Bunin dark alleys very brief summary. "Dark alleys

I. A. Bunin is the first of the Russian writers to receive Nobel Prize, who achieved popularity and fame at the world level, having fans and associates, but... deeply unhappy, because since 1920 he was cut off from his homeland and yearned for it. All stories from the emigration period are imbued with a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia.

Inspired by the lines of the poem “An Ordinary Tale” by N. Ogarev: “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around / There was an alley of dark linden trees,” Ivan Bunin conceived the idea of ​​writing a cycle of love stories about subtle human feelings. Love is different, but it is always a strong feeling that changes the lives of heroes.

The story “Dark Alleys”: summary

The story “Dark Alleys,” the same name in the cycle and the main one, was published on October 20, 1938 in the New York edition “ New land». Main character, Nikolai Alekseevich, accidentally meets Nadezhda, whom he seduced and abandoned many years ago. For the hero then it was just an affair with a serf girl, but the heroine seriously fell in love and carried this feeling throughout her life. After the affair, the girl received her freedom, began to earn her own living, and now owns an inn and “gives money on interest.” Nikolai Alekseevich ruined Nadezhda’s life, but was punished: his beloved wife abandoned him as vilely as he himself had once done, and his son grew up to be a scoundrel. The heroes part, now forever, Nikolai Alekseevich understands what kind of love he missed. However, the hero cannot even in his thoughts overcome social conventions and imagine what would have happened if he had not abandoned Nadezhda.

Bunin, “Dark Alleys” - audiobook

Listening to the story “Dark Alleys” is extremely pleasant, because the poetic language of the author is also manifested in prose.

Image and characteristics of the main character (Nikolai)

The image of Nikolai Alekseevich evokes antipathy: this man does not know how to love, he sees only himself and public opinion. He is afraid of himself, of Nadezhda, no matter what happens. But if everything is outwardly decent, you can do as you please, for example, break the heart of a girl for whom no one will stand up. Life punished the hero, but did not change him, did not add strength of spirit. His image personifies habit, the routine of life.

Image and characteristics of the main character (Nadezhda)

Much stronger Hope, who was able to survive the shame of an affair with the “master” (although she wanted to commit suicide, she came out of this state), and also managed to learn how to earn money on her own, and in an honest way. Coachman Klim notes the woman’s intelligence and fairness; she “gives money on interest” and “gets rich,” but does not profit from the poor, but is guided by justice. Nadezhda, despite the tragedy of her love, kept it in her heart for many years, forgave her offender, but did not forget. Its image is the soul, the sublimity, which is not in origin, but in personality.

The main idea and main theme of the story “Dark Alleys”

Love in Bunin’s “Dark Alleys” is a tragic, fatal, but no less important and beautiful feeling. It becomes eternal, because it remains forever in the memory of both heroes; it was the most precious and brightest thing in their lives, although it is gone forever. If a person has ever loved like Nadezhda, he has already experienced happiness. Even if this love ended tragically. The life and fate of the heroes of the story “Dark Alleys” would be completely empty and gray without such a bitter and sick, but still stunning and bright feeling, which is a kind of litmus test that tests human personality on the subject of fortitude and moral purity. Nadezhda passes this test, but Nikolai does not. This is the idea of ​​the work. You can read more about the theme of love in the work here:

On a stormy autumn day, along a rutted dirt road to a long hut, in one half of which there was a postal station, and in the other a clean room where one could rest, eat and even spend the night, a mud-covered carriage with a half-raised top drove up. On the box of the tarantass sat a strong, serious man in a tightly belted overcoat, and in the tarantass - “a slender old military man in a large cap and a Nikolaev gray overcoat with a beaver stand-up collar, still black-browed, but with a white mustache that was connected to the same sideburns; his chin was shaved and his whole appearance bore that resemblance to Alexander II, which was so common among the military during his reign; the look was also questioning, stern and at the same time tired.”

When the horses stopped, he got out of the tarantass, ran up to the porch of the hut and turned left, as the coachman told him. The room was warm, dry and tidy, with a sweet smell of cabbage soup coming from behind the stove damper. The newcomer threw his overcoat onto the bench, took off his gloves and cap, and tiredly ran his hand through his slightly curly hair. There was no one in the upper room, he opened the door and called: “Hey, who’s there!” A dark-haired woman, also black-browed and also still beautiful beyond her age, entered... with dark fluff on her upper lip and along her cheeks, light as she walked, but plump, with large breasts under a red blouse, with a triangular belly, like a goose’s, under a black woolen blouse. skirt." She greeted politely.

The visitor glanced briefly at her rounded shoulders and light legs and asked for a samovar. It turned out that this woman was the owner of the inn. The visitor praised her for her cleanliness. The woman, looking at him inquisitively, said: “I love cleanliness. After all, Nikolai Alekseevich, Nikolai Alekseevich, grew up under the gentlemen, but he didn’t know how to behave decently.” "Hope! You? - he said hastily. - My God, my God!.. Who would have thought! How many years have we not seen each other? About thirty-five?” - “Thirty, Nikolai Alekseevich.” He is excited and asks her how she lived all these years. How did you live? The gentlemen gave me freedom. She was not married. Why? Yes, because she loved him very much. “Everything passes, my friend,” he muttered. - Love, youth - everything, everything. The story is vulgar, ordinary. Over the years everything goes away."

For others, maybe, but not for her. She lived it all her life. She knew that his former self had been gone for a long time, that it was as if nothing had happened to him, but she still loved him. It’s too late to reproach her now, but how heartlessly he abandoned her then... How many times did she want to kill herself! “And they deigned to read all the poems to me about all sorts of ‘dark alleys,’” she added with an unkind smile.” Nikolai Alekseevich remembers how beautiful Nadezhda was. He was good too. “And it was I who gave you my beauty, my passion. How can you forget this?” - "A! Everything passes. Everything is forgotten." - “Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten.” “Go away,” he said, turning away and going to the window. “Go away, please.” Pressing the handkerchief to his eyes, he added: “If only God would forgive me. And you, apparently, have forgiven.” No, she did not forgive him and could never forgive him. She can't forgive him.

He ordered the horses to be brought, moving away from the window with dry eyes. He, too, had never been happy in his life. He married for great love, and she abandoned him even more insultingly than he abandoned Nadezhda. He placed so many hopes on his son, but he grew up to be a scoundrel, an insolent man, without honor, without conscience. She came up and kissed his hand, and he kissed hers. Already on the road, he remembered this with shame, and he felt ashamed of this shame. The coachman says that she watched them from the window. She is a woman - a ward. Gives money in interest, but is fair.

“Yes, of course, the best moments... Truly magical! “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around, there were dark linden alleys…” What if I hadn’t abandoned her? What nonsense! This same Nadezhda is not the innkeeper, but my wife, the mistress of my St. Petersburg house, the mother of my children?” And, closing his eyes, he shook his head.

Dark Alleys - a story by Ivan A, written in 1938.

It was a stormy autumn day when the carriage drove into the yard. In the courtyard there was a hut in which there was a postal station and an inn. Got out of the tarantass old man. It was clear from his cap and gray overcoat that in the past he was a military man and served under Nikolai Pavlovich.

Facial features, eyes and sideburns made the guest look like Alexander II. In the upper room of the inn, where the old man went, there was an appetizing smell of cabbage soup. The hostess met the guest. She was no longer young, but despite her age, she was still quite beautiful. She called the guest by name, Nikolai Alekseevich, after which the old man recognized the woman.

Nikolai Alekseevich was once passionately in love with Nadezhda, that was the woman’s name, but since their last meeting About thirty-five years have passed. Seeing Nadezhda, Nikolai Alekseevich became incredibly excited and began hastily asking about her life all this time. It turned out that the gentlemen gave Nadezhda freedom. She never got married, because all her life she loved only Nikolai Alekseevich.

Having learned about this, the old man was embarrassed and began to make excuses that over the years a lot of water had passed under the bridge and that time smoothed everything out. Nadezhda is outraged by Nikolai Alekseevich’s excuses. It may happen with others, but not with her. All her life her heart belonged only to him, although she understood that Nikolai Alekseevich behaved as if there was no connection between them.

Nadezhda’s life was often in the balance, because she more than once thought about committing suicide out of despair as a result of a break with her loved one. The hostess, smiling unkindly, remembers Nikolai Alekseevich, who read her poems about “dark alleys.” The old man remembers all the charm and beauty of Nadezhda, bursting with youth. But he was also very handsome in his time, because it was not without reason that she gave him all her youth.

Nikolai Alekseevich was sad and restless from the unexpected meeting with Nadezhda, so he urgently asks to leave him. The old man decided that she had forgiven him and hoped for God's forgiveness. Nikolai Alekseevich was wrong - Nadezhda would never be able to forgive him... Nikolai Alekseevich was overcome by anxiety, and stingy tears fell from his eyes. He decided to leave this place immediately.

The old man, remembering his whole life, realized that he had never experienced happiness. He married a woman whom he also loved very much, but she treated him even more heartlessly than he did with Nadezhda. Nikolai Alekseevich still hoped that his son would become a worthy and noble person, but his expectations were not met. Saying goodbye, Nadezhda and Nikolai Alekseevich kiss each other’s hands.

After Nikolai Alekseevich’s departure, pangs of conscience begin to overcome him, and he is embarrassed by his shame for what he had done. Meanwhile, the coachman said a few words about Nadezhda - she watched them for a long time from the window. The coachman believes that Nadezhda is an intelligent and fair woman, although rather tight-fisted. At this moment, Nikolai Alekseevich comes to the realization that a relationship with Nadezhda is best time in his life.

His imagination paints an amazing picture - Nadezhda is no longer the owner of a small inn, but his loving wife. The couple live in the St. Petersburg house of Nikolai Alekseevich, Nadezhda is raising children. The old man closed his eyes and shook his head, regretting the missed opportunities.

On a stormy autumn day, along a rutted dirt road to a long hut, in one half of which there was a postal station, and in the other a clean room where one could rest, eat and even spend the night, a mud-covered carriage with a half-raised top drove up. On the box of the tarantass sat a strong, serious man in a tightly belted overcoat, and in the tarantass - “a slender old military man in a large cap and a Nikolaev gray overcoat with a beaver stand-up collar, still black-browed, but with a white mustache that was connected to the same sideburns; his chin was shaved and his whole appearance bore that resemblance to Alexander II, which was so common among the military during his reign; the look was also questioning, stern and at the same time tired.”

When the horses stopped, he got out of the tarantass, ran up to the porch of the hut and turned left, as the coachman told him. The room was warm, dry and tidy, with a sweet smell of cabbage soup coming from behind the stove damper. The newcomer threw his overcoat onto the bench, took off his gloves and cap, and tiredly ran his hand through his slightly curly hair. There was no one in the upper room, he opened the door and called: “Hey, who’s there!” A dark-haired woman, also black-browed and also still beautiful beyond her age, entered... with dark fluff on her upper lip and along her cheeks, light as she walked, but plump, with large breasts under a red blouse, with a triangular belly, like a goose’s, under a black woolen blouse. skirt." She greeted politely.

The visitor glanced briefly at her rounded shoulders and light legs and asked for a samovar. It turned out that this woman was the owner of the inn. The visitor praised her for her cleanliness. The woman, looking at him inquisitively, said: “I love cleanliness. After all, Nikolai Alekseevich, Nikolai Alekseevich, grew up under the gentlemen, but he didn’t know how to behave decently.” "Hope! You? - he said hastily. - My God, my God!.. Who would have thought! How many years have we not seen each other? About thirty-five?” - “Thirty, Nikolai Alekseevich.” He is excited, asks her, to-

This is how she lived all these years. How did you live? The gentlemen gave me freedom. She was not married. Why? Yes, because she loved him very much. “Everything passes, my friend,” he muttered. - Love, youth - everything, everything. The story is vulgar, ordinary. Over the years everything goes away."

For others, maybe, but not for her. She lived it all her life. She knew that his former self had been gone for a long time, that it was as if nothing had happened to him, but she still loved him. It’s too late to reproach her now, but how heartlessly he abandoned her then... How many times did she want to kill herself! “And they deigned to read all the poems to me about all sorts of ‘dark alleys,’” she added with an unkind smile.” Nikolai Alekseevich remembers how beautiful Nadezhda was. He was good too. “And it was I who gave you my beauty, my passion. How can you forget this?” - "A! Everything passes. Everything is forgotten." - “Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten.” “Go away,” he said, turning away and going to the window. “Go away, please.” Pressing the handkerchief to his eyes, he added: “If only God would forgive me. And you, apparently, have forgiven.” No, she did not forgive him and could never forgive him. She can't forgive him.

He ordered the horses to be brought, moving away from the window with dry eyes. He, too, had never been happy in his life. He married for great love, and she abandoned him even more insultingly than he abandoned Nadezhda. He placed so many hopes on his son, but he grew up to be a scoundrel, an insolent man, without honor, without conscience. She came up and kissed his hand, and he kissed hers. Already on the road, he remembered this with shame, and he felt ashamed of this shame. The coachman says that she watched them from the window. She is a woman - a ward. Gives money in interest, but is fair.

“Yes, of course, the best moments... Truly magical! “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around, there were dark linden alleys…” What if I hadn’t abandoned her? What nonsense! This same Nadezhda is not the innkeeper, but my wife, the mistress of my St. Petersburg house, the mother of my children?” And, closing his eyes, he shook his head.