Before directly analyzing the work “Dark Alleys” by Bunin, let us recall the history of writing. The October Revolution passed, and Bunin’s attitude towards this event was clear - in his eyes, the revolution became a social drama. In 1920, after emigrating, the writer worked a lot, and at that time the series “Dark Alleys” appeared, which included various short stories. In 1946, thirty-eight stories were included in the publication of the collection; the book was published in Paris.
Although the main theme of these short stories was the theme of love, the reader learns not only about its bright sides, but also its dark ones. This is not difficult to guess by reflecting on the title of the collection. It is important to note in the analysis of “Dark Alleys” that Ivan Bunin lived abroad for about thirty years, far from his home. He yearned for the Russian land, but his spiritual closeness with his homeland remained. All this is reflected in the work we are discussing.
How Bunin introduced love
It is no secret that Bunin presented the theme of love in a somewhat unusual way, not in the way it was usually covered in Soviet literature. Indeed, the writer’s view has its own difference and peculiarity. Ivan Bunin perceived love as something that suddenly arose and was very bright, as if it were a flash. But that's why love is beautiful. After all, when love flows into simple affection, feelings turn into routine. We don’t find this in Bunin’s heroes, because that very flash occurs between them, and then parting follows, but the bright trace of the experienced feelings overshadows everything. The above is the most important thought in the analysis of the work “Dark Alleys”.
Briefly about the plot
General Nikolai Alekseevich once had a chance to visit a postal station, where he met a woman whom he had met 35 years ago, and with whom he had a whirlwind romance. Now Nikolai Alekseevich is elderly, and does not even immediately understand that this is Nadezhda. And the former lover became the mistress of the inn where they once met for the first time.
It turns out that Nadezhda has loved him all her life, and the general begins to make excuses to her. However, after clumsy explanations, Nadezhda expresses the wise thought that everyone was young, and youth is a thing of the past, but love remains. But she reproaches her lover, because he left her alone in the most heartless way.
All these details will help make the analysis of Bunin’s “Dark Alleys” more accurate. The general does not seem to repent, but it becomes clear that he has never forgotten his first love. But it didn’t work out with his family - his wife cheated on him, and his son grew up to be a spendthrift and an unscrupulous insolent.
What happened to your first love?
It is very important to note, especially when we analyze “Dark Alleys,” that the feelings of Nikolai Alekseevich and Nadezhda managed to survive - they still love. When the main character leaves, he realizes that it was thanks to this woman that he felt the depth of love and saw all the colors of feelings. But he abandoned his first love, and now he is reaping the bitter fruits of this betrayal.
You can remember the moment when the general hears from the coachman a comment about the hostess: she is driven by a sense of justice, but at the same time her character is very “cool”. Having lent money to someone at interest, she demands repayment on time, and whoever did not make it in time - let him answer. Nikolai Alekseevich begins to reflect on these words and draws parallels with his life. If he had not abandoned his first love, everything would have turned out differently.
What got in the way of the relationship? An analysis of the work “Dark Alleys” will help us understand the reason - let’s think: the future general was supposed to connect his life with a simple girl. How would others view this relationship and how would it affect your reputation? But in Nikolai Alekseevich’s heart the feelings did not fade away, and he could not find happiness with another woman, nor could he give his son a proper upbringing.
The main character Nadezhda did not forgive her lover, who made her suffer a lot and in the end she was left alone. Although we emphasize that love did not pass in her heart. The general was unable to go against society and class prejudices in his youth, but the girl simply resigned herself to fate.
A few conclusions in the analysis of Bunin's "Dark Alleys"
We saw how dramatic the fates of Nadezhda and Nikolai Alekseevich were. They broke up, even though they loved each other. And both turned out to be unhappy. But let us emphasize an important point: thanks to love, they learned the power of feelings and what real experiences are. These best moments of life remain in my memory.
As a cross-cutting motif, this idea can be traced in Bunin’s work. Although everyone may have their own idea of love, thanks to this story you can think about how it moves a person, what it encourages, what mark it leaves on the soul.
We hope that you liked the brief analysis of Bunin’s “Dark Alleys” and found it useful. Read also
I.A. Bunin considered the works of the collection “Dark Alleys” to be his highest achievement. The book was first published in New York in 1943 in an edition of six hundred copies. Of the twenty stories written at that time, eleven were included in the book. This book is entirely about love.
“All love is great happiness, even if it is not shared” - these words from the book “Dark Alleys” could be repeated by all Bunin’s heroes. With a huge variety of individuals, social status, etc. they live in anticipation of love, search for it, and most often, scorched by it, die. This concept was formed in Bunin’s work back in the pre-revolutionary decade.
“Dark Alleys,” a book that was published in its final form in 1946 in Paris, is the only one of its kind in Russian literature. Thirty-eight short stories in this collection provide a great variety of unforgettable female types - Rusya, Antigone, Galya Ganskaya (stories of the same name), Polya (Madrid), the heroine of Clean Monday. Near this inflorescence, male characters are much more inexpressive; they are less developed, sometimes only outlined and, as a rule, static. They are characterized rather indirectly, reflectedly, in connection with the physical and mental appearance of the woman who is loved and who occupies a self-sufficient place. Even when only “he” acts, for example, a loving officer who shot a quarrelsome beautiful woman, still only “she” remains in memory - “long, wavy” (“Steamboat Saratov”).
In “Dark Alleys” there is both a rough sensuality and a simply skillfully told playful anecdote (“One Hundred Rupees”), but the theme of pure and beautiful love runs through the book. The heroes of these stories are characterized by extraordinary strength and sincerity of feelings.
Along with full-blooded stories breathing suffering and passion (“Tanya”, “Dark Alleys”, “Clean Monday”, “Natalie”, etc.) there are unfinished works (“Caucasus”), expositions, sketches of future short stories (“Beginning”) or direct borrowings from foreign literature (“Returning to Rome”, “Bernard”).
According to the writer’s wife, Bunin considered this book the most perfect in craftsmanship, especially the story “Clean Monday”. On one of the sleepless nights, according to N.V. Bunina, I left the following confession on a piece of paper: “I thank God that he gave me the opportunity to write “Clean Monday.” This story is written with extraordinary conciseness and masterly imagery. Every stroke, color, detail plays an important role in the external movement of the plot and becomes a sign of some internal trends. In vague forebodings and mature thoughts, the bright, changeable appearance of the heroine of the work, the author embodied his ideas about the contradictory atmosphere of the human soul, about the emergence of some new moral ideal.
“All the stories in this book are only about love, about its “dark” and most often very gloomy and cruel alleys,” the author wrote.
The heroine of the story that gives the collection its title, like other heroes of Bunin’s works, believes: “Everyone’s youth passes, but love is another matter...”
Year of writing: 1938 Year of publication: 1943 Genre: story
Main characters: inn owner Nadezhda and elderly military man Nikolai Alekseevich
Plot. The story tells us how an elderly military man meets a woman with whom he was previously in love and whom he abandoned. Now she is the mistress of the upper room into which he entered. He stares at the hostess, but she is the first to recognize in him her first love, after which she could not love anyone. During the conversation, the man says that their relationship was just a “vulgar story.” It turns out that he loved his wife, for whom he left Nadezhda. However, his wife left him, and his son, whom he doted on, grew up to be a bad person. The story ends with Nikolai Alekseevich leaving and imagining what would have happened if Nadezhda had become his wife.
The main idea. The story teaches that you should value pure love more than anything in the world and should not treat people cruelly, perhaps they are the ones who give you the best that life can have.
On one of the stormy autumn days, a tarantass arrived at the hut, in one part of which there was a postal station, and in the other an upper room where one could spend the night, as well as eat or drink tea. On the box of the tarantass sat a strong and serious-looking man, more like a robber. And in the tarantass there is a slender, middle-aged military man. He was wearing a gray overcoat and was similar in appearance to Alexander II, which was typical for that time and common among the military.
The man went into the upper room, where it was warm, clean and cozy. He took off his overcoat and turned out to be even slimmer than he had seemed before. Then he took off his gloves and cap and ran his hands over his head. His hair was gray and curly, his face was beautiful and long, and his eyes were dark.
There was no one else in the room except him, so he opened the door to the hallway and shouted in hostility
Hey, who's there?
Immediately after this, a woman entered the room. She, too, was quite beautiful for her advanced age and looked like an elderly gypsy. Her hair was dark, as were her eyebrows. The woman was plump, but at the same time light on the move. When asked what the guest would like, the man answered with a samovar and then began asking her about whether she was the owner of this establishment or served here. The woman replied that she was the owner. The man asked why she was running the household alone and whether she was a widow.
The woman replied that she was not a widow, but she needed to live on something, and she loved this job. To this the man said that this was true and praised her for her purity. And she, in turn, replied that she loves cleanliness, because she grew up under the masters and at the end added Nikolai Alekseevich. The man was surprised, straightened up and asked if she was Nadezhda. She answered positively. Nikolai Alekseevich asked how many years had passed, perhaps thirty-five. And Nadezhda answered thirty, because now she is forty-eight years old, and he is nearly sixty. The military man forgot about his fatigue and walked around the room, looking at the floor. Then he blushed and began to speak. A conversation began between them about the past. It turned out that the gentlemen gave Nadezhda her freedom and she was not married.
The reason for this was the strong love she felt for Nikolai Alekseevich. The man, in turn, replied that their story was ordinary, vulgar, that everything happens in this world. However, according to Nadezhda, her love did not pass. The man said that she couldn’t love him for a whole century. She said that apparently she could. Nadezhda added that she understood that he was no longer the same and that a lot of time had passed and that all this meant nothing to him. Several times she wanted to commit suicide. She remembered how much they loved each other, how he read her poems about “dark alleys” and how cruelly he abandoned her.
Nikolai Alekseevich remembered how beautiful she was and how everyone looked at her and added that everything in this life passes and is forgotten. The hostess replied that everything passes, but not everything is forgotten. The man asked her to leave, wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and said that God would forgive him, but she probably already forgave him. To which the answer came that she had not forgiven him. After all, she didn’t have anything more expensive than him then, and then she didn’t have anything. That's why she couldn't forgive him.
Nikolai Alekseevich told her that he was also not happy in life, although he loved his wife, but she left him worse than he left Nadezhda. And his son, whom he doted on and on whom he had high hopes, grew up to be a vile man. He added that this is also the most common and vulgar story. And then he said that apparently he and Nadezhda had lost all the best things he had in his life. The military man asked for the horses and before leaving, she kissed his hand, and he kissed hers.
While already in the tarantass, the man remembered how wonderful Nadezhda was and that she really gave him the best moments in his life. The coachman drove along and suddenly said that the woman was looking out the window when they were driving away, apparently they were old acquaintances.
Nikolai Alekseevich continued to think about her and remember that the moments when they were together were truly magical. He even imagined what would happen if Nadezhda were not the mistress of the upper room, but the mistress of his house, his wife and the mother of his children. He thought about this with his eyes closed, shaking his head.
Picture or drawing Dark alleys
Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary
- Summary of Oster Petka - microbe
There are a lot of creatures living in our world, animals, birds, people, fish. But microbes are considered the smallest. Microbes live everywhere, in the air, hands, soil, and even in drops. Petka the microbe’s family lived in one of these drops.
- Summary of Orpheus and Eurydice, opera by Christophe Gluck
The famous German composer Christoph Gluck is the author of one of the most famous operas, Orpheus and Eurydice. Here the author talks about sublime, earthly feelings
- Summary of the fable Swan, Cancer and Pike by Krylov
One fine day, Swan, Cancer and Pike decided to move a cart with luggage together. All three of them harnessed themselves to the cart, and let’s pull with all their might. To their great regret, the cart could not be moved from its place.
- Summary of Puccini's Opera Princess Turandot
The opera "Princess Turandot", unlike many similar works, ends happily. But the path to this happy ending is complicated, tortuous and, one might even say, thorny. Not all heroes will be able to reach this positive ending.
- Summary Evening at Claire Gazdanov's
The action takes place in France in the late 20s. Our main character talks about himself and his first love. The hero has a strong sympathy for a woman who was older than him and constantly changed her mood
Collection of stories “Dark Alleys” by I.A. Bunin wrote far from his homeland, while in France and worrying about the consequences of the October Revolution and the difficult years of the First World War. The works included in this cycle are filled with motifs of the tragic fate of man, the inevitability of events and longing for his native land. The central theme of the collection of stories “Dark Alleys” is love, which turns out to be closely connected with suffering and fatal outcome.
Central to understanding the writer’s intention is the story of the same name in the collection “Dark Alleys”. It was written in 1938 under the influence of a poem by N.P. Ogarev’s “An Ordinary Tale”, where the image of dark alleys is used, as well as the philosophical thoughts of L.N. Tolstoy that happiness in life is unattainable, and a person only catches its “lightnings” that need to be appreciated.
Analysis of the work by I.A. Bunin "Dark Alleys"
The plot of the work is based on the meeting of two already elderly people after many years of separation. To be precise, the story talks about 35 years since the last breakup. Nikolai Alekseevich arrives at the inn, where the owner Nadezhda meets him. The woman calls the hero by name, and he recognizes his former lover in her.
Since then, a whole life has passed, which the loved ones were destined to spend separately. The whole point is that Nikolai Alekseevich in his youth left a beautiful maid, who then received her freedom from the landowner and became the mistress of the inn. The meeting of two heroes raises a whole storm of feelings, thoughts and experiences inside them. However, the past cannot be returned and Nikolai Alekseevich leaves, imagining how life could have turned out differently if he had not neglected Nadezhda’s feelings. He is sure that he would be happy, he thinks about how she would become his wife, mother of children and mistress of the house in St. Petersburg. True, all this will remain the hero’s pipe dreams.
Thus, in the story “Dark Alleys” there are three main plot points:
- The hero's stop at the inn
- Meeting of former lovers
- Reflections on the way after the incident
The first part of the work is an episode before the characters recognize each other. Here the portrait characteristics of the characters predominate. It is the social difference between people that is significant. For example, Nadezhda addresses the visitor “Your Excellency,” but the hero allows himself “Hey, who’s there.”
The pivotal moment is the meeting that marks the second part of the plot. Here we see a description of feelings, emotions and experiences. Social boundaries are discarded, which allows you to better know the characters and contrast their thoughts. For the hero, a meeting with Nadezhda is a rendezvous with his conscience. The reader understands that she has retained her inner integrity. Nikolai Alekseevich, on the contrary, feels his life is useless, aimless, he sees only its ordinariness and vulgarity.
The third part of the story is the actual departure and conversation with the coachman. Social boundaries are important for the hero, which he cannot neglect even for the sake of high feelings. Nikolai Alekseevich is ashamed of his words and revelations, and regrets that he kissed the hand of the owner of the inn and his former lover.
This structure of the plot makes it possible to imagine love and past feelings as a flash that unexpectedly illuminated the ordinary life of Nikolai Alekseevich, who was bored with himself. A story built on the hero’s memories is an artistic device that allows the author to talk about familiar things in a more exciting way and make an additional impression on the reader.
In the text of the work there are no instructive intonations, condemnation of the actions of the heroes or, conversely, manifestations of pity for them. The narration is based on a description of the feelings and emotions of the characters, which are revealed to the reader and it is he who has to evaluate what happened.
Characteristics of the main characters of the story “Dark Alleys”
The image of Nadezhda appears in a positive light. We don't learn much about her from the story, but it's enough to draw certain conclusions. The heroine is a former serf, who is now the mistress of a state-owned postal station. Having grown old, she continues to look beautiful, feel light and “beyond her age.” Nadezhda was able to get a good job in life thanks to her intelligence and honesty. The coachman, in a conversation with Nikolai Alekseevich, notes that she is “getting rich, giving money on interest,” i.e. on loan. The heroine is characterized by practicality and enterprise.
She had to go through a lot. The emotions from Nikolai Alekseevich’s act were so strong that Nadezhda admits that she wanted to commit suicide. However, she was able to overcome difficulties and become stronger.
The woman continues to love, but she was unable to forgive the betrayal of her beloved. She boldly declares this to Nikolai Alekseevich. The wisdom of Nadezhda evokes the reader’s sympathy. For example, to the general’s attempts to justify his past actions, she replies that youth passes for everyone, but love never does. These words of the heroine also say that she knows how and can truly love, but this does not bring her happiness.
The image of Nikolai Alekseevich is in many ways contrasted with Nadezhda. He is a nobleman and a general, a representative of high society. He made a good career, but in his personal life the hero is unhappy. His wife left him, and his son grew up to be an insolent and dishonest man. The hero looks tired, while his former lover is full of strength and desire to act. He once gave up love a long time ago and never got to know it, spending his whole life without happiness and pursuing false goals. “Everything passes. Everything is forgotten” - this is the hero’s position in relation to happiness and love.
Nikolai Alekseevich is already about 60 years old, but when he meets Nadezhda, he blushes like a young man. The soldier remembers with shame that he abandoned his beloved, but does he have the strength to correct what happened? No. The hero again chooses the easiest path and leaves.
The character’s spiritual weakness, the inability to distinguish true feelings from “a vulgar, ordinary story” dooms him and Nadezhda to suffering. Nikolai Alekseevich can only remember the past, his love, which “gave him the best moments of his life.”
The love between Nadezhda and Nikolai Alekseevich turns out to be doomed, and the history of their relationship is full of drama. Why did everything happen like this? There are several reasons. This is also the weakness of the hero, who pushed away his loved one and did not see the future in his feelings for her. This is also the role of prejudices in society, which exclude the possibility of a relationship, and especially a marriage, between a nobleman and an ordinary maid.
The difference in views on love also predetermined the dramatic destinies of the heroes. If for Nadezhda, feelings for a loved one are loyalty to herself, a driving force that inspires and helps her in life, then for Nikolai Alekseevich love is a moment, a past story. The irony is that it was this moment, this part of my life associated with my ex-lover, that became the best moment in all my years.
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 “Leaf Fall” 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 disadvantaged, impoverished people, as well as the ruin of the estates of the nobles.
and emigration
Bunin perceived the October Revolution negatively, as a social drama. He emigrated in 1920 to France. Here he wrote, among other works, a cycle of short stories called “Dark Alleys” (we will analyze the story of the same name from this collection below). The main theme of the cycle is love. Ivan Alekseevich reveals to us not only its bright sides, but also its dark ones, as the name itself suggests.
Bunin's fate was both tragic and happy. He reached unsurpassed heights in his art and was the first Russian writer to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize. But he was forced to live for thirty years in a foreign land, with longing for his homeland and spiritual closeness with her.
Collection "Dark Alleys"
These experiences served as the impetus for the creation of the “Dark Alleys” cycle, which we will analyze. This collection, in a truncated form, first appeared in New York in 1943. In 1946, the next edition was published in Paris, which included 38 stories. The collection differed sharply in its content from how the topic of love was usually covered in Soviet literature.
Bunin's view of love
Bunin had his own view of this feeling, different from others. Its ending was one - death or separation, no matter how much the characters loved each other. Ivan Alekseevich thought that it looked like a flash, but that’s what was wonderful. Over time, love is replaced by affection, which gradually turns into everyday life. Bunin's heroes lack this. They experience only a flash and part, having enjoyed it.
Let's consider the analysis of the story that opens the cycle of the same name, starting with a brief description of the plot.
The plot of the story "Dark Alleys"
Its plot is simple. General Nikolai Alekseevich, already an old man, arrives at the postal station and meets here his beloved, whom he has not seen for about 35 years. He will not recognize hope right away. Now she is the mistress of where 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 and clumsy. Nadezhda wisely answers the general, saying that youth passes for everyone, but love does not. A woman reproaches her lover for leaving her heartlessly, so she wanted to commit suicide many times, but she realizes that it is now too late to reproach.
Let's take a closer look at 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. The general also could not forget this woman, his first love. In vain he asks her: “Please go away.” And he says that if only God would forgive him, and Nadezhda, apparently, has already forgiven him. But it turns out that no. The woman admits that she could not do this. Therefore, the general is forced to make excuses, apologize to his former lover, saying that he was never happy, but he loved his wife deeply, and she left Nikolai Alekseevich and cheated on him. He adored his son, had high hopes, but he turned out to be an insolent man, a spendthrift, without honor, heart, or conscience.
Is the old love still there?
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. Fate takes revenge on the hero for betraying his first love. Nikolai Alekseevich ("Dark Alleys") does not find happiness in his family life. An analysis of his experiences proves this. He realizes that he missed the chance once given by fate. When the coachman tells the general that this landlady gives money at interest and is very “cool”, although she is fair: he didn’t return it on time - that means you blame yourself, Nikolai Alekseevich projects these words onto his life, reflects on what would have happened , if he had not left this woman.
What prevented the happiness of the main characters?
At one time, class prejudices prevented the future general from uniting his fate with a commoner. But love did not leave the protagonist’s heart and prevented him from becoming happy with another woman and raising his son with dignity, as our analysis shows. "Dark Alleys" (Bunin) is a work that has a tragic connotation.
Nadezhda also carried love throughout her life and in the end she also found herself alone. She could not forgive the hero for the suffering he caused, since he remained the most dear person in her life. Nikolai Alekseevich was unable to break the rules established in society and did not risk acting against them. After all, if the general had married Nadezhda, he would have met with contempt and misunderstanding from 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 gentleman were impossible. This problem is already public, not personal.
The dramatic destinies of the main characters
In his work, Bunin wanted to show the dramatic destinies of the main characters, who were forced to part, being in love with each other. In this world, love turned out to be doomed and especially fragile. But she illuminated their whole life and forever remained in their memory as 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 cross-cutting motif. It permeates all creativity, thereby connecting the emigrant and Russian periods. It is this that allows the writer to correlate spiritual experiences with the phenomena of external life, and also to get closer to the secret of the human soul, based on the influence of objective reality on him.
This concludes the analysis of “Dark Alleys”. Everyone understands love in their own way. This amazing feeling has not yet been solved. The theme of love will always be relevant, since it is the driving force of many human actions, the meaning of our lives. In particular, our analysis leads to this conclusion. “Dark Alleys” by Bunin is a story that even in its title reflects the idea that this feeling cannot be fully understood, it is “dark”, but at the same time beautiful.