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

In January 1986 the "Petersburg newspaper" published for the first time the story of A. P. Chekhov "Tosca". 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 brief 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 to empathy, compassion and compassion for the soul-agonies of a single person, and the second is a question that sooner or later rises in the soul of each person: longing for the soul, for warmth, for love, which, on the one hand, leads to Stupor and emptiness, and on the other - pushes for the search for truth.

Summary of Chekhov's story "Tosca"

The work begins with a description of the snow-covered street in the light of street lamps. Among the white silence sat the coachman Iona Potapov. Silence. The snow is slowly spinning, 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 lunch, but from that time no one so to him and not sat down. However, it does not bother him much. Twilight descends imperceptibly, and 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 leads Jonah 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 by a miracle 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, resolutely 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, bending over, he froze and plunged into his solitude: "An hour passes, another ..."

This summary of Chekhov's "Tosca" does not end, because after a while, three fairly tipsy young men come up to Jonah. They argue long and loudly, assign a small board 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 their 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 then 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 talk. 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 stable 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 the dry retelling of 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 frozen bent figure of Jonah, which is "white as a ghost", an endless wait and complete silence around - all speaks of that unspeakable anguish 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 himself, and at the same time, the hope, the desire for warmth, the search for truth, why it happened, why "death was denoted 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 people's indifference 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 thousands of people scurrying through the streets at least one person with whom he could talk "with good reason, 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 - is what is 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 to seek help from the Lord, who only knows about all our adversities. Every man, every animal, plant is a part of the Creator, but the human soul, absorbed in unceasing bustle, is not always ready to open and share with others its warmth, is not always ready for unconditional love and deep compassion for the pain of another. Therefore, Jonah's search is 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 soul of the master. She spent hours standing motionless under the wet snow, "immersed in thought," when Jonah surrendered to the power of sadness and loneliness, and ran trot, sensing that the grief of the host was becoming intolerable and torn as soon as possible outward. And now a quiet, dumb animal "chews, listens and breathes into the hands of its master ...", and between them there is real communication, a mute exchange of sincere warmth and understanding. "To whom shall we sorrow my sorrows ...?" Truly seek help, it will truly come to you, and here it does not matter how, when and in what manner.