This story by Ivan Bunin portrays the depths of love, and how insecurity and jealousy can destroy it. The story opens with a young Russian man (Mitya) so hopelessly in love with a woman that his jealousy stifles their relationship. They decide to separate for a short period to test their feelings, and he returns to his family estate in the countryside. The separation is torture as she fails to respond to his increasingly desperate letters, and when a “Dear Mikya” note finally arrives, things don’t end well. Themes include passion, sexuality, unrequited love, insecurity, jealousy, obsession, temptation, despair, death.
I saw an interesting observation on another website that the title doesn’t just refer to Mitya’s love for Katya, but rather the essence of passion within him. In Chapter IX he describes his feelings for his nurse, his attraction to little girls growing up, and how he “felt a blissful shiver” when he touched a girl’s cheek in high school. As an adult, he is also stirred by the bare arms and stockinged legs of household and farm workers. The same could be said for his obvious love of nature and the countryside.
Mitya’s Love Text / PDF (24,800 words)