The work of I.A. Bunina "Raven" is a short story telling that a father and son fall in love with one girl. But their love is different: if the young man has an enthusiastic, somewhat ardent feeling, then the other, on the contrary, has a hidden, implicit feeling, with a little touch of patronage. Despite the fact that the story is small, its plot is interesting and allows you to think about whether the characters did the right thing. The following is a summary of Bunin's Crow.
main characters
In a brief summary of Bunin's Crow, you can tell a little about the main characters in the story.
The narrator is a young man (his name is not mentioned in the text), the son of a wealthy official. Impressive, impulsive. In love with the nanny of his younger sister - Elena.
The narrator’s father is a prominent official in the provincial city. In appearance and character, he reminds his son of a raven: sullen, stern, heavy. Not indifferent to the young girl Elena.
Elena Nikolaevna is a young girl, the same age as the narrator. He works as a nanny for an important official. Modest, quiet, reciprocates a young man.
Acquaintance with the Raven
The narration is conducted on behalf of a young man telling a story because of which his relationship with his father went wrong. A brief summary of Bunin's Raven needs to start with the fact that the young man explains why his father reminds him of this bird. Such a comparison came to him in childhood.
Father was an important official in their provincial city, and this social position only strengthened his features such as sullenness, difficulty in communication, a certain coldness in his movements and actions. And his appearance was not the most attractive: not tall, stooped, with black hair, an elongated face and a big nose, he really looked like a raven.
A wealthy official was a widower, except for his son and daughter he had no one else. But in relation to his children, he did not show warmth, affection. Their apartment was large, clean, but uncomfortable, cold. The son spent most of his time in Moscow, which made him especially happy. But on one of his visits, he noticed changes that would affect his relationship with his father.
New babysitter for Lily
A brief summary of Raven by Bunin tells us that the young man noticed changes upon arrival from Moscow. It was as if the sun had settled in their apartment, and the light came from a young lady who had replaced the old nanny of his younger sister Lily. This girl was the same age as the young man, her father was a subordinate of the "raven", but the family lived poorly. Therefore, the young lady was very happy that she was in such a good place after graduating from high school.
The girl’s name was Elena, the "raven" always addressed her by name, patronymic - Elena Nikolaevna. Lena was shy, timid, always felt awkward at dignified dinners of this family. But the narrator noted that not only the house itself had changed, but also some of the habits of his father. He became more tolerant of servants, began to talk a little more. When he turned to the young nanny, she was embarrassed and blushed. But Lena also tried not to look towards his son.
This did not escape the gaze of a stern “raven”: the stronger the girl tried not to raise her eyes to the narrator, the colder the father treated his son. Everyone understood that this timidity was from the fear that she feels happy next to a young man. Once at tea, a strict host said that Elena Nikolaevna would like a crimson dress and a ruby ​​cross, but she could only dream of that. However, dreams may come true. Then, neither his son nor the young girl knew about the feelings of the “raven”.
The development of relations between girls and boys
The climax in the story and the summary of Bunin's Raven is the episode when one evening a fire broke out due to a thunderstorm, Elena and the young man kissed. That was their explanation. From that moment, not a day passed that they did not meet in any of the rooms and kiss.
But this situation did not suit the young girl. Once, when Lilya became ill, Elena asked her lover when he would tell his father that they love each other. The young man kissed her, and at that moment his father came in.
Officer's young wife
At the end of the summary of Raven, it is necessary to say how the further fate of the heroes of this story has developed. After the episode with a kiss, the father ordered his son to leave, and then go to serve in St. Petersburg. And he threatened that if he disobeyed him, he would not receive an inheritance. He also said that the son will not see Elena again.
Later, the young man, with the patronage of his father, got a good place. He wrote to him that he was giving up his inheritance and his further help. The narrator learns that his father left the service and arrived in St. Petersburg with his young wife. In the theater, he saw that Elena became the chosen one of her father. Now she no longer looked like a modest, fearful girl, now she became a secular woman. And on her neck was a ruby ​​cross.
The story "Raven" Bunin affects not only the topic of the first timid feelings, but also family relationships. Perhaps his father chose the quiet timid Elena because he wanted to guide her, to make her the way he would like to see her. Therefore, the emphasis is on the decoration of the girl. The author does not say whether Elena is happy that the narrator felt when he saw them. This allows the reader to more thoughtfully relate to reading and compose their own opinions.