CATEGORY OF TIME IN I.A. BUNIN "SUNSTROK"

Abstract. This article reflects the results of the study of the category of time in the work of I.A. Bunin "Sunstroke". The author aims to analyze the work of this writer, to find out and characterize the types of artistic time and their role in the work. The article is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the work of I.A. Bunin.

Keywords: artistic time, I.A. Bunin, "Sunstroke", space.

It is known that the sense of time for a person in different periods of life is subjective: it can stretch or shrink. This subjectivity of sensations is used in different ways by the authors of literary texts: a moment can last a long time or stop altogether, and large periods of time can flash overnight. Artistic time is a sequence in the description of events perceived subjectively. Such a perception of time becomes one of the ways of representing reality, when, at the request of the author, the time perspective changes, which can change, the past is thought of as the present, and the future appears as the past, etc.

“In his work, the writer creates a certain space in which the action takes place. This space can be large, span several countries in a travel novel, or even go beyond the terrestrial planet, but it can also be reduced to the narrow confines of a room,” notes D.S. Likhachev [Likhachev: 1968, 76].

The category of time in a literary text is even more complicated by its duality: it is the moment of narration and the moment of the event. Therefore, temporary changes are quite natural. Events distant in time can be described as happening directly, for example, when a character is recounted. A fork in time is a common narrative device in which the stories of different people intersect, including the author of the text.

But such a bifurcation is possible without the intervention of characters in the coverage of past and present events. Space, like time, can be moved at will of the author. The art space is created using the perspective of the image; this happens as a result of a mental change in the place from which the observation is carried out: a general, small plan is replaced by a large one, and vice versa.

Consider how in this work I.A. Bunin, the category "time" is tracked. Can be distinguished:

1. "Real" action time: two days, yesterday and today;

2. "Psychological" time of action: past, present and future;

The system of antonyms proposed by Bunin is designed to show what a gulf lies between the past and the present. The room was still full of her, her presence was still felt, but the room was already empty, she was already gone, and he would never see her again. The proportion of contrasting sentences connecting the past and the present through memory is constantly visible: “The feeling of the just experienced pleasures of all her feminine charms was still unusually alive in him, but now the main thing was still this second, completely new feeling - that strange, incomprehensible feeling, which did not exist at all while they were together, which he could not even imagine in himself" [Bunin: 1986, 388]. The lieutenant had to take care of something, get distracted, go somewhere and wander around the city, trying to get away from the glamor, not understanding what was really happening to him. There is too much love in his heart, too much happiness. Fleeting love shocked the lieutenant, changed him psychologically.

3. "Metaphysical" time of action: moment and eternity.

Interestingly, the hero seemed different from everything that was the same yesterday. A number of details of the story, as well as the scene of the meeting between the lieutenant and the coachman, help us understand the author's intention. The most important thing that we discover after reading the story "Sunstroke" is that the love that Bunin describes in his works has no future. Heroes will never find happiness, they are doomed to suffering. In the end, the reader understands that love could not last long, that the separation of the heroes is natural and inevitable. The author, in order to emphasize the scarcity of time allotted for love, does not even name the heroes, but only describes the action, which is rapidly developing. It is no coincidence that the lieutenant is deeply unhappy: “The lieutenant sat under a canopy on the deck, feeling ten years older” [Bunin: 1986, 391]. But he can't change anything, his love has no future.

On the one hand, the plot of the story follows a linear sequence in the presentation of events, on the other hand, there is an inversion of episodes-memories. The author uses this to show that psychologically the hero seems to have remained in the past and, realizing this, does not want to let go of the illusion of the presence of his beloved wife. By time, the story can be divided into two parts: a night with a woman and a day without her. First, an image of fleeting happiness, a funny incident is created, and, finally, an image of painful bliss, a feeling of great happiness. Gradually, the heat from the heated ceilings gave way to the reddish-yellow evening sun, and yesterday and this morning they were remembered as if they were ten years ago. Of course, the lieutenant already lives in the present, he can realistically assess events, but spiritual emptiness and the image of some kind of tragic happiness remain. A woman and a man, who are already living a different life, constantly recall these moments of happiness: "Many years later, they remembered this moment: none of them had experienced anything like this in their entire lives" [Bunin: 1986, 392].

Thus, time and space outlines a kind of closed world in which the characters find themselves. Their memories keep them captive for life. Hence the corresponding metaphor in the title of the story: a sunstroke will be perceived not only as pain, madness, but also as a moment of happiness, like lightning, capable of illuminating a person’s whole life with its light.