“Blessed be the love that is stronger than death” (according to Kuprin’s story “Shulamith”). "Blessed be the love that is stronger than death!" (Merezhkovsky D.S.) (based on the novel by M.A.
The story of A. I. Kuprin "Shulamith" is interesting already because its plot is based on one of biblical legends, surprisingly humane in nature, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the Book of Songs of Solomon, the creation of which is attributed to a real historical personality- Hebrew king Solomon.
"Song of Songs" is the most poetic and inspirational, the most "earthly" and "pagan" of biblical books, created on the basis of folk love lyrics. The plot of the story "Shulamith" is also notable for the fact that it is simple only outwardly. But after reading the question arises: what is this story about? The following answer can be assumed without tension: “King Solomon fell in love with the poor peasant girl Shulamith, but because of the jealousy of the abandoned wife of Queen Astis, the poor girl dies with a sword in her chest.” But let's not rush: after all, we have before us a parable, a legend with a certain share romantic plot, and, consequently, what lies on the surface cannot exhaust the entire depth of the generalization contained in the work. Therefore, the next question can be formulated as follows: “What else is this story about, is it only about tragic love because of someone's jealousy? This book is, first of all, about a wise, beautiful, courageous man named Solomon and about a gentle, affectionate, beautiful girl named Shulamith; this book is a hymn to uniqueness, originality, greatness of beauty female body and the theme of love. Shulamith's love is "strong as death." That's just ... Why are these two concepts constantly mated with each other? Maybe for a red word? But no, death really does not take long - only seven days were allowed for Shulamith and Solomon to enjoy the greatest and strongest feeling in the world - Love.
So is jealousy - albeit “cruel as hell”, but still a low feeling - the reason for the death of Shulamith? Somehow these things don't match. And I don't want to think that this is the case. Then what? Why did Shulamith die? But how could it be otherwise? The girl was doomed to death from the very moment when she met the king, from the very moment when they fell in love with each other - well, what else could Shulamith expect in Solomon's palace ?! This is just the outside of the problem: royal power, palaces, the social status of people - this is just a background, decoration great drama called Life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have changed if it had been about a peasant woman and a peasant, a princess and a beggar, in a word, about people who were loved and loved. Love, having been born, is doomed to death, just as a person, having been born once, must die sooner or later: the world has not heard (and will never hear) that someone died without being born!
So in the case of Kuprin's heroes, the situation was “programmed” from the very beginning. But in order not to fall into one-sidedness of judgments, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: it is imperative to interpret the concept of “death” more broadly, by death is meant not only the cessation of physical existence, but a transition, more precisely, the moment of transition from one state to another. Shulamith, her love is like that fragrant flower that, after fertilization, "dies", turning into a fruit. And like that flower, Shulamith and her love “die”, turning into the “Song of Songs” - this ever-living monument to Femininity, Beauty and Love.
But even if Shulamith had not died, even then Love would have "died". As, however, is Solomon's beloved herself. Moreover, we would never have known about her, because Shulamith would soon become different, and the love between her and Solomon would acquire a new quality, the quality of a banal family idyll. This does not mean that the love of a wife and husband is bad or worse, but it does mean that the Song of Songs simply would never have happened. What does the story "Shulamith" give us? Comprehension of the truth - difficult, maybe bitter, but from this it does not cease to be true. In addition, realizing such things, a person gets rid of illusions, learns to realistically evaluate life, prepares himself for the future, so as not to be disappointed, not to fall into despondency from the inevitable metamorphoses that existence has prepared for him.
"BLESSED BE THE LOVE THAT IS STRONGER THAN DEATH!"
(D.S. Merezhkovsky)
Love conquering death can probably be called one of the eternal themes in both Russian and world literature. And it was revealed most advantageously by those prose writers and poets who did not invent some kind of artificial situations in which to manifest great power love, but also used real historical events.
Most bright works on this topic appeared precisely in the twentieth century. Why did it happen? Because it was then that our Motherland faced the most difficult trials that had not happened before. This is the collapse of the world for many people during the Civil War, and the monstrous crimes of the Stalinist regime against the people in the 30s, and the tragic years of the Great Patriotic War.
Many writers have revealed the most varied relationships of their favorite fictional characters, and in including, of course, and the theme of love, against the background of more than one historical event but over an entire epoch, sometimes lasting for decades. Over such a long period of time, the heroes, of course, do not "stand still" - they grow up, develop or degrade in moral attitude. And of course, the most beautiful of feelings - love - if it is real - helps the heroes endure all the life trials that have befallen them and achieve mutual happiness.
I want to parse the value like this great love on an example, as I think, one of the most beautiful and romantic works Russian literature of the twentieth century - the novel by Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin "Two Captains".
Of course, as you can guess from the book's title alone, it has a dual plot. The stories of the main characters are shown - Sanya Grigoriev and Katya Tatarinova, and Katya's mother, the widow of Captain Tatarinov Marya Vasilievna.
This duality of the plot and can mislead many. I just want to draw an exact parallel between the events and images of the heroes - Sleigh and Captain Tatarinov, Katya and Marya Vasilievna, Romashov and Nikolai Antonovich ... But it is wrong to draw such a direct parallel! The "senior" and "younger" heroes of the novel differ from each other in many ways, and Kaverin, in my opinion, did so on purpose. It is possible that the same novel, without differences between generations, with direct moral continuity, would not lose anything in its value, but at the same time would become much less bright, exciting and interesting.
Of all these "pairs" of "senior" and "junior", the images of Katya and Marya Vasilievna differ most from each other. But it is these images that are the basis of both love stories!
Why did these two stories turn out so differently: one, in spite of everything, happily, the other tragically?
I'm not talking here about the fate of the main characters themselves - Sleigh and Captain Tatarinov. As Chekhov said, “if a gun hangs on the stage in the first act, then it will definitely shoot in the second,” and these words can also be attributed to prose. Everything in these episodes of the novel does not depend on the heroines in any way - and Captain Tatarinov died on a polar expedition on the schooner "Holy Mary", and Sanya could die in the war due to the fault of the negative characters of the novel - Nikolai Antonovich and Romashov.
But what about love itself? Could Marya Vasilievna, in principle, remain faithful to her 
deceased husband, and not accept the offer of Nikolai Antonovich? In my opinion, she could well, since she made such a decision - to wait and love only her husband. This means that in the collapse of this love of hers there is a considerable share of guilt and the heroine herself.
“Suddenly she stopped talking, didn’t go anywhere: neither to the university, nor to the service (she also served), but sat down on the couch with her feet and started smoking. Then Katya said: “Mom is sad,” and everyone got angry at each other and grew gloomy.
Such appears before us Marya Vasilievna. As you can see, this is far from the classic idealized image of a faithful wife, all the time waiting for her beloved husband. And judging by everything that reveals the character of this heroine in the novel, such a way of life - in painful thoughts to lie on the couch and not notice anyone around from home - was typical of Marya Vasilievna.
Of course, she loved Captain Tatarinov very much. But did she love anyone else besides him from the people around her?
“Katya finished The First Meeting of the Spaniards with the Indians and wanted to show her, but she said from behind the door: “Later, daughter,” and did not open it.”
This little episode shows a lot in the character of the heroine. Did she love anyone else? Yes, I did. And that "someone" is none other than... herself. Even in her love, she loves, in my opinion, not so much her late husband herself, but her love itself, it is she who cherishes and cherishes it!
It is for this reason, in my opinion, that she refuses Korablev, and a few years later she marries Nikolai Antonovich. After all, this strange twist of fate can in no way be explained by loyalty to her husband. Why did it happen this way?
The image of Korablev is the ideal image of a teacher in the view of Kaverin. If he does not think about his beloved Marya Vasilievna, he thinks about the school, his students, and, in general, about the people around him. And could Marya Vasilyevna choose a man who would not sit with her and revel in her love for Captain Tatarinov, who would live the whole life flowing around them in all its fullness, and who, what good, would make her live this life herself?
Of course, where the best choice for such a heroine - Nikolai Antonovich, who loves to talk about what a great man his brother was, how great the significance of his, brother, discoveries, and how he, Nikolai Antonovich, bows before his brother - skillfully hiding his guilt in the death of the expedition. 
Naturally, when Marya Vasilievna, thanks to Sana, found out terrible truth, she did not start any serious conversation with Nikolai Antonovich, did not leave him. She decided that she had betrayed her love. And it is precisely this “own love”, and not her husband! It is unlikely that she thought about him at that moment, because if she thought, she would think about how he would advise her to do if he were alive. But she chose suicide. On the one hand, this decision can really be considered noble, but on the other hand ... The heroine did not even think about how Katya, Korablev, mother would live without her ...
And what about Katya? main character novel? Is it possible to imagine her thinking, reasoning and acting in the same way as her mother? No!
Firstly, Katya is a very interesting and self-sufficient person in herself, and not only as an element of a system of romantic relationships, and this alone makes her more attractive to us than Marya Vasilievna. And one of the proofs of this is that she chose a romantic, but, at first glance, “male” profession of a geologist.
But even in her childhood she was not an ordinary girl, “white and fluffy” quiet. Although, according to Sanya, she “stayed in front of the mirror for a long time” and imitated her older friends from Ensk, her other hobbies were books about geographical discoveries, and she herself, more likely, really "wanted to be a captain."
Even more important in Katya is that for her, unlike Marya Vasilyevna, other people around “existed”. She helped build a happy strong family Valka and Kire, voluntarily take care of Sanya's sister in the hospital, and after her death she took care of her little son for some time.
And during the war, Katya does not remain aloof from how the fate of the Fatherland is decided. Once in besieged Leningrad, she worked as a nurse in a hospital, went to dig trenches for defense - in general, she helped her country to survive as much as she could.
And her mother, Marya Vasilievna, once experienced in Moscow civil war. Did she help someone then? No, because for her, except for herself and her late husband, no one existed. Apart from her and her late husband, no one existed at that time and after.
But most importantly, Katya knows how to stand up for herself, Sanya, their love for each other. She doesn't wait 
the hero from the war is passive, does not revel in this love of his, but tries to help Sanya survive with her help. "May my love save you!" she says. “And if death bends over your head and there is no more strength to fight it, and only the smallest, last strength remains in the heart, it will be me, and I will save you.”
Of course, Sanya could not hear these words. But he knew that Katya was waiting for him, because in him was her happiness. And that’s why he survived not just “to spite all deaths”, but because he loved Katya and knew how she truly loves him, that she needs him, not confirmation that she is a loving and faithful wife, namely he, Sanya, is her favorite.
The story of A. I. Kuprin "Shulamith" is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the "Book of Songs of Solomon", the creation of which is attributed to a real historical figure - the Hebrew king Solomon.
"Song of Songs" is the most poetic and inspirational, the most "earthly" and "pagan" of biblical books, created on the basis of folk love lyrics. The plot of the story "Shulamith" is also notable for the fact that it is simple only outwardly. But after reading the question arises: what is this story about? The following answer can be assumed without tension: “King Solomon fell in love with the poor peasant girl Shulamith, but because of the jealousy of the abandoned wife of Queen Astis, the poor girl dies with a sword in her chest.” But let's not rush: after all, we have before us a parable, a legend with a certain share of a romantic plot, and, therefore, what lies on the surface cannot exhaust the entire depth of the generalization contained in the work. Therefore, the next question can be formulated as follows: "What else is this story about, is it only about tragic love because of someone's jealousy?" This book is, first of all, about a wise, beautiful, courageous man named Solomon and about a gentle, affectionate, beautiful girl named Shulamith; this book is a hymn to the uniqueness, originality, greatness of the beauty of the female body and the theme of love. Shulamith's love is "strong as death." That's just ... Why are these two concepts constantly mated with each other? Maybe for a red word? But no, death really does not take long - only seven days were allowed for Shulamith and Solomon to enjoy the greatest and strongest feeling in the world - Love.
So is jealousy - albeit “cruel as hell”, but still a low feeling - the reason for the death of Shulamith? Somehow these things don't match. And I don't want to think that this is the case. Then what? Why did Shulamith die? But how could it be otherwise? The girl was doomed to death from the very moment when she met the king, from the very moment when they fell in love with each other - well, what else could Shulamith expect in Solomon's palace ?! This is only the external side of the problem: royal power, palaces, the social status of people - this is just a background, a decoration for the great drama called Life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have changed if it had been about a peasant woman and a peasant, a princess and a beggar, in a word, about people who were loved and loved. Love, having been born, is doomed to death, just as a person, having been born once, must die sooner or later: the world has not heard (and will never hear) that someone died without being born!
So in the case of Kuprin's heroes, the situation was “programmed” from the very beginning. But in order not to fall into one-sidedness of judgments, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: it is imperative to interpret the concept of “death” more broadly, by death is meant not only the cessation of physical existence, but a transition, more precisely, the moment of transition from one state to another. Shulamith, her love is like that fragrant flower that, after fertilization, "dies", turning into a fruit. And like that flower, Shulamith and her love “die”, turning into the “Song of Songs” - this ever-living monument to Femininity, Beauty and Love.
But even if Shulamith had not died, even then Love would have "died". As, however, is Solomon's beloved herself. Moreover, we would never have known about her, because Shulamith would soon become different, and the love between her and Solomon would acquire a new quality, the quality of a banal family idyll. This does not mean that the love of a wife and husband is bad or worse, but it does mean that the Song of Songs simply would never have happened. What does the story "Shulamith" give us? Comprehension of the truth - difficult, maybe bitter, but from this it does not cease to be true. In addition, realizing such things, a person gets rid of illusions, learns to realistically evaluate life, prepares himself for the future, so as not to be disappointed, not to fall into despondency from the inevitable metamorphoses that existence has prepared for him.
Russian lit.
The theme of love has been a subject of concern for mankind at all times. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of global historical changes, attention to the personality of an individual specific person with his hard fate and intractable mental problems. One of the writers who embodied the theme of love, all-powerful and all-consuming passion on the pages of their works was A.I. Kuprin.
In the stories "Garnet Bracelet", "Olesya", "Shulamith" the writer in the most detailed way explores the history of the emergence, development and tragic denouement love relationship, because love, according to the concept of the writer, is not only greatest miracle in the world, but also invariably painful suffering.
D.S. Merezhkovsky wrote that love stronger than death. This idea is embodied in the plot of the story "Garnet Bracelet": a young poor official Zheltkov falls in love with a girl, Vera, who soon marries Prince Shein. The unfortunate young man is unable to hide his feelings. Zheltkov sends Vera an expensive gift (a family heirloom) - a wonderful Garnet bracelet, red stones in which resemble droplets of blood. Already in this episode of the story, next to the theme of love, a tragic note sounds, foreshadowing a bloody denouement. As an honest, decent woman, Vera informs her husband about the gift. And he goes with her brother to Zheltkov to ask to leave Vera alone. The telegraph operator explains that he cannot live without his beloved. And the next day, Vera finds in the newspaper a note about the death of her devoted admirer. The princess feels some kind of guilt for what happened: after all, Zheltkov committed suicide because of her. Vera goes to say goodbye to the apartment where the official lived, and only then does she finally understand how much this man loved her. He was able to sacrifice his life to keep her peace and good name. Vera understands that a whole, deep feeling has passed her by, which, perhaps, occurs only once in her life. The husband also loves her, but it is a calm, settled feeling that has nothing to do with the ardent passion of a romantic admirer. For her birthday, Prince Shein gives his wife pear-shaped pearl earrings that look like tears.
Vera's entourage laughed at Zheltkov's feelings. Prince Vasily Lvovich even maintains a homemade humorous album, in which there is a story "Princess Vera and the Telegraph Operator in Love", in satirical tones ridiculing an opponent whom he actually does not consider to be such at all. In Shein's story, the telegrapher dies, bequeathing to Vera "two telegraph buttons and a perfume bottle filled with his tears." In the main plot of the work, Zheltkov leaves his beloved only Farewell letter with a beautiful sentimental love story, where the words from the prayer “Hallowed be your name". The official understands that Vera will experience his death. He tries to foresee this and alleviate her suffering by offering to listen to Beethoven's sonata D-dur No. 2, op.2.
At the end of the story, this amazing music, performed by the pianist Jenny, calms Vera and helps her to console herself. No less tragic, but at the same time, beautiful is the love story of King Solomon for the simple girl Shulamith, told by Kuprin in the story "Shulamith". Beloved was treacherously killed by order of a wounded rival, and Solomon's grief knew no bounds. However, the reader gets the impression that the feeling for Shulamith did not die in his heart precisely because death separated the heroes in the midst of their love experience.
Recall that before Shulamith, Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines. It is possible that Shulamith, having remained alive, soon became bored with the refined Solomon, and another girl would take her place. Kuprin, on the other hand, wants to believe in the dream of eternal, imperishable love, which is stronger than death.
Russian lit.
The theme of love has been a subject of concern for mankind at all times. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of global historical changes, attention in literature to the personality of a particular individual with his difficult fate and insoluble mental problems is increasing. One of the writers who embodied the theme of love, all-powerful and all-consuming passion on the pages of their works was A.I. Kuprin.
In the stories "Garnet Bracelet", "Olesya", "Shulamith", the writer explores in detail the history of the emergence, development and tragic denouement of love relationships, because love, according to the concept of the writer, is not only the greatest miracle in the world, but also invariably painful suffering.
D.S. Merezhkovsky wrote that love is stronger than death. This idea is embodied in the plot of the story "Garnet Bracelet": a young poor official Zheltkov falls in love with a girl, Vera, who soon marries Prince Shein. The unfortunate young man is unable to hide his feelings. Zheltkov sends Vera an expensive gift (a family heirloom) - a beautiful garnet bracelet, the red stones in which resemble drops of blood. Already in this episode of the story, next to the theme of love, a tragic note sounds, foreshadowing a bloody denouement. As an honest, decent woman, Vera informs her husband about the gift. And he goes with her brother to Zheltkov to ask to leave Vera alone. The telegraph operator explains that he cannot live without his beloved. And the next day, Vera finds in the newspaper a note about the death of her devoted admirer. The princess feels some kind of guilt for what happened: after all, Zheltkov committed suicide because of her. Vera goes to say goodbye to the apartment where the official lived, and only then does she finally understand how much this man loved her. He was able to sacrifice his life to keep her peace and good name. Vera understands that a whole, deep feeling has passed her by, which, perhaps, occurs only once in her life. The husband also loves her, but it is a calm, settled feeling that has nothing to do with the ardent passion of a romantic admirer. For her birthday, Prince Shein gives his wife pear-shaped pearl earrings that look like tears.
Vera's entourage laughed at Zheltkov's feelings. Prince Vasily Lvovich even maintains a homemade humorous album, in which there is a story "Princess Vera and the Telegraph Operator in Love", in satirical tones ridiculing an opponent whom he actually does not consider to be such at all. In Shein's story, the telegrapher dies, bequeathing to Vera "two telegraph buttons and a perfume bottle filled with his tears." In the main plot of the work, Zheltkov leaves only a farewell letter to his beloved with a wonderful sentimental story about love, where the words from the prayer “Hallowed be thy name” sound. The official understands that Vera will experience his death. He tries to foresee this and alleviate her suffering by offering to listen to Beethoven's sonata D-dur No. 2, op.2.
At the end of the story, this amazing music, performed by the pianist Jenny, calms Vera and helps her to console herself. No less tragic, but at the same time, beautiful is the love story of King Solomon for the simple girl Shulamith, told by Kuprin in the story "Shulamith". Beloved was treacherously killed by order of a wounded rival, and Solomon's grief knew no bounds. However, the reader gets the impression that the feeling for Shulamith did not die in his heart precisely because death separated the heroes in the midst of their love experience.
Recall that before Shulamith, Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines. It is possible that Shulamith, having remained alive, soon became bored with the refined Solomon, and another girl would take her place. Kuprin, on the other hand, wants to believe in the dream of eternal, imperishable love, which is stronger than death.
