- Essays
- On literature
- Kuprin
- Review of Olesya's story
Story by A.I. Kuprin's "Olesya" captivates the reader from the first pages. This is facilitated by the sincerity of the narrator and protagonist of the story, Ivan Timofeevich, his simple, artless, with light humor, story about life in a village in Volyn, about the morals of the local residents.
However, the real plot of the exciting plot occurs when he learns from his servant Yarmola that a few miles from the village there is a hut where a witch lives. Interest in the unknown, the supernatural, the inexplicable is transmitted to the reader.
And so, while hunting hares, Ivan Timofeevich got lost in the forest and barely walked through a swamp to a dilapidated wooden house to ask its inhabitants for directions. This is how he meets old Manuilikha and her granddaughter, charming Olesya.
The reader follows with interest the development of the love story of Olesya and Ivan Timofeevich. And the hero himself discovers a lot of new things in these remote places, in communication with a young sorceress. He is a skeptic, but he cannot help but admit the obvious: Olesya and her grandmother really have superpowers. The heroine speaks surprisingly simply about her witchcraft, considering it a gift passed down to her by inheritance. And the reader, along with the narrator, seems to fall under the magical spell of the forest hermit: one cannot help but admire the external and internal beauty of the girl, her slender, flexible figure, expressive eyes, and simple, sincere manner of communication. Olesya is honest in her feelings, she believes her beloved and is ready to give all of herself. She does not listen to her grandmother’s warnings and fears, she wants Ivan Timofeevich to feel good about her, she only wants to bring him joy.
These pure, sincere relationships are opposed in the story by human hatred, obscurantism, and injustice of the village residents, directed against Manuilikha and Olesya. Even the faithful Yarmola begins to talk differently to the master, noticing that he has become a frequent guest in the witch’s hut. Olesya experiences this explosion of human anger and indignation in full measure when she comes to the temple on the day of the holiday. She is subjected to insults and bullying and is forced, beaten with stones, in torn clothes, to flee from an angry crowd of women. Finally, the heroine curses the tormentors and promises them revenge. And at night, a strong hail destroyed the villagers’ crops. Olesya and Manuilikha are forced to leave hastily, fearing the anger of the residents. As his last greeting to his beloved, Ivan Timofeevich finds only a string of red beads on the window frame.
The story ends on a sad, poignant note. And the reader will involuntarily think: was a happy ending to this story possible? Was the hero ready to marry Olesya, would she agree to live with him in the big city?
Kuprin's story will remain in the memory for a long time and will make you think about the incomprehensible oddities of love.
