A. I. Kuprin. Garnet bracelet. Text of the work. VIII. Love is “selfless, selfless, not waiting for reward

17.04.2019

Irina Polyakova
Natalia Kritskaya

Irina Viktorovna POLYAKOVA (1967), Natalya Valerievna KRITSKAYA (1971) - teachers of Russian language and literature at secondary school No. 32 in Astrakhan.

“Love is selfless, selfless, not waiting for reward...”

The theme of love in the works of A.I. Kuprina. Based on the story “Garnet Bracelet”

Goals. Expand and deepen students’ understanding of A.I. Kuprin - a master of artistic expression, who conveyed in words the power of a rare gift high love, the greatness of the experience a simple person; show how the writer depicts the process of human awakening; help you compare what you read with the world of your own soul, think about yourself; form aesthetic perception using various types of art - literature, music.

Love is omnipotent: there is no grief on earth - higher than its punishment,
no happiness - higher than the pleasure of serving her.
W.Shakespeare

Lesson progress

I. Introduction

To the sounds of music by Georgy Sviridov, the teacher recites sonnet (130) by William Shakespeare by heart.

Her eyes don't look like stars
You can't call your mouth coral,
The open skin of the shoulders is not snow-white,
And a strand curls like black wire.

With damask rose, scarlet or white,
You can't compare the shade of these cheeks.
And the body smells like the body smells,
Not like a violet's delicate petal.

You won't find perfect lines in it,
Special light on the forehead.
I don't know how the goddesses walk,
But the darling steps on the ground.

And yet she will hardly give in to those
Who was slandered in comparisons of magnificent people?

Teacher. These words about love belong to the great Shakespeare. And here is how Vsevolod Rozhdestvensky reflects on this feeling.

Love, love is a mysterious word,
Who could fully understand him?
In everything you are always old or new,
Are you languor of spirit or grace?

Irreversible loss
Or endless enrichment?
Hot day, what a sunset
Or the night that devastated hearts?

Or maybe you're just a reminder
About what inevitably awaits us all?
Merging with nature, with unconsciousness
And the eternal world cycle?

Love is one of the most sublime, noble and beautiful human feelings. True love is always selfless and selfless. “To love,” wrote L.N. Tolstoy means living the life of the one you love.” And Aristotle said this about this: “To love means to wish for another what you consider to be good, and to wish, moreover, not for your own sake, but for the sake of the one you love, and try, if possible, to deliver this good.”

It is this kind of love, amazing in beauty and strength, that is depicted in the story by A.I. Kuprin " Garnet bracelet».

II. Conversation on the content of the story

What is Kuprin's work about? Why is it called "Garnet Bracelet"?

(The story “The Garnet Bracelet” glorifies the selfless, holy feeling of the “little man,” telegraph operator Zheltkov, for Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina. The story is named so because the main events are connected with this decoration. And the garnets in the bracelet with their “bloody lights” trembling inside ” - a symbol of love and tragedy in the fate of the hero.)

The story, consisting of thirteen chapters, begins with landscape sketch. Read it. Why do you think the story opens with a landscape?

(The first chapter is an introduction, preparing the reader to perceive further developments. When reading the landscape, there is a feeling of a fading world. The description of nature reminds us of the transience of life. Life goes on: summer gives way to autumn, youth gives way to old age, and the most beautiful flowers are doomed to wither and die. Akin to nature is the cold, prudent existence of the heroine of the story - Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina, the wife of the leader of the nobility.)

Read the description of the autumn garden (second chapter). Why does it follow the description of Vera’s feelings for her husband? What was the author's goal?

What can you say about her soul? Is she suffering from “heart failure”?

(It cannot be said that the princess is heartless. She loves her sister’s children, wants to have her own... She treats her husband as a friend - “the old passionate love is long gone”; she saves him from complete ruin.)

To understand Vera Nikolaevna more deeply, you need to know the princess’s circle. That is why Kuprin describes her relatives in detail.

How did Kuprin portray Vera Nikolaevna’s guests?

(Students look for “characteristics” of the guests in the text: the “fat, ugly huge” Professor Sveshnikov; and with “rotten teeth on the face of the skull” Anna’s husband, a stupid man who “did absolutely nothing, but was registered at some charitable institution ”; and staff colonel Ponomarev, “a prematurely aged, thin, bilious man, exhausted by backbreaking office work.”)

Which of the guests is depicted sympathetically? Why?

(This is General Anosov, a friend of the late father of Vera and Anna. He makes a pleasant impression of a simple, but noble, and most importantly wise man. Kuprin endowed him with “Russian, peasant traits”: “a good-natured, cheerful outlook on life”, “ingenuous, naive faith”... It was he who wrote the damning characteristics of his contemporary society, in which interests have become shallow, vulgarized, and people have forgotten how to love. Anosov says: “People’s love has taken such vulgar forms and has descended to some kind of everyday convenience, to. a little fun. The fault lies with men who, at twenty years of age, are jaded, with chicken bodies and hare souls, incapable of strong desires, heroic deeds, to tenderness and adoration before love.” This is how the theme of true love began in the story, love for which “to accomplish a feat, to give one’s life, to go to torment is not work at all, but one joy.”)

What “happy-miraculous” happened on Princess Vera’s name day?

(Vera is presented with a gift and a letter from Zheltkov.)

Let us dwell on Zheltkov’s letter to Vera. Let's read it. What characteristics can we give to its author? How to treat Zheltkov? Should I sympathize, pity, admire or despise him as a weak-spirited person?

(We can treat the hero as we like, and it’s good if such a tragedy does not happen in the life of each of us, but it is important for us to determine the author’s position, to identify the author’s attitude towards his hero.)

Let us turn to the episode of the visit of Zheltkov by the husband and brother of Princess Vera Nikolaevna. How does Kuprin present his hero to us? How do the participants in the scene behave? Who wins the moral victory in this confrontation? Why?

(Zheltkov. Behind his nervousness and confusion lies a huge feeling, which only death can kill. Tuganovsky is not given the opportunity to either understand or experience such feelings himself. Even Prince Shein uttered words that speak of the sensitivity and nobility of Zheltkov’s soul: “...Is he to blame for love and is it possible to control such a feeling as love - a feeling that has not yet found an interpretation... I feel sorry for that person. And I not only feel sorry for him, but I feel that I am present at some enormous tragedy of the soul...” )

Find in the words of the author depicting Zheltkov’s behavior evidence that his actions are driven by that same enormous feeling that can make a person either immensely happy or tragically unhappy. What is your impression of Zheltkov’s last letter?

(The letter is beautiful, like poetry, convincing us of the sincerity and strength of his feelings. For Zheltkov, loving Vera even without reciprocity is “enormous happiness.” He is grateful to her for the fact that for eight years she was for him “the only joy in life, the only consolation , with one thought.” Saying goodbye to her, he writes: “As I leave, I say in delight: “Hallowed be Thy name.”)

III. Reading by heart a poem by A.S. Pushkin "I loved you..."

How is Pushkin's poem consonant with Kuprin's story?

(Both works express admiration for the beloved, reverence, self-sacrifice, and the pain of a suffering heart.)

Can Zheltkov’s feeling for Vera Nikolaevna be called madness? (“What is this: love or madness?”.)

(Prince Shein: “I will say that he loved you, and was not crazy at all.”)

But why does Zheltkov commit suicide?

(Zheltkov truly loves, with passionate, selfless love. He is grateful to the one who aroused in his heart this wonderful feeling that elevated “ little man" He loves, and that's why he's happy. Therefore, death does not fear the hero.)

The turning point for Vera is the farewell to the deceased Zheltkov, their only date. Let's turn to this episode and read it from the words: “The room smelled of incense...”

What does Vera Nikolaevna experience as she peers into the face of the one who passed away because of her?

(Looking at his face, Vera recalls the same peaceful expression on the masks of the great sufferers - Pushkin and Napoleon.)

Is this detail random? How does Zheltkov appear before us?

(Zheltkov is great for his suffering, for his love. Vera Nikolaevna also understood this, remembering the words of General Amosov: “Perhaps your path in life, Verochka, was crossed by precisely the kind of love that women dream about and which men are no longer capable of.”)

Note: the story underlying this story is largely true. The prototype of Princess Sheina was L.I. Lyubimov, to whom a man in love with her wrote anonymous letters for several years. He had no hopes, he understood: there was an insurmountable gap between him, the “little man,” and her.

The patience of Lyudmila Ivanovna’s aristocratic relatives ran out when the lover dared to send her a garnet bracelet as a gift. The indignant husband and brother of the princess found the anonymous person, and a decisive conversation took place. As a result, the gift was returned, and Yellow (the lover’s surname) vowed not to write again. That's how it all ended.

Why did Kuprin interpret the “curious incident” differently and introduce a tragic ending into his story?

(The tragic ending makes a great impression and gives extraordinary strength and weight to Zheltkov’s feelings.)

What do you think is the climax of the story?

(Episode with the pianist: “...Excited by what she saw and heard, Vera rushed to her and, kissing her big beautiful hands, screamed...")

The greatness of what a simple person has experienced is comprehended by the sounds of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 2, as if conveying shock, pain and happiness to him, and unexpectedly displaces everything vain and petty from Vera’s soul, instilling a reciprocal ennobling suffering.

(Beethoven's Sonata No. 2 plays.)

Why does Zheltkov “force” Vera Nikolaevna to listen to this particular Beethoven work? Why did the words that formed in her mind turn out to be so consonant with the mood expressed in Beethoven's music?

(The words seem to come from Zheltkov. They really coincide with the music, indeed “it was like verses that ended with the words: “Hallowed be Thy name.”)

Princess Vera experiences spiritual unity with a man who gave his soul and life to her. Do you think a reciprocal feeling of love arose in Vera’s soul?

(The reciprocal feeling took place, albeit for one moment, but forever awakening in her a thirst for beauty, a worship of spiritual harmony.)

What do you think is the power of love?

(In the transformation of the soul.)

So, the unfortunate Zheltkov is by no means pitiful, and the depth of his feelings, his ability to self-sacrifice deserve not only sympathy, but also admiration.

Why does Kuprin, placing his hero at such a height, introduces us to him only in the tenth chapter? Are the first chapters different in style from the last?

(The language of the initial chapters is leisurely, calm, there are more descriptions in them, there is no strain, there is more everyday life.)

Let's find not only a stylistic, but also a semantic contrast between the two parts of the story.

(The lyrical landscape, the festive evening are contrasted with the “spit-stained staircase of the house in which Zheltkov lives, the wretched furnishings of his room, similar to the wardroom of a cargo ship.”)

The surnames are also a means of contrasting the heroes: the insignificant and even some kind of belittled “Zheltkov” and the exaggeratedly loud, triple “Mirza-Bulat-Tuganovsky”. There are also contrasting objects in the story. Which?

(An exquisite notebook decorated with “a filigree gold pattern of rare complexity, delicacy and beauty,” and a garnet bracelet of low-grade gold with poorly polished garnets.)

What is the idea of the story by A.I. Kuprina? What is the point of contrasting the first and second parts of the story? What tradition of Russian literature of the 19th century did the writer continue in this work?

(The meaning of the story is to show the nobility of the soul of a common man, his ability for deep, sublime feelings by contrasting the hero high society. The author shows a psychological contrast: a strong, unselfish feeling cannot arise in a world where only well-being, tranquility, beautiful things and words are valued, but such concepts as the beauty of the soul, spirituality, sensitivity and sincerity have disappeared. The “little man” rises and becomes great with his sacrificial love.)

IV. Conclusion

K. Paustovsky said that “Kuprin cried over the manuscript of the “Garnet Bracelet”, cried tears of relief... said that he had never written anything more chaste.” Kuprin’s story leaves us, the readers, with the same feeling of purification and enlightenment. It helps us understand what we can lose if we don’t see, hear, or notice the big, real things in life in time.

V. Homework(answer in writing)

How do you understand Kuprin’s words from the letter to F.D. Batyushkov (1906): “Individuality is not expressed in strength, not in dexterity, not in intelligence, not in talent, not in creativity. But in love!”

Sometimes we are so far from reality in our dreams that the next return to reality brings us pain and disappointment. And we run away from the slightest troubles of life, from its coldness and insensitivity. In our pink dreams we see a bright future, in our dreams we again try to build crystal castles in a cloudless sky. But there is a feeling in our lives that is so close to our dreams that it almost touches them. This is love. With him we feel protected from the vicissitudes of fate. Already from childhood, the foundations of love and affection are laid in the minds of everyone. And each person will carry them throughout his life, sharing them with the world around him, thereby making it wider and brighter. But sometimes it seems that people are increasingly grounding their own interests, and even feelings become victims of such grounding. They become stale, turn into ice, and become smaller. Unfortunately, not everyone has to experience happy and sincere love. And even that has its ups and downs. And some even wonder: Does it exist in the world? And yet, I really want to believe that this is a magical feeling, in the name of which, for the sake of a loved one, you can sacrifice the most valuable thing - even own life. Precisely about such a selfless and forgiving love, writes Kuprin in his story “Garnet Bracelet”.

The first pages of the story are devoted to a description of nature. It’s as if all events are happening against their miraculous light background, it’s coming true wonderful fairy tale love. Coldish autumn landscape fading nature is similar in essence to the mood of Vera Nikolaevna Sheina. From it we predict her calm, unapproachable character. Nothing attracts her in this life, perhaps that is why the brightness of her being is enslaved by everyday life and dullness. Even during a conversation with her sister Anna, in which the latter admires the beauty of the sea, she replies that at first this beauty also excites her, and then “begins to crush her with its flat emptiness...”. Vera could not be imbued with a sense of beauty in the world around her. She was not a natural romantic. And, having seen something out of the ordinary, some peculiarity, I tried (even if involuntarily) to bring it down to earth, to compare it with the world around me. Her life flowed slowly, measuredly, quietly, and, it would seem, satisfied life principles, without going beyond their scope. Vera married a prince, yes, but the same exemplary, quiet person as she herself was. The time had simply come, although there was no talk of hot, passionate love. And so Vera Nikolaevna receives a bracelet from Zheltkov, the shine of the garnets plunges her into horror, her brain is immediately pierced by the thought “like blood,” and now a clear feeling about the impending misfortune weighs on her, and this time it is not at all empty. From that moment on, her peace of mind was destroyed. Having received a letter along with the bracelet in which Zheltkov confesses his love to her, there is no limit to the growing excitement. Vera considered Zheltkov “unfortunate”; she could not understand the tragedy of this love. The expression “happy unhappy person” turned out to be somewhat contradictory. After all, in his feeling for Vera, Zheltkov experienced happiness. He ended his life on the orders of Tuganovsky, thereby blessing the woman he loved. Leaving forever, he thought that Vera’s path would become free, her life would improve and go on as before. But there is no turning back. Farewell to Zheltkov’s body was climax her life. At this moment, the power of love reached its maximum value and became equal to death. Eight years of bad, selfless love that demands nothing in return, eight years of devotion to a sweet ideal, selflessness from one’s own principles. In one short moment of happiness, sacrificing everything accumulated over such a long period of time is not something everyone can do. But Zheltkov’s love for Vera did not obey any models, she was above them. And even if her end turned out to be tragic, Zheltkov’s forgiveness was rewarded. The crystal palace in which Vera lived shattered, letting in a lot of light, warmth, and sincerity into life. Merging in the finale with Beethoven’s music, it merges with both Zheltkov’s love and eternal memory about him.

I would so much like this fairy tale about the all-forgiving and strong love, created by I. A. Kuprin. I would like so much that cruel reality could never defeat our sincere feelings, our love. We must increase it, be proud of it. Love, true love, you need to study diligently, like the most painstaking science. However, love does not come if you wait for its appearance every minute, and at the same time, it does not flare up out of nothing, but also extinguish the strong one, true love impossible. She, different in all manifestations, is not an example of life traditions, but rather an exception to the rule. And yet a person needs love for purification, for acquiring the meaning of life. A loving person is capable of sacrifice for the sake of peace and happiness of a loved one. And yet he is happy. We must bring into love all the best that we feel, that we are proud of. And then bright sun will certainly illuminate it, and even the most ordinary love will become sacred, merging into one with eternity. Forever…

Kuprin A. And. - Love is selfless, selfless and does not expect reward

Love is selfless, selfless, not waiting for reward (based on the story “The Garnet Bracelet” by I.A. Kuprin)
Sometimes we are so far from reality in our dreams that the next return to reality brings us pain and disappointment. And we run away from the slightest troubles of life, from its coldness and insensitivity. In our pink dreams we see a bright future, in our dreams we again try to build crystal castles in a cloudless sky. But there is a feeling in our lives that is so close to our dreams that it almost touches them. This is love. With him we feel protected from the vicissitudes of fate. Already from childhood, the foundations of love and affection are laid in the minds of everyone. And every person will carry them throughout his life, sharing them with the world around him, thereby making it wider and brighter. thereby making it wider and lighter. But sometimes it seems that people are increasingly grounding their own interests, and even feelings become victims of such grounding. They become stale, turn into ice, and become smaller. Unfortunately, not everyone has to experience happy and sincere love. And even that has its ups and downs. And some even wonder: Does it exist in the world? And yet, I really want to believe that this is a magical feeling, in the name of which, for the sake of a loved one, you can sacrifice the most valuable thing - even your own life. It is about this kind of selfless and all-forgiving love that Kuprin writes in his story “The Garnet Bracelet.”
The first pages of the story are devoted to a description of nature. It’s as if all events take place against their miraculous light background, a wonderful fairy tale of love comes true. The cold autumn landscape of fading nature is similar in essence to the mood of Vera Nikolaevna Sheina. From it we predict her calm, unapproachable character. Nothing attracts her in this life, perhaps that is why the brightness of her being is enslaved by everyday life and dullness. Even during a conversation with her sister Anna, in which the latter admires the beauty of the sea, she replies that at first this beauty also excites her, and then “begins to crush her with its flat emptiness...”. Vera could not be imbued with a sense of beauty in the world around her. She was not a natural romantic. And, having seen something out of the ordinary, some peculiarity, I tried (even if involuntarily) to bring it down to earth, to compare it with the world around me. Her life flowed slowly, measuredly, quietly, and, it would seem, satisfied the principles of life without going beyond them. Vera married a prince, yes, but the same exemplary, quiet person as she herself was. The time had simply come, although there was no talk of hot, passionate love. And so Vera Nikolaevna receives a bracelet from Zheltkov, the shine of the garnets plunges her into horror, her brain is immediately pierced by the thought “like blood,” and now a clear feeling about the impending misfortune weighs on her, and this time it is not at all empty. From that moment on, her peace of mind was destroyed. Having received a letter along with the bracelet in which Zheltkov confesses his love to her, there is no limit to the growing excitement. Vera considered Zheltkov “unfortunate”; she could not understand the tragedy of this love. The expression “happy unhappy person” turned out to be somewhat contradictory. After all, in his feeling for Vera, Zheltkov experienced happiness. He ended his life on the orders of Tuganovsky, thereby blessing the woman he loved. Leaving forever, he thought that Vera’s path would become free, her life would improve and go on as before. But there is no turning back. Saying goodbye to Zheltkov’s body was the culminating moment of her life. At this moment, the power of love reached its maximum value and became equal to death. Eight years of bad, selfless love that demands nothing in return, eight years of devotion to a sweet ideal, selflessness from one’s own principles. In one short moment of happiness, sacrificing everything accumulated over such a long period of time is not something everyone can do. But Zheltkov’s love for Vera did not obey any models, she was above them. And even if her end turned out to be tragic, Zheltkov’s forgiveness was rewarded. The crystal palace in which Vera lived shattered, letting in a lot of light, warmth, and sincerity into life. Merging in the finale with Beethoven’s music, it merges with Zheltkov’s love and with the eternal memory of him.
I would really like this fairy tale about all-forgiving and strong love, created by I. A. Kuprin, to penetrate into our monotonous life. I would like so much that cruel reality could never defeat our sincere feelings, our love. We must increase it, be proud of it. Love, true love, must be studied diligently, like the most painstaking science. However, love does not come if you wait for its appearance every minute, and at the same time, it does not flare up out of nothing, but it is also impossible to extinguish strong, true love. She, different in all manifestations, is not an example of life traditions, but rather an exception to the rule. And yet a person needs love for purification, for acquiring the meaning of life. A loving person is capable of sacrifice for the sake of peace and happiness of a loved one. And yet he is happy. We must bring into love all the best that we feel, that we are proud of. And then the bright sun will surely illuminate it, and even the most ordinary love will become sacred, merging into one with eternity. Forever…

allows you to reveal the problem from the point of view of the author of the story or turn to your personal understanding of love. Your choice should be reflected in the introduction:

Classic works are often dedicated to eternal themes: love, death, friendship, war and others. It is not surprising that such a sensitive and attentive person as Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin wrote some of his most successful works about love. This is “The Duel”, and “Olesya”, and, of course, the story “The Garnet Bracelet”, in which the author’s view of this great feeling is clearly visible.
The theme of love belongs to the category of those that can be clearly or implicitly detected in absolutely any work. For each reader it reveals itself in its own way, and somehow especially resonates in the soul. When the theme of love is given a central place in a work, as in the story by I.A. Kuprin’s “Garnet Bracelet”, the reader not only gets acquainted with the story told by the writer, but feels it.

Each idea can be developed in different ways, confirming it different examples from the text of the story. The first option can also be supplemented with details of the author's biography.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin lived a rich life. This is probably why in his stories he talks about eternal values, and does not pursue popular plots and heroes. “The Garnet Bracelet” can hardly be called life-like, but Kuprin always argued that his best story, in his opinion, is a true story. The story is indeed based on real events, but the plot was based on a funny rather than a tragic episode. This is the unique talent of the author - to notice something unusual in everyday routine and create literary masterpieces.

The character, who by the will of the author was destined to experience “disinterested, selfless, not requiring reward” love, is not in the foreground: he is hidden behind letters to Princess Vera, as if he had never existed at all. Even his name is unknown to the reader: at the end of the story we only learn that the person hidden behind the abbreviation “P.P.Zh” is telegraph operator Zheltkov. But for Kuprin, neither his status nor his name matter. He transfers all the excitement about this to another hero of the story - Vera’s brother. Nikolai Nikolaevich and partly Vera’s husband, Prince Vasily Lvovich, express public position. The author needs these heroes because her own point of view differs from the generally accepted one.

Kuprin, contrary to first impressions, shows that the happiest hero of the story was Zheltkov. He is the only one who was able to experience a strong feeling, albeit unrequited. And Princess Vera could only get closer to love, which happens only once in a lifetime. Vera Nikolaevna was “cold”, “royally calm”, “a little patronizingly kind”, but still one cannot exclude her ability to feel. “Leave me, I know that this man will kill himself,” she says to her husband, realizing that she had missed what she was subconsciously looking for in conversations with Anosov, in thoughts alone with herself: “You see, the kind of love for which to do anything a feat, to give one’s life, to undergo torture is not work at all, but one joy.”

Over time, Zheltkov no longer needs reciprocity: he is nourished by love itself. At that moment when Nikolai Nikolaevich and Vasily Lvovich deprive him of the very opportunity to love, Zheltkov does not see the point in living further. The last hope for love with his death also disappears for Vera Nikolaevna: “At that second she realized that the love that every woman dreams of had passed her by.”

Our own perception of love in the story “The Garnet Bracelet” requires at the same time a deeper analysis of the text.

Each person understands and perceives love differently. It’s a matter of choice: to believe in it or consider it possible only in fiction. The story “The Garnet Bracelet” by Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is not only brilliantly written and has an interesting plot, but is also universal in perception. It is difficult to say in whose appearance the soul of the author is hidden, although Kuprin’s sympathy and sympathy for Zheltkov is obvious.

The hero, to whom the author entrusts a great feeling, is small and inconspicuous, hidden from the world. In a rather awkward conversation with Vera Nikolaevna’s husband, Zheltkov, perhaps the first and last time can talk openly about his experiences. This complexity is close to each of us, because we often hide our own feelings from the world and others, fearing being rejected, but hoping for reciprocity.

At first, Zheltkov blames himself for the inappropriate feeling, but later he realizes that he cannot cope with love, and accepts it as the greatest gift: “I tested myself - this is not a disease, not a manic idea - this is love, which God wanted for whatever reason.” "To reward me." He is not afraid to be funny or absurd, he loves - and this is his happiness.

Zheltkov’s feelings resonate even in the soul of Prince Shein, although he should absolutely justifiably be offended and overcome with jealousy: “The main thing is that I see his face, and I feel that this man is not capable of deceiving and knowingly lying. Indeed, think, Kolya, is he to blame for love and is it possible to control such a feeling as love - a feeling that has not yet found an interpreter. - After thinking, the prince said: “I feel sorry for this man.” And not only do I feel sorry, but I also feel that I am present at some enormous tragedy of the soul, and I cannot clown around here.” The power of Zheltkov’s love repels all possible opposing forces and even after his death resounds with the sounds of a Beethoven sonata and the quiet whisper “Hallowed be thy name.”

In the final part of the essay, you can draw conclusions corresponding to the chosen essay idea:

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin’s story “The Garnet Bracelet” is a reflection of the author’s understanding of the feeling of love and a variant of the disclosure of this topic in the writer’s work. Many of his works are dedicated to the most valuable thing for his characters and, probably, for the author himself - love.
Vera Nikolaevna, as an object of love, touches her with reverence - the greatest miracle in her understanding - and realizes with bitter regret that she realized her loss too late. However, because the author called love “unselfish, selfless, not requiring reward,” the princess believes that Zheltkov forgave her.
The author does not talk about great love– he shows it. By the end of the story, the reader unconditionally believes in Zheltkov’s feelings, imbued with faith in the same way as the heroes of the story.
The feeling of love described by Kuprin is close to any reader - callous or sensitive, attentive to detail or superficial. The author of the story managed to create a universal system of characters, each of which reflects different views on the problem raised. Kuprin shows that love may not be seen, may be understood and accepted, but only the happiest and in exceptional cases manage to truly experience the great feeling of love.

Mashkina V., student of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University

Material for preparing essays on other topics.