Story by I.A. Bunin " Antonov apples" refers to one of those works of his, where the writer with sad love recalls the irretrievably gone “golden” days. The author worked in an era of fundamental changes in society: the entire beginning of the twentieth century was drenched in blood. It was possible to escape from the aggressive environment only by remembering the best moments.
The idea for the story came to the author in 1891, when he was visiting his brother Eugene at the estate. The smell of Antonov apples with which they were filled autumn days, reminded Bunin of those times when the estates flourished, and the landowners did not become poor, and the peasants reverently treated everything lordly. The author was sensitive to the culture of the nobility and the old-time way of life, and deeply felt their decline. That is why a cycle of epitaph stories stands out in his work, which tell about the long-gone, “dead”, but still so dear old world.
The writer hatched his work for 9 years. “Antonov Apples” was first published in 1900. However, the story continued to be refined and changed, Bunin polished literary language, gave the text even more imagery, and removed all unnecessary things.
What is the work about?
“Antonov Apples” represent an alternation of pictures of noble life, united by the memories of the lyrical hero. At first he remembers early autumn, golden garden, apple picking. All this is managed by the owners, who lived in a hut in the garden, organizing a whole fair there on holidays. The garden is filled by different persons peasants who amaze with contentment: men, women, children - all of them in the most good relations with each other and with the landowners. The idyllic picture is complemented by pictures of nature at the end of the episode main character exclaims: “How cold, dewy and how good it is to live in the world!”
A fruitful year in the ancestral village of the protagonist Vyselka pleases the eye: everywhere there is contentment, joy, wealth, simple happiness of the men. The narrator himself would like to be a man, not seeing any problems in this lot, but only health, naturalness and closeness to nature, and not at all poverty, lack of land and humiliation. From the peasant life he moves on to the noble life of former times: serfdom and immediately after, when the landowners were still playing main role. An example is the estate of Aunt Anna Gerasimovna, where prosperity, severity, and serf-like obedience of the servants were felt. The decor of the house also seems to be frozen in the past, even conversations are only about the past, but this also has its own poetry.
Hunting, one of the main entertainments of the nobility, is especially discussed. Arseny Semenovich, the brother-in-law of the main character, organized large-scale hunts, sometimes for several days. The whole house was filled with people, vodka, cigarette smoke, and dogs. The conversations and memories about this are remarkable. The narrator saw these amusements even in his dreams, falling into a slumber on soft feather beds in some corner room under the images. But it’s also nice to sleep through the hunt, because in the old estate there are books, portraits, and magazines all around, the sight of which fills you with “sweet and strange melancholy.”
But life has changed, it has become “beggarly”, “small-scale”. But it also contains remnants of former greatness, poetic echoes of former noble happiness. So, on the threshold of a century of change, the landowners had only memories of carefree days.
The main characters and their characteristics
- The disparate paintings are connected through a lyrical hero who represents author's position in the work. He appears before us as a man with a subtle mental organization, dreamy, receptive, and divorced from reality. He lives in the past, grieving for it and not noticing what is really going on around him, including in the village environment.
- The main character's aunt Anna Gerasimovna also lives in the past. Order and neatness reign in her house, antique furniture is perfectly preserved. The old woman also talks about the times of her youth, and about her inheritance.
- Shurin Arseny Semenovich is distinguished by his young, dashing spirit; in hunting conditions these reckless qualities are very organic, but what is he like in everyday life, on the farm? This remains a secret, because in his face the culture of the nobility is poeticized, just like the previous heroine.
- There are many peasants in the story, but they all have similar qualities: folk wisdom, respect for landowners, dexterity and thrift. They bow deeply, run at the first call, and, in general, maintain a happy noble life.
Problems
The problematics of the story “Antonov Apples” mainly focus on the theme of the impoverishment of the nobility, their loss of their former authority. According to the author, the life of a landowner is beautiful, poetic, in village life there is no place for boredom, vulgarity and cruelty, owners and peasants coexist perfectly with each other and are inconceivable separately. Bunin’s poeticization of serfdom also clearly emerges, because it was then that these beautiful estates flourished.
Another important issue raised by the writer is also the problem of memory. In the turning point, crisis era in which the story was written, I want peace and warmth. It is precisely this that a person always finds in childhood memories, which are colored with a joyful feeling; only good things usually arise in memory from that period. This is beautiful and Bunin wants to leave it in the hearts of readers forever.
Subject
- The main theme of Bunin's Antonov Apples is the nobility and its way of life. It is immediately clear that the author is proud of his own class, therefore he places it very highly. Village landowners are also glorified by the writer because of their connection with the peasants, who are clean, highly moral, and morally healthy. In rural worries there is no place for melancholy, melancholy and bad habits. It is in these remote estates that the spirit of romanticism is alive, moral values and concepts of honor.
- The theme of nature occupies a large place. The pictures of the native land are painted freshly, cleanly, and with respect. The author's love for all these fields, gardens, roads, and estates is immediately visible. In them, according to Bunin, lies the true, real Russia. The nature surrounding the lyrical hero truly heals the soul and drives away destructive thoughts.
Meaning
Nostalgia is the main feeling that covers both the author and many readers of that time after reading Antonov Apples. Bunin is a true artist of words, so he village life- an idyllic picture. The author carefully covered everything sharp corners, in his story, life is beautiful and devoid of problems and social contradictions, which in reality had accumulated by the beginning of the twentieth century and inevitably led Russia to change.
The meaning of this story by Bunin is to create painting, immerse yourself in a bygone but alluring world of serenity and prosperity. For many people, escapism became a solution, but it was short-lived. Nevertheless, Antonov Apples is an exemplary work in artistically, and you can learn from Bunin the beauty of his style and imagery.
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I breathed sharply with coolness
The smell of decay hits my face;
But I wasn’t looking for spring decorations,
And memories of past years.
E.A.Baratynsky
I.A. Bunin is often called the last Russian classic, a representative of the outgoing noble culture. His works are imbued tragic feeling the doom of the old world, close and dear to the writer, with whom he was connected by origin and upbringing: “The spirit of this environment, romanticized by my imagination, seemed all the more beautiful to me because it disappeared forever before my eyes.” An elegiac motif of longing for the past runs through all of Bunin’s work.
In the story “Antonov Apples” the writer recalls the old, good time, when the nobility was at the ideal time of its existence. “I remember a large room, illuminated by the pre-autumn sun...” - this is how a detailed, slow and unhurried narrative begins. Bunin’s lyrical prose is generally impossible to read quickly: the constant interpenetration from the present to the past is disrupted. This is one of the main problems of the writer’s work - the need to connect times and generations, preserving the memory of a bygone culture. The author emphasizes the idea of the doom of beauty in the “iron” age, the displacement of everything lost, aesthetic, by a crude thirst for profit. And all that remains from the old world is the subtle smell of Antonov apples. The smell is ethereal, and therefore nothing remains of the previous way of life.
At the beginning of the story we note the technique of anaphora, characteristic of poetic works: “I remember a large, all golden, dried up and thinning garden, I remember maple alleys, delicate aroma fallen leaves and the smell of Antonov apples.” A number of nouns attract attention here. Behind each of them is a visible image, colored with bright epithets (“fresh, quiet morning", "Golden Garden", etc.) This makes a prose work look like a poem. Here you can see an undoubted similarity with “Poems in Prose” by I.S. Turgenev. Not only a love of words and beauty united the two great writers - they were also brought together by a passion for hunting. It is no coincidence that Turgenev called his cycle of stories “Notes of a Hunter,” and Bunin noted that “for recent years only one thing supported the fading spirit of the landowners - hunting.” Hunting is an ancient and favorite pastime of Russian nobles. Autumn time Bunin calls it “golden”. Big stage hunting is given against the backdrop of the beginning of October - the farewell holiday of autumn. The writer makes us, as it were, accomplices of this joyful, exciting spectacle, hence the narration in the 2nd person: “You are riding on a horse, you feel “sweet fatigue,” “you won’t notice how you will drown... in a sweet, healthy sleep...”.
Landscape sketch The 1st part (exposition) is replaced by portrait sketches. Bunin lovingly shows an old man, a long-liver, who lived in Vyselki, where “from time immemorial” the peasants were “famous” for their age and “wealth.” Such longevity was considered a sign of a happy, prosperous life; the author describes in detail the
good courtyards, depicts the measured, leisurely existence of wealthy men. It is important for Bunin to compare this familiar way of life with the life of the local nobility using the example of his aunt Anna Gerasimovna.
The story is based on the author’s impressions of visiting his brother’s estate. Before us, against the backdrop of an open area, a “spacious and deep” sky (a favorite image of Bunin’s prose and poetry), the aunt’s estate appears. The description of the estate is typical, we saw something similar in both Turgenev and L. Tolstoy: white lordly two-story house with columns, neglected garden with a pond, linden alley, bench. The narrative includes a description of the interior: old “mahogany” furniture, “blue and purple glass windows, dried linden blossom” outside the window frames. Special attention We turn our attention to the library - grandfather’s books in thick bindings that “smell so nice.” This collection of books highlights the interests and hobbies of the nobles. Sometimes the choice of volumes is random: “satirical and philosophical works Voltaire”, and next to them are your loved ones romantic works Zhukovsky and Pushkin. “And the old, dreamy life rises before you,” and you imagine how “aristocratically beautiful heads,” sadly and tenderly looking from portraits in tarnished gilded frames, thoughtfully froze over the open pages.
The ellipsis that ends Chapter 3 is significant. This is a longing for a bygone life, the symbol of which for Bunin was the smell of Antonov apples: “These days were so recent, and yet it seems that almost a whole century has passed since then.” Therefore, the next chapter is based on contrast: exquisitely aristocratic “ the life of the fathers" and the "beggarly small-scale life" of the "children." But in this too, Bunin knows how to find attractive features. Hence the abundance of exclamatory sentences: “The small-scale life is good!” (these words sound like a refrain), “It will be a glorious day of hunting!” The usual sound of autumn work merges with the sounds of hunting horns in the fields. And although small-scale families still come together and disappear for whole days in the snow-covered fields, now they “drink with their last money,” and their song about the wild wind is full of hopeless sadness:
Opened my gates wider,
The path was covered with white snow...
The ending of the story is symbolic. It echoes the beginning. There is the cool silence of the morning, here it is late evening, when “the outbuilding windows glow in the darkness of the winter night.” This is the dawn and dusk of noble life, and more and more often, towards the end of the story, ellipses appear. If at the beginning of the work they give the character of memories, now they carry in themselves understatement and sadness for a bygone noble life, for a vanished youth.
Thus, the work reflected main topic creativity of I.A. Bunin of the 900s - the theme of the patriarchal past of Russia. The writer regrets his passing life, idealizing the noble way of life. His best memories are associated with the smell of Antonov apples. But Bunin hopes that, along with the dying Russia of the past, the roots of the nation will still be preserved in its memory.
Composition
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is an outstanding Russian writer, famous both as a prose writer and as a poet, who was part of a wonderful galaxy of poets " silver age". The formation of Bunin the prose writer on at the turn of the twentieth century centuries was manifested in the broadening of horizons, in the transition from observations of the individual destinies of peasants and small nobles to general reflections. Bunin's sympathies are turned back to the patriarchal past, when "the pattern of average noble life... had much in common with the pattern of rich peasant life in its homeliness and rural, old-world prosperity." If “New Road” and “Pines” are thoughts about peasant Rus', then “Antonov Apples” is a reflection on the fate of the local nobility. However, for Bunin, “estate” and “hut” are not only not separated social contradictions, but, on the contrary, they live by close interests and concerns. An elegiac glow can be discerned in Bunin’s stories, especially in those that describe the decline landed nobility. On the ashes of the landowners' nests, where dense nettles and burdock grow, among the cut down linden alleys and cherry orchards, the author's heart squeezes with sweet sadness: "But the estate, the estate! A whole poem of desolation!" - “Antonov Apples” can be called a “poem of desolation”. In Bunin's early work, the leading principle is lyricism and poetry. It is she who, as it were, leads the prose behind her, paving the way for it. Prose gradually acquires a special laconicism, condensation of words. The story “Antonov Apples” is based on impressions from Bunin’s visit to his brother’s estate. This story is recognized as the pinnacle of the writer's creativity. The work begins with a description of the early nice autumn: “I remember an early, fresh, quiet morning... I remember a large, all golden, dried up and thinning garden, I remember maple alleys, the subtle aroma of fallen leaves and the smell of Antonov apples, the smell of honey and autumn freshness. The air is so clean, as if there was none at all, Voices and the creaking of carts are heard throughout the garden... And the cool silence of the morning is disturbed only by the well-fed clucking of blackbirds on the coral rowan trees in the thicket of the garden, voices and the booming sound of apples being poured into measures and tubs.” The author describes autumn in the village with undisguised admiration, giving landscape and portrait sketches. “Antonov Apples” amazes with its precision of detail, boldness of likenings, and artistic concentration. Let us remember only the young elder, as important as the “Kholmogory cow,” and the long-lived old men, as white as harriers. And what an inflorescence of aromas in the story: “rye aroma of new resin and chaff”, “fragrant smoke of cherry branches”, “strong smell of mushroom dampness” and then others: “old mahogany furniture, dried linden blossom” and the main aroma that creates a whole the mood of this short story is “Antonov apples, the smell of honey and autumn freshness.” Prose has gained not only new vocabulary, compactness and balance. She submitted to her inner melody, music. Bunin sought to bring prose closer to poetry with the rhythm of verse, while leaving prose as prose. It is noteworthy that he himself saw in his search for the rhythm of prose as a continuation of poetry. The main tone of this story-monologue “Antonov Apples” is sadness, although sometimes a major note breaks through: “How cold, dewy and how good it is to live in the world!” Sweet memories of the past, the stories of elders are embodied in such stylistic forms that a complex thing is conveyed by a simple combination of words. state of mind hero-storyteller. The interior of the estate is described in detail: blue and purple glass in the windows, old mahogany furniture with inlays, mirrors in narrow and twisted gold frames. The “fading spirit of the landowners” is supported only by hunting. The author recalls the “rite” of hunting in the house of his brother-in-law Arseny Semyonovich, a particularly pleasant rest when the hunt was woken up, reading old books in thick leather bindings, girls in noble estates. But the most important thing in the story is not longing for the past, but something more permanent in the feeling of life. The story is captivating artistic power, lyrical sincerity, high poetry native nature. The story is permeated with the pungent aroma of apples and other smells - the earth, peasant life, everyday life, labor: “the subtle aroma of fallen leaves ... the smell of honey and autumn freshness”, “rye aroma of new straw and chaff”, the smell of a fire, mushroom dampness, “the smell of a chilled night of the garden "... A whole bouquet - sharp and varied - of the smells of life. The author dwells on the attractive aspects of the former landowner's life, its freedom, contentment, abundance, the fusion of human life with nature, its naturalness, the cohesion of the life of nobles and peasants. The hero constantly remembers the past, remembers the smells he remembers: “You enter the house and first of all you will hear the smell of apples, and then others...” All the narrator’s memories are associated with the smell of lovely apples, because the smells and shapes of which constantly evoke associations with the aroma of life itself . The writer poetizes not only the past life of people of his class, but also rural, natural life in general. It is beautiful for its purposeful rhythm, its simplicity, its correspondence with the once-rooted foundations of existence, its fusion with the life of its native nature. This is why, along with sadness, there is another motive in the story, the motive of joy, bright acceptance and affirmation of life. But for Bunin, “...this beggarly small-scale life is also good!” described in the story.
Other works on this work
"Antonov Apples" one of the poetic works of I. Bunin Analysis of the story "Antonov Apples" by I.A. Bunina Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is an outstanding Russian writer, famous both as a prose writer and as a poet, who was part of the wonderful galaxy of poets of the “Silver Age”. The formation of Bunin as a prose writer at the turn of the 20th century was manifested in the broadening of his horizons, in the transition from observations of the individual destinies of peasants and small nobles to general reflections. Bunin's sympathies are turned back to the patriarchal past, when "the pattern of average noble life... had much in common with the pattern of rich peasant life in its homeliness and rural, old-world prosperity." If “New Road” and “Pines” are thoughts about peasant Rus', then “Antonov Apples” is a reflection on the fate of the local nobility. However, for Bunin, the “estate” and the “hut” are not only not separated by social contradictions, but, on the contrary, they live by close interests and concerns. An elegiac glow can be discerned in Bunin’s stories, especially in those that describe the decline of the local nobility. On the ashes of the landowners' nests, where dense nettles and burdock grow, among the cut down linden alleys and cherry orchards, the author's heart squeezes with sweet sadness: "But the estate, the estate! A whole poem of desolation!" - “Antonov Apples” can be called a “poem of desolation”. In Bunin's early work, the leading principle is lyricism and poetry. It is she who, as it were, leads the prose behind her, paving the way for it. Prose gradually acquires a special laconicism, condensation of words. The story “Antonov Apples” is based on impressions from Bunin’s visit to his brother’s estate. This story is recognized as the pinnacle of the writer's creativity. The work begins with a description of an early fine autumn: “I remember an early, fresh, quiet morning... I remember a large, all golden, dried up and thinning garden, I remember maple alleys, the subtle aroma of fallen leaves and the smell of Antonov apples, the smell of honey and autumn freshness. The air is so clean. , as if he were not there at all, voices and the creaking of carts are heard throughout the garden... And the cool silence of the morning is broken only by the well-fed cackling of blackbirds on the coral rowan trees in the thicket of the garden, voices and the booming knock of apples being poured into measures and tubs.” The author describes autumn in the village with undisguised admiration, giving landscape and portrait sketches. “Antonov Apples” amazes with its precision of detail, boldness of likenings, and artistic concentration. Let us remember only the young elder, as important as the “Kholmogory cow,” and the long-lived old men, as white as harriers. And what an inflorescence of aromas in the story: “rye aroma of new resin and chaff”, “fragrant smoke of cherry branches”, “strong smell of mushroom dampness” and then others: “old mahogany furniture, dried linden blossom” and the main aroma that creates a whole the mood of this short story is “Antonov apples, the smell of honey and autumn freshness.” Prose acquired not only new vocabulary, compactness and balance. She submitted to her inner melody, music. Bunin sought to bring prose closer to poetry with the rhythm of verse, while leaving prose as prose. It is noteworthy that he himself saw in his search for the rhythm of prose as a continuation of poetry. The main tone of this story-monologue “Antonov Apples” is sadness, although sometimes a major note breaks through: “How cold, dewy and how good it is to live in the world!” Sweet memories of the past, stories of elders are embodied in such stylistic forms that a simple combination of words conveys the complex mental state of the hero-storyteller. The interior of the estate is described in detail: blue and purple glass in the windows, old mahogany furniture with inlays, mirrors in narrow and twisted gold frames. The “fading spirit of the landowners” is supported only by hunting. The author recalls the “rite” of hunting in the house of his brother-in-law Arseny Semyonovich, a particularly pleasant rest when the hunt was woken up, reading old books in thick leather bindings, girls in noble estates. But the most important thing in the story is not longing for the past, but something more permanent in the feeling of life. The story captivates with its enormous artistic power, lyrical sincerity, and high poetry of native nature. The story is permeated with the pungent aroma of apples and other smells - the earth, peasant life, everyday life, labor: “the subtle aroma of fallen leaves ... the smell of honey and autumn freshness”, “rye aroma of new straw and chaff”, the smell of a fire, mushroom dampness, “the smell of a chilled night of the garden "... A whole bouquet - sharp and varied - of the smells of life. The author dwells on the attractive aspects of the former landowner's life, its freedom, contentment, abundance, the fusion of human life with nature, its naturalness, the cohesion of the life of nobles and peasants. The hero constantly remembers the past, remembers the smells he remembers: “You enter the house and first of all you will hear the smell of apples, and then others...” All the narrator’s memories are associated with the smell of lovely apples, because the smells and shapes of which constantly evoke associations with the aroma of life itself . The writer poetizes not only the past life of people of his class, but also rural, natural life in general. It is beautiful for its purposeful rhythm, its simplicity, its correspondence with the once-rooted foundations of existence, its fusion with the life of its native nature. This is why, along with sadness, there is another motive in the story, the motive of joy, bright acceptance and affirmation of life. But for Bunin “...this miserable small-scale life is also good! "described in the story.“Antonov Apples” is a story by Bunin, published in 1900. The work is built on a lyrical monologue-memory. What is the main theme of Bunin's Antonov Apples? What events inspired the writer to create this work?
Ivan Bunin
The analysis of "Antonov apples", like any similar task, should begin with brief information about the author. Ivan Bunin entered literature not as a prose writer, but as a poet. However, the debut collection of poems, which was published in Orel, did not cause much reaction from critics. Bunin received recognition after the publication of the book “Falling Leaves,” which also included exclusively poems.
Ivan Bunin left a deep and bright mark on Russian literature. In their lyrical works continued classical traditions A. Fet, Y. Polonsky, A. Tolstoy. In stories and tales he showed, often with a nostalgic mood, the impoverishment of noble estates, the cruel face of the village, and the disastrous oblivion of the moral foundations of life. Bunin became a classic of Russian literature thanks to such prose works, like “The Life of Arsenyev”, “Easy Breathing”, “Cursed Days”, “Antonov Apples”.
Analysis work of art can't do without brief history creation of a work. How did the idea for the story come about?
The history of the creation of "Antonov Apples"
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin planned to write this work back in the early nineties of the 19th century. Then he was visiting his relative's estate. One day I went out onto the porch and smelled the amazing, unique smell of apples. At the same time, he experienced nostalgia for serfdom.
When analyzing “Antonov Apples,” it should be said that in this work the author glorified the old landowner life. The main theme of the story is lyrical memories of noble culture. Many of Bunin’s works, including “Antonov Apples,” are permeated with nostalgia for the past.
An analysis of the writer’s work involves a presentation of the main facts from his biography. As you know, Bunin left Russia. But this happened many years after the publication of the story. However, already at the beginning of the century, Russia was not the same as depicted in the work “Antonov Apples”. Bunin's heroes are images from a past, happier life.
Vyselki
The lyrical hero remembers the past. In his imagination an early golden autumn, a thinned garden, an incomparable aroma of apples. The author recalls Vyselki, a village that has been known in the area since the time of his grandfather as the richest. The houses here were strong and made of brick. There was also a small estate with an apple orchard.
Arseny Semyonich
The hero also remembers people who have long been dead. And first of all, the late relative of Arseny Semyonich. He was an avid hunter. A lot of people gathered at his house. The table was laden with food, and after dinner the owner and his guests went hunting. The horn sounded and the dogs howled. The author remembers horseback riding, the cries of hunters...
Years have passed
But what he remembers lyrical hero, long gone. The village still stands the same. What is she without her owners? Arseny Semyonich shot himself. The owner of the estate and apple orchard died. The kingdom of impoverished nobles has arrived.
Happy times are a thing of the past. Now the nobles are no longer the same, they are impoverished. True, they still gather at each other’s houses in the evenings. But life will never be the same. The harsh rural reality is shown. And the author wonders how to live now. But this life is not so bad... And again the author betrays himself colorful description of rural life, still not suspecting anything that the small landed nobility had very little time left to exist.
Analysis
What problems did Bunin raise in Antonov Apples? The author showed how the patriarchal world is becoming a thing of the past, village estates are going bankrupt and disappearing. In his work, the writer made a kind of study of the historical foundations of the Russian village, tried to grasp the reasons for their collapse, to understand what new life every single person.
The story “Antonov Apples” is surprisingly poetic. However, the lyrical hero seems to be hidden from the reader. His story remains unknown. The reader only knows that the men call him “barchuk.” The emphasis in the work is on associations, memories of the past.
When a person is closer to nature, his life and relationships with others are simpler. Bunin clearly showed in this story the idea of disastrous and doomed beauty. The idea of the common destinies of the nobility and peasantry sweeps through the entire work. After all, everyone is equally threatened with death.
Image of Russia
The book “Antonov Apples” is a unique look at Russia. For some native land associated with Antonov apples, honey and morning freshness. For others - on a frosty winter morning. Like no one else, Bunin was able to discover the beauty of Russia, the tenderness of his native nature. After all, even readers who have never been to the village and can hardly imagine the smell of apples are imbued with rural old landowners landscapes created by this writer.
Criticism
IN literary society the story caused mixed reactions. Maxim Gorky, having read Bunin’s work, said that the author managed to “sing beautifully, sincerely, juicily.” However, the Petrel of the Revolution did not like Bunin's idea. He expressed categorical disagreement with the philosophical concept of the work. The most widely read newspaper in the capital greeted Antonovsky Apples with bewilderment. A well-known publicist noted: “Bunin writes about everything that comes to his hand, and therefore it is impossible to read to the main thing.”
Five years after the publication of the story, a parody of Kuprin appeared in the magazine “Zhupel”. This essay contained the following words: “Where are you, the wonderful time of Antonov apples, serf souls, ransom payments?” There is a version that the parody became Kuprin’s revenge on the “nobleman after his mother” - this is what the aristocrat Bunin once had the imprudence to call his colleague. By the way, Kuprin called his satirical work not at all poetically - “Pies with Mushrooms.”