Chekhov's summary of Tosca: sadness, sadness and a heart's aura

In January 1986 in the Petersburg newspaperThe first story of Anton Chekhov's "Tosca" is published. By this time the author was already known as a master of short humorous stories. However, the new work radically differed from those ironic scenes with which the writer's name was associated. Before I begin the summary of Chekhov's Tosca, I would like to draw attention to two plot plans that are inextricably linked with each other.

The first is a call for empathy, empathy andcompassion for the souls of a single person, and the second - a question that sooner or later rises in the soul of each person: longing for the soul, for the warmth, for love, which, on the one hand, leads to numbness and emptiness, and on the other - pushes for the search for truth.

Summary of the story of Chekhov "Tosca"

The work begins with a description of the snowstreets in the light of street lamps. Among the white silence sat the coachman Ion Potapov. Silence. The snow is slowly turning, covering everything with a thick layer. But the main character does not notice anything. He sits, motionless and white. There is no movement and a horse. He left before dinner, but since that time no one so did not sit down to him. However, it does not bother him much. Twilight descends imperceptibly, and the silent colors acquire other shades. Noise, loud shouts. Jonah shudders. Suddenly, a military man sits down in the sleigh and asks him to go to Vyborg. He takes Ion out of his spiritual stupor. However, either from surprise, or from a long wait without movement, the coachman can not even out the movement of the wagon, and several times he miraculously avoids a collision with passers-by. But he does not care, does not frighten, and does not worry ... The only desire is to talk to the rider. He starts the conversation and directly, decisively and somewhere even unexpectedly frankly tells about the death of his son, who died a week ago from the fever. But the military, expressing dry sympathy, did not support the conversation, and Jonah had to be silenced. He drove it and dropped it. And again, bent over, he froze and plunged into his solitude: "An hour passes, another ..."

This summary of Chekhov's "Tosca" is notends, because after a while to Yona fit three fairly tipsy young man. They argue long and loudly, assign a small fee to the coachman and, finally, sit down in the sleigh. Their behavior is provocative. But Jonah does not care. His only desire is to talk with people about his grief, how his son fell ill, how he suffered and what he said before his death, about what was happening in his village, about his daughter. The merry company is noisy discussing its affairs, not noticing it, and he seems to inadvertently try to wedge into their conversation and talk about his deceased son. But they do not care about him, and they are rude to him that all sooner or later we will be in the next world. And again the end of the road, and again the passengers hastily leave it: "Jonah looks after them for a long time". What to do? Money he earned little, and he decides to go home, to where he can listen. He lives with other cabmen. But all came to his arrival. And again he remains alone. Really no one can listen to him? The son died a week ago, and since that time he has not been able to share his experiences, his sadness, his longing with anyone. He does not need sympathy or understanding. He longs to be heard. He needs to speak out. He wants someone to witness his life in these ill-fated days, even if only one, even if silent, but real. He goes to the stables to feed his horse, and tells her everything that has laid down a "layer of snow" on his soul.

This short story is a short summary of Chekhov's "Tosca". However, I do not want to dwell only on dryretelling the work, who went where and what he said. It's not the words or actions of the main characters. They are only a reflection of what happens to a person inside, his emotional experiences, desires and hopes. The noiselessly falling snow, the stiffened bent figure of Jonah, which is "white as a ghost", the infinite expectation and complete silence around - all speaks of that unspeakable melancholy that came after his son's death, spread throughout the body, slowly, confidently, without stones and obstacles, and became a full mistress of the soul and body. If Jonah's breast burst, as the author writes, then sadness seems to have flooded the whole world. She captured it completely, wrapped it up and froze, like that white snow. It is difficult for him to resist her, he obeys, without understanding it, and at the same time, the hope, the desire for warmth, the search for truth, why it happened, why "death was indicated by the door" and came not to him, but to his son, to force him to seek communion. He starts a difficult conversation for him, tolerates indifference and indifference of people to his grief, continues to wait for a bustling evening with bright colors, even if he is now so far from this holiday of life. He needs to get rid of this endless longing, agonizing anxiety, inconsolable loneliness and find among the thousands of people scurrying through the streets at least one person with whom he could talk "properly, with the arrangement." But no one wants to help him. All remain indifferent and mean to the senses. He does not take offense. He continues his way, otherwise "the longing that is huge, knows no boundaries" will win, and this should not happen.

Chekhov, Tosca, summary: conclusion

"To whom shall we sorrow my grief?""- it is from this line that the story begins. Perhaps, Chekhov's short summary of Tosca should also begin with this epigraph. However, the first words, the first thought, are what are suggested to us to comprehend and feel throughout the whole action, and the final dictum, the final image is a confirmation, a proof of what was said at the very beginning.

"To whom shall we sorrow my sorrows ...?" - the bitter weeping of Joseph the Beautiful, calling in any grief or despondency seek help fromLord, who only knows about all our troubles. Every person, every animal, plant is part of the Creator, but the human soul, absorbed in incessant bustle, is not always ready to open up and share its warmth with others, not always ready for unconditional love and deep compassion for the pain of another. Therefore, the search for Jonah is in vain. He does not find a listener among people, but finds him in a silent horse, in his “horse”, which initially caught the slightest vibrations in the owner's soul. She spent hours standing motionless in the wet snow, "lost in thought," when Jonah surrendered to the power of sadness and loneliness, and ran about in a trot, sensing that the owner's longing became unbearable and burst forth quickly. And now the silent, silent animal “chews, listens and breathes into the hands of its owner ...”, and between them there is a real communication, a silent exchange of spiritual warmth and understanding. “To whom will my sorrow be? ...” Truly seek help, she will truly come to you, and here it does not matter how, when, and in what manner.