What is love for Kuprin garnet bracelet. Love in the work "Garnet Bracelet" by Kuprin: essay

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Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is an outstanding Russian writer of the early twentieth century. In his works, he sang love: genuine, sincere and real, not demanding anything in return. Such feelings are not given to every person to experience, but to discern them, accept and surrender to them in the midst of the abyss life events, only a few are capable.

A. I. Kuprin - biography and creativity

Little Alexander Kuprin lost his father when he was only a year old. His mother, a representative of an old family of Tatar princes, made a fateful decision for the boy to move to Moscow. At the age of 10, he entered the Moscow Military Academy; the education he received played a significant role in the writer’s work.

Later he would create more than one work dedicated to his military youth: the writer’s memoirs can be found in the stories “At the Turning Point (Cadets)”, “Army Ensign”, in the novel “Junkers”. For 4 years Kuprin remained an officer in an infantry regiment, but the desire to become a novelist never left him: first famous work, the story “In the Dark,” Kuprin wrote at the age of 22. The life of the army will be reflected more than once in his work, including in his most significant work, the story “The Duel.” One of important topics What made the writer’s works classics of Russian literature was love. Kuprin, masterfully wielding the pen, creating incredibly realistic, detailed and thoughtful images, was not afraid to demonstrate the realities of society, exposing its most immoral sides, as, for example, in the story “The Pit”.

The story “Garnet Bracelet”: history of creation

Kuprin began working on the story in difficult times for the country: one revolution ended, the funnel of another began to spin. The theme of love in Kuprin’s work “The Garnet Bracelet” is created in opposition to the mood of society; it becomes sincere, honest, and selfless. “The Garnet Bracelet” became an ode to such love, a prayer and a requiem for it.

The story was published in 1911. It was based on real story, which made a deep impression on the writer, Kuprin almost completely preserved it in his work. Only the ending was changed: in the original, Zheltkov’s prototype abandoned his love, but remained alive. The suicide that ended Zheltkov’s love in the story is just another interpretation of the tragic ending of incredible feelings, allowing us to demonstrate as fully as possible destructive force the callousness and lack of will of the people of that time, which is what “The Garnet Bracelet” tells about. The theme of love in the work is one of the key ones; it is worked out in detail, and the fact that the story was created based on real events makes it even more expressive.

The theme of love in Kuprin’s work “The Garnet Bracelet” is at the center of the plot. main character works - Vera Nikolaevna Sheina, the prince's wife. She constantly receives letters from a secret admirer, but one day an admirer gives her an expensive gift - a garnet bracelet. The theme of love in the work begins here. Considering such a gift indecent and compromising, she told her husband and brother about it. Using their connections, they can easily find the sender of the gift.

He turns out to be a modest and petty official Georgy Zheltkov, who, having accidentally seen Sheina, fell in love with her with all his heart and soul. He was content with allowing himself to write letters occasionally. The prince came to him with a conversation, after which Zheltkov felt that he had failed his pure and immaculate love, betrayed Vera Nikolaevna, compromising her with his gift. He wrote Farewell letter, where he asked his beloved to forgive him and listen to Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 2 goodbye, and then shot himself. This story alarmed and interested Sheina; she, having received permission from her husband, went to the apartment of the late Zheltkov. There, for the first time in her life, she experienced those feelings that she had not recognized throughout the eight years of the existence of this love. Already at home, listening to that same melody, she realizes that she has lost her chance at happiness. This is how the theme of love is revealed in the work “Garnet Bracelet”.

Images of the main characters

The images of the main characters reflect the social realities not only of that time. These roles are characteristic of humanity as a whole. In pursuit of status and material well-being, a person again and again abandons the most important thing - the bright and pure feeling who doesn't need expensive gifts and big words.
The image of Georgy Zheltkov is the main confirmation of this. He is not rich, unremarkable. This is a modest person who does not demand anything in return for his love. Even in suicide note he designates a false reason for his action, so as not to bring trouble to his beloved, who indifferently abandoned him.

Vera Nikolaevna is a young woman accustomed to living exclusively in accordance with the principles of society. She does not shy away from love, but does not consider it a vital necessity. She has a husband who was able to give her everything she needed, and she does not consider the existence of other feelings possible. This happens until she encounters the abyss after the death of Zheltkov - the only thing that can excite the heart and inspire turned out to be hopelessly missed.

The main theme of the story “Garnet Bracelet” is the theme of love in the work

Love in the story is a symbol of the nobility of the soul. This is not the case with the callous Prince Shein or Nikolai; Vera Nikolaevna herself can be called callous - until the moment of her trip to the deceased’s apartment. Love was the highest manifestation of happiness for Zheltkov, he did not need anything else, he found the bliss and splendor of life in his feelings. Vera Nikolaevna saw in this unrequited love only a tragedy, her admirer evoked only pity in her, and this is the main drama of the heroine - she was not able to appreciate the beauty and purity of these feelings, this is noted in every essay on the work “Garnet Bracelet”. The theme of love, interpreted differently, will invariably appear in every text.

Vera Nikolaevna herself committed a betrayal of love when she took the bracelet to her husband and brother - the foundations of society turned out to be more important to her than the only bright and selfless feeling that took place in her emotionally meager life. She realizes this too late: that feeling that occurs once every few hundred years has disappeared. It touched her lightly, but she could not see the touch.

Love that leads to self-destruction

Kuprin himself earlier in his essays once expressed the idea that love is always a tragedy, it contains equally all emotions and joys, pain, happiness, joy and death. All these feelings were contained in one little man, Georgiy Zheltkov, who saw sincere happiness in unrequited feelings for a cold and inaccessible woman. His love had no ups and downs until brute force in the person of Vasily Shein intervened. The resurrection of love and the resurrection of Zheltkov himself symbolically occurs at the moment of Vera Nikolaevna’s epiphany, when she listens to the very music of Beethoven and cries by the acacia tree. This is the “Garnet Bracelet” - the theme of love in the work is full of sadness and bitterness.

Main conclusions from the work

Perhaps the main line is the theme of love in the work. Kuprin demonstrates a depth of feelings that not every soul is able to understand and accept.

Kuprin's love requires a rejection of morals and norms forcibly imposed by society. Love does not require money or a high position in society, but it requires much more from a person: unselfishness, sincerity, complete dedication and selflessness. I would like to note the following, concluding the analysis of the work “Garnet Bracelet”: the theme of love in it makes you renounce everyone social values, but in return gives true happiness.

Cultural heritage of the work

Huge contribution to development love lyrics made by Kuprin: “Garnet Bracelet”, analysis of the work, the theme of love and its study have become mandatory in school curriculum. This work has also been filmed several times. The first film based on the story was released 4 years after publication, in 1914.

Them. N. M. Zagursky staged the ballet of the same name in 2013.

The theme of love in Kuprin's story 8220 Garnet bracelet 8221

In the works of A. Kuprin we encounter selfless love that does not require reward. The writer believes that love is not a moment, but an all-consuming feeling that can consume life.

In “Garnet Bracelet” we encounter Zheltkov’s true love. He is happy because he loves. It doesn’t matter to him that Vera Nikolaevna doesn’t need him. As I. Bunin said: “All love is great happiness, even if it is not shared.” Zheltkov simply loved, without demanding anything in return. His whole life was about Vera Shein; he enjoyed every thing of hers: a forgotten handkerchief, a program art exhibition, which she once held in her hand. His only hope was letters, with the help of them he communicated with his beloved. He wanted only one thing, for her gentle hands to touch a piece of his soul - a sheet of paper. As a sign of his fiery love, Zheltkov gave the most expensive thing - a garnet bracelet.

The hero is by no means pathetic, and the depth of his feelings, the ability to sacrifice himself deserves not only sympathy, but also admiration. Zheltkov rises above the entire society of the Sheins, where true love would never arise. They can only laugh at the poor hero, drawing caricatures, reading his letters. Even in a conversation with Vasily Shein and Mirza - Bulat - Tuganovsky, he finds himself in a moral gain. Vasily Lvovich recognizes his feeling and understands his suffering. He is not arrogant when communicating with the hero, unlike Nikolai Nikolaevich. He carefully examines Zheltkov, carefully places a red case with a bracelet on the table - he behaves like a true nobleman.

The mention of the power of Mirza - Bulat - Tuganovsky causes a fit of laughter in Zheltkov, he does not understand how the authorities can forbid him to love?!!

The feeling of a hero embodies the whole idea of true love, expressed by General Anosov: “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 truth, spoken by a “remnant of antiquity,” tells us that only exceptional people like our hero can possess the gift of such love, “strong as death.”

Anosov turned out to be a wise teacher; he helped Vera Nikolaevna understand the depth of Zheltkov’s feelings. “At six o’clock the postman came,” Vera recognized the gentle handwriting of Pe Pe Zhe. This was his last letter. It was imbued through and through with the holiness of feeling; there was no bitterness of farewell in it. Zheltkov wishes his beloved happiness with another, “and let nothing worldly disturb your soul,” he probably also attributed himself to something everyday in her life. I can’t help but remember Pushkin’s words: “I don’t want to sadden you with anything.”

No wonder Vera Nikolaevna, looking at the dead Zheltkov, compares him with great people. Just like them, the hero had a dream, a strong will, just like them he could love. Vera Shein realized what kind of love she had lost, and, listening to a Beethoven sonata, she realized that Zheltkov was forgiving her. “Hallowed be thy name” is repeated five times in her mind, like the five components of a garnet bracelet...

A.I. Kuprin has one cherished theme. He touches her chastely, reverently and nervously. Otherwise, you can’t touch her. This is the theme of love. Sometimes it seems that everything has been said about love in world literature. What can you tell about love after Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet, after Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, after Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina? This list of creations that glorify the tragedy of love can be continued. But love has thousands of shades, and each of its manifestations has its own luminosity, its own sadness, its own fracture and its own fragrance. One of the most fragrant and yearning stories about love - and, perhaps, the saddest - is Kuprin’s “Garnet Bracelet”. In this story, the true romantic Kuprin deifies love. Every word here glows, shimmers, sparkling with a precious cut, but the story describes a tragic love. As General Anosov, Anya and Vera’s beloved grandfather, says in the story: “Love must be a tragedy. The greatest secret in the world! This great love amazes himself an ordinary person, bending his back at the office desk, official Zheltkov. He was ready to adore Vera Nikolaevna from afar, he simply idolized her: “I mentally bow to the ground of the furniture on which you sit, to the trees that you touch in passing, to the servants with whom you speak. Beautiful, praise to you, passionate praise and quiet love. Hallowed be it your name" Zheltkov could not give his love to Vera Nikolaevna every day, every hour, every minute. This is probably why he gave her his great-grandmother’s garnet bracelet - the most expensive thing he had, in order to somehow connect himself with Vera. Zheltkov was incredibly happy just because the hands of his goddess touched his gift. What struck me most was how internal energy Kuprin sings of love. Truly it is a miracle, divine providence, to encounter just such a feeling in life, and here Vera Nikolaevna was lucky. In her destiny, eternal, selfless, sincere love shone, which every woman dreams of and which most men are not capable of. It is probably simply impossible to describe in words the feeling of deepest loss that Vera Nikolaevna experienced when she realized that such love had passed her by. special power What gives the story is that in it love exists as an unexpected gift that suddenly illuminates life, dull everyday life, and shakes up the established way of life. It seems to me impossible without emotional excitement read the end of the story, these amazing words: “I remember your every step, smile, look, the sound of your gait. Sweet sadness, quiet, beautiful sadness covers my last memories. But I won't cause you any grief. I leave alone, silently, as God and fate willed. Hallowed be Thy name." These words are more like a prayer. “The Garnet Bracelet” is a song of love, and at the same time it is an eternal prayer for love... Kuprin said about the “Pomegranate Bracelet” that he had never written anything more chaste. And his remark is correct. Kuprin has many subtle and excellent stories about love, about the expectation of love, about its tragic outcomes, about longing and eternal youth in the soul of a person. Kuprin always and everywhere blessed love. He sent a great blessing to all things: the earth, waters, trees, flowers, heavens, people, animals, and eternal goodness, and eternal beauty contained in a woman.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a wonderful writer late XIX– beginning of the 20th century. His name is on a par with the names of such major masters of words as Chekhov, Gorky, Andreev, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Bunin. But if in the works of these writers there is a central idea, then in the works of Kuprin the main thing is people, their feelings and attitudes. Alexander Ivanovich bows to man, to the strength of his spirit, to the purity of his soul. Kuprin writes about people who have a human element. The author is an individualist, strives to isolate the personality of one person from the personality of another. Kuprin sees something special in everyone that distinguishes him from other people. “He is a romantic in his mood, he likes to dream about what happens once every hundred years, but in his methods he is a realist, gifted with an unusually keen eye, a rare ability to notice little things,” wrote Lvov-Rogachevsky. Observing life around him, Kuprin, like a collector, collects unusual incidents of life. The author is more interested in understanding the personality; in his works there is more personal than universal, like, for example, Gorky.

The life of Alexander Ivanovich was extremely full, rich, and varied. Everything that he saw and experienced in his life was sooner or later reflected in his works.

Biography of the writer

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the town of Narovchat, Penza province, in the family of the collegiate registrar Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin and his wife Lyubov Alekseevna, née Princess Kulunchakova. In the second half of the 17th century, Alexander Ivanovich’s great-grandfather, Prince Kulunchak, was granted an estate in Narovchaty district, Penza province, but soon became poor. According to family legends the ruin of their ancestors occurred as a result of their violent morals, wasteful lifestyle and alcoholism. Kuprin himself was very proud of his Tatar origin. His appearance also speaks of Turkic roots: he had a full face and physique, narrowed, clear eyes. After the death of her father, her mother Lyubov Alekseevna was forced to move to Moscow. Proud and hot-tempered, she had to humiliate herself before officials in order to place her two daughters, the writer’s sisters, in government boarding schools. Lyubov Alekseevna herself moved to the Widow's House with Sasha. For three years, Alexander lived in a completely unsuitable environment for a child, amid old woman intrigues, gossip, fawning over the rich and contempt for the poor. The impressions received here were reflected later in the stories “River of Life” (1906), “Holy Lie” (1914). In the summer of 1876, the writer’s mother managed to place Sasha in the Razumovsky orphanage. Later, Ksenia Kuprina, the writer’s daughter, writes in her book “Kuprin is My Father”: “I think that’s when Kuprin’s wild pride arose. He could never forget her humiliating phrases addressed to high-ranking officials.” In 1917, the writer wrote the story “Brave Fugitives” about this period of his life. The 80s are the years of training in the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps. The impressions of these years are reflected in the story “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”) of 1900. Already from the age of thirteen, Sasha Kuprin wrote poetry, most often while in a punishment cell for his violent temper. In 1888, due to the tearful requests of his mother, who felt that military career will provide for his son for life, Sasha entered Aleksandrovskoye military school. There, for a “serious offense” - for the first published story “The Last Debut” - Kuprin was sentenced to a punishment cell for two days. In 1890, he was promoted to second lieutenant and on September 16 arrived at his place of service - the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment. Kuprin lives in small towns and gets acquainted with the life of army garrisons, customs officers and smugglers, the life of the shtetls of the so-called Pale of Settlement of the Jewish population, with the “harsh, poor, boring life of the black earth outback,” with the “wild, broken language, a mixture of Russian, Little Russian, Polish and Moldovan." These years provide the writer with material for his “war stories” - “Inquiry” (1894), “Lilac Bush” (1894), “ Night shift"(1899), for the famous story "The Duel" (1904-1905), for the story "The Wedding" (1908). To escape from the provincial towns, Kuprin began to prepare for exams at the Academy General Staff. In 1893, he went to St. Petersburg for this purpose. The reason for the collapse in exams is known only from the words of Kuprin himself. In Kyiv, in a barge restaurant on the Dnieper, he saw a tipsy bailiff insulting a waitress, a fight broke out, and Kuprin threw him overboard. The bailiff filed a complaint, which reached Governor General Dragomirov, and Second Lieutenant Kuprin was not allowed to take subsequent exams. From that moment on, the writer lives in Kyiv and publishes intensively in the newspapers “Kievlyanin” and “Life and Art”. In 1896, his first book was published - a book of essays “Kyiv Types”. In the spring, as a correspondent, Kuprin visits metallurgical plants, coal mines, serves as an accountant at a steel plant in the Donbass and begins to work on the story “Moloch”. At the beginning of 1898, the writer lived with the family of his sister Zinaida Ivanovna and his son-in-law, forester Stanislav Genrikhovich Nat, in the Kasimovsky district of the Ryazan province. Kuprin was friendly with S.G. Nat long years, it was a relative forester (as well as a forester-researcher) who opened up to him the world of the forest, hunting, and fishing. “How many wonderful memories are connected in my memory with him! forest districts: Zvenigorodskoye, Kurshinskoye, Zaraiskoye. In them I spent the most blessed months of my life. There I absorbed the most powerful, most fruitful impressions. Yes, that’s where I studied the Russian language and Russian landscape,” Kuprin will remember. Living in Kasimovsky district, in the Nat family, the writer is working on the story “Olesya”.

In 1905, the first edition of “The Duel” was published. It sold out in one month and brought the author all-Russian fame. A fierce literary and critical controversy swirled around the story. In September, Kuprin leaves for Balaklava. At a student party, he reads excerpts from the story “The Duel.” On November 11-15 there was an uprising on the cruiser Ochakov. Kuprin travels from Balaklava to Sevastopol every day to witness the events. On November 15, he became an eyewitness to the shooting of a cruiser and helped hide several sailors who escaped from the Ochakov in the vicinity of Balaklava. Memories of these events and this city formed the basis for the plot of the series of essays “Listrigons” (1907-1911) and “Caterpillar” (1918).

In March 1907, Kuprin separated from his first wife, Maria Karlovna Kuprin. His second wife is Elizaveta Moritsovna Heinrich, a distant relative of Dmitry Narkisovich Mamin-Sibiryak. On April 21, 1908, Alexander Ivanovich and Elizaveta Moritsovna had a daughter, Ksenia. In 1909, the collection “Earth” was published with the text of the first part of the novel “The Pit”. On September 13, Kuprin flies on hot-air balloon, which is managed by the writer’s longtime friend, the famous aviator Sergei Isaevich Utochkin. On October 28, Kuprin in a diving suit descends to the seabed, and in December he writes the essay “Divers” for the series “Listrigons”. In 1912, Kuprin and his family went abroad, visiting the south of France, Italy, and Spain. In 1913, a series of essays “ Côte d'Azur" At the end of September 1914, Kuprin made a trip to the front-line cities of the Western Territory (Dvinsk, Vilno, Rovno). The writer collaborates with newspapers and magazines: “Vozrozhdenie”, “Illustrated Russia”, “Modern Notes” (Parisian magazine).

Only in the summer of 1937 did Kuprin and his wife leave France. In Moscow, the writer was warmly welcomed by a new generation of readers. However, Kuprin is seriously ill, and his condition is clearly deteriorating. In mid-December, the Kuprins received an apartment in Leningrad and left. Since the beginning of 1938, the writer has been plagued by an exacerbation of esophageal disease. At the end of June, Kuprin is transported by ambulance to a Leningrad hospital, where he undergoes a serious oncological operation. On August 25, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin dies. On August 27, the writer was buried on the Literary Bridge of the Volkov Cemetery in Leningrad.

Distinctive features of Kuprin's work

War, love, illness, family life, the birth of children, the burden of fame - he survived all this. I believe that, having rethought everything that he encountered on his life’s path, Kuprin realized that main value– man, human relationships, love and, finally, life itself. Lvov-Rogachevsky in his critical article“The artist-lover of life” wrote: “Kuprin is an artist, his soul is close to the joyful slogan: “Long live life!” He is alien to Tolstoyism, he is akin to the life-loving Tolstoy. He is alien to Veresaev's thoughtfulness, Gorky's revolutionary spirit, and Tolstoy's passion for unanswerable questions. He touched on new topics in his stories.” As a man with great life experience, it seems to me that Kuprin learned that happiness is life itself, the torment and joy of its experiences. Likewise, the heroes of his works are imbued with a consciousness of the meaning and beauty of life, they sincerely sing a hymn to it, but they themselves suffer painfully from it.

Through all his work, Kuprin glorifies nature, “natural” beauty and naturalness. Landscapes occupy important place in his works, they help us imagine the situation more clearly. It was not for nothing that Kuprin’s contemporaries called him an “artist” - so clearly, so interestingly, but at the same time he simply knew how to describe nature. At the same time, the author notices so many little things that I have paid my attention to more than once while being in nature. He is also meticulous when describing his home furnishings: every spot on the wall, every fold on the tablecloth is terribly tempting to him. Without these little things, the picture would not be complete, moreover, it would not be natural, natural. Alexander Ivanovich avoided templates and complex descriptions. In “Ten Commandments for a Realist Writer,” Kuprin wrote: “Do not write: “kissed,” but depict the kiss itself. Don’t write: “crying,” but show those changes in the face, in the actions that paint us the spectacle of “crying.” Always paint, and don’t keep a police report.” The ninth “commandment” says: “bear the plot within yourself, get used to it. Then just get started with the method of presentation.” Perhaps Kuprin’s works are so sincere and realistic because he thoroughly knows what he writes about. At times, even, according to contemporaries, in his work he lost his ego, began to think and live the life of his hero, even speak in his language and with his words.

Every writer can always notice a favorite theme, and Kuprin has such a theme - the theme of love. Love in his works is painful, brings suffering, the end of such stories is tragic (as in “Sulamith”, “Pomegranate Bracelet”) or sad (as in “Oles”). Kuprin exalts the feeling of love, describes it as something amazing, inviolable. The author emphasizes that true love does not occur very often, that the right to experience this feeling is available only to a select few. Zheltkov became such a person in “Garnet Bracelet”. His undivided, unrewarded, but great and strong love does not find a response in the soul of Vera Sheina. Yes, he does not even hope that the princess will “descend” to a minor official. The very knowledge that SHE read his letters and accepted the gift makes him happy. Zheltkov’s feeling, despite the lack of response from Vera, does not weaken, but gets stronger. He continues to love her. It seems to me that no one else has written about such love. Even if we remember Kuprin’s “Olesya,” we will find there strong sympathy, the desire of two young people to be with each other, a reverent passion, but not true love.

The history of the creation of the “Garnet Bracelet”

The “Garnet Bracelet” was first published in the almanac “Earth” in 1911.

Kuprin worked on the story in Odessa. The “Garnet Bracelet” was started in September and completed in early December 1910. The plot of the story is based on a real episode of the family chronicle of the Lyubimovs, good friends of Kuprin. Dmitry Nikolaevich Lyubimov, a member of the State Council, and in 1906-1913 the governor in Vilna, and his wife Lyudmila Ivanovna became the prototypes of Prince and Princess Shein.

". I’m writing “Bracelet”, but it’s not going well. main reason– my ignorance of music. Yes, and a secular tone!” - Kuprin reported on November 21, 1910 in a letter to F.D. Batyushkov. Kuprin’s younger contemporary, the daughter of Odessa doctor L. Ya Maizels, recalled: “In the summer of 1910, Kuprin with his wife and daughter Ksenia lived at Shishkin’s dacha at the 16th station of the Bolshoi Fontan. We are one and a half kilometers away from them at Stoyanov’s dacha. My mother was a pianist. Kuprin asked her to play Beethoven’s “Appassionata” sonata. He was then working on The Garnet Bracelet. The creative collaboration led to the choice of another sonata. Later, the writer sent his mother a book with the inscription: “For the fact that you, Raisa Isaakovna, explained six bars of Beethoven to me, Kuprin sincerely thanks you.”

M. Gorky, having read “The Garnet Bracelet,” spoke about it in a letter to E.K. Malinovskaya in March 1911: “And what an excellent thing is Kuprin’s “Garnet Bracelet.” Wonderful! And I am glad, I am happy holiday! Begins good literature! This recognition is especially valuable if we remember that at the turn of the 1910s, the relationship between Kuprin and Gorky became significantly more complicated, and the creative and spiritual closeness of the “Duel” era was a thing of the past.

In March 1909, Kuprin published the first chapters of the novel “The Pit”. This publication became not so much a literary sensation as a literary scandal: a harsh, frank in detail, naturalistic chronicle of the life of a “house of brothel”, which did not become an artistic discovery, shocked many readers. “Very bad, rude, unnecessary, dirty,” said L. N. Tolstoy about the first chapters of “The Pit.” In 1910-1911, after Kuprin’s wonderful stories about love (“Lenochka”, “In a Family Way”, “Garnet Bracelet”) came out of print, critics, as a rule, contrasted these stories with the novel “The Pit”. A. G. Gornfeld in the article “Kuprin the Romantic” (1911) wrote: “It was as if he decided to remind that there is not only Kuprin “Yama”, but also another idealist, dreamer, romantic. What remains in our memory is not the sweet and sensitive Prince Shein, not the original Anna, not the charming, smart old general, not the heroine of the story, the enchanting Princess Vera, but this strange, first funny, then tragic “Pe Pe Zhe” funny eccentric, he leaves us in a halo nobility, like a certain Don Quixote, like a “poor knight.” Critic V. Lvov-Rogachevsky in the magazine “ Modern world"(1911. No. 3), contrasting "The Garnet Bracelet" with the flow of heterogeneous and "different values" prose of the late 1900s, closely related to the "problem of gender", writes: "Kuprin speaks of love, but not of that bed love, which was reduced to sparrow courtship, to undressing and peeping “Garnet Bracelet” by A. Kuprin is a gift to the new generation, it is a call to Great love" Another contemporary reviewer, contrasting Kuprin’s stories with Leonid Andreev’s prose, wrote: “having read Kuprin, you begin to feel even more clearly the “fearlessness” of Andreev’s fear of the horror of life; the reader comes to the conclusion that Kuprin’s “Lenochka” and “Garnet Bracelet” are true, but terrible the death of Sasha Pogodin-Zhegulev (the hero of L.N. Andreev’s novel “Sashka Zhigulev”, 1911), a young terrorist of neo-populist orientation, is a spectacular fiction and violence against the truth.” Somewhat later, critic E.K. Koltonovskaya, in the article “The Poet of Life (On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary literary activity A. I. Kuprina)" wrote: "Boundless, winged romanticism, in to a greater extent characteristic of our old, draft literature, is distinctive feature best works Kuprina. Idealism is the main nerve of Kuprin’s creativity.” “Garnet Bracelet” is one of the best confirmations.

Lydia Arsenyeva, prose writer, literary critic, a memoirist, recalled that even because of the “Pomegranate Bracelet” there was almost a duel between Kuprin and Antonin Petrovich Ladinsky, poet, prose writer, author of numerous historical novels. One day, Kuprin, A. Ladinsky, Lydia Arsenyeva and her husband were returning to a taxi from some country restaurant near Paris. We talked about literature. In a conversation, Ladinsky said that he considered “Duel” best story Kuprina.

- "Duel"? – Kuprin was surprised. – In my opinion, “Garnet Bracelet”.

Ladinsky insisted on his opinion. Kuprin passionately argued that “The Garnet Bracelet” contains high “precious feelings of people” (Kuprin’s expression). Word for word, and Ladinsky said that he does not understand “The Garnet Bracelet”, since the plot is “implausible.”

What is true in life? – Kuprin answered with anger. - Only food and drink, and everything that is primitive. Everything that does not have poetry does not have the Spirit.

Ladinsky was offended by this phrase, saying that he could not be blamed for misunderstanding or dislike for poetry. The dispute flared up and became more and more violent. Neither Lydia Arsenyeva nor her husband managed to end this dispute

In the heat of the argument, Ladinsky did not notice the main thing that was clearly visible to Arsenyeva and her husband: some dear memory, some “precious” feeling was associated with Kuprin’s “Garnet Bracelet.” Ladinsky repeated:

I have already said that I cannot dispute your opinion, but I do not share it and remain unconvinced.

And suddenly, Kuprin, who had just gotten very excited, said very quietly, hammering out the words:

- “Garnet Bracelet” is a true story. You may not understand, you may not believe, but I will not and cannot tolerate this. Even if you are of a higher rank than me, it doesn’t matter, I challenge you to a duel. The type of weapon doesn't matter to me.

Lydia Arsenyeva noted: “To Ladinsky’s honor, I must say that, understanding the difference in years and Kuprin’s love, he tried to calm Alexander Ivanovich down.

Alexander Ivanovich, what are you talking about? How is it possible? After all, I - but, looking at Kuprin’s face, stopped mid-sentence and said gloomily:

Decent people do not refuse a duel. I accept your challenge."

But still, “Garnet Bracelet” is a true story. Good night and don’t be angry at the old man’s tough temperament.”

Work on “Garnet Bracelet” was intense, with interruptions. In his letter to Batyushkov, Kuprin complained that it was difficult for him to write “Garnet Bracelet: “but it’s difficult and for some reason he doesn’t like to write.” This is very touching, very strong work. Kuprin himself singled it out among all his creations. It was a particularly sweet, especially tender thing for him: “I don’t know what will happen, but when I think about her, I cry; I recently told one good actress - I cry. I'll say one thing. That I have never written anything more chaste.”

5. “Garnet bracelet” and real events

"Garnet Bracelet" is based on real events. The heroine of the work, Princess Vera Sheina, is Lyudmila Ivanovna Lyubimova. Her husband, with whom Kuprin was on friendly terms, served as the prototype for Vasily Lvovich Shein. At first, the anonymous lover did not identify himself, emphasizing that the difference in social status did not allow him to count on reciprocity. But later it turned out that the letters to Lyubimova were sent by someone Zhelty (in the story - Zheltkov), a telegraph employee. In Kuprin, Prince Shein jokingly decides that only some telegraph operator can write like that. In one letter, Zhelty reported that, under the guise of a floor polisher, he entered Lyudmila Ivanovna’s apartment and described the situation. In “The Garnet Bracelet,” Shein again jokingly tells how Zheltkov, “disguised as a chimney sweep and smeared with soot, enters Princess Vera’s boudoir.” This one-sided correspondence continued for two to three years, letters arrived almost every day, thus Lyubimova became tired, and soon she stopped reading them.

The essence of Kuprin's story is its tragic end. In real life, it was more of a humorous incident. The denouement occurred at the moment when, after receiving the garnet bracelet, Lyubimova’s brother and husband went to Yellow. Like Kuprin, he really lived on the sixth floor, huddled in the attic. “The spit-stained staircase smelled of mice, cats, kerosene and laundry,” writes Kuprin, thus trying to emphasize that in such a wretched environment lives a person with unique spiritual qualities. Lyubimov, like Vasily Shein, remained increasingly silent, looking “with bewilderment and greedy, serious curiosity into the face of this strange man" Later he said that he felt some kind of secret in Yellow, a flame of genuine selfless passion. The telegraph operator accepted the bracelet and promised not to write to Lyubimova again. That was the end of it. ABOUT future fate Yellow knew nothing.

In the story, General Anosov says about him: “Perhaps he’s just an abnormal fellow, a maniac, but who knows, maybe he’s yours.” life path, Verochka, crossed exactly the kind of love that women dream about and that men are no longer capable of.” The Lyubimov family completely shared the first assumption.

Also, in reality, there was a home humorous album with drawings and satirical notes by Lyubimov and was kept in the family in a special velvet case. Zhelty and his letters were given a lot of space in it: clippings from them appeared as captions for the illustrations. Kuprin very accurately reproduced their content, but, obviously sparing his hero, does not mention his authorship and addresses the quoted lines to a fictitious person, Shein’s sister. Yellow called Lyudmila Ivanovna Lyubimova diminutively Lima. In one of his messages, he actually described how he imagined her childhood. The phrase “The child grew up, his name was Lima” was in this letter and was pasted into the album under a drawing, the deliberately naive character of which was absolutely accurately conveyed by Kuprin. Yellow also owns the poetic lines about the leg cited in “The Garnet Bracelet,” and the image of the leg also appeared in the album. All this is the genuine work of an unknown telegraph operator, sung and glorified by Kuprin.

However, The Garnet Bracelet is not an exact reproduction of this event. Kuprin's story also uses other observations of the writer. Yellow sent Lyudmila Ivanovna not a garnet bracelet, but a bracelet in the form of a thick gilded inflated chain, and suspended from it was a small red enamel egg with the engraved words: “Christ is Risen, dear Lima. P.P.J.” The story describes a bracelet given by Kuprin to his first wife Maria Karlovna Kuprin-Iordanskaya. The bracelet was covered with small garnets, and in the middle were several large stones. Alexander Ivanovich really liked this decoration.

Also, with Princess Vera Sheina, Lyudmila Ivanovna Lyubimova has in common only the fact that they are both beautiful, and perhaps “the sloping shoulders, which can be seen on old paintings" Sheina is rather a self-contained woman: such an image, obviously, seemed to Kuprin more suitable for the object of selfless passion that flared up without any encouragement. Lyubimova, until the very end of her life, was unusually active, cheerful, mobile, and in Paris (where she died in 1960) she devoted herself entirely to helping needy emigrants. First World War she went to the front as a nurse, organized and led an ambulance train and two Red Cross detachments, worked in the trenches during the fighting and was awarded (a very rare case for a woman) St. George medals of all four degrees.

6. The tragedy of love in “Garnet Bracelet”

“Garnet Bracelet” is a story of true love, the story of an unhappy man who fell in love deeply and unrequitedly married woman, and even then not from my “circle”. Although, perhaps, Zheltkov was happier than all of us - after all, he experienced a real, true feeling. Let me note that he never hoped for reciprocity, he knew that their relationship was impossible, but he continued to remind him of his love, did not cease to prove his feeling. He was sincere with this essentially unknown woman, like with no one else, he devoted his whole life to her. He was happy knowing that she was reading his letters, thinking about him, and she probably would not have refused him the pleasure of accepting the bracelet. Love filled everything in Zheltkov’s life. She was the greatest goal and at the same time the greatest grief in his life. He is not interested in anything: neither the public nor material goods. Who is she, for whom did Zheltkov suffer so much?

Vera, the eldest of two sisters, took after her mother, a beautiful Englishwoman, with her tall, flexible figure, gentle, but cold and proud face, beautiful, although rather big hands and that charming sloping of the shoulders.” Princess Vera Nikolaevna had aristocratic beauty. Kuprin compares her with her sister, Anna Nikolaevna Friesse, who was much uglier than Vera: her face was very Mongolian, her eyes were narrow (besides, she also squinted them due to myopia), her mouth was small, underlip– full and slightly pushed forward. By nature, Anna Nikolaevna was lively, open, smiling; on the one hand, she was faithful to her husband, on the other hand, she did not miss an opportunity to flirt, was gambling and wore extremely revealing toilets. Faith was, I would say, too correct: never in her life would she have visited dubious cafes like her sister, would not have gotten in touch with people not of her “circle”, would never have taken risks, would not have worn that , which is not permitted by decency and fashion. “Vera was strictly simple, cold with everyone and a little patronizingly kind, independent and royally calm.” Vera Nikolaevna's husband, Prince Vasily Shein, is also described as alive, open man: he created a homemade humorous album and knew how to show it to all the guests so that everyone laughed heartily. He himself received great pleasure from this action. Vasily Lvovich loved to be in society and joke. I want to compare him with a boy: he was so cheerful and spontaneous, he remained so young at heart. It seems to me that he had his first love, his first passion for Vera Nikolaevna. He still likes Vera, but now the passion has passed, and the once ardent feeling has grown into a feeling of reliability, confidence and respect for his wife. Likewise, Princess Vera’s former love for her husband “has long since turned into a feeling of lasting, faithful, true friendship.” The only thing she greedily desired was to have children. Vera doted on pretty kids younger sister, but she and Vasily, unfortunately, did not have them.

It seems to me that Vera was too cold, insincere, even callous. After receiving the bracelet and letter from Zheltkov, she was thinking about whether or not to show the gift to Vasily. Vera came to the conclusion that it would be better to show it later - “now not only this unfortunate man will be funny, but I will be funny along with him,” thus, she was not at all excited by the contents of the letter, and was not at all affected by the fact that, since once this The bracelet belonged to Zheltkov’s great-grandmother; it is a very important thing for him. We can say that he gave her the most precious thing in life. It seems that Vera did not pay attention to the letter, but was more interested in looking at the bracelet. “It was gold, low-grade, very thick, but blown and on the outside completely covered with small old, poorly polished garnets. But in the middle of the bracelet rose, surrounding some strange little green stone, five beautiful cabochon garnets, each the size of a pea.” When Vera accidentally turned the bracelet in front of the light bulb, “lovely thick red living lights” lit up in them.

Zheltkov first saw Vera eight years ago at the circus. He immediately realized that he loved her, loved her like no one else in the world. At first, Zheltkov wrote passionate Love letters, no matter how indecent it may seem. His feeling was so strong. It is difficult to imagine whether he hoped for reciprocity. In my opinion, after all, in Zheltkov there was hope for some kind of reciprocity, at least for a meeting, even if it was the first and last meeting to clarify the relationship. Now, seven years later, he was disappointed in some ways, matured in some ways. The once bold letters and impulses were replaced by an awareness of reality, of the “gap” between one’s own and Verin’s. social status. All that remained in the hero was resigned worship, reverence and devotion.

If we turn to Kuprin’s work, we will notice that his heroes, as a rule, have little in common with strong, energetic personalities. There is something “alive” in the author’s characters, that is, they are not eternal optimists or lovers of life. Kuprin's heroes are people who know how to feel, who know how to be happy and sad. So, Zheltkov painfully experiences any injustice. The hero is characterized by such traits as spiritual purity, dreaminess, love of humanity, combined with complete impracticality and lack of will. Yes, he is a simple telegraph operator, he doesn’t even try to be anything more, but that’s just outer side affairs. A person who lives by feelings and knows how to truly love is not interested in material values. In love, the hero is alien to debauchery and cynicism.

The tragedy of love lies, first of all, in the fact that Zheltkov’s feeling is not mutual. Secondly, our hero is a person who sincerely, passionately and devotedly loves, truly loves. However, Vera Sheina was, as mentioned above, “royally calm,” “cold,” “a little patronizingly kind.” She loved nature and children, enjoyed good weather and her sister's visits. But Vera was always somewhat shy, pious, and afraid to go beyond the norm. One could say that Vera is cold, that she is incapable of feeling, that love is alien to her. But that wouldn't be true. Not everything is so smooth in the life of our heroine. The love for Vasily Lvovich that existed in his youth has passed. What remained was a feeling of true friendship. I think that the Shein family did not have enough children. Children bring joy, love and happiness to the family. The birth of a child would rekindle the “fire of love” for the second time, stop the decay of mutual feelings, and finally unite the family. But that did not happen. For many years, there were no children in the Shein family. Vera Nikolaevna, like any woman, passionately desired them. In their absence, she may have blamed herself. Therefore, in my opinion, Vera is quite understandable, because she failed to succeed in the most important thing - motherhood. The Sheins also struggled to make ends meet. Vera Nikolaevna, unnoticed by her husband, denied herself many things. Being in a society that had a lot of money, Vera felt constrained. Thus, her coldness and aloofness can be justified. But this does not mean at all that Vera Nikolaevna is not capable of feeling. Yes, she does not attach much importance to the letters of the stranger PJ. But this has been going on for seven years. Vera is pretty tired of this story. In addition, the Shein family believed that an abnormal maniac was writing to her. These views were so ingrained in Vera that she simply could not imagine anything else. Only Zheltkov’s death made her pay attention to him.

On the eve of his death, Nikolai Nikolaevich and Vasily Lvovich paid a visit to the telegraph operator. Zheltkov, perhaps for the first time in many years, shared his experiences with others. At first he was embarrassed, because in front of him was the husband of his beloved. But then, feeling sincerity on the part of Vasily Lvovich, he confessed his love. The prince believed every word, understood everything that Zheltkov wanted to tell him, but expressed it poorly, barely finding the words. The final but decisive blow for Zheltkov was their telephone conversation with Vera. Vera Nikolaevna's word was decisive. Her wish was to never see or hear from him again. Zheltkov returned to the room after the conversation. “His eyes sparkled and were deep, as if filled with unshed tears.” Until the very last moment, he had the best, the most bright feelings. For him, love was always an enormous happiness, the best thing God gave him. He really wanted to be useful to Vera. But only one thing was required of him - to leave, and he left, left, so that Vera could live better and happier. Until the end of his life, he idolized his beloved and this holy feeling is love.