The Wonderful Doctor: Stories

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin 1870–1938 - an outstanding Russian realist writer. He was born in a small provincial town of Narovchat in the Penza region into a family of hereditary nobility. The future writer's father died in 1871, a year after... his son's birth. Difficult times came for the family, and the mother was forced to send the boy to an orphanage. In 1880, Kuprin enrolled in the Second Moscow Gymnasium, and in 1887 - in the Alexandrov Military School. He had no civil profession, and before taking up the pen, he changed many jobs. A.I. Kuprin was an inquisitive person; he was interested in trying himself in different roles. He jokingly told his friends that he would like to be a horse, a plant, or a fish for a few days. A.I. Kuprin's first work - the story The Last Debut - was published in 1889, when he was a cadet at the military school. When the authorities became aware of this, Kuprin was put in solitary confinement for two days. Then he vowed to himself to give up literary experiments and not to touch pen and paper. However, acquaintance with Bunin, Chekhov, and Gorky at the end of the 1890s made him forget his promise. The stories and novellas of A.I. Kuprin are small in form but surprisingly rich in content. In the story The Wonderful Doctor, the author from the very first lines urges the reader to empathize with the unfortunate family of Mertsalov. The meeting of the head of the family with the wonderful doctor N.I. Pirogov becomes a true Christmas gift for the whole family. Thus, the author asserts that humanity and mercy can perform miracles. In the story The Elephant, such a miracle is accomplished by parental love. Parents are ready to do anything to ensure their Nadya recovers, even bringing home an elephant. According to the author, the strength of spirit and the ability to be friends are inherent not only to humans but also to animals. Zhulkа, the heroine of the story Zhulkа and Barbos, is a small shy dog, but she bravely runs to meet a rabid dog. And the bully and fighter Barbos sensed everything that was happening with his faithful friend and did not leave Zhulkа alone in her last hours of life.