"The Old Cook", Paustovsky. Summary and analysis of the work

It's no secret that real art can do wonders. It is this idea that proves in his short story "The Old Cook" Paustovsky. The summary of the work takes us to the end of the XVIII century - at the time when the Austrian composer, known to the whole world - VA Mozart, lived and worked.

On the verge of death

1786 year. An old wooden lodge in the garden of Countess Thun on the outskirts of Vienna. Next to her is a booth where the dog lives out its century. His master, as Konstantin Paustovsky points out , the old cook of the Countess, was dying. He was blinded by the heat of the stoves and for the last several years was kept by the hostess. Together with the cook lived his eighteen-year-old daughter Maria. The main wealth of the girl was an old harpsichord, which stood out against the background of a miserable situation. He reacted sensitively to every sound produced in the house, for which the chef called the instrument a watchman.

The desire to open the soul

The girl washed her dying father and put on a clean shirt. At that moment, the old cook says, KG Paustovsky, said that one should confess before death. He never loved priests, therefore he asked his daughter to go out and call the first person who will pass by. The old man wanted to open the soul of a stranger and was sure that no one would refuse a dying man. Maria doubted, but ran out into the street. I had to wait a long time. Finally she saw a man and told him his father's request. He calmly listened to the girl, then went to the lodge.

Confession

The stranger turned out to be a very thin and small young man, dressed simply, but elegantly. He sat down next to the bed and said cheerfully: "Speak! Perhaps, by the power given to the art I serve, I can alleviate your suffering. " This is how K. Paustovsky introduces a new hero into his work. The old cook, whose story about one episode of his life is given further, told that he feels a sin behind himself. When his wife fell seriously ill, he stole a gold saucer from the landlady and sold it to buy the necessary medicines and food. But it still did not help, and Martha died. And the conscience did not give the man a rest all these years. When they learned that none of the servants had been punished, the young man noticed that what had happened was not a sin, but a feat of love. Then he wanted to know about the last will of the old man. The dying man asked the stranger to take care of Maria. Then he added that his dream is unworkable, since he would like to once again be in a flowering garden and see his wife young and healthy.

Resurrection of the past

The young man suddenly said: "Good!" He went to the harpsichord and began to play - continues the story "Old Cook" Paustovsky. The summary of the next scene shows how powerful the real art is. During the performance of the musical work the stranger was pale. And the harpsichord sang for the first time in many years. Music filled the lodge and garden. Even the dog got out of his booth and sat quietly shaking his ears. And the old man suddenly got up and said that he sees a young, laughing Marta. He remembered that winter day in the mountains when they first met.

The stranger continued to play. At the same time, he painted a verbal picture, on which a magnificent spring garden filled with the first flowers. "I see!" - enthusiastically said the old cook. Paustovsky (a brief summary of the episode confirms this) managed to convey the feelings of a dying person who was already expecting nothing from the life of a man who unexpectedly came into contact with beautiful music and his past.

The secret is revealed

The old man asked to open the window. He was breathing eagerly and said that he saw everything as if he were actually in his youth again. Now he wanted to know only one thing - the name of the person sitting behind the harpsichord. "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," said the stranger. Maria bowed low before the famous composer. When the girl straightened up, the old cook was already dead. And outside the window the dawn broke, illuminating a garden covered with a wet snow. So ends his work "The Old Cook" Paustovsky, a brief summary of which you just read.

The composition of the story

The work resembles a confession and leaves the reader with a bright feeling, however, like other creations of this author. The story can be divided into two contrasting parts: the feeling of melancholy and despondency, caused by the first lines of the work, is gradually replaced by the belief that in the world of people there is still kindness and willingness to help selflessly the neighbor. Let's see how K. Paustovsky achieves this.

"Old cook" (genre - story): artistic techniques

The work begins with a description of the gloomy situation: the lodge where the old man dies - "dilapidated", the benches in the house are "lame", the dishes are covered with cracks. In addition, the branches in the garden are "rotten", and the gate is "rusty". To this you can add a dark sky, cold rain and the advancing "black night". The fate of the blind owner was shared by his dog, who could no longer bark and dutifully wait for the end.

The young man seemed to bring the light into the lodge: his black camisole with crystal buttons reflected the glow of the candle. He was cheerful and shook his head boyishly. When music began to play, the dark night (as well as the sky) for the old man turned first into blue, and then into blue. And the garden in his imagination was filled with white flowers. Yes, and the rain on the street was replaced by wet snow, which in the finale of the story shone on the branches of trees. Thus, the antithesis becomes the main means of expressiveness, helping to understand the author's position: true art is able to paint everything around with a radiant light and revive life.

In addition to the color range, an important place in the story "The Old Cook" Paustovsky (readers' reviews say that this is in some measure a musical work) also assigns sound recordings. Already in the exposition we hear the crunch of wind-driven branches, the quiet grumbling of the dog, the trembling, old hum of the harpsichord. These unpleasant sounds are replaced by a melody sung by a stranger walking along the street.

Finally, a "fast ringing" was scattered around the lodge, and then real music was played in full voice, issued by the harpsichord. She was so gorgeous that she made the dog leave her booth, and the old man felt again healthy and seeing. Maria did not remain indifferent to the melody that sounded: she suddenly imagined a fragrant garden with blossoming apple trees. So powerful was the enchanting power of real art.

The image of the composer

The stranger from the very beginning makes a pleasant impression. He is welcome and without additional questions responds to Maria's request. His play on the harpsichord fills with peace and happiness the last moments of the old man's life. As a matter of fact, before the eyes of the reader is a deep mystery: the dying under the influence of divine music feels this forgiveness from above, his conscience finally calms down.

The composer's genius awakens in people their best qualities, gives happy moments, and if necessary, makes the sacrament of the soul's transition to another world. It's no secret that music can affect people emotionally when it is difficult to find words. This is its advantage over other art forms, which Paustovsky managed to emphasize in his work. "The Old Cook" (the analysis confirms this) is a story about how an unrealizable dream, thanks to the divine impact of sounds extracted from the harpsichord, turned for a dying old man into reality.

By the way, Mozart himself lived a short (only 35 years), but a joyful and fruitful life. The musical compositions written by him (more than 600) after a century please our ears. And D. Shostakovich called it "the youth of music, an eternally young spring, bringing the joy of spring renewal and spiritual harmony."

The problems of conscience and true love in the story

The meeting of the great composer and the old cook led the latter to confess to the only sin that he committed in his life. It is stealing a golden saucer from the hostess. For many years she does not give rest to Johann Meyer. In addition, he wanted to repent before his daughter, who taught never to take someone else's. It was also excruciating that gold did not help to heal Marta, which meant that theft was in vain.

To alleviate the spiritual suffering of a crystal honest man, always accustomed to living in harmony with his own conscience, the author sends him a meeting with Mozart. The composer was able not only to listen to the old man, but, having found out the details of what happened, make a fair decision. Meyer was not to blame for trying to save an expensive man from death. So, it's not stealing, but the "feat of love", which not everyone can do. Nevertheless, the history of the hero teaches the reader to take a closer look at his actions, so that later he does not have to answer to his own conscience.

Instead of an epilogue

"The Old Cook" is not the only work of Paustovsky, in which he tried to show how music can affect the feelings of a person. The same story, for example, is dedicated to the story "A Basket with Fir Cones" about another great composer - E. Griege. And the writer himself, like his brilliant heroes, encourages the reader to appreciate the good relations between people, teaches to see and understand the beautiful around him, to live for others.