Bunin "Easy breathing": analysis of the work. The plot of Ivan Bunin's story "Easy breathing"

The writing

In the autumn of 1912, in an interview with a Moskovskaya Gazeta correspondent, Bunin said: “... I conceived and even started one story, where the theme is love, passion. The problem of love has not yet been developed in my works. And I feel an urgent need to write about it.” Indeed, until the age of thirty-two, the writer almost did not touch on the topic, which a few years later would become the leading one in his work. Bunin from childhood was unusually sensitive to female beauty, feeling "something very special" in it, which probably gave reason to superficial interpreters to accuse him of "tart sensuality."

In fact, Bunin created his own image of love in his youth and remained faithful to this idea until the end of his life. In an 1888 article, the writer noted: “Love, as an eternal feeling, always alive and young, has served and will continue to serve as inexhaustible material for poetry; she contributes perfect attitude and light into the everyday prose of life, stirs up the noble instincts of the soul and does not allow one to become calloused in narrow materialism and coarse animal egoism”, In the late Bunin prose - “The Life of Arseniev”, in “ dark alleys especially - love is always tinged with tragedy and sadness. Through the love experience of a person, the writer comprehended the most general and unchanging laws of life, the complex spiritual processes of involving a person in the life of the Universe. Among the pre-revolutionary Bunin stories, united by the theme of love, are "The Cup of Life", "Son", "Grammar of Love", etc. The masterpiece of the prose of these years is rightfully recognized as "Easy Breath".

Researchers have interpreted Bunin's short story in different ways, but only those readings that reflect the author's view of the person captured in " easy breathing". First of all, it must be taken into account that the category of character is not applicable to all the heroes of Bunin, from which the event, action, and actions of the heroes are optional. More often the writer presents a person not as a character, but as a state or everyday consciousness. Thought and deed are forced out in Bunin's hero by state, feeling, recollection. The whole being of Bunin's person is tuned to the perception of life, and not to its explanation and, even more so, change. Art world Bunin, as already mentioned, is always unchanged. And a person exists in it not as a combination of certain features, but in a completely different quality. G. N. Kuznetsova in the "Grasse Diary", recalling life in the Bunin house, conveys her conversation with the writer about his "Easy Breath". It seemed doubtful to her that the ease with which the heroine of the short story, the high school student Olya Meshcherskaya, admits to the head of the gymnasium that "she is already a woman." Bunin did not argue, but tried to explain his artistic task. He was interested in the image of a woman brought to the limit of her "uterine essence". Naivety, lightness, bewilderment and similar irrational states of the heroine are brought by the author "to the limit", which excludes the possibility of assessing the actions of Olya Meshcherskaya from the point of view of reason. Let us recall that Bunin's predecessors brought "to the limit" precisely the rational beginnings of human life'.; The actions of the heroes have always had socio-cultural reasons. Their actions corresponded to ideas, ideas, traditions, which, in the case of reasonableness, brought good both to the hero himself and to his neighbors. Otherwise, misfortunes and tragedies were committed. In Bunin, the motives of human actions almost always originate in the area of ​​the unconscious. They can be described precisely as "uterine".

In a dispute with Bunin, G. N. Kuznetsova finds herself on a familiar literary work position of classical realism. She knew well the type of Russian schoolgirl of a certain era and considered that the girl could not do the same as Olya Meshcherskaya. A. S. Vygotsky, analyzing “Light Breath”, in this regard, notices the following: the form of Bunin’s story is aimed “not at ... revealing the life of a Russian schoolgirl to the end, in all its typicality and depth, but just in reverse side". His thought was further development in a study by V. Ya. Linkov, who claims that “... Olya Meshcherskaya does not do her deeds at all because she is a schoolgirl. Her behavior is not the fruit of upbringing and the influence of the environment, but is generated, as Bunin put it, by the “uterine” beginning, which the heroine has in common, according to the writer, not with Russian schoolgirls, but with all women, regardless of country, environment, upbringing, era.

ng> The essence of the content, structure and style of the analyzed short story is most thoroughly revealed by the foreign specialist in Russian philology A.K. According to Zholtovsky, the originality of Bunin's work is primarily in the composition, which is characterized by many time jumps. They can be viewed both as a method of reducing interest in events in favor of creating a general atmosphere of lightness and detachment, and as a way of creating narrative contrasts (event surprises, etc.). Compositional shifts are subordinated general scheme: the narration from the present (on Olya's grave) proceeds to the restoration of the past (her school life), comes almost to the present (Olya's death and the investigation of her killer), again turns to the past (the episode of the fall), is thrown into the present (class lady on the way to Olya's grave), then briefly describing the past ( cool lady), returns to the present (a cool lady on the grave), then the author brings a conversation from the past (about easy breathing), from where it abruptly brings us back to the present (the wind in the cemetery).

The movement from the present to the past is rhythmically uneven. Close-up Olya's conversation with her boss and a story about "easy breathing" are given. The whole chain important events and plans are compressed into one, at first glance, unnaturally long sentence: “And the incredible confession of Olya Meshcherskaya, which stunned the boss, was completely confirmed: the officer told the judicial investigator that Meshcherskaya had lured him, was close to him, swore to be his wife, and at the station, on the day of the murder, seeing him off to Novocherkassk, she suddenly told him that she had never thought to love him, that all this talk about marriage was just her mockery of him, and gave him to read that page of the diary that spoke about Malyutin.

The degree of importance of events "piled up" in ONE sentence is distorted. And even if all the events are sequentially arranged in no order, gaps remain in Olya's biography. As a result, the conversation about easy breathing is not confined to any particular period of Olya's life (before or after the fall? before or after the connection with the officer?). In other words, Bunin's movement of time does not contribute to the chronological alignment of the history of the heroine. Instead of its measured course in one direction, there are stops, then breaks. Time passes unevenly, in poorly connected segments and in different directions. This technique creates the effect of liberation from time and weakens interest in the development of the plot.

Traditional short story narrative is always based on interest in the event, the meaning of which is revealed in the finale of the work. Hence the osgrosyuzhetnost novel. In "Light Breath" traditional ways presentations are suppressed, but not completely discarded. The death of Olya is reported at the beginning of the work, the reader wants to know how it happened. The interest is reinforced by the fact that the story of Olya's “fall” is first skipped, then interrupted, barely starting (in the scene with the boss), and only later a page from the diary tells about it. Such a break in plot connections indicates the presence in Bunin's text of a bright pronounced features modernist writing. So, it remains unknown what the high school student Shenshin's attempted suicide led to, how Olya's conversation with the boss, interrupted by the narrator, ended, what happened to the arrested murderer Olya, how the relationship between Olya and her parents developed with their friend and her seducer Malyutin. At the same time, the narrator pays much attention to the completely secondary Tolya and Subbotina. There is a kind of deliberate blurring of the plot. Yes, and she herself is far from accepted in realistic literature causal relationship.

The story of I.A. Bunin "Easy breathing" belongs to the circle of works that require especially careful reading. The brevity of the text determines the semantic deepening of the artistic detail.

A complex composition, an abundance of dots, a figure of silence make us stop for reflection at moments of unexpected "bends" of the plot. The content of the story is so multifaceted that it could well become the basis of a whole novel. Indeed, each of us, reflecting on the next ellipsis, as if complements, "adds" the text in accordance with his perception. Perhaps this is precisely the mystery of Bunin's story: the writer seems to call us to co-creation, and the reader involuntarily becomes a co-author.

It is customary to begin the analysis of this work with a conversation about the composition. What is the unusual structure of the story? As a rule, students immediately note the features of the composition: a violation of the chronology of events. If you highlight the semantic parts of the text, it will be found that each part breaks off at the moment of the highest emotional stress. What idea is embodied in such a complex art form? To answer this question, carefully read the content of each paragraph.

At the beginning of the work, it should be noted the interweaving of contrasting motifs of life and death. The description of the city cemetery, the monotonous ringing of a porcelain wreath create a sad mood. Against this background, the portrait of a schoolgirl with joyful, amazingly lively eyes is especially expressive (the author himself emphasizes this contrast with the phrase amazingly lively).

Why is the next sentence (This is Olya Meshcherskaya) separated into a separate paragraph? Perhaps in great work this proposal would detailed description heroine, her portrait, character, habits. In Bunin's story, the mentioned name still does not say anything, but we are already involved in the action, intrigued. There are many questions: “Who is this girl? What is the reason for her early death?..” The reader is already ready for the unfolding of a melodramatic plot, but the author deliberately hesitates to answer, maintaining the intensity of perception.

What is unusual portrait characteristics heroines? In the description of the schoolgirl Meshcherskaya there is a reticence: there is no detailed portrait, the image is barely outlined in separate strokes. Is it by chance? Certainly not. After all, everyone has their own idea of ​​attractiveness, youth, beauty ... Comparison with friends highlights the ideological basis of the image - simplicity and naturalness: How carefully some of her friends combed their hair, how clean they were, how they followed her restrained movements! And she was not afraid of anything<...>Without any 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 ... Creating a holistic image of the heroine is a matter of our imagination.

The mention that Olya is very careless, windy, almost drove the high school student Shenshin to suicide sounds alarming ... However, the ellipsis, a default technique, cuts off storyline, which would be enough for a separate story.

In the next paragraph, the words last winter again remind of tragic denouement. There is something painful in Meshcherskaya's irrepressible joyful excitement (she has completely lost her mind with fun). In addition, the author tells us that she only seemed to be the most carefree and happy (our discharge - A.N., I.N.). So far, this is a barely outlined internal dissonance, but soon the heroine, without losing her simplicity and calmness, will tell the irritated boss about her relationship with the 56-year-old Malyutin: Sorry, madame, you are mistaken: I am a woman. And to blame for this - you know who? Friend and neighbor of the pope, and your brother Alexei Mikhailovich Malyutin. It happened last summer in the village... We are at a loss: what is this - early depravity? cynicism?

As soon as the contrast between the external appearance and the state of mind of the heroine comes to the surface, the author again interrupts the story, leaving the reader in thought, forcing him to go back in search of an answer to the question: “What kind of person is Olya Meshcherskaya? A carefree anemone or a deep, contradictory personality? The answer must be hidden somewhere in this paragraph. We re-read it and dwell on the meaningful “seemed”, behind which, perhaps, the solution is hidden: perhaps this carelessness and lightness is just an attempt to hide the whole nature heartache, personal tragedy?.

This is followed by a detached, avoiding false pathos "protocol" story about the death of Olya. The Cossack officer who shot Meshcherskaya is depicted emphatically unattractively: ugly, of a plebeian appearance, who had absolutely nothing in common with the circle to which Olya Meshcherskaya belonged ... Why did the heroine meet with this man? Who was he to her? Let's try to find the answer in the girl's diary.

Diary entries - important point in character development. For the first time we are left alone with Olya, we become witnesses of a real confession: I don’t understand how this could happen, I went crazy, I never thought that I was like that! Now there is only one way out for me ... After these words, the tragic scene of Meshcherskaya's death is filled with new meaning. The heroine of the story, who seemed to us attractive, but too frivolous, turns out to be a spiritually broken person who has experienced deep disappointment. By mentioning Faust and Margarita, Bunin draws an analogy between the unfortunate fate of Gretchen and the trampled life of Olya.

So, everything is to blame for a deep spiritual wound. Maybe Olya herself provoked the murder, having laughed evilly at the officer, committed suicide with someone else's hands? ..

The closed composition brings us back to the beginning of the story. The tense emotional tone of the confession is replaced by a picture of the city, the cemetery peace. Now our attention is focused on the image of a classy lady, to which, at first glance, the author pays unreasonably much attention. This woman is the classy lady of Olya Meshcherskaya, a middle-aged girl who has long been living in some kind of fiction that replaces her real life. At first, her brother, a poor and unremarkable ensign, was such an invention - she united her whole soul with him, with his future, which for some reason seemed brilliant to her. When he was killed near Mukden, she convinced herself that she was an ideological worker ... The character, of course, is unattractive. What is its role? Maybe he should shade all the best in appearance main character?

Comparing the images of Meshcherskaya and her classy lady, we come to the conclusion that these are two “semantic poles” of the story. Comparison shows not only a difference, but also a certain similarity. Olya, a young woman, plunged headlong into life, flashed and went out like a bright flash; a cool lady, a middle-aged girl, hiding from life, smoldering like a burning torch. The main thing is that none of the heroines could find themselves, both - each in their own way - squandered all the best that was given to them initially, with which they came into this world.

The finale of the work brings us back to the title. It is no coincidence that the story is not called “Olya Meshcherskaya”, but “Easy breathing”. What is this - easy breathing? The image is complex, multifaceted and undoubtedly symbolic. The heroine herself gives a literal interpretation of it: Easy breathing! But I have it - you listen to me sigh ... But each of us understands this image in his own way. Probably, naturalness, purity of the soul, faith in the bright beginning of being, a thirst for life are merged in it, without which Man is unthinkable. All this was in Olya Meshcherskaya, and now this light breath has again dissipated in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind (our detente - A.N., I.N.). The highlighted word emphasizes the cyclicity of what is happening: “light breathing” takes on earthly forms again and again. Maybe now it is embodied in one of us? As you can see, in the finale, the narrative acquires a worldwide, all-human meaning.

Rereading the story, we again and again admire the skill of Bunin, who imperceptibly guides the reader's perception, directs the thought to the underlying causes of what is happening, deliberately not allowing to get carried away by the amusing intrigue. Recreating the appearance of the characters, restoring the omitted links of the plot, each of us becomes a creator, as if writing his own story about the meaning human life about love and disappointment, oh eternal questions human existence.

Narushevich A.G., Narushevich I.S.

Interpretation of the story by I.A. Bunin "Easy breathing" // "Russian literature. - 2002. - No. 4. - S. 25-27.

About the story "Light Breath" it must be said that the action takes place in a cemetery. It's April, the weather is terrible and cold. Olya Meshcherskaya is the main character of the story. On the cross, which stands at one of the graves, one can see a portrait of a girl, apparently, she is a high school student. Bunin creates a dual atmosphere, intertwines life with death, describes April, bare trees. This shows that life is always inseparable from death.

The whole story is built on opposition, even the description of the life of the main character, which was short, but bright. Olga was brave beautiful girl She was popular, sweet, and good at skating.

But in the last winter, something changed, Olya behaved strangely, constantly had fun and dressed provocatively. Treated Shenshin low, at first swore in love, and then simply "played", which led to his attempt to kill himself.

Aleksey Mikhailovich Malyutin also falls under her spell, he is much older than Olya, but this does not prevent her from flirting with him.

The Cossack officer, who did not look like the people of her entourage, was also in a relationship with Olya, she swore to him her love, that she would marry him after. But at the station, her words hurt the officer, she deceived him. Olya tells about the connection with Alexei Malyutin, so the officer kills her with a pistol.

When reading the story, the question arises, why did Olya Meshcherskaya behave like this? And the answer is simple - she did not understand what she was doing. She did not understand and did not consider the feelings of other people.

Olya Blok is described as a capable girl, but carefree and at the same time frivolous. She is compared to a storm that can destroy everything in its path.

But besides this, the image of Olya is contrasted with the image of the lady who ran the gymnasium, she was not young, she scolded Olga for bad behavior. She was Malyutin's sister, so she tried to keep him from making a mistake.

No matter what, the lady comes to the cemetery - and it is at this moment that the reader sees the antithesis. The lady sits next to the grave and recalls Olya's conversation about the book, in which it was prescribed that the girl should be bright, with burning eyes. This is how the understanding comes that after Olga there is nothing left, only emptiness.

Analysis of the work Light breathing No. 2

After reading the title of the story, the question immediately arises what it is about. Somehow it's not clear. “Easy breathing” is an expression that is immediately associated with medicine. And Bunin associates it with the heroine Olechka Meshcherskaya. Why? Women at all times have been mysterious and incomprehensible natures. Many men have tried to comprehend female soul. Tried to do this and Bunin.

Olya was rich and happy girl. She immediately caught the eye among the other students of the gymnasium in these dull brown dresses - graceful, smart, dexterous, with a clear gleam in her eyes.

She tries to find only the good in the people around her and the environment. Here the boss, despite her gray hair, retained her youthfulness. And the office is kept clean and tidy, the Dutch stove gives off warmth and smells of lilies of the valley. Well, how can they scold in such an office? In her father's friend Malyutin, she notices taste in clothes, beautiful black eyes, and a silver beard.

Such a little man as Olya is not capable of a vile act. She judged other people by her standards. Yes, she was quite a naive child. The world was interesting to her, he beckoned her with his diversity. She could not imagine that scoundrels live in it, who can take advantage of her childish naivety and young beauty.

In every society there are certain rules behavior. And not always what she did, coincided with these rules. She raced with the first-graders, rejoicing at the emotions that overwhelmed her, but she had to walk sedately and primly along the corridors of the gymnasium. Olya was like a light breath of a spring breeze. Like a ray of light breaking through a cloudy window pane.

It was necessary to merge with the faceless brown mass of schoolgirls and not stand out from the crowd, but she wore combs in her hair and high female hairstyles. And on her feet were expensive elegant women's shoes. She so wanted to be grown woman. Having received the first cruel lesson adult life, this half-woman, half-child hated not only her seducer Malyutin, but also herself.

After Olya's death, a cool lady came to her grave, sat there for a long time and looked at her photo in a mourning frame. Why? Maybe she mentally compared her invented life with Olina. I envied the ease with which she lived in life. I envied her courage with which she challenged society.

She herself did not know how to live like that, but in her heart, probably, she wanted to. I wanted to throw off my years, my position, sincerely rejoice at both the snow and the sun. But her essence was only enough to knit at the desk, like an old woman. An old lady in the shower, became an old lady outside. Vaughn and gray hairs appeared.

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The story "Easy breathing" is one of the most complex and philosophically filled works of I.A. Bunin. The reader is presented with quite a simple story from the life of an ordinary schoolgirl, but it is she who makes you think about many pressing issues not only of our time, but also of life.

"Light Breath" genre features refers to a short story that sets itself the task of showing not only the fate of its hero through a unique and concrete event, but also recreating a picture of the life of the whole society, including its vices and delusions.

The composition of the story is complex and unusual. Reverse storytelling is taken as a basis. At the beginning of the work, the reader learns that the main character Olya Meshcherskaya is dead, and then he gets acquainted with her and the story of her life, already realizing that she will be tragic.

Analysis of Bunin's work "Easy breathing"

Compositional shifts and contrasts occur throughout the story. First, there is a narration from the present (the grave of a girl), which proceeds to the events of the past (a description of life in the gymnasium). Then the reader returns to a time close to the present - Olya's death and the investigation of the officer who committed the murder. After that, the narration again moves to the past, talking about the vulgar connection between the girl and Malyutin. Here again the present is described: a classy lady on the way to the cemetery where the heroine is buried. The work ends with another reference to the past - the dialogue of Ole Meshcherskaya with her friend and her reflections on the “light breathing” of a woman.

In each episode that tells about the stage of Meshcherskaya's life (growing up, moral decline and death), the author turns to various forms: narration, portrait, speech actors, landscape sketches, diary entries and author's remarks.

The time of the work is constantly interrupted or stopped, and the reader restores the chronology of what happened. The narrative is blurry, but thanks to this, reading the novel not only arouses interest, but also gives new meanings, gives an answer to main question: "Why is Olya's fate so tragic?"

Everyone is to blame for what happened. This is also a cool lady who could not establish communication with her student, give her advice and become a mentor. Naturally, this is Malyutin, who seduced and seduced Olya. There is also a share of guilt on the shoulders of the girl's parents, about whom there is little mention in the story. Weren't they obliged to protect their daughter from frivolity and at least not to make friends with a man like Malyutin.

The tragic outcome was also predetermined by Ole Meshcherskaya's attitude to life. Man is also responsible for his fate and what happens to him. I.A. Bunin speaks about this in his work very clearly.

Characteristics of the main characters of the story "Easy breathing"

Olya Meshcherskaya is the main character of the story. She is the daughter of wealthy parents. Best of all dances at balls and skates. The girl differs from her peers in beauty and femininity: early "began to flourish, develop by leaps and bounds", and "at fifteen she was already known as a beauty." Olya is opposed to other high school students with her attitude to life. If others combed their hair carefully, were very clean, “followed their restrained movements,” then the heroine of the story was not afraid of “neither ink stains on her fingers, nor a flushed face, nor disheveled hair.”

Her image intertwines childish naivete, sincerity, simplicity with unprecedented femininity and beauty. Such a disastrous combination caused envy, jealousy, the appearance of a thousand rumors that she is windy, unable to love, and brings her beloved to suicide with her behavior. However, the author makes it clear that these opinions of people about Olga Meshcherskaya are groundless. Her beauty and originality attracts not only young people, but also evil with a fatal outcome.

Children who feel in her are drawn to the heroine. good man. The narrator constantly mentions Olya only in the context of beautiful landscapes and harmonious places. When she skates, it's a fine pink evening outside. When a girl is out for a walk, the sun shines "through the whole wet garden." All this indicates the author's sympathy for his character.

Olga is always drawn to the beautiful, the perfect. She is not satisfied with the philistine attitude towards herself and life. However, it is precisely this position of the main character, together with her originality and spiritual subtlety, that predetermines tragic outcome. How could it be otherwise? No. Olya Meshcherskaya is opposed to the whole world, her actions are unconscious, and her behavior does not depend on modern norms and the rules of society.

The rest of the characters, including the classy lady, Malyutina, Olya's friend and other environment, are introduced by the author only in order to emphasize the heroine's individuality, her unusualness and originality.

The main idea of ​​the story "Easy breathing"

Researchers have long come to the conclusion that it is not so much external, but rather inner story filled with psychological, poetic and philosophical meanings.

The heroine of the story is frivolous, but in good sense this word. Unconsciously, she is subjected to love affair with Malyutin, a friend of his father. But is it really the fault of a girl who believed an adult who spoke about feelings for her, who, as it turned out, showed ostentatious kindness and seemed like a real gentleman?

Olya Meshcherskaya is not like all the other characters, she is opposed to them and at the same time lonely. The episode of the fall and relations with Malyutin only exacerbated internal conflict and the protest of the heroine.

Main character's motives
A number of researchers believe that the heroine herself was looking for death. She specifically handed over a sheet from the diary to an officer who found out about the vicious connection of his beloved and was so upset that he shot the girl. Thus, Olga escaped from the vicious circle.

Other literary scholars believe that one mistake, i.e. a vicious connection with Malyutin did not make the girl think about what had happened. As a result, Olga started a relationship with an officer who had "exactly nothing to do with the circle to which she belonged", having made the second in a row and already a fatal mistake.

Consider the episode of farewell to the officer at the station from a different angle. Olga gave him the most valuable and intimate - a sheet with a diary entry. What if she loved her future killer and decided to tell the bitter truth about what happened to her. True, the officer took this not as a confession, but as a mockery, a deception of the one who "sworn to be his wife."

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 world 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 "Light Breath", the conflict between the two worlds is reflected in the landscape: on the one hand, "...April, gray days; cold wind rings a wreath at the foot of the cross," and on the other hand, a medallion in which "a photographic portrait of a schoolgirl with joyful, amazingly lively eyes." And this lightness, joy, liveliness is everywhere. biocurrents sent by the schoolgirl 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", "... so easily and gracefully, as soon as she alone knew how", "... simply, almost cheerfully answered Meshcherskaya."

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 human destiny, 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.