Variations of the Motives of Retribution in the Stories of A I Kuprin of the 1890s

Aim. To explore the varieties of retribution motives in the stories of A. I. Kuprin of the 90s of the XIX century. Methodology. The article analyzes the diversity of retribution motives in the stories of A. I. Kuprin of the 90s of the XIX century. These motives perform an important substantive and semantic function. Attention is paid to those works where the problem of punishment for sins is solved indirectly: there is no direct author’s assessment of what is happening. The methodology is based on descriptive and comparative research methods. Results. In the three stories studied, there is a different artistic form of realization of the motives of retribution. In the story “On the River”, the motive of punishment for what is done is presented in the context of landscape painting: nature opposes human sinfulness, in the story “Unspoken Revision” the motive of punishment is interpreted as self-punishment, the story “Confusion” conveys the motive of retribution as a fateful blow. The article concludes that the motives of retaliation are part of the system of axiological guidelines in Kuprin’s prose. Research implications. The analysis of the stories expands the understanding of the features of the content and form of the early stories of A. I. Kuprin, emphasizes the system of value orientations of the writer.