In these works, we are shown how circumstances can define an experience. Two people can look at the same view of a beautiful sunset, but if one’s heart is full of love and the other has just experienced a terrible heartbreak, they could very well be looking at completely different things. This theme is explored extensively in “Caucasus” by Ivan Bunin, where the story included the radically-different perspectives of two different characters, as well as in Pushkin’s poetry, where themes of love and heartbreak are analyzed.
In “Caucasus”, the narrator describes the ways in which a companion can color an experience, in this case turning a cruel and isolated place into a peaceful and serene vacation: “I had lived a little while near Sochi when I was young and alone, and all my life I’d remembered autumn evenings among black cypresses and cold, grey waves …. She grew pale whenever I reminded her of this, and said, “But this time you’ll be with me in that mountain jungle near the sea.” Love has changed not only what is inside of him, but also how he perceives the things around him. It is amazing how much less daunting the world becomes when you have someone to share it with. It is far easier to have the confidence to follow your instincts, to face your fears and spurn societal conventions if you have someone a partner by your side.
Of course, the flip side of this is represented in “Caucasus” as well, with the story of the rejected husband. He is of course presented as a villain for most of the story, the controlling, evil man thwarting a beautiful and pure romance. But the story ends on a twist, it switches narrators, ending with a description of the husband’s suicide. He literally could not live another day without his wife by his side. It was almost paradoxical how he knew his life would be meaningless without his wife, so he dominated and controlled her, but that very desperation was the reason she could not bear him and fell in love with another man. It shows how love is intoxicating and thus dangerous. Because of love’s immense power, and the ways in which it can make a life worth living, it is unbearable to lose. It begs the question of whether it is better to love fleetingly and see how wonderful life can be, or never love at all and never experience the pain of its end.
Love, it seems, is both what makes life worth living and simultaneously unbearable. But no matter what it does seems like an essential part of life. Pushkin argues exactly this in his poem “The Hills of Georgia”: “For thus my heart must burn and love – because it’s true, That not to love – it knows no way.” He is arguing that the heart only knows that it is alive if it is feeling something. Feeling, even if it causes pain and sadness, is a necessary component of life. The heart lives by breaking and thus all emotions, joy and heartbreak alike, are what gives life meaning.