The main problem of Olesya's story. Moral and social problems in Kuprin's story - any essay on the topic

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin often drew in his works perfect image a “natural” person, one who is not subject to the corrupting influence of light, whose soul is pure, free, who is close to nature, lives in it, lives with it in one impulse. A striking example revealing the theme of the “natural” person is the story “Olesya”.

The story described in the story did not appear by chance. One day A.I. Kuprin visited the landowner Ivan Timofeevich Poroshin in Polesie, who told the writer mysterious story his relationship with a certain witch. It is this story, enriched fiction, and formed the basis of Kuprin’s work.

The first publication of the story took place in the magazine “Kievlyanin” in 1898; the work bore the subtitle “From Memories of Volyn,” which emphasized the real basis of the events taking place in the story.

Genre and direction

Alexander Ivanovich worked at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when a controversy gradually began to flare up between two directions: realism and modernism, which was just beginning to make itself known. Kuprin belongs to the realistic tradition in Russian literature, so the story “Olesya” can easily be classified as a realistic work.

The genre of the work is a story, since it is dominated by a chronicle plot, reproducing the natural course of life. The reader lives through all the events, day after day, following the main character Ivan Timofeevich.

The essence

The action takes place in the small village of Perebrod, Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polesie. The young gentleman-writer is bored, but one day fate takes him to the swamp to the house of the local witch Manuilikha, where he meets the beautiful Olesya. A feeling of love flares up between Ivan and Olesya, but the young sorceress sees that death awaits her if she links her fate with an unexpected guest.

But love is stronger than prejudice and fear, Olesya wants to deceive fate. A young witch goes to church for the sake of Ivan Timofeevich, although she is prohibited from entering there due to her occupation and origin. She makes it clear to the hero that she will commit this brave act, which could lead to irreparable consequences, but Ivan does not understand this and does not have time to save Olesya from the angry crowd. The heroine is severely beaten. In revenge, she sends a curse on the village, and that same night a terrible thunderstorm occurs. Knowing the power of human anger, Manuilikha and her pupil hastily leave the house in the swamp. When a young man comes to this home in the morning, he finds only red beads, as a symbol of his short but true love with Olesya.

The main characters and their characteristics

The main characters of the story are the master writer Ivan Timofeevich and the forest witch Olesya. Completely different, they got together, but could not be happy together.

1. Characteristics of Ivan Timofeevich. This is a kind person, sensitive. He was able to discern a living, natural principle in Oles, because he himself was not yet completely killed secular society. The mere fact that he left noisy cities for a village speaks volumes. The heroine is not easy for him beautiful girl, she is a mystery to him. This strange healer believes in conspiracies, tells fortunes, communicates with spirits - she is a witch. And all this attracts the hero. He wants to see and learn something new, real, not covered up by falsehood and far-fetched etiquette. But at the same time, Ivan himself is still at the mercy of the world, he is thinking about marrying Olesya, but he is confused by how she, a savage, can appear in the halls of the capital.
2. Olesya is the ideal of a “natural” person. She was born and lived in the forest, nature was her teacher. Olesya’s world is a world of harmony with the surrounding world. Moreover, she is in agreement with her inner world. We can note the following qualities of the main character: she is wayward, straightforward, sincere, she does not know how to pretend or pretend. The young witch is smart and kind; one only has to remember the reader’s first meeting with her, because she was tenderly carrying chicks in her lap. One of Olesya’s main traits can be called insubordination, which she inherited from Manuilikha. They both seem to be against the whole world: they live aloof in their swamp, they do not profess an official religion. Even knowing that you can’t escape fate, the young sorceress still tries, consoles herself with the hope that everything will work out for her and Ivan. She is original and unshakable, despite the fact that love is still alive, she leaves, leaves everything, without looking back. The image and characteristics of Olesya are available.

Themes

• The main theme of the story— Olesya’s love, her readiness for self-sacrifice — is the center of the work. Ivan Timofeevich was lucky to meet a real feeling.
• Another important semantic branch is the theme of the confrontation between the ordinary world and the world of natural people. Residents of villages, capitals, Ivan Timofeevich himself are representatives of everyday thinking, permeated with prejudices, conventions, and clichés. The worldview of Olesya and Manuilikha is freedom and open feelings. In connection with these two heroes, the theme of nature appears. Environment- the cradle that raised main character, an irreplaceable helper, thanks to whom Manuilikha and Olesya live far from people and civilization without need, nature gives them everything they need for life. This topic is covered most fully in this one.
• The role of landscape in the story is huge. It is a reflection of the feelings of the characters and their relationships. So, at the beginning of a romance we see a sunny spring, and at the end the break in relations is accompanied by a strong thunderstorm. We wrote more about this in this.

Problems

The problems of the story are varied. Firstly, the writer acutely depicts the conflict between society and those who do not fit into it. So, once they brutally drove Manuilikha out of the village and beat Olesya herself, although both sorceresses did not show any aggression towards the villagers. Society is not ready to accept those who differ from them in at least some way, who do not try to pretend, because they want to live by their own rules, and not according to the template of the majority.

The problem of attitude towards Olesya manifests itself most clearly in the scene of her going to church. For the Russian Orthodox people of the village it was a real insult that the one who served evil spirits, in their opinion, appeared in the temple of Christ. At the church, where people ask for God's mercy, they themselves administered cruel and merciless judgment. Perhaps the writer wanted, on the basis of this antithesis, to show that society has distorted the idea of ​​the righteous, the good, and the just.

Meaning

The idea of ​​the story is that people who grew up far from civilization turn out to be much nobler, more delicate, more polite and kinder than “civilized” society itself. The author hints that herd life dulls the individual and erases his individuality. The crowd is submissive and indiscriminate, and is often dominated by its worst members rather than its best. Primitive instincts or acquired stereotypes, such as misinterpreted morality, direct the collective towards degradation. Thus, the inhabitants of the village show themselves to be greater savages than the two witches living in the swamp.

Kuprin's main idea is that people must turn back to nature, must learn to live in harmony with the world and with themselves, so that their cold hearts will melt. Olesya tried to open the world of real feelings to Ivan Timofeevich. He couldn't understand it in time, but the mysterious witch and her red beads will remain in his heart forever.

Conclusion

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, in his story “Olesya,” tried to create an ideal of man, show the problems of the artificial world, and open people’s eyes to the driven and immoral society that surrounds them.

The life of the wayward, unshakable Olesya was to some extent destroyed by the touch of the secular world in the person of Ivan Timofeevich. The writer wanted to show that we ourselves destroy the beautiful things that fate gives us, simply because we are blind, blind in soul.

Criticism

The story "Olesya" is one of the most famous works A.I. Kuprina. The strength and talent of the story were appreciated by the writer’s contemporaries.

K. Barkhin called the work a “forest symphony,” noting the smoothness and beauty of the work’s language.

Maxim Gorky noted the youth and spontaneity of the story.

Thus, the story “Olesya” occupies important place, as in the works of A.I. himself. Kuprin, and in the history of Russian classical literature.

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Composition

The story “Olesya”, written by A. I. Kuprin in 1898, is one of early works writer, nevertheless attracting attention with the complexity of the problems, the brightness and imagery of the characters’ characters, and the subtle beauty of the landscape. For his narration, the author chooses a retrospective composition when we're talking about from the perspective of a narrator describing long-past events. Of course, over time, the hero’s attitude towards these events changed, he understood a lot, became wiser, more experienced in life. But in those days, when he first arrived in a remote Polesie village, he idealized rural life,
“primitive natures” against the backdrop of nature and was guided by the common belief that for a writer “it is useful to observe morals.” The works that he had managed to “press” into the newspaper by that time are just as far from real life, as well as the hero’s knowledge about the people. Reality does not at all correspond to the expectations of the hero, Ivan Timofeevich. The people are characterized by unsociability, savagery, humiliated obedience, developed by centuries of feudal oppression. The village old women whom Ivan Timofeevich is trying to treat cannot even explain what hurts them, but they always bring offerings to the “lord” and not only kiss his hands, but even fall at his feet and try to kiss his boots. The “local intelligentsia” - the police officer, the clerk - has nothing against this, smugly holding out their hand for kisses and boorishly explaining how these people should be treated. Therefore, in the problem of the people and the intelligentsia raised by the author, the reader’s attention is immediately drawn to the fact that the local “intelligentsia”, which despises these people and takes bribes at every opportunity, in fact, is not such. And the people are ignorant and rude, but is it their fault? Hunter Yarmol is not able to learn to read and write; he is only able to mechanically remember his signature, to which he makes great efforts. For what? Yarmola explains this by saying that “there is not a single literate person in our village... The headman only puts a seal, but he himself does not know what is printed in it...” And it is not at all surprising that the peasants are full of superstitions and fear, hatred of witches who can bring illness and death to people. The story with Manuilikha is indicative here: despite the ability to heal and tell fortunes, and some extraordinary abilities, she is not at all to blame for the death of the young woman’s child, whom she recklessly threatened. But she and her granddaughter were expelled from the village and “her hut was broken so that there would be no more chips left of that damned cup.” Hatred of everything incomprehensible is a consequence of the ignorance and savagery of the people.
The history of the life of the people in the Polesie village, where Ivan Timofeevich arrived, is just an exposition of the story. The plot of the action consists of the hero’s acquaintance with Manuilikha and Olesya. The reader sees the artist’s skill in the way he is shown. psychological picture both heroines. Manuilikha has all the features of a Baba Yaga, but her speech is an indicator of a different level of culture, a different environment than that of the Polesie peasants. Olesya also differs sharply from the Perbrod girls: in her appearance one can feel naturalness, inner freedom, and self-esteem. Her beauty contains slyness, authority, and naivety; she is original and unforgettable, and, of course, makes an indelible impression on Ivan Timofeevich. In the further development of their relationship, the author reveals the problem of the Russian national character. Olesya is trusting, loves nature, kind, but proud, and this is felt in the compulsion that appeared in their relationship after Ivan Timofeevich’s intercession with the police officer: the girl is embarrassed to feel obligated to anyone. However, having learned about the hero’s illness, she is ready to do everything to cure him, regretting that he did not turn to her earlier. Guessing about the hero, she correctly determines his character: “... Although you are a kind person, you are only weak... You are not a master of your word... You will not love anyone with your heart, because your heart is cold, lazy, and you will bring a lot of grief to those who love you.” Indeed, Ivan Timofeevich - a kind person, without copyright A L L Soch .ru 2001-2005 hesitation, he gives the police officer an expensive gun so that he doesn’t kick Manuilikha and Olesya out. Olesya seriously interested the hero, he is in love with her, without thinking about what will happen next. Olesya seems wiser and more mature than Ivan Timofeevich: having foretold herself the grief and shame of this love, she decides to part with the hero, but separation during his illness decided everything for the lovers - it showed the strength of their feelings and the impossibility of parting. Their closeness is the culmination of the development of the relationship between the heroes of the story. Olesya takes full responsibility for further events, all that matters to her is that she is loved. Ivan Timofeevich, unlike his selflessly loving Olesya, is weak and indecisive. Knowing that he has to leave, he cannot muster the strength to say so, postponing his confession until Olesya herself senses something is wrong. He is ready to marry Olesya and take her to the city, but he himself does not really imagine how this is possible. In addition, the thought of a grandmother who cannot be left alone did not occur to him, and he selfishly suggests to Olesya that she either take her to an almshouse, or “you will have to choose between me and grandma.” Selfishness, irresponsibility, and weakness of character of Ivan Timofeevich give reason to speak of him as a typical “reflective intellectual,” a type of character defined in Russian literature by N. G. Chernyshevsky and shown in the works of I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov and others. Olesya is the embodiment best qualities, inherent in Russian national character V female type. Deep sincere love, dedication, a sense of duty are what have always distinguished Russian women, the heroines of A. S. Pushkin, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov and other Russian writers. Olesya does not imagine that she would somehow complicate the life of her beloved: “You are young, free... Would I really have the courage to tie you hand and foot for the rest of my life?” She refuses to marry her beloved, thinking not about herself, but about him, about his well-being. She wants to do something good for him so much that, contrary to her beliefs, she is ready to go to church. And here the hero’s frivolity and irresponsibility are once again revealed: he convinces Olesya to go to church, talking about the mercy of God, but forgetting about the people who hate the “witch” and are not ready to accept her into their society. He acts so simply because of the general belief that “a woman should be pious.” And only the matured narrator, from the height of the past tense, regrets that he did not listen to his heart, his foreboding. The peasant women brutally deal with Olesya, and the shocked hero only now realizes the consequences of his frivolous advice. But Olesya is true to herself - she considers only herself to blame, touchingly worrying about her disfigured appearance, which her loved one may not like. A simple-minded, trusting girl turns out to be morally superior to the educated hero, knowledgeable about life only “theoretically”, not foreseeing the consequences of his selfishness and irresponsibility.
Their separation is inevitable: the ignorant peasants will not forgive the “witches” for the lost harvest. But, knowing about the upcoming separation, Olesya wisely does not tell Ivan Timofeevich about her departure, remembering folk tale about a scared bunny. The hero learns about this unexpectedly, and the bright coral beads given to him by the disappeared Olesya remain an unforgettable detail in his memory. Regret for lost love, tender and generous, sounds in last words storyteller, for whom, of course, this story will not pass unnoticed.
but: she not only left a bright mark in his memory, but also changed his attitude towards life, giving him wisdom and worldly experience.
One cannot help but say about the role of landscape in A.I. Kuprin’s story. The author paints for us the beauty of wild, pristine nature, which subtly conveys the psychological state of the characters. The spring aroma of thawed earth awakens vitality, shading the feeling that is emerging “in the hero’s soul. The enchanting night of love suppresses the heroes “with its happiness and the eerie silence of the forest.” And the approaching thunderstorm, with its mixture of light and darkness, foreshadows “something sinister.” All this gives the reader the opportunity to assert that young A. I. Kuprin is not only a master of images human characters and relationships between people, but also wonderful artist, who subtly senses the beauty of nature and conveys it in his works, a writer who follows the best traditions of Russian classical realism XIX century.

Other works on this work

True love is pure, sublime, all-consuming love.
Such love is depicted in many works by A. I. Kuprin: “ Garnet bracelet", "Sulamith", "Olesya". All three stories end tragically: “The Pomegranate Bracelet” and “Shulamith” are resolved by the death of the main characters, in “Oles” the plot action ends with the separation of Olesya and the narrator. According to Kuprin, true love doomed because she has no place in this world - she will always be condemned in a vicious social environment.
In “Oles”, the obstacles to the love of the heroes were their social differences and prejudices of society. Olesya is a girl who was born and spent her entire youth in the Polesie thickets, wild, uneducated, alienated from people. Locals they considered her a witch, despised her, hated her (the cruel reception she received at the church fence is indicative). Olesya did not respond to them with mutual hatred, she was simply afraid of them and preferred solitude. However, she gained confidence in the narrator from the first meeting; their mutual attraction grew rapidly and gradually developed into a real feeling.
The narrator (Ivan) was struck by her combination of naturalness, “forest soul,” and nobility, “of course, in in the best sense this is a rather vulgar word.” Olesya never studied, did not even know how to read, but she spoke eloquently and fluently, “no worse than a real young lady.” And the main thing that attracted him to the Polesie witch was her attraction to folk traditions, her strong, strong-willed character and freedom-loving, sensitive and capable of sincerely loving soul. Olesya did not know how to pretend, so her love could not be a base impulse or a mask. And the hero felt for her, so sincere, true feelings: he found a kindred spirit in the girl, they understood each other without words. And true love, as you know, is built on mutual understanding.
Olesya loved Ivan selflessly, sacrificially. Fearing that society would judge him, the girl left him, abandoned her happiness, preferring his happiness. Each of the heroes chose the well-being of the other. But their personal happiness turned out to be impossible without mutual love. This confirms the ending of the story: “Lord! What happened?" - Ivan whispered, “entering the entryway with a sinking heart.” This was the apogee of the hero's misfortune.
Love united them forever and separated them forever: only strong feelings prompted Olesya to leave Ivan, and Ivan to allow her to do so. They were not afraid for themselves, but they were afraid for each other. Olesya went to church for Ivan, realizing that danger awaited her there. But she did not reveal her fears to Ivan, so as not to upset him. In their scene last date she also did not want to upset her lover, to disappoint him, so she did not turn her face to him until he “with tender emotion took her head away from the pillow.” She cried out: “Don’t look at me... I beg you... I’m disgusting now...” But Ivan was not embarrassed by the long red abrasions that furrowed her forehead, cheeks and neck - he accepted her as she was, he did not he turned away from her, wounded, for him even then she was the most beautiful. He loved her unconditionally and did not give up his intention to marry her. But in cruel society ossified in prejudices, this was impossible.
Olesya was an outcast from society. People believed that Olesya was causing trouble, casting spells, they despised and feared her, but Ivan believed her. Even when she herself began to assure him that she had witchcraft powers, he had no doubt that she was kind and incapable of harming anyone, that the power contained in her was light, and gossip about her was a superstitious fiction. He could not suspect Olesya of anything bad, he trusted her, which means he felt true love, love based on faith, hope and forgiveness.
Olesya was also ready to forgive Ivan in any situation, to blame herself, but to shield him (although it was because of Ivan that she went to church, she only blamed herself for the misfortune that happened to her). Tears and an inexorable trembling in the reader’s heart are caused by Olesya’s answer to the hero’s request to forgive him: “What are you doing!.. What are you doing, dear?.. Aren’t you ashamed to even think about it? What is your fault here? I'm all alone, stupid... Well, why did I really bother? No, honey, don’t blame yourself...” The girl placed all the blame and all responsibility for what had happened on herself. And for subsequent actions too. Olesya, who had never been afraid of anything, suddenly became afraid... for Ivan. Ivan repeatedly invited Olesya to marry him, expressed assurances to her about their future, happy and together, but the girl was afraid to expose him to the law and rumors, and to cast a shadow on his reputation. And Ivan, in turn, neglected his reputation in the name of love.
Their feeling did not bring them happiness, nor did sacrifices in the name of each other. Society had too much pressure on them. But no prejudices could overcome their love. After Olesya’s disappearance, the narrator says: “With a constricted heart overflowing with tears, I was about to leave the hut, when suddenly my attention was attracted by a bright object, apparently deliberately hung on the corner of the window frame. It was a string of cheap red beads, known in Polesie as “corals,” - the only thing that remained to me as a memory of Olesya and her tender, generous love.” This unforgettable thing symbolized for Ivan Olesya’s love, which she, even after breaking up, sought to convey to him.
The concepts of “soul” and “love” for both heroes were inseparable, therefore their love is pure and immaculate, sublime and sincere, just like their souls are pure and bright. Love for them is a creation of the soul. A feeling devoid of mistrust and jealousy: “Were you jealous of me?” - “Never, Olesya! Never!" How could one be jealous of her, pure and bright Olesya?! Their mutual love was too sublime, strong and strong to allow for an egoistic instinct - jealousy. Their love itself excluded everything mundane, vulgar, banal; the heroes did not love for themselves, did not cherish their own love, but gave their souls to each other.
Such love is eternal, but not understood by society, sacrificial, but does not bring happiness, can be given to not many and only once in a lifetime. Because such love is the highest manifestation of Man. And a person is born only once.

The theme of man and nature has always been one of the main ones in Russian literature. In their works, writers explored man's desire to be closer to nature, its life-giving juices, because the loss of natural harmony leads to the hardening of human relationships, to a hardening of the soul and complete lack of spirituality.

The theme of “natural man” was first stated by the French enlightenment writer J.-J. Rousseau, who believed that only far from civilization, in the lap of nature, can a perfect person who knows no vices be formed. This theme found its poetic development in A. Kuprin’s story “Olesya”.

In 1897, the writer served as an estate manager, where he had the opportunity to observe ordinary people, their way of life and morals. Probably Kuprin believed that it was here, among common people, one can find that very original, natural life from which his contemporaries were moving further and further away.

“Polesie... wilderness... bosom of nature... simple morals... primitive natures...” Thus begins the story about the beautiful nature of these places. Here, in the village, the city gentleman, the writer Ivan Timofeevich, heard the legend about the Polesie witch Manuilikha and her granddaughter Olesya. Weaved into the fabric of the narrative romantic story. Olesya's past and future are shrouded in mystery. Olesya and Manuilikha live in a swamp, in a wretched hut, far from the people who expelled them from the village. Thus, the author assumes that human society far from natural perfection. People are angry and rude. Tragic circumstances, who forced Olesya and Manuilikha to live outside society, allowed them to preserve their natural nature, genuine human qualities.

Olesya is the embodiment of Kuprin’s aesthetic ideal. She is the personification of a whole natural nature.

Nature endowed her with not only physical, but also spiritual, inner beauty. Olesya first appears in the story, carefully holding in her hands the finches that she brought home to feed.

Olesya attracted the main character not only with her “original beauty,” but also with her character, which combined authority and tenderness, age-old wisdom and childish naivety. Ivan Timofeevich learns about the extraordinary abilities of Olesya, who could determine the fate of a person, speak to a wound, and knock a person off his feet. She never used this gift to harm people.

Olesya was illiterate, but by nature endowed with curiosity, imagination, and correct speech. Life in the lap of nature formed these qualities in her. City, civilization - a hostile world for Olesya, embodiment human vices. “I would never trade my forests for your city,” she says.

Ivan Timofeevich, who came from urban civilization, will make Olesya both happy and unhappy. He will disrupt her harmonious world, her usual way of life and lead her to tragedy. Life taught Ivan Timofeevich to control his emotional impulses. He knows that Olesya’s visit to church will not end well, but does nothing to avoid tragedy.

The main character looks like a weak, selfish, internally bankrupt person. Pure love Olesya briefly awakened the soul of Ivan Timofeevich, which was spoiled by society.

How beautiful and romantic this “naive, charming fairy tale of our love was,” recalls Ivan Timofeevich, “and to this day, together with the beautiful appearance of Olesya, these burning evening dawns live in my soul, these dewy mornings, fragrant with lilies of the valley and honey, these hot, languid, lazy June days.”

But the fairy tale could not last forever. Gray days came when a final decision had to be made.

The idea of ​​marrying Olesya more than once occurred to the main character: “Only one circumstance stopped and frightened me: I did not even dare to imagine what Olesya would be like, dressed in a fashionable dress, talking to the wives of my colleagues...”

Ivan Timofeevich is a man spoiled by civilization, a hostage of conventions and false values a society where social inequality exists. Olesya preserved those in their original form spiritual qualities that nature gave her.

According to Kuprin, a person can be beautiful if he preserves and develops the abilities given to him by nature, and not destroys them.

Olesya is pure gold human nature, it is a romantic dream, hope for the best in man.

The theme of love occupies a special place in the work of A. I. Kuprin. The writer gave us three stories, united by this great topic, - “Garnet Bracelet”, “Olesya” and “Shulamith”.
Kuprin showed different facets of this feeling in each of his works, but one thing remains unchanged: love illuminates the lives of his heroes with extraordinary light, becomes the brightest, unique event of life, a gift of fate. It is in love that the best features of his heroes are revealed.
Fate threw the hero of the story “Olesya” into a remote village in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polesie. Ivan Timofeevich - writer. He is an educated, intelligent, inquisitive person. He is interested in people, with their customs and traditions, and in the legends and songs of the region. He was traveling to Polesie with the intention of replenishing his life experience new observations useful for the writer: “Polesie... wilderness... bosom of nature... simple morals... primitive natures,” he thought, sitting in the carriage.
Life presented Ivan Timofeevich with an unexpected gift: in the Polesie wilderness he met a wonderful girl and his true love.
Olesya and her grandmother Manuilikha live in the forest, away from the people who once expelled them from the village, suspecting them of witchcraft. Ivan Timofeevich is an enlightened person and, unlike the dark Polesie peasants, he understands that Olesya and Manuilikha simply “have access to some instinctive knowledge obtained by chance experience.”
Ivan Timofeevich falls in love with Olesya. But he is a man of his time, of his circle. Reproaching Olesya for superstition, Ivan Timofeevich himself is no less at the mercy of the prejudices and rules by which the people of his circle lived. He did not even dare to imagine what Olesya would look like, dressed in a fashionable dress, talking in the living room with the wives of his colleagues, Olesya, torn from the “charming frame of the old forest.”
Next to Olesya, he looks like a weak, unfree man, “a man with a lazy heart” who will not bring happiness to anyone. “You will not have great joys in life, but there will be a lot of boredom and hardship,” Olesya predicts to him from the cards. Ivan Timofeevich could not save Olesya from harm, who, trying to please her beloved, went to church contrary to her beliefs, despite the fear of the hatred of local inhabitants.
Oles has courage and determination, which our hero lacks; she has the ability to act. Petty calculations and fears are alien to her when it comes to the feeling: “Let it be what will be, but I won’t give my joy to anyone.”
Pursued and persecuted by superstitious peasants, Olesya leaves, leaving a string of “coral” beads as a souvenir for Ivan Timofeevich. She knows that for him soon “everything will pass, everything will be erased,” and he will remember her love without grief, easily and joyfully.
The story “Olesya” adds new touches to the endless theme of love. Here, Kuprin’s love is not only the greatest gift, which it is a sin to refuse. Reading the story, we understand that this feeling is unthinkable without naturalness and freedom, without bold determination to defend your feeling, without the ability to sacrifice in the name of those you love. Therefore, Kuprin remains the most interesting, intelligent and sensitive interlocutor for readers of all times.

The theme of love is the main theme in the works of A. I. Kuprin. It is love that makes it possible to realize the most secret principles human personality. Especially dear to the writer are strong natures who know how to sacrifice themselves for the sake of feeling. But A. Kuprin sees...

The image of Olesya makes the reader remember the amazing fairy-tale beauties who, in addition to their beauty, had many talents. The girl grew up in unity with nature and is close to it. It is no coincidence that at the moment of acquaintance, first of all, the main...

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For the greed to seize everything and to respond to everything, even with a trifle, a trifle, for the greed to “get used to life”, or rather to relive it once again, to return the irrevocable, to be with people - this artist knows no equal. He constantly strives to "look in...