The Prince of the Princes by Ivan Bunin. Short summary

5 seconds

The peasant Lukyan boasts of his farm and his income in front of his former lords. He calls himself a prince without noticing the squalor of his life. The old man takes care of his new house, while the large family is crammed into a dugout.

1 minute

Lukyan Stepanov visits the landlady Nikulina. The landlady hopes he will buy her estate. But the peasant talks of his own affairs and boasts of the proceeds from the sale of oats. The landlords are disappointed. A few days later Nikulina, her daughter, and her son Seva go to Moscow.

On the way, the student turns into a farmstead. Behind the barns stands a new empty house. In the yard, the huge Stepanov family is sprawled out in the afternoon. The owner is awake: he is watching his grandchildren. The old man scoffs at Sevina’s desire to study. He calls himself a prince and boasts of his income.

Lukyan shows his guest the house he is not moving into because of his young grandchildren. For now the family lives in a dugout. Séva is struck by the squalid existence of the house. And Lukyan shows the guest his famous black horses.

In autumn, Nikulina’s daughter marries an elderly family friend in Moscow. She travels to restaurants with her husband’s company and scolds herself for frivolous romances. And at the farm, the large family sleeps in a dugout. And only the old man goes out into the yard several times during the night.