An Emerald (Bunin)

Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI, so it may contain errors.

Ivan Bunin

An Emerald

1940

Summary of the Short Story

Microsummary: A young woman and man had a conversation about the color of the sky, leading to a disagreement and the woman's emotional departure.

A woman and a man, Ksenya and Tolya, were observing the night sky.

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Ksenya Alexandrovna (Kisa) — young woman; sensitive, emotional; wearing a cotton dress and cheap shoes; has plump calves and knees, and a small round head with a small braid around it.

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Tolya — young man; standing at Ksenya's knees; playful, insensitive.

Ksenya was fascinated by the color of the sky between the clouds, describing it as a heavenly emerald or ruby.

What a marvellous colour! Both terrifying and marvellous. Now that is truly heavenly, there aren’t any like that on earth. A sort of emerald.

She expressed her belief in paradise, angels, and the throne of God, inspired by the beauty of the sky.

And when you look at it all like this, how can you possibly not believe that there is a paradise, angels, the throne of God…

Tolya, however, was more skeptical and made light of her spiritual musings. Ksenya was dressed in a simple cotton dress and cheap shoes. Tolya, standing by her side, placed his hand on her knee and kissed her. She gently pushed him away and he noticed that she was crying. When he asked her what was wrong, she asked him to leave her alone. She then jumped down from the window ledge and ran away. Tolya was left confused, calling her "stupid to the point of saintliness".