants to disturb the object of his boundless love and passion. He demands absolutely nothing in return for this superhuman love. It doesn’t even occur to him that he can cool down and calm his heart just by meeting Vera. This not only speaks of the iron willpower of a person, but also of the boundless love of this person. It is love that does not allow him, even for a moment, to be worthy of the attention of the object of love.
In the letter, Zheltkov calls his love a gift from God and expresses his gratitude to the Lord for the opportunity to experience such a feeling. Of course, both the reader and the other heroes of the work are well aware that Zheltkov’s love brought him nothing more than bitter suffering and torment. But only a person who has experienced all this and felt such a strong feeling of love has the right to judge or understand the hero. Zheltkov is unable to do anything with his love. He knows about the impossibility of his further coexistence with this feeling of love. That is why the best way out for him is suicide. Before this act, he assures everyone in a letter that he has lived a happy life.
"GARNET BRACELET"
Another work that moved me, called “Garnet Bracelet,” also shows true love. In this work, Kuprin depicts the fragility and insecurity of high human feelings. G. S. Zheltkov is one of the employees in a government institution. He has been in love with Vera Nikolaevna Sheina for eight years now, but his feelings are unrequited. Zheltkov wrote to her even before Vera’s marriage Love letters. But no one knew who was sending them, since Zheltkov signed with the initials “P. P.Zh.” They assumed that he was abnormal, crazy, crazy, “manic.” But this was a man who truly loved. Zheltkov’s love was unselfish, selfless, not waiting for reward, “love for which to accomplish any feat, to give one’s life, to go to torment is not work at all, but one joy.” This is exactly what Zheltkov’s love for Vera was. In his life, he loved only her and no one else. Faith for him was the only joy in life, the only consolation, “the only thought.” And since his love had no future, it was hopeless, he committed suicide.
The heroine is married, but she loves her husband, and, on the contrary, she does not feel any feelings towards Mr. Zheltkov except annoyance. And Zheltkov himself seems to us at first to be just a vulgar suitor. This is how both Vera and her family perceive him. But in the story about calm and happy life alarming notes flash: this is the fatal love of Vera’s husband’s brother; the love and adoration that her husband has for Vera’s sister; the failed love of Vera’s grandfather, it is this general who says that true love should be a tragedy, but in life it is vulgarized, everyday life and various kinds of conventions interfere. He tells two stories (one of them even somewhat resembles the plot of “The Duel”), where true love turns into a farce. Listening to this story, Vera has already received a garnet bracelet with a bloody stone, which should protect her from misfortune, and could save her former owner from violent death. It is with this gift that the reader’s attitude towards Zheltkov changes. He sacrifices everything for his love: career, money, peace of mind. And doesn't require anything in return.
But again, empty secular conventions destroy even this illusory happiness. Nikolai, Vera’s brother-in-law, who once surrendered his love to these prejudices, now demands the same from Zheltkov, he threatens him with prison, the court of society, and his connections. But Zheltkov reasonably objects: what can all these threats do to his love? Unlike Nikolai (and Romashov), he is ready to fight and defend his feelings. The barriers put up by society mean nothing to him. Just for the sake of the peace of his beloved, he is ready to give up love, but along with his life: he commits suicide.
Now Vera understands what she has lost. If Shurochka gave up feeling for the sake of well-being and did it consciously, then Vera simply did not see the big feeling. But in the end, she didn’t want to see him, she preferred peace and a familiar life (although nothing was demanded of her) and by this she seemed to have betrayed the man who loved her. But true love is generous - it was forgiven.
According to Kuprin himself, the “Garnet Bracelet” is his most “chaste” thing. Traditional story about a small official and a woman secular society Kuprin turned it into a poem about unrequited love, sublime, selfless, selfless.
The owner of spiritual wealth and beauty of feeling in the story is a poor man - the official Zheltkov, who sincerely loved Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina for seven years. “For him there was no life without you,” the princess’s husband, Prince Vasily, said about Zheltkov. Zheltkov loved Sheina without the slightest hope of reciprocity. It was lucky for him that she read his letters. Zheltkov loved all the little things associated with her. He kept the handkerchief she had forgotten, the program she kept, the note in which the princess forbade her to write. He worshiped these things as believers worship holy relics. “I mentally bow to the ground of the furniture on which you sit, the parquet floor on which you walk, the trees that you touch in passing, the servants with whom you speak.” Zheltkov deified the princess, even when he was dying: “When leaving, I say in delight: “Hallowed be Thy name.” In the boring life of a petty official, in the constant struggle for life, working for a piece of bread, this sudden feeling was, in the words of the hero himself, “... enormous happiness... love with which God was pleased to reward me for something.”
Princess Vera’s brother was unable to understand Zheltkov, but her husband, Prince Vasily Lvovich, appreciated this man’s feelings, although he was forced by the laws of decency to stop this story. He foresaw a tragic end: “It seemed to me that I was present at enormous suffering from which people were dying,” he confesses to Vera.
Princess Vera at first treated G.S.Zh.’s letters and gifts with some contempt, then pity for the unfortunate lover stirred in her soul. After Zheltkov’s death, “...she realized that the love that every woman dreams of had passed her by.”
Vera came into agreement with herself after Zheltkov’s death only after, at the request of the man who committed suicide for her, she listened to “ best work Beethoven” - Second Sonata. The music seemed to speak to her on behalf of Zheltkov’s soul: “You and I love each other only for one moment, but forever.” And Vera feels that in the poor man’s soul at the hour of death, neither anger, nor hatred, nor even resentment really stirred to her, the culprit of great happiness and great tragedy in Zheltkov’s life, and that he died loving and blessing his beloved.
Kuprin showed in his story “The Garnet Bracelet” bright human feelings, contrasted with the callousness of the surrounding world.
In the story “The Garnet Bracelet,” Kuprin, with all the power of his skill, develops the idea of true love. He does not want to come to terms with vulgar, practical views on love and marriage, drawing our attention to these problems quite in an unusual way, equaling the ideal feeling. Through the mouth of General Anosov, he says: “...People in our time have forgotten how to love! I don't see true love. I didn’t even see it in my time.” What is this? Call? Isn't what we feel the truth? We have calm, moderate happiness with the person we need. What more? According to Kuprin, “Love must be a tragedy. The greatest secret in the world! No life conveniences, calculations or compromises should concern her.” Only then can love be called a real feeling, completely true and moral.
I still cannot forget the impression Zheltkov’s feelings made on me. How much he loved Vera Nikolaevna that he could commit suicide! This is crazy! Loving Princess Sheina “for seven years with a hopeless and polite love,” he, without ever meeting her, talking about his love only in letters, suddenly commits suicide! Not because Vera Nikolaevna’s brother is going to turn to the authorities, and not because his gift - a garnet bracelet - was returned. (It is a symbol of deep fiery love and at the same time a terrible bloody sign of death.) And, probably, not because he squandered government money. For Zheltkov there was simply no other choice. He loved a married woman so much that he could not help but think about her for a minute, and exist without remembering her smile, her look, the sound of her walk. He himself tells Vera’s husband: “Only one thing remains - death... You want me to accept it in any form.” The terrible thing is that he was pushed to this decision by Vera Nikolaevna’s brother and husband, who came to demand that their family be left alone. They turned out to be indirectly responsible for his death. They had the right to demand peace, but Nikolai Nikolayevich’s threat to turn to the authorities was unacceptable, even ridiculous. How can the government prohibit a person from loving?
Kuprin’s ideal is “unselfish, selfless love, not expecting a reward,” one for which you can give your life and endure anything. It was with this kind of love that happens once every thousand years that Zheltkov loved. This was his need, the meaning of life, and he proved this: “I knew neither complaint, nor reproach, nor the pain of pride, I have only one prayer before you: “Hallowed your name" These words, with which his soul was filled, are felt by Princess Vera in the sounds of Beethoven’s immortal sonata. They cannot leave us indifferent and instill in us an unbridled desire to strive for the same incomparably pure feeling. Its roots go back to morality and spiritual harmony in a person... Princess Vera did not regret that this love, “which every woman dreams of, passed her by.” She cries because her soul is filled with admiration for sublime, almost unearthly feelings.
A person who could love so much must have some kind of special worldview. Although Zheltkov was just a small official, he turned out to be above social norms and standards. People like them are elevated by people's rumors to the rank of saints, and the bright memory of them lives on for a long time.
The dramatic events that happened to the main characters will not leave anyone indifferent. Unrequited love took the life of a wonderful man who was unable to come to terms with the fact that he could never be with the woman he loved. The image and characterization of Zheltkov in the story “Garnet Bracelet” is key. From his example you can see that true love exists regardless of time and era.
Zheltkov- the main character of the work. Full name unknown. There is an assumption that his name was George. The man always signed documents with the three letters G.S.ZH. Works as an official. For many years he has been unrequitedly in love with Vera Sheina, a married lady.
Image
A young man about 35 years old.
“...he must have been about thirty, thirty-five years old...”
Thin, emaciated. Tall. Long, soft hair hung down over her shoulders. Zheltkov looks sick. Perhaps this is due to the overly pale complexion.
“very pale, with a gentle girlish face, blue eyes and a stubborn childish chin with a dimple in the middle...”
The official wore a light mustache with a reddish tint. Thin, nervous fingers were in constant motion, which betrayed nervousness and imbalance.
Characteristic
Zheltkov was a wonderful person. Well-mannered, tactful, modest. Over the years that he rented an apartment, he became almost a son to the landlady.
The man did not have his own family. There is only a brother.
Not rich. He lived very modestly, not allowing himself any excesses. The salary of a minor official was not high, there was not much to go around.
Decent. Noble.
“I immediately recognized you as a noble person...”
Honest. Sincere. You can always rely on people like him. He won't let you down, he won't deceive you. Incapable of betrayal.
Loves music. Favorite composer Beethoven.
Love in Zheltkov's life
Several years ago, Zheltkov fell in love with Vera after seeing her at the opera. At that time she was not married. He didn't have the courage to verbally admit his feelings. He wrote letters to her, but Vera asked not to bother her anymore. She really didn't like his importunity. Instead of a reciprocal feeling, a wave of irritation rose in the woman. For some time he fell silent, not making any mention of himself, until the time came for Vera’s name day celebration. At the holiday, she receives an expensive gift, the sender of which was the hopelessly in love Zheltkov. With his gift, he showed that feelings had not cooled down. Only now did he understand everything and realize that the letters were stupid and impudent. He repented and asked for forgiveness. Faith became the meaning of life for him. He couldn't breathe without her. She is the only joy that brightens up gray everyday life. His letter was read by Vera’s husband and brother. At the family council, it was decided to stop his love impulses by returning the bracelet and asking him not to bother their family anymore. Vera herself told him about this over the phone. This was a heavy blow for the poor guy. He could not bear it, deciding to die forever, choosing a terrible method for this - suicide.
