Family hell of Vera Bunina: Why did the writer's wife endure for years her rival in her house

84 years ago Ivan Bunin became a Nobel Prize laureate in literature. In many ways he owed this to his wife, Vera Muromtseva, who is called the ideal writer's wife, who created all the conditions for the creative realization of her husband. However, at the awards ceremony, not only she, but her young rival, poetess Galina Kuznetsova stood with him. For many years Vera Bunina reconciled with her presence in their home, perfectly understanding the absurdity and drama of the situation. But she had her own reasons.

Vera Muromtseva became the third wife of the writer. At that time he was 36 years old, she - 10 years less. Calm, reasonable and balanced Vera did not resemble any of the women Bunin used to enjoy earlier. Her restraint seemed cold and detached to many people, but in fact it was dictated by being well-mannered - Vera grew up in an aristocratic family and got a good education. According to her, she "never wanted to associate her life with a writer. At that time almost all writers were told that they had eternal novels and some had several wives. "

They met in 1906, and the following year they went on a trip to the countries of the East - Egypt, Syria and Palestine. From this trip their joint life began, although officially they became husband and wife only in 1922. Their first years were happy and serene - Bunin wrote a lot, she was always there, knowing how to be invisible at the same time.

Autumn and winter of 1917-1918. Bunin held in Moscow, where "a gun rattled past their windows along Povarskaya", and in the spring they left for Odessa. The writer did not accept revolutionary events, and six months later they went to Constantinople, and from there to Paris. Bunin told Vera Nikolaevna that "he can not live in a new world, that he belongs to the old world, to the world of Goncharov, Tolstoy, Moscow, Petersburg; that poetry is only there, but in the new world it does not catch it. " He never returned home again.

Bunin settled in Grasse, in the south of France. Only here, after 16 years of marriage, they finally got married. However, in their relationship there was a noticeable cooling. And in 1927 a drama broke out, which had catastrophic consequences for all its participants. Bunin met with the poetess Galina Kuznetsova, who was younger than him for 30 years, and fell in love without a memory. The girl answered him in kind, left her husband and settled in the writer's house. Bunin then told his wife: "Galya is my student. I will teach her to write poetry. "

Vera Nikolaevna knew perfectly well what relations her husband and Galina Kuznetsova relate. But she also knew that Bunin can not leave her and manage without her silent participation, care and friendly support. Therefore, Vera acted as if in her situation hardly would have behaved even one woman: she hospitably received a young rival in her house and began to live with her side by side under one roof. This strange union lasted 7 years. In 1929, Vera Bunina wrote in her diary: "I suddenly realized that I have no right to prevent Yana from loving whom he wants ... If only this love was sweet to him."

In the emigrant environment, this scandalous situation caused many rumors. Many accused Bunin of immorality and insanity. Some reproached Vera Nikolaevna for allowing her to do this to herself and resigned herself to this state of affairs. Units could understand her and admire her behavior. So, Marina Tsvetaeva wrote: "Faith endured - and accepted. Everyone judges her, I admire her. Bunin without her, Faith, can not - then stayed: acted like a mother ... ". The writer himself on the question of whether he loves his wife, replied: "Love Vera? It's like loving your arm or your leg. " And for creativity, absolutely different feelings were needed.

The atmosphere in the house was very unhealthy: everyone knew about everything, but observed external decorum. And so it lasted until Galina left the writer ... to another woman. Her heart was subdued by the opera singer Marga Stepun, and their relationship went so far that they decided to live together. And since they had neither money nor housing, they settled in the house of the Bunins. Since then, the life of all the inhabitants of this house has become a living hell. The love triangle has become a polygon. In addition, since 1929 in the house Bunin lived an emigrant writer Leonid Zurov. He was unrequitedly in love with Vera Nikolaevna, she also perceived him as a son, because of which he repeatedly tried to commit suicide. Bunin went mad with jealousy and was on the verge of insanity, but it was then that he created a wonderful cycle of stories "Dark alleys."

Marga and Galya left Grasse only in 1942. They spent the rest of their lives together in America and Europe. And Vera Nikolaevna still devotedly and gently cared about her aged husband. She stayed with him until his death in 1953 and once wrote in his diary: "Jan of the third day said he does not know how he will survive if I die before him ..." And added: "Lord, how strange is the human soul". She survived her husband for 8 years and did not stop loving him until the last days.