"Dark alleys": an analysis of the story of Ivan Bunin

Bunin Ivan Alekseevich is one of the best writers of our country. The first collection of his poems appeared in 1881. Then they wrote stories "To the End of the World", "Tanka", "Lead from the Motherland" and some others. In 1901 there was a new collection "Listopad", for which the author received the Pushkin Prize.

The writer comes to popularity and recognition. He meets M. Gorky, A. P. Chekhov, L. N. Tolstoy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ivan Alekseevich created stories "Zakhar Vorobyev", "Pines", "Antonov's apples" and others, in which Russian nature is depicted , the tragedy of the destitute, poor people, and the ruin of nobleman's estates.

October Revolution and Emigration

Bunin apprehended the October Revolution negatively, as a social drama. He emigrated in 1920 to France. Here they were written, in addition to other works, a cycle of short stories called "Dark alleys" (an analysis of the story with the same name from this collection will be given below). 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 says.

Bunin's fate was both tragic and happy. In his art he reached unrivaled heights, the first of domestic writers received the prestigious Nobel Prize. But he had to live for thirty years in a foreign land, with longing for his homeland and spiritual closeness with her.

Collection of "Dark alleys"

These experiences served as an impetus to the creation of the cycle "Dark alleys", the analysis of which we will carry out. This collection, in a truncated form, first appeared in New York in 1943. In 1946, Paris published the next edition, which included 38 stories. The collection differed sharply in its content from how the theme of love was habitually covered in Soviet literature.

Bunin's view of love

Bunin was different from others, his own view of this feeling. The ending was one - death or parting, no matter how much the characters loved each other. Ivan Alekseevich believed that this feeling was like a flash, but that's exactly what it is. Love over time is replaced by attachment, which gradually turns into everyday life. Bunin's heroes are deprived of this. They experience only a flash and leave, enjoying it.

Consider the work "Dark alleys." An analysis of the story that opens the same cycle, we begin with a brief description of the plot.

The plot of the story "Dark alleys"

The plot of it is uncomplicated. General Nikolai Alekseyevich, already an old man, comes to the post station and meets his beloved here, which he had not seen for about 35 years. Hope he does not find out right away. Now she is the hostess of the inn where they first met. The hero finds out that all this time she loved only him.

The story "Dark alleys" continues. Nikolai Alekseevich tries to justify himself before a woman for not visiting her for so many years. "Everything passes," he says. But very insincere, clumsy these explanations. Wisely responds Hope to the general, saying that youth passes by everyone, and love - no. A woman rebukes her lover that he threw her heartlessly, so she many times wanted to put her hands on her, but realizes that it is too late to reproach.

Let us dwell on the story "Dark alleys". The analysis of the work shows that Nikolay Alekseevich does not seem to feel remorse, but Hope is right, saying that not everything is forgotten after all. The general, too, could not forget this woman, his first love. In vain he asks her: "Go away, please." And he says that if only God forgave him, and Hope, apparently, has already forgiven. But it turns out that no. The woman admits she could not do it. Therefore, the general is compelled to justify himself, apologize to his former lover, saying that he was never happy, but he loved his wife without a memory, but she left Nicholas Alekseevich and betrayed him. He adored his son, had high hopes, but he turned out to be an impudent, mot, without honor, heart, conscience.

Has the old love survived?

Let's analyze the work "Dark alleys". The analysis of the story shows that the feelings of the main characters have not died out. It becomes clear to us that the old love has been preserved, the characters of this work love each other as before. Leaving, the general confesses to himself that this woman gave him the best moments of life. For the betrayal of his first love revenge hero fate. He does not find happiness in the family life 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 the landlady gives money at a percentage and is very "cool", although it's fair: he did not return it on time, it means that he blames himself, Nikolai Alekseevich puts these words onto his life, reflects on what would have happened , If he had not given up this woman.

What prevented the happiness of the main characters?

At one time, class prejudices prevented the fate of the future general from connecting with the commoner. But love from the heart of the protagonist did not go away and prevented from becoming happy with another woman, to raise a worthy son, as shown by our analysis. "Dark alleys" (Bunin) is a work that has a tragic connotation.

Hope also carried the love through all life and in the end, too, was alone. For the suffering caused to forgive the hero, she could not, because he remained in her life the most expensive person. Nikolai Alekseevich was unable to violate the rules established in society, did not venture to act against them. After all, marry a general on Nadezhda, he would meet contempt and misunderstanding of others. And the poor girl had no choice but to submit to fate. In those days, the bright alleys of love between the peasant woman and the master were impossible. This problem is social, not personal.

The dramatic fate of the main characters

Bunin in his work wanted to show the dramatic nature of the fate of the main characters, who had 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 memory the best moments. This story is romantic and beautiful, although dramatic.

In Bunin's work "Dark alleys" (the analysis of the story we are currently conducting), the theme of love is a cross-cutting motif. It permeates all creativity, thereby linking the emigrant and Russian periods. It is she who allows the writer to relate to the phenomena of external life emotional experiences, as well as to approach the secret of the human soul, proceeding from the influence of objective reality on him.

This completes the analysis of Bunin's story "The Dark Alley." Love everyone understands in its own way. This amazing feeling has not yet been solved. The theme of love will always be relevant, because it is the driving force of many human actions, the meaning of our lives. To this conclusion leads, in particular, our analysis. "Bunin's dark avenues" is a story that, even with its name, reflects the idea that this feeling can not be fully understood, it is "dark", but at the same time beautiful.