Love is a feeling about which much has been said in Russian classical literature. Some of the authors touched on the topic of love in passing. But there were those who boldly walked towards her, devoting their work to its mysterious and incomprehensible sides. The most mysterious and ambiguous human emotions are dedicated to Bunin 's stories about love. The list of these works is a gallery of beautiful poetic stories, which, as a rule, have a sad and touching outcome.
"Dark alleys"
The problem of love in the stories of Bunin lies in the transience and inconstancy of this feeling. A love story becomes tragic when feelings were fleeting for one of its participants. So, in the story “Dark Alleys”, an elderly military man, accidentally stopping by the inn, meets his former love there, which he does not immediately recognize. Many years have passed since their last meeting. She became the mistress of the constant room, a tough and cold woman. But she was not always like that. Such were her unrequited feelings for Nikolai Alekseevich - that very military man, her casual guest. The man who brutally abandoned her thirty years ago.
In his youth, he read to her the lyric poems Dark Alleys, and she called him Nikolenka. Now he admits that he was not happy for a minute of his life. But nothing can be corrected anymore, and Nikolai Alekseevich leaves the inn with a heavy heart and vague alarming memories.
"Caucasus"
The motive of love in Bunin's stories is often associated with betrayal, which leads a person to a tragic ending. The story "Caucasus", on the one hand, shows the happiness of two lovers. On the other hand - the tragedy of a deceived husband. In this story, little is said about him. The reader only knows that he is a tough and decisive person. In the eyes of a frivolous wife, he appears as a hindrance and an annoying obstacle to happiness. But at that moment, when the lovers are exhausted from passion, this "tough man" realizes that he was betrayed, and commits suicide.
Bunin describes the emotions of a deceived husband and his death sparingly and dispassionately. The happy experiences of the wife and her lover are depicted against the backdrop of a colorful southern landscape. This literary device creates a sharp contrast between happiness and tragedy, which are generated equally by love.
"Styopa"
About how human happiness can be unattainable, the best possible story is told by Bunin's stories about love. The summary of the “Step” story gives the impression of a familiar plot. But the artistic forms characteristic of the author allow us to see new shades in the classic story of the “poor dishonored girl”.
The young merchant Krasilshchikov, having called in a room for his acquaintance, finds the master's daughter alone. Father went to the city. The merchant, taking advantage of the situation, draws closer to the girl. For him, this story is an entertaining adventure, which he safely forgets after only two days. For her - the hope of happiness. The story does not show the tragedy of a simple girl. Here are only her hopes and dreams, creating the opposite of the indifference and frivolity of the protagonist.
"Muse"
The world of men and the world of women in Ivan Bunin are in constant antagonism. The Bunin narrative is characterized by a sharp change in the life circumstances of the hero, which is not a consequence of any events. Changes in the character’s life occur under the influence of his feelings for a woman, who often has the image of a selfish and eccentric nature. The question of what kind of love in Bunin's stories does not have a sad ending can be answered unequivocally: there is no such love. The writer did not pay attention to the life-affirming power of this feeling.
The main character will not suffer a fatal fate, which often ends with Bunin's stories about love. A brief summary of the misadventures of the protagonist of the short story “Muse” comes down to a description of life together with a lover and separation from her, which occurs as suddenly as a meeting. An unexpected parting leads him into confusion, causes a feeling of emptiness.
The narration is in the first person. The main character takes painting lessons, but does not show any abilities in the visual arts. From a short introduction that precedes acquaintance with a heroine with the symbolic name Muse, the reader concludes that the narrator is not a strong-willed person. He is not able to influence the course of events in his life. The Muse once comes to him, draws him along, his life changes. But when the girl-muse loses interest in him, another, equally weak-willed character takes his place.
"Late hour"
Prose Bunin is characterized by catastrophic existence, a feeling of loneliness and the illusory nature of happiness. Undoubtedly, these features were the result of the difficult fate of the author, although there are no direct autobiographical references in his work.
In the years when the story “The Late Hour” was written, the writer was abroad. The work is dedicated to the memories of the bygone love that accompany the author during his journey through his native city. Passing over the bridge, bazaar and Monastery Square, he restores lost images in his memory. The past and the present are combined into one. This whole becomes the awareness of the perishability of all life on earth. The logical conclusion of a trip around the city becomes a cemetery. In the story, it is a symbol of the fragility of love. At this cemetery is the beloved's grave. An analysis of Bunin's stories about love allows us to see the connection of the lyric motives of the writer with nostalgia and awareness of the frailty of being.
"Fool"
The tragic love in Bunin's stories is not always beautiful. And sometimes it can be compared more likely with animal passion, which can only be experienced by a person extremely narcissistic and selfish. In the center of the story "Little Fool" - a very immoral and hypocritical person.
The master's son spends the summer with his parents. As a student in a theological seminary, he shows brilliant success in his studies. Moreover, his spiritual and moral world is extremely poor. Taking advantage of the irresponsibility of the fool-cook, he took possession of her: "She could not even cry out of fear." Impunity for these actions has led the young man to repeat them more than once. In the end, the cook gave birth to a boy. But the appearance of the child, as well as the appearance of the "fool" herself, depressed the master's son, and he ordered her to be driven out of the yard. Since then, she has been wandering the streets with her son, asking for alms "for Christ's sake."
The hypocrisy and cruelty of the main character acquire a particularly strong effect because he has the dignity, is a minister of the church. The story is straightforward, but thanks to the unique style of Ivan Bunin, the reader evokes strong feelings. The wanderings of the young mother are not supplemented by tearful emotions, but are described very briefly and concisely. The author says only a few words about the child: "He was a freak, but when he smiled, he was very sweet."
"Antigone"
This story from the collection "Dark Alleys" tells of mutual passion. A young student is visiting with his close relatives. Uncle is a general confined to a wheelchair. In his house, the young man is bored and sad. From boredom, he indulges in fantasies, compares himself with Pushkin's Onegin. But he does not correct the pillows to the general and does not bring medicine. These duties lie on the nurse - a beautiful young lady.
At first glance, passion is born. But the student cannot meet the girl. She is somewhere close, her room is behind the wall, but still the girl is not yet available. One fine day she appears in his room, and the next morning the general's nephew meets already in her bed. The connection is instantly revealed, and the young woman has no choice but to leave the estate. What did this fleeting relationship become for her? Passion? In love? Features of Bunin's stories about love are, first of all, understatement and mystery. The reader has to find answers to some questions himself.
"Business Cards"
A diverse palette of human feelings is reflected in Bunin's stories about love. The list of love stories includes narratives of a fateful feeling, and of a selfish passion, and of fleeting attraction. Relations with random companions are discussed in the story “Business Cards”.
He is a famous writer. She is a poor simple-hearted girl. Her husband, in her own words, is a kind and completely uninteresting person. The feeling that life is wasted is pushing the young woman into love affairs. Her naivety and inexperience touch and attract the writer. The life of this woman is so monotonous and brim that after meeting and brief communication with a beautiful and famous person, she is ready to indulge in simple, unromantic debauchery in order to give her existence at least some bright colors. What happens in her cabin. At the end of the story, she appears before the reader in a different form: "quiet, with eyelashes lowered."
“Zoyka and Valeria”
Bunin devotes all-consuming and sometimes deadly feelings to stories about love. The list of characters in "Dark Alleys" is not easy to compose, since many of them are faceless. In the foreground in the stories of this cycle is not a person with a characteristic appearance and habits, but a feeling that rules his actions. Georges Levitsky is one of the few characters who is not without a name and appearance.
He is thoughtful, melancholy, sloppy. Love comes to him not with the appearance of the chosen one, but much earlier. He is waiting for this feeling, but to whom it will be addressed, at the beginning of the story he still does not know. Either it will be the daughter of a colleague Georges, or a distant relative, it does not matter. It is important that Valeria appears once, and it is to her that this nervous and sensual character directs all her strength of emotions. Valeria, like many other Bunin heroines, is impartial and cold. Her indifference prompts the protagonist of the story “Zoyka and Valery” to suicide.
Tanya
Hidden historical background have some of Bunin's stories about love. The list of stories dedicated to pipe dreams of happiness complements the story of Tanya. Here we are talking about love between the maid of a small landowner and a certain young man. All that is known about him is that Tanya called him affectionately Petrusha and he led a hectic and wandering life. Once, on an autumn night, he took possession of it. At first this girl was frightened, but later the fear receded into the background, and in his place attachment began to grow and develop. But they are not destined to be together. Their last meeting took place in February of the terrible seventeenth year.
"In Paris"
In emigration, people, more than ever, experience a feeling of longing and loneliness. It was in such an atmosphere that Bunin's stories about love were created. The list of works of those years includes the novel “In Paris”. The main character is a former officer of the Russian army, forced to leave his homeland. In a small Russian restaurant, he meets a waitress - a woman of Russian origin. The fate of these two people is crippled by the revolution. They are united by loneliness, the desire to love and be loved. The life of these characters, such strangers against the backdrop of the Parisian city landscape, again makes sense. But Bunin’s love cannot last long. It, like a flash, lights up and goes out again. The protagonist of the story “In Paris” suddenly dies in a subway car.
"Henry"
In this story, Ivan Bunin created the image of the Don Juan type. At the center of the story is the writer Glebov. His life is full of lies. He is surrounded by women, but does not feel affection for them. With the exception of one, a translator and a journalist writing under the pseudonym Heinrich. But even with this lady he is insincere when he tells her that for her she is only a faithful friend and understanding companion. In fact, Glebov is seized with jealousy. After all, Henry also has a man whom she lies and whom she uses in her whole. The climax is a small newspaper article from which the protagonist learns about the death of his lover. An analysis of Bunin's stories about love demonstrates a special Bunin style. The poetic art style, with which the author conveys the emotions of lovers, contrasts with the dry newspaper syllable that tells about the death of the heroine of this story. A similar technique is found in other works of Bunin.
Motives of separation and death
"Dark and gloomy alleys" keeps love in the stories of Bunin. Briefly about these works in this spirit the author himself expressed himself. Hence the name of the famous cycle. The life of the heroes of Ivan Bunin acquires significance only with the advent of a deep feeling. But love in his works has a fleeting and tragic character. Typically, a relationship between a man and a woman ends in death or separation. This pessimistic view is due to the personal tragedy of the author, who was forced to remain alone for many years, abroad.