characteristic feature The art of Russian classics is the fact that they not only give the reader new plots and stories, but also rethink old traditions and legends with him. Literary language, like the realities of life, is rapidly changing, and many myths seem to speak to us in a foreign dialect, although they were written by our ancestors. But they tell about something important and painful, so modern writers and poets are trying to convey to us the essence of the literature of past years in an accessible way, so that we understand its meaning and relevance. Alexander Kuprin made his outstanding contribution to this worthy of respect by writing the book Shulamith based on Old Testament parables.
Shulamith is the beloved of the wise and just King Solomon, the hero of many myths and legends. Legend has it that a girl, thanks to her meek disposition and good heart became the love of his life. However, the envious mistress of the ruler (by tradition he had a whole harem) sent her naive admirer to kill the happy couple. However, he managed to only half realize the insidious plan: the murderer killed only a woman who devotedly loved the king and shielded him with her body. Solomon took cruel revenge on the offenders and mourned his loss all his life. The description of Shulamith is preserved in myths:
A voice clear and pure, like this dewy morning, sings somewhere in the distance, behind the trees, ... and its unpretentious graceful charm evokes a quiet smile of tenderness in the eyes of the king;
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate under your curls;
Your eyes are deep, like the two lakes of Esevon at the gates of Batrabbim;
Your neck is straight and slender, like the tower of David!
Kuprin adds long red hair and a slender body to this portrait. By our standards, the heroine is still a child, she is 13 years old, but in those days it was enough to get married and even know the joy of motherhood.
Solomon himself is known for writing over 3,000 parables and 1,005 songs. “The word is a spark in the movement of the heart,” he said. The ruler also studied pagan books and teachings. Persecuted by death the sacrifice of children. “One breath for all… He who multiplies knowledge multiplies sorrow.” There were legends about "the inexhaustible power of the king's passion." His personal harem consisted of 700 wives, 300 concubines, not counting slaves and dancers. But, it is believed that, despite the abundance of beauties, Solomon loved only one single girl, the most simple and modest, of poor family- Shulamith. That is why Kuprin highlights her name against the background of the entire work and even puts it in the title in order to emphasize the importance of this image for the essence of the story. In this love story, all the poetic talent of A. I. Kuprin manifested itself. Portrait sketches filled with vivid and “tasty” comparisons will captivate the reader and transfer them to a very distant era (the action takes place in 480 after the exodus of Israel).
The characteristics of Solomon and his wisdom are given by the Bible. In the Old Testament, there is a beautiful parable about him about how two women came to the king to share a child. There was an error in the hospital. The child of one of them died, and the other is alive. Women began to argue, whose child is intact. To make the right decision, the king invited both to divide the baby in half. The first woman replied that it would be right and fair - “so don’t get it for anyone”, the second was numb in horror and asked to give the child to another, if only he was healthy. Thus, it became clear which of them is the true mother.
History of creation
The writer has been collecting material for his book for a long time. He rummaged through a bunch of ancient legends in order to realize not only the superficial, but also the allegorical meaning of the "Song of Songs" of King Shlom, an exquisite example of Jewish mythology. This is his main historical source. In a letter dated October 1, 1907 to Mr. Tikhonov, he writes:
Now I rummage through the Bible, Renan, Veselovsky and Pylyaev, because I write the wrong historical poem, or a legend ... about the love of Solomon and Shulamith, the daughter of Nadavl, beautiful, like the veils of Solomon, like the tents of Kidar. What will come out is not visible, but a lot of bright passion is conceived, naked body and another.
Initially, the author planned to publish his work in St. Petersburg, in the anthology "Rosehip", but at the last moment he changed his mind and decided to publish the manuscript in the place where the one to whom "Shulamith" is dedicated worked. This is the writer and poet Ivan Bunin. Then he was the editor of the collections "Earth" - a series of Moscow literary almanacs. He was honored with initiation due to the fact that he himself was in Jerusalem and was also very fond of Old Testament mythology.
The story caused a sensation, many critics spoke out about it. Of course, their feelings were hurt by the subtle eroticism surrounding the sacred legend. The writer was not afraid of scandal and deliberately revealed the sensual side of love between a teenage girl and a 45-year-old man. Moralists and dogmatists fiercely attacked the seductive descriptions, but among the reviewers there were also those connoisseurs of art who defended the right of the artist to create without restrictions. For example, A. Vergezhinsky wrote:
Great impudence on the part of the artist to take the "Song of Songs" and tell it in his own words ... But A. Kuprin has the right to such impudence ...
Genre: short story or short story?
The author himself answered this question unambiguously, calling his creation a story. It is not surprising, because for a story the work is too voluminous and saturated with heroes, events, descriptions. The book could have claimed the title of a novel, but it fell short in terms of volume. However, the author did not intend to turn Shulamith into an epic giant on a grand scale. He had enough space within the story to realize his plan and convey his ideas to the reader. The excessive number of pages and the stretching of the story could only interfere with perception and vulgarize the subtext laid down by Kuprin.
What is this piece about?
Often King Solomon liked to retire to the vineyards. And one day, on one of these walks, he heard a girl singing. Tenderness and a smile caused her voice from the king. Appearance was to become singing. Red hair. Slender camp. Poppy flowers in hair, homemade berry necklace. This is exactly what Shulamith presents to the readers. Thanks to her sincerity, tenderness and purity, like a temple of the Parthenon, she conquered the wisest of the rulers.
One of Solomon's many wives, the Egyptian queen Hatis, passionately loved the king. Terrible and captivating rumors circulated about her: "Parents hid all the beautiful children from her eyes." Poisonous arrows of envy towards Shulamith pierced her wicked heart. Jealousy "vesuvius" kindled in the soul of Atis. Like Othello, she set out to kill the "object" of her suffering. Taking advantage of the love of Eliav (a young man who longed to be with the Egyptian queen), she convinced him to enter the palace at night and kill the happy couple.
IN tragic night the king and his beloved admire the stars and talk about transience human being: “Life is short, but time is infinite, matter is immortal… Darkness and darkness of those ages pass, everything in the world repeats itself. We will repeat ourselves, my beloved. It will last words, before Eliav pierces the girl with his sword. This night is the last in the life of the unfortunate young puppet. This is the essence of the story "Shulamith". Atys is waiting for exile, and Solomon is an eternal memory of his the only love. in some places this story rather resembles a tragedy with "traditional Shakespeare's finale”, but, in aggregate, it has a special mood and a unique aftertaste. The lines that Solomon ordered to be written down after the loss of his beloved are included in the epigraph of the work:
Put me, like a seal, on your heart, like a seal, on your muscle: it is not strong, like death, love, cruel, like death, jealousy: its arrows are arrows of fire.
Main characters and their characteristics
Kuprin spared no time for a thorough description of the characters. For this, he studied such a number of ancient manuscripts. His characters are not only wise and virtuous, but also beautiful, seductive, desirable. As a master of style, the writer did not stint on lofty epithets and comparisons, therefore, in each of the following paragraphs, a separate place is given to the portrait of the characters.
- Solomon- the son of King David, the third king of the Jews. The era of his reign is approximately 976-928 BC. e. This period of time is considered the period of the highest prosperity of the kingdom of Israel. His wisdom was legendary. One night God appeared to him in a dream and promised to fulfill any cherished desire. To this mercy, the king said: “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish what is good and what is evil.” The fame of its beauty spread for thousands of kilometers. Here description of Solomon, given by Kuprin: he is 45 years old, he has a pale face, his lips are a bright scarlet ribbon, wavy black hair, already in some places "gray hair shone, like silver threads of mountain streams." Black beard and dark eyes "like the darkest agate". There was no person in the universe who could withstand his gaze: "Many women were ready to give their souls for just a smile." His hands are tender, white, like a girl's. It was believed that it was in his hands that a special energy was stored that healed headaches, convulsions, black melancholy and demonic possession. On his left hand, the king wore a gem of a blood-red asterisk, the inscription on which read: "ALL PASSES."
- Shulamith- a beautiful slender red-haired maiden, corresponding to the canons of beauty of that time. She has delicate facial features, a deep passionate look, impeccable proportions of the body, which she erotically smears with myrrh, languishing in anticipation of passion. However, she was distinguished by timidity, and it was not even her appearance or sexuality that captivated the king. Characteristic main character consists of her wise sayings thought out beyond their years. In part, the girl does not fit into reality, she is so sublime and ideal, as if the ruler in love invented her. Her wisdom sometimes baffles the monarch himself. Inspired by poetic beauty, speeches are combined in her with the talent to love. Shulamith is really glad to deliver even the slightest pleasure to her patron. Happiness spreads like myrrh throughout her essence and captivates a man. She carefully prepares herself for a meeting with him. Her languor merges into anticipation of unearthly bliss. All this gamut of feelings is reflected in her eyes. Therefore, one can understand the one who loved her with all his heart, although he was fed up with female attention. The heroine is selfless, kind and sympathetic, in her the writer depicts true female virtue, the ideal of physical and spiritual beauty.
- Hatis- Egyptian queen, wife of King Solomon. This is the antagonist Shulamith. A woman is vicious, her soul is saturated with malice and envy. Her passion for her husband is a manifestation of selfishness, because she is only embarrassed by the fact that he preferred someone else to her. Jealousy and pride do not allow her to come to terms with his choice. She shamelessly uses the love of an ardent young man to force him to kill a hated couple. Like Hermione and Medea, jealous heroines ancient Greek myths, Atis does not take into account moral principles and social laws, her anger overshadows the mind, and rage is mixed with love.
- Eliav a murderer hopelessly in love with Egyptian queen. He agrees to sin out of desperation to captivate the heart of an autocratic proud beauty. However, he, like Orestes, is deceived. His tragedy is that he allowed his feelings to completely rule him.
Subject
- Love Theme in Kuprin's story "Shulamith" - the main one in the work. The author shows how much love is necessary for a person, how it helps him to live. Solomon was wise, ruled the country, but his outlet and favorite adviser was a 13-year-old girl. The sincerity of her feelings and the purity of her soul made her speeches no less meaningful and valuable than the parables of Solomon. However, the world-famous wisdom did not help the hero save his beloved: he did not foresee the envy that the favorite caused among wives and concubines. The tragedy is that love gives us the strength to live, but so often we don't have the strength to keep it from dying.
- Justice Theme. special value the story performed by Kuprin represents an abundance of parables that the writer picked up for complete characteristics wisdom and generosity of Solomon. In them, the king shows true generosity towards his subjects. For example, here is one of the most famous parables: the brothers came to the king to share the inheritance. There were 3 brothers. Their father died. The issue of inheritance has become an edge. The prudent head of the family decided everything in advance. There is a hill behind the house, there, in a hole, a box with 3 compartments is buried. The upper compartment went to the eldest son - money. The second section was for the middle son, but there were only bones. The last box is for the younger one, the tree is his legacy. Angry middle and younger sons, appealed to Solomon in court. What was the decision of the king? “Your father was very wise. He bequeathed all his money to the elder, cattle and slaves to the middle one, and house and arable land to the younger one. The brothers reconciled, everyone was happy.
- The theme of immortality. Solomon and Shulamith, in their last moment of happiness, said that their feeling was imperishable. These words turned out to be prophecy. The girl died, but the memory of her remained to live in the heart and mind of her lover. Her feeling awakened in him new life, and he did many more glorious things, inspired by the time when they were together.
- Woe from Wit. Gaining experience, the king realized that wisdom brings him disappointment in people and the world around him. Reason mercilessly revealed to him the unsightly sides of personality, state, being, therefore, before meeting with his beloved, he suffered and was discouraged. Love healed the sage and gave him the strength to move on.
- Virtue. Shulamith captivated the king not with luxurious clothes and erotic forms, but with true spiritual riches, which became dearer to Solomon than glory and material values.
Problems
In the story "Shulamith" is concentrated mainly moral issues which reveals to people the true values that can make a person happy. In contrast to them, Kuprin lists those vices that, on the contrary, prevent people from finding spiritual harmony.
- Envy. This vice causes a woman to despise her feelings and turn into anger. It was not love that spoke in her, but hatred. Atis did not achieve anything by her act, she only brought down the righteous punishment of the king on herself. She turned her happiness into nothing just so that others would not have it. In addition, she ruined the fate of a young man who was devoted to her. That is, indulgence in vice only worsened her situation, but did not help her in any way.
- Selfishness. Self-esteem Atis swelled from exorbitant self-admiration. The woman put herself above people, laws and feelings, therefore she encroached on the life of an innocent person, betrayed her beloved, sent a friend to death, and all because she imagined herself to be justice itself.
- Middle age crisis. Solomon's feelings before the fatal meeting with Shulamith can be understood by every person who has gone through disappointment associated with understanding the world around him, which comes in maturity. The world seems imperfect, people seem hypocritical, life seems meaningless. Wisdom and experience show all the gloomy colors of life, and satiety makes one doubt that the usual blessings are so important and pleasant. Only strong feeling can help such a person break out of melancholy and apathy.
Main thought
Other solutions are given in the work, as well as trials of Solomon's wisdom by the Queen of Sheba. This is the charm of Kuprin's text: in the interweaving of linguistic subtleties that immerse us at that time, in the presence of exceptional circumstances and places in the spirit of romanticism, in a selection of unusual parables and legends - and all this against the backdrop of a tragic love line. main idea“Shulamith” is an unhappy love, doomed to perish, but the same, the only one of its kind, resurrecting and transforming the soul. The heroine pulled Solomon out of the abyss of despondency and inspired him to search for joy in life, albeit imperfect under the prism of his wisdom. So the author teaches us that only a sincere, disinterested feeling helps our soul to see the true meaning of being and strive for virtue. The author talks about exclusivity strong emotions, about them true value which many realize only after the loss. More Solomon he could not truly love anyone, it was his first and last passion, which excited not only the flesh, but also the soul.
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In Solomon and Shulamith
"The skies are dull and low,
But I know that my spirit is high.
You and I are so strangely close
And each of us is alone!
Zinaida Gippius
Dedicated to A.
When I was not even 20, my boyfriend gave me Kuprin's Shulamith to read. This thing made a strong impression on me then, it added fuel to the fire of passions.
Solomon is a Jewish king who ruled 2000 years ago. His reign is the period of the highest prosperity and influence of Jewish power. Solomon ruled for 40 years. Having experienced all the joys of life, "having drunk the cup of pleasure to the bottom", he came to the conclusion that it is not pleasures and pleasures that constitute the goal of life, but the fear of God.
King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and he endowed everyone with his love ( fairy tale, the dream of any man such abilities). What did this minion of fate look like? Pale face, lips like a bright scarlet ribbon (of course, vampire lips), wavy blue-black hair with gray as the threads of mountain streams (at 45 already gray). The king's eyes were like the sky on a moonless summer night (with black eyes he hypnotized poor women), eyelashes that opened up and down with arrows (no words, only emotions). Those who saw his smile were ready to give their soul and body for it (those who read are also already impressed). The king's hands were white, warm, tender and beautiful (cold hands would be terrible). On his index finger he wore a ring on which was engraved:
"EVERYTHING PASSES"
And the king did not find anything in the pagan rites except drunkenness (at all times, even 2000 years ago, the same thing), orgies, fornication and incest (what a decline in morals!)
And the king met Shulamith. The girl was tying up branches of grapes. "The wind sticks around the dress around the body and between the legs (and where is the spirituality?). The girl was 13 years old!
And then it begins." Solomon greedily presses his lips to her calling mouth. He feels the sweet moisture of his tongue and burns with an unbearable desire (and this is a classic, Kuprin!)
"Come quickly to me, it's dark and cool behind the wall" (horror, a 13-year-old girl!)
-I don't want. -Do you want, do you want (no strength to read this porn, Kuprin is called) -I will not let you go Shulamith until you say I want you (I wonder how Kuprin sought inspiration?)
Everything happened in the vineyards." Time stops its flow and closes over them in a solar circle." Then you yourself will have to read. Kuprin is not transferable.
There is another legend. Solomon invited the Queen of Sheba to him, having learned about the rich and wonderful country. Rumor endowed the queen with goat kittens, saying that the devil is hiding under a woman's dress. For the visit of the queen, a palace was built with transparent floors and live fish. The king's fantasy was truly inexhaustible, it is a pity that this is a story of two thousand years ago. When he invited the queen to enter, she lifted the hem of her dress, afraid to get her feet wet. She had no hooves, of course. But the legs were covered with thick hair. Solomon said to this:
Your beauty is the beauty of a woman, and hair - hair men. For a man it is beautiful, but for a woman it is considered a flaw.
Wise man, what can I say! In men, it is beautiful, hairiness is a sign of masculinity, I agree with Solomon. The defect did not prevent Solomon from inflaming passion for the Queen of Sheba, after the due date she was born a boy.
Lord, the life of Solomon is just a satiety of wealth and a series of love passions. Therefore, the story says - experienced all the pleasures of the world. At the end life path Decided - not receiving pleasure - the goal of life. And the fear of the wrath of God. Live by the rules, do not break God's commandments and you will be happy. So Solomon taught. What do you think?
Chapter 3
However, thoughts of the shepherd boy did not leave him. Glancing at last at the old man sitting at his feet, Solomon noticed the pallor and haggardness of the old man. He raised his hand above his head and announced the end of the Judgment.
When the guards took last man from the now unbearably stuffy room, an old man's voice was heard, and the echo resounded in the bowels of the palace, guarded by formidable cherubs:
“Today you were deceitful, tsar! And now sadness fills your heart. I spent one day with you, but managed to get to know you. You were lying, king!
“Are you talking about the shepherd boy, old man?”
- Yes, about him. What did it cost you to make him happy by connecting the hearts of lovers? You are rich, you have known the love of many women, why did you not give this young man what he asked for? What do you care what would become of him and his beloved later? What if you're wrong and they would be happy with each other all their lives? What's wrong with growing old together, spending day after day hand in hand, in joy and in trouble? Who are you to forbid them?
A deep shadow fell on Solomon's forehead, and as he spoke, he became more and more gloomy.
"I'm younger than you, old man!" But, like you, I managed to see and tell a lot. I tried to know everything, but there are things that are not subject to my mind. With delight I look at the eagle making its way in the sky so close to Yahweh. When I see a snake, whose cover, like precious clothes, flows and glitters in the sun, I am amazed at her knowledge of the bowels of the earth, her carelessness and selflessness - precious metals and she knows stones, and she does not need any of this.
Have you seen, old man, how he cuts through the abyss nautical ship? How does the wind - sometimes rebellious, like an evil genius, sometimes affectionate, like a child pleased with sweet sherbet - drive him forward? What forces return the ship to the shore when the wrath of God is ready to tear apart the sails and people in a terrible storm?
Why does God tell a person where his happiness is, and then he himself takes away from him the most precious, most desired?
I have loved many women. But you know, old man, they all loved not Solomon, but the king. Who among them was ready to give his life and beauty for me? The daughters of Israel and Judah, Ethiopia and Arabia, they are all waiting for the same thing. Necklaces made of gold and colored stones, bracelets made of silver and glass beads. Exquisite outfits and ivory combs. Overseas vases and caskets. Arrogance and greed accompany female charms and love science. The rich decoration of the palace rooms, plentiful food and sweet laziness are the lot of my wives and concubines. They are happy with it, and I despise them for it. Days pass and they become uninteresting to me. I am alone in the host of women's kisses. So may the young man Ebimelech never know satiety. Let him love so that the cup of lust and passion never runs dry. Let, like an eagle, he soars in the sky and does not know the boredom of the earth; let him slide like a lizard between high stones and know not the pain of a deadly fall; let it sway like a ship on the life-giving waves of love and never see: what is beyond the distance, beyond the yellow horizon...
This is his happiness - in the insatiable desire, in the inaccessibility of his star. And I ... It's too late for me. I am doomed from birth - I am a king, this is my burden. Under my white tunic, selling which you can whole year to feed the family of the poor is the sackcloth of the lord, strong, successful and lonely. This is how Yahweh wants, this is how it is, and this is how it will be.
The old man was about to say something, but Solomon frowned, furiously knitting his eyebrows.
- And that's enough, old man! - he imperiously interrupted the interlocutor and commanded: - Now tell us about yourself. Who are you?
“Forgive me, Wise One, for reopening your old wounds. I am who you see. an old man traveling the world. I've lived and wandered so long that I don't remember where I'm from or who my parents are. The only and dearest image for me is the image of a dark-haired woman. Sometimes in my dreams I see her kind radiant eyes, the color of blue summer nights. She smiles and looks at me affectionately, as if calling me to go with her to some wonderful distance. There are light-winged clouds, proud birds - they are fresh and bright, like dawn, - and butterflies: yellow, white, blue ... And then the dream is interrupted ... I think it's my mother. She consoles me and cures mental illnesses... And she waits. Therefore, I am not afraid of death. I know that it is light and calm there, there is love ...
He was silent for a minute, and then he spoke again:
Are you asking who I am? If on my way there is a fertile valley, I help to cultivate olive and orange trees, to harvest grapes. If the river or the sea - I am a connoisseur of the winds and read the sky by the stars, this has saved the life of a fishing boat and a ship more than once. If the soil is fertile, I help the workers to grow wheat, and if the land is scarce, barley. If pasture - I'm a shepherd. Animals listen to me, and not a single sheep has yet disappeared from my flock.
Time took away my memory, and in return bestowed a subtle ear and a sense of the word. I see poorly in comparison with other people, but I am able to see the essence of things, - the old man looked at Solomon intently. “I'm used to living without money, and I'm not conceited. And therefore I obey, forgive me, Vladyka, - the elder bowed his head in respect, - only inner voice for thus God speaks to me. Old age destroyed my body, but my spirit only matured and grew stronger.
The old man fell silent again, catching his breath, gathering his strength. Then he continued:
Are you asking who I am? I am a happy man. I can see. How the petals tremble on the ready-to-open apple branches. How the dew plays with the first rays of the sun in the early predawn hour on fragrant lilies and roses. As a child smiles in the womb, as desire is born in the womb of a young man.
I can hear trees and grass, birds and animals. How a fresh source is preparing to break out of the bowels of the earth. How the rain whispers.
I know how to love. To love a person who is pure in thought, even if his body is covered with ulcers and the air around him is poisoned by poisonous stinking pus.
Are you asking who I am? I am an unfortunate, miserable old man. How many times have I strived to create great song about man and the world that extends around him and above him. And I couldn't. How many nights have I not slept, how many days have I not eaten, how many tears have I shed over precious scrolls paid for by years of hard work! But the scrolls crumbled in my hands: time, heat and moisture consumed them. Like an overripe lover, starved, incinerated by fruitless passion, I try in vain to catch the desired moment - to catch the rapidly changing, elusive face of the world. Like countless glass shards, like a scattering precious stones, the world shimmers inside and outside of me and does not give rest, and drives somewhere into the distance. And more and more often I began to think that I had lived my life, carried away by a great, shining - a mirage. Yes... butterflies, beautiful light-winged butterflies will soon call me for good. And maybe there, in another world, I will create my own song.
The old man was silent. And Solomon was also silent. Everyone thought about their own. The sun went down behind the city. Heavy candlesticks were lit. The luxurious bed in the royal chambers was ready. One of the concubines, a swarthy Egyptian, to whom Solomon had not yet cooled off, had already smeared her young round body with myrrh, adorned herself with earrings, hoops and bracelets. And the king was still busy. Today he did not drink the intoxicating mind and eyes of sweet wine, did not perform important state affairs. He, as reported from the Summer Palace, was talking with some old man. And what is some poor wanderer to him on the eve of another night full of voluptuousness and furious bliss? ..
Solomon spoke first:
“You wanted me to let the young Ebimelech become like many: always thinking about his own womb, boasting of small successes, a merchant or a vinedresser. Buying him the right to his beloved, I would destroy his wings, ruin him immortal soul. Let him find other women. Let them bear him children. But not with my sovereign hand, not with my permission, this young man will become like everyone else. You saw him: he is talented, maybe he will become a poet or a traveler, a discoverer or a sage. The happiness of a family man is not his happiness. If he is destined to die of suffering, let him die. If he is destined to rise and penetrate the secrets of the universe, then our meeting was not the last. He believes in love - let him believe and find it ... for me ... Do you know, old man, how much love is in my seraglio? But for some reason, sometimes it becomes bad and disgusting from her ...
“You are mistaken, Solomon. You call carnal pleasures love, supported only by sweet speeches and mutual pleasantness in kissing. Love is the union of two bodies merging in a sacred love dance, in heavenly flight. True love is not divided into voluptuous bliss and adoration. True love does not ponder such questions at all. She is generous and modest, she is not subject to the orders of judges and the cries of idle onlookers.
You did not let the young man make his own choice, king. Maybe love, on the contrary, would inspire him and lift him to the heights of bliss and inspiration? You imagined that you favored Ebimelech, but in fact you were afraid of the greatness of his feelings and envied his happiness. After all, you yourself said that no one loved you for your own sake.
And meanwhile, what power, if not love, created our promised land? How can a world of such beauty and such diversity arise without love? Receiving the gifts of heaven and the blessings of life-giving springs, the earth gives birth to lush gardens and crops. This is Love. A miracle, a real miracle, brings new people to the world. Look at how a father looks at his child, how a mother rejoices at her child. And this is love. And even when the storm roars menacingly, devouring the coastal villages and ships - this is how God points out the sinfulness of human deeds or their injustice - this is also love, in its own way, cruelly protecting from internal destruction.
No, king! Love exists. Time will sweep away you and me, but love will remain as long as there is: children, lovers, workers, the poor, kings. Love is construction, creation, creativity, inspiration.
There was silence. The candles were dying down, and Solomon signaled to the servants not to change the candlesticks: he wanted the flame to fade in his presence and take away with it the deep sadness into which his conversation with the old man plunged.
“I will call you Ophir, old man. Today was a hard day. Thank you! In a conversation with you, I learned a lot of knowledge and I found answers to many of my questions. Anguish now owns my heart, a longing that reaches despair and anger. You made me marvel again at the greatness of the world created by God. Helped me get to the bottom of things. And he helped to feel like a person who has the right to weakness and grief. You are the only one who speaks to me not as a king, but as a lonely husband. But I forbid you to speak to me like that in the presence of my subjects. Let no one recognize the weak and vulnerable Solomon. Hot-tempered and unrestrained, ardent and rushing about in search of a kind sincere word.
My servants will escort you to your chambers, - seeing that the old man was preparing to object, Solomon hastened to add: - I know you can refuse and leave. But accept my will as a gift, be my guest.
After listening to Solomon, the old man slowly shook his head in approval and suddenly took out of his clothes some small object that looked like a ring:
“Take this ring, lord!” By the hand of a skilled jeweler, a deep saying is imprinted on it, it will help you overcome yourself in Hard time. But know that what is written there is written in the name of love and for it, for only it, so different and secretive, is eternal.
The old man, named Ophir, departed, accompanied by servants. And Solomon stood up, brought the ring to the candlestick, barely flickering with a trembling flame, and read: “This too shall pass,” the ring said.
He spent that night alone, falling into a deep sleep as soon as his body touched the soft bed. And in vain waited for him, dressed in precious decorations and brightly painted her face, and in vain, wringing her hands in despair, she listened to the sounds of steps. Her Solomon never came.
The main characters of the story are King Solomon of Persia and his beloved Shulamith. The story consists of twelve parts.
The first part outlines to the reader Persia during the reign of Solomon, talks about Solomon and his deeds. The king was about forty-five years old when the fame of him, of his wisdom and beauty, of the magnificence of his life, spread far beyond the borders of his country. The king was very rich and generous, so much so that silver in his day was valued no more than a simple stone. And for those who surrounded the king and protected his peace, Solomon spared nothing - the shields of five hundred of his bodyguards were covered with gold plates.
The second part of the story tells the reader about what kind of women he loved Great king. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and besides this, countless slaves and dancers. Among them were white-faced, and black-eyed, and tall, and stocky, and round, and slender - the king charmed everyone with his love, because God gave him such an inexhaustible power of passion that ordinary people did not have. In addition, the king shared his bed with Balkis-Makeda, the queen of Sheba, the most beautiful and wise woman in the world. But Solomon loved Shulamith most of all, poor girl from the vineyard.
But why did the women themselves love the king? It was said that the king had marble skin, his lips were like a bright scarlet ribbon, his hair was black and wavy, and his hands were so tender, warm and beautiful that with one touch the king healed headaches, convulsions and black sadness. God made King Solomon able to understand the languages of animals and birds, to understand the reason for human deeds - good and bad, which is why a great many people came to him, asking for judgment, advice, help, and resolution of the dispute. Such was King Solomon, and this is how the historians of those days described him.
On the southern slope of Mount Baal-Gamon, the king had a vineyard, where the king liked to retire during hours of great reflection. So it was this time: the king ordered at dawn to carry himself to the mountain. Leaving the stretcher, the king sat alone on a simple wooden bench and, thinking about something that was subject only to his mind. Suddenly the king listened: somewhere nearby there was a sweet, clear and clear female voice, humming some kind of melody. Soon a girl appeared in front of him. light dress, but she did not see the king, busy with work. Her voice more and more fascinates the king, and while she ties up the vines, his hearing enjoys her singing. Suddenly, the king comes out to her and says: Girl, show me your face! The girl looks at the king, and the strong wind suddenly ruffles her dress and wraps it tightly around her body.
At that moment, the king sees her all naked under her clothes, all her beautiful and slender body, all her roundness and hollows, hills and valleys. The girl approaches the king and sees how beautiful he is, she looks at him with delight, and adds that she did not notice him. The king tells the girl that she is beautiful, more beautiful than anyone in the world; asks to sit closer to him. He learns that her name is Shulamith, and she helps her brothers guard these royal vineyards.
When the king takes her hand, a shiver of delight runs through her body, and when he seals a sweet kiss on his lips, the girl understands that only he can be her lover, only he will she give her virginity. Solomon tells her that he is the royal cook and arranges a date for the next night at the walls of the girl's house. On this day, Solomon was especially bright and joyful, and he did a lot of good when he sat on the throne in the courtroom.
In the sixth part of the story, the author paints before the reader the languor of Sulamith, who is waiting for her lover at night. In the evening she sold her only piece of jewelry to the jeweler, the jeweler's festive silver earrings, and bought myrrh from the seller of incense with the proceeds. Shulamith, that beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, wanted her body to smell of the sweetness of myrrh when her lover touched it. For a long time she lay on her bed, waiting, until she heard footsteps. When Shulamith looked out, there was no one near the house. In fear and hope, the girl ran to the vineyards, where in the morning she met the one whom she managed to love with all her heart.
When she ran to the vineyards, her happiness knew no bounds: the king was waiting for her and stretched out his hands to her. Their lips merge in a kiss, and after a while the king asks if she is sorry? Shulamith, with a smile of embarrassment and happiness, answers him: My brothers appointed me to guard the vineyard, but I did not save my own vineyard. That night, Solomon confesses to the girl that he is a king. In the morning, Shulamith is brought to the palace, bathed in a pool of fragrant water, her beautiful body is dressed in the lightest Egyptian fabrics, and her hair is wrapped in pearls.
For seven days and six nights they enjoy love with each other. For seven days the face of the king illuminates joy and he showers Shulamith with jewels from head to toe. At this time, a great secret action is performed in the temple of Isis. Once upon a time, the Mother of the gods, Isis, lost her husband, Osiris. The evil Seth stole it, hid it in a coffin, and then, when Isis found the body, he stole it again and, tearing it into fourteen parts, scattered it all over the world. Thirteen parts were found by the goddess Isis, except for one - the sacred phallus. The priests flog themselves with whips, tear their skin and tear their mouths in frenzied ecstasy, while one of them, a tall and thin old man, with a cry of delight, makes some movement and throws a shapeless piece of meat at the feet of the goddess.
There is an instant silence. The sacrifice has been made. And Queen Astis, the high priestess of the temple, is planning a dirty deed at this time. Since the king cooled off towards her, black hatred settled in her heart, and now, when she learned that the most beautiful Solomon spends days and nights with a certain Shulamith, she conceived evil. Astis calls Eliav, the head of the royal guard, to her. She knows that he has been burning with passion for her for a long time and promises him to become king over her if he kills Shulamith. Without a word, Eliav exits the temple. He goes to Solomon's palace and hides at the door of the royal bedroom.
On this seventh night, Shulamith cannot enjoy Solomon's love from the bottom of her heart. Sadness gnaws at the soul of the girl, she tells the king that her death is somewhere nearby. Suddenly, there is a rustle, and Shulamith, who jumped up from the bed, suddenly finds herself pierced by a sword. Eliav runs away, but Solomon orders to seize him and kill him. On the same day, Solomon demands that Queen Astis be sent to Egypt, so as not to see her again in Persia. The king himself sits near the body of Shulamith until deep evening shadows, and no one knows what thoughts visit him ...
There is an opinion that the work of A.I. Kuprin "Shulamith" contains elements of child porn. The heroine of the work was only 13 years old when she fell in love with the king. In the story we are talking it is about love, and so strong, which the world has never seen.
"Shulamith" is not something obscene, but is a classic of the world fiction. Even though the boundaries of classifying a work as pornographic change in different eras and at different peoples, "Shulamith" has never been classified as prohibited content. Because the goals this work different from the goals of pornographic texts.
The plot itself is based on the book "Song of Songs" from the Bible. But in a rather free retelling of Kuprin. The Song of Solomon, the Song of (All) Songs, is a canonical book of the Old Testament written in Biblical Hebrew and attributed to King Solomon. At present, it is usually interpreted as a collection of wedding songs without a single plot. Kuprin tried to build a single plot out of all this. Approximately as if from dozens of Russian folk songs someone made up a story about the love of some Alyonushka and the goodness of the young man Ivan, including quotes and plots from different songs.
The name Shulamith is mentioned in the Bible only in passing and only in one verse. According to some interpretations, the name Shulamith is just a derivative of the area in the neighborhood. Like, for example, the common name of a girl is "Moskvichka" (from Moscow) or, for example, "Smolyanka" (from Smolensk).
There are no such details of love in the Bible as there are in the plot of "Sulamith" by Kuprin. According to the Orthodox interpretation, in the book "Song of Songs" for example strong love between a man and a woman, higher matters are discussed, which we will not go into now. in short, on the example of such a strong love between a girl and a king, readers are given a chance to comprehend Divine Wisdom (God is Love)
In the work of Kuprin, before meeting with Shulamith, the king had success with the female. Quote:
Whatever the king's eyes desired, he did not refuse them and did not forbid his heart to have any joy. The king had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, not counting slaves and dancers. And Solomon enchanted all of them with his love, because God gave him such an inexhaustible power of passion that ordinary people did not have. He loved the white-faced, black-eyed, red-lipped Hittites for their bright, but instantaneous beauty, which blooms just as early and charmingly and fades just as quickly as a narcissus flower; swarthy, tall, fiery Philistine women with coarse, curly hair, who wore ringing gold wrists on their hands, gold hoops on their shoulders, and wide bracelets connected by a thin chain on both ankles; gentle, small, flexible Amorites, built without reproach - their fidelity and humility in love have become proverbs; women from Assyria, who lengthened their eyes with colors and etched blue stars on their foreheads and cheeks; educated, cheerful and witty daughters of Sidon, who knew how to sing, dance well, and also play the harps, lutes and flutes to the accompaniment of a tambourine; yellow-skinned Egyptians, indefatigable in love and mad in jealousy; voluptuous Babylonians, whose whole body under their clothes was as smooth as marble, because they destroyed their hair with a special paste; the maidens of Bactria, who dyed their hair and nails fiery red and wore shalvars; silent, shy Moabites, whose luxurious breasts were cool in the hottest summer nights; careless and wasteful Ammonites with fiery hair and a body so white that it shone in the darkness; fragile blue-eyed women with flaxen hair and a delicate smell of skin, who were brought from the north, through Baalbek, and whose language was incomprehensible to all living in Palestine. In addition, the king loved many of the daughters of Judah and Israel.But all of them were overshadowed by a young girl with her beauty and sincere love. Seven days lasted their joint happiness, only seven days they belonged undividedly to each other. And why they broke up, you will find out if you want to read Kuprin's work itself. general idea exceptionally strong mutual love, which stronger than death, the writer conveys well.
Numerous inserts from the Bible and accurate indications of historical data make this work even more powerful. Here is an example of an insert from the "Song of Songs" that Kuprin has:
"... strong as death, love; fierce, like hell, jealousy; her arrows are arrows of fire; she is a very strong flame.
Great waters cannot extinguish love, and rivers will not flood it. If someone gave all the wealth of his house for love, he would be rejected with contempt ... "
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