doi:10.18503/2658-3186-2025-9-4-63-69
Abstract. This article examines the concepts of "childhood," "light," and "shadow," as well as "idyllic" and "tragedy," which are inextricably linked in I. A. Bunin's "The Life of Arsenyev." An analysis of these conceptual pairs is not only relevant but also key to understanding the work's philosophical depth and artistic innovation. This stream-of-consciousness novel, written in exile, is not simply an autobiography but an attempt to recreate and comprehend the very phenomenon of human life through the lens of a bygone era. The article aims to identify the specific embodiment of the categories of idyll and tragedy through the lens of the protagonist's childhood memories. It is emphasized that Bunin's image of childhood is, to a large extent, an image-memory. The methodology is based on a comprehensive approach combining biographical, structural-semantic, and comparative-typological methods. It is established that memory functions as a plot-forming mechanism, transforming personal experience into a profound philosophical generalization about existence. The dialectic of light and shadow is analyzed as a central artistic device, shaping the poetics and allowing to express the novel's philosophical depth. Light and shadow are viewed as inextricably linked, like life and death, joy and sorrow. It is shown that the symbolism of light in I. A. Bunin’s works, unlike the moral compass of L. N. Tolstoy, acquires an existential resonance. The scientific novelty of the article lies in its demonstration of the interpenetration, rather than the sequential alternation of idyll and tragedy, which forms the unique aesthetic effect of "bright sadness," the key emotional tone of the novel "The Life of Arsenyev." The findings are significant for further study of Bunin's legacy and Russian autobiographical prose of the turn of the 20th century.
Keywords: I. A. Bunin, «childhood phenomenon», idyll, tragedy, memory image, «paradise lost» motif, «bright sadness»
Information about the author
Syadristaya N. V., Master of Philology, Teacher of Russian Language and Literature, Academy of Business Development and Educational Innovations.
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For citation: Syadristaya N. V., Light and Shadows of Bunin's Childhood: Between Idyll and Tragedy, Gumanitarno-pedagogicheskie issledovaniya = Humanitarian and pedagogical Research, 2025, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 63–69. (In Russ.), doi:10.18503/2658-3186-2025-9-4-63-69.