I. A. Bunin is the first of the Russian writers who received the Nobel Prize, who achieved popularity and fame at the world level, has fans and associates, but ... deeply unhappy, because since 1920 he was cut off from his homeland and yearned for her. All the stories of the period of emigration are imbued with a sense of melancholy and nostalgia.
Inspired by the lines of the poem “An Ordinary Tale” by N. Ogarev: “All around the scarlet rose hips bloomed / There was an alley of dark lindens,” Ivan Bunin had the idea to write a cycle of love stories about subtle human feelings. Love is different, but it is always a strong feeling that changes the lives of the characters.
The story "Dark Alleys": a summary
The story "Dark Alleys", of the same name to the cycle and being the main one, was published on October 20, 1938 in the New York edition of "New Earth". The main character, Nikolai Alekseevich, accidentally meets Nadezhda, whom he seduced and abandoned many years ago. For the hero then it was just an affair with a serf girl, but the heroine seriously fell in love and carried this feeling through her whole life. After the novel, the girl got her freedom, began to earn her own living herself, currently owns an inn and "gives money on interest." Nikolai Alekseevich ruined Nadezhda's life, but was punished: his beloved wife left him as meanly as he himself had once done, and his son grew up a scoundrel. The heroes part, now forever, Nikolai Alekseevich understands what kind of love he missed. However, the hero, even in his thoughts, cannot overcome social conventions and imagine what would have happened if he had not abandoned Nadezhda.
Bunin, "Dark Alleys" - audiobook
Listening to the story "Dark Alleys" is unusually pleasant, because the poetic nature of the author's language is also manifested in prose.
The image and characteristics of the protagonist (Nikolai)
The image of Nikolai Alekseevich causes antipathy: this person does not know how to love, he sees only himself and public opinion. He is afraid of himself, of Hope, no matter what happens. But if everything is outwardly decent, you can do whatever you like, for example, break the heart of a girl for whom no one will intercede. Life punished the hero, but did not change him, did not add firmness of spirit. His image personifies the habit, everyday life.
The image and characteristics of the main character (Hope)
Much stronger is Nadezhda, who was able to survive the shame of an affair with a “master” (although she wanted to lay hands on herself, she got out of this state), and also managed to learn how to earn money on her own, and in an honest way. The coachman Klim notes the mind and justice of a woman, she “gives money at interest” and “gets richer”, but does not profit from the poor, but is guided by justice. Hope, despite the tragedy of her love, kept her in her heart for many years, forgave her offender, but did not forget. Her image is the soul, sublimity, which is not in origin, but in personality.
The main idea and main theme of the story "Dark Alleys"
Love in Bunin's "Dark Alleys" is a tragic, fatal, but no less important and wonderful feeling. It becomes eternal, because it remains forever in the memory of both heroes, it was the most precious and bright in their lives, although gone forever. If a person has ever loved like Nadezhda, he has already experienced happiness. Even if this love ended tragically. The life and fate of the heroes of the story "Dark Alleys" would be completely empty and gray without such a bitter and sick, but still amazing and bright feeling, which is a kind of litmus test that tests a human personality for strength of mind and moral purity. Hope passes this test, but Nikolai does not. This is the idea of the work. You can read more about the theme of love in the work here:
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin was a man of both happy and tragic fate. Having reached incredible heights in literary art, he was the first Russian writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize.
Although Bunin was recognized as one of the outstanding masters of the word, he lived abroad for 30 years, yearning for his homeland and still being in close spiritual closeness with her.
Thanks to these experiences in New York in 1943, the greatest collection of stories by I.A. Bunin "Dark Alleys" in a truncated form, and in 1946 the second edition of this cycle took place in Paris. The publication consisted of 38 stories.
The collection of short stories bears the similar title of one of his short stories. The hero of the story, a young landowner, seduces a peasant woman named Nadezhda, then his life goes on as usual. Many years later, having already become a high-ranking military man, he happens to pass through these places. In the hostess of the hut in which he stopped, he recognizes the very Nadezhda. Hope, like him, now aged, but still beautiful.
The meeting of previously in love heroes is the plot basis of the work. Subtly conveying the experiences of the characters, the author appears as the greatest connoisseur of the human soul. Their brief dialogue contains a lot of emotional information.
In the story we see an interesting difference in the behavior of the characters. Military Nikolai Alekseevich is already sixty years old, but he blushes like a young man who has offended her. And Nadezhda, on the contrary, is gloomy and calm, her words give off bitterness: "Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten."
As it turns out later, the old man was punished by life, he was not happy, leaving the young peasant woman. And, interestingly, the woman still loves her master. But he does not believe her, because he himself does not love and hardly loved. But, one way or another, when remembering youth, the hero has a sensual memory.
Having kept her love for life, the heroine never married, did not forgive him, and also remained unhappy. But she is avenged: the wife of Nikolai Alekseevich, who loved her without memory, cheated on him and left him.
Love in the story "Dark Alleys" does not end in a happy marriage, does not pass into a family. The love of Bunin's heroes is lightning fast, instantaneous, but sincere. And, despite the short duration, the feelings experienced by the heroes remain eternal in memory, since life itself is fleeting. And so the old man bitterly says: "I think that I have lost in you the most precious thing that I had in my life."
All works by I.A. Bunin is permeated with the theme of love. In his stories, he correlates the phenomena of external life with internal spiritual experiences and penetrates into the secrets of the human soul.
Immediately after the revolution of 1917, Bunin created a number of journalistic articles, where he opposed the Bolsheviks. In 1918, he moved from Moscow to Odessa, and in early 1920 he left Russia forever.
The Bunins settled in Paris, where life began "on other shores" - in a state of mental decline, with the bitterness of a break with their homeland. The writer's works were published in the newspapers Vozrozhdenie and Rus. Bunin headed the Union of Russian Writers and Journalists.
In exile, the writer creates stories mainly about Russian life - full of deep psychology and subtle lyrics, develops the genre of philosophical and psychological short stories ("Dark Alleys"). He combined his stories into the collections Mitina's Love (1925), Sunstroke (1927), Bird's Shadow (1931).
Bunin's prose continues the traditions of I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharova and L.N. Tolstoy. The economical and efficient use of artistic means, visual imagery and psychological insight - these are the features of Bunin's style. Some of his stories, thanks to the perfection of form, belong to the best works of world short stories. K.G. Paustovsky wrote that everything is heard in Bunin's language: "... from ringing copper solemnity to the transparency of flowing spring water, from measured chasing to intonations of amazing softness, from light melody to slow peals of thunder."
Bunin expressed his understanding of the world and his place in it in a characteristic note dating back to that time: “And day after day goes by - and the secret pain of their steady loss does not leave them - steady and meaningless, because they go in inaction, everything is only in anticipation of action and what - something else ... And the days and nights go by, and this pain, and all the vague feelings and thoughts, and the vague consciousness of myself and everything around me is my life, which I do not understand. And further: “We live by what we live, only to the extent that we comprehend the price of what we live. Usually this price is very small: it rises only in moments of delight - the delight of happiness or unhappiness, a vivid consciousness of gain or loss; more - in moments of poetic transformation of the past in memory. Such a “poetic transformation of the past in memory” is Bunin’s work of the emigrant period, in which the writer seeks salvation from the boundless feeling of loneliness.
Painfully experiencing what happened to Russia and his rejection from her, he tries to find an explanation and solace in referring to the events of world history that could be correlated with Russian ones: the death of powerful ancient civilizations, kingdoms (“City of the King of Kings”). And now, away from Russia, painfully thinking about it, "fiercely", as he said, tormented, Bunin turns to memory, highlighting it among spiritual values: "We live by everything that we live, only to the extent that we understand the value of what we live. Usually this price is very small: it rises only in moments of ecstasy of happiness or unhappiness, a vivid consciousness of gain or loss; yet - in moments of poetic transformation of the past in memory.
In his memory, the image of Russia arose in its long-gone times, the recent past and the present.. Such a combination of plans at different times was salutary for him. It allowed Bunin, still not accepting Russian modernity, to find that native, bright, eternal that gave him hope: a birch forest in the Oryol region, songs sung by mowers ("Mowers", 1921), Chekhov ("Penguins", 1929 ). Memory allowed him to connect modern Russia, where "the end has come, the limit of God's forgiveness", with timeless, eternal values. In addition to eternal nature, love remained such an eternal value for Bunin, which he sang in the story "Sunstroke" (1925), the story "Mitya's Love" (1925), the book of stories "Dark Alleys" (1943), love is always tragic, "beautiful and doomed. All these themes - life, death, nature, love - by the end of the 20s. formed the basis of his stories about Russia, how he remembered it and how dear he was to his blood.
In 1927, Bunin began to write the novel "The Life of Arseniev", which has become another artistic autobiography from the life of the Russian nobility, along with such classic works as “Family Chronicle” and “Childhood of Bagrov-grandson” by S. Aksakov, “Childhood”, “Boyhood”, “Youth” by L. Tolstoy. The events of childhood, adolescence, life in the village, studying at the gymnasium (80-90s of the XIX century) are seen in him with double vision: through the eyes of the schoolboy Alexei Arsenyev and through the eyes of Bunin, who created the novel in the 20s-30s. 20th century Speaking of Russia, "which perished before our eyes in such a magically short time," Bunin overcomes the thought of the end and death with the entire artistic structure of his novel. Such overcoming is in Bunin's landscapes, in that love for Russia and its culture, which is felt in every episode and situation of the novel: Bunin even called the hero's father Alexander Sergeevich. The horror of the end and death is overcome by the author's lyrical confession, from which it becomes clear how the formation of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century took place. And, of course, the fifth, last chapter of Arseniev's Life, which is called Lika, and in which Bunin recalls how back in 1889, when he was working in the Orlovsky Vestnik, he was "smitten by unfortunately, a long love." And this love was not destroyed by time...
The power of love, overcoming the darkness and chaos of life, became the main content of the book "Dark Alleys", written during the Second World War. All 38 short stories that made it up are about love, most often unrequited and tragic. Bunin's understanding of love was reflected here: "All love is a great happiness, even if it is not divided." The book "Dark Alleys" also includes the story "Clean Monday", which Bunin considered the best of all that he had written. “I thank God,” he said, “that he gave me the opportunity to write Clean Monday.”
Behind the simple plot of the story, the presence of some kind of hidden significance is felt. It turned out to be an allegorical, symbolically expressed idea about the historical path of Russia. Therefore, the heroine of the story is so mysterious, embodying not the idea of love-passion, but longing for a moral ideal, the combination of eastern and western principles is so significant in her as a reflection of this combination in the life of Russia. Her unexpected, at first glance, departure to the monastery symbolizes the "third way" that Bunin chose for Russia. He prefers the path of humility, curbing the elements, and sees this as an opportunity to go beyond the bounds of Western and Eastern doom, the path of great suffering, in which Russia will atone for its sin and go on its own path.
A cycle of stories called "Dark Alleys" is dedicated to the eternal theme of any kind of art - love. They say about "Dark Alleys" as a kind of encyclopedia of love, which contains the most diverse and incredible stories about this great and often contradictory feeling.
And the stories that were included in Bunin's collection amaze with their diverse plots and extraordinary style, they are the main assistants of Bunin, who wants to portray love at the peak of feelings, tragic love, but from this - and perfect.
Feature of the cycle "Dark Alleys"
The phrase itself, which served as the name for the collection, was taken by the writer from the poem "An Ordinary Tale" by N. Ogaryov, which is dedicated to first love, which did not have the expected continuation.
In the collection itself there is a story with that name, but this does not mean that this story is the main one, no, this expression is the personification of the mood of all stories and stories, a common elusive meaning, a transparent, almost invisible thread connecting the stories with each other.
A feature of the cycle of stories "Dark Alleys" can be called moments when the love of two heroes for some reason can no longer continue. Often the executioner of the passionate feelings of Bunin's heroes is death, sometimes unforeseen circumstances or misfortunes, but most importantly, love is never given to come true.
This is the key concept of Bunin's idea of earthly love between two. He wants to show love at the peak of its heyday, he wants to emphasize its real wealth and highest value, that it does not need to turn into life circumstances, like a wedding, marriage, life together ...
Female images of "Dark Alleys"
Particular attention should be paid to unusual female portraits, which are so rich in "Dark Alleys". Ivan Alekseevich writes out images of women with such grace and originality that the female portrait of each story becomes unforgettable and truly intriguing.
Bunin's skill consists in several precise expressions and metaphors that instantly draw in the reader's mind the picture described by the author with many colors, shades and nuances.
The stories "Rus", "Antigone", "Galya Ganskaya" are an exemplary example of various, but vivid images of a Russian woman. The girls whose stories are created by the talented Bunin are somewhat reminiscent of the love stories they experience.
We can say that the key attention of the writer is directed precisely to these two elements of the cycle of stories: women and love. And love stories are just as rich, unique, sometimes fatal and masterful, sometimes so original and incredible that it’s hard to believe in them.
Male images in "Dark Alleys""Weak-willed and insincere, and this also causes the fatal course of all love stories.
Feature of love in "Dark Alleys"
The stories of "Dark Alleys" reveal not only the theme of love, they reveal the depths of the human personality and soul, and the very concept of "love" is presented as the basis of this difficult and not always happy life.
And love does not have to be mutual in order to bring unforgettable impressions, love does not have to turn into something eternal and relentlessly ongoing in order to please and make a person happy.
Bunin shrewdly and subtly shows only "moments" of love, for the sake of which it is worth experiencing everything else, for the sake of which it is worth living.
"Clean Monday" story
The story "Clean Monday" is a mysterious and not fully understood love story. Bunin describes a pair of young lovers who seem to be perfect for each other on the outside, but the catch is that their inner worlds have nothing in common.
The image of a young man is simple and logical, while the image of his beloved is inaccessible and complex, striking her chosen one with its inconsistency. One day she says that she would like to go to a monastery, and this causes complete bewilderment and misunderstanding for the hero.
And the end of this love is as complex and incomprehensible as the heroine herself. After intimacy with a young man, she silently leaves him, then asks him not to ask anything, and soon he learns that she has gone to the monastery.
She made the decision on Pure Monday, when there was an intimacy between lovers, and the symbol of this holiday is a symbol of her purity and torment, from which she wants to get rid of.
The story "Dark alleys" gave the name to the entire collection of the same name by I. A. Bunin. It was written in 1938. All the novels of the cycle are connected by one theme - love. The tragic and even catastrophic nature of love is revealed by the author. Love is a gift. She is beyond human control. It would seem a banal story about a meeting of elderly people who in their youth passionately loved each other. A simple plot of the story - a rich young handsome landowner seduces and then leaves the maid. But it is Bunin who manages to tell with the help of this uncomplicated artistic move about simple things in an exciting and impressive way. A short work - an instant flash of memory of bygone youth and love.
There are only three compositional parts of the story:
Parking at the inn of a gray-haired military man,
A sudden meeting with an ex-lover,
Reflections of the military on the way a few minutes after the meeting.
Pictures of dull everyday life and everyday life appear at the beginning of the story. But in the hostess of the inn, Nikolai Alekseevich recognizes the beautiful maid Nadezhda, whom he betrayed thirty years ago: “he quickly straightened up, opened his eyes and blushed.” Since then, a whole life has passed, and everyone has their own. And it turns out that both main characters are lonely. Nikolai Alekseevich has social weight and well-being, but is unhappy: his wife "changed, left me even more insultingly than I did you," and his son grew up a scoundrel "without a heart, without honor, without a conscience." Nadezhda turned from a former serf into the owner of a “private room” at the post office “mind chamber. And everyone, they say, is getting richer, cool ... ”, but she never got married.
And yet, if the hero is tired of life, then his former lover is still beautiful and light, full of vitality. He once refused love and spent the rest of his life without it, and therefore without happiness. Nadezhda, all her life, loves him alone, to whom she gave "her beauty, her fever", whom she once called "Nikolenka". As before, love lives in her heart, but she does not forgive Nikolai Alekseevich. Although it does not descend to accusations and tears.
Analysis of the story "Easy breathing"
The theme of love occupies one of the leading places in the writer's work. In mature prose, there are noticeable trends in understanding the eternal categories of being - death, love, happiness, nature. Often he describes "moments of love", which have a fatal character, a tragic coloring. He pays great attention to female characters, mysterious and incomprehensible.
The beginning of the novel "Light Breath" creates a feeling of sadness and sadness. The author prepares the reader in advance for the fact that the tragedy of human life will unfold on the following pages.
The main character of the novel Olga Meshcherskaya, a high school girl, stands out among her classmates with a cheerful disposition and a clear love of life, she is not at all afraid of other people's opinions, and openly challenges society.
In the last winter, many changes took place in the girl's life. At this time, Olga Meshcherskaya was in the full bloom of her beauty. There were rumors about her that she could not live without admirers, but at the same time she treated them very cruelly. In her last winter, Olya completely devoted herself to the joys of life, she went to balls and went to the skating rink every evening.
Olya always tried to look good, she wore expensive shoes, expensive combs, perhaps she would have dressed in the latest fashion if all the gymnasium girls did not wear uniforms. The headmistress of the gymnasium made a remark to Olga about her appearance, that such jewelry and shoes should be worn by an adult woman, and not by a simple student. To which Meshcherskaya openly declared that she has the right to dress like a woman, because she is her, and none other than the director's brother Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin is to blame for this. Olga's answer can be fully regarded as a challenge to the society of that time. A young girl without a shadow of modesty puts on things that are not for her age, behaves like a mature woman and at the same time openly argues her behavior with rather intimate things.
Olga's transformation into a woman took place in the summer at the dacha. When the parents were not at home, Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, a friend of their family, came to visit them at the dacha. Despite the fact that he did not find Olya's father, Malyutin nevertheless stayed at a party, explaining that he wanted it to dry out properly after the rain. In relation to Olya, Alexei Mikhailovich behaved like a gentleman, although the difference in their age was huge, he was 56, she was 15. Malyutin confessed his love to Olya, said all kinds of compliments. During tea drinking, Olga felt bad and lay down on the couch, Alexei Mikhailovich began to kiss her hands, talk about how he was in love, and then kissed her on the lips. Well, what happened next happened. We can say that on the part of Olga it was nothing more than an interest in mystery, the desire to become an adult.
After that there was tragedy. Malyutin shot Olga at the train station and explained this by saying that he was in a state of passion, because she showed him her diary, which described everything that happened, and then Olgino's attitude to the situation. She wrote that she was disgusted with her boyfriend.
Malyutin acted so cruelly because his pride was hurt. He was no longer a young officer, and even a bachelor, it was naturally pleasant for him to amuse himself with the fact that a young girl expressed her sympathy for him. But when he found out that she felt nothing for him but disgust, it was like a bolt from the blue. He himself used to push women away, and then they pushed him away. The society was on the side of Malyutin, he justified himself by the fact that Olga herself allegedly seduced him, promised to become his wife, and then left him. Since Olya had a reputation as a heartbreaker, no one doubted his words.
The story ends with the cool lady Olga Meshcherskaya, a dreamy lady living in her fictional ideal world, coming to Olya's grave every holiday and silently watching her for several hours. For the lady Olya is the ideal of femininity and beauty.
Here, “easy breathing” is an easy attitude to life, sensuality and impulsiveness that were inherent in Olya Meshcherskaya.
Bunin Ivan Alekseevich is one of the best writers of our country. The first collection of his poems appeared in 1881. Then he wrote the stories "To the End of the World", "Tanka", "News from the Motherland" and some others. In 1901, a new collection, Falling Leaves, was published, for which the author received the Pushkin Prize.
Popularity and recognition come to the writer. He meets M. Gorky, A.P. Chekhov, L.N. Tolstoy.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Ivan Alekseevich created the stories "Zakhar Vorobyov", "Pines", "Antonov apples" and others, which depict the tragedy of the destitute, impoverished people, as well as the ruin of the estates of the nobles.
and emigration
Bunin took the October Revolution negatively, as a social drama. He emigrated in 1920 to France. Here he wrote, in addition to other works, a cycle of short stories called "Dark Alleys" (we will analyze the story of the same name from this collection a little lower). The main theme of the cycle is love. Ivan Alekseevich reveals to us not only its bright sides, but also the dark ones, as the name itself speaks of.
Bunin's fate was both tragic and happy. In his art, he reached unsurpassed heights, the first of the domestic writers to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize. But he was forced to live in a foreign land for thirty years, with longing for his homeland and spiritual intimacy with her.
Collection "Dark alleys"
These experiences served as an impetus for the creation of the cycle "Dark Alleys", the analysis of which we will analyze. This collection, in a truncated form, first appeared in New York in 1943. In 1946, the next edition came out in Paris, which included 38 stories. The collection differed sharply in its content from the way in which the theme of love was habitually covered in Soviet literature.
Bunin's view of love
Bunin had his own view of this feeling, different from others. His final was one - death or parting, regardless of how much the heroes loved each other. Ivan Alekseevich believed that it looked like a flash, but this is precisely what is beautiful. Love over time is replaced by affection, which gradually turns into everyday life. Bunin's heroes are deprived of this. They experience only a flash and part, having enjoyed it.
Consider the Analysis of the story that opens the cycle of the same name, let's start with a brief description of the plot.
The plot of the story "Dark Alleys"
Its plot is uncomplicated. General Nikolai Alekseevich, already an old man, arrives at the post station and meets his beloved here, whom he has not seen for about 35 years. Hope he learns not immediately. Now she is the hostess in which their first meeting once took place. The hero finds out that all this time she loved only him.
The story "Dark Alleys" continues. Nikolai Alekseevich is trying to justify himself to the woman for not visiting her for so many years. "Everything passes," he says. But these explanations are very insincere, clumsy. Nadezhda wisely answers the general, saying that youth passes for everyone, but love does not. The woman reproaches her lover that he left her heartlessly, so she wanted to lay hands on herself many times, but she realizes that now it is too late to reproach.
Let us dwell in more detail on the story "Dark Alleys". shows that Nikolai Alekseevich does not seem to feel remorse, but Nadezhda is right when she says that not everything is forgotten after all. The general also could not forget this woman, his first love. In vain he asks her: "Go away, please." And he says that if only God would forgive him, and Nadezhda, apparently, has already forgiven him. But it turns out that it isn't. The woman admits that she could not do it. Therefore, the general is forced to make excuses, to apologize to his former lover, saying that he was never happy, but he loved his wife without memory, and she left Nikolai Alekseevich, cheated on him. He adored his son, had high hopes, but he turned out to be an insolent, spendthrift, without honor, heart, conscience.
Is there an old love left?
Let's analyze the work "Dark Alleys". Analysis of the story shows that the feelings of the main characters have not faded away. It becomes clear to us that the old love has been preserved, the heroes of this work love each other as before. Leaving, the general admits to himself that this woman gave him the best moments of his life. For the betrayal of his first love, fate takes revenge on the hero. Does not find happiness in the life of the family Nikolai Alekseevich ("Dark Alleys"). An analysis of his experiences proves this. He realizes that he missed the chance given by fate once. When the coachman tells the general that this landlady gives money at interest and is very "cool", although fair: if she didn't return it on time, then blame yourself, Nikolai Alekseevich projects these words onto his life, reflects on what would have happened if he hadn't abandoned this woman.
What prevented the happiness of the main characters?
At one time, class prejudices prevented the fate of the future general from joining the fate of a commoner. But love did not leave the heart of the protagonist and prevented him from becoming happy with another woman, raising his son with dignity, as our analysis shows. "Dark Alleys" (Bunin) is a work that has a tragic connotation.
Nadezhda also carried love through her whole life and in the end she also ended up alone. She could not forgive the hero for the suffering caused, since he remained the dearest person in her life. Nikolai Alekseevich was unable to break the rules established in society, did not dare to act against them. After all, if the general married Nadezhda, he would meet the contempt and misunderstanding of those around him. And the poor girl had no choice but to submit to fate. In those days, bright alleys of love between a peasant woman and a master were impossible. This is a public issue, not a private one.
The drama of the fate of the main characters
Bunin in his work wanted to show the dramatic fate of the main characters, who were forced to part, being in love with each other. In this world, love was doomed and especially fragile. But she lit up their whole life, forever remained in the memory of the best moments. This story is romantically beautiful, although dramatic.
In Bunin's work "Dark Alleys" (we are now analyzing this story), the theme of love is a through motif. It also permeates all creativity, thus linking the emigrant and Russian periods. It is she who allows the writer to relate spiritual experiences with the phenomena of external life, as well as to approach the mystery of the human soul, based on the influence of objective reality on it.
This concludes the analysis of "Dark Alleys". Everyone understands love in their own way. This amazing feeling has not yet been unraveled. The theme of love will always be relevant, because it is the driving force behind many human actions, the meaning of our lives. This conclusion is led, in particular, by our analysis. Bunin's "Dark Alleys" is a story that, even with its title, reflects the idea that this feeling cannot be fully understood, it is "dark", but at the same time beautiful.
You can talk about love endlessly. In the center of attention of I. A. Bunin in all the stories of the cycle “Dark Alleys” is the love of a man and a woman. But in each story, the author shows different shades of this feeling: this is platonic love, and irrepressible passion, and betrayal, betrayal, and love-self-sacrifice, and love-flash, and much, much more. other.
One of the most lyrical stories of the cycle is the story "Dark Alleys", which opens the collection. The plot is unpretentious and simple. Nikolai Alekseevich, the hero of the story, calls what happened to him a vulgar, ordinary story. Is it so?
Now an old man - a military man, a man of about sixty, he stops at an inn "to rest or spend the night, have lunch or ask for a samovar." Nikolai Alekseevich has not yet lost his charm and beauty, but the author notices his tired look. Unexpectedly for him, his former lover turns out to be the owner of the inn. She regularly keeps the household, in the upper room she has "warm, dry and tidy." Hope "gives money in growth", God-feet. Tough temper, but fair. She is also beautiful and attractive.
The heroes have not seen each other for thirty years, a lot has changed in their lives over the years. Nadezhda has become a strong businesswoman, everything is going well in her life. But in his personal life... Hope is lonely.
At the meeting between the heroes, a conversation that was not very pleasant for Nikolai Alekseevich took place. Un-pleasant, because then, thirty years ago, he abandoned Nadezhda. The very meeting with an old love became a shock for the hero. Thirty years ago, the hero-nya lived under the masters, was a serf. She fell in love with "Nikolenka" and entrusted her "fever" to him. What did the heroine have in response? Betrayal.
She loved with all her heart, deeply and passionately, as one loves only once in a lifetime, and therefore now Nadezhda is still alone. The heroine could neither forget nor forgive Nikolai Alekseevich. He apparently did not remember what he had done for a long time. Married, wife “without memory loved. And she changed, she left. The son, whom the hero "adored" and on whom he pinned his hopes, grew up "a scoundrel, a waste, a scoundrel, without a heart, without honor, without a conscience."
Everything in life returns to man, both good and bad. Returned and Nikolai Alekseevich. He has never been happy in his life and admits that it was Nadezhda who gave him "the best minutes of his life", "and not the best, but truly magical." In Nadezhda, the hero lost "the most precious thing he had in life."
But happiness was so possible! But does it seem possible to the hero? Leaving the inn, he tries to present Nadezhda as the mistress of her St. Petersburg home, the mother of her children. Judging by the current lifestyle of the heroine, she would have succeeded in this role. But Nikolai Alekseevich, "closing his eyes, shook his head." No, even now, realizing that his life has been wasted, he cannot overcome in himself those social prejudices that prevented him from making the right choice thirty years ago. He broke someone else's fate, broke his own. “Yes, blame yourself,” the hero says to himself, realizing that he has no one to blame for the current situation, and yet, even today, if history repeats itself, he would do the same.
The character of Nadezhda, her spiritual essence, Nikolay Alekseevich did not understand, to her, having carried her suffering through her whole life, he says that “everything passes over the years”, “everything is forgotten”, that between them there was only a “story vulgar, ordinary.
