Alexander Kuprin's story “The Pit”, summary. Alexander Kuprin's story “The Pit”, summary Pit summary by chapter

Classic. But it is written in such a simple and accessible language that it is much easier to read than many modern books.

The most main feature novel - the delicacy with which such an institution as a brothel is described. Everything is said frankly, but not a drop of dirt, which now spills out in muddy streams even in works about married life, and even from the TV it simply gushes. There is no need for any rude words: there are “girls” and there are “visitors”, and this whole life is presented quite clearly. As Platonov says, “this is the whole horror, that there is no horror.” Just a whole System guarding “dens of depravity” that would otherwise go into the bedrooms and children’s rooms of honest homes.

But in a sense, he did. Society is changing, and so are attitudes. The concepts of “fornication” and “sin” have faded. Pornographic images that once licked the lips of voluptuous people now seem like nonsense. “The border between city and countryside has become blurred”: prostitution in some countries belongs to the sphere of entertainment, and even domestic services. Trafficking in bodies has become easier, no one cares about someone’s innocence or the number of previous connections, and diseases that were once tantamount to a death sentence are not so scary.

And “The Pit” therefore reads like a very modest book, perhaps even with a certain amount of romance. Everyday life with the usual monotony, which is enlivened by unexpected events; the “commerce” of this matter; girls' fates. Without any laughter, this is one of the few novels about REAL WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIP. Inverted, like everyone else in that strange world, living according to special laws, where the best lover seems to be a thief and bandit who robs a woman, but is capable of committing murder for her sake...

The book contains a lot of philosophical and social issues, which have also changed, but still exist today, and a witty look at the essence of relations between men and women.

Were brothels evil? They were closed - but the craft itself did not go away, it just became much more difficult and dangerous for women on the streets. Will this phenomenon come to an end? It is doubtful, it is both “ancient” and, apparently, for all times. Therefore, it is never a bad idea to learn about this side of life. Especially mothers and young people.

Rating: 10

In those distant times, when I first came across this book, I perceived it as a real fantasy, albeit a very specific one. The realities described by the author looked creepy, disgusting, but, fortunately, completely unrealistic. Alas, now Kuprin’s book has returned to the category of harsh realism. Thousands of our compatriots are doing the same thing in their own country and abroad in similar disgusting conditions. And it is precisely the ordinariness of what is happening, the heroines’ attempts to prove to themselves and those around them that nothing terrible is happening, that life is life and everyone has their own profession, that make the most difficult impression from the book. An attempt to challenge the system and an attempt to adapt to it are punished equally hard, and only the most cunning and vile ones manage, no, not to break out of this vicious circle, but simply to take a more profitable place in it.

I remember how “Intergirl” thundered about twenty years ago, and how attractive the sweet life depicted in it seemed. It would be better if the young fools who fell for this bait would honor Kuprin.

Rating: 8

:rev: I can’t say that this is my favorite novel. But I gave it a ten easily; I couldn’t give it less. Well, no way!

For a long time I couldn’t understand why in our bookcase the author’s six-volume edition (the same green one, Ogonkovsky’s!) was missing one volume. The “read out” version sounded unconvincing. It turned out they were hiding it, hiding it so that the curious girl wouldn’t read “The Pit”...

Caring for the morality of the younger generation!

I found it, read it, and was stunned.

The everyday life of the brothel, its inmates and guests are depicted without embellishment. I want to cry and grind my teeth from such an upside-down life. I feel sorry for the girls and at the same time disgusted to read about their petty affairs.

Low bow to Alexander Kuprin for this book:pray:, which he dedicated to mothers and youth.

Rating: 10

From the first pages there is a feeling that Kuprin writes with knowledge of the matter and has a good understanding of the problem, so to speak, from the inside. So much so that in the first half of the work, in some places I even felt some disgust towards the author, despite the seriousness and professionalism in the presentation of the problem raised. Kuprin in his works mainly writes about what he witnessed, what he felt and experienced. With this approach, it is difficult to remain detached, but this is what gives his works a vital naturalism, in contrast to the often far-fetched and drawn-out nature of many other works. Therefore, with this approach, the author often begins to be identified by the reader with one of the heroes of his work. So here, in the first part, I saw the author in the journalist Platonov, who for some reason belongs in a particular brothel, sits and throws beads in front of a group of students who, yes, feel and realize the problem, but find themselves in such a place, just to experience life to the end and spend the rest of the evening in a huddled group; all philosophers and moralists, but no, no, and leaving the company for an hour to use the brothel for its main purpose. This hero dreams of writing the work of his life in which to reveal all the horror, cynicism, baseness and all the ins and outs of prostitution. But the hanging question, what exactly is HE doing here, how did he become one of his own, and what is the point of moralizing in a drunken company of butchers who came to feast on “women’s meat” remains hanging.

I determined for myself that the author writes about Kyiv, although his city has a more collective image than an individual one. The writer calls it “K.”, it is large, has ports, developed industry, another sign is the ancient Lavra located in the city. In this connection, it is curious that he describes the city’s population as a happy combination of blood: Polish, Little Russian and Jewish - “Great Russians” are encountered only while passing through, visiting local taverns. The manner of communication between the Great Russian student Lichonin and his friend from the Georgian national minority is also characteristic - our Lichonin does not allow himself to act in a familiar, but absolutely boorish manner with anyone else; how he doesn’t just call him friendly names and names him casually and during the conversation, he doesn’t come up with any epithets.

The author emphasizes that the “girls” from his work are mostly victims of circumstances, who, once mired, can no longer escape from this hole and few people think of extending a helping hand to them. A similar unsuccessful attempt was made by the same Lichonin, but for him everything quickly developed into a traditional relationship between a man and a woman of a similar profession, which the “girl” herself, it must be said, contributed as best she could, since she had little idea that the relationship could be different. So Lichonin, who never planned to take her as his wife, quickly became disillusioned with his momentary impulse and, under the first flimsy pretext, threw her out into the street. But throughout the entire work, the author forgets to say that his girls simply cannot imagine any other life, and if they are lucky enough to get a chance in life to get out of this hole, in the vast majority of cases they will not fail to return back as soon as possible...

It was interesting to learn that the title of the work “The Pit” contains not only a direct concept with an association with the human bottom and the cesspool of society, but also a link to the name of the street, famous for the fact that it was inhabited mainly by coachmen, who gave the name to the microdistrict from the name of their profession . So, the author chose a very successful, multifaceted and appropriate name for his work.

In general, I agree that before us is a significant, fundamental work of a talented author, where the author dissects and stigmatizes one of the vicious phenomena of human reality, does, like his hero Platonov, everything to reveal and show all the ins and outs of the unattractiveness of this phenomenon, which is otherwise the pit of human life and you can’t name it. I can even safely compare this work in terms of the depth of exploration of the problem raised with Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. But recognizing all the talent and all the skill of the author, it’s difficult for me to say that I was very interested in this reading or liked it; objectively, I have to give it a ten, but the Pit is a pit, so that picking around in it brings great pleasure, although such problems cannot be hushed up, otherwise they cannot be solved forever, so subjectively, but without exaggeration, and purely based on the feelings of aroused interest in the work, I give it an 8.

Rating: 8

I believe that every Russian person should read something from the work of A. Kuprin. This work is a harsh realism of both our time and the time of past centuries. The author approached the moral problem very delicately. The characters are depicted vividly. Brothels are just houses made of brick and wood, but the “stinking mud” in which the heroes are forced to exist inside these houses can be smelled. The biblical warning about the cities of Sodom and Gamorah is not only punishment, but also cleansing from such things.

Rating: 10

Nope. On the question of the relationship between the scales of Society and Personality. "Not we such, Life is such...". Our whole uh... life is a continuous “two-ruble establishment”, just awareness of this fact (and, by the way, one’s place and one’s true role in this establishment) comes to everyone in their own time. And - leads to different results. Although, for the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that the range of possible consequences is not very diverse.

Now, if you look at this text from such positions (or more or less similar ones), then reading will be at least somehow justified. How, if necessary - for something - to try to perceive life as it really is. But..., nevertheless... - there are a lot of other, less nauseating ways to achieve what you want.

HEAVY book.

Although, to complete the process of maturation, the Soul is more than obligatory. Unfortunately

Rating: 8

One note recently reminded me of the existence of this novel. It said that the writer, known to readers under the pseudonym Count Amory, once received (according to rumors) a slap in the face from Kuprin himself for a free continuation of his book “The Pit.” Therefore, I took from the shelf the existing hefty volume of the publishing house “Book Chamber” for the year 2000 and found the desired scandalous work of Alexander Ivanovich in order to finally familiarize myself with it. To put it mildly, it was not very convenient to read, because... publishers crammed an impressive part of the great writer’s work into 1183 pages, using a font close to a newspaper one, but still, when there is any paper book, I always prefer it to the electronic version...

The plot of “The Pit” is known to many, but it was an interesting coincidence that just before this I had just finished reading Vincent Bugliosi’s book “Helter Skelter,” which also focuses a lot on young girls who have lost their way and found themselves in, let’s say, a difficult situation, albeit of a different nature. Only Bugliosi describes cases from America in the late 60s of the last century, but Kuprin’s place and time, as one can understand, are different, closer to our reality...

I will not focus too much on the main theme of “The Pit”, since a lot has already been said about this, but I will especially highlight the first two parts of the book, where, despite everything, humor and picaresque motives are found. Particularly good in this regard are the episodes with the charming newlywed Semyon Yakovlevich Gorizont. Indeed, for this funny “traveling salesman” it makes no difference what to sell - a used deck of cards with frivolous pictures or his own wife, as long as some kind of gain comes out... The discussion of Lyubochka and Solovyov about the adventures of Manon Lescaut is also interesting.

It is curious that Kuprin very often takes out his writerly anger on the housekeeper of the brothel, Emma Eduardovna, constantly emphasizing her physical (“stomachs” and “chins”) and moral shortcomings (greed, heartlessness, anger, etc.). You can really feel how she irritates him. But the author doesn’t seem to notice anything like that in the owner of the establishment, Anna Markovna...

The last third part of the book is, yes, very difficult, like a sobering up, and draws a line to the whole story. And considering that the book was written over several years, there was a feeling that the last chapters with fleeting events were added by the author after much thought. Apparently he hesitated, but decided that everything would be this way, it couldn’t be otherwise...

I can’t resist a few striking quotes:

Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)

“Emma Eduardovna nodded her head willingly, like an old, fat circus horse,”

“It’s terrible how I love Lafite with lemonade... At least you gave me an orange. Can I ask for an orange?"

“...Zhenya lies supine on the bed behind them, reads a tattered book, “The Queen’s Necklace,” an essay by Mr. Dumas, and smokes,”

“Evmeny Poluektovich Egmont-Lavretsky _ Dramatic artist of the capital’s theaters” (calling card),

“Ask anywhere, in any store that sells cloth or Gloire suspenders... you just ask who Semyon Yakovlevich Horizon is, and everyone will answer you: “Semyon Yakovlevich is not a man, but gold, he is a selfless man.” , a man of diamond honesty"

“With a careful, dexterous, habitual movement, he thrust the gold into the hand of the doorman, who was already holding it behind his back, prepared and folded in the shape of a boat.”

Overall, the book is strong and memorable, but at what age is best to start reading it, I probably can’t tell you. Everything is individual.

Rating: no

Very summary(in a nutshell)

The work tells the ordinary everyday life of one of the brothels located on the outskirts of the city called Yama. The brothel is dominated by the tough Anna Markovna, where various events take place. First, student Likhonin takes the girl Lyuba home to save her from moral failure, but nothing works, and she soon returns back. Another girl, Zhenya, falls ill with syphilis and deliberately infects all clients, sparing only the young cadet Kolya. Before the medical examination, she commits suicide. Prostitute Pashka is going crazy. Tamara goes to prison. All this is observed by a regular at the establishment, journalist Platonov. At the end of the work, Anna Markovna sells the establishment and retires. And after some time, after the dragoons destroyed many of Yama’s establishments, it comes out decree of the Governor General to close all brothels in the city.

Alexander Kuprin wrote this story for six whole years. The summary of "The Pit" can be quite poor. Indeed, despite the slippery subject matter, this work contains a lot of touching details, cute sketches and important details. The author found this topic long before starting work and systematically thought about it for two years. The theme of corrupt love has never been explored as deeply by Russian writers as Kuprin did. The summary of “The Pit” is in significant events and main plot twists, but even through them one can see how chastely and with what love for humanity this story was written.

Composition

The story consists of three unequal parts. The first, where the reader meets the characters, has twelve chapters. Already here it becomes clear that there will not be a single plot core here, the content is so diverse. Kuprin's "The Pit" is an absolutely artistic work, despite its journalistic positioning: the absence of a main character, the chronicle nature of the paintings of the selected layer social environment, observation of detail and apparent descriptiveness.

The second part is more massive, and this is no coincidence. In seventeen chapters, conflicts are brewing, solutions are being sought, and the culmination of hopelessness is brewing. Lichonin and Platonov continue to debate about the reasons for the viability of such a social ulcer as prostitution. The subtle nuances of the master of Russian prose cannot be revealed in the story “The Pit” by a brief summary. Lyuba's fate, as if guinea pig in medical experiments, as an example: how can you talk about this in a nutshell?

Through the descriptiveness of the essay, through all the episodes that seem not too connected with each other, the author’s philosophical concept runs through. Small man cannot defeat social evil, since he himself is an episode in this endless world. That’s why I called mine “Yama”. The summary of the story is the tragedy in the fate of the residents of the two-ruble establishment, who were mostly brought to this place by a bitter fate - each woman has her own. The third part contains only nine chapters, during which the action does not wind down, but develops quickly, so that in the last chapter we can put a dot at the end of each tragedy.

Before you begin to analyze the chapter-by-chapter summary of Kuprin’s story “The Pit,” you need to note the plot connections between the chapters and parts. One of the main ones is the experiment of student Lichonin with Lyuba. The reader must decide whether he acted from true love and Christian compassion or simply curiosity pushed him to the role of arbiter of destinies. Throughout the entire second part of the story, the history of these relationships is examined, without letting the other characters out of sight.

Form

Kuprin provided this story with many of the features of a novella, especially the last two parts, inserting episodes that were not related to the plot (the merchant Horizon, the singer Rovinskaya and the lawyer Ryazanov). The naturalism of such genres, very fashionable just half a century before Kuprin wrote this story, here has all the signs of high artistry, the first part is especially good in this regard. The main thing for the reader remains the author’s approach to the topic: honest, caring. Deeply sympathetic, revealing the position of a true artist-humanist, who raised the “base” to unimaginable heights, this is how both the author himself and his story - Kuprin, “The Pit” showed themselves.

Summary reviews were, of course, very different. People don’t really like to look at themselves from the point of view of objectivity, and those who are “not in the know,” that is, outsiders, usually do not delve into such an environment and are disdainful. Yes, those social problems that are raised in the story, of course, are impartial. However, the power of art is glorified here by Kuprin, and social depravity is castigated, and wonders about new system educational and educational, eradicating existing ignorance. Here are dreams of revolution, and the strength of Russian character, and eternal theme the isolation of the intelligentsia from the people - all this is Kuprin. "Pit". A summary is hardly capable of containing this immensity.

Images

The inhabitants of Anna Markovna’s establishment come off the pages as if they were alive, so artistically and vividly did Kuprin characterize them. Here is the gallery different types: meek and quiet Manya Little; if sober, Pasha is unhappy in everything; Tamara, desperately in love with the thief; Zhenya, immersed in another book. The portraits are as colorful as they are static. Only Zhenya and Lyuba have a sharply developing line in the narrative, the rest are a swamp. This is not because Kuprin could not twist each one into the plot. It simply would not correspond to the truth of life. The whole life of these women is not completely human, they live at the level of instincts. That’s why the writer Kuprin called his work “The Pit.”

A summary of the chapters will not allow enough to be said about others, it would seem minor characters, such as the housekeeper Elsa Eduardovna, the owner of the establishment Anna Markovna, and her henpecked husband Isai Savvich. But Kuprin painted these images absolutely masterfully accurately. And the reporter Platonov, through whose lips the author himself speaks, is also an image worthy of deep disclosure. The spiritual poverty of society will also remain behind the scenes, if we highlight a brief summary in the story “The Pit”.

Institution

Anna Markovna has an establishment that is not one of the most luxurious, but also not one of the last: soldiers, thieves and other “golden companies” come here for fifty dollars. However, morals and lifestyle are the same almost everywhere. Payment difference. The action begins with the fact that late in the evening guests gathered at Anna Markovna’s place: reporter Platonov and private assistant professor Yarchenko. The guests continue the conversation they started along the way, although the girls are already waiting for them.

Platonov is his own man here, but he has never had fun with any of the inhabitants; he has an almost professional interest - to understand this small and stuffy world from the inside. The whole horror is that society does not perceive this as horror: the everyday life of the bourgeoisie, and that’s all. Here such contrasts as piety and crime coexist. The bouncer Simeon is religious to the extreme, which does not stop him from beating and robbing girls. The owner of the house is the last hyena with her powerless subordinates, but she madly loves her daughter, she is both kind and generous with her.

Zhenya

A girl appears. whom both clients and friends in the craft love and respect - she is beautiful, mocking, daring and independent, as much as possible here. This is Zhenya. She is worried that the girl Pasha is on the verge, because more than ten clients have already passed through her.

Zhenya says that as soon as Pasha’s fainting and hysteria pass, the hostess again sends her to the guests, because Pasha is in demand (even mild mental retardation distinguishes patients with uncontrollable sexuality; this is exactly the case with the girl).

Likhonin

Platonov forks out, which gives Pasha a rest. The students go to the rooms with the ladies, and Lichonin (anarchist) and Platonov continue the conversation about the fact that such social evil is ineradicable. The latter talks a lot about the local girls, and Lichonin sympathizes. This is a man of action. He decides to save at least one girl from here.

Platonov dissuades him, because he is sure that the girl will soon return here with an even greater mental wound. Zhenya agrees with Platonov. But Lichonin did not calm down: he asked Lyuba if she would like to leave here with him and open, for example, her own dining room. Lichonin pays a daily fee for her and the next day demands a passport from Anna Markovna Lyubin in exchange for

Responsibility

Student Lichonin did not expect that the hardships of liberating Lyuba would cost him so dearly. His friends, however, agreed to help him adapt the girl: Lichonin himself undertook to teach her history, geography and arithmetic, take her to the theater, exhibitions and lectures, Nezheradze teaches her music and reads Rustaveli’s poem, Simanovsky - physics, chemistry and cultural history. The results are very modest, although they take an exorbitant amount of money and time. In addition, Anna Markovna literally robbed Lichonin before returning Lyubin’s passport to him.

Students try to treat Lyuba as a sister, but she doesn’t understand, considers her neglectful, and stops feeling desirable, beautiful and feminine. She refuses everyone’s claims because she becomes attached to Lichonin, but her love strains him. He even dreams of catching one of his friends with Lyuba in order to have a reason to break up. The burden turns out to be too much for him. And so, as Platonov and Zhenya predicted, Lyuba returns back.

Rovinskaya

The famous singer Rovinskaya, a beautiful and talented woman, in the company of friends, including Baroness Tefting, Chaplinsky and Rozanov, bored, goes around hot spots cities. Several eloquently described establishments clearly show that Anna Markovna’s establishment is not the only “pit” in the city.

Summary of the scene in the brothel with the German women: the prostitutes do not even realize that they are living dishonest lives. They do not see any sin in their occupation, since they do not have permanent lovers, like these dirty Russians in neighboring establishments, and what they earn, they put in the bank for a future decent life. It's just their job. Business, nothing personal.

The power of art

Anna Markovna had her share of scandals, but the atmosphere was much warmer, one might say, soulful. The ladies first quarreled, and Tamara understood the Baroness’s French speech and replied in pure Parisian dialect that, they say, yes, you and I really knew each other - in Kharkov, where you were also a chorus girl, like me, but were not a baroness. It was she, the future baroness, who had one of the lyric tenors in the choir...

But Tamara has a thief named Senechka. She loves him. After the angry speeches of Tamara, Zhenya, and the drunken Manya Little, the situation becomes tense. The ladies are getting ready to leave, but Rovinskaya decides to sing a romance when they say goodbye. She knows well how to captivate any audience. And she succeeds. Everyone is silent in shock and confusion, and Zhenya falls to her knees and kisses the hands of the one she had just angrily denounced. Great is the power of art. Zhenya sobs, Rovinskaya picks her up and tries to kiss her. Zhenya whispers something to her, and Rovinskaya replies that it’s nothing, she needs a few months of treatment, and everything will pass.

Riot

Zhenya admits to Tamara that she is infected with syphilis, but hides it from everyone because she wants to infect more of these two-legged nonhumans. They curse their pervert clients. And then they leave everything as it is, that is, Zhenya does not go for treatment. She remembers the man to whom her own mother sold her at the age of ten. Zoya remembers the teacher who promised to kick her out of school if she didn’t listen.

And then Lyuba returns. But the housekeeper doesn’t want to let her in, she swears and fights. Zhenya rushes into a fight for her friend. Other girls run out of the neighboring rooms screaming, and hysteria reigns in the house. After some time, Simeon comes with his friends and influences the situation physically. The girls calm down.

Repentance

Cadet Gladyshev comes to Zhenya, only to her. But today she is in no hurry to caress the young man, she admits that she is sick and says that the other will not spare him, because all prostitutes hate their clients and never feel sorry for anyone. She says goodbye to the boy forever and in the morning goes to the port to see Platonov in order to warn him that his friends are infected: Ramses, who shot himself when he learned about the shameful disease, and who only blamed himself because he took a woman without love, and Sabashnikov .

Zhenya repents, she no longer dreams of infecting more of these terrible males, because she understands that they are also people, each with their own sorrows and problems. Platonov cannot console the girl. And on the third day Zhenya was found hanged. Everything is moving towards a denouement: the most poignant moment of the story was the episode of Zhenya’s repentance. This is the summary Kuprin chose for his story. The “pit” as such is collapsing, everything is falling into decay. The housekeeper bought the establishment from Anna Markovna, and now she cannot do anything about the events that are happening, which not only cast a shadow on the establishment, they shroud it in notoriety.

Tamara and others

The girl was offered to become an assistant to the new owner, with the condition that she give up the house to her dear friend Senechka. Tamara is looking for Rezanov and Rovinskaya, who help bury Zhenya according to the Orthodox rite, despite the fact that she is a suicide. Following Zhenya, Pasha dies, driven into terminal dementia by exhausting work. She is taken to an insane asylum, where she dies almost immediately. Tamara is also not so simple. She gains the notary's trust and slips sleeping pills into his drink. Then he lets his dear friend Senechka into the apartment, who opens the safe. Senechka is arrested a year later, and he gives Tamara to the police.

Vera dies absurdly: her lover, a military man, embezzled the treasury and decides to shoot himself. Vera is ready to share his fate. They say goodbye to life beautifully with a luxurious feast, after which the man decisively kills Vera, but not himself, he doesn’t succeed. Little Manya dies in the fight. And the establishment comes to a complete end when soldiers - a whole hundred - come to the aid of two offended brawlers. This is how Kuprin ended his story. The summary of “The Pit” is also quite interesting, although, of course, it lacks the details talentedly captured by the writer.

Institution Anna Markovna not one of the most luxurious" like, say, Treppel's establishment, but not one of the low-class either. Pit(former Yamskaya Sloboda) there were only two more of these. The rest are ruble and fifty-kopeck coins, for soldiers, thieves, and gold miners.

Late in May evening, Anna Markovna’s guest room hosted a group of students, with whom was private assistant professor Yarchenko and a reporter from the local newspaper Platonov. The girls had already come out to them, but the men continued the conversation they had started on the street. Platonov said that he had known this establishment and its inhabitants well for a long time. He, one might say, belongs here, but he has never visited any of the “girls.” He wanted to enter this little world and understand it from the inside. All the loud phrases about the trade in female meat are nothing in comparison with everyday, business trifles, prosaic everyday life. The horror is that it is not perceived as horror. Bourgeois everyday life - and nothing more. Moreover, in the most incredible way, seemingly incompatible principles converge here: sincere, for example, piety and a natural attraction to crime. Here is Simeon, the local bouncer. Robs prostitutes, beats them, probably a murderer in the past. And he became friends with him through the works of John of Damascus. Extraordinarily religious. Or Anna Markovna. A bloodsucker, a hyena, but the most tender mother. Everything for Bertochka: a horse, an Englishwoman, and forty thousand worth of diamonds.

At that time, Zhenya entered the hall, whom Platonov, and both clients and the inhabitants of the house respected for her beauty, mocking audacity and independence. She was excited today and quickly began speaking in conventional jargon with Tamara. However, Platonov understood him: due to the influx of public, Pasha had already been taken into the room more than ten times, and this ended in hysteria and fainting. But as soon as she came to her senses, the hostess sent her back to the guests. The girl was in great demand because of her sexuality. Platonov paid for her so that Pasha could relax in their company... The students soon scattered to their rooms, and Platonov, left alone with Likhonin, an ideological anarchist, continued his story about the local women. As for prostitution as a global phenomenon, it is an insurmountable evil.

Lichonin listened sympathetically to Platonov and suddenly declared that he did not want to remain just a sympathetic spectator. He wants to take the girl from here, save her. "Save? He’ll come back,” Platonov said with conviction. “He’ll be back,” Zhenya responded in his tone. “Lyuba,” Lichonin turned to another returning girl, “do you want to leave here? Not for content. I’ll help you open the dining room.”

The girl agreed, and Lichonin, having rented her an apartment for ten days from the housekeeper for the whole day, planned to demand her yellow ticket the next day and exchange it for a passport. Taking responsibility for a person’s fate, the student had little idea of the hardships associated with this. His life became complicated from the very first hours. However, his friends agreed to help him develop the rescued one. Lichonin began to teach her arithmetic, geography and history, and he was also responsible for taking her to exhibitions, the theater and popular lectures. Nezheradze began to read “The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger” to her and teach her to play the guitar, mandolin and zurna. Simanovsky suggested studying Marx's Capital, cultural history, physics and chemistry.

All this took a lot of time, required considerable funds, but gave very modest results. In addition, brotherly relations with her were not always successful, and she perceived them as disdain for her feminine virtues.

To get a yellow ticket from his mistress Lyubin, he had to pay more than five hundred rubles of her debt. The passport cost twenty-five. The relationship of his friends to Lyuba, who became prettier and prettier outside the brothel environment, also became a problem. Soloviev unexpectedly discovered that he was submitting to the charm of her femininity, and Simanovsky more and more often turned to the topic of a materialistic explanation of love between a man and a woman and, when he drew a diagram of this relationship, he leaned so low over the seated Lyuba that he could smell her breasts. But she answered “no” and “no” to all his erotic rubbish, because she became more and more attached to her Vasil Vasilich. The same one, noticing that Simanovsky liked her, was already thinking about how, having caught them inadvertently, he would create a scene and free himself from a burden that was truly unbearable for him.

Lyubka reappeared with Anna Markovna after another extraordinary event. Singer Rovinskaya, famous throughout Russia, big, beautiful woman with the green eyes of an Egyptian woman, in the company of Baroness Tefting, lawyer Rozanov and secular young man Volodya Chaplinsky, out of boredom, toured the establishments of Yama: first the expensive ones, then the average ones, then the dirtiest ones. After Treppel we went to Anna Markovna and occupied a separate office, where the housekeeper herded the girls. The last to enter was Tamara, a quiet, pretty girl, who had once been a novice in a monastery, and before that someone else, at least she spoke fluent French and German. Everyone knew that she had a “cat” Senechka, a thief on whom she spent a lot of money. At Elena Viktorovna’s request, the young ladies sang their usual, canonical songs. And everything would have turned out well if the drunken Little Manka had not burst into them. When sober, she was the meekest girl in the entire establishment, but now she fell to the floor and shouted: “Hurray! New girls have arrived!” The Baroness, indignant, said that she patronized a monastery for fallen girls - the Magdalene Orphanage.

And then Zhenya appeared, inviting this old fool to leave immediately. Her shelters are worse than a prison, and Tamara said: she knows well that half of decent women are supported, and the rest, older ones, support young boys. Of the prostitutes, hardly one in a thousand had an abortion, and they all did it several times.

During Tamara’s tirade, the baroness said in French that she had already seen this face somewhere, and Rovinskaya, also in French, reminded her that in front of them was the chorus girl Margarita, and it was enough to remember Kharkov, the Konyakin hotel, Soloveichik’s entrepreneur. Then the Baroness was not yet a Baroness.

Rovinskaya stood up and said that, of course, they would leave and the time would be paid for, but for now she would sing to them Dargomyzhsky’s romance “We parted proudly...”. As soon as the singing stopped, the indomitable Zhenya fell on her knees in front of Rovinskaya and began to sob. Elena Viktorovna bent down to kiss her, but she whispered something to her, to which the singer replied that a few months of treatment and everything would pass.

After this visit, Tamara inquired about Zhenya’s health. She admitted that she was infected with syphilis, but does not announce it, and every evening she deliberately infects ten to fifteen two-legged scoundrels.

The girls began to remember and curse all their most unpleasant or perverse clients. Following this, Zhenya remembered the name of the man to whom her own mother sold her, ten years old. “I’m little,” she shouted to him, but he answered: “Nothing, you’ll grow up,” and then repeated this cry of her soul, like a walking joke. Zoya remembered her school teacher who said that she had to obey him in everything or he would kick her out of school for bad behavior.

At that moment Lyubka appeared. Emma Eduardovna, the housekeeper, responded to the request to take her back with abuse and beatings. Zhenya, unable to bear it, grabbed her hair. There was a loud voice in the neighboring rooms, and a fit of hysteria gripped the entire house. Only an hour later Simeon and his two professional brothers were able to calm them down, and at the usual hour the younger housekeeper Zosya shouted: “Young ladies! Dress! To the hall!

Cadet Kolya Gladyshev invariably came to Zhenya. And today he was sitting in her room, but she asked him not to rush and did not allow him to kiss her. Finally she said that she was sick and let him thank God: anyone else would not have spared him. After all, those who are paid for love hate those who pay and never feel sorry for them. Kolya sat down on the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands. Zhenya stood up and crossed him: “May the Lord bless you, my boy.”

“Will you forgive me, Zhenya?” - he said. “Yes, my boy. Forgive me too... We won’t see each other again!”

In the morning, Zhenya went to the port, where, leaving the newspaper for a vagabond life, he worked unloading Platonov’s watermelons. She told him about her illness, and he said that, probably, Sabashnikov and a student nicknamed Ramses were infected from it, who shot himself, leaving a note where he wrote that he himself was to blame for what happened, because he took a woman for money, without love.

But Sergei Pavlovich, who loves Zhenya, could not resolve her doubts that gripped her after she took pity on Kolya: wasn’t the dream of infecting everyone stupidity, a fantasy? Nothing makes sense. She has only one thing left... Two days later, during a medical examination, she was found hanged. This smacked of some scandalous glory for the establishment. But now only Emma Eduardovna could worry about this, who finally became the owner, having bought the house from Anna Markovna. She announced to the young ladies that from now on she demands real order and unconditional obedience. Her establishment will be better than Treppel's. She immediately invited Tamara to become her main assistant, but so that Senechka would not appear in the house.

Through Rovinskaya and Rezanov, Tamara settled the matter of burying the suicide killer Zhenya according to the Orthodox rite. All the young ladies followed her coffin. Pasha died after Zhenya. She finally fell into dementia and was taken to an insane asylum, where she died. But this was not the end of Emma Eduardovna’s troubles.

Tamara and Senka soon robbed a notary, in whom, by playing a married woman in love with him, she inspired complete trust. She mixed sleeping powder with the notary, let Senka into the apartment, and he opened the safe. A year later, Senka was caught in Moscow and betrayed Tamara, who fled with him.

Then Vera passed away. Her lover, a military official, squandered government money and decided to shoot himself. Vera wanted to share his fate. In an expensive hotel room after a luxurious feast, he shot at her, became cowardly and only wounded himself.

Finally, during one of the fights, Little Manka was killed. The ruin of Emma Eduardovna ended when a hundred soldiers came to the aid of two fighters who had been cheated in a neighboring establishment, ruining at the same time all the nearby ones.

Anna Markovna's entertainment establishment is located in the so-called Yama (Yamskaya Sloboda), it is not one of the sophisticated and luxurious places, but it does not belong to the lowest.

Various men come here in search of pleasure. Among them, one evening, reporter Platonov and private assistant professor Yarchenko appear. During their conversation with one of the girls, Pasha, hysteria occurs due to the fact that clients called her dozens of times during the evening.

The most respected, smart and daring girl Zhenya approaches the men. Zhenya, Platonov and anarchist student Vasily Vasilyevich Likhonin argue about whether it is possible to save a girl who has fallen into the network of prostitution and return her to a normal life. Lichonin is eager to prove that this is possible. For this purpose, he takes the girl Lyuba from the brothel. And with the help of his comrades, he tries to give her education and upbringing. Lyuba falls in love with him. But for Lichonin she becomes a heavy burden, and he is only looking for a reason to part with her.

Lyuba returns to the establishment, but the new owner beats her. A fight breaks out between Zhenya, who was defending Lyuba, and the hostess.

After the visit famous singer Rovinskaya, Zhenya admits that she has syphilis and deliberately infects the men who come to her. Punishes them.

Zhenya loses his purpose in life and hangs himself. Pasha dies in a madhouse. Tamara is betrayed by her fiancé Senka. Then Vera dies from her lover’s shot. Thus ends the existence of Yama.

Detailed retelling of Kuprin's Yama

The story talks about the life of girls of easy virtue.

The work begins with a description of one of the brothels, which is located in Yamskaya Sloboda. The establishment was run by Anna Markovna and considered it luxurious. One evening her students were having fun. Not far from them, the correspondent of the local newspaper Platonov and associate professor Yarchenko were talking. During the conversation, Platonov boasted that he often comes here, but he has never been with a single prostitute. He really wants to know how the ordinary everyday life of such girls goes, because if they work here, then this type of activity will certainly lead them to criminal acts. At this time, one of the girls appears, who hastily tells the hostess about her concerns about Pasha’s condition. She is constantly invited by visitors, and Pasha is in a panic. However, she is brought to her senses and again goes to the visitors. Platonov invites her to a conversation so that she can rest a little.

After this, he meets Lichonin, who wants to get Lyuba out of this vile place. He asks her if she is ready to open a canteen after leaving the brothel, to which she agrees. Vasily Vasilyevich begins to teach the girl, not realizing how difficult it will be. His friends agree that they will help Lichonin in his studies. The student himself teaches her arithmetic, historical and geographical sciences. In addition, he takes her to performances at the theater. His friend is trying to teach Lyuba to play musical instruments. Lichonin pays all the prostitute's debts in order to get a passport for her. Soon Lyuba becomes the brightest object of attention among the students, however, she only has feelings for Lichonin. But the student seizes the moment to become jealous of her friends and get rid of her.

Lyuba again ends up with Anna Markovna. The beautiful singer Rovinskaya was visiting the same place in the company of her friends. At her request, the hostess rounds up all the prostitutes who sing songs for Elena Viktorovna. After this, the Baroness says that under her patronage is the Magdalene Orphanage, where prostitutes are kept. One of the girls tells the woman to leave. After leaving, the singer pays for the girls’ time and sings them a farewell romance. After this, Zhenya quietly asks her about something, to which Rovinskaya replies that this disease is treatable.

However, after the singer’s visit, the girl goes to the port, where she unloads watermelons. Meanwhile, she tells Platonov, who she meets, that she is sick, to which he says that several of his friends must have become infected from her. Having lost interest in life, Zhenya committed suicide. Meanwhile, the former housekeeper purchased the house from Anna Markovna and established her own laws. But she suddenly started having troubles one after another. After Zhenya, Pasha went crazy. Then Tamara and her pimp rob a notary and end up in prison. Vera asked her lover, an official of one of the departments, to shoot her too after his embezzlement. In the end, she died, and he only wounded himself. In one of the fights, Little Manka dies. And the establishment goes bankrupt. The story teaches our generation to maintain chastity and adhere to pure relationships.