Sunstroke why the author separates the heroes. Analysis "Sunstroke" Bunin

"Sunstroke", like most of Bunin's prose of the emigration period, has a love theme. In it, the author shows that shared feelings can give rise to a serious love drama.

L.V. Nikulin in his book "Chekhov, Bunin, Kuprin: Literary Portraits" indicates that initially the story "Sunstroke" was named by the author "Accidental Acquaintance", then Bunin changes the name to "Ksenia". However, both of these names were crossed out by the author, since did not create a Bunin mood, "sound" (the first simply reported the event, the second called the potential name of the heroine).

The writer settled on the third, most successful, version - "Sunstroke", which figuratively conveys the state experienced by the protagonist of the story and helps to reveal the essential features of Bunin's vision of love: suddenness, brightness, short duration of feeling that instantly captures a person and, as it were, burns him to ashes.

We learn little about the main characters of the story. The author does not indicate either names or ages. With such a technique, the writer, as it were, elevates his heroes above the environment, time and circumstances. There are two main characters in the story - the lieutenant and his fellow traveler. They had known each other for only a day and could not imagine that an unexpected acquaintance could turn into a feeling that none of them had experienced in their entire life. But the lovers are forced to leave, tk. in the writer's understanding, everyday life and everyday life are contraindicated in love, they can only destroy and kill it.

A direct polemic with one of the famous stories of A.P. Chekhov's "The Lady with the Dog", where the same unexpected meeting of the heroes and the love that visited them continues, develops in time, overcomes the test of everyday life. The author of "Sunstroke" could not make such a plot decision, because "ordinary life" does not interest him and lies outside the bounds of his love concept.

The writer does not immediately give his characters the opportunity to realize everything that happened to them. The whole story of the rapprochement of the heroes is a kind of exposition of action, preparation for the shock that will happen in the soul of the lieutenant later, and in which he will not immediately believe. This happens after the hero, having seen his fellow traveler, returns to the room. At first, the lieutenant is struck by the strange feeling of the emptiness of his room.

In the further development of the action, the contrast between the absence of the heroine in the real surrounding space and her presence in the soul and memory of the protagonist gradually increases. The inner world of the lieutenant is filled with a feeling of improbability, unnaturalness of everything that happened and the unbearable pain of loss.

The writer conveys the hero's painful love experiences through changes in his mood. At first, the lieutenant's heart squeezes with tenderness, he yearns, while trying to hide his confusion. Then there is a kind of dialogue between the lieutenant and himself.

Bunin pays special attention to the hero's gestures, his facial expressions and looks. Equally important are his impressions, which are manifested in the form of phrases spoken aloud, quite elementary, but percussive. Only occasionally is the reader given the opportunity to know the thoughts of the hero. In this way, Bunin constructs his psychological analysis of the author - both secret and explicit.

The hero tries to laugh, drive away sad thoughts, but he fails. Every now and then he sees objects that remind of a stranger: a crumpled bed, a hairpin, an unfinished cup of coffee; smells her perfume. This is how anguish and melancholy arise, leaving no trace of the former lightness and carelessness. Showing the gap that lies between the past and the present, the writer accentuates the subjective-lyrical experience of time: the present momentary, spent with the heroes together and that eternity into which time without a beloved grows for the lieutenant.

After parting with the heroine, the lieutenant realizes that his life has lost all meaning. It is even known that in one of the editions of "Sunstroke" it was written that the lieutenant was persistently thinking about suicide. So, literally before the eyes of the reader, a kind of metamorphosis is taking place: in the place of a completely ordinary and unremarkable army lieutenant, a man has appeared who thinks in a new way, suffers and feels ten years older.

Ryazanova Polina, grade 11

The presentation introduces the content of I. Bunin's story "Sunstroke" and helps to understand the position of the author of the work

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"Sunstroke" I. Bunin Prepared by a student of the 11th grade Ryazanova Polina

"Sunstroke" (Bunin): a summary During the trip, a military man - a lieutenant and a young woman - a stranger meet on a ship. The author does not endow her with a name, however, as well as the lieutenant. They are just people, their history is not at all unique, similar to many of those that happen. The couple spend the night together. The young woman is embarrassed, but she does not regret what happened. She just needs to go, and it's time for him to get off the ship. The lieutenant easily releases the woman, escorts her to the pier and returns to his room. Here he is unsettled by the smell of her perfume, an unfinished cup of coffee that they forgot to put away, the memories of yesterday night are still alive.

The lieutenant's heart is suddenly filled with a touching feeling, which he cannot accept and is trying to drown out attempts to continuously smoke cigarettes. As if seeking salvation from the impending tenderness, he rushes into the city, wanders mindlessly through the market, walks among people and feels an emptiness in his soul. When an inexpressible feeling prevents him from thinking, thinking sensibly and reasoning, he decides to send her a telegram, but on the way to the post office he realizes that he does not know the woman's name, surname, or her address. Returning to his room, he feels ten years older. The lieutenant already understands that they will never meet again.

What is the story "Sunstroke" about? Bunin's work "Sunstroke" tells about the unexpected love that overtakes the main characters (the lieutenant and the stranger) while traveling by ship. Both of them are not ready for the feeling that has arisen. Moreover, they have absolutely no time to figure it out: there is only one day, which decides the outcome of events. When the time comes to say goodbye, the lieutenant cannot even think about what torments he will have to experience after the young woman leaves his cozy room. Precisely before his eyes, a whole life passes, which is measured, and is now estimated from the height of yesterday's night and the feeling that bewitched the lieutenant.

The composition of the story The story can be conditionally divided into three parts, which contain different semantic load: the first part is the moment when the lieutenant and the stranger are together. Both are confused, somewhat confused. The second compositional part: the moment of parting between the lieutenant and the young woman. The third part is the moment of awakening a tender feeling, which is difficult to cope with. The author very subtly shows the moments of transition from one compositional part to another, while the state of the main character - the lieutenant - gradually becomes the center of the narrative.

Ideological component of the story The meeting between the lieutenant and the stranger became for both of them akin to a real sunstroke, brought blinding passion, and then a bitter epiphany. This is what Bunin is talking about. The book "Sunstroke" is fanned with a romantic beginning, tells about everyone's need to love and be loved, but at the same time it is absolutely devoid of illusions. Perhaps the young men will see here the heroes' desire to find their only love, but rather, this is an attempt to give up love in favor of common sense: “I had to be saved ...” “This new feeling was too much happiness,” which, obviously, the heroes could not afford , otherwise it would be necessary to change the entire established way of life, make some changes in oneself and change the environment.

The state of a stranger The image of a young woman whom the lieutenant meets on the ship, Bunin draws without embellishment and does not endow her with special characteristics. She has no name - she is just a woman with whom a certain lieutenant spent the night. But the author very subtly emphasizes her experiences, anxieties and worries. The woman says, "I am not at all what you would imagine me to be." Perhaps she was looking for in this fleeting connection the need to love and be loved. Perhaps for her everything that happened is nothing more than an accident, a surprise. She must have not received enough warmth and attention in her married life (which is mentioned in the story). We see that the stranger does not make any plans, does not oblige the lieutenant in anything. That is why she does not consider it necessary to give her name. It is bitter and painful for her to leave, leaving the lieutenant forever, but she does it, obeying her intuition. She subconsciously already knows that their relationship will not end well.

The state of the lieutenant As shown in the story, it is likely that at first the main character was not ready to appreciate the feeling that had arisen for the unfamiliar woman. Therefore, he so easily lets her go, believing that nothing binds them. Only after returning to his room, he feels the signs of the onset of "fever" and realizes that it cannot be avoided. He no longer belongs to himself, he is not free. He was suddenly influenced in an incredible way by the atmosphere of the room in which they spent the night together: "there was still an unfinished cup of coffee on the table, there was still an unmade bed, but it was gone." The lieutenant cannot accept this feeling, in every possible way pushes it away from himself, almost reaches the point of frenzy.

The lieutenant's metamorphosis and its meaning The way his state of mind changes speaks of the awakening power of feelings. Perhaps the lieutenant, a military man, could not even imagine that some fleeting meeting with a woman would turn his whole system of values ​​upside down, make him rethink the significance of life and rediscover its meaning for himself. The theme of love as the greatest mystery that knows no compromises is revealed in the story "Sunstroke". Bunin analyzes the state of his hero, emphasizes confusion and despair, as well as the bitterness with which he tries to suppress the awakening feeling of love in himself. In this unequal battle, it is rather difficult to win. The lieutenant is defeated and feels tired, ten years older.

The main idea of ​​the story Obviously, with his work the author wanted to show the dramatic outcome of love. Meanwhile, each of us is always free to choose what to do in a particular difficult situation. The lieutenant and his lady were simply not ready to accept the generous gift of fate, therefore they preferred to leave, having barely met. And it’s difficult to call it an acquaintance - they didn’t tell each other their names, didn’t exchange addresses. Most likely, their meeting was only an attempt to drown out the disturbing voice of a yearning heart. As you might guess, the heroes are unhappy in their personal lives and are very lonely, despite the presence of marriage. They did not leave each other addresses, did not give their names because they did not want to continue the relationship. This is the main idea of ​​the story "Sunstroke". Bunin analyzes and compares the heroes, which of them is no longer ready for a new life, but as a result, it turns out that both show considerable cowardice.

Theatrical performances and cinema This work was filmed more than once, and also played on the stage of the theater, so the situation that Bunin described in the story "Sunstroke" is so amazing. Mikhalkov shot the film of the same name in Bouvray. The actors' play is stunning, extremely conveys the feelings of the characters and their inner pain, which sounds like a heavy chord from beginning to end. Probably, there is no other such work that would cause such ambivalent feelings as "Sunstroke". Bunin, reviews of this story (very contradictory) confirm this, described a situation that leaves few people indifferent. Someone regrets the main characters and believes that they certainly needed to find each other, others are sure that such meetings between a man and a woman should remain a secret, an unattainable dream and have nothing to do with reality. Who knows whether it is worth believing a sudden passion or whether you need to look for the reason deep in yourself? Maybe all "love" is just an ecstatic fantasy inherent in youth

An unforgettably strong piece - "Sunstroke". Bunin analyzes in it a person's ability to accept love in the special circumstances of life and how the heroes cope with this task shows that in most cases people are not able to recognize it at the very beginning and take responsibility for the development of relationships. This kind of love is doomed.

Many works of I. Bunin are hymns of true love, which contains everything: tenderness, and passion, and the feeling of that special connection between the souls of two lovers. This feeling is also described in the story "Sunstroke", which the writer considered one of his best works. Pupils get to know him in the 11th grade. We suggest making it easier to prepare for the lesson using the analysis of the work presented below. Analysis will also help you quickly and efficiently prepare for the lesson and the exam.

Brief analysis

Year of writing- 1925

History of creation- The nature of the Maritime Alps inspired the writing of I. Bunin's work. The story was created at a time when the writer was working on a cycle of works related to love themes.

Topic- The main theme of the work is true love, which a person feels with both soul and body. In the final part of the work, the motive of separation from a loved one appears.

Composition- The formal organization of the story is simple, but there are certain peculiarities. The elements of the plot are placed in a logical sequence, but the work begins with a plot. Another feature is the framing: the story begins and ends with a picture of the sea.

genre- Story.

Direction- Realism.

History of creation

"Sunstroke" was written by I. Bunin in 1925. It is worth noting that the year of writing coincided with the period when the writer worked on stories dedicated to the theme of love. This is one of the factors that explains the psychological depth of the piece.

I. Bunin told G. Kuznetsova about the history of creation. After the conversation, the woman wrote the following in her diary: “We were talking yesterday about scripture and how stories are born. I.A. (Ivan Alekseevich) it begins with nature, some kind of picture that flashed through the brain, often a fragment. So the sunstroke came from the idea of ​​going out on deck after dinner, out of the light into the darkness of a summer night on the Volga. And the end came later "

Topic

In Sunstroke, the analysis of the work should begin with a description of the main problems. The story displayed motive, very common in both world and domestic literature. Nevertheless, the author was able to reveal it in an original way, delving into the psychology of the heroes.

In the center of the work topic sincere, ardent love, in the context of which they develop Problems relationships between people, separation of lovers, internal contradictions caused by the incompatibility of feelings and circumstances. Problematic works based on psychologism. The system of images is unbranched, so the reader's attention is constantly concentrated on two characters - the lieutenant and the beautiful stranger.

The story begins with a description of the dinner on the deck of the ship. It was in such conditions that young people met. A spark immediately ran between them. The man invited the girl to run away from strangers. After disembarking the ship, they went to the hotel. When the young people were left alone, the flames of passion immediately engulfed their bodies and minds.

The time in the hotel flew by quickly. In the morning, the lieutenant and the beautiful stranger were forced to part, but it turned out to be very difficult to do this. Young people are wondering what happened to them. They assume it was sunstroke. This reasoning contains the meaning of the title of the work. Sunstroke in this context is a symbol of a sudden mental shock, love that overshadows the mind.

The beloved persuades the lieutenant to take her to the deck. Here the man, it seems, is again struck by sunstroke, because he allows himself to kiss a stranger in front of everyone. The hero cannot recover for a long time after separation. He is tormented by the thought that his beloved most likely has a family, so they are not destined to be together. The man tries to write to his beloved, but then realizes that he does not know her address. In such a rebellious state, the hero spends another night, recent events are gradually moving away from him. Nevertheless, they do not pass without leaving a trace: it seems to the lieutenant that he has aged ten years.

Composition

The composition of the piece is simple, but some features are worth paying attention to. The elements of the plot are placed in a logical sequence. Nevertheless, the story begins not with an exposition, but with a plot. This technique enhances the sound of the idea. The heroes get to know each other, and then we will learn more about them. Development of events - night at the hotel and morning conversation. The culmination is the scene of parting between the lieutenant and the stranger. The denouement - the outbreak of love is gradually forgotten, but leaves a deep mark in the soul of the hero. Such a conclusion provides the reader with the opportunity to draw certain conclusions.

The framing can also be considered a feature of the composition of the work: the story begins and ends with a scene on the deck.

genre

The genre of I. Bunin's work "Sunstroke" is a story, as evidenced by the following signs: a small volume, the main role is played by the storyline of lovers, there are only two main characters. The direction of the story is realism.

Product test

Analysis rating

Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 107.

Russian literature has always been distinguished by its extraordinary chastity. Love in the mind of a Russian person and a Russian writer is primarily a spiritual feeling. The attraction of souls, mutual understanding, spiritual community, the similarity of interests have always been more important than the attraction of bodies, the desire for physical intimacy. The latter, in accordance with Christian dogmas, was even condemned. Over Anna Karenina L. Tolstoy holds a strict trial, no matter what various critics may say. In the traditions of Russian literature, there was also an image of women of easy virtue (remember Sonechka Marmeladova) as pure and immaculate creatures, whose soul is in no way affected by the "costs of the profession." And in no way could a short-term relationship, a spontaneous rapprochement, a carnal impulse of a man and a woman to each other be welcomed or justified. A woman who embarked on this path was perceived as being either frivolous or desperate. In order to justify Katerina Kabanova in her actions and to see in her betrayal to her husband an impulse for freedom and a protest against oppression in general, N.A. Dobrolyubov in his article "A ray of light in the dark kingdom" had to involve the entire system of social relations in Russia! And of course, such a relationship has never been called love. Passion, attraction at its best. Ho not love.

Bunin fundamentally rethinks this "scheme". For him, the feeling that suddenly arises between random fellow travelers on a steamer is as priceless as love. Moreover, it is precisely love that is this heady, selfless, suddenly arising feeling that evokes an association with sunstroke. He is convinced of this. “Coming soon,” he wrote to his friend, “the story“ Sunstroke ”, where I again, like in the novel“ Mitya's Love, ”in“ The Case of Yelagin's Cornet, ”in“ Ide, ”I am talking about love."

Bunin's interpretation of the theme of love is associated with his idea of ​​Eros as a powerful elemental force - the main form of manifestation of cosmic life. It is tragic in its essence, as it turns a person upside down, dramatically changes the course of his life. Much brings Bunin closer to Tyutchev in this respect, who also believed that love does not so much bring harmony into human existence as it manifests the “chaos” lurking in it. But if Tyutchev was nevertheless attracted by the “union of the soul with his own soul”, which ultimately resulted in a fatal duel, if in his poems we see unique individuals who, initially, even striving for this, are not able to bring each other happiness, then Bunin is not worries about the union of souls. Rather, he is shocked by the union of bodies, which in turn gives rise to a special understanding of life and another person, a feeling of indestructible memory, which makes life meaningful, and in a person manifests its natural principles.

We can say that the whole story "Sunstroke", which, as the writer himself admitted, grew out of one mental "idea of ​​going out on deck ... from the light into the darkness of a summer night on the Volga", is devoted to the description of this plunge into darkness that the lieutenant is experiencing who lost his accidental lover. This plunge into darkness, almost "insanity" occurs against the background of an intolerably sultry sunny day, filling everything around with penetrating heat. All descriptions are literally overwhelmed with burning sensations: the room where casual fellow travelers spend the night is "hotly heated by the sun during the day." And the next day begins with a “sunny, hot morning”. And later “everything around was bathed in hot, fiery ... sun”. And even in the evening, heat spreads in the rooms from the heated iron roofs, the wind raises white thick dust, the huge river glistens under the sun, the distance of water and sky shines dazzlingly. And after the forced wanderings around the city, the shoulder straps and buttons of the lieutenant's tunic “sank so hard that it was impossible to touch them. The peg of the cap was wet with sweat inside, his face was on fire ... ”.

The sun, the blinding whiteness of these pages should remind readers of the "sunstroke" that overtook the heroes of the story. It is at the same time immeasurable, sharpest happiness, but it is still a blow, albeit “sunny”, that is. painful, twilight state, loss of mind. Therefore, if at first the epithet solar is adjacent to the epithet happy, then later on the pages of the story will appear “joyful, but here it’s like an aimless sun”.

Bunin very carefully reveals the ambiguous meaning of his work. He does not let the participants in a short-term romance immediately understand what happened to them. The first word about some kind of "eclipse", "sunstroke" is pronounced by the heroine. Later, in bewilderment, he will repeat them: “Indeed, it’s like some kind of“ sunstroke ”. But she still talks about it without thinking, more worried about ending the relationship immediately, because she may be “unpleasant” with their continuation: if they go together again, “everything will be ruined”. At the same time, the heroine repeatedly repeats that this has never happened to her, that what happened to her is incomprehensible, incomprehensible, unique to her. But the lieutenant, as it were, ignores her words (then he, however, with tears in his eyes, perhaps only to revive her intonation, will repeat them), he easily agrees with her, easily brings her to the pier, easily and carelessly returns to the room where they were just the two of them.

And now the main action begins, because the whole story of the rapprochement of two people was only an exposition, only a preparation for the shock that happened in the soul of the lieutenant and in which he immediately cannot believe. First, it is about the strange feeling of emptiness of the room that startled him when he returned. Bunin boldly collides antonyms in sentences in order to sharpen this impression: “The number without her seemed somehow completely different than it was with her. He was still full of her - and empty ... She still smelled of good English cologne, her unfinished cup was still on the tray, but she was gone. " And in the future, this contrast - the presence of a person in the soul, in memory and his real absence in the surrounding space - will intensify with every moment. In the lieutenant's soul there is a growing feeling of wildness, unnaturalness, improbability of what happened, the intolerance of the pain of loss. The pain is such that one must be saved from it at all costs. But there is no salvation in anything. And each action only brings one closer to the idea that he cannot “get rid of this sudden, unexpected love” in any way that will forever haunt his memories of what he experienced, “about the smell of her tan and canvas dress”, about “lively, simple and cheerful sound her voices ”. Once F. Tyutchev begged:

Oh lord, give searing misery
And scatter the deadness of my soul:
You took her, but the torment of remembering,
Leave me living flour for it.

Bunin's heroes do not need to conjure - "the torment of remembrance" is always with them. The writer splendidly draws that terrible feeling of loneliness, rejection from other people, which the lieutenant experienced, pierced with love. Dostoevsky believed that such a feeling can be experienced by a person who has committed a terrible crime. Such is his Raskolnikov. But what crime did the lieutenant commit? Only that he was struck by “too much love, too much happiness” !? However, it was this that immediately distinguished him from the mass of ordinary people living an ordinary, unremarkable life. Bunin deliberately snatches individual human figures from this mass in order to clarify this idea. Here at the entrance of the hotel a cabman stopped and simply, carelessly, indifferently, calmly sitting on the box, smokes a cigarette, and another cabman, taking the lieutenant to the pier, says something cheerfully. Here women and men in the bazaar are energetically beckoning customers, praising their goods, and from the photographs the satisfied newlyweds look at the lieutenant, a pretty girl in a wrinkled cap and some military man with magnificent sideburns, in a uniform decorated with orders. And in the cathedral, the church choir sings "loudly, merrily, decisively."

Of course, the fun, carelessness and happiness of others are seen through the eyes of the hero, and, probably, this is not entirely true. But the fact of the matter is that from now on he sees the world just like that, penetrating to people who are not “struck” by love, “painful envy”. After all, they really do not experience that unbearable torment, that incredible suffering that does not give him a minute of peace. Hence his abrupt, convulsive movements, gestures, impulsive actions: “got up quickly,” “walked hastily,” “stopped in horror,” “began to look tensely”. The writer pays special attention to the character's gestures, his facial expressions, his views (for example, an unmade bed repeatedly falls into his field of vision, possibly still keeping the warmth of their bodies). Also important are his impressions of being, sensations spoken aloud by the most elementary, but therefore stressed phrases. Only occasionally does the reader get the opportunity to learn about his thoughts. This is how Bunin's psychological analysis is built, at the same time secret and obvious, a kind of "super-visual".

The culmination of the story can be considered the phrase: “Everything was good, in everything there was immeasurable happiness, great joy; even in this heat and in all the smells of the bazaar, in all this unfamiliar town and in this old district hotel, there was she, this joy, and at the same time the heart was simply torn to pieces ”. It is even known that in one of the editions of the story it was said that the lieutenant "was ripening a stubborn thought of suicide." This is how the dividing line between the past and the present is drawn. Henceforth, he exists, "deeply unhappy", and some of them, others, happy and contented. And Bunin agrees that "everything that is everyday, ordinary" is "wild, terrible" to the heart, which was visited by great love - that "new ... strange, incomprehensible feeling" that this unremarkable person "could not even imagine in himself." And the hero mentally condemns his chosen one to a "lonely life" in the future, although he knows perfectly well that she has a husband and a daughter. But the husband and daughter are present in the dimension of “ordinary life”, just as in “ordinary life” there are simple, unpretentious joys. Therefore, for him, after parting, the whole world around turns into a desert (not without reason in one of the phrases of the story - for a completely different reason - the Sahara is mentioned). “The street was completely empty. The houses were all the same, white, two-story, merchant ... and it seemed that there was not a soul in them ”. The room breathes with the heat of "a luminiferous (and, therefore, colorless, dazzling! - MM) and now completely empty, silent ... world." This "silent Volga world" is replacing the "immense Volga expanse", in which she dissolved, disappeared forever, beloved, the only one. This motif of the disappearance and at the same time the presence in the world of a human being living in human memory is very reminiscent of the intonation of Bunin's story "Light Breathing" -

about the chaotic and unrighteous life of a young schoolgirl Olya Meshcherskaya, who had this most inexplicable "light breath" and died at the hands of her lover. It ends with the following lines: "Now this light breath has scattered again into the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind."

In full accordance with the contrast between the individual existence of a grain of sand (such a definition suggests itself!) And the infinite world, a clash of times, so significant for the concept of Bunin's life, arises - present, present, even momentary time and eternity, into which time grows out without it. The word never begins to sound like a refrain: “he will never see her again”, “he will never tell” her about his feelings. I would like to write: "From now on, my whole life is forever, to your grave ..." - but you cannot send her a telegram, since the name and surname are unknown; I’m ready to die even tomorrow in order to spend a day together today, to prove my love, but it’s impossible to return my beloved ... At first, it seems unbearable for the lieutenant to live without her only an endless but single day in a dusty town forgotten by God. Then this day will turn into the torment of "the uselessness of the whole future life without her."

The story has, in fact, a circular composition. At the very beginning, a blow is heard against the dock of an attached steamer, and at the end the same sounds are heard. A day lay between them. One day. However, in the imagination of the hero and the author, they are separated from each other by at least ten years (this figure is repeated twice in the story - after everything that happened, after realizing his loss, the lieutenant feels “ten years older”!), But in fact, eternity. Once again, another person is going on a steamer, who has comprehended some of the most important things on earth, who has become familiar with its secrets.

The sense of the materiality of what is happening is striking in this story. Indeed, it seems that such a story could have been written by a person who had only really experienced something like this, who remembered both the lonely hairpin forgotten by his beloved on the night table, and the sweetness of the first kiss, which took his breath away. Ho Bunin strongly objected to identifying him with his heroes. “I have never told my own novels ... both Mitya's Love and Sunstroke are all figments of the imagination,” he was indignant. Rather, in the Maritime Alps, in 1925, when this story was being written, he dreamed of the shining Volga, its yellow shallows, oncoming rafts and a pink steamer sailing along it. All that was no longer destined for him to see. And the only words that the author of the story utters “on his own behalf” are the words that they “remembered this minute for many years: I have never experienced anything like this in my entire life, neither one nor the other”. The heroes, who are not destined to see each other anymore, cannot know what will happen to them in that “life” that will arise outside the narrative, what they will feel afterwards.

In a purely “dense”, material manner of narration (it’s not for nothing that one of the critics called what was coming out of his pen “brocade prose”), it was precisely the worldview of a writer who thirsts through memory, through touching an object, through a trace left by someone (when Having visited the Middle East, he was glad that he saw in some dungeon "a living and clear footprint" left five thousand years ago) to resist the destructive effect of time, to triumph over oblivion, and therefore over death. It is memory in the mind of the writer that makes a person like God. Bunin proudly said: "I am a man: as a god, I am doomed / To know the longing of all countries and all times." Likewise, a person who has learned love in the artistic world of Bunin can consider himself a deity, to whom new, unknown feelings open up - kindness, spiritual generosity, nobility. The writer speaks of the mystery of the currents that run between people, linking them into an indissoluble whole, but at the same time persistently reminds of the unpredictability of the results of our actions, of the “chaos” that is hidden under a decent existence, of the tremulous care that such a fragile organization requires, like human life.

Bunin's work, especially on the eve of the cataclysm of 1917 and emigration, is permeated with a sense of catastrophism that awaits both the passengers of the Atlantis and selflessly devoted lovers to each other, who are nevertheless divorced by life's circumstances. But no less loudly will the hymn of love and joy of life sound in it, which may be available to people whose heart has not grown old, whose soul is open to creativity. But in this joy, and in this love, and in the self-forgetfulness of creativity, Bunin saw the danger of a passionate attachment to life, which can sometimes be so strong that his heroes choose death, preferring eternal oblivion to the sharp pain of pleasure.