The meaning of the name garnet bracelet in abstract form. The story “The Garnet Bracelet” in critical literature

NEW TESTAMENT

The first letter to the Corinthians of St. Paul the Apostle

CHAPTER 13.

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, then I am a ringing brass or a sounding cymbal.

2 If I have gift prophecies, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that Can and move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing.

3 And if I give away all my goods and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love is patient, it is kind, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, 5 does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not think evil, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails, although prophecies cease, and tongues are silent, and knowledge is abolished.

The history of the creation of the story by A.I. Kuprin “Garnet Bracelet”

A.I. Kuprin is one of the most interesting prose writers late XIX- beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of his works in print became a major event literary life. His stories “Moloch” and “The Duel” caused great resonance in society. And the story “The Pit,” published in 1909, was awarded the A.S. Pushkin. With all the diversity creative interests For the writer, one theme remained constant - the theme of love, high and bright feelings. Kuprin is rightfully considered a true singer of love. His works “Olesya”, “Shulamith”, “Pomegranate Bracelet” will forever go down in the history of literature. In them, Kuprin portrays true love as the highest value of the world, as an incomprehensible mystery.

Kuprin worked on “The Pomegranate Bracelet” with great enthusiasm, which he wrote about in a letter to F.D. Batyushkov: “I recently told one good actress about the plot of my work - I’m crying, I’ll say one thing that I have never written anything more chaste.” A little earlier, in a letter to Batyushkov, Kuprin wrote about real prototypes of his work: “Now I’m busy numbering the “Garnet Bracelet”, this is - remember - the sad story of the little telegraph official P.P. Zholtikov, who was so hopelessly in love with Lyubimov’s wife.” In Kuprin's work, the characters received different names, the plot and ending of events were creatively reworked by the author. “The Garnet Bracelet” was published in 1910 and was immediately truly appreciated by the reading public. Later K. Paustovky will call it one of the most “fragrant stories about love.”

Analysis of the story “Garnet Bracelet” by A.I. Kuprina

The story “The Garnet Bracelet” was based on a real incident: the telegraph official Zheltikov was hopelessly in love with the wife of one of the Russian governors, Lyudmila Ivanovna Lyubimova, who once sent a gift to his beloved woman - a simple gilded chain with a pendant in the form easter egg. According to her son, it was “a curious incident, most likely of an anecdotal nature.” However, under the pen of Kuprin, this “curious incident” turns into a tragic love story. And the gilded chain goes into a garnet bracelet. By the way, why in pomegranate?

“This is a stone of love, anger and blood. On the hand of a person languishing in a fever or intoxicated with desire, it becomes warmer and burns with a red flame... If crushed into powder and taken with water, it gives a glow to the face, calms the stomach and cheers the soul. The one who wears it gains power over people. He heals the heart, brain and memory” - this is how in the story “Shulamith” King Solomon, giving jewelry to his beloved, speaks about “the inner nature of stones, their magical properties and mysterious meanings.”

So, main character In the story of the story, Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina received another piece of jewelry - earrings made of pear-shaped pearls - from her husband. Pearls have long been a symbol, on the one hand, of spiritual frequency, and on the other, an evil omen. It is the foreboding of bad omens that pervades the story.

Let's remember where it all begins. From the landscape, from the description of the “disgusting weather” that brought cold, hurricane winds, which were replaced by lovely sunny days. The returning summer is short-lived, just as the calm joy of Vera is short. Her expectation of “something happily and wonderfully” from her name day is now and then overshadowed by seemingly insignificant incidents. Here Anna, her beloved sister, “quickly approached the very edge of the cliff, which fell like a sheer wall into the sea, looked down and suddenly screamed in horror and recoiled back with a pale face.” So they remembered the sea rooster that the fisherman brought in the morning: “Just some kind of monster. It’s even scary.” Here Vera “mechanically counted the guests. It turned out to be thirty.” It's in full swing card game the maid brings a letter and a bracelet with five garnets. “It’s like blood,” Vera thinks with unexpected alarm. This is how the author gradually prepares his readers for the main theme of the story.

The events of the story unfold slowly: preparations are underway for the birthday dinner, guests are gradually arriving. Gradually, its main theme enters the pages of the story - the theme of love. "The rarest gift of high and unrequited love became “enormous happiness,” the only content, the poetry of Zheltkov’s life. The phenomenality of his experiences raises the image of the young man above all other characters in the story. Not only the rude, narrow-minded Tuganovsky, the frivolous coquette Anna, but also the smart, conscientious Shein, who considers love the “greatest secret” Anosov, the beautiful and pure Vera Nikolaevna herself are in a clearly reduced everyday environment” (L. Smirnova). However, the meaning of the story is not at all in the opposition of the heroes - Princess Sheina and the official Zheltkov. The story gets deeper and more subtle.
The theme of love gives significance to the work. With her appearance, the entire narrative takes on a different emotional coloring. Here is the first mention of the word “love” on the pages of the story: “Princess Vera, whose former passionate love for her husband had long since turned into a feeling of lasting, faithful, true friendship, tried with all her might to help the prince refrain from complete ruin.” From the first lines there is a feeling of fading: similar to autumn nature the monotonous, seemingly drowsy existence of the Shein family, where strong relationships were strengthened and feelings seemed to fall asleep. However, love was not at all alien to Vera, the desire for it was simply dulled. She “was strictly simple, cold with everyone and a little patronizingly kind, independent and royally calm.” This calmness is what kills the Yolks.
Zheltkov’s portrait seems to be anticipated by the general’s words: “... very pale, with a gentle girlish face, blue eyes and a stubborn childish chin with a dimple in the middle.” How deceptive this impression turns out to be! Even Prince Shein is able to appreciate the nobility of the soul and the power of love of this thin telegraph operator: “... but I feel that I am present at some enormous tragedy of the soul, and I cannot clown around here.” That is why he will allow Zheltkov to write the last letter to Vera, a letter that will turn out to be akin to poems about love, in it the words that became the refrain of the final chapter will be spoken for the first time: “Hallowed be your name" A few years earlier, in one of the poems in the cycle about To the beautiful lady they were used by the poet Alexander Blok. The gift of foresight that gave her the garnet bracelet. According to an old legend that has been preserved in our family, he has the ability to impart the gift of foresight to women and drive away heavy thoughts from them, while protecting men from violent death.

The problem of love in the story by A.I. Kuprin “Garnet Bracelet”

Love to the point of self-denial and even self-destruction, readiness to die in the name of the woman you love - this theme blossoms in the exciting story “The Garnet Bracelet.”

In the work we're talking about about the pure, selfless, but unrequited love of the poor telegraph operator Zheltkov for Princess Vera Sheina. In my opinion, it was love, not madness. The proof of this is Farewell letter hero: “I am eternally grateful to you just for the fact that you exist. I checked myself - this is not a disease, not a manic idea - this is love that God wanted to reward me for something.”

“It so happens that I am not interested in anything in life: neither politics, nor science, nor philosophy, nor concern for the future happiness of people - for me, my whole life lies only in you.” This feeling displaces all other thoughts from the hero’s consciousness. Indeed, he doesn’t hope for anything, doesn’t seek Vera’s attention or affection, he simply loves her... loves her from a distance. And this is probably the most difficult thing. After all, love is partly a feeling of attraction. He is drawn to his beloved, but he tries “not to cut an uncomfortable wedge into her life,” so his love carries “ destructive force" And in the end, she will “destroy” the hero himself... What else could he do if now there was no hope of seeing Vera, writing her a letter. The princess was the meaning of life, which is now gone. Even if he left for another city, the hero will not stop thinking about his beloved, every moment of the day will be filled with her, thoughts about her, dreams... Why did Zheltkov never meet another woman? Why didn't you even pay attention? Why didn’t you stop loving Vera? She was his deity, who closed his eyes to everyone else and made him happy. Having sent a gift, a garnet bracelet, it didn’t matter to him what the heroine would do with it, the main thing was that she would hold it in her hands. How little he needed to be happy...

It is impossible to read the end of the story without heavy emotional excitement. The author strives to glorify the beauty of a selfless feeling, of which “one in a thousand” may be capable. The key point of the story is the bracelet (it is no coincidence that the author titled it that way); it is after its “appearance” that everything changes. Zheltkov passes away. Vera understands that the love that every woman dreams of has passed her by. It is at this second that she remembers the words of General Anosov about eternal exclusive love. (“Who knows, maybe your life path crossed by true, selfless, true love") The heroine feels guilty for the death of this man.

The final proof true love are the words of Vasily Lvovich, her husband: “I will say that he loves you, and was not crazy at all. For him there was no life without you. It seemed to me that I was present at the enormous suffering from which people were dying, and I even almost realized that in front of me dead man…»

Romantic worship of a woman, knightly service to her - all this Zheltkov gave to Vera. It must be said that the story “The Garnet Bracelet” has become a symbol of true, pure love.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a Russian writer who, without a doubt, can be classified as a classic. His books are still recognizable and loved by readers, and not only because of coercion school teacher, but at a conscious age. Distinctive feature his work is documentary, his stories were based on real events or real events became the impetus for their creation - among them the story “Garnet Bracelet”.

“Garnet Bracelet” is a real story that Kuprin heard from friends while watching family albums. The governor's wife made sketches for letters sent to her by a certain telegraph official who was unrequitedly in love with her. One day she received a gift from him: a gold-plated chain with a pendant in the shape of an Easter egg. Alexander Ivanovich took this story as the basis for his work, turning these meager, uninteresting data into a touching story. The writer replaced the chain with the pendant with a bracelet with five garnets, which, according to what King Solomon said in one story, mean anger, passion and love.

Plot

“The Pomegranate Bracelet” begins with preparations for the celebration, when Vera Nikolaevna Sheina suddenly receives a gift from an unknown person: a bracelet with five garnets flecked in green. The paper note that came with the gift stated that gem capable of endowing the owner with foresight. The princess shares the news with her husband and shows a bracelet from unknown person. As the action progresses, it turns out that this person is a petty official named Zheltkov. He first saw Vera Nikolaevna at the circus many years ago, and since then the suddenly flared up feelings have not faded away: even her brother’s threats do not stop him. However, Zheltkov does not want to torment his beloved, and he decides to commit suicide so as not to bring shame on her.

The story ends with the realization of the strength of the stranger’s sincere feelings, which comes to Vera Nikolaevna.

Love theme

main topic The work “Garnet Bracelet” is undoubtedly the theme of unrequited love. Moreover, Zheltkov is a shining example of selfless, sincere, sacrificial feelings that he does not betray, even when his loyalty cost his life. Princess Sheina also fully feels the power of these emotions: years later she realizes that she wants to be loved and love again - and the jewelry donated by Zheltkov marks the imminent appearance of passion. Indeed, she soon falls in love with life again and feels it in a new way. you can read on our website.

The theme of love in the story is frontal and permeates the entire text: this love is high and pure, a manifestation of God. Vera Nikolaevna feels internal changes even after Zheltkov’s suicide, she learned the sincerity of a noble feeling and willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of someone who will give nothing in return. Love changes the character of the entire story: the princess’s feelings die, fade, fall asleep, having once been passionate and ardent, and turned into a strong friendship with her husband. But Vera Nikolaevna still continues to strive for love in her soul, even if this has become dulled over time: she needed time to let passion and sensuality come out, but before that her calmness could seem indifferent and cold - this puts a high wall for Zheltkov.

Main characters (characteristics)

1. Zheltkov worked as a minor official in the control chamber (the author placed him there to emphasize that the main character was a small man). Kuprin does not even indicate his name in the work: only the letters are signed with initials. Zheltkov is exactly how the reader imagines a man of low position: thin, pale-skinned, straightening his jacket with nervous fingers. He has delicate facial features and eyes blue color. According to the story, Zheltkov is about thirty years old, he is not rich, modest, decent and noble - even Vera Nikolaevna’s husband notes this. The elderly owner of his room says that during the eight years that he lived with her, he became like family to her, and he was a very nice person to talk to. “...Eight years ago I saw you in a box at the circus, and then in the first second I said to myself: I love her because there is nothing like her in the world, there is nothing better...” - this is how it begins modern fairy tale about Zheltkov’s feelings for Vera Nikolaevna, although he never cherished hopes that they would be mutual: “...seven years of hopeless and polite love...”. He knows the address of his beloved, what she does, where she spends her time, what she wears - he admits that he is not interested in anything but her and is not happy. you can also find it on our website.
2. Vera Nikolaevna Sheina inherited her mother's appearance: a tall, stately aristocrat with a proud face. Her character is strict, uncomplicated, calm, she is polite and courteous, kind to everyone. She has been married to Prince Vasily Shein for more than six years; together they are full members of high society, organizing balls and receptions, despite financial difficulties.
3. Vera Nikolaevna has a younger sister, Anna Nikolaevna Friesse, who, unlike her, inherited her father’s features and his Mongolian blood: narrow eyes, femininity of features, flirtatious facial expressions. Her character is frivolous, perky, cheerful, but contradictory. Her husband, Gustav Ivanovich, is rich and stupid, but he idolizes her and is constantly nearby: his feelings seem to have not changed from the first day, he looked after her and still adored her just as much. Anna Nikolaevna cannot stand her husband, but they have a son and a daughter, she is faithful to him, although she treats him quite contemptuously.
4. General Anosov - Godfather Anna, him full name- Yakov Mikhailovich Anosov. He is fat and tall, good-natured, patient, hard of hearing, he has a large, red face with clear eyes, he is very respected for the years of his service, fair and courageous, has a clear conscience, always wears a frock coat and cap, uses a hearing horn and a stick.
5. Prince Vasily Lvovich Shein is the husband of Vera Nikolaevna. Little is said about his appearance, only that he has blond hair and a large head. He is very soft, compassionate, sensitive - he treats Zheltkov’s feelings with understanding, and is unshakably calm. He has a sister, a widow, whom he invites to the celebration.

Features of Kuprin's creativity

Kuprin was close to the theme of the character’s awareness of life’s truth. He saw the world around him in a special way and sought to learn something new; his works are characterized by drama, a certain anxiety, and excitement. “Cognitive pathos” - they call it business card his creativity.

In many ways, Kuprin’s work was influenced by Dostoevsky, especially in the early stages, when he writes about fatal and significant moments, the role of chance, the psychology of characters’ passions - often the writer makes it clear that not everything can be understood.

It can be said that one of the features of Kuprin’s work is a dialogue with readers, in which the plot is traced and reality is depicted - this is especially noticeable in his essays, which in turn were influenced by G. Uspensky.

Some of his works are famous for their lightness and spontaneity, poeticization of reality, naturalness and authenticity. Others are the theme of inhumanity and protest, the struggle for feelings. At some point, he begins to be interested in history, antiquity, legends, and thus fantastic stories are born with motives of the inevitability of chance and fate.

Genre and composition

Kuprin is characterized by a love of plots within plots. “The Garnet Bracelet” is further proof: Zheltkov’s note about the qualities of the jewelry is the plot within the plot.

The author shows love from different points of view - love according to general concepts and Zheltkov’s unrequited feelings. These feelings have no future: Vera Nikolaevna’s marital status, differences in social status, circumstances - everything is against them. This doom reveals the subtle romanticism invested by the writer in the text of the story.

The entire work is ringed by references to the same thing. piece of music- Beethoven sonatas. Thus, the music that “sounds” throughout the story shows the power of love and is the key to understanding the text, heard in the final lines. Music communicates the unsaid. Moreover, it is Beethoven’s sonata at the climax that symbolizes the awakening of Vera Nikolaevna’s soul and the awareness that comes to her. Such attention to melody is also a manifestation of romanticism.

The composition of the story implies the presence of symbols and hidden meanings. So the fading garden implies the fading passion of Vera Nikolaevna. General Anosov tells short stories about love - these are also small plots within the main narrative.

It is difficult to determine the genre of “Garnet Bracelet”. In fact, the work is called a story largely due to its composition: it consists of thirteen short chapters. However, the writer himself called “The Garnet Bracelet” a story.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

V.N. Aydarova

In all the variety of topics raised in the works of A.I. Kuprin, whose work K. Paustovsky rightly called “an encyclopedia of life science,” stands out one cherished theme, which the writer addresses very carefully and reverently – the theme of love. “In the Dark”, “Holy Love”, “Stoletnik”, “Olesya”, “Shulamith”, “Helen”, “Pomegranate Bracelet” and many more works by A.I. Kuprin raise the problem of love, this “greatest secret in the world.”

In a letter to F.D. To Batyushkov in the summer of 1906, Kuprin admitted: “Love is the brightest and most understandable reproduction of my “I.”

Individuality is not expressed in strength, not in dexterity, not in intelligence, not in talent, not in voice, not in colors, not in gait, not in creativity. But in love...

What is love? Like women and like Christ, I will answer with the question: “What is truth? What is time? Space? Gravity?

In the words of the hero of “The Duel” Nazansky, Kuprin idealizes a selfless platonic feeling: “... how much varied happiness and charming torment lies in... hopeless love! When I was younger, I had one dream: to fall in love with an unattainable, extraordinary woman, one, you know, with whom I could never have anything in common. Fall in love and devote your whole life to her.”

The impulse towards the ideal, purified of all worldly romantic feelings of A.I. Kuprin will remain for life. Already in old age, in exile, for a number of years he retired and wrote tenderly and respectfully Love letters to a woman whom he knew very little, but whom he loved with intimate love.

And one more interesting evidence. K. Paustovsky notes that Kuprin often said that he became a writer completely by accident and that his own fame surprised him. The writer's biographers state that in 1894, Lieutenant Kuprin retired from the army and settled in Kyiv. At first he was poor, but soon he began working in Kyiv newspapers and writing. Before this, Kuprin wrote very little.

What made the young officer resign and change his life so dramatically? Only if " lead abominations" army reality, although they are probably in the first place. However, there was also a story in Kuprin’s life in which love, youthful recklessness and coincidence were closely intertwined. tragic circumstances, collapse of hopes.

We learn about this little-known episode from Kuprin’s life from the memoirs of Maria Karlovna Kuprina-Iordanskaya, the writer’s first wife. We will also learn about the fatal role that Kyiv will play in his fate.

After graduating from the Aleksaidrovsky Military School in Moscow, Alexander Kuprin, with the rank of second lieutenant, was sent to the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment, stationed in the provincial towns of the Podolsk province - Proskurov and Volochisk. Kuprin served in Proskurov for the third year, when one day at a regimental ball in the officers' meeting he met a young 17-year-old girl, Verochka, and... fell in love. Verochka came from a wealthy aristocratic family, her parents died, and she lived with her sister, who was married to the captain. God knows how these people ended up in that provincial regiment. Kuprin began dating Verochka, who responded with obvious sympathy, but his sister and the captain found out about their dates. Kuprin was summoned and given an indispensable condition: his relatives would agree to this marriage if the young man graduated from the Academy General Staff and a military career, “exit” to high society, acquaintances, connections will open before him.

In the summer of 1883, Kuprin left Proskurov to St. Petersburg to take exams at the Academy. His path runs through Kyiv. There he meets former fellow students in the cadet corps, who persuade him to stay for two days to celebrate the meeting. On the day of departure, the young officers went to the banks of the Dnieper, where some entrepreneur set up a restaurant on an old barge moored to the shore. The officers sat down at a table when suddenly a police officer approached them with the words that the table had been reserved for the bailiff and a demand to immediately vacate the seats. Army officers always disliked the gendarmerie; they considered it humiliating to communicate with the police, and therefore did not pay attention to the police officer. The same one behaved impudently, began to shout, forbidding the owner of the establishment to serve the gentlemen officers. And then something unimaginable happened. The policeman flew overboard into the water. The audience laughed and applauded. He was sent to “cool down” by none other than Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. The police officer got up covered in mud (the barge was standing near the shore in a shallow place) and began to draw up an act on the “utopia of the police rank in the performance of official duties.”

In Kyiv, Kuprin spent all his savings, and upon arrival in St. Petersburg he had a “tough time.” His new officer friends called him to “have a party,” but Kuprin hid his deplorable lack of money from them, making the excuse that he was invited to dinner with his rich aunt, and he himself ate only black bread, which he carefully cut into portions and did not allow himself to eat more than one at once. parts. Sometimes, unable to bear it, he would go into a sausage shop and ask the owner to give him fatter sausage scraps for his aunt’s beloved cat. In fact, both the aunt and the cat were fictitious, and the second lieutenant himself, secluded and hiding, greedily pounced on food.

Kuprin brilliantly passed the exams at the Academy of the General Staff. The head of the Academy himself praised him. Kuprin already saw himself in his dreams as a brilliant officer of the General Staff and, in the near future, Verochka’s husband.

But suddenly a paper arrives from Kyiv, from the commander of the Kyiv Military District, General Dragomirov, in which it was reported that Second Lieutenant Kuprin on such and such a date, in such and such a year, committed an offense discrediting the honor of the officer. This was followed by an order: to prohibit entry into the Academy of the General Staff for a period of 5 years. It was a disappointment, a disaster. Verochka was lost forever...

Kuprin even wanted to shoot himself, but the revolver was sold to pay off his debts. Kuprin immediately submits his resignation from the army and resigns. His military career was over forever... He returned to Kiev, ill-fated for him, where, in need and hardship, he would try many professions: he would work as a loader on a river pier, at one time he would even act as a lightweight wrestler in a circus, he would try many more jobs, but all of them will be temporary and will not bring significant income. Sometimes, in moments of severe lack of money, he could be seen spending the night in the open air among beggars and vagabonds on the slopes of the Mariinsky Park. Finally, Kuprin manages to get a job as a typesetter in a printing house, and from time to time he brings notes about street incidents to the editorial office of the newspaper printed there. According to Kuprin himself: “...gradually I got involved in newspaper work, and a year later I became a real newspaperman and quickly wrote feuilletons on different topics" Collected material for the essays “Kyiv Types”. Thus, it was precisely the complex set of circumstances in which love, the incident in Kyiv and disappointment, unfulfilled dreams were intertwined that largely contributed to the decision to change own life and dedicate it to creativity, where works about love occupy a special place.

In 1910 A.I. Kuprin planned to create a “sad story,” a “very sweet” thing, as he said, for him. “I don’t know what will happen, but when I think about her, I cry. Recently I told one good actress - I’m crying. I will say one thing: I have never written anything more chaste.” Kuprin creates the “Garnet Bracelet”. Many characters had their own life prototypes. “This is...the sad story of a little telegraph official P.P. Zholtikov, who was so hopelessly, touchingly and selflessly in love with Lyubimov’s wife.” Once, while visiting, the writer heard from a prominent official of the State Chancellery Lyubimov an ironically told story about the persecution of his wife Lyudmila Ivanovna (nee Tugan-Baranovskaya) with vulgar letters written by a certain telegraph operator, as well as about a gift sent to her on Easter Day - a bracelet in the form of a thick gilded inflated chain, from which was suspended a small red enamel egg with the engraved words: “Christ is risen, dear Lima. P.P.J." The indignant husband - in "The Garnet Bracelet" Prince Vasily Lvovich Shein and his brother-in-law - the prim Nikolai Nikolaevich Tugan-Baranovsky (the name has not been changed in the story) found the telegraph operator Pyotr Petrovich Zholtikov (in the "Garnet Bracelet" the poor official Zheltkov) and demanded to stop the persecution. Zholtikov was transferred to the province, where he soon married. Kuprin will change this somewhat “rough” story, give it a different content, interpret the events in his own way and create one of the most poetic and sad stories about tragic and only love.

In “The Pomegranate Bracelet,” the writer touches on various aspects of the problem of love, and above all, the problem of true love, “united, all-forgiving, ready for anything, modest and selfless,” the kind that occurs “only once in a thousand years” and the problem of “appearance » love.

One of the characters in the story says that people have forgotten how to love, love has taken on vulgar forms and has descended to everyday convenience and a little fun. "Why do people get married?" - says a man of the older generation, wise in life, General Anosov. And he names several reasons: women because of “shame” to remain girls, reluctance to be an extra mouth in the family, desire to be a housewife. Men mainly because of everyday amenities: tired of a single life, from disorder, bad dinners, “from dirt, cigarette butts, torn... linen, from debts, from unceremonious comrades...”. Last but not least is the benefit: “living as a family is more profitable, healthier and more economical.” Anosov names several more reasons and makes a disappointing conclusion: “I don’t see true love. And I didn’t even see it in my time.” He tells two cases that are only similar to real feelings, both ending tragically, dictated by stupidity and causing only pity.

There is no love between husband and wife Friesse: Anna cannot tolerate her stupid but rich chamber cadet Gustav Ivanovich, and at the same time gave birth to two children from him. He adores her, who has attracted the attention of many men, but he adores her smugly, so much so that “he becomes embarrassed for him.”

In the family of Princess Vera, as it seems to her, an atmosphere of love and lasting, faithful, true friendship reigns. Twice in a conversation with the general, Vera Nikolaevna cites her marriage as an exceptional example happy love: “Take Vasya and me for example. Can we call our marriage unhappy? But in the first case, the general hesitates to answer: “...he was silent for quite a long time. Then he drawled out reluctantly: “Well, okay... let’s say it’s an exception...” And for the second time he interrupts Vera’s words, saying that he meant something completely different - true love: “Who knows, maybe the future will show it love in the light of great beauty. But you understand... No life’s conveniences, calculations or compromises should concern her.” Kuprin introduces many touches that reveal the nature of the relationships in the Sheyny family. The family maintains the appearance of prosperity, the prince occupies a prominent position in society, but he himself barely makes ends meet. He lives above his means, because, according to his position, he has to give receptions, do charity work, dress well, keep horses, etc. And he does not notice that Vera, trying to help the prince avoid ruin, saves on herself, denies herself a lot.

On Vera’s birthday, the prince promises to bring a few and only his closest acquaintances to dinner, but among the guests are the local vice-governor von Seck, the socialite young rich loafer and reveler Vasyuchok, Professor Speshnikov, Staff Colonel Ponomarev - those people with whom Vera is barely familiar , but who are included in the St. Petersburg world. Moreover, Vera is seized by a superstitious fear - “a bad feeling”, because there are thirteen guests. Prince Vasily is inattentive to Vera. At his birthday party, he presents to the guests the illustrated poem “Princess Vera and the Telegraph Operator in Love,” and when his wife asks him to stop, he pretends that he did not hear her words or did not attach importance to them, and will continue his, as it seems to him, witty narrative, in in which he will present himself in a noble light, Vera in a funny one, and P.P.Zh. in the pitiful and vulgar; He won’t even bother to remember the real initials G.S.Zh., with which the letters addressed to Vera were signed, this poor man is so petty and insignificant for Prince Shein. But when Vasily Lvovich finds out about the gift - a garnet bracelet, he is indignant that the story can get publicity in society and put him in a funny and disadvantageous position, since the addressee is a person not of their circle.; Together with his prim, pompous brother-in-law, Prince Vasily is going to “take action.” They are looking for Zheltkov and during the conversation they emphasize their disdain for him: they do not respond to the greeting - Zheltkov’s outstretched hand, they neglect the invitation to sit down and drink a glass of tea, pretending that they did not hear the proposal. Nikolai Nikolaevich with impudence even threatens Zheltkov with the opportunity to turn to the authorities for help, and Vasily Lvovich responds with arrogant silence to Zheltkov’s readiness to satisfy the prince’s claims with the help of a duel. Perhaps he considers it shameful for himself to stoop to a duel with a person of the lower class, perhaps, moreover, he values ​​​​his life too much. In all their behavior one can see an arrogant posture - unnatural and false.

Kuprin shows that people, with rare exceptions, have forgotten how not only to love, but also to be sincere. The natural is being replaced by the artificial, the conventional. Spirituality disappears, replaced by its appearance. Interesting in this regard artistic detail- a gift received by Princess Vera on her birthday from Anna: an old prayer book, converted into an elegant lady's notebook.

This object detail is a sign of the loss of spirituality and its replacement with only visible beauty. After all, Anna was famous for her “piety”, she even secretly converted to Catholicism, and she herself, as will be said, willingly indulged in the most risky flirtations in all the capitals and resorts of Europe. She wore a hair shirt, but exposed much more than the limits allowed by decency.

Another gift the princess received on her birthday from her husband also seems significant - earrings made of pear-shaped pearls. As you know, pearls belong to the category of so-called “cold” jewelry, and therefore, in associative terms, this gift may be correlated with coldness - the absence of true love between Prince Vasily and Vera. In addition, the pear-shaped shape of the earrings resembles, albeit vaguely, tears - a sign of Vera’s future insight and disappointment in her own marriage, devoid of true love. The motif of cold also unfolds in the landscape: “Dahlias, peonies and asters bloomed luxuriantly with their cold, arrogant beauty, spreading... a sad smell,” “the cold of the evenings,” “the coolness of the night,” etc. It should be noted that the landscape in the story A.I. Kuprina is the truest indicator of internal human life. The idea of ​​the absence of love is also intensified thanks to the motif of emptiness in the depiction of a sad picture of autumn: “It was even sadder to see the abandoned dachas with their sudden spaciousness, emptiness and bareness...”, “compressed fields”, “trees silently and obediently dropping yellow leaves” , “empty flower beds”, etc.

The landscape seems to emphasize Vera’s loneliness. K. Paustovsky noted: “It’s hard to say why, but the brilliant and farewell damage to nature... imparts a special bitterness and strength to the narrative.”

Vera admits to her sister that the sea, when she gets used to it, begins to crush her “with its flat emptiness... I miss...”. And now, into her measured, calm, happy life with the everyday life of family life (Vera was “strictly simple, cold and haughtily kind to everyone, independent and royally calm”), an exceptional circumstance bursts in, an unexpected third gift - a garnet bracelet and a letter sent by an unknown young man . Vera initially perceives this gift as an annoying, vulgar claim. And the bracelet itself seems rough and vulgar to her: “... low-grade, very thick,... puffed up and with poorly polished garnets...”. However, when Vera accidentally turns the bracelet in the light, “lovely, deep red lights suddenly lit up in the garnets.” From the letter, Vera learns about that omnipotent, selfless feeling of love, which does not hope for or pretend to anything, a feeling of reverence, devotion, ready to sacrifice everything, even life. From this moment on, the motive of true love begins to sound in the story. Both this gift and this letter seem to begin to highlight everything in a different light. What seemed vulgar suddenly turns out to be sincere and genuine. And what was seen as true suddenly appears false.

In comparison with this letter, Vasily Lvovich’s “satirical” poem, parodying true feeling. Kuprin's heroes seem to be tested by love. According to the writer, a person manifests himself most clearly in love.

Another interesting detail associated with the garnet bracelet; Zheltkov’s letter will say that according to the old family legend The bracelet gives the gift of foresight to women wearing it and drives away heavy thoughts from them, while it protects men from violent death. As soon as Zheltkov parted with the garnet bracelet, this prophetic and tragic predestination comes true. We can say that by giving this bracelet to Vera Nikolaevna, the young man brings her not only his love, but also his life. The garnet bracelet gives Vera the ability to have a special vision - not only to anticipate the subsequent course of events (“I know he will kill himself”), but also more broadly - the garnet bracelet as an unexpected gift - love-illumination, as a result, gives Vera Nikolaevna an understanding of the essence of true love. “Blinded” previously only by “visible” love (cf. also: thick fog, roadless landscape), Princess Vera suddenly begins to see clearly and realizes that the love that every woman dreams of has passed her by.

For real love- This " greatest secret in the world". According to Kuprin, love lies “the whole meaning of life - the whole universe.” The convergence of concepts, the convergence of semantics “love-life” can also be traced in the color symbolism of the stones of the garnet bracelet: in the center - green, traditionally associated with life, framed by red garnets, in their conventional semantics going back to the meaning of love. However, the traditional symbolism of the color red is also associated with the meanings of blood and tragedy (“Exactly blood!” Vera thought with unexpected alarm and then could not take her eyes off the “bloody lights trembling inside the pomegranates”).

The writer interprets love as the greatest happiness and greatest tragedy.

Already the landscape that begins the story gives rise to a premonition of tragedy. The description of the raging elements is built on the principle of growth: thick fog - fine as water dust, rain - a ferocious hurricane - a raging sea that takes the lives of people. The foreboding of the tragedy is enhanced by the sound sequence of roar - thunder - howl: “... a huge siren roared day and night, like a mad bull,” “iron roofs rattled,” “howled wildly in ... pipes.” And suddenly the storm gives way to a picture of calm, clear, bright nature.

Such a sharp change in the states of nature further intensifies the premonition of some huge event that is soon to take place and in which light and darkness, happiness and sorrow, life and death are united.

The premonition of tragedy thickens the motive of death, traced in the “satirical” poem by Vasya Shein (the telegraph operator dies at the end of the poem), in Anosov’s stories about two cases of unrequited love, in the landscape (“... the sunset burned out. The last crimson... stripe that was actually glowing went out. edge of the horizon"), in the portrait of Zheltkov (deathly pallor and lips “white... like those of a dead person”), in his message (“Yours before death and after death, your humble servant”), etc.

Kuprin interprets love as the greatest tragedy, since the social aspect, the social division of people, intervenes, thanks to the conventions of which the thought of love between the princess and the poor official is impossible.

In addition, love-tragedy and love-happiness mean selfless, united, all-forgiving love, ready for anything: “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.” This is exactly what Zheltkov’s unrequited love is like. In his last dying letter, he speaks of his love as enormous happiness, joy and consolation, of love as God’s reward, thanks Vera only for the fact that she exists, idolizes her: “Leaving, I say in delight: “Yes.” Hallowed be Thy name." This love is "strong as death" and stronger than death.

Love is a tragedy, for it is an eternally elevating and purifying feeling, equal in inspiration great art. Zheltkov's last note and his last letter contain a request for a Beethoven sonata. Kuprin puts this sonata in the epigraph to the entire story, arguing that love, like art, is the highest form of beauty.

Thanks to selfless love Zheltkova Vera Nikolaevna finally understood what true love is, and at this moment of insight, she seemed to gain great power love that unites souls.

L-ra: Russian language and literature in educational institutions. – 2000. – No. 6. – P. 1-6.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a famous and one of the most talented Russian writers. Kuprin was a master short story. In his works he showed a multifaceted picture of the life of Russian society. His stories about love are imbued with a subtle psychological sense and exquisite artistic taste.

The story of A. I. Kuprin “Garnet Bracelet” reflects Kuprin's subtle lyrical nature - romance. This is a story of unhappy unrequited love that led to human death. Mysterious symbols and subtle notes of mystical mood make the story truly special. The plot was based on a real story, which the writer, filling it with unsurpassed artistic coloring, skillfully recreated on paper.

Contents of the story “Garnet Bracelet”

The main character of the story, Princess Sheina, is a beautiful, calm woman who has a real nobility of soul. On her birthday, she receives a gift from a secret admirer - a gold bracelet decorated with a scattering of garnets. Here it is worth noting the symbolism that the author put into his work. Garnet is a stone that is a symbol of love and passion. Her husband gave Sheina pear-shaped earrings with pearls, which symbolize tears and separation. In the note that came with the bracelet, the secret admirer confesses to Vera his sincere love for her, and says that the rare green garnet, which is present in the bracelet, gives women the gift of foreseeing the future.

After the guests have left, the princess shows this note and the gift to her husband. Vera Nikolaevna's brother convinces them that it is necessary to establish the identity of the person who made the gift and return it to him so as not to discredit the honor of the family. The mysterious admirer turned out to be a petty official, Zheltkov, who for many years had the most sincere feelings for the princess. Despite the threats from her brother Sheina, Zheltkov does not lose his self-esteem, great love to Vera helps him endure all the insults and intimidation. In the end, Zheltkov decides to die so as not to disturb Vera’s peace. The princess felt that the man who truly loved her was about to die. After she learned from the newspaper that he had died, she came to the understanding that the only bright feeling, which was sent to her by life, went with him.

Theme in love in the story

Zheltkov's hero in the story is a man of high ideals who knows how to love selflessly. He is not able to betray his feelings, even if the cost is his life. Zheltkov rekindles in Sheina’s soul the desire to passionately love and be loved, because over the years of marriage to her husband, this ability has dulled. With the advent of Zheltkov, her emotional condition transforms and fills bright colors. A youthful ardor appears in the tired soul of the princess, which for a long time was half asleep.

Kuprin touches on the theme of love in his work with unusual tenderness and reverence. In the story “The Garnet Bracelet” there is no rudeness and vulgarity; love feelings are presented here as high and noble matter. Kuprin perceives love as divine providence. Despite the sad ending, the princess feels truly happy, because she received what her heart had long dreamed of, and Zheltkov’s feelings will always remain in her memory. “Garnet bracelet” is not only piece of art, but also an eternal sad prayer for love.

The story of the great genius of love prose A.I. Kuprin “The Garnet Bracelet” can be interpreted in different ways, discussing the topic of who is here a real hero. The opinions of critics differ on this issue, some consider Zheltkov to be the hero, trying by any means to prove his love, but also to declare his existence, others prefer the heroine’s husband, who simply wants his wife to be happy. Analyzing the work according to plan will help you figure this out. This material can be used in preparation for the Unified State Exam in literature in 11th grade.

Brief Analysis

Year of writing: 1910

History of creation - The writer took the plot as a basis real story, told to him by one of his friends.

Theme - The main theme of this story is love, unrequited and real.

Composition - The exposition begins with action introducing the characters of the story, followed by the beginning when Vera Nikolaevna receives a garnet bracelet as a gift. Features of the composition in the use of symbols, secret meanings. Here is the garden, which is described in a time of decay, and the short story, the bracelet itself, the main symbol is the Beethoven sonata, which is the leitmotif of the story. The action develops, Zheltkov dies, and the climax is a Beethoven sonata, and the denouement.

Genre - It is difficult to determine the genre essence of “The Garnet Bracelet”. Based on its composition, consisting of thirteen chapters, it can be classified as a story, and the writer himself believed that “The Garnet Bracelet” is a story.

Direction - In the story, everything is subordinated to the direction of realism, where a slight touch of romanticism is felt.

History of creation

The story of the creation of the story has a real basis. Once upon a time, the writer was visiting a friend of his, where they were looking at family photographs. An acquaintance told a story that happened in his family. Some official fell in love with his mother, he wrote letters to her. One day this petty official sent his beloved woman some trinket as a gift. Having found out who this official was, they gave him a suggestion, and he disappeared from the horizon. Kuprin came up with the idea to embellish this story, covering the love theme in more detail. He added romantic notes, elevated the ending and created his “Garnet Bracelet”, leaving the essence of the story. The year the story was written was 1910, and in 1911 the story was published in print.

Subject

Alexander Kuprin is considered the unsurpassed Russian genius of love prose; he created many works glorifying love in all its manifestations.

In “The Garnet Bracelet,” the analysis of the story is subordinated to this favorite theme of the author, the theme of love.

In essence, this work examines the moral issues of relationships associated with love relationships heroes of the story. In this work, all events are connected with love, this is even the meaning of the title of this story, since the pomegranate is a symbol of love, a symbol of passion, blood and anger.

The writer, giving such a name to his title, immediately makes it clear what the main idea of ​​​​the story is devoted to.

He is considering various shapes love, its various manifestations. Each person described by the writer has a different attitude towards this feeling. For some, it’s just a habit, social status, superficial well-being. For another, this is the only, real feeling, carried throughout life, for which it was worth living.

For the main character Zheltkov, love is a sacred feeling for which he lives, realizing that his love is doomed to be unrequited. The adoration of the woman he loves helps him endure all the hardships of life and believe in the sincerity of his feelings. Vera Nikolaevna for him is the meaning of his whole life. When Zheltkov was told that by his behavior he was compromising the woman he loved, the official concluded that problems of social inequality would always stand in his way to happiness, and committed suicide.

Composition

The composition of the story contains many secret meanings and symbols. The garnet bracelet gives a vivid definition of the all-consuming theme of passionate love, defining it as blood, making it clear that this love can be destructive and unhappy, anger led to Zheltkov’s suicide.

The fading garden reminds us of Vera Nikolaevna’s fading love for her husband. Drawings and poems in her husband’s family notes are the story of his love, sincere and pure, which has not undergone any changes throughout their entire life. life together. Despite her fading passion and cool attitude towards him, he continues to truly love his wife.

General Amosov prefers to share stories of love with his interlocutors, which is also symbolic. This is the only person in the work who correctly understands the true essence of love. He is a great psychologist, an expert human souls, clearly seeing all their secret and obvious thoughts.

Beethoven's second sonata runs like a red thread through the entire work, main symbol the whole story. The action develops against the background of music. The final sound of the sonata is a strong climax. Beethoven's work reveals all the understatements, all the innermost thoughts and feelings of the characters.

The beginning of the action - Vera Nikolaevna receives a gift. Development of the action - brother and husband go to sort things out with Zheltkov. The main character of the work, remaining aloof throughout the entire narrative, commits suicide. The climax is when Beethoven’s sonata sounds, and Vera Nikolaevna comes to an awareness of her life.

Kuprin masterfully ends his story, bringing all the actions to a denouement where the true power of love is revealed.

Under the influence of music, the sleeping soul of Vera Nikolaevna awakens. She begins to understand that she has lived, in essence, a purposeless and useless life, all the time creating visible well-being happy family, and true love, which had accompanied her all her life, passed by.
What a writer’s work teaches, everyone decides in their own way; here everything depends on the reader. Only he decides in whose favor to make a choice.

Genre

The work of the great writer consists of thirteen chapters and belongs to the genre of the story. The writer believed that this was a story. The period of events taking place lasts for a long time, it involves a large number of characters, and it fully corresponds to the accepted genre.