Wonderful Doctor

Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) is an outstanding Russian realist writer. He was born in a small provincial town of Narovchat in the Penza region into the family of hereditary nobles. The future writer's father died in 1871, a year after his son's birth. Hard times befell the family, and the mother was forced to send her son to an orphanage. In 1880, Kuprin entered the Second Moscow Gymnasium, and in 1887, he joined the Alexandrov Military School. He did not have a civilian 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 become a horse, a plant, or a fish for a few days."
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 learned about it, Kuprin was put in solitary confinement for two days. At that moment, he swore to himself that he would abandon literary experiments and not touch pen and paper again. However, his acquaintance with Bunin, Chekhov, and Gorky in the late 1890s made him forget the vow he once made.
The stories and novellas by A.I. Kuprin are small in form but surprisingly rich in content. In the story "The Wonderful Doctor," the author encourages the reader from the very first lines to empathize with the unfortunate Merzavalov family. 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 affirms that humanity and compassion are capable of creating miracles. In the story "The Elephant," such a miracle is brought about by parental love. Parents are willing to do anything to ensure that their Nadya recovers, even bringing an elephant home. According to the author, the strength of spirit and the ability to befriend belong 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 rushes to confront a rabid dog. Meanwhile, the bully Barbos felt everything that was happening to his loyal friend and did not leave Zhulkа alone in the last hours of her life.