The story “Dark Alleys” by Bunin is an interesting and instructive narrative. Its length is only a few pages, but the story in it is holistic, which many readers will like. In this article, a retelling of the main points of the work will be made.
Start
Everything begins in the sketch “Dark Alleys” with the fact that a certain place is described somewhere on the side of Tula roads. The long hut combines a private room and a state postal station. Here guests could stay for a few days, have lunch, relax and send letters to the necessary people. It was to such an institution that the tarantas drove up, where a stern man sat on the goats, who looked like an experienced robber by all appearance. Inside is a man in a military uniform with a rich design. The classic appearance betrayed him as an officer during the reign of Alexander II, when all the servants looked like a king framed by a beard and hair. As soon as the transport stopped, the guest ran into a long building.
First events
In the story "Dark Alleys" the man was clearly in a hurry somewhere, since the coachman only managed to shout after him to turn left. The man did so, after which he got into the chamber, where he immediately took off his caftan. Despite his age, without outerwear, he looked incredibly slender.
The building was comfortable enough, warm and clean. There were clean tablecloths everywhere, the shops washed and the smell was pleasant. The unknown visitor had gray hair, dark eyes and a tired look; he tried to correct himself. Since there was no one in the upper room, the hero shouted casually at the Sentsa, after which a rather attractive woman immediately appeared who looked like a gypsy in appearance.
After a short conversation, it turned out that she was the mistress of the chambermaid. The man in the story "Dark Alleys" ordered a samovar for himself and spread out on benches in order to relax. He complimented the woman about cleanliness and began asking why she was watching everything here. The hostess replied that she earns a living like this and does not like to sit idle.
New Details
In Bunin’s narrative “Dark Alleys”, dialogue continued with compliments on cleanliness in the building. Suddenly, in one of the answers she called him by name - Nikolai Alekseevich. After that, the man gazed inquiringly into her eyes for a moment.
In the face of a woman, he recognized his old acquaintance, whom he had not seen for thirty years. With the continuation of the dialogue, it turned out that she was currently 48, and the man was about sixty. For the hero, this turned out to be a real shock, which is evident from the reaction. He threw away his tiredness and began to pace the room in thought.
Then questions fell on the woman, most of them concerned what she had been doing all this time and why she had not remained with the gentlemen. The hostess in Bunin's work “Dark Alleys” declined to answer, and the serving man blushed.
Further, the dialogue turned towards marriage and Nadezhda replied that she could not find anyone worthy for herself, because she incredibly loved Nikolai Alekseevich. The colors flashed even more on his face, and he continued to measure the steps of the room.
Love twists and turns
In the story "Dark Alleys" for Nikolai Alekseevich, the meeting and memory of the woman's love caused an incomprehensible state. The man became all red, but at the same time darker than the clouds. In response to a statement about his feelings, he called Hope a friend and said that everything goes on in this world. She objected to this and said that love in the heart lives forever.
The memories of the old days began, when the young people retired, Nikolai read poetry to the girl about the dark alleys. Then Nadezhda mentioned the insult she experienced when she was abandoned. In the chamber, she rebuked him for cruelty, said that she wanted to lay hands on herself more than once.
The servant sir was in compliments about the unearthly beauty of the girl in those years that many guys wanted her heart, but Nadezhda chose him. Nicholas again replied that everything in the world passes and is forgotten, and again received objections to this. The man could not stand the tension, turned away to the window and asked her to leave somewhere in this room.
Emotional moment
The summary of the story “Dark Alleys” in brief cannot convey the whole subtlety of the emotional moment that occurred in the chamber near the Tula roads. Nikolai Alekseevich was too moved by what happened here. He turned to the window and with a quick movement of his handkerchief wiped the tears that came out of his eyes.
For his act, the hero asked God for forgiveness, because he considered that the girl had already forgotten him, but Hope again objected to him. The owner of the establishment said that she could not do this even in thirty years. This is because she no longer had to experience similar feelings in this life.
The hours spent together were so deeply ingrained in the heart and mind that forgiving the betrayal was beyond the strength of a woman, although now it no longer matters. Nikolai Alekseevich listened to her, after which he himself took the floor. He began to tell the story of his life and proved that bad misconduct made sooner or later catch up with a boomerang. The summary of Dark Alleys makes it difficult to convey the emotional color of his speech.
Life story and place for mystery
The summary of “Dark Alleys” should be continued with a story from the life of a military emperor that looked into the chamber. He said he was never happy in his life. Apologizing in advance for hurt feelings, he reported unlimited love for his wife, but this was his mistake. The young lady cheated on him, and then threw her with such cruelty that even Nicholas’s misconduct before Nadezhda could not be compared.
A son was born from marriage, who was supposed to be a joy for his father, but again everything turned out wrong. The boy grew up completely rude and arrogant, for him the concepts of honor and conscience, as a result of this and good, mean nothing. Nikolai ended the story by saying that this is an ordinary story, because the loss of Hope also robbed him of the warmest thing in his life.
He kissed her hand, and she answered the same. The further phrase in Bunin’s story “Dark Alleys” about giving orders to saddle horses remained unfinished. The author left a little room for thought and mystery.
Next scene
In a brief summary of Dark Alleys, it should be noted that events continue with the way Nikolai Alekseevich is already riding in his tarantass and recalls past shame. In his thoughts, the image of a beautifully young Hope returns, which with its beauty could overshadow any young lady. He asks himself about the truthfulness of words about the happiest moments in his life when a girl was nearby.
A new day was approaching sunset, and they were all rolling along dirt roads. The coachman was experienced and chose less beaten ruts so that less dirt flew off the wheels. The silence was broken first by the man on the goats who drove the transport. He noted that the woman outside the maid’s window watched them for a long time, and then asked about the duration of their acquaintance.
Nikolai Alekseevich answered briefly, and Klim - the name of the coachman - threw the phrase that this mistress is incredibly smart and rich. The old servant objected to him that this meant nothing at all. Klim completely disagreed with this statement.
the end
The Dark Alleys end (in brief it should be noted) that Klim argues that the value of competent management of time and money costs a lot. Nikolai Alekseevich interrupted him and asked him to go faster so as not to miss the train. After that, he returned to his thoughts about Hope. The minutes with her seemed no longer just the best, but filled with a kind of magic.
He recalled the verses that he read to a young girl. After that, pictures began to appear in my mind about what could have happened if the hero had not abandoned her lover then. At first it seemed nonsense, but later he managed to imagine Hope in the role of his wife. She would become the mother of his children and live in a Petersburg house.
Such thoughts made him swing his head in different directions, on which the story ends. The author again left room for the reader to reflect on the fate of the two characters, their actions and life path.