The theme of love in the story Cold autumn"is closely connected with the themes of life and death, nature, emigration, and the spiritual evolution of the individual. The heroine of the story cherished all her life the memory of one evening of love, the evening on the eve of the departure of her beloved to the front of the First World War, where he soon died. Having lived her life, she clearly understood the main thing: “But what did happen in my life? Only that cold autumn evening, the rest is an unnecessary dream.
The premonition of the tragedy is palpable from the very first lines of the story: the motive of love is inextricably linked with the motive of death: “In June of that year, he visited our estate” - and in the very next sentence: “On June 15, Ferdinand was killed in Sarajevo.” "On Peter's Day, he was declared my fiancé" - and then: "But on the nineteenth of July, Germany declared war on Russia." The story becomes not so much the background of the narrative, but rather the acting force, invading the personal fate of the heroes and forever separating the lovers.
The spiritual memory of the heroine in the smallest detail resurrects that distant autumn evening - the evening of farewell, which is destined to become the main event in her life. The characters experience a sense of ongoing tragedy, sad separation, bad weather, hence the “exaggeratedly calm tone”, insignificant phrases, fear of discovering their sadness and disturbing their loved one. In the light of the thirty years that have passed since that evening, even the small silk bag that the mother of the heroine embroidered for her beloved becomes especially significant. artistic time the story is drawn into one point - the point of this evening, every detail of which, every word said then, is lived in a special way, felt.
And then the development of events significant for the heroine seemed to stop. All that's left is "the course of life". After the death of a loved one, the heroine no longer lived, but lived the time allotted to her, so thirty years mean nothing to her: they are shown in a kaleidoscope of events presented schematically. The events are only enumerated, there are no clarifying, capacious details, such as a "silk bag" - everything somehow became unimportant, faceless, unremarkable: a personal tragedy swallowed up the tragedy of Russia, merged with it. The heroine was left completely alone, in a whirlwind historical events she lost all her loved ones. Life seems to her an “unnecessary dream”, death not only does not frighten, but also turns out to be desirable, because in it there is a reunion with her beloved: “And I believe, fervently believe: somewhere out there he is waiting for me - with the same love and youth like that evening."
"Clean Monday"
The time of the story "Clean Monday" is 1913, Anna Akhmatova would later call this era "spicy" and "disastrous".
Moscow life in the short story turns out to be not only a plot outline, but also an independent hero - it is so bright, fragrant and multifaceted. This is Moscow “Shrovetide”, in which the morning smells “both of snow and from bakeries”, “gas in the lanterns” is lit in the dusk, “carriage sledges are rushing”, “boughs in hoarfrost stand out with gray coral on golden enamel”. This is the Moscow of "Clean Monday" - the Moscow of the Novodevichy, Chudov, Zachatievsky monasteries, the chapel of the Iberian Mother of God, the Martha and Mary Convent. This is a bright, strange city, in which the Italian side by side with something Kyrgyz, luxurious restaurants and "pancakes with champagne" - with the Mother of God Three-Handed. Heroes go to Andrey Bely's lectures, "skewers" of the Art Theater, read historical novel Bryusov "Fiery Angel". And right there - the Rogozhsky schismatic cemetery, Kremlin cathedrals, "pre-Petrine Rus'", "Peresvet and Oslyabya", "a sense of the motherland, its antiquity." Everything came together in this bright, wonderful city, recreated by the sad memory of Bunin the emigrant. In one temporary O th point concentrates not only the past and present, but also the future of Russia, about which the characters do not yet know, but the author already knows everything. Russia is shown at the peak of its brightness - and at the same time on the verge of great catastrophes, world wars and revolutions.
Festiveness and anxiety, as the main stylistic dominants of the story, were also reflected in the love of the main characters. In this marvelous, illuminated by the radiance of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the snows of the outgoing winter, the city of Bunin "settled" a beautiful girl - the embodiment of captivating, bright beauty and mystery. She, outwardly given to all the pleasures of the "Shrovetide" life, is spiritually directed to the world of "Clean Monday", therefore, in the perception of the hero - a sweet, kind young man who sincerely loves her, but still does not fully understand - she forever remained an unsolvable mystery. He could only accept, but not understand her choice, to bow her head before her spiritual depth and step aside - with endless heartache. This choice was painful for her too: "... it is useless to prolong and increase our torment", "except for my father and you, I have no one in the world ... you are my first and last." The heroine refused not from love, but from the “spicy”, “Shrovetide” life, for her it turned out to be a narrow life, predetermined by wealth, beauty and youth.
The spiritual path of the heroine did not coincide with her love - this reflects the tragic worldview of Bunin himself, his conviction in the drama of human existence. Cycle " Dark alleys”, created by Bunin in exile, recreates Russia that has perished forever, living only in the writer’s memoirs, and therefore it is no coincidence that light sadness is combined with tragic anxiety.
The general meaning of all the works of I.A. Bunin about love can be conveyed by a rhetorical question: “Is love ever infrequent?” So, in his cycle of stories "Dark Alleys" (1943), there is probably not a single work dedicated to happy love. One way or another, this feeling is short-lived and ends dramatically, if not tragically. But Bunin claims that, in spite of everything, love is beautiful. It, albeit for a short moment, illuminates a person's life and gives him a meaning for further existence.
So, in the story “Cold Autumn”, the narrator, having lived a long and very difficult life, sums up her life: “But, remembering everything that I have experienced since then, I always ask myself: yes, but what was still in my life? And I answer myself: only that cold autumn evening. Only that cold autumn evening when she said goodbye to her fiancé, who was leaving for the war. It was so light and, at the same time, sad and heavy in her soul.
Only at the end of the evening, the heroes started talking about the worst: what if the beloved does not return from the war? Would they kill him? The heroine does not want and cannot even think about it: “I thought: “What if they really kill? and will I really forget it at some point - after all, everything is forgotten in the end? And she hastily answered, frightened by her thought: “Don't talk like that! I won't survive your death!"
The heroine's fiancé was indeed killed. And the girl survived his death - this is a feature of human nature. The narrator even got married and had a child. After the 1917 revolution, she had to wander around Russia, endure many humiliations, menial work, illnesses, the death of her husband, and the alienation of her daughter. And now, at the end of years, thinking about her life, the heroine comes to the conclusion that in her life there was only one love. Moreover, in her life there was only one autumn night that illuminated the whole life of a woman. This is her life meaning, her support and support.
The narrator in her bitter life, cut off from her homeland, is warmed by only one memory, one thought: “Live, rejoice in the world, then come to me ...” I lived, rejoiced, now I will come soon.
So, the main part of the story, which has a ring composition, is a description of a cold autumn evening, the last in life together heroes. From the words of the girl's father, we learn that an Austrian crown prince was killed in Sarajevo. This meant that war would inevitably begin. The beloved of the heroine, who was in her family, his own, dear person, had to go to the front.
On the same sad evening, he was announced the bridegroom of the heroine. Ironically, their first evening as bride and groom was also their last. That is why this whole evening, in the perception of the narrator and her lover, was permeated with light sadness, aching melancholy, fading beauty. Like the cold autumn evening that surrounded the heroes in the garden.
Everyday details are of great importance in the story, which turn into psychological ones in the work. So, the heroine accurately lists all the dates that "surrounded" the events described. She remembers everything in the smallest detail, although thirty years have passed and behind her - very hard life. This suggests that this evening was very significant for the woman.
Psychologically subtly describes the last home dinner. All its participants sat in suspense, thinking that this might be their last joint evening. But everyone exchanged insignificant words, masking their tension and what they really wanted to say.
But at last the young people were left alone. The beloved invites the narrator to take a walk in the autumn garden. He quotes lines from Fet's poem. They, to some extent, predict both his fate and the fate of their couple:
Look - between the blackening pines
As if the fire is rising...
And then the hero adds: “Still sad. Sad and good. I love you very, very much…” What simple and, at the same time, poignant words! Young people love each other, but cannot be together. This, according to Bunin's theory, is simply impossible. After all, love is always just a flash, just a brief moment, burning for life ...
The next morning the hero left, as it turned out, forever. A “fatal bag” with a scapular was put around his neck, but he did not save the beloved heroine from death. The narrator returned to the house, not noticing the sunny morning and not feeling joy from it. Bunin subtly conveys her state on the verge of hysteria, a huge emotional experience: "... not knowing what to do with myself now and whether I should sob or sing at the top of my voice ..."
Many years have passed since then. But the elderly heroine in Nice keeps coming back and comes back in memory for this evening and hopefully awaits an early death. What else is left for her? Poor old age, deprived of the support of the only native person - the daughter.
The image of the daughter of the heroine in the story is very important. Bunin shows that a person cut off from his roots, far from his homeland, loses the main thing - his soul: “she became completely French, very pretty and completely indifferent to me, served in a chocolate shop near Madeleine, wrapped boxes in satin with sleek hands with silver nails. paper and tied them with gold cords ... "
The daughter of the narrator is a doll that has lost its essence behind the material tinsel.
“Cold Autumn”… The title of the story is symbolic. This is also a specific designation of the time frame of what is happening in the story. It is also a symbol of the first and last evening in the life of the heroes. This is a symbol of the whole life of the heroine. It is also a designation of the life of all emigrants who lost their homeland after 1917 ... It is also a symbol of the state that comes after the loss of flash love ...
Cold autumn ... It is inevitable, but it also enriches a person, because he retains the most valuable thing - memories.
Lidia Ivanovna NORINA - Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation, teacher of gymnasium No. 10 in Novosibirsk.
I'm doomed to know longing...
Analysis of the story by I.A. Bunin "Cold Autumn"
And the analysis of the story should begin with a fairly traditional, but effective form - the teacher reading the text itself. As you know, a teacher who reads aloud becomes the first interpreter of a work, placing its semantic accents with the help of voice and intonation. Bunin's story small in volume, and reading it at the beginning of the lesson is all the more advisable because it does not take much time.
The next stage of the lesson - “the word of the teacher”, is necessary both as an introduction and as a reminder to students about the main themes of Bunin's prose (a lecture on the writer's work and an analysis of poems have already been held earlier).
It is advisable to begin the analysis of the text by highlighting the basic motives and artistic techniques in the story. These points are pre-written on the board.
The plot and characters.
Chronotope: existential and everyday space and time, real and cosmic.
Coloring and “tactility” of the text.
motives(love, death, memory, life).
At home, the students had to find manifestations of these motives in the text and write out as many examples as possible for each of the points. As the lesson progresses, the diagram on the board will expand and be supplemented by observations made in the lesson. The teacher needs to emphasize the fundamental sequence of topics recorded on the board.
The teacher's first question is:
- What is the plot of the story? State it in a few sentences.
There is a certain he, there is a she - they love each other; the wedding was to take place. The girl is very afraid of losing him. He is killed in the war. And then all her life (thirty years) she retains the memory of a single evening - their happiest meeting.
It is necessary to start with what lies on the surface of the text, which can be perceived by any ordinary consciousness. Students find out that the plot is too simple, which means that the meaning needs to be looked for deeper.
If schoolchildren do not pay attention to an important feature of Bunin's love prose - the lack of names for the heroes, designating them only with pronouns (a special method of Bunin, emphasizing the generalization of the fate of people, the tragedy of all), you can ask a provocative question: why, when retelling the plot, do you constantly make a “speech mistake” - repeat the pronouns “he” and “she”?
From the ordinary level of perception of the text, we proceed to work with artistic categories.
Any literary text, as you know, corresponds to the universal categories - space and time, which acquire a symbolic meaning in the text. How is this work “constructed”, what chronotopes can we single out and how are they related to each other?
One of the students draws up a diagram, and the rest comment on the text. Gradually such a picture emerges.
- The house as a temple and a talisman and its subsequent destruction; accordingly, life is like a journey and wandering.
- Way like life path one person and as a historical vector of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
- Finally, a house devoid of spatial boundaries, a house located outside the earthly world. This is the space where the heroine aspires to her beloved, this is a movement towards immortality: “And I believe, fervently believe: somewhere he is waiting for me - with the same love and youth as in that evening ". “You live, rejoice in the world, then come to me ... "" I lived, I was glad, now I will come soon." Together with the students, the teacher notes the key words of the fragment: "somewhere", “that evening”, "to me". Thus, Bunin translates earthly space into cosmic space, linear time into eternal time.
· Time as an instant (human life) and as eternity. Bunin's eternity is always cyclical and indestructible. So, the heroine says at the end of the story about their only evening: "And that's all that was in my life - the rest is an unnecessary dream." The teacher draws the attention of high school students to the words “sleep” and “unnecessary”.
Why is life called a dream?
The motif of life as a dream (in the Buddhist sense) is generally characteristic of Bunin's poetics. Life is an illusion, but a sad and tragic illusion.
Who is to blame for this tragedy? War? Revolution? God? Wrong social order?
Bunin is non-social, therefore, war, and revolution, and history for him are only partial manifestations of world evil, which is indestructible. The whole story is an attempt by the writer to understand and comprehend how the world's evil affects the fate of an individual. Let's remember again: the heroes have no names, and this is a confirmation that different human destinies are the same, that a person is a toy in the hands of fate.
Then the teacher focuses the attention of high school students on another important temporal aspect of the work:
- Please note that the whole story is written as a memory of the heroine about the past. What motive in connection with such construction of artistic time appears in the text?
Memory. In the chaos of the world, it is a salvation from oblivion. Memory, according to Bunin, is no less, but more real than the flow of reality. It is always associated with culture, which is the preservation of everything that goes into oblivion.
The teacher can read a number of poems by Osip Mandelstam (for example, from the cycle "Stone"), in which the so-called "cultural memory" is most clearly manifested - a special kind of poetic category that served Mandelstam as the basis of his attitude to the values of culture. Such an appeal to a “foreign” voice will make it possible to pave the way for the study of the poetics of acmeism, as well as to compare the “two memories” of the great artists of the word.
- What artistic means does Bunin use to emphasize the reality of memory and the unreality of reality? As you know, Bunin is a master of describing subtle human sensations and states of nature. And in this he is close to impressionism.
First of all, color painting, light painting and “tactility”. Also in the work we see the direct inclusion of a poetic quotation. As for impressionism, the hero in the story seems to be deliberately reading Fet's poem to his beloved, since it is in Fet's work that there are many impressionistic features.
- Let's work with these categories: name the main colors, descriptions of the physical sensations of the characters and determine the meanings of Fet's lines quoted by the character in the context of the story (one student writes out the words on the board: “color”, “tactility”, “intertext”).
Color and light. Students name the words for colors and give their symbolic interpretation using the “Dictionary of Symbols”: “black”, “brilliant”, “red”, “sunny”, “mineral-shining stars”, “sparkling sun”. Black color - the tragedy of man, a premonition of trouble. Red is the color of blood and also tragedy, a color that marks a future catastrophe. Golden (autumn) is associated with nature. Combining, the colors emphasize the inseparable connection of human sensations with the natural principle. Schoolchildren note that the epithet “brilliant” (“luminous”, “sparkling”) combines such artistic details as stars (“shiny stars”), house windows (“like ... in autumn shine windows of the house”), the eyes of the heroine (“how the eyes shine”) and draw a conclusion about the unity of everything in the world: nature, man, inanimate objects (house).
Many words in the story are devoted to the feelings of the characters. The name itself - "Cold Autumn" - is not only a designation of the cold season, but also metaphorically - the coldness of this world in relation to man, all the same world evil. High school students name words and phrases related to the theme of cold: “windows fogged up from steam”, “surprisingly early and cold autumn”, “rubbed the glass with a handkerchief”, “ice stars”, “sparkling frost”.
As for Fet, it is both a symbol of Russian pre-revolutionary antiquity, and a poetic understanding of nature, and finally, the acceptance of death, eternity. Fet does not have freezing and dying, but an eternal grandiose movement in a circle; It is not for nothing that the word “fire” is used in the poem - the antithesis of the cold and icy world.
- What other traditional motifs are found in the text?
Love and death. Love, according to Bunin, is also a touch of eternity, and not a path to earthly happiness, in the art world Bunin cannot find happy love. Bunin's love is outside the laws of time and space, and therefore death not only does not destroy love, but is its continuation in eternity. Despite the short duration of love, it still remains eternal - it is indestructible in the memory of the heroine precisely because it is fleeting in life. It is no coincidence that the story ends with the motive of love: “But, remembering everything that I have experienced since then, I always ask myself: yes, but what did happen in my life? And I answer myself: only that cold autumn evening.
Finishing the analysis of the story, we note that its ending is open to further interpretations. Therefore, as homework let's give a short essay-essay, the theme of which will be the words of the heroine at the end of the story: "And that's all that was in my life - the rest is an unnecessary dream."
Before us is the story "Cold Autumn" by Bunin. After reading it, you understand once again: only a genius can convey so deeply and penetratingly what is beyond the limits of the human mind and perception. It would seem that a simple story, where there is he, she, mutual feelings, then war, death, wanderings. Russia in the 20th century experienced more than one war, and millions of people experienced similar tragedies, but... There is always the word “but”, which is not something that denies, but rather reminds of the uniqueness of the feelings and experiences of each person. No wonder the work “Cold Autumn” is included in the cycle of stories by I. A. Bunin “Dark Alleys”, in which the author repeated himself more than thirty times: he wrote, in fact, about the same thing - about love, but each time in different ways.
The eternal theme in the writer's work
Contains the story "Cold Autumn" (Bunin) analysis of the eternal theme: the fate of each individual person is the answer to the question, A person lives his own love story from birth to death, and gives his answer. This is true, because he paid the highest price for this - his life. Can we use this experience? Yes and no... It can give us strength, inspiration, strengthen our faith in love, but the Universe expects something completely new, unique, incomprehensible from us, so that future generations will be inspired by our stories. It turns out that love is the infinity of life, where there was no beginning and there will be no end.
"Cold Autumn", Bunin: content
“In June of that year, he stayed with us at the estate ...” - the story begins with these words, and the reader involuntarily gets the impression that he has in front of him a certain passage from the diary, torn out somewhere in the middle. This is one of the features of this work. The main character, on behalf of whom the story is being told, begins her story with a farewell meeting with her lover. We do not know anything about their past relationship, about when and how their love began. In fact, we are already facing a denouement: the lovers and their parents have agreed on an imminent wedding, and the future is seen in bright colors, but ... But the heroine's father brings a newspaper with sad news: Ferdinand, the Austrian crown prince, was killed in Sarajevo, which means war inevitable, the separation of young people is inevitable, and the denouement is still far away.
September. He came just for one evening to say goodbye before leaving for the front. The evening passed surprisingly quietly, without unnecessary phrases, without special feelings and emotions. Everyone tried to hide what was going on inside: fear, longing and endless sadness. She walked absentmindedly to the window and looked out into the garden. There, in the black sky, ice stars sparkled coldly and sharply. Mom carefully sewed up a silk pouch. Everyone knew that there was a golden icon inside, which once served as a talisman at the front for grandfather and great-grandfather. It was touching and creepy. Soon the parents went to bed.
Left alone, they sat for a while in the dining room, and then decided to take a walk. It became cold outside. My heart was getting heavier... The air was completely winter. This evening, this cold autumn will forever remain in their memory. He did not know how his fate would turn out, but he hoped that she would not immediately forget him if he died. The most important thing is that she should live, rejoice, and live happy life, and he will definitely be waiting for her there ... She wept bitterly. She was afraid both for him and for herself: what if he really would not be, and one day she would forget him, because everything has its end ...
He left early in the morning. They stood for a long time and looked after him. “Killed him—what a strange word! - in a month, in Galicia "- here it is the denouement, which fit in one single sentence. The epilogue is the next thirty years - an endless series of events that, on the one hand, were important, significant, and on the other ... The death of parents, revolution, poverty, marriage to an elderly retired military man, escape from Russia, another death - the death of her husband , and then his nephew and his wife, wandering all over Europe with their little daughter. What was it all about? The main character sums up and answers herself: only that distant, already barely distinguishable cold autumn evening, and everything else is an unnecessary dream.
Analysis of "Cold Autumn" by Bunin I.A.
Time. What it is? We are accustomed to giving a designation to everything: hours, minutes, days. We divide life into the past and the future, trying to do everything in time and not miss the main thing. And what is the main thing? Analysis of "Cold Autumn" by Bunin I.A. showed how the author conveyed the conventionality of the existing world order. Space and time take on other forms and are painted in completely different tones in the human soul. The description of the last autumn evening in their lives takes up most of the work, while thirty years of life is just one paragraph. During dinner in the dining room with main character we feel subtle sighs, we notice every tilt of the head, we see the endlessly changing of all those present, and imperceptibly we come to understand that all these seemingly insignificant details are the most important.
A detailed description of the dining room with windows fogged up from the samovar, a hot lamp over the table in the first part of the story is contrasted with an endless list of cities and countries that our heroine had to visit: the Czech Republic, Turkey, Bulgaria, Belgium, Serbia, Paris, Nice ... From a small and of a cozy and tender home breathes warmth and happiness, while from the famous Europe with “boxes from a chocolate shop in satin paper with gold cords” - dullness and indifference.
Continuing the analysis of "Cold Autumn" by Bunin I.A., I would like to dwell on the "secret psychologism", which is used by the writer to convey the inner experiences of the main actors. The farewell meeting has its own face and wrong side: the external indifference, feigned simplicity and absent-mindedness of the main characters hide their inner turmoil and fear of the future. Minor phrases are spoken aloud, exaggeratedly calm words, notes of indifference sound in the voice, but behind all this one feels growing excitement and depth of feelings. From this it becomes "touching and creepy", "sad and good" ...
Finishing the analysis of "Cold Autumn" by Bunin I.A., let's pay attention to one more important detail. There are not so many characters in the story: the hero and the heroine, parents, husband, his nephew with his wife and little daughter... But who are they? Not a single name has been given. Although at the very beginning the name of the crown prince sounds - Ferdinand, whose murder became a pretext for and led to the described tragedy. Thus, the author tries to convey that tragic fate of the main characters is both exceptional and typical, because war is a universal tragedy that rarely bypasses anyone.
Meshcheryakova Nadezhda.
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Analysis of the story by I. A. Bunin "Cold Autumn".
Before us is the story of I. A. Bunin, which, among his other works, has become classical Russian literature.
The writer turns to ordinary, at first glance, types of human characters, so that through them, their experiences reveal the tragedy of an entire era. Comprehensiveness and accuracy of each word, phrase ( character traits Bunin's stories) manifested themselves especially clearly in the story "Cold Autumn". The name is ambiguous: on the one hand, the time of the year is quite specifically called when the events of the story unfolded, but in a figurative sense “cold autumn”, like “ Clean Monday"- this is a period of time, the most important in the life of heroes, this is also a state of mind.
The story is told from the perspective of the main character.
The historical framework of the story is wide: they cover the events of the First World War, and the revolution that followed it, and the post-revolutionary years. All this fell to the lot of the heroine - a blooming girl at the beginning of the story and an old woman close to death at the end. Before us are her memoirs, similar to a generalizing life outcome. From the very beginning, events of world significance are closely connected with the personal fate of the characters: “war breaks into the sphere of“ peace ”. “... at dinner, he was announced as my fiancé. But on July 19 Germany declared war on Russia…”. The heroes, anticipating trouble, but not realizing its true scale, still live in a peaceful regime - calm both internally and externally. “Father left the office and cheerfully announced: “Well, my friends, war! Austrian crown prince killed in Sarajevo! This is war! - so the war entered the life of Russian families in the hot summer of 1914. But here comes the "cold autumn" - and before us it seems that the same, but in fact already different people. About them inner world Bunin tells with the help of dialogues, which play a particularly important role in the first part of the work. Behind all the on-duty phrases, remarks about the weather, about “autumn”, there is a second meaning, subtext, unspoken pain. They say one thing - they think about another, they say only for the sake of maintaining a conversation. Quite Chekhov's technique - the so-called "undercurrent". And the fact that the distraction of the father, the diligence of the mother (like a drowning man clutching at a straw for a “silk bag”), the indifference of the heroine are feigned, the reader understands even without a direct explanation of the author: “only occasionally they exchanged insignificant words, exaggeratedly calm, hiding their secret thoughts and feelings". Over tea, anxiety grows in the souls of people, already a clear and inevitable premonition of a thunderstorm; the same “fire rises” - the ghost of war looms ahead. In the face of adversity, secrecy increases tenfold: “My heart was getting harder, I responded indifferently.” The harder it is inside, the more indifferent the heroes become outwardly, avoiding explanations, as if it is easier for them all, until the fatal words are spoken, then the danger is more vague, the hope is brighter. It is no coincidence that the hero turns to the past, the nostalgic notes of “The Times of Our Grandparents” sound. The heroes yearn for a peaceful time, when they can put on a “shawl and a hood” and, embracing, take a calm walk after tea. Now this life is collapsing, and the heroes are desperately trying to keep at least an impression, a memory of him, quoting Fet. They notice how the windows “shine” in an autumnal way, how “mineral” the stars shine (these expressions acquire a metaphorical coloring). And we see what a huge role the spoken word plays. Until the groom performed the fatal "If they kill me." The heroine did not fully understand the full horror of what was to come. “And the stone word fell” (A. Akhmatova). But, frightened, even by a thought, she drives her away - after all, her beloved is still there. Bunin, with the precision of a psychologist, exposes the souls of the characters with the help of replicas.
As always with Bunin, nature plays an important role. Starting with the name "Cold Autumn" dominates the narrative, the refrain sounds in the words of the characters. Contrasted with internal state people "joyful, sunny, sparkling with frost" morning. Mercilessly "bright and sharp" sparkle "ice stars". How the stars "shine eyes." Nature helps to feel more deeply the drama of human hearts. From the very beginning, the reader already knows that the hero will die, because everything around points to this - and above all the cold - a harbinger of death. "Are you cold?" - asks the hero, and then, without any transition: "If they kill me, will you ... not immediately forget me?" He is still alive, and the bride is already blowing cold. Premonitions - from there, from another world. “I will be alive, I will always remember this evening,” he says, and the heroine, as if she already knows what she will have to remember, is why she remembers the smallest details: “Swiss cape”, “black branches”, head tilt ...
The fact that the main character traits of the hero are generosity, disinterestedness and courage is indicated by his remark, similar to a poetic line, sounding heartfelt and touching, but without any pathos: “Live, rejoice in the world.”
And the heroine? Without any emotions, sentimental lamentations and sobs, she tells her story. But not callousness, but fortitude, courage and nobility are hidden behind this secrecy. We see the subtlety of feelings from the scene of separation - something that makes her related to Natasha Rostova, when she was waiting for Prince Andrei. Narrative sentences predominate in her story, scrupulously, to the smallest detail, she describes the main evening of her life. Doesn't say, "I cried," but notes that the friend said, "How the eyes are shining." He talks about misfortunes without pity for himself. Describes the "sleek hands", "silver nails", "golden laces" of his pupil with bitter irony, but without any malice. In her character, the pride of an emigrant coexists with resignation to fate - are these not traits of the author himself? A lot of things coincide in their lives: the revolution fell to his lot, which he could not accept, and Nice, which could never replace Russia. The French girl shows features younger generation, generations without a motherland. Having chosen several characters, Bunin reflected the great tragedy of Russia. Thousands of elegant ladies who have turned into "women in bast shoes." And "people of a rare, beautiful soul" who put on "worn Cossack zipuns" and lowered "black beards." So gradually, following the “ring, cross, fur collar” people lost their country, and the country lost its color and pride. The ring composition of the story closes the circle of the heroine's life: it's time for her to "go", to return. The story begins with a description of the “autumn evening”, ends with a recollection of it, and the sad phrase sounds like a refrain: “You live, rejoice in the world, then come to me.” We suddenly find out that the heroine lived only one evening in her life - that very cold autumn evening. And it becomes clear why, in fact, in such a dry, hurried, indifferent tone, she told about everything that happened after - after all, it was all just an “unnecessary dream”. The soul died along with that evening, and the woman looks at the remaining years as if they were someone else’s life, “as with the soul they look from a height at the body they abandoned” (F. Tyutchev). Real love according to Bunin - love - a flash, love - a moment - triumphs in this story. Bunin's love constantly breaks off at the most seemingly bright and joyful note. Circumstances interfere with her - sometimes tragic, as in the story "Cold Autumn". I recall the story "Rusya", where the hero really lived for only one summer. And circumstances intervene not by chance - they "stop the moment" until love is vulgarized, died, so that the memory of the heroine retains "not a plate, not a crucifix", but the same "shining gaze", full of "love and youth", so that life-affirming beginning, "hot faith" was preserved.
Fet's poem runs through the whole story - the same technique as in the story "Dark Alleys".
