Analysis of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” (A. P. Chekhov)

History of creation

"Rothschild's Violin" is one of 42 works created by Chekhov during his stay at the Melikhovo estate. It belongs to the late period of the author’s literary work, as it was written in 1893-1894. It was published for the first time in one of the issues of the Russian Vedomosti magazine, but did not find much popularity either among readers or critics. Nevertheless, subsequently artists highly appreciated the author's idea and its excellent implementation. Thus, Korney Chukovsky, in a separate book dedicated to the writer, states the following:

“It concentrates – and, moreover, in its most powerful embodiment – all the main features of Chekhov’s worldview and the main features of his mastery...” (1967)

And the Many-Wise Litrekon continues the analysis of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” according to plan and moves on to the genre features of the work.

Genre, direction

The work “Rothschild's Violin” belongs to the short story genre. This can be judged by the small size of the text, the presence of one central character and, accordingly, one storyline. Secondary characters, first of all, reveal the character of the main character, and do not develop independently.

The literary direction in which the author worked was realism. The situations are quite everyday, everyday; the individuals who fall into them are typical. A special place is given to psychologism and reliability in the description. In addition, important social issues are displayed.

Meaning of the name

At first, the reader may not understand why this particular title was given to the story “Rothschild’s Violin,” since the main character is a completely different person.

Rothschild is a flutist from the orchestra in which Yakov sometimes performs. There is some animosity between the men due to Ivanov’s groundless nagging, which the Jew is very offended by.

“If I didn’t respect you for your talent, you would have fallen through my window long ago,” he says.

In this regard, the title is puzzling, and the true idea is revealed only towards the end.

Depressed by the misfortunes that have occurred, Yakov gives his musical instrument to this particular character, and he soon becomes known for his sad song that brings tears to his listeners. This melody was originally played by Yakov at the moment of emotional shock, and Rothschild was only nearby. And he decided in this way to preserve the memory of the tragic fate of his friend.

Anton Chekhov - Rothschild's Violin

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich

Rothschild violin

A.P. CHEKHOV

ROTHSCHILD VIOLIN

The town was small, worse than a village, and almost only old people lived in it, who died so rarely that it was even annoying. The hospital and prison castle required very few coffins. In a word, things were bad. If Yakov Ivanov were an undertaker in a provincial town, then he would probably have his own house and his name would be Yakov Matveich; here in the town they called him simply Yakov, for some reason he had a street nickname - Bronze, and he lived poorly, like a simple peasant, in a small old hut, where there was only one room, and in this room he, Martha, and the stove were located , double bed, coffins, workbench and all the household items.

Yakov made good, durable coffins. For peasants and townspeople, he made them according to his own height and never made a mistake, since there were no people taller or stronger than him anywhere, even in the prison castle, although he was already over seventy. For the nobles and for women he made according to measurements and used an iron arshin for this. He accepted orders for children's coffins very reluctantly and made them without measurements, with contempt, and every time he received money for work, he said:

— Frankly, I don’t like to deal with nonsense.

In addition to being a master, playing the violin also brought him a small income. In the town, at weddings, a Jewish orchestra usually played, led by tinker Moisei Ilyich Shakhkes, who took more than half of the income for himself. Since Yakov played the violin very well, especially Russian songs, Shakhkes sometimes invited him to the orchestra with a fee of fifty kopecks a day, not counting gifts from guests. When Bronze sat in the orchestra, the first thing he did was sweat and his face turned purple; it was hot, it smelled of garlic to the point of stuffiness, the violin was squealing, a double bass was wheezing at the right ear, and a flute was crying at the left ear, played by a red-haired, skinny Jew with a whole network of red and blue veins on his face, who bore the name of the famous rich man Rothschild. And this damned Jew managed to play even the most cheerful things pitifully. For no apparent reason, Yakov little by little became imbued with hatred and contempt for the Jews, and especially for Rothschild; he began to find fault, scold him with bad words and once even wanted to beat him, and Rothschild was offended and said, looking at him fiercely:

“If I didn’t respect you for your talent, you would have fallen through my window a long time ago.”

Then he started crying. Therefore, Bronze was not often invited to the orchestra, only in cases of extreme necessity, when one of the Jews was missing.

Yakov was never in a good mood, as he constantly had to endure terrible losses. For example, it was a sin to work on Sundays and holidays, Monday was a hard day, and thus there were about two hundred days in the year when one had to sit idle involuntarily. But what a loss this is! If someone in the city held a wedding without music or Shakhkes did not invite Yakov, then this was also a loss. The police warden was sick and wasting away for two years, and Yakov impatiently waited for him to die, but the warden went to the provincial town for treatment and died there. So there you have a loss of at least ten rubles, since the coffin would have to be made expensive, with a lid. Thoughts about losses bothered Yakov especially at night; he would put the violin next to him on the bed and, when all sorts of nonsense came into his head, he would touch the strings, the violin would make a sound in the dark, and he would feel better.

On May 6th last year, Marfa suddenly fell ill. The old woman was breathing heavily, drinking a lot of water and staggering, but still in the morning she heated the stove herself and even walked on water. By evening she fell ill. Yakov played the violin all day; when it got completely dark, he took the book in which he wrote down his losses every day, and out of boredom began to sum up the annual results. It turned out to be more than a thousand rubles. This shocked him so much that he slammed the abacus on the floor and stamped his feet. Then he took off the abacus and again clicked for a long time and sighed deeply and intensely. His face was purple and wet with sweat. He thought that if he had put this lost thousand rubles in the bank, then the minimum interest would have accumulated per year - forty rubles. This means that these forty rubles are also a loss. In a word, wherever you turn, there are only losses and nothing more.

- Yakov! - Martha called unexpectedly. - I'm dying!

He looked back at his wife. Her face was pink from the heat, unusually clear and joyful. Bronze, accustomed to always seeing her face pale, timid and unhappy, was now embarrassed. It was as if she was really dying and was glad that she was finally leaving this hut forever, from the coffins, from Yakov... And she looked at the ceiling and moved her lips, and her expression was happy, as if she had seen death , her deliverer, and whispered to her.

It was already dawn, through the window you could see how the morning dawn was burning. Looking at the old woman, Yakov for some reason remembered that in his entire life he, it seems, had never caressed her, never felt sorry for her, never once thought to buy her a handkerchief or bring her something sweet from the wedding, but only shouted at her and scolded her. for losses, he attacked her with his fists; True, he never beat her, but he still frightened her, and every time she froze with fear. Yes, he did not order her to drink tea, because the expenses were already high, and she only drank hot water. And he understood why she now had such a strange, joyful face, and he felt terrified.

Waiting until morning, he borrowed a horse from a neighbor and took Marfa to the hospital. There weren't many sick people here, and so he didn't have to wait long, about three hours. To his great pleasure, this time it was not the doctor who was seeing the patients, who was himself ill, but the paramedic Maxim Nikolaich, an old man about whom everyone in the city said that although he was a drinker and a fighter, he understood more than the doctor.

“We wish you good health,” Yakov said, leading the old woman into the reception room. Sorry, we keep bothering you, Maxim Nikolaich, with our trivial affairs. Here, if you please, my subject has fallen ill. Friend of life, as they say, excuse the expression...

Frowning his gray eyebrows and stroking his whiskers, the paramedic began to look around the old woman, and she was sitting on a stool, hunched over and skinny, with a pointed nose, with her mouth open, and in profile she looked like a bird that was thirsty.

“Hm-yes... So...” the paramedic said slowly and sighed. Influenza, and maybe a fever. Now typhus is spreading throughout the city. Well? The old lady lived, thank God... How old is she?

- Yes, seventy years ago, Maxim Nikolaich.

- Well? The old lady lived. It's time to know the honor.

“It was, of course, rightly deigned to note, Maxim Nikolaich,” said Yakov, smiling out of politeness, “and we thank you sensitively for your pleasantness, but let me put it this way, every insect wants to live.”

- You never know! - said the paramedic in such a tone, as if it depended on him whether the old woman lived or died. “Well, my dear, you will apply a cold compress to her head and give her these powders, two a day.” And then goodbye, bonjour.

From the expression on his face, Yakov saw that things were bad and that no amount of powder could help; It was now clear to him that Martha would die very soon, not today or tomorrow. He lightly touched the paramedic on the elbow, winked his eye and said in a low voice:

- She should, Maxim Nikolaich, supply the cans.

- No time, no time, my dear. Take your old woman and leave with God. Goodbye.

“Do me such a favor,” Yakov begged. “If you would like to know for yourself, if she had, say, a stomach ache or some kind of internal pain, well, then powders and drops, otherwise she has a cold!” When you have a cold, the first thing to do is get rid of the blood, Maxim Nikolaich.

And the paramedic had already called the next patient, and a woman and a boy entered the waiting room.

“Go, go...” he said to Yakov, frowning. - There’s no point in casting a shadow.

- In that case, at least give her some leeches! Make you pray to God forever!

The paramedic flared up and shouted:

- Talk to me again! Ddubina...

Yakov also flared up and turned purple all over, but did not say a word, but took Marfa by the arm and led her out of the waiting room. Only when they were getting into the cart did he look sternly and mockingly at the hospital and said:

- They impaled you here, artists! For a rich man I would probably supply jars, but for a poor man I would spare even one leech. Herods!

When we arrived home, Marfa entered the hut and stood for ten minutes, holding onto the stove. It seemed to her that if she lay down, Yakov would talk about the losses and scold her for lying there and not wanting to work. And Yakov looked at her with boredom and remembered that tomorrow was St. John the Evangelist, the day after tomorrow St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and then Sunday, then Monday was a hard day. It will be impossible to work for four days, and Martha will probably die on one of these days; This means the coffin must be made today. He took his iron yardstick, walked up to the old woman and took her measurements. Then she lay down, and he crossed himself and began making a coffin.

When the work was finished, Bronze put on his glasses and wrote in his book:

“Marfa Ivanova’s coffin - 2 rubles. 40 k.”

And sighed. The old woman lay silently all the time with her eyes closed. But in the evening, when it got dark, she suddenly called the old man.

The gist: what is the story about?

The undertaker Yakov Ivanov lives with his wife Marfa in a small village. Their house is old, the feelings between them have long faded, but they are too used to each other to part.

Besides work, Yakov enjoys music - sometimes he is called to perform in a group. The Jew Rothschild also plays there, relations with whom are not going well.

Ivanov rarely rejoices - worries about material well-being do not give him peace, since instead of profit he has only losses. The town was small, people died rarely. And then the wife becomes seriously ill, and she has almost no chance of getting better, which is confirmed by the conclusion of the local doctor. He didn’t even spend time on treatment, despite Yakov’s persuasion. However, Martha died with a happy expression on her face, which greatly embarrassed Jacob.

But even in these hours, Yakov is not thinking about how to say goodbye, but about how much money he will have to spend on the funeral, and how he can profit. He truly realizes his loss only when he returns from the cemetery, and for the first time he seriously thinks about whether he disposed of his life correctly? He also regrets that he did not give Marfa enough love.

Suddenly Rothschild appears with the news that Ivanov is invited to visit, but he drives him away. All evening and all night he is haunted by sad memories. The next morning he decides to go to the hospital. Returning home, the hero takes up the violin to throw out the pain accumulated in his soul. Then the Jew appears again, but this time he is allowed to stay.

Soon Jacob also dies of melancholy, and bequeaths his musical instrument to Rothschild. Since then, Rothschild has performed melodies only on it, trying to repeat what his acquaintance composed that mournful morning. And the public really likes these plaintive songs.

The main characters and their characteristics

Yakov Ivanov is a seventy-year-old resident of a small town who makes custom coffins. He reached certain heights in his profession. Sometimes he plays the violin in an orchestra. He is very thrifty, since the business does not bring much income: it comes to the point that he has to save on his wife’s funeral. Nicknamed Bronze, but his origins are not revealed. The hero sharply rethinks all his actions after the death of Martha, and comes to the conclusion that his life was in vain.

Marfa is Ivanov's wife. She was sad and timid all her life. Her facial expression became happy only on the eve of her death. Poverty, hopelessness and boredom greatly undermined the woman’s psychological state. She was very burdened by the realization that God did not give them children. Throughout the fifty years of marriage, Martha cared for her husband, but in response she received only indifference.

Rothschild is an amiable and sociable person who is discredited by everyone around him because of his Jewish origin. He had a pale and “pathetic” face. They are rude to him, they tease him, and he is very offended. Only before his death Ivanov realized that without any benefit or need he had frightened and driven away this man, who in essence treated him kindly. Because of the eternal bullying, the hero is always afraid of attack and harsh words. But he is endowed with the gift of compassion, so he was able to sympathize with Ivanov in moments of grief. After Ivanov’s death, success comes to Rothschild: the deceased’s song is in demand.

Essay based on Chekhov's story "Rothschild's Violin"

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The death of loved ones or a quick death of one’s own can really change a person a lot, make him think about his actions, the meaning of life, rethink his actions and even in some cases begin to regret something. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's story "Rothschild's Violin" tells about one such person - the old undertaker Yakov Ivanov, nicknamed Bronze.

Bronze was not only an undertaker, but also an excellent violin player. He had a really great talent, so despite the fact that he had a simply disgusting character, if it was necessary to play the violin, he was always called.

But besides the violinist, there were other musicians in the local orchestra, one of them was a flutist named Rothschild. This musician constantly became a victim of the callous Bronze; he either scolded him, threatened him with immediate violence, or even set dogs on him. But everything comes to an end someday.

Bronze's wife suffered all her life because of his greed, callousness and lack of expressions of love for her. As a result, she becomes deathly ill. Bronze looks at his terminally ill wife and understands that she is happy to leave this world where she had nothing good and bright. What he saw in the examples of his wife makes an unpleasant and even terrible impression on him. His eternal greed and calculation of the money he could earn fades into the background, giving way to the revelation he faces.

Soon Bronze himself begins to feel very physically unwell. After a visit to the doctor, he realizes that he has very little time left to live. Later, a spiritual epiphany descended on Yakov Ivanov, he begins to understand how wrong he was throughout his life.

He realizes that he was unfair and dishonest to the people around him, that he offended them without reason. That is why he changes his attitude towards Rothschild. Lying on his deathbed, Yakov plays Rothschild his beautiful melody on the violin and teaches him to play it. During his confession before his death, he even orders to give this violin to Rothschild and only then dies.

The main character of Anton Chekhov's story “Rothschild's Violin,” Yakov Ivanov, was a callous and even cruel person. He watched the death of his wife with surprise, after which something was revealed to him that he had never thought about before. It was for this reason that he changed his attitude towards the whole world, including the flautist Rothschild, whom he had previously mocked greatly.

It is a pity that such a discovery happened to Ivanov only before his death. If this had happened earlier, he would have had a chance to live at least a few years happy.

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Themes

The topics touched upon by the author in the story “Rothschild’s Violin” are directly related to the individual and his sense of self in the world. This is a revaluation of the worldview, and interpersonal relationships, and the guilt that a person experiences for what he did not have time to do or say before it was too late; as well as the question of the meaning of existence in general.

The theme of finding your place in the world. The hero, in his declining years, realized that he had never found his place in the world. He is tormented by thoughts that he could have done a lot in life, but did not do it because he behaved incorrectly. This repentance came too late: Ivanov dies in despair, having never realized his dreams.
Family theme. Yakov understands that it was completely in vain to be indifferent to his family. His wife always took care of him, did not reproach him, and meekly tolerated his drunken antics and late arrivals home. But he only offended his wife or did not notice her at all. Therefore, Martha died with an expression of happiness on her face, not without regrets leaving the poor hut and the greedy husband.
Theme of compassion and mercy. Rothschild was offended and even beaten by many because of his origins, but he was not a bad person. But despite this treatment of the environment, he learned to sympathize with people and treat them without retaliatory anger. Therefore, he managed to catch and play the melody of Ivanov’s despair, which later brought him success.
Art theme. Only playing the violin gave Yakov the strength to endure unbearable living conditions. Music consoled him in his grief. He even took the violin with him to bed to console himself during his nightly vigils. Only creativity fed the poor man throughout his life.
Ecology theme. Auto casually mentions that the forest around the city is being cut down, and it is not at all clear why. He considers this a senseless and harmful phenomenon that only worsens the atmosphere in cities and villages.

Is there something missing? The many-wise Litrekon will complement the theme of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” if you write in the comments what is missing.

"Rothschild's Violin" analysis

"Rothschild's Violin" Chekhov analysis

Story by A.P. Chekhov's "Rothschild's Violin" was written in 1894 and belongs to the late work of the writer.

The main characters of "Rothschild's Violin": the undertaker Jacob, his wife Martha and Rothschild

The plot of “Rothschild’s Violin” is very unusual and interesting. It is difficult to understand and comprehend. After reading, an unpleasant aftertaste remains, somehow heavy on the soul. It's a pity for the main characters that nothing can be changed. It’s a pity for meaninglessly lived lives, because the indicator of how you lived your life is not money at all, but emotions, feelings, experiences, what you can take with you.

The story begins with an exposition , where the author introduces the characters, their worldview and characters. The plot develops with the death of Martha, who pushes Jacob to experience a meaninglessly lived life. If this had not happened, then life would have gone on as usual day after day. Yakov, after rethinking his existence, is so discouraged by ideological “blindness” that he reacts even to the offer of income at the wedding with a decisive refusal.

Why is the story called "Rothschild's Violin"? Jacob bequeathed the violin to Rothschild so that he would preserve something more than just a violin; the violin becomes a symbol of spiritual rebirth, rethinking. The violin is not at all a piece of wood with several strumming fishing lines, it is Yakov’s soul, unburdened by the calculation of his losses, which have blinded his eyes all his life. Only she can give temporary peace to Yakov, and in these moments it is clear that he realizes how absurd his life is, how stupid and meaningless, that even death seems like a deliverance.

Yakov Matveevich , nicknamed Bronze, is a simple man of seventy years old, strong, tall, a little stocky. He works as an undertaker and plays the violin part-time. He is very upset when it happens that a rich man he knows dies in another city - for Yakov this is a decent loss. Even realizing that his wife Martha is dying, he does not feel sorry for her, does not spend his last hours with her, but evaluates when it is better to make a coffin: “...tomorrow St. John the Theologian, the day after tomorrow St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and then Sunday, then Monday - a hard day. It won’t be possible to work for four days... which means the coffin must be made today.” At first you can’t understand the hero - it seems that he is miserable, fixated on his calculations and coffins. But reading the story further, pity awakens in his soul, because something had to influence him, perhaps the death of a child, which becomes known in Martha’s dying monologue. Yakov understands the worthlessness of his life, he is amazed at how many other opportunities there were to earn money and receive income from them, but he chose the dull profession of an undertaker. This is where the conflict of the hero’s character lies.

Martha is an easy-going, gentle and virtuous homemaker who never reproached her husband and obeyed him impeccably, even being afraid of him. The author makes Martha a prototype of the martyr who bore her cross without complaining about life or her husband, and received deliverance from all this through a blessed death for her. She is transparent, it’s as if she doesn’t exist, but after Marfa is gone, Yakov realizes that he has never touched her in his entire life and treated her like a dog or a cat. The secondary character of Martha does not evolve in the story, but she is fundamentally important to the plot.

Rothschild is a Jew who has only a surname in common with a famous clan of bankers. He is timid and overly emotional. Rothschild played in the orchestra, to which Yakov was occasionally invited. Their relationship did not work out on the initiative of Bronze, who himself had no idea why there was so much contempt, bile and desire for Rothschild to beat him harder.

The ending is strong in meaning, but very difficult to interpret. So, in the end, the hero receives everything he thought about in the last days of his life: benefit for another (for Rothschild), recognition and memory, immortalized by the melody played by Jacob and Rothschild, who received this violin. And even if not everyone knows that the melody was composed by Yakov, a musician, and not a rude undertaker, they all enjoy listening to it. The song is loved and understood by everyone. By handing over the violin to Rothschild, Jacob bequeaths to him along with it his soul, but already freed from prejudice.

Problems

The problems of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” are presented in the list:

One of the problems raised by the writer is the callousness of the soul. At first, the main character appears to us as stingy and evil - worries about the amount of money overshadow everything else for him, because in order to survive he has to save a lot. Yakov can also be called embittered: for practically no reason he hates Rothschild and humiliates his wife. To change, he needed a strong push in the form of a personal tragedy.
The problem of missed opportunities is also revealed. The hero has almost 70 years behind him, but most of them were wasted. Remembering, he realizes that he never fully enjoyed anything, did not do what he really wanted. He also reflects on the fact that people are so carried away by competition that they do not notice the beautiful at all. “Why do people interfere with each other’s lives?” – this is the question he asks.
The problem of indifference. Alas, Yakov was indifferent to his wife, who loved him. He could have made her happy, but all his time was spent worrying about money. Therefore, the hero met death with disappointment and repentance, because he was indifferent to life itself and could not achieve happiness because of this.
The problem of cruelty. A gloomy atmosphere of decline and mutual hostility reigns in the city. Even children insult and persecute a Jew simply because he is a Jew. They insult Yakov behind his back. And Yakov himself only gets angry and expresses aggression. Even the local doctor is indifferent to his patients, saying: “It has lived and will be!” The doctor even refuses to treat the patient because, in his opinion, she is old and therefore will die anyway.

main idea

Through the image of the main character, the main idea of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” is conveyed that, carried away by everyday worries, a person can completely forget about the world around him. And the moment he finally wakes up, he suddenly realizes that he doesn’t remember anything good at all. It was as if he had never lived at all.

“...but still it’s insulting and bitter: why is there such a strange order in the world that life, which is given to a person only once, passes without benefit?” - flashes through Yakov’s head.

The meaning of the story “Rothschild’s Violin” is that a person should not focus on money and profit, on material values and his ambitions, otherwise he may miss something very important in life - life itself with its joys and beauties. Yakov, trying to earn more, did not see the beautiful river next to his house, nor the forests and fields, nor his devoted wife. All the good things passed him by. A person must do everything possible so as not to repeat Jacob’s mistakes - this is the main idea of the story “Rothschild’s Violin”.

On death's door

However, when Yakov’s wife is dying, he begins to think that his life was meaningless, that in all the years of marriage he never caressed his wife, that she wasted away next to him, which is why she was so happy about her approaching death. Having understood this truth, he himself falls ill and feels that death will soon take him too. The only thing he was sorry for was the violin, which would remain alone after death.

Yakov Bronza takes the violin and begins to play it. At this moment, Rothschild, whom Jacob did not like, comes to the hero. The main character plays soulful music, it greatly influenced the soul of the visiting Rothschild. He stood as tears fell from his eyes. Yakov’s violin playing deeply sank into Rothschild’s soul; it is precisely this kind of creativity that can be called true art.

Only just before his death did Yakov manage to create a real work of art that touches to the depths of the soul. The “plaintive and touching” melody, telling about Jacob’s wasted life, was able to accurately convey the feelings and emotions of the creator, and was also able to convey the mood of sadness.

What does it teach?

Only after losing his wife does Yakov realize that he is too accustomed to her constant presence near him. He regrets that he did not treat her warmly enough and did not say kind words. Seeing the mistake, the hero repents, but can no longer correct anything. The writer in the story “Rothschild’s Violin” makes us think that sometimes it is worth paying more attention to those around us, so as not to grieve about the lost time and the chance lost forever.

What does the story “Rothschild's Violin” teach? The author also calls for humanism and caring attitude toward those around you. After all, it will be much easier to live if, instead of hostility, people feel sympathy for each other. We must help each other and live in such a way that we are not ashamed and bitter about the years we spent aimlessly.

Bronze's married life

Undertaker Yakov is a stern man, and the craft itself contributes to this. But he lived most of his life as a consumer and hoarder. He treated his wife more like a working animal than a person. Only when she got sick did Yakov think about how much his wife did during their life together. Even sick, Martha continues to perform difficult household duties, but her strength soon leaves her. The wife calls her husband, she lies with a clear and somehow joyful expression on her face in anticipation of the long-awaited eternal rest, called by Bertolt Brecht “the day of the Holy Never.” They talk, Martha reminds Yakov about the short-lived happiness of his parents. The girl, their child, died. A.P. Chekhov succinctly narrates this sad moment of common fate in the words of a dying elderly woman in the story “Rothschild’s Violin.” Analysis and comparison of time intervals gives grounds to conclude that the child was only two years old. During the entire time of their marriage, Yakov never once showed tenderness to his wife; he catches himself thinking about this. However, he does not feel remorse at this moment.

Artistic Features

With the help of speech, the character of the characters and their emotions are conveyed. In this regard, many exclamatory sentences with a negative message are used: “Talk to me again!”, “Herods!”, “Leave me alone!”, “Get out of sight!”.

There is a stylization of Rothschild’s speech in a Jewish accent: “Mr. Shapovalov is giving away the daughter of a good man...”.

Despite this, there are few dialogues in the text, and attention is focused on the internal monologues of the central character, in which his spiritual development is visible (thoughts about losses, worries about wasted years, etc.).

Among the artistic means of expressiveness, one can single out epithets related to the description of the characters’ appearance: “long, skinny back”, “red-haired skinny Jew”, “blond hair”. This helps the reader imagine the images more accurately and vividly.