Summary: Worldly views of Kota Murra
During the preparations that preceded the printing of the notes of the cat Murr, who is a descendant of the glorious Puss in Boots, the publishers saw that the manuscripts contained completely extraneous fragments. These fragments were excerpts from a previously published story about Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler and his friend Maestro Abrahim. These pages were in Murr's manuscript only because the cat gutted his master Ibrahim's book and used them instead of blotting paper. By some strange coincidence, many of Kreisler's described episodes complement the events described by Murr the Cat himself - but this is only by chance, because Murr wrote, all the notes in strict chronology and pages of the book were torn out arbitrarily. But the publisher left everything as it was only because it was Kreisler who at one time was entrusted by Maestro Abrahim to take care of the Cat Murra, leaving the court of Prince Irenaeus.
The prince once had a very small, but his own principality, which he lost after Bonaparte dissolved the Prussian administration in Poland (some simply believed that he dropped his principality out of his pocket while taking a walk). The most influential persons at court were considered to be the adviser widow Bentzon (being young, she was the prince’s favorite) and maestro Abrahim himself, who was known as an alchemist and magician. Being an organ builder and piano tuner, he gained fame as an organizer of fireworks and various park allegories, while being favored by the old prince, after his death he wandered for a long time throughout Europe, but after that he again found himself in the service at the court of Irenaeus in Sieghartsweiler.
Another influential person at court, who aroused various conflicting feelings, was Johannes Kreisler, who taught music lessons to the prince’s daughter, Princess Hedwig and her close friend Julia, the daughter of the widow Bentzon. Kreisler was orphaned early and was taught to read music by Maestro Abrahim himself, who became his best friend for the rest of his life. Murr the Cat owed his life and spiritual aspiration to Abrahim. He assumes that he was born in the attic of the maestro’s house, which is why he is exalted in spirit and mind. But together with his sisters and brothers they drowned him in the river, where he almost drowned. He was saved by death by Abrahim, who was passing across the bridge at that time and pulled him out of the river by the scruff of the neck. He was brought up in the best traditions of Rousseau, and also having a great affinity for his master’s desk, Murr very quickly learned to read (he compared what his master read out loud with the words written in the book), and also to write. The didactic novel “Thought and Sense, or the Cat and the Dog” was the first literary experiments of the cat Murra, which he wrote not without the influence of the dog Ponto. This was followed by the political treatise “On the Question of Mousetraps” and the tragedy “Cavdallor the Rat King”. But soon a notebook with the works of Cat Murr from Ponto fell directly into the hands of the poodle’s owner, professor of aesthetics Logario, and he, jealous of Cat’s talent, told everything about the gifted Murr to maestro Abrahim. The maestro began to worry that the cat was more busy with art and not with catching mice and did not allow Murr to enter the library anymore. Cat Murr believed that his talent remained unrecognized and they simply laughed at him; he had only one consolation, that his mind began to create many times more powerfully than before.
Kapellmeister Kreisler had to experience the same experiences. He was burdened with his role at court, with all this hypocrisy and secular etiquette. The only consolation for him was the time spent in the company of the pretty lady-in-waiting Julia, whose soul, like his, was also open to music. Princess Hedwig also joined their solitary music studies, which, as it seemed to everyone, at first had only hostility towards the bandmaster. The princess makes a confession to Kreisler about the reason for her confusion at his appearance in the court: memories of the court painter, who literally went crazy with love for her now deceased mother, are still alive in her heart. A large number of wonderful portraits of the princess adorn the walls of the castle to this day. All this inspired Gedwina with the idea that man was created for a better life than the one he lives now.
Kreisler was greatly excited by the story told by Gedvina. Unearthly love and unearthly music, only they can have true value, which is not subject to any ridicule and doubts with which he looked at the world around him. Abrahim always found a complete ally in one of his confidential conversations with the maestro. There were only two minutes of happiness in the maestro’s life: when he listened to the sounds of the ancient organ in the abbey, far from all this worldly bustle and at a time when he was next to his young wife Chiera. The mechanic and magician Abrahim was brought closer to the court of the old prince only thanks to his magnetic influence on the people around him and the prophetic gift of his wife. But his bliss did not last long; after the death of the prince, Kiera disappeared without a trace, inflicting an unhealed heart wound on Abrahim.
For Murr the Cat, his hour of love struck when, on an evening walk, he met the cat Mismis. On the first love date, two of her unpleasant cousins appear, beat up Murr, and throw him into the gutter. Everywhere Murra is haunted by the image of his beloved Mismis, he writes madrigals and hymns in her honor. The fruits of his inspiration are paid in full! Mismis and Murr meet each other again under the moon, and this time no one bothers them to enjoy singing together (she turns out to be very musical). The cat, in order to no longer experience any mental anguish, offers his beloved his heart and paw. He is incredibly happy because she agrees. But there comes a moment when Mismis cheats on her loved one, that they have irrevocably lost interest in each other and decide not to be together anymore. Murr begins to study the fine arts and sciences again with even greater zeal than before meeting in Mismis...
At this time, Prince Hector, a descendant of a noble family, comes to Siegharstweiler from Italy. Prince Irenaeus decided to marry his beloved daughter to him. During the ball, Genviga behaves inappropriately and shocks the entire court with her dancing. She doesn’t like the prince at all and at the same time he has some kind of demonic effect on her. The prince makes a very strong impression on Julia and after the ball she sees the prince in a dream in the form of Kapellmeister Kreisler, who hugged her with the words: “They killed you and now you are mine!” Only Kreisler, who is the beneficent spirit of the castle, helps him get rid of him in a dream. It’s as if he is called upon to protect her and Princess Hedwig from evil spells. Svetschitsa Bentzon gives her interpretation of the dream: Johannes Kreisler brings discord to the prince’s house. Maestro Abrahim is not enough for her, now this little musician has appeared on the way, and she is simply obliged to intervene in the development of events... Needless to say, Kreisler himself has a strong dislike for Prince Hector. Abrahim agrees that he is a real serpent tempter. He wants to marry Hedwig only for convenience, but in fact he has designs on Julia. Of course, Chrysler is obliged to stand up for her, but conventional weapons would be inappropriate here. Maestro Abrahim gives him a miniature image of one face, only when looking at which Hector will be horrified and run away from here forever. Everything he said came true exactly. But for inexplicable reasons, the bandmaster also disappears from the castle at the same time. His bloody hat is later found in the park. It is clear that Hector’s adjutant tried to kill him, who also disappeared without a trace that same night.
Murr has a new friend, the black cat Mucius, who reproaches him: “You rush from one extreme to the other, you will very soon become a disgusting philistine, whose actions depend only on the surrounding circumstances, and are not at all guided by the voice of honor. Your solitude will not console you, but will only harm you even more!” Mucius tries to recommend Murr to his close friends - the cat burshes, who quickly mistake him for a brother and sing many cat hymns together. Their circle quickly disintegrates after just a few rehearsals on the roof: the inhabitants of this house set their dogs on the cats and the glorious Mucius dies in this fight. Murr meets a charming little cat, Mina, at a funeral feast. He is ready to storm her heart, but then Mismis appears and says that Mina is his own daughter. The cat goes back to his stove, surprised at such quirks of fate. Kreislen finds refuge in the monastery, he reports this in a letter to Abrahim.
At this time, various stormy events were taking place in Sieghartweiler: Hedwiga fell ill and was immediately miraculously cured, Prince Hector returned, the corpse of his adjutant was found, and a hussar regiment left the capital, because they learned that a conspiracy had occurred in the castle of Prince Irenaeus and was already beginning revolution. Kreisler experiences complete peace of mind and devotes himself to music; in a dream, Julia appears before him in the form of an angelic diva and sings a song. He is already ready to take a monastic vow - but a new abbot, Father Cyprian, who was appointed by the Pope himself, comes to the abbey from Italy. He is a gloomy ascetic and quickly changes the established way of life in the monastery. Kreisler understands perfectly well that under the current circumstances, music will forever die out in his soul. At night, a funeral service is held in the monastery for adjutant Hector, whom he killed while defending himself from an attack in Sieghartweiler Park... The bandmaster understands that he was involved in a very unpleasant story, to which Father Cyprian himself has a direct connection. The stern monk tells Kreisler the story of his life, in which he learns about much of the life of the inhabitants of the castle where our musician recently lived.
In the past, Father Cyprian led a dissolute life, because he was the heir of a powerful sovereign. Once on the street, a gypsy woman offered to introduce him to a noble lady who was the prince’s equal even in origin. Antonio (that was his name in the world) thought that the old woman was simply engaged in pimping. But a few days later he saw this same old woman in the company of a beautiful lady whose name was Angela Benzoni, she was the illegitimate daughter of two very noble persons and, as the fruit of criminal love, she was sent away from her parents, raised by her gypsy nanny, whom the prince mistook for pimp.
Angela had mutual feelings for Antonio and they were married secretly in the Chapel of San Filippo. When Prince Hector saw his older brother's wife and revealed their terrible secret, he was inflamed with passion for Angela. Antonio soon caught the two in Angela's chambers. There was a stormy explanation, after which there was poison in Angela’s glass, and Antonio himself was stabbed to death with Hector’s dagger. Having received a miraculous healing, Antonio decides to atone for his sin in a monastery for the rest of his life. It was at this time that Maestro Abrahim found himself in Italy. The old gypsy woman gives him a double miniature portrait of Antonio and Angela, which contained a written certificate of the double murder. Now it is becoming clear why Prince Hector was in awe when looking at these portraits; he guesses that the magician probably knows something very important. And at the moment when an important event is about to happen, everything suddenly ends when Princess Hedwig agrees to marry the disliked Hector. Kapermeister Kreisler unexpectedly returns to the castle and abandons the service of music and God for the sake of his love for Julia. Maestro Abrahim unexpectedly leaves abroad in search of new love. Murr the Cat, who had just received fame and universal recognition, dies just as unexpectedly.
A brief summary of the novel “Everyday Views of Kota Murra” was retold by A. S. Osipova.
Please note that this is only a brief summary of the literary work “The Everyday Views of Cat Murr”. This summary omits many important points and quotes.
Hoffman E.T. Everyday views of the cat Murra read a summary, retelling
When preparing for publication the notes of Murr, a descendant of the famous Hintz von Hinzenfeld (better known to the world as Puss in Boots), the publishers drew attention to the presence of clearly extraneous fragments in the manuscript - excerpts from a previously published story about the bandmaster Johannes Kreisler and his friend Maestro Abraham. These pages ended up in Murr's manuscript for the simple reason that the Cat used them - gutting a book from his master Abraham's library - as blotting paper. By a strange coincidence, many episodes of Kreisler’s life story complement the events described by Murr the Cat - but this is a complete coincidence, since Murr adhered to a strict chronology, and he tore out pages from the book at random. Nevertheless, the publisher left everything as it was - on the grounds that it was Kreisler who was entrusted by Maestro Abraham with the care of the Cat Murra, moving away from the court of Prince Irenaeus. The prince once had, albeit a miniature, but his own principality, which he lost after Bonaparte dissolved the Prussian administration in Poland (some, however, believed that the principality simply fell out of his pocket during a walk). The most influential persons at court were the adviser widow Bentzon (in her younger years the prince’s favorite) and maestro Abraham, reputed to be a magician and alchemist. An organ builder and piano tuner, he gained fame as an illusionist and organizer of fireworks and park allegories, was favored by the old prince, after his death he traveled around Europe, but then was again called to serve at the court of Irenaeus, who settled in Sieghartsweiler. Another influential - but in a completely different way - person at court, arousing the most contradictory feelings in the retinue, is the bandmaster Johannes Kreisler, who gives music lessons to the prince's daughter Princess Hedwig and her friend Julia, the daughter of the widow Bentzon. Orphaned at an early age, Kreisler was raised and taught to read music by Maestro Abraham, who became his best friend for life. I owe my life and spiritual aspirations to Abraham and Cat Murr. He believes that he was born in the maestro’s house, and in no other way than in the attic (where else could the sublimity of his mind and spirit come from); Meanwhile, as a blind kitten, along with his brothers and sisters, he was drowned in the river and, miraculously not choking, was pulled out of the water by the scruff of the neck by Abraham passing across the bridge. Upbringing in the traditions of Rousseau, along with a craving for the maestro’s desk and books on the table, led to the fact that Murr very soon learned to read (comparing what the owner read out loud with the words in the book), and then to write. The Cat’s first literary experiments were the didactic novel “Thought and Flair, or the Cat and the Dog” (created not without the influence of the poodle Ponto), the political treatise “On the Question of Mousetraps” and the tragedy “Cavdallor - the King of the Rat”. Alas, the notebook with Murr's poems, given to Ponto to read, fell into the hands of the poodle's owner, professor of aesthetics Logario, and he (obviously out of envy) told on the phenomenally gifted Cat, Maestro Abraham. The Maestro is concerned that pussy is more concerned with fine literature than with mice, and denies Murr access to reading, “What could cause a genius greater pain than to see himself unrecognized and even ridiculed!” - Murr complains, but is consoled by the fact that as a result his own mind began to create even more freely. Kapellmeister Kreisler experiences similar experiences. He is burdened by his role at court, secular etiquette and hypocrisy. “There is only music flowing through the veins of this young man,” he paraphrases the description of a certain ancient instrument in the musical lexicon. Kreisler's consolation is the company of the sweet Fraulein Julia, whose soul, like his, is open to divine sounds. Princess Hedwig also joins their solitary music studies, who at first had, as it seemed to him, hostility towards the conductor. The princess confesses to Kreisler the reason for her confusion at his appearance at court: her heart is tormented by the memory of the court painter, who went crazy with love for her late mother; many wondrous portraits of the princess still decorate the walls of the castle, instilling in Hedwig the idea that man was born for a better life than the one she leads. “Artist’s love! - Gedwiga exclaims. “Oh, this is a beautiful, heavenly dream - but only a dream, only a vain dream!..” The story told by Princess Hedwig deeply excited Kreisler. Unearthly music and unearthly love - that’s all that has true value, not subject to the doubts and ridicule with which he looks at everything around him. Conversing confidentially with Maestro Abraham, he finds in him a complete ally. There were two minutes of happiness in the maestro’s life: when he listened to the sounds of an ancient organ in an abbey remote from the bustle of the world and when his Chiera was with him, his young assistant in focus with the Invisible Girl, and then his wife. Thanks to her prophetic gift and magnetic effect on people, even at a great distance, the magician and mechanic Abraham was brought close to the court of the old prince. The bliss did not last long: soon after the death of the prince, Kiera disappeared without a trace. This heart wound has not healed to this day. ...The hour of love has struck for Murr the Cat: the Ides of March have arrived - and on one of his night walks on the roof he meets a charming cat named Mismis. The first love date is interrupted and marred by her two disgusting cousins: they brutally beat Murr and throw him into the gutter. The image of Mismis haunts him, he composes hymns and madrigals in her honor. The fruits of his inspiration have been paid in full! Murr and Mismis meet again under the moon, no one prevents them from singing a duet (she is extremely musical). The cat decides to use a radical remedy for subsequent amorous torments: he offers his paw and heart to his Beautiful Lady. Oh Gods! She agrees!.. However, in the life of every poet, the hours of bliss are fleeting: Mismis cheats on Murra with a motley cat-womanizer. The spouses’ explanation proceeds surprisingly calmly; both confess to each other their coldness of heart - and each decide to move on in their own way. Murr returns to the sciences and fine arts with even greater zeal than before meeting Mismis... Meanwhile, Prince Hector, a descendant of a noble and wealthy family, comes to Sieghartsweiler from Italy, to whom Prince Irenaeus planned to marry his daughter. At the ball, Hedwiga behaves more than strangely, shocking the entire court: she dances a dashing Italian dance with the prince three times in a row, which is not at all typical of her nature. The prince is not at all nice to her - but he has some kind of demonic effect on her. The prince also makes a strong impression on Julia: in a conversation with her mother, she likens his gaze to the fiery gaze of a basilisk. Advisor Bentzon laughs: to two girls at once the dear prince seems like a monster - what nonsense! No, this is the voice of the heart, Yulia’s mother assures. After the ball, she dreamed of a prince, under the guise of Kapellmeister Kreisler, who embraced her with the words: “You have already been killed - and from now on you must be mine!” She is saved from these encroachments in a dream by the real, and not the imaginary, Kreisler - the beneficent spirit of the castle, designed to protect both her and Princess Hedwig from evil spells. Advisor Bentzon interprets this dream in her own way: Johannes Kreisler is a man who is causing discord in life at the prince’s court. Maestro Abraham is not enough for her - now this musician too! She is obliged to intervene in the development of events!.. Needless to say, Kreisler also harbors hostility towards Prince Hector. Abraham agrees: this is a real serpent-tempter. He is ready to enter into a marriage with Hedwig only out of convenience; in reality, he has plans for Julia. Of course, Kreisler must stand up for her honor, but ordinary weapons are inappropriate here. Maestro Abraham hands his friend a miniature portrait of a certain person, the look of which will plunge Hector into horror and put him to flight. The prediction comes true exactly. But the bandmaster suddenly disappears from the castle. In the park they find his hat with traces of blood. It is clear that someone - most likely Hector's adjutant - was trying to kill him. But did he kill? There is no answer: the adjutant also disappeared that night... Murr’s new friend, the black cat Mucius, reproaches him: “You rushed from one extreme to the other, you are about to turn into a disgusting philistine, whose actions depend on the surrounding circumstances, and not on the voice of honor . Your solitude will not console you, but will harm you even more! Mucius recommends Murr to his friends - the feline Burshas, who accept him as a brother, singing “Gaudeamus igitur” and other hymns. Their circle disintegrates after several rehearsals on the roof: the inhabitants of the house poison the Bursha with vile dogs, as a result of which the glorious Mucius gives his soul to God. At the funeral feast, Murr meets the adorable little cat Mina. He is ready to rush to storm her heart - and suddenly he sees Mismis, about whom he had forgotten to even think, at a distance. Mismis stops Murr: “Mina is your daughter!” The cat returns to his stove, marveling at the quirks and vicissitudes of fate... Kreisler - as he informs about in a letter to Maestro Abraham - found shelter in the monastery. While in Sieghartsweiler, turbulent events take place in his absence (the illness and miraculous healing of Hedwig, the secret return of Prince Hector, the discovery of the corpse of his adjutant, finally, the entry of a hussar regiment from the capital - there was a rumor that there was a conspiracy in the castle of Prince Irenaeus and almost not a revolution), the culprit of all this experiences peace of mind for the first time and devotes himself to music. In a dream, he sees Julia, an angelic maiden, singing “Agnus Dei” of unheard-of beauty; waking up, Kreisler records this music, not fully believing that he is its author. He is preparing to take monastic vows - but then a new abbot, Father Cyprian, appointed by the Pope himself, comes to the abbey from Italy. A gloomy ascetic, he decisively changes the way of life in the monastery. Kreisler sees clearly: in the new circumstances, the music in his soul will die out. At night, a funeral service is held in the abbey - in the deceased, Kreisler recognizes the adjutant of Prince Hector, whom he killed, defending himself from his attack in Sieghartsweiler Park... The bandmaster realizes that he was involved in some terrible secret, to which Father Cyprian is directly related - about which without mincing words and announces to the new abbot. The stern monk is instantly transformed and, filled with a spirit of meekness and love, tells Kreisler the story of his life, which sheds light on many things concerning the inhabitants of the castle, where our musician had recently sought inspiration. In their youth, Father Cyprian, the heir of a powerful sovereign, and his younger brother were in military service in Naples. The future abbot led the most dissolute lifestyle, not missing a single beauty. One day on the street some old gypsy woman invited him to meet a lady who was not only the most beautiful, but also equal in origin to the prince. Antonio (that was his name then) considered the old woman to be an ordinary bawd. Imagine the prince’s amazement when, a few days later, he met the old woman in the company of the most wonderful lady he had ever seen. The young lady's name was Angela Benzoni, she was born from an extramarital affair between two very noble persons and - the fruit of criminal love - was determined to live away from home, until further notice, under the supervision of her caring gypsy nanny, who was mistaken by the prince for a bawd. Angela reciprocated Antonio's feelings, and they were secretly married in the Chapel of San Filippo. Having revealed this secret and seeing his elder brother’s wife, Prince Hector was inflamed with passion for her. Soon Antonio caught him in Angela's chambers. There was a stormy explanation; Antonio poured poison into Angela's glass, but he himself fell dead from Hector's dagger. Miraculously healed, Antonio vowed to atone for his sin in the monastery. At that time, Maestro Abraham found himself in Italy, under the guise of the magician Severin, looking for sweet Chiara. The old gypsy woman handed him a miniature double portrait, where, between the images of Antonio and Angela, a written certificate of the double murder was kept. All of the above, as we see, also explains the trepidation of Prince Hector at that moment when Kreisler showed him this irresistible weapon received from the hands of Maestro Abraham; and the influence enjoyed at the prince’s court by the adviser Bentzon, the mother of his illegitimate daughter; and her guesses that the old magician knows something important about her... and much, much more. It is now, when it would seem that all the most important things in the story are about to happen, it suddenly ends. Unexpectedly - like Princess Hedwig’s decision to marry Hector, who was disliked by her. Unexpectedly - like the return of Kapellmeister Kreisler to the castle, his refusal to serve God and music for the sake of Julia’s love. Unexpectedly - like the departure of maestro Abraham abroad, it seems like a new search for the “Invisible Girl”... Unexpectedly - like the death of Cat Murr, who was just entering the threshold of fame and even more amazing achievements.
