Analysis "Easy breathing" Bunin. Bunin "Easy breathing": analysis of the work

The story "Easy breathing", written in 1916, is deservedly considered one of the pearls of Bunin's prose - the image of the heroine is so concisely and vividly captured in it, the feeling of beauty is so reverently conveyed. What is “light breathing”, why has this phrase become a common noun for a long time to refer to human talent - the talent to live? To understand this, let's analyze the story "Easy breathing".

Bunin's narrative builds on contrasts. Already from the first lines, the reader has some kind of ambivalent feeling: a sad, deserted cemetery, a gray April day, cold wind, which "tinkles and tinkles with a porcelain wreath at the foot of the cross". Here is the beginning of the story: “In the cemetery, over a fresh clay mound, stands new cross made of oak, strong, heavy, smooth ... A rather large, convex porcelain medallion is embedded in the very cross, and in the medallion there is a photographic portrait of a schoolgirl with joyful, amazingly lively eyes. The whole life of Olya Meshcherskaya is described by the principle of contrast: a cloudless childhood and adolescence are contrasted with the tragic events of the last year lived by Olya. The author everywhere emphasizes the gap between the apparent and the real, external and internal state heroines. The plot of the story is extremely simple. The young, recklessly happy beauty schoolgirl Olya Meshcherskaya becomes first the prey of an elderly voluptuary, and then a living target for the Cossack officer deceived by her. The tragic death of Meshcherskaya inspires a frenzied, withering "service" to her memory a lonely little woman - a classy lady. The seeming simplicity of the plot of the story is violated by the opposition: a heavy cross and joyful, lively eyes, which makes the reader's heart shrink anxiously. It will haunt us throughout the story of short life Olya Meshcherskaya. The simplicity of the plot is deceptive: after all, this is a story not only about the fate of a young girl, but also about a bleak fate cool lady, accustomed to living someone else's life, to shine with reflected light - the light of Olya Meshcherskaya's "living eyes".

Bunin believed that the birth of a person is not his beginning, which means that death is not the end of the existence of his soul. The soul - its symbol and is "light breathing" - does not disappear forever. She is the best, real part of life. The heroine of the story, Olya Meshcherskaya, became the embodiment of this life. The girl is so natural that even the outward manifestations of her existence cause rejection by some and admiration by others: “But she was not afraid of anything - no ink spots on her fingers, no flushed face, no disheveled hair, no knee that got naked when she fell on the run. Without any of her worries and efforts, and somehow imperceptibly, everything that so distinguished her in the last two years from the whole gymnasium came to her - grace, elegance, dexterity, a clear gleam in her eyes ... ”At first glance, we have an ordinary schoolgirl - a beautiful, prosperous and a little windy girl, the daughter of wealthy parents, who expects a brilliant party.

But our attention is constantly and persistently directed to some hidden springs of Olya's life. To do this, the author drags out the explanation of the reasons for the death of the heroine, as if generated by the very logic of the girl's behavior. Maybe she herself is to blame? After all, she flirts with high school student Shenshin, flirts, albeit unconsciously, with Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, who seduces her, for some reason promises a Cossack officer to marry him. What for? Why does she need all this? And gradually we understand that Olya Meshcherskaya is beautiful, as the elements are beautiful. And just as immoral as she is. She wants to reach the limit in everything, to the depth, to the innermost essence, regardless of the opinions of others. In Olya's actions there is no meaningful vice, no sense of revenge, no pain of remorse, no firmness of decisions. It turns out that a wonderful feeling of fullness of life can be disastrous. Even the unconscious longing for her (like a classy lady) is tragic. Therefore, every detail, every step of Olya's life threatens with disaster: curiosity and prank can lead to violence, a frivolous game with other people's feelings - to murder. Olya Meshcherskaya lives, and does not play the role of a living being. This is her essence. This is her fault. To be maximally alive without observing the rules of the game means to be maximally doomed. After all, the environment in which Meshcherskaya was destined to appear is completely devoid of an organic, holistic sense of beauty. Here, life is subject to strict rules, for the violation of which you have to pay. Olya, accustomed not only to teasing fate, but simply to bravely go towards new sensations and impressions in their entirety, did not have a chance to meet a person who would appreciate not only her bodily beauty, but also generosity and brightness. After all, Olya really possessed " light breathing"- a thirst for some special, unique fate, worthy only of the elect. The teacher, unable to save her student, recalls her words, accidentally overheard during the break. Among detailed description female beauty and the semi-childish “fitting” of this description to her own appearance, the phrase about “easy breathing” sounds so unexpectedly, understood by the girl literally: “... But do you know the main thing? - easy breath! But I have it - you listen to how I sigh ... ”The author leaves the world not the beauty of the girl, not her experience, but only this never revealed opportunity. She, according to Bunin, cannot completely disappear, just as the craving for beauty, fortunately, for perfection cannot disappear: “Now this light breath has again dissipated in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind.”

"Easy breathing" in Bunin's view is the ability to enjoy life, to accept it as a bright gift. Olya Meshcherskaya captivated those around her with her generous and furious love of life, but in a meager world small town, unfortunately for her, there was no person able to protect her "light breath" from the "cold spring wind".

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The story "Easy breathing", written in 1916, is deservedly considered one of the pearls of Bunin's prose - the image of the heroine is so concisely and vividly captured in it, the feeling of beauty is so reverently conveyed. What is “light breathing”, why has this phrase become a common noun for a long time to refer to human talent - the talent to live? To understand this, let's analyze the story "Easy breathing".

Bunin's narrative builds on contrasts. Already from the first lines, the reader has some kind of ambivalent feeling: a sad, deserted cemetery, a gray April day, a cold wind that “rings and rings a porcelain wreath at the foot of the cross.” Here is the beginning of the story: “In the cemetery, over a fresh clay embankment, there is a new cross made of oak, strong, heavy, smooth ... A rather large, convex porcelain medallion is embedded in the very cross, and in the medallion there is a photographic portrait of a schoolgirl with joyful, amazingly lively eyes " . The whole life of Olya Meshcherskaya is described by the principle of contrast: a cloudless childhood and adolescence are contrasted with the tragic events of the last year lived by Olya. The author everywhere emphasizes the gap between the apparent and real, external and internal state of the heroine. The plot of the story is extremely simple. The young, recklessly happy beauty schoolgirl Olya Meshcherskaya becomes first the prey of an elderly voluptuary, and then a living target for the Cossack officer deceived by her. The tragic death of Meshcherskaya inspires a frenzied, withering "service" to her memory a lonely little woman - a classy lady. The seeming simplicity of the plot of the story is violated by the opposition: a heavy cross and joyful, lively eyes, which makes the reader's heart shrink anxiously. It will haunt us throughout the story of the short life of Olya Meshcherskaya. The simplicity of the plot is deceptive: after all, this is a story not only about the fate of a young girl, but also about the bleak fate of a classy lady who is used to living someone else's life, shining with reflected light - the light of Olya Meshcherskaya's "living eyes".

Bunin believed that the birth of a person is not his beginning, which means that death is not the end of the existence of his soul. The soul - its symbol and is "light breathing" - does not disappear forever. She is the best, real part of life. The heroine of the story, Olya Meshcherskaya, became the embodiment of this life. The girl is so natural that even the outward manifestations of her existence cause rejection by some and admiration by others: “But she was not afraid of anything - no ink spots on her fingers, no flushed face, no disheveled hair, no knee that got naked when she fell on the run. Without any of her worries and efforts, and somehow imperceptibly, everything that had so distinguished her in the last two years from the whole gymnasium came to her - grace, elegance, dexterity, a clear gleam in her eyes ... ”At first glance, we have before us the usual the schoolgirl is a beautiful, prosperous and a little windy girl, the daughter of wealthy parents, who is expecting a brilliant party.

But our attention is constantly and persistently directed to some hidden springs of Olya's life. To do this, the author drags out the explanation of the reasons for the death of the heroine, as if generated by the very logic of the girl's behavior. Maybe she herself is to blame? After all, she flirts with high school student Shenshin, flirts, albeit unconsciously, with Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, who seduces her, for some reason promises a Cossack officer to marry him. What for? Why does she need all this? And gradually we understand that Olya Meshcherskaya is beautiful, as the elements are beautiful. And just as immoral as she is. She wants to reach the limit in everything, to the depth, to the innermost essence, regardless of the opinions of others. In Olya's actions there is no meaningful vice, no sense of revenge, no pain of remorse, no firmness of decisions. It turns out that a wonderful feeling of fullness of life can be disastrous. Even the unconscious longing for her (like a classy lady) is tragic. Therefore, every detail, every step of Olya's life threatens with disaster: curiosity and prank can lead to violence, a frivolous game with other people's feelings - to murder. Olya Meshcherskaya lives, and does not play the role of a living being. This is her essence. This is her fault. To be maximally alive without observing the rules of the game means to be maximally doomed. After all, the environment in which Meshcherskaya was destined to appear is completely devoid of an organic, holistic sense of beauty. Here, life is subject to strict rules, for the violation of which you have to pay. Olya, accustomed not only to teasing fate, but simply to bravely go towards new sensations and impressions in their entirety, did not have a chance to meet a person who would appreciate not only her bodily beauty, but also spiritual generosity and brightness. After all, Olya really had a “light breath” - a thirst for some special, unique fate, worthy only of the elect. The teacher, unable to save her student, recalls her words, accidentally overheard during the break. Among the detailed description of female beauty and the semi-childish “fitting” of this description to her own appearance, the phrase about “easy breathing” sounds so unexpectedly, understood by the girl literally: “... But do you know the main thing? - easy breath! But I have it - you listen to how I sigh ... ”The author leaves the world not the beauty of the girl, not her experience, but only this never revealed opportunity. She, according to Bunin, cannot completely disappear, just as the craving for beauty, fortunately, for perfection cannot disappear: “Now this light breath has again dissipated in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind.”

"Easy breathing" in Bunin's view is the ability to enjoy life, to accept it as a bright gift. Olya Meshcherskaya captivated those around her with her generous and fierce love of life, but in the meager world of a small town, unfortunately for her, there was no person who could protect her “light breath” from the “cold spring wind”.

Analysis of the story by I. Bunin "Easy breathing"

Man is the reason for the explosion.

(Why do volcanoes explode?).

Sometimes volcanoes explode with treasures.

Letting it explode is more than getting it.

M. Tsvetaeva.

Starting to write this essay, I set myself the goal of understanding why people who are extraordinary, unusual, people who "explode with treasures" remain unrecognized, rejected by society. Olya Meshcherskaya is one of those people. Radiating a never-fading light, good spirits, cheerfulness, lightness, it aroused envy in some, hostility in others. Although all these people, it seems to me, deep down admired her carelessness, courage, admired her fate, behavior, her unbridled happiness. Undoubtedly, the personality of Olya Meshcherskaya, her character and lifestyle are ambiguous. On the one hand, this strong personality lives without fear of being misunderstood. But on the other hand, Olya is unable to resist society, she cannot stand this brutal fight with prejudices, "moral foundations" that the crowd creates, a gray and faceless mass of people who do not have individuality, do not have own life condemning even attempts to live the way you like.

"She was not afraid of anything - neither an ink stain on her fingers, nor a flushed face, nor disheveled hair, nor a knee that became naked when she fell on the run" - that's what you should admire! That's something to be jealous of! A rare person can behave so fearlessly, without thinking about the consequences, doing everything sincerely and easily. All her words, actions (that is, deeds) - all this came from a pure heart. She lived for today, not afraid of the future, truly enjoying life. To be honest, I'm jealous! I probably could not live like this, behave so carelessly, and few people could. This is the uniqueness of Olya, her individuality, such a fate as a gift, she should be proud of.

The idea of ​​the story is in the contradiction of two worlds: gray, boring, faceless society and light, bright inner peace Olya Meshcherskaya. There is also an interpersonal conflict here: "... there were rumors that she (Olya) is windy, cannot live without fans ..." The society did not accept Olya's behavior, because it went beyond it, Olya, in turn, perhaps even with excessive easily treated the increased attention of others. Every time underestimating the enemy, a person is doomed to defeat in the fight.

Here, in Easy Breath, the conflict between the two worlds is also reflected in the landscape: on the one hand, "... April, the days are gray; a cold wind rings a wreath at the foot of the cross," and on the other, a medallion in which "a photographic portrait of a schoolgirl with joyful, amazingly lively eyes. And this lightness, joy, liveliness is everywhere. Reading the story, you become infected with Olya’s seething, seething energy, you are as if pierced by biocurrents sent by the high school student Meshcherskaya: “elegance, elegance, dexterity, a clear sparkle in her eyes”, “Olya Meshcherskaya seemed the most carefree, the happiest”, “beaming her eyes, she ran upstairs” , "... looking at her clearly and vividly", "... as easily and gracefully as only she could do it", "... Meshcherskaya answered simply, almost cheerfully."

Olya's carelessness and desire to know everything led her to a dead end. This is the main contradiction: living her own destiny, Olya discovered new world, but at the same time, wanting everything at once, without thinking about the meaning of her life, she hopelessly lost her childhood, youth, youth. Too early, she knew the vulgar side of love, never unraveling the secret of romantic feelings. Only later, realizing this, or rather, feeling fear, disappointment and shame, perhaps for the first time in her life, Olya was frightened: “I don’t understand how this could happen, I went crazy, I never thought that I was like that. Now I have one way out... I feel such disgust for him that I can't bear it!..!"

Only now it becomes clear how weak Olya is. She is unable to fight. Having descended from heaven to earth, she was frightened. And the only possible way out for her from this situation is death. Olya understood this well. I believe that death was the natural result of her reckless behavior.

Many questions arise when you re-read the text again and again. Malyutin and this Cossack officer who killed Olya - is it one person or not? And the woman we see at the grave of Meshcherskaya at the end of the story, and the boss? It is difficult to answer unambiguously. One thing is clear: in principle, and it doesn’t matter, because these people are a crowd, and it’s not at all necessary to know who they are, because they are all, in fact, the same. The only one vivid image in the story - Olya Meshcherskaya, and Bunin draws her to us in all details, for people like her are few. “Now Olya Meshcherskaya is the subject of her relentless thoughts and feelings,” we are talking about the worship of the classy lady Olya as an ideal. Due to such people, the world exists: they give others that energy, that lightness, which is lacking in the world of mere mortals. Although these people are weak and unable to resist both their passions and the contempt of others, people like Olya live their time with dignity, in pleasure. And even one such human fate, I believe, is capable of turning the whole world upside down, which a faceless crowd can never do. The high school student Olya, a young girl who was just beginning to live, left a deep mark on the soul of everyone who knew her story. Per short period In her life, she was able to do what many fail to do in a lifetime: she stood out from the crowd.

"... But the main thing, you know what? Light breathing! But I have it, - you listen to me sigh, - is it true?" Of course, she had this lightness that she gave to everyone. "Is it possible that under it (under the porcelain wreath) is the one whose eyes shine so immortally from this convex porcelain medallion on the cross ..?" Of course not, only the body is buried in the earth, but Olya's life, her smile, her pure look, her lightness will forever remain in the hearts of people: "Now this light breath has again scattered in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind." Such people are immortal, because they give life to others, full, real, genuine life.

So why was Olya rejected by society? There is only one answer: envy. All these faceless creatures envied her with "black envy". Realizing that they would never become SUCH as Meshcherskaya, people made her an outcast. The stubborn crowd did not want to accept anything that did not fit into its framework.

But the main trouble of people like Olya is not this. They simply, living their lives, completely forget about harsh reality, which does not cost anything to break all their dreams, joys, their whole life. But nevertheless, I admire Olya Meshcherskaya, her talent to live beautifully, wrong, but interesting, small, but bright and easy!!!

…It’s a pity that light breathing is rare.

And again about love ... And if it’s about love, then it’s definitely about Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, because so far he has no equal in literature in the ability to so deeply, precisely,

and at the same time, it is easy and easy to convey an endless palette of colors and shades of life, love and human destinies, and what is most surprising - all this is on two or three sheets. In his stories, time is inversely proportional to the emerging fullness of feelings and emotions. Here you are reading his story “Light Breathing” (an analysis of the work follows), and it takes about five to ten minutes at the most, but at the same time you manage to immerse yourself in the life, and even the soul of the main characters, and live with them for several decades, and sometimes for the rest of your life. Isn't it a miracle?

The story of I.A. Bunin "Easy breathing": analysis and summary

From the first lines, the author introduces the reader to the main character of the story - Olya Meshcherskaya. But what is this acquaintance? An analysis of the story "Light Breathing" draws attention to the scene - a cemetery, a fresh clay mound on the grave and a heavy, smooth oak cross. Time - cold, gray days of April, still bare trees, icy wind. A medallion is inserted into the very cross, and in the medallion there is a portrait of a young girl, a schoolgirl, with happy, "amazingly lively eyes." As you can see, the narrative is built on contrasts, hence the dual sensations: life and death are spring, the month of April, but still bare trees; a strong tomb cross with a portrait of a young girl, in the prime of her awakening femininity. You involuntarily think about what this earthly life is, and you are amazed at how closely the atoms of life and death adjoin each other, and along with them beauty and ugliness, simplicity and cunning, stunning success and tragedy ...

main character

The principle of contrast is used both in the image of Olga Meshcherskaya herself and in the description of her short but brilliant life. As a girl, she paid no attention to herself. The only thing that could be said was that she was one of the many cute, rich and absolutely happy girls who, due to their age, are playful and careless. However, she soon began to develop rapidly and become prettier, and at her incomplete fifteen she was known as a real beauty. She was not afraid of anything and was not embarrassed, and at the same time, her fingers or disheveled hair looked much more natural, neat and elegant than the deliberate neatness or thoroughness of her friends' styled hair. No one danced so gracefully at balls as she did. No one skated as skillfully as she did. No one had as many fans as Olya Meshcherskaya ... The analysis of the story "Light Breath" does not end there.

Last winter

As they said in the gymnasium, “Olya Meshcherskaya went completely crazy with fun during her last winter.” She flaunts herself everywhere: she combs her hair defiantly, wears expensive combs, ruins her parents for shoes “twenty rubles”. She openly and simply declares to the headmistress that she has long been no longer a girl, but a woman ... She flirts with high school student Shenshin, promises him to be faithful and loving, and at the same time is so fickle and capricious in dealing with him, bringing him once to attempted suicide. She, in fact, lures and seduces Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, an adult of fifty-six years old, and then, realizing her disadvantageous position, as an excuse for her dissolute behavior, arouses in herself a feeling of disgust for him. Further - more ... Olya enters into a relationship with a Cossack officer, ugly, plebeian-looking, who had nothing to do with the society in which she moved, and promises him to marry him. And at the station, seeing him off to Novocherkassk, he says that there can be no love between them, and all these conversations are just a mockery and mockery of him. As proof of her words, she gives him to read that page of the diary, which spoke of her first connection with Malyutin. Without bearing the insult, the officer shoots at her right there, on the platform ... The question arises: why, why does she need all this? What corners human soul trying to open to us the work "Light Breath" (Bunin)? Sequence Analysis main character will allow the reader to answer these and other questions.

fluttering moth

And here the image of a fluttering moth involuntarily suggests itself, frivolous, reckless, but possessing an incredible thirst for life, a desire to find some kind of its own, special, fascinating and good fortune worthy only of the elite. But life is subject to other laws and rules, the violation of which must be paid. Therefore, Olya Meshcherskaya, like a moth, bravely, without fear, and at the same time easily and naturally, regardless of the feelings of others, flies towards the fire, towards the light of life, towards new sensations in order to burn to ashes: smooth the lined notebook, not knowing about the fate of your line, where wisdom, heresy are mixed ... ”(Brodsky)

contradictions

Indeed, everything was mixed up in Ole Meshcherskaya. “Easy breathing”, the analysis of the story, makes it possible to single out such an antithesis in the work - a sharp opposition of concepts, images, states. She is beautiful and at the same time immoral. She was not stupid, she was capable, but at the same time superficial and thoughtless. There was no cruelty in her, “for some reason no one was loved so junior classes like her." Her merciless attitude towards other people's feelings was not meaningful. She, like a raging element, demolished everything in her path, but not because she sought to destroy and suppress, but only because she could not do otherwise: “... how to combine with this pure look that terrible thing that is now connected with the name of Olya Meshcherskaya?” Both beauty and were her essence, and she was not afraid to show both of them to the fullest. Therefore, she was so loved, admired, drawn to her, and therefore her life was so bright, but fleeting. It could not have been otherwise, which is proved by the story “Light Breath” (Bunin). Analysis of the work gives a deeper understanding of the life of the main character.

cool lady

The antithetical composition (antithesis) is observed both in the description of the very image of the classy lady Olechka Meshcherskaya, and in an indirect, but so guessable comparison of her with the schoolgirl under her charge. For the first time, I. Bunin ("Light Breath") introduces the reader to a new character - the head of the gymnasium, in the scene of a conversation between her and Mademoiselle Meshcherskaya regarding the defiant behavior of the latter. And what do we see? Two absolute opposites - a youthful, but gray-haired madame with an even parting in neatly frilled hair and a light, graceful Olya with a beautifully tidied up, albeit beyond her years, hairstyle with an expensive comb. One behaves simply, clearly and lively, fearing nothing and boldly answering reproaches, despite such young age and uneven position. The other one does not take her eyes off the endless knitting and secretly begins to get annoyed.

After the tragedy

We remind you that we are talking about the story "Light Breath". An analysis of the work follows. Second and last time the reader is confronted with the image of a classy lady after Olya's death, in the cemetery. And again we have before us the sharp but vivid clarity of the antithesis. A "middle-aged girl" in black kid gloves and in mourning goes to Olya's grave every Sunday, keeping her eyes on the oak cross for hours. She devoted her life to some kind of "incorporeal" feat. At first, she cared about the fate of her brother, Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin, that very remarkable ensign who had seduced a beautiful schoolgirl. After his death, she devoted herself to work, merging entirely with the image of an "ideological worker." Now Olya Meshcherskaya - main topic all her thoughts and feelings, one might say, a new dream, new meaning life. However, can her life be called life? Yes and no. On the one hand, everything that exists in the world is necessary and has the right to exist, despite the seeming worthlessness and uselessness to us. And on the other hand, in comparison with the splendor, brilliance and audacity of the colors of Olya's short life, it is rather a "slow death". But, as they say, the truth is somewhere in the middle, because a colorful picture life path a young girl is also an illusion, behind which lies emptiness.

Talk

The story "Light Breath" does not end there. A cool lady sits near her grave for a long time and endlessly recalls the same conversation of two girls overheard once ... Olya was chatting with her friend at a big break and mentioned one book from her father's library. It talked about what a woman should be. First of all, with large black eyes boiling with resin, with thick eyelashes, a delicate blush, longer than usual arms, a thin figure ... But most importantly, a woman had to be with easy breathing. Olya understood literally - she sighed and listened to her breathing, the expression "easy breathing" still reflects the essence of her soul, thirsting for life, striving for its fullness and alluring infinity. However, "easy breathing" (analysis story of the same name comes to an end) cannot be eternal. Like everything worldly, like the life of any person and like the life of Olya Meshcherskaya, sooner or later it disappears, dissipates, perhaps becoming part of this world, the cold spring wind or the leaden sky.

What can be said in conclusion about the story "Light Breathing", the analysis of which was carried out above? Written in 1916, long before the collection " Dark alleys”, the short story “Easy Breathing” can be called without exaggeration one of the pearls of I. Bunin's work.

/ / / Analysis of Bunin's story "Light Breath"

The story "" can be confidently attributed to the pearl of the work of the great Russian poet and writer I.A. Bunin. In his work, the author showed a beautiful, but tragic fate the main character Olya Meshcherskaya.

Special attention this story attracted by his composition, which has no chronological sequence. The work is full of contrasting descriptions, without which it would probably be difficult to understand I.A. Bunin.

The beginning of the story evokes two feelings in the reader. One side fresh grave in a huge cemetery, on the other hand, the large and joyful eyes of Olya Meshcherskaya in a photograph in a porcelain medallion on an oak cross. It was in these diametrically opposed details that the meaning of the life of the main character of the story lay.

After describing the cemetery, we see a picture of Olya Meshcherskaya's childhood. Bunin shows us the growing up of the main character and her transformation from a simple inconspicuous girl into a beautiful girl. By the age of fifteen, Olya really blossomed. She had hundreds of fans. Despite her beauty, the girl remains the same childishly carefree and spontaneous. Most likely, it is for these character traits that she becomes the favorite of the lower grades.

AT Last year In her life, Olya was known as a very windy and not serious girl. It is at this moment that Bunin shows us how, behind the childish spontaneity, Olin hides the story that she has already become a real woman.

Then we learn that a month later Olya dies on the piron of the station. She was shot by an officer in front of hundreds of people. Later, the officer confesses that the main character was close to him, that she promised to marry, but in last moment, said it was all a passing fad. After that, Olya handed the officer a page from her diary, which described the case of her intimacy with Alexei Malyutin, and for which the girl could not forgive herself.

After that, Bunin takes us back to the cemetery to the grave of Olya Meshcherskaya. The writer shows us that a cool lady of the main character comes to the grave every Sunday. He compares real world Olya and the fictional world of the teacher. In the image of a classy lady, Bunin concluded all the gray surroundings of Olya, who, with their indifference, killed the girl.

At the end of the story, Bunin introduces us to Olya Meshcherskaya's dream about perfect woman, which, in addition to natural beauty, should also have a light breath. But the irresponsible attitude to life did not allow the main character to realize her life potential.

Bunin showed us that the desire for beauty, for love and happiness, for easy breathing is eternal and will never disappear.