☰ Contents · Russian language

V. G. Korolenko, A. I. Kuprin

Lessons 43–44 · 2 lessons · S. Yu. Islambekova, Yu. Yu. Musurmanova, Z. Kh. Abduraimova, L. N. Tagieva. Russian Language, Grade 10 (textbook for secondary, specialised secondary and vocational institutions with Uzbek and other languages of instruction), 1st edition. DAVR NASHRIYOTI, Tashkent, 2017
44

A. I. Kuprin. «Гранатовый браслет»

Textbook: pp. 169–181
GoalUnderstand the plot and characters of Kuprin’s «Гранатовый браслет» and the theme of selfless love.
New words
повесть (tale, novella) · повесть (qissa)бескорыстная любовь (selfless love) · бескорыстная любовь (g‘arazsiz sevgi)прощальное письмо (farewell letter) · прощальное письмо (xayrlashuv xati)эпиграф (epigraph) · эпиграф (epigraf)
Explanation

A. I. Kuprin was born in 1870 in Narovchat and died in 1938; his works are about ordinary people, the military and love. «Гранатовый браслет» (1910) is a tale of selfless love, based on a real episode. On her name day, 17 September, Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina receives an anonymous gift: a gold bracelet with garnets and a letter. Her brother Nikolai and her husband Vasily Lvovich find the sender, a minor official named Zheltkov, and ask him to stop. The next day Vera learns from the newspaper about Zheltkov’s tragic death and reads his farewell letter, in which he only thanks her. The epigraph is Beethoven’s second sonata; listening to it Vera says that he has forgiven her. The tale makes us think about the value of love; discuss the theme of death in class with care.

Worked examples
Mini-text: «В день именин Вера получила браслет с гранатами. Она не знала, кто его прислал. Потом выяснилось, что это Желтков, который тайно любил её». (On her name day Vera received a garnet bracelet; the sender turned out to be Zheltkov.)
Image: garnet is a red stone; Vera thinks it looks like blood and feels uneasy: it is a symbolic sign.
Class activity

“Write a letter”. Students write a three-sentence reply from Vera to Zheltkov (gratitude or forgiveness).

Practice
1
In which year was «Гранатовый браслет» written?
2
Who sends Vera Nikolaevna the bracelet and when?
3
What is the epigraph and why is it important?
4
Why is the tale said to be about “selfless love”?