The image of Olya Meshcherskaya in the story by Ivan Bunin "Easy breath" - an essay on literature by the modern Russian poet Danil Rudoy.

Olya Meshcherskaya

I read Light Breathing in the summer of 2004. At that time, the work of Ivan Bunin was extremely interesting to me, since I considered his works to be the standard of fine literature and subtle psychologism. Easy breath- one of his best works. Nikolai Gumilyov said that the most accurate criterion for the quality of a poem is the desire to be its author. Having finished Easy breath, I really felt regret that the story was not written by me.

The main characters of the story are light breathing, a symbol of spiritual purity, and high school student Olya Meshcherskaya, a beautiful high school student endowed with it. From the point of view of form, the story is interesting in that the meaning of its title is revealed to the reader only at the very end, after Meshcherskaya’s death.

Olya Meshcherskaya is a beautiful high school student, cheerful and... light. Her behavior is so relaxed that it deserves any synonyms for the word “easy.” At the beginning of the story, light breathing can be explained as a sense of self that does not depend on the opinions of the outside world. Olya Meshcherskaya doesn’t care what they think about her - the only thing that matters to her is what she wants. Therefore, she does not pay attention to the ink stains on her fingers, or the disorder in her clothes, or other little things that absorb strangers. The head of the gymnasium, whose authoritative comments Meshcherskaya has to listen to with enviable consistency, is one of them. However, due to her own inertia, intuitively despised by Meshcherskaya, she cannot confuse the obstinate pupil and force her to change her faith in herself.

It is internal independence that gives rise to Meshcherskaya’s lightness. The reasons for Olya's popularity as a friend and as a girl are her naturalness. But Olya is still young and does not understand the exclusivity of her nature, naively expecting from others the same intentions that she pursues.

Easy breathing: fracture

Ivan Bunin. Maturity

Olya Meshcherskaya's meeting with Malyutin is a turning point in her life, when a painful epiphany occurs. In her diary, describing what happened, Meshcherskaya repeats the word “I” seventeen times. “ I don’t understand how this could happen, I’m crazy, I never thought I was like this!” (Ivan Bunin. “Easy Breathing”) Intimacy with a man turned Olya into a woman in the literal sense, giving her a new sense of herself.

The evening with Malyutin did not change only one thing about Meshchersky - that which would lead to her death, this gullible conviction that all life is a game. It was so before - with the junior classes who loved her so much, with her friends at the gymnasium who loved her even more - and so it will be now. But now the game of love will turn into theater, losing all its legitimacy. To turn the head of an ignoble man and deceive him, at the very last moment, already on the station platform - what's in it? bad? Who doesn't fall in love and make vows at seventeen? But the officer kills Olya, ending her light breath of life with one shot. His act is a rebellion, and in some ways tantamount to suicide. It's not that he plebeian look And ugly. Meshcherskaya played with his whole life, giving him hope for happiness, which he hardly dared to dream of, and cruelly depriving him of this hope - and with it any bearable future.

The ending leaves a heavy impression. Meshcherskaya, who embodied light breathing, dies; the breath itself turns out to be dispelled, and it is unclear when it will be embodied again. Olya's death is unfair: she paid for inspiration, in which there was no evil intent: only spoiled. Alas, Meshcherskaya does not have time to understand what light breathing is, which becomes obvious in the climactic dialogue with Subbotina. Her death is a huge loss, and therefore the heavy and smooth oak cross on her grave looks especially symbolic. How many people are left in the world who are completely subordinate to the outside world and completely devoid of inner lightness and sincerity? Same cool lady. If Olya Meshcherskaya had become her invention during her lifetime, this middle-aged person would certainly have been able to change her life, and perhaps even become happy, cultivating in her soul a drop of the light breath given to her by Olya.

The world rests on people like Meshcherskaya, although this sounds pretentious. Light breathing gives strength not only to them, but supports all life around, forcing other people to follow a new standard. However, light breathing is defenseless, and if its inspiration destroys itself, there will be nothing left of it except a grave cross and a tragic gust of cold wind.

Bunin wrote the story “Easy Breathing” in 1916. In the work, the author touches on the themes of love and death characteristic of the literature of this period. Despite the fact that the story is not written in chapters, the narrative is fragmented and consists of several parts arranged in a non-chronological order.

Main characters

Olya Meshcherskaya- a young schoolgirl, was killed by a Cossack officer because she said that she did not love him.

Headmistress of the gymnasium

Other characters

Cossack officer- shot Olya because of unhappy love, “ugly and plebeian in appearance.”

Cool lady Olya Meshcherskaya

“In the cemetery, over a fresh clay mound, there is a new oak cross.” A convex porcelain medallion with a photographic portrait of schoolgirl Olya Meshcherskaya “with joyful, amazingly lively eyes” is embedded in the cross.

As a girl, Olya did not stand out among other schoolchildren; she was “capable, but playful and very careless about the instructions” of the class lady. But then the girl began to develop, to “bloom.” At the age of 14, “with a thin waist and slender legs, her breasts and curves were already well defined.” “At fifteen she was already considered a beauty.” Unlike her prim girlfriends, Olya “wasn’t afraid—no ink stains on her fingers, no flushed face, no disheveled hair.” Without any effort, “grace, elegance, dexterity, and the clear sparkle of her eyes” came to her.

Olya danced the best at balls, skated, was the most looked after at balls, and was loved most by the junior classes. “Unnoticedly she became a girl,” and there were even rumors about her frivolity.

“Olya Meshcherskaya went completely crazy with fun during her last winter, as they said in the gymnasium.” One day, during a big break, the boss called the girl over and reprimanded her. The woman noted that Olya is no longer a girl, but not yet a woman, so she should not wear a “woman’s hairstyle,” expensive combs and shoes. “Without losing simplicity and calmness,” Meshcherskaya replied that the madame was mistaken: she was already a woman, and the father’s friend and neighbor, the boss’s brother Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, was to blame for this - “this happened last summer in the village.”

“And a month after this conversation,” a Cossack officer shot Olya “on the station platform, among a large crowd of people.” And Olya’s confession, which stunned the boss, was confirmed. “The officer told the judicial investigator that Meshcherskaya lured him, was close to him, vowed to be his wife,” and at the station she said that she did not love him and “gave him to read that page of the diary that talked about Malyutin.”

“On the tenth of July last year,” Olya wrote in her diary: “Everyone left for the city, I was left alone.<…>Alexey Mikhailovich arrived.<…>He stayed because it was raining.<…>He regretted that he didn’t find dad, he was very animated and behaved like a gentleman with me, he joked a lot that he had been in love with me for a long time.<…>He is fifty-six years old, but he is still very handsome and always well dressed.<…>Over tea we sat on the glass veranda, he smoked, then moved to me, began again to say some pleasantries, then examined and kissed my hand. I covered my face with a silk scarf, and he kissed me on the lips through the scarf several times... I don’t understand how this could happen, I’m crazy, I never thought I was like this! Now I have only one way out... I feel such disgust for him that I can’t get over it!..”

Every Sunday, after mass, a little woman in mourning comes to the grave of Olya Meshcherskaya - a cool lady girl. Olya became the subject of “her persistent thoughts and feelings.” Sitting at the grave, the woman remembers the pale face of the girl in the coffin and a conversation she accidentally overheard: Meshcherskaya told her friend about what she read in her father’s book, that supposedly the main thing in a woman is “light breathing” and that she, Olya, has it.

“Now this light breath has dispersed again into the world, into this cloudy sky, into this cold spring wind.”

Conclusion

In the story, Bunin contrasts the main character Olya Meshcherskaya with the headmistress of the gymnasium - as the personification of rules, social norms, and the classy lady - as the personification of dreams that replace reality. Olya Meshcherskaya is completely different female image– a girl who has tried on the role of an adult lady, a seductress who has neither fear of rules nor excessive daydreaming.

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OLGA MESHCHERSKAYA

OLGA MESHCHERSKAYA is the heroine of I.A. Bunin’s story “Easy Breathing” (1916). The story is based on a newspaper chronicle: an officer shot a high school student. In this rather unusual incident, Bunin captured the image of an absolutely natural and uninhibited young woman who entered the adult world early and easily. O.M. - a sixteen-year-old girl about whom the author writes that “she did not stand out in any way in the crowd of brown school dresses.” The point is not at all about beauty, but about inner freedom, unusual and unusual for a person of her age and gender. The charm of the image lies precisely in the fact that O.M. doesn't think about own life. She lives to the fullest, without fear or caution. Bunin himself once said: “We call it the womb, but I called it light breathing. Such naivety and lightness in everything, both in audacity and in death, is “light breathing”, “non-thinking”. O.M. she has neither the lazy charm of an adult woman nor human talents, she only has this freedom and lightness of being, not constrained by decency, and also a rare human dignity for her age, with which she brushes aside all the reproaches of the headmistress and all the rumors around her name. O.M. - personality is precisely a fact of his life.

Psychologist L.S. Vygotsky especially highlighted the heroine’s love conflicts in the story, emphasizing that it was this frivolity that “led her astray.” K.G. Paustovsky argued that “this is not a story, but an insight, life itself with its awe and love, the writer’s sad and calm reflection - an epitaph to girlish beauty.” Kucherovsky believed that this was not just an “epitaph for girlish beauty,” but an epitaph for the spiritual “aristocratism” of existence, which is opposed by the brute force of “plebeianism.”

M.Yu.Sorvina


Literary heroes. - Academician. 2009 .

See what "OLGA MESHCHERSKAYA" is in other dictionaries:

    Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Meshcherskaya. Meshcherskaya Kira Alexandrovna ... Wikipedia

    Runova (Olga Pavlovna, born Meshcherskaya) novelist. Born in 1864. Graduated from Petersburg pedagogical courses. In Week from 1887 to 1900 her stories and short stories appeared: On the night before Christmas, As you have sinned, so repent,... ... Biographical Dictionary

    - (née Meshcherskaya) novelist. Genus. in 1864. Graduated from St. Petersburg pedagogical courses. In "Week" from 1887 to 1900 her stories and stories appeared: "On the night before Christmas", "As you have sinned, so repent",... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

    - (born Meshcherskaya) novelist. Genus. in 1864. Graduated from St. Petersburg pedagogical courses. In Week from 1887 to 1900 her novels and short stories appeared: On the night before Christmas, As you have sinned, so repent, Head of Medusa, Dashing gifts, Mold...

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    Maria Ryshchenkova Date of birth: June 14, 1983 (1983 06 14) (29 years old) Place of birth: Moscow, RSFSR, USSR Profession: actress ... Wikipedia

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Books

  • Apple and apple tree. Or a guide to a happy pregnancy and the accompanying moods, Olga Meshcherskaya. The pregnancy diary of a girl with an enthusiastic soul, filled in against the backdrop of Italian landscapes and realities, full of original tips and recommendations for a happy pregnancy, will be yours... eBook
  • A calendar guide for strengthening and renewing feelings. For new lovers and experienced couples, Olga Meshcherskaya. This perpetual calendar is created for those who are crazy about their other half. He will tell you how to please the object of your feelings throughout the year. Will bring bright colors to the picture of your love...

The question of the meaning of life is eternal; in the literature of the early twentieth century, discussion of this topic also continued. Now the meaning was seen not in achieving some clear goal, but in something else. For example, according to the theory of "living life", the meaning of human existence is in itself, regardless of what this life is like. This idea was supported by V. Veresaev, A. Kuprin, I. Shmelev, B. Zaitsev. I. Bunin also reflected “Living Life” in his writings; his “Easy Breathing” is a vivid example.

However, the reason for creating the story was not life at all: Bunin conceived the novella while walking through the cemetery. Seeing a cross with a portrait of a young woman, the writer was amazed at how her cheerfulness contrasted with the sad surroundings. What kind of life was it? Why did she, so lively and joyful, leave this world so early? No one could answer these questions anymore. But Bunin’s imagination painted the life of this girl, who became the heroine of the short story “Easy Breathing.”

The plot is outwardly simple: cheerful and precocious Olya Meshcherskaya arouses burning interest among the opposite sex with her feminine attractiveness, her behavior irritates the head of the gymnasium, who decides to give her pupil an instructive conversation about the importance of modesty. But this conversation ended unexpectedly: the girl said that she was no longer a girl, she became a woman after meeting the boss’s brother and a friend of Malyutin’s father. It soon turned out that this was not the only love story: Olya was dating a Cossack officer. The latter was planning a quick wedding. However, at the station, before her lover left for Novocherkassk, Meshcherskaya said that their relationship was insignificant for her and she would not marry. Then she offered to read a diary entry about her fall. A military man shot a flighty girl, and the novella begins with a description of her grave. A cool lady often goes to the cemetery; the student’s fate has become meaningful to her.

Themes

The main themes of the novel are the value of life, beauty and simplicity. The author himself interpreted his story as a story about the highest degree of simplicity in a woman: “naivety and lightness in everything, both in audacity and in death.” Olya lived without limiting herself by rules and principles, including moral ones. It was in this simple-heartedness, reaching the point of depravity, that the charm of the heroine lay. She lived as she lived, true to the theory of “living life”: why restrain yourself if life is so beautiful? So she sincerely rejoiced in her attractiveness, not caring about neatness and decency. She also had fun with the courtship of young people, not taking their feelings seriously (school student Shenshin was on the verge of suicide because of his love for her).

Bunin also touched on the theme of the meaninglessness and dullness of existence in the image of the teacher Olya. This “older girl” is contrasted with her student: the only pleasure for her is a suitable illusory idea: “At first, her brother, a poor and unremarkable ensign, was such an invention - she united her whole soul with him, with his future, which for some reason seemed brilliant to her. When he was killed near Mukden, she convinced herself that she was an ideological worker. The death of Olya Meshcherskaya captivated her with a new dream. Now Olya Meshcherskaya is the subject of her persistent thoughts and feelings.”

Issues

  • The issue of the balance between passions and decency is revealed quite controversially in the short story. The writer clearly sympathizes with Olya, who chooses the first, praising her “light breathing” as a synonym for charm and naturalness. In contrast, the heroine is punished for her frivolity, and punished harshly - by death. The problem of freedom follows from this: society with its conventions is not ready to give the individual permissiveness even in the intimate sphere. Many people think that this is good, but they are often forced to carefully hide and suppress the secret desires of their own soul. But to achieve harmony, a compromise is needed between society and the individual, and not the unconditional primacy of the interests of one of them.
  • You can also highlight the social aspect of the novella: a joyless and dull atmosphere provincial town, where anything can happen if no one finds out. In such a place there is really nothing else to do except discuss and condemn those who want to break out of the gray routine of existence, at least through passion. Social inequality manifests itself between Olya and her last lover (“ugly and plebeian in appearance, who had absolutely nothing in common with the circle to which Olya Meshcherskaya belonged”). Obviously, the reason for the refusal was the same class prejudices.
  • The author does not dwell on the relationships in Olya’s family, but judging by the heroine’s feelings and events in her life, they are far from ideal: “I was so happy that I was alone! In the morning I walked in the garden, in the field, was in the forest, it seemed to me that I was alone in the whole world, and I thought as well as I had ever thought in my life. I dined alone, then played for a whole hour, listening to the music I had the feeling that I would live endlessly and be as happy as anyone.” It is obvious that no one was involved in raising the girl, and her problem lies in abandonment: no one taught her, at least by example, how to balance between feelings and reason.

    • Characteristics of heroes

  1. The main and most developed character of the novel is Olya Meshcherskaya. The author pays great attention to her appearance: the girl is very beautiful, graceful, graceful. But oh inner world little is said, the emphasis is only on frivolity and frankness. Having read in a book that the basis of female charm is light breathing, she began to actively develop it both externally and internally. She not only sighs shallowly, but also thinks, fluttering through life like a moth. Moths, circling around the fire, invariably scorch their wings, and so the heroine died in the prime of her life.
  2. The Cossack officer is a fatal and mysterious hero; nothing is known about him except for his sharp difference from Olya. How they met, the motives for the murder, the course of their relationship - one can only guess about all this. Most likely, the officer is a passionate and addicted person, he fell in love (or thought that he fell in love), but he was clearly not satisfied with Olya’s frivolity. The hero wanted the girl to belong only to him, so he was even ready to take her life.
  3. The cool lady suddenly appears in the finale as an element of contrast. She has never lived for pleasure; she sets goals for herself, living in an imaginary world. She and Olya are two extremes of the problem of balance between duty and desire.

    4. Composition and genre

    The genre of “Easy Breathing” is a novella (short story), in a small volume, many problems and themes are reflected, a picture of life is drawn different groups society.

    The composition of the story deserves special attention. The narrative is sequential, but it is fragmented. First we see Olya’s grave, then she is told about her fate, then we return to the present again - a visit to the cemetery by a classy lady. Speaking about the life of the heroine, the author chooses a special focus in the narrative: he describes in detail the conversation with the head of the gymnasium, the seduction of Olya, but her murder, acquaintance with the officer is described in a few words. Bunin concentrates on feelings, sensations, colors, his story seems to be written in watercolors, it is filled with airiness and softness, therefore the unpleasant is described captivatingly.

    Meaning of the name

    “Easy breathing” is the very first component of female charm, according to the creators of the books that Olya’s father has. The girl wanted to learn lightness, turning into frivolity. And she achieved her goal, although she paid the price, but “this light breath dissipated again in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind.”

    Lightness is also associated with the style of the short story: the author diligently avoids sharp corners, although he talks about monumental things: true and far-fetched love, honor and dishonor, illusory and real life. But this work, according to the writer E. Koltonskaya, leaves the impression of “bright gratitude to the Creator for the fact that there is such beauty in the world.”

    You can have different attitudes towards Bunin, but his style is full of imagery, beauty of presentation and courage - that’s a fact. He talks about everything, even the forbidden, but knows how not to cross the line of vulgarity. That is why this talented writer is still loved today.

    Interesting? Save it on your wall!

When it comes to stories about love, the first person remembered is Ivan Alekseevich Bunin. Only he could so tenderly and subtly describe a wonderful feeling, so accurately convey all the shades that exist in love. His story “Easy Breathing,” the analysis of which is presented below, is one of the pearls of his work.

Heroes of the story

The analysis of "Easy Breathing" must begin with brief description characters. The main character is Olya Meshcherskaya, a high school student. A spontaneous, carefree girl. She stood out among other high school students with her beauty and grace; already at a young age she had many fans.

Alexey Mikhailovich Malyutin, a fifty-year-old officer, a friend of Olga's father and brother of the head of the gymnasium. A single, pleasant-looking man. Seduced Olya, thought she liked him. He was proud, therefore, having learned that the girl was disgusted with him, he shot at her.

Head of the gymnasium, sister Malyutin. A gray-haired but still youthful woman. Strict, unemotional. She was irritated by the liveliness and spontaneity of Olenka Meshcherskaya.

Cool lady heroine. An elderly woman whose dreams have replaced reality. She came up with lofty goals and devoted herself to thinking about them with all passion. It was precisely this dream that Olga Meshcherskaya became for her, associated with youth, lightness and happiness.

The analysis of “Easy Breathing” needs to be continued summary story. The narrative begins with a description of the cemetery where high school student Olya Meshcherskaya is buried. A description of the expression in the girl’s eyes is immediately given - joyful, amazingly alive. The reader understands that the story will be about Olya, who was a cheerful and happy schoolgirl.

It goes on to say that until the age of 14, Meshcherskaya was no different from other high school students. She was a pretty, playful girl, like many of her peers. But after she turned 14, Olya blossomed, and at 15 everyone already considered her a real beauty.

The girl was different from her peers in that she was not bothered by appearance, didn’t care that her face turned red from running and her hair became disheveled. No one danced at balls with such ease and grace as Meshcherskaya. No one was looked after as much as she was, and no one was loved by the first-graders as much as she was.

In her last winter, they said that the girl seemed to have gone crazy with fun. She dressed up like a grown woman and was the most carefree and happy at that time. One day the head of the gymnasium called her to her. She began to scold the girl for acting frivolously. Olenka, not at all embarrassed, makes a shocking confession that she has become a woman. And the boss’s brother, her father’s friend, Alexey Mikhailovich Malyutin, is to blame for this.

And a month after this frank conversation, he shot Olya. At the trial, Malyutin justified himself by saying that Meshcherskaya herself was to blame for everything. That she seduced him, promised to marry him, and then said that she was disgusted with him and let him read her diary, where she wrote about it.

Her cool lady comes to Olenka’s grave every holiday. And he spends hours thinking about how unfair life can be. She remembers a conversation she once heard. Olya Meshcherskaya told her beloved friend that she had read in one of her father’s books that the most important thing in a woman’s beauty is light breathing.

Features of the composition

The next point in the analysis of “Easy Breathing” is the features of the composition. This story is distinguished by the complexity of the chosen plot structure. At the very beginning, the writer already shows the reader the end of the sad story.

Then he goes back, quickly running through the girl's childhood and returning to the heyday of her beauty. All actions quickly replace each other. The girl’s description also speaks to this: she becomes more beautiful “by leaps and bounds.” Balls, skating rinks, running around - all this emphasizes the lively and spontaneous nature of the heroine.

There are also sharp transitions in the story - here, Olenka makes a bold confession, and a month later an officer shoots at her. And then April came. Such a quick change in the time of action emphasizes that everything happened quickly in Olya’s life. That she took actions without thinking at all about the consequences. She lived in the present without thinking about the future.

And the conversation between the friends at the end reveals to the reader Olya’s most important secret. This is that she was breathing lightly.

The image of the heroine

In the analysis of the story "Easy Breathing" it is important to talk about the image of Olya Meshcherskaya - a young, lovely girl. She differed from other high school students in her attitude to life and her view of the world. Everything seemed simple and understandable to her, and she greeted every new day with joy.

Perhaps that is why she was always light and graceful - her life was not constrained by any rules. Olya did what she wanted, without thinking about how it would be accepted in society. For her, all people were just as sincere and good, which is why she so easily admitted to Malyutin that she had no sympathy for him.

And what happened between them was curiosity on the part of a girl who wanted to become an adult. But then she realizes that it was wrong and tries to avoid Malyutin. Olya considered him as bright as she herself was. The girl did not think that he could be so cruel and proud that he would shoot at her. It is not easy for people like Olya to live in a society where people hide their feelings, do not enjoy every day and do not strive to find the good in people.

Comparison with others

In the analysis of the story “Easy Breathing” by Bunin, it is no coincidence that the boss and classy lady Olya is mentioned. These heroines are the complete opposites of the girl. They lived their lives without being attached to anyone, putting rules and dreams at the forefront of everything.

They did not live the real bright life that Olenka lived. That is why they have a special relationship with her. The boss is annoyed by the girl’s inner freedom, her courage and willingness to stand up to society. The cool lady admired her carefreeness, happiness and beauty.

What is the meaning of the name

In analyzing the work “Easy Breathing,” you need to consider the meaning of its title. What was meant by easy breathing? What was meant was not the breathing itself, but rather the carefree, spontaneity in expressing feelings that was inherent in Olya Meshcherskaya. Sincerity has always fascinated people.

It was brief analysis“Easy Breathing” by Bunin, a story about easy breathing - about a girl who loved life, learned sensuality and the power of sincere expression of feelings.