The story "Olesya" Kuprin (a summary of it is presented below) was written in 1898. This work is quite voluminous; before it, the author published short stories.
Summary. “Olesya” (chapters 1-3)
The hero, master Ivan Timofeevich, fate forces him to settle for six months in a remote village on the outskirts of Polesie. The only amusement is hunting with Yarmola, a local hired woodcutter. The hero, however, tried to teach Yarmol literacy from boredom, but he did not show much interest in this occupation. Once a conversation came about local miracles. The woodcutter said that a witch with a little granddaughter used to live in the village, but the peasants drove them away because one woman had a child, and the villagers blamed the witch. A few days later, the lord got lost in the forest and went out to the swamp, where he saw a hut on stilts. He came in, asked for water and wanted to talk with the mistress, but the old woman was unsociable and began to send him out. As he was about to leave, he ran into a tall, black-haired girl and asked to be led to the road. We met, it turned out to be Olesya.
Summary. “Olesya” (chapters 1-3)
Spring came. The hero had not met Olesya for a long time, but he was thinking about her all the time. As soon as the earth has dried, he again comes to the hut in the swamp. At first, Olesya was delighted with him, and then sadly told that she was guessing at him on maps. They showed that the hero is a good person, but very weak and, in his own words, not the master. A great love awaits him with a lady of clubs, but a lady because of this love expects great sorrow and shame in the very near future. Ivan Timofeevich asks the girl not to believe in fortune telling, because cards often lie. But Olesya replies that her fortune-telling is pure truth.
After a simple dinner, Olesya escorts the master. He wonders how witchcraft happens. He asks Olesya to conjure. The girl agrees, cuts his hand with a knife, and then stops the blood with a conspiracy. But the master is not enough, he asks for more. Then she warns that she can completely subjugate his will to herself, and he will fall. They go further, but Ivan Trofimovich stumbles all the time out of the blue and falls, which makes the girl very funny.
After that, the master began to visit the forest hut often. He noticed that Olesya was a great clever girl, she had figurative and competent speech, although she could not read and write. The forest beauty explained that she was taught everything by her grandmother, who was an unusual person.
Once there was a talk about the future, about whether Olesya wants to get married. She replied that she should not be married, because it is forbidden to go to church. All the power of their kind is not from God, but from him . And by God they are cursed to the last tribe forever and ever. Barin does not agree, he persuades Olesya not to believe in these grandmother's fictions. The girl remained with her opinion. Yarmola does not approve of the gentleman's campaigns with the witches.
Summary. Olesya (chapters 4-10)
Once Ivan Trofimovich finds Olesya in a bad mood. It turns out that a police officer visited them in the hut and demanded to leave his area. Barin offered his help. Olesya refused her, but her grandmother agreed.
The barin calls the officer to himself, treats and gives him a gun. He temporarily leaves women alone. But the relations of the master, or the young lady, as the local villagers call him, with Olesya deteriorate. The girl greets him unfriendly, they no longer walk through the woods, but he continues to visit the hut.
Ivan Trofimovich fell ill and did not come to Oles for half a month. As soon as he recovers, he immediately visits the girl. She greets him with joy. Asks about health, goes to see off. Ivan Trofimovich and Olesya confess to each other in love. Olesya explains her coldness by trying to avoid a relationship, but apparently you will not escape fate. It can be seen that she is ready for all the troubles that were predicted by her fortune-telling, because she is this club lady. She promised Ivan Trofimovich that she would never regret anything.
Summary. Olesya (chapters 11-14)
Barin notes with surprise that, unlike his previous relationship, he is not bored with Olesya. He is amazed to see that she is endowed with sensitivity and an innate natural tact. But his service here ends, and soon he needs to leave. He wants to marry a girl. But she refuses. She says she is illegitimate and cannot leave her grandmother. In addition, she does not want to tie her Vanechka hand and foot - suddenly he will fall in love with another woman. Then, when Ivan Trofimovich offers to take his grandmother with him, Olesya asks with gratitude if he would like her to go to church. Ivan replies that he would like.
Olesya decides to go to church for her love. But parishioners notice her and begin to scoff at her. At the church, a crowd of women attacks her, they start beating and tearing her clothes, throwing stones at her. Miraculously, Olesya manages to escape and escape, but in the end she threatens the crowd loudly. The hero jumps into the hut, where he finds battered Olesya delirious. She says that being together is not fate. He and his grandmother need to leave: if something happens, they will be immediately blamed. At night over the village it rained with hail, bread dies among the villagers. Ivan came running too late, the hut was empty ...
The peculiarity of Kuprin's story is that elements of a mystical, mysterious are interwoven into a realistic plot, folklore color is also added. The story entered the classics of Russian literature, it is studied at school. Summary (Kuprin, "Olesya") makes it impossible to appreciate the poetic charm of this work. To enjoy it, read the entire story.