During the years of growing revolutionary sentiment, when society was in constant search for insight and the truth of life, the work of A.I. Kuprin was formed. His numerous works were based precisely on the complex psychological themes of cognition. He attracted readers with the capacious, accessible and dynamic content of his works. The most famous of them is the story “Olesya”. The analysis of this book is offered to you by the Many-Wise Litrecon.
It is interesting that in the very work of A.I. Kuprin can be divided into two periods, the line between which is clearly visible in the themes and style of writing his works.
- At the beginning of his creative career, the writer paid a lot of attention to purely everyday topics. Most likely, this was due to the rich life experience of A.I. Kuprin, who tried himself in many fields of activity. Having felt all the hardships of life and learned the peculiarities of the life of the poor, the writer created life texts based on what he saw, heard and felt.
- The second period of his work dates back to the February Revolution. It was then that his works were imbued with the desire for democratic change. In addition, the subject matter of the texts also changed: mainly A.I. Kuprin described the beggarly and devastated life of a Russian emigrant.
The famous story “Olesya” dates back to the early period of the writer’s work, which was first published in 1898 in the newspaper “Kievlyanin” with the subtitle “From the Memories of Volyn.” Later, in 1905, Kuprin added an introduction to the story, in which he described the history of the creation of the work itself. Here are interesting facts about the writing of “Olesya”:
- The story “Olesya” is based on a real story from the life of landowner Ivan Timofeevich Poroshin, with whom the writer once visited. He told his own love story with the Polesie witch.
- The work also contains autobiographical details: the main character is a writer, like the writer himself, he spent 6 months in Polesie, which also coincides with real facts.
- Initially A.I. Kuprin wanted to publish the story in the magazine “Russian Wealth” as a continuation of the ‘Polesie cycle’. But the editors of the magazine refused the writer, so the fate of the work changed slightly. They were confused by the anti-religious background of the work: believers were negative heroes, in contrast to the “servants of the devil.”
Genre, direction
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, disputes flared up in the literary community between representatives of the two leading directions of literary thought: realism and modernism. Alexander Ivanovich adhered to the realistic tradition, therefore his story “Olesya” collected the features of this direction. For example, the love of the main characters Olesya and Ivan Timofeevich was doomed to death in reality, so the author could not exchange the truth of life for beautiful and unrealistic dreams. And yet, there is a place for romanticism in Kuprin’s work: civilization is presented in dark colors, nature plays an independent role in the work, and the main character has everything.
The genre of the work is a story. Main features: chronicle plot, a small number of characters and the author’s assessment of events experienced in real life. In addition, we see other features characteristic of the story: the entire plot revolves around one hero - Ivan Timofeevich, whose character is revealed against the background of what is happening.
Composition and Conflict
The composition of the work is a retrospective, as the author delves into memories from the past, when fate brought him to Polesie. There he became acquainted with the amazing story of the intellectual Ivan Timofeevich.
In addition to the retrospective, the composition is based on numerous contrasts. We can say that the whole story is a collection of various conflicts. Even at the very beginning we see the struggle between technological progress and the quiet, peaceful life in pagan Polesie. The reader sees a vivid confrontation between civilization and wild nature, which live according to different laws. Nature and civilization are the main conflict in the story “Olesya”. The author sees depravity, vulgarity and stupidity in the city and people, but in nature - nobility, beauty and true generosity.
In addition, the plot is based on one of the main conflicts: Olesya and people (village residents). It becomes clear that this confrontation is so strong that it cannot be eliminated. Olesya’s efforts (going to church) only led to tragic consequences both for herself and for the village that suffered from the witch’s spell.
The gist: what is the story about?
The essence of the work “Olesya” is very simple. In the small village of Perebrod on the outskirts of Polesie, the young writer Ivan Timofeevich, by the will of fate, wanders during another forest hike to the house of the local witch Manuilikha. At that moment, the hero could not even imagine what this chance meeting would lead to.
There he meets the beautiful Olesya, who enchants him. From this moment their fantastic love story begins. The young sorceress is trying in every possible way to avoid meeting with Ivan, because the cards prophesied her death from an unexpected guest. Olesya's fate was sealed.
The main characters and their characteristics
The main characters of the story are the young witch Olesya and the writer-nobleman Ivan Timofeevich. The main character is a young village girl of 25 years old who lives in the forest with her grandmother Manuilikha. Olesya is illiterate, but at the same time very smart. She loves nature and a quiet life away from people. Ivan Timofeevich, the central character of the story, on the contrary, is a very literate and well-read person in his occupation. He came to Polesie on official business, but as fate would have it, he fell in love with a young witch.
| heroes | characteristic |
| Olesya | A 25-year-old girl living away from people. she has magical talents and rare perseverance. She received all her knowledge about life from her grandmother, who was not from these places, so the customs of the woodland are alien to Olesya: local customs seem cruel to her, and people seem rude. the girl is smart and proud, strong and noble. She is distinguished by her love for all living things, even forest birds have become tame to her. Olesya is not afraid to argue and prove that she is right: more than once she defended her belief in magic in front of Ivan. Despite her lack of education, she defeated his arguments with her talents. she was able to heal wounds and even control a person from a distance. her intelligence was combined with prejudice: she believed that the devil gave her the gift of magic. Olesya believes in fate and believes that it is impossible to argue with it. Her knowledge, obtained experimentally, was long ahead of science at that time, so Ivan could not explain it. The girl is also humane and generous: she does not want to captivate Ivan, knowing that he cannot always be faithful to her. |
| Ivan | Ivan Timofeevich is a poor intellectual and aspiring writer. Olesya saw in him weakness of spirit and inconstancy, but fell in love with his kindness and education. Ivan was indeed well-read, but the forest savage’s conviction surpassed his ability to interpret what he saw and heard. Ivan could not convince her, although he did not believe in magic and even sought to prove it. he is reasonable and reasonable, knows how to observe and analyze. deep down, Ivan is fair and kind, so he even takes pity on his servant, without dismissing him because of the poverty of his family. but love did not exalt him, but humiliated him. he could not take the decisive step and take Olesya with him. His indecision only confirmed Olesya’s predictions: Ivan is destined to love many girls, but his heart is lazy, and no passion will be real. |
| manuilikha | Olesya's grandmother. An old healer with the appearance of a witch has seen a lot in her life: persecution in the village, corruption among local authorities, and a secluded forest life without help or hope for it. She raised and raised her granddaughter with difficulty, often sacrificing her interests for her sake. She sees right through people, which is why she didn’t like Ivan from the very beginning. she did everything to save her granddaughter. she is her only loved one. other people inspired her with justifiable contempt. |
| constable | Sergeant Evpsikhy Afrikanovich is a comic character. his name is exotic and unreal, but his image is quite viable. this is a reflection of the entire local government of Polesie - immoral embezzlers and bribe-takers who did their best to hide their theft from the people. |
| Yarmola | This is a reflection of all the inhabitants of Polesie: a taciturn and rude drunkard who keeps his family hungry and still drinks further. he is surprisingly stupid and undeveloped, leading the life of a predator, prowling the forest as a poacher. From the very beginning, he does not approve of the master’s relationship, and then completely moves away from him, citing the “sinfulness” of communicating with witches. |
The reader sees that for the peasants the witch's lair is a forbidden place where no person should set foot, but Kuprin's attitude towards Olesya and her grandmother is completely different. We do not see negative ratings in the description. On the contrary, he puts the main character in a more favorable light, because even her illiteracy does not look bad against the backdrop of kindness and modesty.
Themes
The theme of the book “Olesya” is romantic and realistic at the same time:
- The main theme of the story "Olesya"- the love story of Olesya and Ivan Timofeevich. In the center is a pure and real feeling, for which the main character is ready to make any sacrifice. For the sake of her chosen one, she goes to shame, knowing in advance about the pain that she will have to endure.
- Despite the fact that the theme of love occupies a central place, the work also clearly shows theme of the relationship between nature and man, which begins to unfold from the very beginning of the work. The author shows us the confrontation between civilization and wild nature.
- Against the backdrop of nature, the natural man theme, brought up by the cradle of nature. This is how Olesya and Manuilikha were - open and free from prejudices and clichés. We can say that the main character embodies that very moral ideal, because she is distinguished by kindness, responsiveness and fortitude. She does not seek to master the chosen one, but gives him freedom.
- Dream theme can also be seen in the text. Unlike the villagers, whose thinking is mired in prejudices, Olesya lives by a dream, not by standards.
Problems
The problems of the story “Olesya” are diverse and interesting even today:
- In first place, of course, tragic love main characters. Their love story was initially doomed to a tragic ending, because the cruelty of this world does not allow breaking standards and rules. Society is not ready to accept those who do not want to live according to patterns, which is why Olesya is forced to leave her native forests.
- The problem of cruelty permeates the entire text: the villagers go to church, but do not learn to forgive and love. They torture and kill their own kind (for example, a horse thief who had nails driven into his heels), but at the same time maintain a semblance of decency and piety.
- The author clearly reveals world of human feelings against the background of a love line. In his story, not everything is as clear as we would like. Ivan's love is sincere, but at the same time he is not able to stand up for her. Kuprin describes his hesitations, funny for real feelings: how will Olesya look in a dress among his friends? Should she go to church? But the heroine openly admits that she will not be jealous and captivate her chosen one: he is free, and let him not take her into his world, it is enough to simply give her love here and now.
- The problem of fate also occupies an important place in the story. The writer shows how cruelly fate can play with people's lives. This is not so much a predestination of fortune-telling as a logical arrangement of forces and circumstances: Olesya is not a match for the master. After all, even a great and pure feeling cannot overcome what was previously predetermined by fate.
Details
Details in the story “Olesya” play a special role. So, for example, even the embodiment of love has its innovative facets: at the beginning of the emergence of pure and sincere feelings, we see how nature rejoices and pours out sunlight, but at the end of the work, with the death of love, nature also dies: an icy hail strikes the seedlings of the villagers.
The language of the story is quite simple. A.I. Kuprin tried to make the work as accessible as possible to the common man who seeks to comprehend the truth of life. The author tried not to overload the text with creative and expressive means in order to convey his main thoughts to the readers.
Meaning
The main idea of the story “Olesya” is that there is essentially nothing behind a “civilized” society, because people who grew up far from civilization can turn out to be much smarter and more prudent. A natural person outside the crowd does not lose his individuality and does not submit to stereotypical thinking. The crowd is submissive and indiscriminate, and is often dominated by its worst members rather than its best.
In this regard, the main idea can be highlighted - the need for people to turn to nature to restore harmony. Olesya thus became an example of a pure and open person living in connection with the environment.
Criticism
The story “Olesya” is a famous work by A.I. Kuprin, which was appreciated by the writer’s contemporaries. K. Barkhin called the work a “forest symphony,” noting the literary beauty of the work’s language.
“I like this thing because it is completely imbued with the mood of youth. After all, if you wrote it now, you would write it even better, but that spontaneity would no longer be in it...” (M. Gorky - A. Kuprin according to the memoirs of Kuprina-Iordanskaya, “Years of Youth”, 1960)
The story was rated very highly by Soviet critics, who saw in it a protest against bourgeois society:
Kuprin associates with the protest against the internal enslavement of man the motives of a certain restlessness, lack of placement in the bosom of capitalist society, vagrancy in the spirit of Hamsun... interest in lumpenproletarians who stand “outside society”, admiration of whole, untouched “children of nature” (“Listrigons”, “Olesya” , “Forest Wilderness”, etc.).” (article “Russian literature” in the “Literary Encyclopedia in 11 volumes”, Moscow, 1929 -1939, volume 10 (1937))
Thus, the story “Olesya” occupies an important place, both in the work of A.I. himself. Kuprin, and in the history of Russian classical literature.
History of creation
A. Kuprin’s story “Olesya” was first published in 1898 in the newspaper “Kievlyanin” and was accompanied by a subtitle. "From memories of Volyn." It is curious that the writer first sent the manuscript to the magazine “Russian Wealth”, since before this the magazine had already published Kuprin’s story “Forest Wilderness”, also dedicated to Polesie. Thus, the author hoped to create a continuation effect. However, “Russian Wealth” for some reason refused to publish “Olesya” (perhaps the publishers were not satisfied with the size of the story, because by that time it was the author’s largest work), and the cycle planned by the author did not work out. But later, in 1905, “Olesya” was published in an independent publication, accompanied by an introduction from the author, which told the story of the creation of the work. Later, the full-fledged “Polessia Cycle” was released, the pinnacle and decoration of which was “Olesya”.
The author's introduction is preserved only in the archives. In it, Kuprin said that while visiting a friend of the landowner Poroshin in Polesie, he heard from him many legends and fairy tales related to local beliefs. Among other things, Poroshin said that he himself was in love with a local witch. Kuprin will later tell this story in the story, at the same time including in it all the mysticism of local legends, the mysterious mystical atmosphere and piercing realism of the situation surrounding him, the difficult fate of the Polesie inhabitants.
Analysis of the work
Plot of the story
Compositionally, “Olesya” is a retrospective story, that is, the author-narrator returns in memories to the events that took place in his life many years ago.
The basis of the plot and the leading theme of the story is the love between the city nobleman (panych) Ivan Timofeevich and the young resident of Polesie, Olesya. Love is bright, but tragic, since its death is inevitable due to a number of circumstances - social inequality, the gap between the heroes.
According to the plot, the hero of the story, Ivan Timofeevich, spends several months in a remote village, on the edge of Volyn Polesie (the territory called Little Russia in tsarist times, today the west of the Pripyat Lowland, in northern Ukraine). A city dweller, he first tries to instill culture in the local peasants, treats them, teaches them to read, but his studies are unsuccessful, since people are overcome by worries and are not interested in either enlightenment or development. Ivan Timofeevich increasingly goes into the forest to hunt, admires the local landscapes, and sometimes listens to the stories of his servant Yarmola, who talks about witches and sorcerers.
Having gotten lost one day while hunting, Ivan ends up in a forest hut - the same witch from Yarmola’s stories lives here - Manuilikha and her granddaughter Olesya.
The second time the hero comes to the inhabitants of the hut is in the spring. Olesya tells fortunes for him, predicting a quick, unhappy love and adversity, even a suicide attempt. The girl also shows mystical abilities - she can influence a person, instilling her will or fear, and stop bleeding. Panych falls in love with Olesya, but she herself remains distinctly cold towards him. She is especially angry that the gentleman stands up for her and her grandmother in front of the local police officer, who threatened to disperse the inhabitants of the forest hut for their alleged sorcery and harm to people.
Ivan falls ill and does not come to the forest hut for a week, but when he comes, it is noticeable that Olesya is happy to see him, and the feelings of both of them flare up. A month of secret dates and quiet, bright happiness passes. Despite the obvious and realized inequality of lovers by Ivan, he proposes to Olesya. She refuses, citing the fact that she, a servant of the devil, cannot go into church, and therefore, get married, entering into a marriage union. Nevertheless, the girl decides to go to church to please the gentleman. Local residents, however, did not appreciate Olesya’s impulse and attacked her, beating her severely.
Ivan hurries to the forest house, where the beaten, defeated and morally crushed Olesya tells him that her fears about the impossibility of their union have been confirmed - they cannot be together, so she and her grandmother will leave their home. Now the village is even more hostile towards Olesya and Ivan - any whim of nature will be associated with its sabotage and sooner or later they will kill.
Before leaving for the city, Ivan goes into the forest again, but in the hut he finds only red olesin beads.
Heroes of the story
Olesya
The main character of the story is the forest witch Olesya (her real name is Alena, according to grandmother Manuilikha, and Olesya is the local version of the name). A beautiful, tall brunette with intelligent dark eyes immediately attracts Ivan's attention. The girl's natural beauty is combined with a natural intelligence - despite the fact that the girl does not even know how to read, she has, perhaps, more tact and depth than the city girl.
Olesya is sure that she is “not like everyone else” and soberly understands that for this dissimilarity she can suffer from the people. Ivan doesn’t really believe in Olesya’s unusual abilities, believing that there is more to it than a centuries-old superstition. However, he cannot deny the mysticism of Olesya’s image.
Olesya is well aware of the impossibility of her happiness with Ivan, even if he makes a strong-willed decision and marries her, so it is she who boldly and simply manages their relationship: firstly, she exercises self-control, trying not to impose herself on the gentleman, and secondly, she decides to separate , seeing that they are not a couple. Social life would be unacceptable for Olesya; her husband would inevitably become burdened by it after the lack of common interests became clear. Olesya does not want to be a burden, to tie Ivan hand and foot and leaves on her own - this is the heroism and strength of the girl.
Ivan Timofeevich
Ivan is a poor, educated nobleman. City boredom leads him to Polesie, where at first he tries to do some business, but in the end the only activity left is hunting. He treats legends about witches as fairy tales - a healthy skepticism is justified by his education.
(Ivan and Olesya)
Ivan Timofeevich is a sincere and kind person, he is able to feel the beauty of nature, and therefore Olesya initially interests him not as a beautiful girl, but as an interesting person. He wonders how it happened that nature itself raised her, and she came out so tender and delicate, unlike the rude, uncouth peasants. How did it happen that they, religious, although superstitious, are ruder and tougher than Olesya, although she should be the embodiment of evil. For Ivan, meeting Olesya is not a lordly pastime or a difficult summer love adventure, although he understands that they are not a couple - society in any case will be stronger than their love and will destroy their happiness. The personification of society in this case is unimportant - be it a blind and stupid peasant force, be it city residents, Ivan’s colleagues. When he thinks of Olesya as his future wife, in a city dress, trying to carry on small talk with his colleagues, he simply comes to a dead end. The loss of Olesya for Ivan is as much a tragedy as finding her as a wife. This remains outside the scope of the story, but most likely Olesya’s prediction came true in full - after her departure he felt bad, even to the point of thinking about intentionally leaving this life.
Final conclusion
The culmination of events in the story occurs on a big holiday - Trinity. This is not a coincidence; it emphasizes and intensifies the tragedy with which Olesya’s bright fairy tale is trampled by people who hate her. There is a sarcastic paradox in this: the servant of the devil, Olesya, the witch, turns out to be more open to love than the crowd of people whose religion fits into the thesis “God is Love.”
The author's conclusions sound tragic - it is impossible for two people to be happy together when the happiness for each of them individually is different. For Ivan, happiness is impossible apart from civilization. For Olesya - in isolation from nature. But at the same time, the author claims, civilization is cruel, society can poison relations between people, destroy them morally and physically, but nature cannot.
Still from the film “Olesya” (1971)
Very briefly
A young master finds himself in a remote village, where he falls in love with a girl who is reputed to be a witch. He wants to take her with him, but local residents expel the girl, and the hero breaks up with her forever.
The young male narrator, whom “fate threw for six months into the remote village of Perebrod, Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polesie,” is unbearably bored. His only entertainment is hunting with his servant Yarmola and trying to teach the latter to read and write. One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the hero learns from the usually taciturn Yarmola that about ten miles from his house lives a real witch, Manuilikha, who, out of nowhere, appeared in the village, and then was evicted beyond its borders for her witchcraft.
The opportunity to get to know her appears quickly: as soon as it gets warmer, the hero goes hunting and, getting lost in the forest, stumbles upon a hut. Assuming that a local forester lives here, he goes inside and discovers an old woman there “with all the features of Baba Yaga, as the folk epic depicts her.” Manuilikha greets the hero unfriendly, but noticeably perks up when he takes out a silver quarter and asks the old woman to tell fortunes. In the midst of fortune telling, the witch’s granddaughter, Olesya, a dark-haired beauty “about twenty to twenty-five years old,” comes into the house. She treats the narrator kindly and shows him the way home.
Throughout the first spring days, the image of Olesya does not leave the narrator’s thoughts.
I myself had no idea how thin, strong, invisible threads my heart was tied to this charming girl, incomprehensible to me.
When the forest roads dry out, the narrator goes to the witch's hut. Just like the first time, the granddaughter greets the guest much more affably than Manuilikha. And when the guest asks Olesya to tell his fortune, she admits that she has already spread cards on him once and told him that this year he will receive “great love from the lady of clubs with dark hair.” And “to those who love you, you will bring a lot of grief.” The cards also told Olesya that the hero would bring shame to this lady of clubs, which is worse than death...
While seeing off the narrator, Olesya will try to prove to him that she and her grandmother have the real gift of witchcraft, and conducts several experiments on him - Heals a deep cut for him and makes him stumble after her. Then the hero tries to find out where Manuilikha came from in Polesie, to which Olesya answers evasively that her grandmother does not like to talk about it. Then the narrator introduces himself for the first time - his name is Ivan Timofeevich.
From this day on, the hero becomes a frequent guest in the hut. Olesya is always happy to see him, although she greets him with restraint. But the old woman is not particularly happy, but Ivan manages to appease her with gifts, and Olesya’s intercession helps.
Ivan is fascinated not only by Olesya’s beauty. He is also attracted to her original mind. Many disputes flare up between them when Ivan tries to scientifically substantiate Olesino’s “black art”. Despite their differences, a deep affection develops between them. Meanwhile, Ivan’s relationship with Yarmola deteriorates, who does not approve of his acquaintance with the witch. The servant also doesn’t like the fact that both witches are afraid of the church.
One day, when Ivan once again comes to the hut, he finds the sorceress and her granddaughter upset: the local policeman ordered them to leave the hut within twenty-four hours and threatened to send them through the stages if they disobeyed. The hero volunteers to help, and the old woman does not refuse the offer, despite Olesino’s dissatisfaction. Ivan begs the policeman not to kick the women out of the house, to which he objects and calls the old woman and her granddaughter “a pestilence of these places.” Having appeased the police officer with treats and expensive gifts, Ivan still achieves his goal. The constable promises to leave Manuilikha and Olesya alone.
From this time on, Olesya begins to avoid Ivan and any explanations with him.
Separation is for love what the wind is for fire: it extinguishes small love, and fans the big one even stronger.
Here Ivan unexpectedly and seriously falls ill - for six days he was “stricken by the terrible Polesie fever.” And only after recovery does he manage to explain himself to Olesya. The girl avoided meeting with Ivan only because she wanted to escape fate. Realizing that this is impossible, she confesses her love to him. Ivan reciprocates her feelings, but Olesya still cannot forget about her fortune-telling. However, despite Ivan’s forebodings and Manuilikha’s anger, their love blossoms.
Meanwhile, Ivan’s official duties in Perebrod end, and more and more often the idea comes to him to marry Olesya and take her with him. Having convinced himself of the correctness of this decision, he proposes to his beloved. But Olesya refuses - she does not want to ruin the life of a young, educated master. The girl even invites Ivan to just follow him, without any marriage.
Ivan has a suspicion that her refusal is due to her fear of the church, to which Olesya says that for the sake of love for him she is ready to overcome this superstition. She makes an appointment for him in church the next day, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, and Ivan is seized with a terrible premonition.
The vague attraction of the heart is never mistaken in its quick secret premonitions.
The next day, Ivan is delayed on official business and does not manage to get to church on time. Returning home, he finds a local clerk at his place, who tells him about today’s “fun” - the village girls caught a witch in the square, who was given a shake-up, they wanted to smear her with tar, but she managed to escape. Indeed, Olesya came to church, defended mass, after which the village women attacked her. Having miraculously escaped, Olesya threatened them that they would still remember her and cry their fill.
Ivan will find out all these details later. In the meantime, he rushes into the forest and finds Olesya beaten unconscious in the hut, overcome by a fever, and Manuilikha cursing him. Olesya comes to her senses and explains to Ivan that she and her grandmother can no longer stay here, so she and Ivan will have to separate. In parting, Olesya admits that she would like to have a child with Ivan and regrets that he is not there.
That same night, heavy hail hits Perebrod. In the morning, Yarmola wakes up Ivan and advises him to get out of the village - the hail that destroyed half of the village, according to the villagers, was sent by witches out of revenge, and the embittered people are already beginning to “scream bad things” about Ivan. Wanting to warn Olesya about the trouble that threatens her, the hero rushes to the hut, where he finds only traces of a hasty escape and bright red beads, which remain the only memory of Olesya and her tender, generous love...
Retold by the Puffer Fish for Briefly.
One of the first major works of Alexander Kuprin was the story “Olesya”. The story was written in 1898 and published the same year. The author himself considered this work one of his best works. “Olesya” was filmed 3 times: in 1915, in 1956 (the film was called “The Witch”) and in 1971.
The young gentleman Ivan Timofeevich, on whose behalf the story is told, arrives in a small settlement on the outskirts of Volyn Polesie. The master is bored in a remote village after city life. He tries to make friends with the locals: he teaches his servant to read and write, and does medical treatment. However, none of these activities brings the “stranger” closer to the village population. Ivan Timofeevich begins to hunt. The servant of the master Yarmol tells his master that the witch Manuilikha lives in the local forest with her granddaughter, and attributes the unexpectedly rising wind to the black magic of the old witch. A few days later, the master accidentally loses his way while hunting. Trying to find his way back, he goes to Manuilikha’s hut. Ivan Timofeevich meets Olesya, the granddaughter of a witch. The girl helps the master out of the forest.
The main character could not forget his new acquaintance for a long time. After some time, he returns to the forest to find Olesya. The master wants the girl to tell his fortune. The witch foreshadows loneliness for the main character, a desire to commit suicide and great love with a dark-haired woman. However, even love cannot give happiness. The one whom Ivan Timofeevich loves will suffer and accept shame. Olesya claims that the master has too lazy a heart, which means he doesn’t know how to love truly, selflessly. The main character does not believe in fortune telling or in the supernatural powers that are attributed to Manuilikha and her granddaughter. The only purpose of his coming to the forest hut is to see the young witch again.
Ivan Timofeevich and Olesya begin to meet secretly, despite Manuilikha’s protests. The main character saves his beloved and her grandmother from police officer Evpsikhy Afrikanovich, who is trying to evict the “witches” from their house. Ivan Timofeevich bribes the policeman and persuades him to leave the women alone. Having learned about this, proud Olesya was offended. There is a quarrel between the lovers. Then the main character gets sick. He does not see Olesya for a week. After recovery, Ivan Timofeevich continues to meet with the witch. The young master knows that he will soon have to return to the city and invites Olesya to get married and leave with him. The girl does not agree. Not a single woman in her family was married, because the soul of the witch belongs to Satan.
The main character is forced to leave for a neighboring village for some time. Upon returning, he learns that local residents beat a witch near the church. She managed to break free and run into the forest. Ivan Timofeevich hurries to the forest hut, realizing that the peasants attacked Olesya. Arriving home to his beloved, he finds the girl beaten. Olesya decided to go to church to please Ivan Timofeevich. The peasants took the witch’s act as a challenge. A witch should not desecrate a holy place with her presence. After the service, Olesya was attacked and beaten. Ivan Timofeevich offers to bring a doctor, but the girl refuses. The young witch informs the main character that she and her grandmother will soon move so as not to incur even greater wrath from the peasants. Olesya wants to break up with Ivan Timofeevich so that their romance does not bring trouble to both. The girl regrets only one thing: she will not have a child with her loved one.
That same night there was a hail storm in the village, due to which the entire crop was destroyed. Yarmola invites the master to leave immediately. The peasants are sure that the storm was caused by an old witch to avenge her granddaughter. The village already knows about the romance between Olesya and the visiting gentleman. Ivan Timofeevich could also be punished. The main character decided to listen to good advice. Before leaving, Ivan Timofeevich decided to visit Olesya again. However, Manuilikha and her granddaughter had already left. As if sending her beloved farewell greetings, Olesya left her red beads in the hut.
Characteristics
The characterization of the main character is given by Olesya herself. Ivan Timofeevich does not show arrogance towards ordinary people, trying to become their friend. He is capable of kindness and compassion. However, as the forest witch notes, the master has a “lazy heart.” Being a decent man, he offers Olesya an official marriage. But at her first refusal, she retreats, not trying to defend her love.
Boredom prompts Ivan Timofeevich to take many actions. Unable to live the life he led in the city, the main character tries to entertain himself with something. In the end, the master's main entertainment is the witch. Ivan Timofeevich prefers this particular girl because of her dissimilarity from other village women. She is different from ordinary peasant women and at the same time does not belong to the society to which the main character is accustomed. For Ivan Timofeevich, an affair with a witch is shrouded in mysticism, despite the fact that he does not believe in the girl’s superpowers.
The proposal that the main character makes to Olesya is purely symbolic. Having entered into a close relationship with a girl, Ivan Timofeevich considers himself obligated to marry her. However, the master knows in advance: honest, disinterested Olesya will never agree to become his wife.
Are you familiar with the unique Russian writer of the first half of the twentieth century, the author of such famous works as “Olesya”, “Garnet Bracelet” and “Cadets”?
Pay attention to the famous work depicting the secret and vicious sides of high society, people trapped by their own passions and weaknesses.
Ivan Timofeevich describes the main character as a beautiful and strong girl. Despite her illiteracy, Olesya is very smart. The main character notes that the young sorceress had a flexible mind and delicacy, thanks to which their relationship was very harmonious.
The master does not believe in the supernatural abilities of his beloved, attributing his belief in the otherworldly to the illiteracy of the witch. Olesya is sure that she can stop bleeding with a spell. Ivan Timofeevich explains to the girl that the blood stops naturally, and not due to witchcraft. According to the author, there really is something unusual about Oles, but he doesn’t connect it with magic in any way.
Unlike Ivan Timofeevich, Olesya is not selfish in love. The forest witch understands perfectly well that a girl like her has no place in high society. The master must marry an equal. Olesya, without hesitation, renounces her love for the good of her lover.
The villagers hate the witch for her strength, beauty and independence. Any misfortune (blizzard, thunderstorm, etc.) is attributed to the actions of the witch. The girl is not constrained by religious prohibitions, since she believes that her soul belongs to the devil from birth, and this cannot be corrected in any way. The absence of inhibitions helps her to be free in love.
Symbols in the story
The author draws attention to the main symbol of the story “Olesya” only at the end of the story. They become the beads of the forest witch. The bright red color of the decoration symbolizes the independent character of the girl. Olesya, like her beads, is hard not to notice. And the reason for this is not beauty or supernatural abilities, but internal strength and fearlessness coming from the very heart of the witch.
Red as a symbol
Red color is a symbol of passionate love that captures Olesya, making her even bolder and more beautiful. However, the color red also has other meanings: blood, self-sacrifice. Love forces the girl to challenge those around her and go to church, where she previously did not dare to go, fearing “retribution.” A daring act led to misfortune (blood).
The incident forces Olesya to make a difficult decision - to abandon the person most dear to her. Further relationships between the master and a simple forest girl with the fame of a witch cannot have a happy ending. Olesya sacrifices her interests, first of all, for the benefit of Ivan Timofeevich.
Year: 1898 Genre: story Main characters: Ivan Timofeevich, Olesya
The narrator comes to a remote village for six months and, out of boredom, communicates and engages with peasants and hunts. One day, while hunting, the main character loses his way and ends up in a house where the witch Maynulikha and her granddaughter Olesya live, who helps him find his way back. he begins to visit their hut more often and bribes the policeman so that he does not kick the women out of their home. Ivan Timofeevich falls ill and does not come to Olesya for a week, and upon returning their feelings flare up with particular force, and the man proposes marriage to the girl. To please her beloved, one morning Olesya goes to church, but the village women attack her after the service - Mainulikha and her granddaughter are forced to leave. Young people say goodbye and part forever; Having entered the wooden hut before leaving, the narrator finds only Olesya’s red beads there.
The story teaches readers that for the sake of love, people must perform feats and fight for it. But not one person, but both must be ready to defend the bright feeling hidden in their hearts.
Read a short retelling of Oles Kuprin
Master Ivan Timofeevich leaves the big city for six months and finds himself in the remote village of Perebrod, on the outskirts of Volyn Polesie. The young man is unbearably bored, not knowing what to do with himself. He has already read all the books that the narrator took with him. He tried to treat local residents, but realized that all their illnesses - “I can neither eat nor drink” - were completely undefinable. Even an attempt to teach his servant Yarmola to read and write ended unsuccessfully.
In a few months, he was able to learn only the letters of his last name. Be that as it may, the servant became attached to Ivan, especially because the master, unlike the rest of his family, did not scold him for drunkenness. The only available entertainment for the narrator is hunting. One day an unimaginable snowstorm begins, and then Yarmola tells the main character that the witch Maynuliha lives nearby. No one knows where she came from, but because of her evil deeds, the residents evicted her outside the village, and now she lives in the forest in a wooden hut.
Soon it gets warmer outside, and the hero and his servant go hunting. Having gotten lost in the forest and missing Yarmola, Ivan Timofeevich comes across a small hut, which he mistakes for a forester’s lodge. Going inside, he discovers an old woman there, who in appearance very much reminds him of Baba Yaga, “as the folk epic depicts her.” Mainulikha is not happy about the guest's arrival, but becomes friendlier when the main character takes out a quarter and asks him to tell his fortune. In the middle of the fortune telling, a young girl with dark hair, the granddaughter of the witch Olesya, enters the house. Unlike her grandmother, the girl greets the guest good-naturedly and shows him the way home.
In the first days of spring, the narrator's thoughts constantly return to Olesya. At the first opportunity, Ivan Timofeevich goes to the witch. Olesya warmly greets the guest, but Mainulikha is again not happy about his arrival. He asks the girl to tell his fortune, and she admits that she has already spread cards on him. This year he will fall in love with a girl with dark hair, but this relationship will not bring them happiness: the one who falls in love with him will experience a lot of grief, she will face a shame worse than death.
To prove that she and Maynuliha really have a gift, she heals Ivan’s deep wound and makes him stumble when he follows her. The narrator tries to find out how the witch appeared in Polesie, but the girl evasively answers that the grandmother does not like to talk about it.
Since then, the hero often visits the witches. Mainulikha still greets her guest unfriendly, but his gifts and Olesya’s support gradually calm her down. Ivan and Olesya are becoming closer and dearer to each other, but the master’s relationship with the servant Yarmola is deteriorating - he is dissatisfied with Ivan Timofeevich’s behavior. He notes that witches are wary of churches and never go to them.
In Oles, the main character likes not only beauty, but also her freedom-loving nature, lively mind and childish innocence, at the same time not devoid of the slyness of a beautiful woman. She often asks the master questions about other countries, about the structure of the earth, about big cities. However, the girl’s thinking is still shrouded in superstitions; she believes that her soul has already been sold to the devil.
One day, Ivan, coming to visit, finds the witches in a bad mood. The local police officer, Evpsikhy Afrikanovich, wants to kick the women out of the house and threatens them with exile if they do not leave the house within twenty-four hours. Ivan Timofeevich offers his help, and Mainulikha accepts it, although Olesya is clearly unhappy. Having appeased the policeman with gifts and treats, the master manages to persuade him not to evict the witches from their home. The policeman leaves the women alone.
Proud Olesya is greatly offended and begins to avoid Ivan. He disappears for six days, struck down by a serious and serious illness. Having gained strength, Ivan Timofeevich finally meets the girl and manages to explain himself. Olesya admits that by her behavior she is trying to avoid the fate predicted by her own lips, but she understands that all her attempts are in vain, and confesses her love to the man. Ivan reciprocates her feelings.
Meanwhile, the time allotted for service in Polesie ends, and the narrator is forced to return to the city. He decides to propose to his beloved. The girl refuses marriage, offering to simply follow him into the city. Ivan suspects that Olesya is simply afraid of the church and the fact that God will not accept her. The girl inadvertently wonders whether the narrator would be pleased if she came to the service.
The day after the conversation comes the feast of the Holy Trinity, which falls precisely on the day when, according to popular belief, there are signs of a future crop failure. It is on this day that Ivan Timofeevich goes to a neighboring town on his official business. Driving among people, he notices their unceremonious and hostile looks. Having heard a rude and disgusting phrase addressed to him from a drunken man, the master gallops towards the house. In the narrator’s room, the clerk of the neighboring estate, Nikita Nazarych, is already waiting. He tells Ivan that after mass there was a scandal in the village. Later, the narrator was able to accurately reconstruct the entire sequence of events that happened that day.
Olesya, wanting to please her lover, came to mass, but was late and only made it to the middle of the service. She stood in the hallway the whole time, but even so, her appearance excited the local women: they kept looking around and whispering. The girl still found the strength to complete her service to the end. However, as soon as she left, a crowd of women was already waiting at the fence, getting closer and closer to the girl. At first they silently examined the frightened Olesya, and then began to make ridicule, rude words and curses. The witch tried several times to escape from the circle, but was pushed away again and again, until someone from the edge offered to smear her with tar. It is known that even the gates of the house where a girl lives, smeared with tar, are associated with an unbearable shame for her.
Angry, Olesya rushed at the nearest woman and knocked her down. Dozens of bodies mixed into a common mass, and the witch miraculously managed to get out of the huge pile of people. Stones flew after her, laughter and hooting sounded. Having run away, the girl turned around and shouted:
You'll cry your fill!
According to an eyewitness, this phrase was uttered with such intense hatred that the crowd first fell silent and then began to curse again.
Ivan Timofeevich immediately jumps on his horse and rushes into the forest. In the hut he finds Olesya unconscious. The old woman angrily scolds the master, blaming him for the girl’s misfortune. Having come to her senses, the witch calms the narrator, convincing him that she does not blame anyone for anything and is not afraid of anything, but greatly regrets her curse, shouted out of anger. The girl understands that if any misfortune happens in the village, the residents will consider Mainuliha and her granddaughter to blame. Olesya promises her lover that all the memories and experiences associated with the departure of the witches will soon be erased from his memory, and again his life will be easy and cheerful. The narrator feels that the girl is saying goodbye to him.
A terrible thunderstorm is raging over Perebrod. In the morning, Yarmola advises the master to leave as soon as possible. The hailstorm that happened the day before destroyed the crops of half the village, and many residents are angry and rioting, blaming the witch for their misfortunes. Ivan realizes that Olesya’s assumptions are coming true, and gallops to the hut to warn her about the impending danger. But the house is already empty. With tears in his heart, Ivan Timofeevich looks around in the hut, on the floor of which there are heaps of rubbish and rags lying around. Just as he is about to leave, he notices a bright thing on the window, clearly left there on purpose. It turns out to be a string of cheap bright red beads, called “corals” in Polesie - the only memory left of the beloved.
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