Hamlet by Aleksandr Kuprin (1603)
A famous provincial actor named Kostromsky, celebrated across Russia for a decade but privately fading through drink and dissipation, arrives to play Hamlet before a sold-out house. In his dressing room he preens before the mirror, mocks newspaper rumors of his decline, and drinks vodka poured by a servile theatrical barber before donning his costume. Just before curtain, the manager discovers that Milevskaya, cast as Ophelia, has sent word she is ill in bed and cannot perform. In desperation, the manager turns to Yureva, a young drama student watching from the wings who has long adored Kostromsky's acting and knows the part by heart though she has never played it. Kostromsky himself persuades her to go on, and she hurries to dress. The performance begins to triumphant applause for Kostromsky, and his opening exchanges as Hamlet—his ironic replies to the King and Queen, his despairing "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt" soliloquy—electrify the house. Backstage, the old actor Yakovlef, who once saw the legendary Mochalof play the role, tells a young colleague that Kostromsky merely "acts as a boy" compared to that memory, and directs his attention instead to Yureva's Ophelia, predicting she will eclipse Kostromsky by the fourth act. Indeed, Kostromsky's fire is spent after the first act; repeated vodka fails to revive his flagging energy, and the audience's applause grows perfunctory, honoring his name rather than his performance. Meanwhile Yureva's unaffected, deeply felt Ophelia steadily wins the audience's attention, though neither she nor the crowd consciously registers it as rivalry. In the third act, during the "To be or not to be" soliloquy and the nunnery scene, Kostromsky realizes with horror that the audience is indifferent to him and wholly absorbed in Ophelia. Consumed by envious hatred, he whispers drunken, insulting innuendos to Yureva during the play-within-the-play scene, calling her no actress and insinuating she has a lover, reducing her to silent tears. In the fourth act, Yureva's mad scene as Ophelia—singing her plaintive songs—moves the entire theater to hushed, rapt silence, and she receives thunderous ovations while Kostromsky watches from the wings, his jealousy curdling further. When she brushes past him afterward, he blocks her path, hurls abuse at her, and shoves her aside. Then, spent and drunken, he abandons the performance entirely, removing his makeup mid-play; the manager finds him and begs him to return to the stage, but Kostromsky refuses, and the play is cut short, the audience dispersing as though from a funeral, sensing correctly that they have witnessed the end of a great talent. Alone afterward, Kostromsky weeps bitterly before his mirror, mourning his vanished fame and greatness. Leaving the darkened theater, he hears Yureva sobbing alone and, moved by unaccustomed pity, apologizes to her—not asking forgiveness but explaining that he has only now understood he has outlived his own fame, a loss he ranks above any personal bereavement. He praises her genuine talent and urges her to remain on the stage, but to leave it the moment she senses her own gift beginning to fade, rather than waiting, as he did, for the public to cast her off. He then turns from her and walks out, refusing the manager's call to collect his pay, declaring that he is finished with it all.
By Aleksandr Kuprin · First published 1603 · Genre: Drama, Tragedy, Literary Fiction · 8 chapters · 6,564 words
First lines
Hamlet was being played.
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Hamlet is listed on Textopian as a novel by Aleksandr Kuprin, dated 1603 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: Aleksandr Kuprin
- Date: 1603 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy, Literary Fiction, Satire, Psychological Fiction
- Length: 6,564 words
- Structure: 8 chapters, 174 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Hamlet?
- How does this novel by Aleksandr Kuprin fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
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Genres
- Drama — The narrative centers around a theatrical performance, exploring the dynamics of actors and their art, which is characteristic of dramatic literature.
- Tragedy — The themes of downfall, loss of talent, and existential despair reflect the tragic elements often found in classical tragedies.
- Literary Fiction — The work delves into complex character studies and the psychological struggles of the protagonist, aligning with literary fiction's focus on character development.
- Satire — The portrayal of the protagonist's decline and the absurdity of the theatrical world serves as a critique of fame and the entertainment industry.
Tags
Tragedy · Drama · Philosophical · Psychological · Existential · Madness · Revenge · Murder · Betrayal · Loyalty · Ambiguity · Uncertainty