(364 words) Bunin quickly entered Russian literature, adding to the gallery of amazing female portraits that embodied the best national features. The female images of Bunin are full of lightness and charm, they are intriguing and passionate, selflessly surrendering to feelings and passions.
The series of stories “Dark Alleys” became for Bunin a peculiar reflection on the theme of love. In it, he defined love as the eternal search for the impossible, the expectation of a miracle. His heroines almost always become victims of feelings, and love itself constantly balances between sinfulness and holiness, severity and immorality. Girls encounter love by chance, sometimes resist it, but, once giving way to feelings, remain faithful to it to the end. However, their love stories become only moments of life, full of ordinary disappointment. The perfect passion of the heroines becomes for them a fleeting source of happiness, but as a result brings the pain of separation and the bitterness of the unfulfilled. The female images of the stories “Clean Monday”, “Natalie”, “Styopa” and others are tragic.
The heroine of “Clean Monday” is outwardly prosperous, possessing beauty and money, is dissatisfied with life, is trying to find other sources of joy, to find new life meanings that have nothing to do with external comfort. Even love does not make her happy, refracting in her mind into a pure and sublime feeling, incapable of real embodiment.
Natalie, the heroine of the story of the same name, is truly sincere and simple-minded in her love. It is no coincidence that student Vitaly Meshchersky at first sight falls in love with her, subdued by the amazing beauty and purity of the girl. Together they experience wonderful minutes, however, love is incompatible with real life, and the summer romance ends in separation. Natalie gets married, and soon becomes a widow at all. Later, fate gives the heroes another meeting, but here everything ends tragically: Natalie dies, and Vitaly forever retains the memory of her.
“Styopa” is another heartfelt story in which a young merchant Krasilshchikov, caught by the weather, calls into the inn where he is met by the owner’s daughter, Styopa. Taking advantage of the innocence of the girl, Krasilshchikov leaves, promising to come after her in a few days and ask her father for blessings for marriage. But the reader understands that Styopa is deceived, because the hero will never return.
Bunin addresses the theme of love in his other stories: “Mitin’s Love”, “Sunstroke”, “Easy Breath” - stories in which the heroes are also under the control of feelings, but do not find ultimate happiness. Love for the Bunin heroines is the basis of life, but the foundation is unstable. This is a bright flash of feelings that brings an unforgettable experience, but does not turn into a routine, because true happiness is fleeting.
