Russian literature Silver Age
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin
Biography
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich (1870 - 1938) - Russian writer. Social criticism marked the story “Moloch” (1896), in which industrialization appears in the image of a monster factory that enslaves a person morally and physically, the story “The Duel” (1905) - about the death of a mentally pure hero in the deadening atmosphere of army life, and the story “The Pit” (1909 - 15) - about prostitution. The variety of finely outlined types, lyrical situations in the stories and short stories “Olesya” (1898), “Gambrinus” (1907), “ Garnet bracelet"(1911). Cycles of essays (“Listrigons”, 1907 - 11). In 1919 - 37 in exile, in 1937 he returned to his homeland. Autobiographical novel"Junker" (1928 - 32).
Big encyclopedic dictionary, M.-SPb., 1998
Biography
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich (1870), prose writer.
Born on August 26 (September 7, new year) in the city of Narovchat, Penza province, in the family of a minor official who died a year after the birth of his son. After the death of her husband, his mother (from the ancient family of Tatar princes Kulanchakov) moved to Moscow, where the future writer spent his childhood and youth. At the age of six, the boy was sent to the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school (orphanage), from where he left in 1880. The same year he entered the Moscow Military Academy, which was transformed into the Cadet Corps.
After completing his studies, he continued his military education at the Alexander Junker School (1888 - 90). Subsequently, he described his “military youth” in the stories “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” and in the novel “Junkers”. Even then he dreamed of becoming “a poet or novelist.”
First literary experience Kuprin had poems that remained unpublished. The first work to see the light was the story “The Last Debut” (1889).
In 1890, after graduating from military school, Kuprin, with the rank of second lieutenant, was enlisted in an infantry regiment stationed in the Podolsk province. The life of an officer, which he led for four years, provided rich material for his future works. In 1893 - 1894, the St. Petersburg magazine “Russian Wealth” published his story “In the Dark” and the stories “ Moonlit night" and "Inquiry". A series of stories are dedicated to the life of the Russian army: “Overnight” (1897), “Night Shift” (1899), “Hike”. In 1894, Kuprin retired and moved to Kyiv, without any civilian profession and having little life experience. In the following years, he traveled a lot around Russia, trying many professions, greedily absorbing life experiences that became the basis of his future works. In the 1890s, he published the essay “Yuzovsky Plant” and the story “Moloch”, the stories “Wilderness”, “Werewolf”, the stories “Olesya” and “Kat” (“Army Ensign”). During these years, Kuprin met Bunin, Chekhov and Gorky. In 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg, began working for the “Magazine for Everyone,” married M. Davydova, and had a daughter, Lydia. Kuprin's stories appeared in St. Petersburg magazines: “Swamp” (1902); "Horse Thieves" (1903); " White poodle"(1904). In 1905, his most significant work was published - the story "The Duel", which was a great success. The writer’s performances with the reading of individual chapters of “The Duel” became an event cultural life capitals. His works of this time were very well-behaved: the essay “Events in Sevastopol” (1905), the stories “Staff Captain Rybnikov” (1906), “River of Life”, “Gambrinus” (1907). In 1907, he married his second wife, sister of mercy E. Heinrich, and had a daughter, Ksenia. Kuprin's work in the years between the two revolutions resisted the decadent mood of those years: the cycle of essays "Listrigons" (1907 - 11), stories about animals, the stories "Shulamith", "Garnet Bracelet" (1911). His prose became a notable phenomenon of Russian literature at the beginning of the century. After October Revolution The writer did not accept the policy of military communism, the “Red Terror”; he feared for the fate of Russian culture. In 1918 he came to Lenin with a proposal to publish a newspaper for the village - “Earth”. At one time he worked at the World Literature publishing house, founded by Gorky. In the fall of 1919, while in Gatchina, cut off from Petrograd by Yudenich's troops, he emigrated abroad. The seventeen years that the writer spent in Paris were an unproductive period. Constant material need and homesickness led him to the decision to return to Russia. In the spring of 1937, the seriously ill Kuprin returned to his homeland, warmly received by his admirers. Published the essay “Native Moscow”. However, new creative plans was not destined to come true. In August 1938, Kuprin died in Leningrad from cancer.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) - famous Russian writer. His father, a small official, died a year after the birth of his son. His mother, originally from the Tatar princes Kulanchakov, after the death of her husband moved to the capital of Russia, where Kuprin spent his childhood and youth. At the age of 6, Alexander was sent to an orphanage, where he stayed until 1880. And immediately upon leaving, he entered the Moscow Military Academy.
Afterwards he studied at the Alexander School (1888-90). In 1889, his first work, “The Last Debut,” saw the light of day. In 1890, Kuprin was assigned to an infantry regiment in the Podolsk province, life in which became the basis for many of his works.
In 1894 the writer resigns and moves to Kyiv. The following years were devoted to wandering through Russia.
In 1890 he introduced readers to many publications - “Moloch”, “Yuzovsky Plant”, “Werewolf”, “Olesya”, “Kat”.
A bright representative of realism, a charismatic personality and simply a famous Russian writer of the early 20th century is Alexander Kuprin. His biography is eventful, quite difficult and filled with an ocean of emotions, thanks to which the world came to know his best creations. “Moloch”, “Duel”, “Garnet Bracelet” and many other works that have replenished the golden fund of world art.
The beginning of the journey
Born on September 7, 1870 in the small town of Narovchat, Penza District. His father is civil servant Ivan Kuprin, whose biography is very short, since he died when Sasha was only 2 years old. After which he stayed with his mother Lyubov Kuprina, who was a Tatar of princely blood. They suffered hunger, humiliation and deprivation, so his mother made the difficult decision to send Sasha to the department for young orphans at the Alexander Military School in 1876. Pupil military school, Alexander, graduated from it in the second half of the 80s.
In the early 90s, after graduating from military school, he became an employee of the Dnieper Infantry Regiment No. 46. A successful military career remained a dream, as Kuprin’s disturbing, eventful and emotional biography tells. Summary biography says that Alexander failed to enter higher education military educational institution because of the scandal. And all because of his hot temper, under the influence of alcohol, he threw a police officer from a bridge into the water. Having risen to the rank of lieutenant, he retired in 1895.
Writer's temperament
A personality with an incredibly bright color, greedily absorbing impressions, a wanderer. He tried many crafts: from laborer to dental technician. A very emotional and extraordinary person is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography is filled with bright events, which became the basis of many of his masterpieces.
His life was quite stormy, there were many rumors about him. Explosive temperament, excellent physical fitness, he was drawn to try himself, which gave him invaluable life experience and strengthened his spirit. He constantly strived for adventure: he dived underwater in special equipment, flew on an airplane (he almost died due to a disaster), was the founder of a sports society, etc. During the war years, together with his wife, he equipped an infirmary in his own house.
He loved to get to know a person, his character and communicated with people of the most diverse different professions: specialists with higher technical education, wandering musicians, fishermen, card players, poor people, clergy, entrepreneurs, etc. And in order to get to know a person better, to experience his life for himself, he was ready for the craziest adventure. A researcher whose spirit of adventurism was simply off the charts is Alexander Kuprin, the writer’s biography only confirms this fact.
He worked with great pleasure as a journalist in many editorial offices, published articles and reports in periodicals. He often went on business trips, lived in the Moscow region, then in the Ryazan region, as well as in the Crimea (Balaklava region) and in the city of Gatchina, Leningrad region.
Revolutionary activities
He was not satisfied with the then social order and the reigning injustice, and therefore, as a strong personality, he wanted to somehow change the situation. However, despite his revolutionary sentiments, the writer had a negative attitude towards the October revolution led by representatives of the Social Democrats (Bolsheviks). Bright, eventful and various difficulties - this is the Biography of Kuprin. Interesting facts from the biography say that Alexander Ivanovich nevertheless collaborated with the Bolsheviks and even wanted to publish a peasant publication called “Earth,” and therefore often saw the head of the Bolshevik government, V.I. Lenin. But soon he suddenly went over to the side of the “whites” (anti-Bolshevik movement). After they were defeated, Kuprin moved to Finland, and then to France, namely to its capital, where he stayed for some time.
In 1937, he took an active part in the press of the anti-Bolshevik movement, while continuing to write his works. Troubled, filled with the struggle for justice and emotions, this is exactly what Kuprin’s biography was. The summary of the biography states that in the period from 1929 to 1933 the following famous novels: “The Wheel of Time”, “Junker”, “Zhaneta”, and many articles and stories have been published. Emigration had a negative effect on the writer; he was unclaimed, suffered hardships and missed native land. In the second half of the 30s, believing the propaganda in the Soviet Union, he and his wife returned to Russia. The return was overshadowed by the fact that Alexander Ivanovich suffered from a very serious illness.
People's life through the eyes of Kuprin
Kuprin's literary activity is imbued with the classic manner of Russian writers of compassion for the people who are forced to live in poverty in a wretched living environment. A strong-willed personality with a strong desire for justice is Alexander Kuprin, whose biography says that he expressed his sympathy in his creativity. For example, the novel “The Pit,” written at the beginning of the 20th century, tells about the hard life of prostitutes. And also images of intellectuals suffering from the hardships they are forced to endure.
His favorite characters are just like that - reflective, a little hysterical and very sentimental. For example, the story “Moloch”, where the representative of this image is Bobrov (engineer) - a very sensitive character, compassionate and worried about ordinary factory workers who work hard while the rich ride like cheese in butter on other people’s money. Representatives of such images in the story “The Duel” are Romashov and Nazansky, who are endowed with great physical strength, as opposed to a tremulous and sensitive soul. Romashov was very irritated by military activities, namely vulgar officers and downtrodden soldiers. Probably no writer has condemned the military environment as much as Alexander Kuprin.
The writer was not one of the tearful, people-worshipping writers, although his works were often approved by the famous populist critic N.K. Mikhailovsky. His democratic attitude towards his characters was expressed not only in the description of their difficult lives. Alexander Kuprin’s man of the people not only had a trembling soul, but was also strong-willed and could give a worthy rebuff at the right moment. The life of the people in Kuprin’s works is a free, spontaneous and natural flow, and the characters have not only troubles and sorrows, but also joy and consolation (the cycle of stories “Listrigons”). A man with a vulnerable soul and a realist is Kuprin, whose biography according to dates says that this work took place between 1907 and 1911.
Its realism was expressed in the fact that the author described not only good features his characters, but was not shy about showing them dark side(aggression, cruelty, rage). A striking example is the story “Gambrinus”, where Kuprin described the Jewish pogrom in great detail. This work was written in 1907.
Perception of life through creativity
Kuprin is an idealist and romantic, which is reflected in his work: heroic deeds, sincerity, love, compassion, kindness. Most of his characters are emotional people, those who have fallen out of the usual rut of life, they are in search of truth, a freer and fuller existence, something beautiful...
The feeling of love, the fullness of life, is what permeates Kuprin’s biography, interesting facts from which indicate that no one else could write as poetically about feelings. This is clearly reflected in the story “The Garnet Bracelet,” written in 1911. It is in this work that Alexander Ivanovich exalts the true, pure, free, perfect love. He very accurately depicted the characters of various layers of society, described in detail the situation surrounding his characters, their way of life. It was for his sincerity that he often received reprimands from critics. Naturalism and aesthetics are the main features of Kuprin’s work.
His stories about animals “Barbos and Zhulka” and “Emerald” fully deserve a place in the collection of world art of words. A short biography of Kuprin says that he is one of the few writers who could so feel the flow of nature, real life and it’s so successful to display this in your works. A striking embodiment of this quality is the story “Olesya,” written in 1898, where he describes the deviation from the ideal of natural existence.
Such an organic worldview, healthy optimism are the main distinctive properties of his work, in which lyricism and romance, proportionality of the plot and compositional center, dramatic action and truth harmoniously merge.
Master of Literary Arts
Virtuoso of the word - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography says that he could very accurately and beautifully describe the landscape in literary work. His external, visual and, one might say, olfactory perception of the world was simply excellent. I.A. Bunin and A.I. Kuprin often competed to determine the smell of different situations and phenomena in their masterpieces and not only... In addition, the writer could display the true image of his characters very carefully down to the smallest detail: appearance, disposition, communication style, etc. He found complexity and depth even when describing animals, all because he loved to write about this topic.
A passionate lover of life, a naturalist and a realist, this is exactly what Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was. The writer’s brief biography states that all his stories are based on real events and are therefore unique: natural, vivid, without obsessive speculative constructions. He thought about the meaning of life, described true love, talked about hatred, strong-willed and heroic deeds. Emotions such as disappointment, despair, struggle with oneself, the strengths and weaknesses of a person became the main ones in his works. These manifestations of existentialism were typical of his work and reflected the complexity inner world man at the turn of the century.
Writer in transition
He truly is a representative of the transitional stage, which undoubtedly affected his work. A striking type of the “off-road” era is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose brief biography suggests that this time left an imprint on his psyche, and, accordingly, on the author’s works. His characters are in many ways reminiscent of the heroes of A.P. Chekhov, the only difference is that Kuprin’s images are not so pessimistic. For example, technologist Bobrov from the story “Moloch”, Kashintsev from “Zhidovka” and Serdyukov from the story “Swamp”. Chekhov's main characters are sensitive, conscientious, but at the same time broken, exhausted people who are lost in themselves and disillusioned with life. They are shocked by aggression, they are very compassionate, but they can no longer fight. Realizing their helplessness, they perceive the world only through the prism of cruelty, injustice and meaninglessness.
A short biography of Kuprin confirms that, despite the writer’s gentleness and sensitivity, he was a strong-willed person, loving life, and therefore his heroes are somewhat similar to him. They have a strong thirst for life, which they grasp very tightly and do not let go. They listen to both the heart and the mind. For example, drug addict Bobrov, who decided to kill himself, listened to the voice of reason and realized that he loved life too much to end everything once and for all. The same thirst for life lived in Serdyukov (the student from the work “Swamp”), who was very sympathetic to the forester and his family, dying of an infectious disease. He spent the night at their house and for this short time I almost went crazy from pain, anxiety and compassion. And when morning comes, he strives to quickly get out of this nightmare in order to see the sun. It was as if he was running from there in a fog, and when he finally ran up the hill, he simply choked with an unexpected surge of happiness.
Passionate lover of life - Alexander Kuprin, whose biography says that the writer loved happy endings. The ending of the story sounds symbolic and solemn. It says that the fog was spreading at the guy’s feet, about pure blue sky, about the whisper of green branches, about the golden sun, the rays of which “ringed with the jubilant triumph of victory.” Which sounds like the victory of life over death.
The exaltation of life in the story “The Duel”
This work is the true apotheosis of life. Kuprin, whose short biography and work are closely related, described the cult of personality in this story. The main characters (Nazansky and Romashev) are bright representatives of individualism; they declared that the whole world would perish when they were gone. They firmly believed in their beliefs, but were too weak in spirit to bring their idea to life. It was this disproportion between the exaltation of one’s own personalities and the weakness of its owners that the author caught.
A master of his craft, an excellent psychologist and realist, these are precisely the qualities the writer Kuprin possessed. The author’s biography says that he wrote “The Duel” at a time when he was at the peak of his fame. It was in this masterpiece that they united best qualities Alexandra Ivanovich: an excellent writer of everyday life, psychologist and lyricist. The military theme was close to the author, given his background, and therefore no effort was required to develop it. The bright general background of the work does not overshadow the expressiveness of its main characters. Each character is incredibly interesting and is a link in the same chain, without losing their individuality.
Kuprin, whose biography says that the story appeared during the Russian-Japanese conflict, criticized the military environment to the nines. The work describes military life, psychology, and reflects the pre-revolutionary life of Russians.
In the story, as in life, an atmosphere of deadness and impoverishment, sadness and routine reigns. A feeling of absurdity, disorder and incomprehensibility of existence. It was these feelings that overwhelmed Romashev and were familiar to the residents pre-revolutionary Russia. In order to drown out the ideological “impossibility”, Kuprin described in “The Duel” the dissolute morality of the officers, their unfair and cruel attitude towards each other. And of course, the main vice of the military is alcoholism, which flourished among the Russian people.
Characters
You don’t even need to draw up a plan for Kuprin’s biography to understand that he is spiritually close to his heroes. These are very emotional, broken individuals who sympathize, are indignant at the injustice and cruelty of life, but cannot fix anything.
After the “Duel,” a work appears called “River of Life.” In this story, completely different moods reign; many liberation processes took place. He is the embodiment of the finale of the drama of the intelligentsia, which the writer narrates. Kuprin, whose work and biography are closely connected, does not betray himself; the main character is still a kind, sensitive intellectual. He is a representative of individualism, no, he is not indifferent, having thrown himself into the whirlwind of events, he understands that new life not for him. And glorifying the joy of being, he still decides to die, because he believes that he does not deserve it, which he writes about in his suicide note to his comrade.
The theme of love and nature are those areas in which the writer’s optimistic moods are clearly expressed. Kuprin considered such a feeling as love to be a mysterious gift that is sent only to a select few. This attitude is reflected in the novel “Garnet Bracelet”, just look at the passionate speech of Nazansky or dramatic relationships Romasheva with Shura. And Kuprin’s narratives about nature are simply fascinating; at first they may seem too detailed and ornate, but then this multicoloredness begins to delight, as the realization comes that these are not standard turns of phrase, but the author’s personal observations. It becomes clear how he was captivated by the process, how he absorbed impressions, which he later reflected in his work, and it is simply enchanting.
Kuprin's mastery
A virtuoso of the pen, a man with excellent intuition and an ardent lover of life, this is exactly what Alexander Kuprin was. A brief biography tells that he was an incredibly deep, harmonious and internally filled person. He subconsciously felt the secret meaning of things, could connect causes and understand consequences. As an excellent psychologist, he had the ability to highlight the main thing in a text, which is why his works seemed ideal, from which nothing could be removed or added. These qualities are displayed in “The Evening Guest”, “River of Life”, “Duel”.
Alexander Ivanovich did not add anything special to the sphere of literary techniques. However, in later works author, such as “River of Life”, “Staff Captain Rybnikov”, there is a sharp change in the direction of art; he is clearly drawn to impressionism. Stories become more dramatic and concise. Kuprin, whose biography is eventful, later returns to realism. This refers to the chronicle novel “The Pit”, in which he describes the life of brothels, he does this in the usual manner, everything is just as natural and without hiding anything. Because of this, it periodically receives condemnation from critics. However, this did not stop him. He did not strive for something new, but tried to improve and develop the old.
Results
Biography of Kuprin (briefly about the main things):
- Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich was born on September 7, 1870 in the town of Narovchat, Penza District in Russia.
- He died on August 25, 1938 at the age of 67 in St. Petersburg.
- The writer lived at the turn of the century, which invariably affected his work. Survived the October Revolution.
- The direction of art is realism and impressionism. The main genres are short story and story.
- Since 1902 he lived in marriage with Davydova Maria Karlovna. And since 1907 - with Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna.
- Father - Kuprin Ivan Ivanovich. Mother - Kuprina Lyubov Alekseevna.
- He had two daughters - Ksenia and Lydia.
The best sense of smell in Russia
Alexander Ivanovich was visiting Fyodor Chaliapin, who called him the most sensitive nose in Russia when visiting. A perfumer from France was present at the evening and decided to test this by asking Kuprin to name the main components of his new development. To the great surprise of everyone present, he completed the task.
In addition, Kuprin had strange habit: When meeting or making acquaintances, he sniffed people. Many were offended by this, and some were delighted, they argued that thanks to this gift he recognized human nature. Kuprin's only competitor was I. Bunin, they often organized competitions.
Tatar roots
Kuprin, like a real Tatar, was very hot-tempered, emotional and very proud of his origin. His mother is from a family of Tatar princes. Alexander Ivanovich often dressed in Tatar attire: a robe and a colored skullcap. In this form, he loved to visit his friends and relax in restaurants. Moreover, in this vestment he sat down like a real khan and squinted his eyes for greater resemblance.
Universal Man
Alexander Ivanovich changed a large number of professions before he found his true calling. He tried his hand at boxing, teaching, fishing and acting. He worked in the circus as a wrestler, land surveyor, pilot, traveling musician, etc. Moreover, his main goal was not money, but invaluable life experience. Alexander Ivanovich stated that he would like to become an animal, a plant or a pregnant woman in order to experience all the delights of childbirth.
Beginning of writing activity
He received his first writing experience while still in military school. It was the story “The Last Debut”, the work was quite primitive, but still he decided to send it to the newspaper. This was reported to the school management, and Alexander was punished (two days in a punishment cell). He promised himself to never write again. However, he did not keep his words, as he met the writer I. Bunin, who asked him to write short story. Kuprin was broke at the time, so he agreed and used the money he earned to buy food and shoes. It was this event that pushed him to serious work.
That's how he is famous writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, a physically strong man with a tender and vulnerable soul and his own quirks. A great lover of life and experimenter, compassionate and with a great desire for justice. Naturalist and realist Kuprin left a large legacy magnificent works, which fully deserve the title of masterpieces.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin
(1870 - 1938)
Born on August 27, 1870 in the small town of Narovchat, in the Penza province, in the family of a minor official. The writer did not know his father, because he died a year after the birth of his son, from cholera. His mother came from the ancient princely family of the Kulanchakovs. After her husband's death, she moved to a widow's house in Moscow. Only thanks to this, Kuprin’s childhood years were spent close to his mother, whom he, by the way, literally idolized. And there really was something to admire.
His mother had a strong, even somewhat tyrannical character. She was a proud princess, had excellent taste and keen powers of observation. Unfortunately, financial difficulties forced her to give young writer to the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school (orphanage) when he was 6 years old.
After graduating from the boarding school, he entered the Second Moscow Military Gymnasium, which was later renamed the Cadet Corps. After graduation, Kuprin continued his education at the Third Alexander Junker School in Moscow. All this during the 1880-90s. The writer reflected his military youth in the story “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” and in the novel “Junkers”. He left school with the rank of second lieutenant.
Already, while at school, Kuprin felt a craving for literature; his first attempts were poems that remained unpublished. The first work of Alexander Kuprin that the world saw was the story “The Last Debut”, published in the magazine “Russian Satirical List” in 1889. The story turned out to be not very successful, and Kuprin himself did not take writing very seriously.
After graduating from college in 1890, the writer was enrolled in an infantry regiment. Served for four years. His military career provided a lot of material for Kuprin’s writing. After retirement in 1994, he moved to Kyiv. The writer did not have a regular profession and was still very young. He traveled a lot around the country, held different positions and tried many professions. This was reflected in his work.
In the 1890s, he published the essay “Yuzovsky Plant” and the story “Moloch”, the stories “Wilderness”, “Werewolf”, the stories “Olesya” and “Kat” (“Army Ensign”).
During these years, Kuprin met Bunin, Chekhov and Gorky. In 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg, began working as a secretary of the “Magazine for Everyone,” married M. Davydova, and had a daughter, Lydia. Kuprin's stories appeared in St. Petersburg magazines: “Swamp” (1902); "Horse Thieves" (1903); "White Poodle" (1904). In 1905, his most significant work was published - the story "The Duel", which was a great success. The writer’s performances reading individual chapters of “The Duel” became an event in the cultural life of the capital. His works of this time were very well-behaved: the essay “Events in Sevastopol” (1905), the stories “Staff Captain Rybnikov” (1906), “River of Life”, “Gambrinus” (1907). In 1907, he married his second wife, sister of mercy E. Heinrich, and had a daughter, Ksenia.
Kuprin's work in the years between the two revolutions resisted the decadent mood of those years: the cycle of essays "Listrigons" (1907 - 11), stories about animals, the stories "Shulamith", "Pomegranate Bracelet" (1911). His prose became a notable phenomenon of Russian literature at the beginning of the century.
Kuprin did not accept the revolution, his relationship with M. Gorky cooled. The writer's creativity was constantly hampered by financial troubles and family troubles. In 1907, Kuprin again took up journalism to pay off his debts and support his family.
In the fall of 1919, while in Gatchina, cut off from Petrograd by Yudenich's troops, he emigrated abroad. The seventeen years that the writer spent in Paris did not bear much literary fruit. Constant material need and homesickness led him to the decision to return to Russia. In the spring of 1937, the seriously ill Kuprin returned to his homeland, warmly received by his admirers. Published the essay “Native Moscow”. However, the new creative plans were not destined to come true. Died on the night of August 25, 1938 after serious illness(tongue cancer).
In addition to Kuprin's biography, also pay attention to other works.
Alexander Kuprin is a great Russian writer who left a rich legacy of works to humanity. Observant, subtle and sensitive by nature, Alexander Ivanovich reflected in his works the life and morality of that time.
He was born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the family of a minor official in the small town of Narovchat, which is located in the Penza province. His father died a year after Alexander was born. Three children remained in the arms of mother Lyubov Alekseevna - older sisters and Sasha himself. The girls are sent to a boarding school, and Lyubov Alekseevna leaves with her son for Moscow.
It is worth noting that the writer’s mother is a native of the ancient family of Tatar princes Kulanchakov. She has strong character, stubborn, she loves her children very much. Life in Moscow was hard, miserable, and the mother enrolled her six-year-old son in the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school (1876). It was not easy for Alexander, the boy was sad and homesick, and even thought about escaping. He read a lot, knew how to invent stories, and was popular for this. Alexander composed his first creation, a poem, at the age of seven.
Gradually, life got better, and Kuprin decided to become a military man. After graduating from the boarding school in 1880, he immediately entered the Second Moscow Military Academy. Eight years later he studies at the Moscow Alexander Military School. The years of study were not in vain for Alexander Ivanovich; later he would write and denounce the Russian army in his works. There will be a lot of thoughts about honor, uniform, courage, the characters of the heroes, as well as corruption.
He continued to read and study literature, and in 1889 his first story, “The First Debut,” was published. In 1890, after completing his studies, Kuprin entered service in an infantry regiment as a second lieutenant. Its new location is Podolsk province. Four years later, Alexander Ivanovich retired. Having no specialty, Kuprin tries himself in various fields activities.
This person, greedy for impressions, takes on any job, he is not afraid of anything, everything is interesting to him. His character is explosive, but he is ready for an adventure. It was important for him to communicate with people, to get used to their atmosphere of life, to capture the feelings, character and subtleties of each person. Then Kuprin will skillfully reflect his observations in his works.
Soon he meets A.P. Chekhov, M. Gorky and I. Bunin. Publications in Moscow and St. Petersburg begin to publish his works, notes, and essays. In 1901, Alexander Kuprin married Maria Davydova, and a year later their daughter Lida was born. In 1905, the story “The Duel” was published. In addition to the army impressions set out in his works, Kuprin writes about love, about animals (“White Poodle” 1902), becomes popular, and is published a lot. In 1907, after a divorce from his first wife, Alexander Kuprin remarried Elizaveta Heinrich. Daughter Ksenia is born.
Alexander Ivanovich served in Finland in 1914, but was discharged due to health reasons. The First World War (1914-1918) began, then he, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Ksenia set up an infirmary at home. They provided assistance to wounded soldiers. Kuprin perceived the revolution negatively. He was on the side of the white movement, although at first he tried to cooperate with the Bolsheviks. Like many other creative personalities, Kuprin and his family leave Russia, they go to France. Alexander Ivanovich continues to create, but not so productively; he misses his homeland. Actively participates in the anti-Bolshevik press.
In the spring of 1937, the writer and his family returned to their homeland. He was greeted warmly and cordially. Unfortunately, the writer was seriously ill and died a year later. He died on August 25, 1938 in the city of Leningrad. Most popular works Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin:
“Duel”, “Garnet Bracelet”, “Olesya”, “Pit”.
The work of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was formed during the years of revolutionary upsurge. All his life he was close to the theme of the epiphany of a simple Russian man who greedily sought the truth of life. Kuprin devoted all his creativity to the development of this complex psychological theme. His art, as his contemporaries put it, was characterized by a special vigilance in seeing the world, concreteness, and a constant desire for knowledge. The educational pathos of Kuprin's creativity was combined with a passionate personal interest in the victory of good over all evil. Therefore, most of his works are characterized by dynamics, drama, and excitement.
Kuprin's biography is like an adventure novel. In terms of the abundance of meetings with people and life observations, it was reminiscent of Gorky’s biography. Kuprin traveled a lot, did a variety of work: he served at a factory, worked as a loader, played on stage, sang in a church choir.
At an early stage of his work, Kuprin was strongly influenced by Dostoevsky. It manifested itself in the stories “In the Dark,” “On a Moonlit Night,” and “Madness.” He writes about fateful moments, the role of chance in a person’s life, and analyzes the psychology of human passions. Some stories of that period say that the human will is helpless in the face of natural chance, that the mind cannot comprehend the mysterious laws that govern man. Decisive role In overcoming literary cliches coming from Dostoevsky, direct acquaintance with the lives of people, with real Russian reality, played a role.
He begins to write essays. Their peculiarity is that the writer usually had a leisurely conversation with the reader. They clearly showed clear storylines, a simple and detailed depiction of reality. The greatest influence on Kuprin the essayist was G. Uspensky.
Kuprin's first creative quests culminated in the largest thing that reflected reality. It was the story “Moloch”. In it, the writer shows the contradictions between capital and forced human labor. He was able to grasp social characteristics the latest forms capitalist production. An angry protest against the monstrous violence against man, on which the industrial flourishing in the world of “Moloch” is based, a satirical demonstration of the new masters of life, an exposure of the shameless predation in the country of foreign capital - all this cast doubt on the theories of bourgeois progress. After the essays and short stories, the story was important stage in the writer's work.
In search of moral and spiritual ideals of life, which the writer contrasted with the ugliness of modern human relations, Kuprin turns to the lives of vagabonds, beggars, drunken artists, starving unrecognized artists, and children of the poor urban population. This is a world of nameless people who form the mass of society. Among them, Kuprin tried to find his goodies. He writes the stories “Lidochka”, “Lokon”, “ Kindergarten”, “At the Circus” - in these works Kuprin’s heroes are free from the influence of bourgeois civilization.
In 1898, Kuprin wrote the story “Olesya”. The plot of the story is traditional: an intellectual, an ordinary and urban person, in a remote corner of Polesie meets a girl who grew up outside of society and civilization. Olesya is distinguished by spontaneity, integrity of nature, and spiritual richness. Poetizing life unconstrained by modern social cultural frameworks. Kuprin sought to show the clear advantages of the “natural man,” in whom he saw spiritual qualities lost in civilized society.
In 1901, Kuprin came to St. Petersburg, where he became close to many writers. During this period, his story “Night Shift” appears, where the main character is a simple soldier. The hero is not an aloof person, not the forest Olesya, but a completely real person. From the image of this soldier, threads stretch to other heroes. It was at this time that the new genre: novella.
In 1902, Kuprin conceived the story “The Duel.” In this work, he undermined one of the main pillars of the autocracy - the military caste, in the features of the decomposition and moral decline of which he showed signs of the decomposition of everything social order. The story reflects the progressive sides of Kuprin’s work. The basis of the plot is the fate of an honest Russian officer, whom the conditions of army barracks life made him feel wrong. social relations people. Once again, Kuprin is not talking about an outstanding personality, but about a simple Russian officer Romashov. The regimental atmosphere torments him; he does not want to be in the army garrison. He became disillusioned with military service. He begins to fight for himself and his love. And the death of Romashov is a protest against the social and moral inhumanity of the environment.
With the onset of reaction and exacerbation public life Kuprin’s creative concepts are also changing in society. During these years, his interest in the world of ancient legends, history, and antiquity intensified. An interesting fusion of poetry and prose, the real and the legendary, the real and the romance of feelings arises in creativity. Kuprin gravitates toward the exotic and develops fantastic plots. He returns to the themes of his earlier novella. The motives of the inevitability of chance in a person’s fate are heard again.
In 1909, the story “The Pit” was published from the pen of Kuprin. Here Kuprin pays tribute to naturalism. It shows the inmates of a brothel. The whole story consists of scenes, portraits and clearly breaks down into individual details of everyday life.
However, in a number of stories written in the same years, Kuprin tried to point out real signs of high spiritual and moral values in reality itself. “Garnet Bracelet” is a story about love. This is what Paustovsky said about it: this is one of the most “fragrant” stories about love.
In 1919, Kuprin emigrated. In exile, he writes the novel “Zhanette”. This work is about the tragic loneliness of a person who has lost his homeland. This is a story about the touching affection of an old professor, who found himself in exile, for a little Parisian girl - the daughter of a street newspaper girl.
Emigrant period Kuprin is characterized by withdrawal into himself. Large autobiographical work of that period - the novel “Junker”.
In exile, the writer Kuprin did not lose faith in the future of his Motherland. At the end life path he still returns to Russia. And his work rightfully belongs to Russian art, to the Russian people.
Military career
He was born into the family of a minor official who died when his son was in his second year. The mother, from a Tatar princely family, became poor after the death of her husband and was forced to send her son to an orphan school for minors (1876), then a military gymnasium, later transformed into a cadet corps, which he graduated from in 1888. In 1890 he graduated from the Alexander Military School. Then he served in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment, preparing for a military career. Without entering the Academy of the General Staff (this was prevented by a scandal associated with the violent, especially drunk, temper of a cadet who threw a policeman into the water), Lieutenant Kuprin resigned in 1894.
Lifestyle
Kuprin was an extremely colorful figure. Greedy for impressions, he led a wandering lifestyle, trying different professions - from a loader to a dentist. Autobiographical life material formed the basis of many of his works.
There were legends about his turbulent life. Possessing remarkable physical strength and explosive temperament, Kuprin greedily rushed towards any new life experience: went underwater in a diving suit, flew an airplane (this flight ended in a disaster that almost cost Kuprin his life), organized an athletic society... During the First World War, he and his wife set up a private hospital in his Gatchina house.
The writer was interested in people of various professions: engineers, organ grinders, fishermen, card sharpers, beggars, monks, businessmen, spies... In order to get to know the person he was interested in more reliably, to feel the air he breathed, he was ready, without sparing himself, to go into the most unimaginable adventure. According to his contemporaries, he approached life as a true researcher, seeking the most complete and detailed knowledge possible.
Kuprin also willingly practiced journalism, publishing articles and reports in various newspapers, and traveled a lot, living in Moscow, near Ryazan, in Balaklava, and in Gatchina.
Writer and revolution
Dissatisfaction with the existing social order attracted the writer to revolution, so Kuprin, like many other writers, his contemporaries, paid tribute to revolutionary sentiments. However, he reacted sharply negatively to the Bolshevik revolution and the power of the Bolsheviks. At first, he still tried to cooperate with the Bolshevik authorities and even intended to publish the peasant newspaper “Earth,” for which he met with Lenin.
But soon he unexpectedly switched sides White movement, and after his defeat he left first for Finland and then for France, where he settled in Paris (until 1937). There he actively participated in the anti-Bolshevik press, continued literary activity(novels “The Wheel of Time”, 1929; “Junker”, 1928-32; “Zhaneta”, 1932-33; articles and stories). But living in exile, the writer was terribly poor, suffering both from lack of demand and isolation from his native soil, and shortly before his death, believing Soviet propaganda, in May 1937 he returned with his wife to Russia. By this time he was already seriously ill.
Sympathy to the common man
Almost all of Kuprin’s work is imbued with the traditional Russian literature pathos of sympathy for the “little” person, doomed to drag out a miserable fate in an inert, wretched environment. In Kuprin, this sympathy was expressed not only in the depiction of the “bottom” of society (the novel about the life of prostitutes “The Pit”, 1909-15, etc.), but also in the images of his intelligent, suffering heroes. Kuprin was inclined precisely to such reflective, nervous to the point of hysteria, characters not devoid of sentimentality. Engineer Bobrov (story “Moloch”, 1896), endowed with a trembling soul, responsive to the pain of others, worries about the workers wasting their lives in back-breaking factory work, while the rich are fattening on ill-gotten money. Even characters from a military environment like Romashov or Nazansky (the story “The Duel”, 1905) have a very high pain threshold and a small reserve of mental strength to withstand the vulgarity and cynicism of their environment. Romashov is tormented by the stupidity of military service, the depravity of the officers, and the downtrodden nature of the soldiers. Perhaps none of the writers made such a passionate accusation against the army environment as Kuprin. True, in the image ordinary people Kuprin differed from the populist-oriented writers inclined to people-worship (although he received the approval of the venerable populist critic N. Mikhailovsky). His democracy was not limited to a tearful demonstration of their “humiliation and insult.” Kuprin’s common man turned out to be not only weak, but also capable of standing up for himself, possessing an enviable inner strength. People's life was presented in his works in its free, spontaneous, natural flow, with its own circle of ordinary concerns - not only sorrows, but also joys and consolations ("Listrigons", 1908-11).
At the same time, the writer saw not only her bright sides and healthy beginnings, but also outbursts of aggressiveness and cruelty, easily guided by dark instincts ( famous description Jewish pogrom in the story "Gambrinus", 1907).
The Joy of Being In many of Kuprin’s works, the presence of an ideal, romantic principle is clearly felt: it is both in his craving for heroic plots and in his desire to see highest manifestations the human spirit - in love, creativity, kindness... It is no coincidence that he often chose heroes who fall out, break out of the usual rut of life, seek the truth and seek some other, more complete and living being, freedom, beauty, grace... alo who in the literature of that time, so poetically, like Kuprin, wrote about love, tried to return humanity and romance to it. “The Garnet Bracelet” (1911) has become for many readers just such a work, where a pure, unselfish, ideal feeling is glorified.
A brilliant portrayer of the morals of various strata of society, Kuprin vividly, with special attention, described the environment and everyday life (for which he received criticism more than once). There was also a naturalistic tendency in his work.
At the same time, the writer, like no one else, knew how to feel from the inside the flow of natural, natural life - his stories “Barbos and Zhulka” (1897), “Emerald” (1907) were included in the golden fund of works about animals. The ideal of natural life (the story “Olesya”, 1898) is very important for Kuprin as a kind of desirable norm; he often highlights it modern life, finding in it sad deviations from this ideal.
For many critics, it was precisely this natural, organic perception of Kuprin’s life, the healthy joy of being, that was the main distinguishing quality of his prose with its harmonious fusion of lyricism and romance, plot-compositional proportionality, dramatic action and accuracy in descriptions.
Literary mastery Kuprin is an excellent master not only of literary landscape and everything related to the external, visual and olfactory perception of life (Bunin and Kuprin competed to see who could more accurately determine the smell of a particular phenomenon), but also literary character: portrait, psychology, speech - everything is worked out to the smallest nuances. Even the animals that Kuprin loved to write about reveal complexity and depth in him.
The narration in Kuprin’s works, as a rule, is very spectacular and is often addressed - unobtrusively and without false speculativeness - precisely to existential problems. He reflects on love, hatred, the will to live, despair, strength and weakness of man, recreates the complex spiritual world man at the turn of the era.