Examples of happy love in Russian literature. The problem of true love: arguments from literature and the Unified State Exam essay

This topic found its reflection in the literature of Russian writers and poets of all times. For more than 100 years, people have been turning to the poetry of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, finding in it a reflection of their feelings, emotions and experiences. The name of this great poet is associated with tirades of poems about love and friendship, with the concept of honor and Motherland, images of Onegin and Tatyana, Masha and Grinev appear. Even the most strict reader will be able to discover something close to him in his works, because they are very multifaceted. Pushkin was a man who passionately responded to all living things, a great poet, creator of the Russian word, a man of high and noble qualities. In the variety of lyrical themes that permeate Pushkin’s poems, the theme of love is given so much significant place that the poet could be called a glorifier of this great noble feeling. In all of world literature you cannot find a more striking example of a special passion for this particular aspect of human relations. Obviously, the origins of this feeling lie in the very nature of the poet, responsive, able to reveal in each person the best properties of his soul. In 1818, at one of the dinner parties, the poet met 19-year-old Anna Petrovna Kern. Pushkin admired her radiant beauty and youth. Years later, Pushkin again met with Kern, as charming as before. Pushkin gave her a newly printed chapter of Eugene Onegin, and between the pages he inserted poems written especially for her, in honor of her beauty and youth. Poems dedicated to Anna Petrovna “I remember wonderful moment"the famous hymn to a high and bright feeling. This is one of the peaks of Pushkin's lyrics. The poems captivate not only with the purity and passion of the feeling embodied in them, but also with their harmony. Love for the poet is a source of life and joy, the poem “I loved you” is a masterpiece of Russian poetry. More than twenty romances have been written based on his poems. And let time pass, the name of Pushkin will always live in our memory and awaken the best feelings in us.

Opens with Lermontov's name new era Russian literature. Lermontov's ideals are limitless; he desires not a simple improvement in life, but the acquisition of complete bliss, a change in the imperfections of human nature, an absolute resolution of all the contradictions of life. Immortal life- the poet does not agree to anything less. However, love in Lermontov's works bears a tragic imprint. This was influenced by his only unrequited love to a friend of his youth - Varenka Lopukhina. He considers love impossible and surrounds himself with a martyr's aura, placing himself outside the world and life. Lermontov is sad about the lost happiness “My soul must live in earthly captivity, Not for long. Maybe I will never see Your gaze, your sweet gaze, so tender for others.”

Lermontov emphasizes his distance from everything worldly: “No matter what is earthly, but I will not become a slave.” Lermontov understands love as something eternal, the poet does not find solace in routine, fleeting passions, and if he sometimes gets carried away and steps aside, then his lines are not the fruit of a sick fantasy, but just a momentary weakness. “At the feet of others I did not forget the gaze of your eyes. Loving others, I only suffered from the Love of former days.”

Human, earthly love seems to be an obstacle for the poet on his way to highest ideals. In the poem “I will not humiliate myself before you,” he writes that inspiration for him is more valuable than unnecessary quick passions that can throw human soul into the abyss. Love in Lermontov's lyrics is fatal. He writes, “Inspiration saved me from petty vanities, but there is no salvation from my soul in happiness itself.” In Lermontov's poems, love is a high, poetic, bright feeling, but always unrequited or lost. In the poem "Valerik" the love part, which later became a romance, conveys the bitter feeling of losing contact with the beloved. “Is it crazy to wait for love in absentia? In our age, all feelings are only temporary, but I remember you,” the poet writes. The theme of betrayal of a beloved who is unworthy of a great feeling or who has not stood the test of time becomes traditional in Lermontov’s literary works related to his personal experience.

The discord between dream and reality permeates this wonderful feeling; love does not bring joy to Lermontov, he receives only suffering and sadness: “I’m sad because I love you.” The poet is troubled by thoughts about the meaning of life. He is sad about the transience of life and wants to do as much as possible in the short time allotted to him on earth. In his poetic reflections, life is hateful to him, but death is also terrible.

Considering the theme of love in the works of Russian writers, one cannot help but appreciate Bunin’s contribution to the poetry of this topic. The theme of love occupies perhaps the main place in Bunin’s work. In this topic, the writer has the opportunity to correlate what is happening in a person’s soul with the phenomena external life, with the demands of a society that is based on the relationship of buying and selling and in which wild and dark instincts sometimes reign. Bunin was one of the first in Russian literature to devote his works not only to the spiritual, but also to the physical side of love, touching with extraordinary tact the most intimate, hidden aspects of human relationships. Bunin was the first to dare to say that it is not necessary bodily passion follows a spiritual impulse, which happens in life and vice versa (as happened with the heroes of the story " Sunstroke"). And what would plot moves no matter what the writer chooses, love is always in his works great joy and great disappointment, a deep and insoluble mystery, it is both spring and autumn in a person’s life.

IN different periods of his work, Bunin talks about love with to varying degrees frankness. In his early works the heroes are open, young and natural. In such works as “In August”, “In Autumn”, “Dawn All Night”, all events are extremely simple, brief and significant. The characters' feelings are ambivalent, colored in halftones. And although Bunin talks about people who are alien to us in appearance, way of life, relationships, we immediately recognize and realize in a new way our own feelings of happiness, expectations of deep spiritual changes. The rapprochement of Bunin's heroes rarely achieves harmony; as soon as it appears, it most often disappears. But the thirst for love burns in their souls. The sad parting with my beloved is completed by dreamy dreams (“In August”): “Through tears I looked into the distance, and somewhere I dreamed of sultry southern cities, a blue steppe evening and the image of some woman who merged with the girl I loved... ". The date is memorable because it testifies to a touch of genuine feeling: “Whether she was better than others whom I loved, I don’t know, but that night she was incomparable” (“In Autumn”). And in the story “Dawn All Night,” Bunin talks about the premonition of love, about the tenderness that a young girl is ready to give to her future lover. At the same time, it is common for youth not only to get carried away, but also to quickly become disappointed. Bunin's works show us this, for many, painful gap between dreams and reality. “After a night in the garden, full of nightingale whistles and spring trepidation, young Tata suddenly, through her sleep, hears her fiancé shooting jackdaws, and realizes that she does not at all love this rude and ordinary-down-to-earth man.”

Majority early stories Bunin tells about the desire for beauty and purity - this remains the main spiritual impulse of his characters. In the 20s, Bunin wrote about love, as if through the prism of past memories, peering into a bygone Russia and those people who no longer exist. This is exactly how we perceive the story “Mitya’s Love” (1924). In this story, the writer consistently shows spiritual formation hero, leads him from love to ruin. In the story, feelings and life are closely intertwined. Mitya’s love for Katya, his hopes, jealousy, vague forebodings seem to be shrouded in special sadness. Katya, dreaming of artistic career, got caught up in the false life of the capital and cheated on Mitya. His torment, from which his connection with another woman, the beautiful but down-to-earth Alenka, could not save him, led Mitya to suicide. Mitya’s insecurity, openness, unpreparedness to confront harsh reality, and inability to suffer make us feel more acutely the inevitability and unacceptability of what happened.

In a number Bunin's stories love is described love triangle: husband - wife - lover ("Ida", "Caucasus", "The Fairest of the Sun"). An atmosphere of the inviolability of the established order reigns in these stories. Marriage turns out to be an insurmountable obstacle to achieving happiness. And often what is given to one is mercilessly taken away from another. In the story “Caucasus,” a woman leaves with her lover, knowing for sure that from the moment the train departs, hours of despair begin for her husband, that he will not be able to stand it and will rush after her. He is really looking for her, and not finding her, he guesses about the betrayal and shoots himself. Already here the motif of love as a “sunstroke” appears, which has become a special, ringing note of the “Dark Alleys” cycle.

Memories of youth and the Motherland bring the cycle of stories “Dark Alleys” closer to the prose of the 20-30s. These stories are narrated in the past tense. The author seems to be trying to penetrate into the depths of the subconscious world of his characters. In most of the stories, the author describes bodily pleasures, beautiful and poetic, born of genuine passion. Even if the first sensual impulse seems frivolous, as in the story “Sunstroke,” it still leads to tenderness and self-forgetfulness, and then to true love. This is exactly what happens to the heroes of stories." Business Cards", "Dark Alleys", "Late Hour", "Tanya", "Russia", "In a Familiar Street". The writer writes about ordinary lonely people and their lives. That is why the past, filled with early, strong feelings, seems like truly golden times, merging with the sounds, smells, colors of nature. As if nature itself leads to mental-physical rapprochement loving friend people's friend. And nature itself leads them to inevitable separation, and sometimes to death.

The skill of describing everyday details, as well as a sensual description of love is inherent in all the stories in the cycle, but the story written in 1944 " Clean Monday"is not just a story about great secret love and mysterious female soul, but some kind of cryptogram. There is too much in the psychological line of the story and in its landscape and household parts seems like an encrypted revelation. The accuracy and abundance of details are not just signs of the times, not just nostalgia for Moscow lost forever, but a contrast between East and West in the soul and appearance of the heroine, leaving love and life for a monastery.

The great German philosopher W.F. Hegel defined love as the highest “moral unity”, as a feeling of complete harmony, renunciation of one’s own selfish interests, oblivion of oneself, and in this oblivion - the acquisition of one’s own “I”. This means that without fidelity there is no love. Moreover, fidelity is not only physical, but also spiritual, because to love means to completely devote oneself to another, remaining devoted to the loved one both in body and in thought. This is the idea of many works of Russian classics devoted to the problem of the relationship between these two moral categories: love and fidelity, their inseparability and unity.

Love knows neither time nor barriers. In the story by I.A. Bunin " Dark alleys“The heroine meets someone who once abandoned her and consigned their union to oblivion. He turns out to be a random guest at her inn. Behind long years separation, they both changed, becoming completely different life paths. He hardly recognizes the woman he loved in the past. However, she carries her love for him through the years, remains lonely, preferring a life full of hardships to family happiness. everyday work and everyday life. And only the very first and most important feeling that she once experienced becomes the only happy memory, that very attachment, the fidelity of which she is ready to defend at the cost of loneliness, while realizing the inconsistency and tragic doom this approach. “Everyone’s youth passes, but love is a different matter,” the heroine drops as if in passing. She will not forgive her failed lover for betrayal, but at the same time she will still be faithful to love.
In the story by A.I. Kuprin "Garnet Bracelet" fidelity to love reaches unprecedented heights, is the source of life, however, elevating the hero above everyday life, destroys him. At the center of the story is a petty official, Zheltkov, suffering from an unrequited passion that drives his every action. He's in love with married woman, barely suspecting its existence. Having met Vera by chance one day, Zheltkov remains true to his high feeling, devoid of everyday vulgarity. He realizes his lack of rights and the impossibility of reciprocity on the part of his beloved, but cannot live otherwise. His tragic devotion is exhaustive proof of sincerity and respect, because he still finds the strength to let go of the woman he loves, yielding, for the sake of her happiness. Zheltkov is convinced that his loyalty does not oblige the princess to anything, it is just a manifestation of the endless and selfless love To her.
In the novel by A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”, the embodiment of love and fidelity in Pushkin’s “encyclopedia of Russian life” becomes an archetypal image in Russian literature - Tatyana Larina. This is an integral nature, sincere in its impulses and feelings. Having fallen in love with Onegin, she writes him a letter, without fear of being ridiculed and rejected. Evgeniy turns out to be untenable in his choice. He is afraid of sincere feelings, does not want to get attached, therefore, he is incapable of decisive action and mature feelings, and therefore rejects the heroine. Having survived the refusal, Tatyana, nevertheless, is devoted to her first love to the end, although she gets married at the insistence of her parents. When Onegin comes to her again, but already overwhelmed by passion, she refuses him, because she cannot betray her husband’s trust. In the struggle between fidelity to love and fidelity to duty, the first wins: Tatyana rejects Eugene, but does not stop loving him, remaining mentally devoted to him, despite the external choice in favor of duty.
Love and fidelity also found their place in the works of M. Bulgakov, in the novel “The Master and Margarita”. Indeed, this book is largely about love, eternal and perfect, expelling doubt and fear from the soul. The heroes are torn between love and duty, but remain true to their feelings to the end, choosing love as the only possible salvation from evil outside world full of sin and vices. Margarita leaves the family, refuses old life, full of peace and comfort - we do everything and sacrifice everything, just to gain happiness at the cost of selfless devotion. She is ready to take any step - even to make a contract with Satan and his entourage. If this is the price of love, she is ready to pay it.
In the novel L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" the path of love and fidelity in storyline Each of the many characters are very confused and ambiguous. Many of the characters in the novel fail to remain faithful to their feelings, sometimes due to young age and inexperience, sometimes due to mental weakness and inability to forgive. However, the fates of some heroes prove the existence of true and pure love, untainted by hypocrisy and betrayal. Thus, taking care of Andrei, wounded on the battlefield, Natasha makes up for the mistake of her youth and becomes a mature woman, capable of sacrificial and devoted affection. Pierre Bezukhov, in love with Natasha, also remains unconvinced, not listening to dirty gossip about running away with Anatole. They got together after Bolkonsky’s death, being already mature people ready to honestly and steadfastly keep home from the temptations and evil of the surrounding world. One more fateful meeting is the meeting of Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya. And even if their joint happiness did not happen right away, however, thanks to the sincere unselfish love of both, these two loving hearts were able to overcome conventional barriers and build a happy family.
In love, a person’s character is learned: if he is faithful, then he is strong and honest; if not, he is weak, vicious and cowardly. In the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", where the characters are tormented by a sense of their own imperfection and irresistible sinfulness, nevertheless, there was a place for pure and true love, capable of giving consolation and peace of mind. Each of the heroes is sinful, but the desire to atone crimes committed pushes them into each other's arms. Rodion Raskolnikov and Sonya Marmeladova together fight the cruelty and injustice of the outside world, defeating them, first of all, within themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising that they, connected spiritually, are faithful to their love no matter what. Sonya and Rodion accept the cross together and go to hard labor to heal their souls and start living again.
A. Kuprin’s story “Olesya” - another one shining example pure, sublime love. The heroine lives in solitude, so in her feelings she is natural and spontaneous. Morals are alien to her village people, commitment is alien outdated traditions and deep-rooted prejudices. Love for her is freedom, a simple and strong feeling, independent of laws and opinions. Due to her sincerity, the girl is not capable of pretense, so she loves Ivan selflessly and sacrificially. However, faced with the superstitious anger and hatred of fanatical peasants, the heroine runs away with her mentor and does not want to drag her chosen one into an alliance with the “witch”, so as not to bring trouble on him. In her soul, she forever remains faithful to the hero, since in her worldview there are no barriers to love.
Love transforms the human heart, makes it compassionate and vulnerable, but at the same time incredibly brave and strong. In the novel by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" outwardly weak and insolvent heroes ultimately change and improve each other, showing miracles of loyalty and courage. The love that arose between Pyotr Grinev and Masha Mironova turns a provincial teenager into a real man and a soldier, and out of a painful and sensitive captain's daughter, a faithful and devoted woman. So, for the first time Masha shows her character when she refuses Shvabrin’s offer. And the refusal to marry Grinev without parental blessing reveals the spiritual nobility of the heroine, ready to sacrifice personal happiness for the well-being of her loved one. A love story against a significant backdrop historical events only enhances the contrast between external circumstances and the true affection of hearts, which is not afraid of obstacles.
The theme of love and fidelity is a source of inspiration for literature that raises the question of the relationship between these moral categories in the context of life and creativity. One of archetypal images eternal love in world literature are the main characters of Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet".
Young people strive for happiness, despite the fact that they belong to warring families. In their love, they are far ahead of their time, full of medieval prejudices. Sincerely believing in the triumph of noble feelings, they challenge conventions, proving at a cost own life that love can overcome any obstacles. To refuse feelings for them means to commit betrayal. Consciously choosing death, each of them puts loyalty above life. The readiness for self-sacrifice makes the heroes of the tragedy immortal symbols of ideal, but tragic love.
In the novel by M. A. Sholokhov “ Quiet Don» relationships and feelings characters allow the reader to appreciate the power of passion and devotion. The ambiguity of the circumstances in which the heroes find themselves is complicated by the interweaving of emotional connections that connect the characters in the novel and prevent them from finding long-awaited happiness. The relationships between the characters prove that love and loyalty can come in many forms. Aksinya, in her devotion to Gregory, appears as a passionate nature, ready for self-sacrifice. She is able to follow her loved one anywhere, is not afraid of universal condemnation, and leaves her home, rejecting the opinion of the crowd. Quiet Natalya also loves faithfully, but hopelessly, tormented and tormented by unrequited feelings, while remaining faithful to Grigory, who does not ask her to do so. Natalya forgives her husband's indifference and his love for another woman.

The power of love makes a person change for the sake of the one he loves
Love is not always beautiful on the outside, it is expressed in happiness inside a person
Love can make a person do rash, fearless and even immoral things
The essence of love lies in the fact that loving person will never hurt her lover
Love for people is the ability to sacrifice oneself for their happiness
Love brings out the best feelings in a person

Arguments

L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. Pierre Bezukhov's love for Natasha Rostova can be called real. He knew that Natasha was the fiancée of Andrei Bolkonsky, his friend, so he did not allow himself too much. Pierre's best feelings were manifested in his readiness to help and support in a difficult situation. He respected the man he loved. Pierre had the opportunity to look after Natasha when Prince Andrei was away, but he considered it low to interfere with someone else's happiness and ruin the relationships of people close to him. This is real love: it lives inside a person, manifests itself in noble deeds.

A. Kuprin “Garnet Bracelet”. Zheltkov, an ordinary official, turns out to be capable of true love. Love for Vera Sheina is the basis of his life. Zheltkov dedicated his entire existence to this woman. He understood that they could not be together: they were very different social status these two people. Zheltkov did not interfere with Vera Nikolaevna’s life, did not dream of winning her, but simply loved her - this was the highest happiness for him. The hero’s suicide is not cowardice, because he died so as not to disturb Vera Sheina. Zheltkov gave her the most precious thing he had - Garnet bracelet. He said goodbye to life with a feeling of gratitude for everything that love gave him.

M. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”. Margarita’s love for the Master can be called real, incredibly strong. Margarita is ready to do anything that will allow her to be with her loved one again. She makes a deal with the devil and becomes queen at Satan's ball. And all for the sake of one person - the Master, without whom she cannot live. Love motivates a person to do the craziest things. The power of love is greater than the feeling of fear. Margarita proves this, for which she receives a reward - eternal peace with the Master.

Jack London "Martin Eden". Coming from the working class, poor young sailor Martin Eden falls in love with Ruth Morse, a girl belonging to the upper class. Love encourages a poorly educated young man to develop himself in order to overcome the abyss that separates him and Ruth. Martin Eden reads a lot and begins to write his own works. He will soon become one of the most educated people who have their own views on everything, most often different from the prevailing opinions in society. Martin Eden and Ruth Morse are engaged, but this is kept secret, because the young man is still trying to become a writer, but still has no money in his pocket. Nobody believes in Martin Eden: neither the sisters, nor Ruth, nor the Morse family. He works hard in the name of love: he writes, sleeps for four hours, reads, writes again, because he truly loves Ruth and wants to ensure their happiness. After a scandal surrounding the personality of Martin Eden, caused by a young reporter, the engagement is broken off. Ruth doesn't even want to talk to him. But when he becomes popular, rich, receives recognition, then they begin to love him. Ruth is no longer against marrying him: she says that she has always loved him, that she made a terrible mistake. But Martin Eden does not believe these words. He realizes that he has not changed a bit during this time. When the engagement was broken off, works that received recognition had already been written. This means that since Ruth broke up with him then, she didn’t really love him. But Martin Eden's love was true, real, pure.

M. Gorky “Old Woman Izergil”. Not only love between two hearts can be real, but also love for people in general. Danko, the hero of the work, sacrifices his life in the name of saving people. His goal is noble. Danko rips the heart out of his chest and lights the way for them. People come out of the forest and are saved. But no one remembers the hero’s feat, and yet he gave his life for the happiness of those around him.

Love jumped out

before us like a killer

jumps out from around the corner,

and instantly amazed us

both at once..."

M. Bulgakov.

The theme of love in literature is always relevant. After all, love is the purest and most beautiful feeling that has been sung since ancient times. Love is always the same, whether it is youthful love or more mature love. Love never gets old.

If we build a pedestal of love, then undoubtedly the love of Romeo and Juliet will come first. This is the most beautiful love story, which immortalized its author, Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet's love at first sight, from the first words. Two lovers defy fate, despite the enmity between their families, they choose love. Romeo is ready to give up even his name for the sake of love, and Juliet is ready to die just to be faithful to Romeo and their love. They die in the name of love, they die together, because they cannot live without each other. The life of one becomes meaningless without the other. Although this love story is tragic, the love of Romeo and Juliet will always and everywhere, at any time, be looked up to by lovers.

But centuries change, years fly by, and the world is transformed. Although love is eternal, it also changes. It is also becoming more modern, in some places more calculating and in others even cruel. And if love is one-sided, then it completely dies. This is how the love of Bazarov and Odintsova died in I. Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons.” Two collided equally strong personalities. Their common interests and conversations eventually grew into love. But only Bazarov turned out to be loving. Love becomes a strong shock for him, which he did not expect. For Bazarov, before meeting Odentsova, love did not play any role. All human suffering and emotional experiences were unacceptable to his world. He is a loner hero, an upstart from society; Only he exists, everything else is not interesting to him. But we are all human and do not know in advance what fate has prepared for us. Therefore, Bazarov perceives his love very painfully. It is difficult for him to admit, first of all, to himself, his feelings, not to mention Odintsova. And he squeezes his confession out of himself. And Odintsova is a calculating person. As long as her interests and desire to learn new things were affected, she was also interested in Bazarov. But as soon as the topics were exhausted, then interest disappeared. She lives in her own world, in which everything is according to plan, and nothing can upset this order, not even love. And she will get married because it is convenient only for her. And Bazarov? Bazarov is a temporary, unexpected change that flew in like a draft and immediately flew out. Such love cannot survive, so Bazarov and Odentseva part ways. different sides.

If we consider love in M. Bulgakov’s work “The Master and Margarita,” we will certainly come across love for which the heroes also make sacrifices, as in “Romeo and Juliet.” The love of the master and Margarita will be eternal, only because one of them will fight for the feelings of both. And Margarita will sacrifice herself for love. The master will get tired and afraid of such a powerful feeling that it will eventually lead him to a madhouse. There he hopes that Margarita will forget him. Of course, the failure of the novel he wrote also influenced him, but to give up love? Is there anything that can make you give up love? Alas, yes, and this is cowardice. The master runs from the whole world and from himself.

But Margarita saves their love. Nothing stops her. For the sake of love, she is ready to go through many trials. Need to become a witch? Why not, if it helps you find your lover.

Her strong love In the end, she wins, Margarita saves the Master from madness, their love, which finds peace, will be eternal.

No matter how different love is, this feeling is still wonderful. That’s why they write so much about love, write poems, and sing about love in songs. The creators of wonderful works can be listed endlessly, since each of us, whether he is a writer or an ordinary person, has experienced this feeling at least once in his life. In my opinion, without love there will be no life on earth. And while reading works we come across something sublime that helps us consider the world from the spiritual side. After all, with every hero we experience his love together.

In preparing this work, materials from the site http://www.studentu.ru were used

That Russian literature of the 19th – 20th centuries constantly turned to the theme of love, trying to understand its philosophical and moral meaning. Using the example of works literature of the 19th century– XX centuries discussed in the essay, I tried to reveal the theme of love in literature and philosophy, using a look at it different writers and the famous philosopher. Thus, in the novel “The Master and Margarita”, Bulgakov sees strength in love...

My height is the same height, stand next to my eyebrow... Jealousy, wives, tears... well, them! - the eyelids will swell, just right for Viy. I'm not myself, but I'm jealous of Soviet Russia. As for the place of the theme of love in Mayakovsky’s work, A. Subbotin in his book “Horizons of Poetry” proves that the motif of the exaltation of love permeates all of the poet’s work. Because not only a poet of this caliber, but any “person cannot”...

As if conveying to the heroine his shock, his pain and happiness, and unexpectedly displacing everything vain from the soul, instilling a reciprocal ennobling suffering. Zheltkov's last letter raises the theme of love to high tragedy. It is dying, so each of its lines is filled with special deep meaning. But what is even more important is that the death of the hero does not end the sound of the pathetic motives of the all-powerful...

Years of bleakness. He sees an inexorable law operating in human relations: the law of suffering, evil and destruction. Hence the tragic understanding of love that permeated all of Tyutchev’s late lyrics: The union of the soul with the dear soul - Their union, combination, And their fatal fusion, And the fatal duel... Feelings are strong and selfless, hearts are devoted to each other, but “the union of soul with soul” destructive. If...