"Blue Star" (Kuprin). Summary of the story

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The story "The Blue Star" is included in the school literature curriculum. Primary school students study it in the third grade. The author is A. I. Kuprin, a famous Russian writer of the last century.

The 20th century gave the world many works that were later classified as masterpieces of Russian literature. Among them are "Garnet Bracelet", "Olesya", "Duel", "Blue Star" (Kuprin). The summary of the last text allows the reader to take a fresh look at the personality of the writer and his work.

Author in brief

Kuprin was born in 1870 in the family of a Narovchat official. Before becoming a writer, he tried himself in various fields. Behind Kuprin military service, acting, organizing circus performances, managing an estate, a career as a reporter.

The first works of Kuprin date back to the end of the 19th century. In 1919, the writer left his homeland. He stayed in Europe until 1937, but his return to Russia was short-lived.

In 1938, the writer died. Kuprin's story "The Blue Star" was first seenlight in the French capital in 1927. Then he had the title "Ugly Princess". Later, the collection "Brave Fugitives" was published, in which the story received its current title.

Kuprin "Blue Star"

The theme of this work is beauty, external and internal. The author conveys to the reader the idea that different nations have different ideas about beauty. Moreover, the population of the same state at different times can consider opposite things as the standard of beauty. There is no need to look far for an example: the best examples of medieval European painting demonstrate the admiration of the people of that time for full-bodied women. Today, fullness is a disadvantage.

Kuprin claims that external beauty is a relative thing. It is much more important to have a beautiful soul. If a person has a beautiful soul, then others will not pay attention to external flaws. This is what the work "Blue Star" (Kuprin) is about. A summary of the story is presented below.

The work is aimed at readers of all ages. It will be equally interesting for children and adults, because the main character's process of growing up is in the spotlight.

Summary

In ancient times, one people lived high in the mountains. He was cut off from the whole world, until one day the knights came from the south. The new area made a strong impression on them, so they decided to stay here. In the highlands, people created a state, at the head of which they put the most worthy - Ern. For a thousand years the country lived in peaceand tranquility. The only disappointment is the ugliness with which some heirs to the throne were born. However, the visual flaws of the members of the royal family were not a serious problem, as they had a beautiful soul.

King Ern XXIII was married to a local beauty. After ten years of marriage, fate gave them a daughter, but she was as ugly as her ancestor, Ern the First and many of his descendants. Parents still loved the princess for her kindness and responsiveness. At the request of the Queen, all mirrors in the country were destroyed. However, at the age of fifteen, the girl still found out about the shortcomings of her appearance when she found a hidden fragment of a mirror in the house of her wet nurse.

Returning to the castle, the princess heard cries for help. The girl went to the voice and saw a foreigner as ugly as she was. He hung on the edge of the cliff. Erna took off her blue dress, made a rope out of it, and with its help lifted the wounded traveler.

The princess ordered to transfer the young man to the castle and personally nursed him. During this time, mutual feelings arose between the young people, so after recovering, the prince proposed to Erna. After the wedding, they went to the prince's homeland, to France, where the girl saw that all the inhabitants of this country looked like her. Like Erna, they had long legs, small feet and hands, a high waist, big blue eyes, and full lips.

A year after the wedding, a young couple had a son. Erna found him very handsome. When she told her husband about this, he laughingly translated to her the words carved on the wall in her father's house by King Ern. First. He wrote in Latin that the men and women who inhabit his country have a lot of virtues. But they are ugly.

Meaning of the name

A. I. Kuprin called the story "The Blue Star". In the text there is a mention of a prediction that was made to the young Prince Charles. According to the prophecy, the young man will visit the northern lands. There he will look into the eyes of death, but will be saved by a blue star. She will light up his whole life. Princess Erna had blue eyes, and on the day of the meeting, the girl was wearing a blue dress. Charles immediately recognized her. It is no coincidence that the author chose the blue color: it symbolizes infinity, selflessness, harmony with oneself and the world around, escape from reality.

Summing up

For many readers, the story "Blue Star" (Kuprin) is of great interest. The summary cannot fully convey the intention of the author. However, even a cursory acquaintance with the text makes one think about some important things. Among them is the senselessness of the desire to be like the universally recognized standard of beauty to the detriment of one's soul. The author is convinced that it is not at all necessary to have a beautiful appearance in order to remain a kind, sympathetic and sensitive person. The heroes of the story "The Blue Star" (Kuprin) teach us this. A summary of the work is presented above.