And Kuprin Olesya analysis of the work. A

13.11.2021

Alexander Kuprin wrote the story "Olesya" under the impression of a trip to Polesie, stories, legends and stories he heard there. The story uses the features of an ethnographic sketch: a description of local customs, folklore elements, dialect vocabulary. Let's conduct a brief analysis of the story "Olesya", and look at some of the features of the work. On our website you can also read a summary of Kuprin's "Olesya".

The plot of the story "Olesya"

The story "Olesya", which we are analyzing, is dedicated to the love story of Ivan Timofeevich and the Polesie "witch". The relationships of the characters reveal the characters of each of them. The narration is in the past tense, the narrator Ivan Timofeevich recalls the events that happened to him during a trip to one of the Polesie villages. There he hunted, treated the peasants, studied customs. He was interested in the story about the witch Manuilikha, who lived in these places.

Once, while hunting, Ivan Timofeevich wandered into her hut. There the narrator met Olesya, Manuilikha's granddaughter. The girl was so unusual that Ivan Timofeevich fell in love with her, "a beautiful fairy tale of love" is depicted surrounded by a mysterious forest. They thought about the wedding. For the sake of love, Olesya decided to go to church on Trinity, but the village women kicked her out and beat her, as they considered her a witch. Olesya shouted in her hearts that they would regret it. The next day, a thunderstorm with hail broke out. Olesya and her grandmother had to flee, otherwise they would face reprisals from local residents. As a souvenir of herself, she left Ivan Timofeevich with a string of coral beads. Although this description cannot be called a summary, without it, it is still difficult to imagine an analysis of the story "Olesya".

Traits of romanticism in the story "Olesya" by Kuprin

The work has a number of features that make it romantic. First of all, it is the opposition of the everyday world and the ideal world. The sad reality appears in the depiction of the life of the protagonist in a distant village, the customs of the peasants. Kuprin shows their ignorance, rudeness and cruelty of actions. Ivan Timofeevich himself is an indecisive and weak-willed person. The ideal and poetic dream is embodied in the image of Olesya and her peaceful life in the bosom of nature.

The romantic ideal is the fleeting happiness of lovers surrounded by "blazing evening dawns", the smells of lily of the valley and honey, "ringing bird din". Nature reflects the sublime and wonderful feelings of the heroes.

At the heart of romanticism is an exceptional personality. This is the main character of the story - Olesya. Continuing the analysis of the story "Olesya", let us turn directly to the image of the main character.

The image of the main character

Olesya's first appearance in the story is unusual. At first, Ivan Timofeevich, sitting in Manuilikha's hut, hears a song that Olesya sings, only then a girl appears. "Fresh, strong and sonorous voice" shows the youth and beauty of Olesya, who grew up in the forest. Kuprin paints the image of Olesya with the help of a psychological portrait: original beauty, "an elusive shade of cunning, imperiousness and naivety", shiny, dark eyes, willful curl of lips. All this shows Olesya's decisive, strong character, at the same time, her childishness and kindness. It is no coincidence that Olesya appears for the first time, carrying chicks in her arms, which "tied" behind her. This thought is very important when we analyze the story "Olesya".

The girl considers herself a real witch. She knows how to read cards, understands the language of birds, speaks and stops the blood, shows many more "tricks" (as Ivan Timofeevich calls them).

Olesya's love is as beautiful as the evening and morning dawns, it is no coincidence that many years later for the narrator the image of his beloved remains inextricably linked with the June freshness of nature. He notes the girl's delicate delicacy and sensitivity. She is ready for much for the sake of love.

One of the tests for the "witch" was going to church. She knew how this could turn out for her, because the locals hated witches. But even after Olesya paid for this act, she never rebuked Ivan Timofeevich. Analysis of the story "Olesya" by Kuprin shows that the girl turns out to be bolder and taller than a man who cannot decide what to do. He loves Olesya, but he cannot imagine that she will turn out to be his wife, mistress of secular evenings. The hero's hesitation leads to the fact that Olesya and her grandmother leave, and he remembers his beloved and lost happiness all his life.

We hope that this article, which presented a brief analysis of the story "Olesya", will help you better understand the meaning of the work and Kuprin's intention. Visit our literary blog for hundreds of articles on similar topics. You may also be interested in

Composition

"Olesya"

In 1897, Kuprin served as an estate manager in the Ro-Vienna district of the Volyn province. The amazing nature of the Polesie region and the dramatic destinies of its inhabitants were revealed to the writer. On the basis of what he saw, he created a cycle of "Polesie Stories", which included "Olesya" - a story about nature and love.

The story begins with a description of a picturesque corner where the hero spent six months. He talks about the uncommunicativeness of the Polissya peasants, about traces of Polish rule, about customs and superstitions. In the world on the threshold of the 20th century with its rapid development of natural sciences, technology and social transformations, traditional ideas about good and evil, about love and hatred, about enemies and friends have been preserved. Sometimes the hero thinks that he is in some kind of reserved world, in which time has stopped. Here people believe not only in God, but also in devils, devil, water. The space is divided into its own - clean, Christian - and pagan: evil forces that can bring grief and illness live in it. All these sketches are necessary in order to introduce the reader to the atmosphere of Polissya places and explain the reason for the negative attitude of the peasants to the hero's novel with the "witch".

Nature, with its beauty and charm, with its enlightening effect on the human soul, determines the whole flavor of the story. The winter forest landscape contributes to a special state of mind, the solemn silence emphasizes the detachment from the world. The hero meets Olesya in winter and spring, when the renewed nature and the revived forest awaken feelings in the souls of two people. In the beauty of Olesya, in the proud strength emanating from her, the strength and beauty of the world around her are embodied. A beautiful heroine is inseparable from the greatness of the pristine nature of this land, whose name seems to echo the words "forest" and "Polesie".

Kuprin sketches a portrait in which earthly and sublime principles are fancifully combined: “My stranger, a tall brunette of about twenty or twenty-five, carried herself lightly and slenderly. A spacious white shirt loosely and beautifully wrapped around her young, healthy breasts. The original beauty of her face, once seeing it, could not be forgotten, but it was difficult, even getting used to it, to describe it. His charm lay in those large, shiny, dark eyes, to which thin, broken eyebrows in the middle gave an imperceptible shade of guile, imperiousness and naivety; in the dark-pink rut of the skin, in the willful bend of the lips, of which the lower one, somewhat fuller, protruded forward with a resolute and capricious look.

Kuprin managed to vividly embody the ideal of a natural person, free, original and whole, living in harmony and harmony with nature, "who grew up in the freedom of the old pine forest as slender and as powerful as young Christmas trees grow", which is close to Tolstoy's traditions.

The heroine's chosen one, Ivan Timofeevich, is humane and kind in his own way, educated and intelligent, endowed with a "lazy" heart. Fortune-telling to her betrothed, Olesya says: “Your kindness is not good, not cordial. You are not master of your word. You love to take the upper hand over people, and although you yourself do not want to, you obey. "

And so different people fell in love with each other: "A month rose, and its radiance strangely colorful and mysteriously blossomed the forest ... And we walked, embracing, among this smiling living legend, without a single word, suppressed by our happiness and the terrible silence of the forest." The magnificent nature with its overflow of colors echoes the heroes, as if bewitched by the beauty of youth. But the forest tale ends tragically. And not only because cruelty and meanness of the surrounding world bursts into the light world of Olesya. The writer poses the question on a larger scale: could this girl, a child of nature, free from all conventions, live in a different environment? The theme of shared love is replaced in the story by another, constantly resounding in the work of Kuprin - the theme of unattainable happiness.

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"Olesya"

Nature, with its beauty and charm, with its enlightening effect on the human soul, determines the whole flavor of the story. The winter forest landscape contributes to a special state of mind, the solemn silence emphasizes the detachment from the world. The hero meets Olesya in winter and spring, when the renewed nature and the revived forest awaken feelings in the souls of two people. In the beauty of Olesya, in the proud power emanating from her, the strength and charm of the world around her are embodied. A beautiful heroine is inseparable from the greatness of the pristine nature of this land, whose name seems to echo the words "forest" and "Polesie".

Kuprin sketches a portrait in which earthly and sublime principles are fancifully combined: “My stranger, a tall brunette of about twenty or twenty-five, carried herself lightly and slenderly. A spacious white shirt loosely and beautifully wrapped around her young, healthy breasts. The original beauty of her face, once seeing it, could not be forgotten, but it was difficult, even getting used to it, to describe it. His charm lay in those large, shining, dark eyes, to which thin, broken eyebrows in the middle gave an elusive shade of cunning, imperiousness and naivety; in the dark-pink rut of skin, in the willful bend of the lips, of which the lower one, somewhat fuller, protruded forward with a resolute and capricious look.

Kuprin managed to vividly embody the ideal of a natural person, free, original and whole, living in harmony and harmony with nature, “grown in the freedom of an old pine forest as gracefully and as powerful as young Christmas trees grow”, which is close to Tolstoy's traditions.

And so different people fell in love with each other: “A month has risen, and its radiance, strangely motley and mysteriously blossomed the forest ...<.„>And we walked, embracing, among this smiling living legend, without a single word, suppressed by our happiness and the terrible silence of the forest. " The magnificent nature with its overflow of colors echoes the heroes, as if bewitched by the beauty of youth. But the forest tale ends tragically. And not only because cruelty and meanness of the surrounding world bursts into the light world of Olesya. The writer poses the question on a larger scale: could this girl, a child of nature, free from all conventions, live in a different environment? The theme of shared love is replaced in the story by another, constantly sounding in the work of Kuprin - the theme of unattainable happiness.

History of creation

A. Kuprin's story "Olesya" was first published in 1898 in the newspaper "Kievlyanin" and was accompanied by a subtitle. "From memories of Volyn". It is curious that the writer first sent the manuscript to the journal "Russkoe bogatstvo", since before that Kuprin's story "Forest Wilderness", also dedicated to Polesie, had already been published in this magazine. Thus, the author counted on creating a continuation effect. However, for some reason Russkoe Bogatstvo refused to publish Olesya (perhaps the publishers were not satisfied with the size of the story, because by that time it was the author's largest work), and the cycle planned by the author did not work out. But later, in 1905, "Olesya" came out in an independent edition, accompanied by an introduction from the author, which told the story of the creation of the work. Later, a full-fledged "Polessky cycle" was released, the peak and decoration of which was "Olesya".

The author's introduction has survived only in the archives. In it, Kuprin said that when he was visiting Polesie with a friend of the landowner Poroshin, he heard from him many legends and tales associated with local beliefs. Among other things, Poroshin said that he himself was in love with a local sorceress. Kuprin would later tell this story in the story, at the same time including in it all the mysticism of local legends, the mysterious mystical atmosphere and the piercing realism of the environment that surrounded him, the difficult fates of the Polesie inhabitants.

Analysis of the work

The plot of the story

Compositionally "Olesya" is a retrospective story, that is, the author-narrator returns in his memoirs to the events that took place in his life many years ago.

The basis of the plot and the leading theme of the story is the love between the city nobleman (panych) Ivan Timofeevich and a young resident of Polesie, Olesya. Love is light, but tragic, since its death is inevitable due to a number of circumstances - social inequality, the gap between the heroes.

According to the plot, the hero of the story, Ivan Timofeevich, spends several months in a remote village, on the edge of Volyn Polesye (the territory called Little Russia in tsarist times, today is the west of the Pripyat lowland, in northern Ukraine). A city dweller, he first tries to instill culture in local peasants, heals them, teaches them to read, but the classes are unsuccessful, since people are overcome by worries and are not interested in either education or development. Ivan Timofeevich increasingly goes hunting in the forest, admires the local landscapes, sometimes listens to the stories of his servant Yarmola, who talks about witches and sorcerers.

Lost one day while hunting, Ivan finds himself in a forest hut - the same witch from Yarmola's stories - Manuilikha and her granddaughter Olesya - live here.

The second time the hero comes to the inhabitants of the hut in the spring. Olesya guesses to him, predicting a quick unhappy love and hardships, up to a suicide attempt. The girl also shows mystical abilities - she can influence a person, inspiring her will or fear, and stop the blood. Panych falls in love with Olesya, but she herself remains emphatically cold with him. She is especially angry that the panych stands up for her and her grandmother before the local police officer, who threatened to disperse the inhabitants of the forest hut for their alleged divination and harm to people.

Ivan falls ill and does not appear in the forest hut for a week, but when he comes, it is noticeable that Olesya is happy to see him, and the feelings of both flare up. A month of secret dates and quiet, bright happiness passes. Despite Ivan's obvious and realized inequality of lovers, he proposes to Olesya. She refuses, arguing that she, the servant of the devil, cannot enter the church, therefore, and get married, entering into a marriage union. Nevertheless, the girl decides to go to church in order to make a pleasant panychu. Local residents, however, did not appreciate Olesya's impulse and attacked her, severely beating her.

Ivan hurries to the forest house, where the beaten, defeated and morally crushed Olesya tells him that her fears about the impossibility of their union were confirmed - they cannot be together, so she and her grandmother will leave her house. Now the village is even more hostile to Olesya and Ivan - any whim of nature will be associated with its sabotage and sooner or later they will be killed.

Before leaving for the city, Ivan again goes to the forest, but in the hut he finds only red olesin beads.

Heroes of the story

The main character of the story is the forest sorceress Olesya (her real name is Alena, according to her grandmother Manuilikha, and Olesya is the local version of the name). A beautiful, tall brunette with intelligent dark eyes immediately attracts Ivan's attention. Natural beauty in a girl is combined with a natural mind - despite the fact that a girl does not even know how to read, there is perhaps more tact and depth in her than in a city one.

(Olesya)

Olesya is sure that she is “not like everyone else” and soberly understands that for this dissimilarity she can suffer from the people. Ivan does not really believe in Olesya's unusual abilities, believing that there is more of centuries-old superstition here. However, he cannot deny the mystical nature of the image of Olesya.

Olesya is well aware of the impossibility of her happiness with Ivan, even if he makes a strong-willed decision and marries her, so it is she who boldly and simply manages their relationship: firstly, she takes self-control, trying not to impose a panic, and secondly, she decides to part seeing that they are not a couple. Social life would be unacceptable for Olesya, her husband would inevitably become burdened by her after the absence of common interests would be revealed. Olesya does not want to be a burden, to bind Ivan hand and foot and leaves on her own - this is the heroism and strength of the girl.

Ivan is a poor, educated nobleman. Urban boredom leads him to Polesie, where at first he tries to do some business, but in the end, only hunting remains from his studies. He treats the legends about witches like fairy tales - a healthy skepticism is justified by his education.

(Ivan and Olesya)

Ivan Timofeevich is a sincere and kind person, he is able to feel the beauty of nature, and therefore Olesya at first interests him not as a beautiful girl, but how. He wonders how it happened that she was brought up by nature itself, and she came out so gentle and delicate, unlike the rough, uncouth peasants. How did it happen that they, religious, albeit superstitious, are cruder and tougher than Olesya, although it is she who should be the embodiment of evil. For Ivan, a meeting with Olesya is not a lordly fun and a difficult summer love adventure, although he also understands that they are not a couple - in any case, society will be stronger than their love, destroying their happiness. The personification of society in this case does not matter - whether it is a blind and stupid peasant force, whether it is city dwellers, Ivan's colleagues. When he thinks of Olesa as his future wife, in a city dress, trying to keep up small talk with his colleagues, he just comes to a dead end. The loss of Olesya for Ivan is the same tragedy as finding her as a wife. This remains beyond the scope of the narrative, but most likely Olesya's prediction came true in full - after her departure he felt bad, right down to thoughts of intentionally leaving this life.

The culmination of events in the story falls on a great holiday - Trinity. This is not an accidental coincidence, it emphasizes and enhances the tragedy with which Olesya's bright fairy tale is trampled by people who hate her. There is a sarcastic paradox in this: the servant of the devil, Olesya, the witch, turns out to be more open to love than a crowd of people whose religion fits into the thesis “God is Love”.

The author's conclusions sound tragic - it is impossible for two people to be happy together, when the happiness for each of them separately is different. For Ivan, happiness is impossible apart from civilization. For Olesya - out of touch with nature. But at the same time, the author claims, civilization is cruel, society can poison relations between people, morally and physically destroy them, but nature is not.

Filled with sin, without reason or will,
A person is fragile and vain.
Wherever you look, some loss, pain
He has been tormented by flesh and soul for a whole century ...
As soon as one leaves, others will replace them,
All suffering in the world for him is continuous:
His friends, enemies, loved ones, relatives. Anna Bradstreet
Russian literature is rich in wonderful images of beautiful women: strong character, intelligent, loving, courageous and selfless.
The Russian woman with her amazing inner world has always attracted the attention of writers. Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky understood the depth of the spiritual impulses of their heroines.
The works of these writers help to get to know life better, to understand the nature of human relationships. And life is full of conflicts, sometimes tragic, and to grasp their essence, understand their origins - only a great talent of the writer can do.
AI Kuprin's story “Olesya” is a work that marked the beginning of a new literary era. His main character - Olesya - evokes conflicting feelings. She awakens in me pity, understanding, I felt her freedom-loving and strong xsRakteR-
You need to go back to Olesya's past in order to better understand this heroine.
She grew up in constant persecution, moving from one place to another, she was always haunted by the glory of a witch. She and her grandmother even had to go to live in the thicket, to the swamps, away from the villages.
Unlike the peasants, Olesya never attended church, because she believed that magical power was not given to her from God. This further alienated the locals from her. Their hostile attitude cultivated in her an amazing spiritual strength.
And so the little girl grew up and became a lovely flower.
Olesya is a tall girl of twenty-five years old, with beautiful long hair of the color of a crow's wing, which gives a special tenderness to her white face. In big black eyes you can see a spark of wit, ingenuity. The appearance of the girl is very different from how village women look, everything in her speaks of her eccentricity, love of freedom. Belief in magic, otherworldly forces gives it a special charm.
And here in the life of Olesya there is a big and strong love. At the first meetings with Ivan Timofeevich, she does not feel anything, but then she realizes that she fell in love with him. Olesya tries to extinguish love in her heart. But as soon as she was separated from Ivan Timofeevich for two weeks, she realized that she loved him more than before.
When meeting with her chosen one, Olesya says: "Parting is for love the same as the wind is for fire: it extinguishes a small love, and inflates a big one even more." The heroine gives all of herself without a trace to love, she loves sincerely and tenderly. For her sake, the girl was not afraid to go to church, sacrificing her principles, she was not afraid of the consequences.
She suffered enormous humiliation when she was attacked by women and pelted with stones. Olesya gives herself up as a sacrifice of love.
Ivan Timofeevich, before his departure, offered Olesya his hand and heart, but she refused, saying that she did not want to burden him with her presence so that he would be ashamed of her. In this act, the foresight of the girl is visible, she thinks not only about today, but also about the future of Ivan Timofeevich.
However, despite her strong love, Olesya unexpectedly, without saying goodbye to her beloved, leaves, leaving only beads in the house as a keepsake.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin portrayed in his work a sincere, sensitive, beautiful heroine who grew up far from civilization, in harmony with nature, capable of deep feelings.

The theme of love occupies a special place in the work of A. I. Kuprin. The writer gave us three stories united by this beautiful theme - "Pomegranate Bracelet", "Olesya" and "Shulamith".
Kuprin showed different facets of this feeling in each of his works, but one thing is invariably: love illuminates the life of his heroes with extraordinary light, becomes the brightest, unique event in 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 is a writer. He is an educated, intelligent, inquisitive person. He is interested in people with their customs and traditions, he is interested in the legends and songs of the region. He went to Polesie with the intention of enriching his life experience with new observations useful for the writer: “Polesie ... wilderness ... the bosom of nature ... simple customs ... primitive natures,” he thought, sitting in the carriage.
Life presented Ivan Timofeevich with an unexpected gift: in the wilderness of Polesie he met a wonderful girl and his true love.
Olesya, together with her grandmother Manuilikha, lives in the forest, away from the people who once expelled them from the village, suspecting of witchcraft. Ivan Timofeevich is an enlightened man and, unlike the dark Polissya peasants, understands that Olesya and Manuilikha simply "have access to some instinctive knowledge gained 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 prejudices and rules by which people of his circle lived. He did not even dare to imagine how Olesya would look, 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 person, not free, “a person with a lazy heart,” which will not bring happiness to anyone. “There will be no great joys in your life, but there will be a lot of boredom and hardship,” Olesya predicts from his cards. Ivan Timofeevich could not save Olesya from trouble, who, trying to please her beloved, went to church contrary to her convictions, despite the fear of the hatred of the local inhabitants.
In Oles there is 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 will not give my joy to anyone."
Persecuted and persecuted by superstitious peasants, Olesya leaves, leaving a string of "coral" beads for Ivan Timofeevich's memory. She knows that for him soon "everything will pass, everything will be blotted out," and he will easily and joyfully remember her love without grief.
The story "Olesya" brings new touches to the endless theme of love. Here, Kuprin's love is not only the greatest gift, from which it would be a sin to refuse. Reading the story, we understand that this feeling is unthinkable without naturalness and freedom, without courageous determination to defend our feelings, without the ability to sacrifice in the name of those whom you love. Therefore, Kuprin remains the most interesting, intelligent and delicate interlocutor for readers of all times.

Materials for acquaintance

Kuprin Early period of creativity

"Duel"

Garnet bracelet

"Olesya"

8 Responses to “A. I. Kuprin "

In general, the problem of "assault" figures very clearly in this story. This is the apotheosis of social inequality. Of course, we must not forget that corporal punishment for soldiers has been abolished. But in this case it is no longer a question of punishment, but of mockery: “The non-commissioned officers severely beat their subordinates for an insignificant mistake in language, for a lost leg while marching, - they beat them in the blood, knocked out teeth, smashed eardrums with blows to the ear, they pounded on the ground with their fists. " Is it possible for a person with a normal psyche to behave this way? The moral world of everyone who enters the army changes radically and, as Romashov notes, is far from being for the better. So even Captain Stelkovsky, the commander of the fifth company, the best company in the regiment, an officer who always "possessed patient, cold-blooded and confident perseverance," as it turned out, also beat the soldiers (as an example, Romashov cites how Stelkovsky knocks out a soldier's teeth with a horn, who incorrectly sent a signal to this very horn). That is, you should not envy the fate of people like Stelkovsky.

In the story "Duel" Kuprin touches upon the problem of inequality of people, the relationship between the individual and society.
The plot of the work is built on the crossroads of the soul of the Russian officer Romashov, whom the conditions of army barracks life make him think about the wrong relations between people. Romashov is the most ordinary person who instinctively resists the injustice of the world around him, but his protest is weak, and his dreams and plans easily collapse, since they are very naive. But after meeting with the soldier Khlebnikov, a turning point comes in Romashov's mind, he is shocked by a person's willingness to commit suicide, in which he sees the only way out of a martyr's life and this strengthens his will to actively resist. Romashov is shocked by the power of Khlebnikov's suffering, and it is the desire to sympathize that makes the second lieutenant think for the first time about the fate of the common people. But conversations about Romashov's humanity and justice remain largely naive. But this is already a big step towards the moral purification of the hero and his struggle with the cruel society around him.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. The story "Duel". The problem of a person's moral choice.
AI Kuprin raised in his story "Duel" the topic of alienation, misunderstanding between officers and soldiers. In connection with the topic, the author raises a number of problematic questions. One of which is the problem of moral choice. Georgy Romashov, the protagonist of the story, is subjected to the most intense moral quest. Dreaminess and lack of will are the most important features of Romashov's nature, which immediately catch the eye. Then the author acquaints us with the hero more closely, and we learn that Romashov is characterized by warmth, gentleness, compassion.
In the soul of the hero, there is a constant struggle between a man and an officer. One of the meanings
Names "duel" is a clash
Romashov with the way of life of an officer and his inner
A duel with yourself. Arriving in the regiment, Romashov dreamed of exploits, of glory. In the evenings the officers gather, play cards, drink. Romashov is drawn into this atmosphere, begins to lead the same lifestyle as everyone else. However, he feels much more subtly and thinks more confidently. He is more and more horrified by the savage, unfair treatment of the soldiers.
He tries to isolate himself from them: "he began to retire from the company of officers, dined for the most part at home, did not go to the dance evenings in the meeting at all, and stopped drinking." He "has definitely matured, has grown older and more serious in the last days."
Thus, the hero is morally cleansed. Suffering, his inner insight. He becomes able to sympathize with his neighbor, to feel the grief of others as his own; his moral feeling comes into conflict with the life around him.

The story "Duel" is one of the links in the chain of works by A. I. Kuprin. The author clearly and accurately showed in the "Duel" the social problems of the Russian army and the problem of not understanding And alienation between soldiers and officers. On the pages of the story, almost hopeless despair reigns. The heroes are doomed, just as the army itself is doomed. The protagonist of the story, second lieutenant Romashov, finds no sense in the very existence of the army. The teachings, regulations, daily life in the barracks seem to him and his fellow soldiers absolutely meaningless. Second lieutenant Romashov, a young officer who dreams of a career and position in society, is capable of love and compassion, but the writer shows us his negative features: he allows himself to get drunk almost to unconsciousness, he has an affair with another man's wife, which has been going on for six months. Nazansky is an intelligent, educated officer, but a deep drunkard. Captain Plum is a low-key officer, sleazy and stern. His company has its own discipline: he is cruel to junior officers and soldiers, although he is attentive to the needs of the latter. Speaking about the fact that the soldiers were beaten “brutally, to the point of blood, to the point where the offender fell from his feet ...” Kuprin once again emphasizes that, despite the military discipline regulations, assault was widely used in the army. In the story, almost all the officers used this means of calling to discipline, and therefore let the junior officers get away with everything. But not all officers were satisfied with this state of affairs, but many resigned themselves, like Vetkin. The desire of second lieutenant Romashov to prove that “you cannot beat a person who not only cannot answer you, but does not even have the right to raise his hand to his face in order to protect himself from a blow”, does not lead to anything and even causes condemnation, because most officers were satisfied with this state of affairs.

The problem of love in Kuprin's story "Olesya".
Love is revealed by the writer as a strong, passionate, all-consuming feeling that has completely taken possession of a person. It allows the heroes to reveal the best qualities of the soul, illuminates life with the light of kindness and self-sacrifice. But love in Kuprin's works often ends in tragedy. Such is the beautiful and poetic story of the pure, spontaneous and wise "daughter of nature" from the story "Olesya". This amazing character combines intelligence, beauty, responsiveness, selflessness and willpower. The image of the forest sorceress is covered with mystery. Her fate is unusual, life away from people in an abandoned forest hut. The poetic nature of Polesye has a beneficial effect on the girl. Separation from civilization allows it to preserve the integrity and purity of nature. On the one hand, she is naive, because she does not know elementary things, yielding in this to the intelligent and educated Ivan Timofeevich. But on the other hand, Olesya possesses some kind of higher knowledge that is inaccessible to an ordinary smart person.
In the love of the "savage" and the civilized hero, from the very beginning, one can feel a sense of doom, which permeates the work with sadness and hopelessness. The ideas and views of lovers are too different, which lead to separation, despite the strength and sincerity of their feelings. When the city intellectual Ivan Timofeevich, who got lost in the forest while hunting, saw Olesya for the first time, he was struck not only by the girl's bright and original beauty. He sensed her dissimilarity from ordinary country girls. There is something witchcraft in Olesya's appearance, her speech, behavior, which is not subject to logical explanation. Probably, this captivates Ivan Timofeevich in her, in whom admiration imperceptibly develops into love. When Olesya, at the insistent request of the hero, divines to him, then with amazing perspicacity he predicts that his life will be sad, he will not love anyone with his heart, since his heart is cold and lazy, but, on the contrary, will bring a lot of grief and shame to the one who will love his. Olesya's tragic prophecy comes true at the end of the story. No, Ivan Timofeevich commits neither meanness nor betrayal. He sincerely and seriously wants to link his fate with Olesya. But at the same time, the hero shows insensitivity and tactlessness, which doom the girl to shame and persecution. Ivan Timofeevich instills in her the idea that a woman should be devout, although she knows perfectly well that Olesya is considered a witch in the village, and therefore, attending church can cost her her life. Possessing a rare gift of foresight, the heroine for the sake of a loved one goes to church services, feeling angry glances on herself, hearing mocking remarks and abuse. This selfless act of Olesya especially emphasizes her bold, free nature, which contrasts with the darkness and savagery of the villagers. Beaten by local peasant women, Olesya leaves her home not only because she fears their even more cruel revenge, but also because she perfectly understands the impossibility of her dream, the impossibility of happiness. When Ivan Timofeevich finds an empty hut, his eyes are attracted by a string of beads, which towered over heaps of rubbish and rags, like "the memory of Oles and her tender, magnanimous love"

In the story "Duel" IAKuprin touches upon the problem of moral inferiority of a person and shows it on the example of the Russian army. This example is the most striking.
The officers brutally scoffed at their subordinates, who, having got into a new situation, did not understand what was happening: “The non-commissioned officers severely beat their subordinates for a minor mistake in language, for a lost leg while marching, - they beat them in blood, knocked out teeth, smashed them with blows eardrums on the ear, pounded on the ground with their fists ”. The soldiers had no right either to respond to this cruelty, or to dodge the blows, they had no choice. Even the most seemingly patient and cold-blooded officer like Stelkovsky dropped to this level. This situation reigned throughout the army. The main character, Romashov, understood that changes in the army were necessary, but he reproached himself for being close to everyone else.
Assault in the Russian army was a big problem for society that needed to be addressed, but it was simply impossible to do it alone.

In the Tale "Olesya" Kuprin tells us that a person loses contact with nature, which is one of the problems of this work.
In his work, the author opposes society and the world around it to each other. People living in cities, having lost touch with their native nature, have become gray, faceless, have lost their beauty. And Olesya, who is connected with the nature around her, is pure, bright. The writer admires his main character; for him, this girl is the embodiment of an ideal person. And only by living in harmony with nature, you can become like that. Kuprin tells us that people should not lose contact with nature, because he loses himself, his soul turns black, and his body withers. But if you return to this naturalness, then the soul will begin to bloom, the body will become better.
Thus, we should strive to maintain contact with the environment around us, because it is it that gives us the strength to live and develop.

How does primitive nature affect a person? It is impossible to be insincere next to her, as if she pushes a person onto the path of a pure, truthful understanding of life. In his story, A. I. Kuprin puts the main character Olesya in front of the problem of confrontation between natural and social.
Olesya is a strong, strong-willed character, sensitive, inquisitive mind, while an incredibly beautiful girl. After reading the story, I drew a picture in my head: a tall, black-haired girl in a red scarf, and around there are spreading bright green fir trees. Against the background of the forest, all the spiritual qualities of the heroine are manifested especially clearly: the willingness to sacrifice herself and the wisdom of life. It harmoniously intertwines the beauty of the soul with the beauty of the body.
Society is opposed to Olesya's connection with nature. Here it appears from its most unsightly side: dullness, dustiness of streets and even faces, intimidation and ugliness of women. This dullness is against everything new, bright, honest. Olesya with her red scarf becomes a stumbling block, the culprit of all troubles.
For narrow thinking, the villagers will be punished by the elements. And again they will blame Olesya for this ...

During the years of the growth of revolutionary sentiments, when society was in constant search of insight and the truth of life, the work of A.I. Kuprin was formed. The complex psychological themes of cognition lay at the heart of his numerous works. He attracted readers with the capacious, accessible and dynamic content of his works. The most famous of them is the story "Olesya". Analysis of this book and offers you the Many-wise Litrecon.

It is interesting that in the very work of A.I. Kuprin can be divided into two periods, the line between which can be clearly traced in the subject matter and style of writing works.

At the beginning of his career, the writer paid a lot of attention to purely everyday topics. Most likely, this was due to the rich life experience of A.I. Kuprin, who tested himself in many fields of activity. Feeling all the hardships of life and knowing the peculiarities of the life of the poor, the writer created life texts based on what he saw, heard and felt.
The second period of his work dates back to the February Revolution. It was then that his works were imbued with the desire for democratic change. In addition, the subject matter of the texts changed: mainly A.I. Kuprin described the mendicant and devastated life of a Russian emigrant.

The famous story "Olesya", which was first published in 1898 in the newspaper "Kievlyanin" with the subtitle "From memoirs about Volyn", belongs to the early period of the writer's work. Later, in 1905, Kuprin completed the introduction to the story, in which he described the history of the creation of the work itself. Here are some interesting facts about the writing of Olesya:

The story "Olesya" is based on a real story from the life of the landowner Ivan Timofeevich Poroshin, with whom the writer once visited. He told his own love story with a Polissya witch.
The work also contains autobiographical details: the main character is a writer, like the writer himself, he spent 6 months in Polesie, which also coincides with real facts.
Initially A.I. Kuprin wanted to publish the story in the journal Russkoe Bogatstvo as a continuation of the 'Polissya cycle'. But the editors of the magazine refused the writer, so the fate of the work changed slightly. They were embarrassed by the anti-religious background of the work: the believers were negative heroes, in contrast to the "servants of the devil."

Genre, direction

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, disputes flared up in the literary environment between representatives of the two leading directions of literary thought: realism and modernism. Alexander Ivanovich adhered to the realistic tradition, therefore his story "Olesya" has collected the features of this trend. So, for example, the love of the main characters Olesya and Ivan Timofeevich was doomed to death in reality, so the author could not exchange the truth of life for beautiful and unrealizable dreams. And yet there is a place for romanticism in Kuprin's work: civilization is presented in dark colors, nature plays an independent role in the work, and the main character has everything.

By genre, the work is a story. Main features: chronicle plot, a small number of characters and an assessment by the author of events experienced in real life. In addition, we see other features characteristic of the story: the whole plot is twisted around one hero - Ivan Timofeevich, whose character manifests itself against the background of what is happening.

Composition and conflict

The composition of the work is a retrospective, as the author delves into memories from the past, when fate brought him to Polesie. There he got acquainted with the amazing story of the intellectual Ivan Timofeevich.

In addition to the retrospective, the composition is based on numerous contrasts. We can say that the whole story is a collection of various conflicts. Even at the very beginning, we see a struggle between technical progress and a quiet, peaceful life in the pagan Polessye. The reader sees a vivid confrontation between civilization and wildlife, which live according to different laws. Nature and civilization is the main conflict in the story "Olesya". The author sees in the city and people depravity, vulgarity and stupidity, but in nature - nobility, beauty and genuine generosity.

In addition, the plot is based on one of the main conflicts: Olesya and people (villagers). It becomes clear that this opposition is so strong that it is impossible to eliminate it. Olesya's efforts (going to church) led only to tragic consequences both for herself and for the village, which suffered from the witch's spell.

The bottom line: what is the story about?

The essence of the work "Olesya" is very simple. In the small village of Perebrod on the outskirts of Polesie, a young writer Ivan Timofeevich, by the will of fate, wanders during his next forest trip to the house of the local witch Manuilikha. At that time, the hero could not even imagine what this chance meeting would lead to.

There he meets the beautiful Olesya, who fascinates him. From this moment, their fantastic love story begins. The young witch tries in every possible way to avoid meeting with Ivan, because the cards predicted her death from an unexpected guest. Olesya's fate was a foregone conclusion.

The main characters and their characteristics

The main characters of the story are the young witch Olesya and the noble writer Ivan Timofeevich. The main character is a young village girl of 25 years old who lives in the forest with her grandmother Manuilikha. Olesya is illiterate, but very smart. She loves nature and a quiet life away from people. Ivan Timofeevich, the central character of the story, on the contrary, is a very literate and well-read person by the nature of his occupation. He came to Polesie on business, but by the will of fate fell in love with a young witch.

heroes	characteristic
olesya	A 25-year-old girl who lives away from people. she has magical talents and rare perseverance. She received all her knowledge about life from her grandmother, who was not from these places, so the morals of woodlands are alien to the oles: local customs seem cruel to her, and people seem rude. the girl is smart and proud, strong and noble. she is distinguished by her love for all living things, even forest birds have become tame with her. Olesya is not afraid to argue and prove her case: more than once she defended her belief in magic in front of Ivan. despite her ignorance, she conquered his arguments with her talents. she was able to heal wounds and even control a person from a distance. ingenuity was combined in her with prejudice: she believed that the devil gave her the gift of magic. Olesya believes in fate and believes that it is impossible to argue with her. her empirically acquired knowledge was ahead of science at that time for a long time, so Ivan could not explain it. the girl is also humane and generous: she does not want to captivate Ivan, knowing that he cannot be always faithful to her.
ivan	Ivan Timofeevich is a poor intellectual and an aspiring writer. Olesya saw in him a weakness of spirit and inconstancy, but she fell in love with kindness and education. Ivan was indeed well-read, but the forest savage in her conviction surpassed his ability to interpret what he saw and heard. Ivan could not convince her, although he did not believe in magic and even tried to prove it. he is reasonable and reasonable, he knows how to observe and analyze. in the depths of his soul, Ivan is fair and kind, therefore he even pities his servant, not dismissing him because of the poverty of his family. but love did not elevate him, but humiliated him. he could not take the decisive step and take the oles away with him. his indecision only confirmed the olesya's predictions: Ivan is destined to love many girls, but his heart is lazy, and no passion will be real.
manuilikha	grandmother olesya. an old healer with the appearance of a witch has seen a lot in her lifetime: persecution in the village, and corruption among local authorities, and a secluded forest life without help and hope for her. she hardly raised and raised her granddaughter, often sacrificing her interests for her. she sees people through and through, so from the very beginning she did not like Ivan. she did everything to save her granddaughter. she is her only loved one. other people instilled in her well-founded contempt.
sergeant	The sergeant Evpsychiy Afrikanovich is a comic character. his name is exotic and unreal, but the image is quite viable. this is a reflection of all the local authorities of woodlands - immoral embezzlers and bribe-takers, who in every possible way hid their theft from the people.
yarmola	this is a reflection of all the inhabitants of woodland: a laconic and rude drunkard who keeps his family from hand to mouth and still drinks on. he is surprisingly stupid and undeveloped, leads the life of a predator, prowling through the forest as a poacher. from the very beginning he does not approve of the master's connection, and then completely moves away from him, motivating this by the "sinfulness" of communicating with witches.

The reader sees that for peasants the witch's den is a forbidden place where a person's foot should not enter, but Kuprin's attitude to Olesya and her grandmother is completely different. We see no negative ratings in the description. On the contrary, he puts the main character in a more favorable light, because even her illiteracy does not look bad against the background of kindness and modesty.

Themes

The theme of the book "Olesya" is romantic and realistic at the same time:

The main theme of the story "Olesya"- love line of Olesya and Ivan Timofeevich. In the center is a pure and real feeling, for the sake of which the main character is ready for any sacrifice. For the sake of the chosen one, she goes to shame, knowing in advance about the pain that she will have to endure.
Despite the fact that the theme of love is central, the work is clearly visible and the theme of the relationship between nature and man, which begins to unfold from the very beginning of the work. The author shows us the confrontation between civilization and wildlife.
Against the background of nature, it reveals and natural man theme raised by the cradle of nature. Such were Olesya and Manuilikha - open and free from prejudices and clichés. We can say that the main character embodies the same moral ideal, because she is distinguished by kindness, responsiveness and fortitude. She does not seek to master the chosen one, but gives him freedom.
Dream theme also traced in the text. Unlike the villagers, whose thinking is mired in prejudice, Olesya lives by a dream, not by standards.

Problems

The problems of the story "Olesya" are diverse and interesting even today:

In the first place, of course, tragic love main characters. Their love story was initially doomed to a tragic ending, because the cruelty of this world does not allow violating standards and rules. Society is not ready to accept those who do not want to live according to templates, which is why Olesya is forced to leave her native forests.
The problem of cruelty permeates the entire text: the villagers go to church, but do not learn to forgive and love. They torture and kill their own kind (for example, a horse thief who has nails hammered in the heels), but at the same time retain the appearance of decency and piety.
The author vividly reveals world of human feelings against the background of the love line. In his story, not everything is as unambiguous as we would like. Ivan's love is sincere, but at the same time he is not able to stand up for it. Kuprin describes his hesitations, ridiculous for a real feeling: how will Olesya look in a dress among his friends? Should she go to church? But the heroine openly admits that she will not be jealous and will not allow her chosen one: he is free, and let him not take her into his world, it is enough just to give her love here and now.
The problem of fate also occupies an important place in the story. The writer shows how cruel fate can play with people's lives. This is not so much a predestination of fortune-telling as a logical alignment of forces and circumstances: Olesya is not a match for a gentleman. After all, even a great and pure feeling cannot overcome what was previously predetermined by fate.

Details

Details in the story "Olesya" play a special role. So, for example, even the embodiment of love has its innovative facets: at the beginning of the emergence of pure and sincere feelings, we see how nature rejoices and pours out sunlight, but at the end of the work, with the death of love, nature also dies: the ice hail affects the seedlings of the villagers.

The language of the story is quite simple. A.I. Kuprin tried to make the work as accessible as possible for a simple layman who seeks to comprehend the truth of life. The author tried not to overload the text with clever and expressive means in order to convey to the readers his main thoughts.

Meaning

The main idea of the story "Olesya" is that there is essentially nothing behind a "civilized" society, because people who grew up far from civilization may turn out to be much smarter and more prudent. A natural person outside the crowd does not lose his individuality and does not obey stereotypical thinking. The crowd is submissive and promiscuous, and is often taken over by the worst of the crowd, not the best.

In this regard, the main idea can be distinguished - the need for people to turn to nature to restore harmony. Olesya became thus an example of a clean and open person living in relationship with the environment.

Criticism

The story "Olesya" - the famous works of A.I. Kuprin, which was appreciated by the writer's contemporaries. K. Barkhin called the work a "forest symphony", noting the literary charm of the language of the work.

“I like this thing because it is all imbued with the mood of youth. After all, if you were writing it now, you would write it even better, but that immediacy in it would no longer exist ... "

The story was highly appreciated by Soviet critics, who saw in it a protest against bourgeois society:

Kuprin's protest against the internal enslavement of man is associated with the motives of a certain uneasiness, inconsistency in the bosom of capitalist society, vagrancy in the spirit of Hamsun ... interest in lumpenproletarians standing "outside of society", admiration for the whole, untouched "children of nature" (Listrigones, Olesya , "Wilderness", etc.). " (article "Russian literature" in the "Literary encyclopedia in 11 volumes", Moscow, 1929 -1939, volume 10 (1937))

Thus, the story "Olesya" occupies an important place, as in the work of A.I. Kuprin, and in the history of Russian classical literature.