Friday, January 9, 2009
Tuning “Rothschild's Fiddle”
Characteristic of Chekhov's fiction is the Chekhovian moment, a moment of epiphany when a ray of light gleams within a character's mind and he/she recognizes an essential truth. After reading and re-reading Rothschild's Fiddle, make a decision where the Chekhovian moment appears in the story and discuss it with your colleagues. And don’t be content simply to identify that moment—discuss its meaning and its spiritual impact. What signs along the path of the story—Jacob’s path—prefigure it and lend it richness?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
33 comments:
I think that the Chekhovian moment came in one of two places: either when Martha says "I'm dying" or when Jacob realizes that he had never given her any form of affection. I"m leaning more towards the realization of his lack of affection, because it comes up again towards the end of the story, and it also peeks out in his actions against Rothschild as well as the way the boys treat him.
I'll attempt to make something orderly of my ideas:
Jacob realizes that he has never given affection to Martha. Martha dies. Jacob takes part in some inner-reflection. He wishes he could have done things differently.
^ That is when the 'revelation' takes place.
He shows what can only be called the opposite of affection to Rothschild. The boys fishing for crayfish shout at him nastily.
^ He commits his final act of anti-love, when it starts to swing back at him.
He again wishes he could do things differently. He's going to die.
^ He wants only to be able to do everything again, but he's going to die. The thing that I found funny is that he keeps talking about money. Profit this, income that, but when he talks about his own death he just fears that his fiddle will rot.
He picks up his fiddle, plays a sorrowful tune, Rothschild walks in.
^ The fiddle being given to Rothschild, the person he hated and beat, maybe symbolizes him wishing forgiveness for mistreating his wife? He gives away his most prized possession in return for the hope that it will be taken care of, and he parts with it by playing a sorrowful tone. His wife as well parted on a sad note (at least that's what I understood, what with a child dying), but doesn't leave anything behind.
The spiritual impact is that of purging his sins -- both literally and figuratively -- before he dies. The entire ordeal about going to confession and giving Rothschild the fiddle is a purgation of all the bad parts of his spirit which he hopes will make up for the past 70-some years that his spirit had to become bad.
I have two questions: what was the point of Martha speaking of the fair-haired child, and why did Chekhov include the "buxom, red-cheeked woman"? It seems so out of place.
I believe that there were a few minor epiphanies leading up to one that seems to have the greatest impact, this being the moment when Jacob finally remembers the baby under the willow tree. After realizing that he had remembered this instance, which he previously had much trouble doing, by understanding that this had happened, Jacob allows himself to rethink everything, even the inconsequential matters. Then by contemplating his situation and his life, he comes to a feeling of equanimity, and sort of painless, empty peace.
When one forgets, it is as though it never happened, and for Jacob, it was as though his life had never happened. He was content, just knowing that he was unhappy and wasteful for the duration of his life up until this point, was enough for him. Our whole lives we suffer, and we foolishly believe that there is an end to this suffering by achieving something, or doing something, or feeling something, but no matter what we do it never truly comes to an end. Jacob goes through this revelation while he questions the life he could have had, the jobs he could have had fishing or barging or goose-slaughtering, and the immense amount of money he could have had, and how he could have treated his wife so much more greatly. Eventually his thoughts lead him to the truth, that he could never escape the pain and his life could never be better. Thus by realizing that life is such, Jacob is somewhat freed from the suffering, and that is where the true peace is found.
This is just what I think; I am open to other opinions though.
The Chekhovian moment does appear in this story: when he realizes the constant loss of money from taking days off and when he recognizes the importance of one's life by observing Martha die. However, the more significant moment occurs when Jacob ponders over the importance of life as Martha dies.
The process leading up to Jacob's epiphany begins when he hears Martha cry out, " Jacob, I'm dying," and find that "Her face was flushed m the heat, her expression was exceptionally bright and joyous... glad to be saying a permanent good-bye to hut, coffins and Jacob at long last." Jacob realizes that he had never done anything to show affection to his wife throughout the 52 years that they had been married. Instead, all he only displayed bitterness and anger to her by threatening her and yelling at her. Also, he had been so focused on money and how much losses he endured throughout his life, Jacob never took the time to appreciate and/or do anything to make the most out of his life. I believe that he has an epiphany for the appreciation of life and for the people, especially loved ones, around him. As he meditates upon his life, he wishes that he could have done things differently. "Life had flowed past without profit, without enjoyment-- gone aimlessly, leaving nothing to show for it." I also agree with Michael in that when Jacob gave away his fiddle to Rothschild, he does this as a act of repentance for his previous actions, especially to Martha.
I agree with Michael, but I’m half and half about Fiona’s comment. His epiphany for me was when he walked and saw the willow tree. That paragraph of him reminiscing was the only time that he had thought of something besides money and anger. I agree with Fiona that, we live life always wanting more, and regretting what we didn’t do and missing the chance of doing something more with our lives. Jacob, however, didn’t realize that what he had around him was all he needed to be happy. He took everything for granted, and wasn’t content with his surroundings. He had his wife, he had a roof over his head, he made the right amount of money to get by in his life, but he was always looking for more.
The things that led to his epiphany was his wife dieing (the process of her dieing), Rothschild’s weak and frail nature that displayed a lot of innocence, and himself.
When Martha fell ill to the mysterious disease, the scene was set to almost an awakening of thoughts, “It was dawn and the first rays were seen through the window” (2). In a sense, it was. A stream of thoughts came rushing to him, bombarded by the flow of regrets that he had for her. The care that she gave him, and the flick of the wrist that he gave her. By then, it was too late, but he still cared about her less than the amount of money that he was losing. Martha going to the hospital was another light bulb moment. When Jacob met Maxim (which is funny to see that his name means the truth) he met a man that is similar to him. A man who might not like his job and taking the knowledge that he has for granted. By seeing himself through someone else, he sees how when someone needs him, all he does is pushes them away. Maxim and Jacob have a lot of similar characteristics, they live in a community where the people are healthy fellows, and what they need are them to be sick and dieing to gain more money. They take what they have for granted, using what they know to make the people around them suffer, but also make themselves suffer by going through what they could have, and not what they do have.
With Martha falling ill, I think the most prominent line was when she remembered the baby, but he couldn’t. I thought it was strange how he’s looking at his regrets, but the regrets that keep him up at night are the material objects, and not the things that matter. A daughter is forgotten, but a copeck lost over fifty years ago, he still remembers.
With Rothschild. I think it was fairly funny or just sad that Jacob wanted to be a recognized citizen in his community, but it was his actions that caused the little boys to tease him as he walked by the riverbank. It was his anger and his sullenness that made Rothschild cringe before him instead of revering the talent that he had. Making Rothschild run away and get bitten by the dog was his last mistake.
“Why do people always do the wrong things? Why had Jacob spent all his life cursing, bellowing, threatening people with his fists, ill-treating his wife? And what, oh what, as the point of scaring and insulting that Jew just now? Why are people generally such a nuisance to each other? After all, it’s all such a waste of money, a terrible waste it is… Man’s life is debit, is death credit… Why are things so oddly arranged? You only live once, so why don’t you get anything out of it?” (5). Jacob is coming to the conclusion that money does not make a man happy. That it’s how people are to others to build their credibility and their reputations to be remembered. What Jacob really wanted to become was a prominent figure in society, and he believed that it was through money and owning a big house, he could gain that. The last question that he thought is his epiphany, live life so that you’re happy. Don’t live life making yourself miserable and thinking of what should be done when something else can be done. Take action.
The reason for giving Rothschild the fiddle, I agree with Michael that he is repenting for his sins, but also now he can be remembered. When people think of him, they not only think of him as the grave old man that constructed the coffins, they will think of him as the one that created beautiful music, because that’s what made him who he was. The music brought out who he could’ve been. It is him after death.
To me, the Chekhovian moment comes after Martha tells Jacob that she’s dying. When the sun comes up and she’s lying there, Jacob realizes that he has never shown her any affection in all their years together. The realization that he had never thought to bring her sweetmeats from a wedding he had played at, to buy her a her kerchief, or to even show her kindness. He sees that instead of showing her the affection that she deserved he had instead yelled, threatened, and blamed her for his ‘losses’.
This epiphany that Jacob has would be an incredibly difficult one to deal with- there is nothing he can do to try to make up for the past 50 years to Martha, it’s to late.
When Jacob comes across the willow tree, he seems to have a second epiphany. He does remember the fair-haired baby that Martha had spoken of and he realizes that he had essentially wasted much of his life. He sees the possible value of the river and contemplates why people (including himself) are such a nuisance to one another.
The second epiphany really makes Jacob question what he’s done with his life- what has he done that was worth anything? At the end of the story, the song that Jacob plays on his fiddle seems to say it all. His sorrow and regret for not giving Martha the kindness and love she deserved, remembering the fair-haired baby, regret for treating Rothschild as he did, and not doing more with his life.
I would say that he realizes how truly empty and wasteful his marriage and life has been in his wife's last few days. However, to me, this isn't really an epiphany (or Chekhovian moment) but it leads him to that moment, which is when he is at the river (under the willow) and begins to see the incredible amount of opportunities the river could have provided—the wealth and fortune that was not exploited. Though his mind is still focused on money, he realizes his mistakes and is now headed toward an honest way to stop them, though little too late.
Something interesting I noted was that the river could be a parallel to his wife; the way he views what could have been with the river is also the same with his wife. However, I never noticed him viewing his wife with all the 'could have been' that was applied to the river.
I believe that in order to have an epiphany a lack of knowledge has to be there to begin with. This is illustrated when Jacob pittys his dying wife and explains to her that they never had a baby, and that "you're imagining things." This moment alludes to the fact that Jacob might actually be wrong in correcting his wife. What is unclear at this moment is the purpose or importance of the child. Naturally this should be revealed when Jacob himself goes through the same thing Martha is going right now, just before death.
Thus the epiphany happened at the moment when "suddenly Jacob's memory threw up a vivid Image of that fair-haired baby and the willow that Martha had spoken of." What makes this description so poignant, yet reminicent of an epiphany is the word "suddenly." Epiphanies come quick and fast, then there are long winded (sometimes boring) explinations that proceed them. So when Jacob has a thought come to mind suddenly, he is also having this Chekhovian moment. Here is Jacob's epiphany.
The proceeding thoughts about profit, money, and missed opportunity are all thought processes that try to lead Jacob to the conclusion he is trying to make out of this epiphany. None seem to be the right one because he keeps moving on to other subjects and tangents that relate, but don't connect in such a way that merit a conclusion worthy of an old man about to die. That is until he comes to the almost socialistic conclusion at the end of the paragraph where he says "without the hate and malice folks could get a lot of profit out of each other."
This new notion on life is mirrored by how Jacob interacts with Rothschild. Previously he had been bitter toward the Jew, but now Jacob tries to get "profit out of each other" by helping him out. Jacob does this by giving him his prized fiddle. With this act Jacob single-handedly made a great musiction, bring to pass his ideal of profiting those around him by being good versus taking advantage of the misfortune of others.
To me, it seems like there are three significant moments when Jacob Ivanov realizes a couple of essential truths.
The first when Martha proclaims she's dying and he thinks about his lack of affection towards her. Her happy face, eager for death, gives him chills. It dawns on him that he hasn't been a very good husband over the years (and because he's 70, I'll assume they've been married for a long time making this even more sorrowful). Jacob seems to be hit hard by this personal fault. I half-expected him to go "yay!" instead of taking her to a doctor after reading what his character was like on the first page.
The second occurs under the willow tree. After taunts by village children and threats to Rothschild, he sits under the old tree and remembers and reflects on his memories. By seeing the tree, the image of his long-forgotten dead daughter comes back. [MICHAEL! I think Chekhov mentioned the babe because perhaps it was the last happy day for Martha. I imagine it to be because people change after their kid dies (like maybe Jacob? I can't picture him singing joyfully).] Jacob seems bothered by how easily time reduces the worth of things. It was hard to him to imagine the barges by the river. And there used to be a forest in place of the meadow. Maybe the remembering made him feel more useless and unprofitable.
The third happens when Jacob realizes he's dying himself. He goes to the doctor and there he realizes by the tone of the doctor's voice that he can't do anything about it. Not that he minds too much about it though. Death would be a gain - albeit a very arguable gain. Once again Jacob dwells on how his overall life meant little. But the fiddle helps give him worth, like how it provides him extra income and comfort. Although it does not comfort him to lose it.
As a way to make up for his regrets, he gives Rothschild his fiddle to make the boy happier and to provide after-death use to what he cherishes most. Light upon his trials results in repent. Even though realizing that his wife only became happy when she knew she was dying (that he had some part in that) and reflecting over the worth of his life brought him more darkness to his inner feelings, they act as light when he gives the fiddle away.
If I had to pick one of the three for the story's Chekhovian moment, I'd pick the willow scene. The willow scene fishes for all of his regrets, memories, and realizations and brings it all out for him to think about.
Why is garlic associated with Jews?
I like what Thanh’s said above, about Jacob’s development over the course of the story through what he sees in the other characters---and that the music of Rothchild’s fiddle represents what Jacob could have been, had he made his realization earlier in life.
So I won’t talk about what she’s already said.
But there was something in this story that I wanted to think about more deeply, and Michael asks about it at the end of his post:
>what was the point of Martha speaking of the fair-haired child (and why did Chekhov include the "buxom, red-cheeked woman")? It seems so out of place.
Out of place, eh? The first time I read through Rothschild's Fiddle, I had the same thought. It doesn’t really seem important to the revelation he ultimately comes to, in the end.
But after reading it again a couple times, I don't feel that way anymore. Her mentioning the fair-haired child isn’t out-of-place---in fact, I believe that it's a revelatory moment that directly sets up the Chekhovian moment.
Chekhov begins almost comically with an overwhelmingly negative old man. Everything around him, from his restricted fiddle to forced idleness for four days of seven to missed opportunities for coffin-making, reminds him of an ever-present sense of “loss.”
But why is Yakov so negative about everything? Why deal with “this tomfoolery”? He’s well aware that he’d be less miserable and suffer less “losses” in another profession or in a county town, but he stays in “this dump” with his failing job and his one-roomed shack. Why does he just stay fixated on loss all the time?
The revelation comes when Martha reminds him of their long-dead child. Jacob rejects it as an dying old woman’s delusional rambling.
But then as he walks along the river, he is at last reminded of his past at the willow, and considers it as he walks along the riverbank. Here the Chekhovian moment begins.
Yakov isn’t just a cranky old fool. He’s been dealing with a deep sadness and grieving in the worst way. He’s suppressed what he’s grieving for, so a vague sense of loss permeates his entire life outlook. Sadly, in the end his ruination is entirely his own.
In the river, Yakov sees his past, as well as some of his present and his future. The “water sparkled till it hurt the eyes,” just as the truth of his past is painful to consider. Then he looks at the past, full of barges and vast flocks of geese, full of the same abundant happiness he once had in life. But just as the town has wasted the river, he has squandered his own life---the abandoned, decrepit river of the present reflects his own miserable situation.
“Why wasn’t that common put to use? Why do people always do the wrong things? Why had Jacob spent all his life cursing, bellowing, threatening people with his fists, ill-treating his wife?”
By facing the river, he properly faces loss and tragedy, both in his life and the river’s---and eventually comes to accept it.
Rothschild angers Yakov because of the way he plays his music. “. . . this bloody little Jew even contrived to play the merriest tunes in lachrymose style.” He becomes upset with Rothschild because the latter’s music brings back thoughts of true loss and tragedy. At the end of the story, Yakov expresses himself through similarly sorrowful music and gives Rothschild his violin to carry on the acceptance of death, loss and tragedy.
At the beginning, Yakov was too afraid to face true loss, and was able to face it only in a quantitative, monetary way. But as he dies, his experience at the river allows him to accept true loss in a meaningful way.
… This has become pretty incoherent because my thoughts have been developing and evolving in these past few hours (and my words have been dragged along by that rapid train of thought), but you can kind of see what I’m getting at in each part. Oh well.
It's given me a headache.
I agree with many of my fellow classmates that the Chekhovian moment in this short story is indeed when Martha tells Jacob that she is dying. Or actually it is a little bit past that when he realizes that he has never shown her any affection; that he has treated her horribly. There has clearly been a change in his heart because a few paragraphs later when he and Martha are at the hospital, he tries to get the doctor to do more for his dying wife. Here, in this scene, he appears to be a more thoughtful and kind, albeit gruff, husband who in some way is trying to make it up to her in her last days on earth. I also thought it was interesting that when he realized that he was not going to be able to work for four days, he didn’t think about how much money he would lose, but about how he would be losing his wife sometime in those four days and that he needed to make her coffin right now. The realization that he had never shown Martha any affection in the 50 some odd years they had been married is brought to the fore front in the form of the river that Jacob visits. It states, “How was it, he wondered, that he had never been by the river the last forty or fifty years of his life. Or, if he had, it had made no impression on him.” How was it that he had never shown affection to his wife or if he had why had it not been a nice enough thing for him to have remembered. His wife was a normal but good woman and he, with all of his focuses on monetary losses, had “lost” his life; he had missed everything that might have made him a happy person. This epiphany that Jacob had was what he needed before he died; it was a slap in the face, a wake up call. And with this new revelation he completed his life by leaving behind the legacy of his fiddle to Rothschild.
I agree with David about Jacob having suppressed grieve from the loss of his child, but i don't think that is his only issue. I think that Yakov (i dont know why my translation is different) is in general a very pessimistic person who only mulls over his losses. I think his epiphany is when he shifts in how he counts his losses. As already mentioned I agree that the death of Marfa is a significant turning point for Yakov, but I dont think it is his epiphany. When Marfa declares "i am dying" her ironic lively expression forces Yakov to reflect on why she would be so excited to die. Then he realizes that he has mistreated her their entire life together and he feels remorseful. But, he is still not thinking to bring her comfort of affection. He is still concerned with days he will not be able to work and the monetary losses.
I think that Yakov's obsession with money is reflected in his nickname 'bronze' by the shed boys. They call out to him tauntingly relishing the irony in the poverty of a man who thinks of nothing but his riches (or lack of). He remembers his long ago dead child but this too is not his epiphany, Yakov is still counting his losses in gold. He contemplates how much he could have profited if he would have breed geese and fished and sailed up and down the river playing fiddle.
Yakov's epiphany comes shortly after when he realizes his life has past with no pleasures. He acknowleges the uselessness of all he had done...
"Why had Yakov all his life scolded, bellowed, shaken his fists, ill-treated his wife, and, one might ask, what necessity was there for him to frighten and insult the Jew that day? Why did people in general hinder each other from living? What losses were due to it! what terrible losses! If it were not for hatred and malice people would get immense benefit from one another."
Here Yakov counts his losses not in lack of riches but in lack of pleasure. His life is a loss since he had only spent it 'hindering others from living'. He then realizes that death will be a gain because he will no longer be doing such useless meaningless things such as 'pay taxes or offend people'. This lumping of giving away money and offending people into one loss demonstrate Yakov's epiphany since his view of losses has changed. Now there is more in life to loose other than money, Yakov realizes the value in people.
There is one thing in his life though that was not a loss; playing fiddle. Yakov's fiddle is his legacy in life, its what he is known for. Appropriately when he dies his fiddle lives on, still singing the most mournful sad songs as if counting losses.
I was stuck between when Jacob realized that he had never treated his wife with the affection and care she deserved, and when he remembered the baby beneath the willow tree, but I think I decided on the latter. After he remembers the baby, it seems to open a gateway for him to review his entire life as he sits by the river. He realizes not only what he realized earlier, but every aspect in his life where he was inadequate. I see the revelation that he never treated Martha properly as a bit of a secondary epiphany, only part of what he realizes beneath the widow.
He sees himself for what he is, and begins to question it. He ponders, “Why do people always do the wrong things? Why had he spent all his life cursing, bellowing, threatening people with his fists, ill-treating his wife?” These things all come rushing forth after he realizes what he has forgotten. More than forgotten—he had neglected to pay enough attention to remember, much as he had neglected to realize how he had lived his life, realizing only too late. This epiphany allows him for a chance at personal redemption, at least through the small act of leaving his fiddle with Rothschild.
I'll make a follow up post once I read everyone's responses a bit later. Now onto French homework (:
What makes “Rothschild’s Fiddle” really spectacular is that, unlike other short stories, there isn’t a single epiphany that occurs to the main character. All along the way, Jacob experiences numerous and subtle realizations that ultimately contribute to a grand epiphany, or a “Chekhovian moment”. The start of his journey occurs when Martha first declares that she will die. Seeing the “…exceptionally bright and joyous” expression on her face, Jacob realizes the extent of his indifferent attitude and harsh actions towards his wife. It is only with the epiphany that he has never shown any kindness to her that his attitude and actions begin to change. In the light of his realization, he drives Martha to the hospital, entreats the callous assistant doctor to treat her, and even begs him to spare a few leeches. However, his transformation is not complete. Jacob’s “Chekhovian moment” occurs as he sits under the willow tree and reminisces about the previously lush state of the river and the opportunities that it could have afforded him. He immediately starts to curse himself for letting slip the lost profit; yet, his thoughts turn to contemplating human nature (“Why are people generally such a nuisance to each other?), specifically his own mean spirited nature. One could say that the river has washed away his hate and malice. It has brought him back to an earlier time where he wasn’t solely concentrated on money-making. I do not believe that Jacob has always been a grouchy miser, concerned only about making a profit. Rather, the fact that he had not previously exploited the river shows that he was dramatically different 50 years ago. But, the specific epiphany that most influences his subsequent actions is this thought, “Without the hate and malice folks could get a lot of profit out of each other”. This realization leads him to give the fiddle, his most beloved possession (for in contemplating his death, it is only the fiddle that brings him a pang of regret), to Rothschild, the man that he had previously despised. With this deed, Rothschild becomes a celebrated musician, bringing to life Jacob’s realization that “folks” would be much better off if they treated one another with kindness.
Okay, so, I wasn't there to get the story on Thursday, but I found a version online which I hope matches up with the version you all got well enough for me to do a fair job on this. After reading other people's posts it seems to be the same. However, some of my quotes will probably be slightly different than the same part in your translations, so bear with me.
I agree very much with Mr. Cornea, Thanh, Shea, and Lisa, while I disagree with Jackson and Hayden. The Checkhovian moment is one where a character realizes an essential truth. I can't see the truth Jacob could realize after realizing he had a child he never remembered. Okay, well, I suppose I can, but, I think it's just a continuation of the truth he realized when Martha tells him she is dieing.
When Martha first tells Jacob she is dieing, her face is “unusually bright and joyful,” but Jacob is “accustomed to seeing her face always pale, timid, and unhappy.” His moment of revelation come when he sees that “her expression was one of happiness, as though she saw death as her deliverer…” Jacob sees how happy she is to be dieing, and that she was never happy with him, which brings upon him the realization that he was never there for her. This is his essential truth. Everything he realizes after this can be attributed to his realization that he was never there for his wife.
Several people have mentioned the child Jacob doesn’t remember. I think that those people are making her out to be of greater importance than she actually is. To me, the child signifies a joy Martha had in a life otherwise filled with neglect. The baby serves to show how, even though both Martha and Jacob lived in the same situation with the same possessions, Martha managed to derive some happiness from her life. Jacob, who is so focused on all the material possessions and money he has lost or missed out on, also lost his happiness. He didn’t just suffer loss of money, he suffered loss of love as well. He was married over 50 years and never got anything out of it. I think this is what he realizes as he sits under the willow tree.
Okay, after talking through all that, maybe I had it the other way around, and when he finds out Martha is dieing is what leads up to the Chekhovian moment under the willow tree...
Ahhh, this has been bothering me for a bit. I just noticed how I keep on writing "dieing" and not "dying". I couldn't figure out which one was the right one, so I looked it up and haha silly me, I've been writing it wrong. So replace all of the dieing with dying, and I'll be content as a bug.
There were many moments that lead to Jacobs change. I think it would be unfair to point to only one event that changed him, but rather note the progression of events that fostered a major shift in his thought. However even so, there is a certain "Chekhovian moment" that seems too supersede from all the other events and show us a much more profound change in Jacob. The two events I felt fit this premise were when he was remembering about his dead child or when he was thinking near the river. I came to the conclusion that his revelations near the river to be the "Chekhovian moment".
True to Jacob's nature, he was counting losses, but contrary to before, he contemplated it more in human nature issues. Before, his mind was always on money. In fact even after his wife's death, his mind was still on that money. This fact makes me strongly disagree with those who cite Martha's death as this moment of light.
Jacob thinks about the human nature and the loses he has accumulated through his life. He laments about the loss of pleasure in his life. His lousy interactions he has had with the people around him.
"Why are people generally such a nuisance to each other? After all, its all such a waste of money, a terrible waste it is. Without the hate and malice folks could get a lot of profit out of each other."
The profit is the pleasure people could get from learning to work with each other and not foster malice. Not economic profit.
We see his change of behavior when Rothschild meets him again. Just a little bit before, Jacob had beaten the boy, but now he beckoned him in. Through his moment of epiphany, he realizes the uselessness of his hate for Rothschild.
I thought the Chekhovian moment was also, like many others have said, when Martha tells Jacob that she's dying.
To make my post longer I think i'll provide the definition of epiphany: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience. So after reading this definition over and over, studying it and annotating it, I can say that when Martha says shes dying is definitely an epiphany. The event or experience that Jacob experiences is obviously when she says it, and leads him to thinking all about his life and what he could have had.
I also agree with what Shea said about how he never really showed her affection, he treated her like a piece of trash basically. I don't get why he had to count up his losses so much, then blame it on her? Seem's like a pointless task because he can't make up that time that he's wasted, but then he wastes more counting.
The part after Martha says she's dying, when it says, "her expression was exceptionally bright and joyous" reminded me of the fantastic movie Troy, when Achilles says to Briseis something like you won't look any better then you do right before you're about to die, anyone else notice that? no? didnt think so D:
Oh yeah this is completely irrelevant, but I hate these word verification things for when you have to post, I've missed it 3 times in a row now, usually I average 2, this is a bad day.
I agree with almost everyone in that the Chekhovian moment, or the epiphany in the story, is when martha calls out "Jacob, I'm dying." and he suddenly realizes taht he had never shown her any affection in his life.
However, I believe an epiphany to be not only one small thing but rather a series of enlightenments that bring us to a better understanding of ourselves as well as the world around us.
His series of epiphany's include, remorse for mistreating those around him, remembering the child that they had as well as ill-treating his wife in general. The most significant point however, in my opinion, is when he asks himself why he has wasted his life:
"Why had Jacob spent all hi life cursing, bellowing, threatening people with his fists, ill-treating his wife? and what, oh what, was the point of scaring and insulting that Jew just now?"
This i think, is the final chord to his epiphany and i think brings it all together, the remorse for his life. Because it is only then that he is able to play the beautiful music on his violin that essentially releases his sadness and puts him at peace.
In a way i think he was putting himself at peace. he was dealing with his grief over martha's death in his own way and putting himself at peace with death at the same time. I think in order to accept death coming to him he needed to feel remorse for the wrongs he had done during his life, to ask the priest for forgiveness.
I'm not sure if that's what we were going for, those are just my thoughts. I'm not so good with short stories, they don't leave much room for character development.
I agree with everyone that Jacob’s epiphany was when Martha called to him saying she was dying. I think that this was one single moment of epiphany, and that the reoccurring thoughts that probed his mind afterwards were simply him understanding the effects of the way he had lived his life.
Jacob was so focused on money and getting by his whole life that he waited for people to die, hoping they did close to home so that he could make money off of it. When Martha was on her death bed I wonder if Jacob was a little relieved. Relieved that he didn’t have another mouth to feed, and absentmindedly relieved that a death close to home would occur, meaning more money (even though he wouldn’t make any money off of her death of course). When Jacob heard the joy in his wife’s voice as she announced her upcoming death, I almost wonder if it was the relief that he felt for her death that caught him off guard and awakened him to his epiphany.
When Martha spoke to him it seemed to awaken him and let him see the world for what it had become. It feels as though he had been living in a blur and that when the one he loved and had taken for granted his whole life revealed to him that she would be leaving soon, he stepped out of his trace into the real world.
Jacob is a bitter, mean man and the more you read on, the more you come to dislike him. He has lived all of his life thinking about profit, money, net gains and losses. Jacob was blinded by his dislike of the world and the wasteful manner it had, he was never able to truly open his eyes and see glimpses of what is possible until his epiphany. The death of Martha was what it took to make him realize all the years he wasted mourning the things that weren’t important and disregarding the important things. He was with Martha for fifty years and he was never kind to her, “If she was to lie down Jacob would talk about all the money he’d lost and blame her for lolling about and not wanting to work- or so she thought.” How horrible was he to his wife that she was too afraid to lie down when she was dying?
After her death, he was swallowed up by guilt and sorrow. Jacob remembered how unkind he was to his wife. The way the people in the doctor’s office treated him was a reflection of himself and how he treated those around him, a pure lack of respect. As Jacob sat by the banking, he reflected on life and his perpetual thirst for money. His epiphany came when he wondered why he spent so much of his life bullying his wife and hurting other people, “Why had Jacob spent all his life cursing, bellowing, threatening people with his fists, ill-treating his wife? And what, oh what, was the point of scaring and insulting that Jew just now?” When he decided to give his fiddle, probably the most important thing in his life, to the man he bullied and hated, Jacob let go of his anger before death. He made peace with the world with his little gesture and saw the light, deciding it wasn’t too bad.
Like Michael and a few others said, I believe the first Chekhovian moment is after his wife says that she's dying. The first few paragraphs of the story illustrate that Jacob seems to be obsessed with money. All he does is worry over lost chances at getting money. No one concerns him. Then, his wife, Martha, says she's dying and she looks absolutely joyous at the thought. Chekhov pretty obviously hints at this being the Chekhovian moment because he says, "It was dawn and the first rays were seen through the window. As he looked at the old woman, it vaguely occurred to Jacob that... he had never shown her any affection all his life." Chekhov juxtaposed the coming of first light of morning with Jacob's dawning comprehension of his poor treatment for his wife. For the first time in his life, he realizes what Martha has meant to him and done for him during their years of marriage and how mean he was to her.
After that realization, he starts to care about someone other than himself. When he takes her to the hospital, he argues quite vehemently with the doctor's assistant to get some help for his wife. After she dies, he wanders and notices the tree that she spoke about where they and their baby had played. He goes into even deeper introspection then. He wonders why he lived the way he lived. He realizes that his life was basically wasted and pointless. He even realizes that being mean to Jews is not right. In the end, he gives his very nice fiddle to the Jew, Rothschild, so that it at least could continue being played and worth something.
In my opinion, all of these realizations, though, can be traced back to that first moment that he realized that his wife was dying. They are all connected to that moment and stemmed out for it. Thus that is the Chekhovian moment of the story.
Jacob was a living irony: a man wasting away, focused on minimizing waste. When his wife dies, he realizes his life has been a numb, dull existence, filled with condescension, and inconsiderate treatment of his wife. The funeral, and the walk to the edge of town gave him a glimpse of the rich life he had thrown aside, all too late, for he was soon to depart as well. His terrible realization, and his tragic wish to reform what has been long sculpted moments before it enters the kiln are pillars of the story, but to me, serve not as the principal epiphany. His epiphany, to me occurred a little later. His speculation on death was as poignant as his sorrowful tune, and served for me as the real turning point. Here is a guy who had really one true love: his fiddle. He is at peace with dying, until he is faced with a real loss. The prospect of what could have been, the fear of what is to be, and the ultimate in regret culminate in one passionate eruption of emotion, one that transcends language, and reaches straight for our hearts.
Lisa: the garlic-based insults are founded on garlic's prominence in Jewish cooking. In biblical times, garlic was eaten raw as a staple food.
I think that the Chekhovian moment was when Jacob suddenly remembers the willow tree and the fair-haired baby. Jacob begins to scrutinize the life he has lead and realizes not only how much money he wasted, but how much time he wasted. "Life had flowed past without profit, without enjoyment - gone aimlessly, leaving nothing to show for it. The future was empty."(5) With that time, he could have cherished his wife, expressed his true emotions through his music, perhaps even struck a relationship with Rothschild.
Jacob's persistent cynicism sets the stage for his revelation. He gave regard to his wife as he would have given a pet and he bottled up hatred towards Rothschild, Moses... and Jews in general. When he suddenly remembers the willow tree and the baby, I think that Jacob realizes that his cynicism and anger clouded his view of the good things that he did or could have enjoyed in life. Like Fiona said, he could rethink, clearly, how he spent his life.
On his death bed, Jacob remembers Martha's face and Rothschild. I think that by giving Rothschild his fiddle, he is passing over to Rothschild his hopes and dreams, and the thing he found the most comfort in. By letting go of his fiddle, I think that Jacob hopes to see Rothschild have confidence in himself and his music. He wants Rothschild to see passion and success. Jacob always sees Rothschild as a frail, cowardly boy, but gives him the fiddle to, not only make peace with Rothschild, but to save someone else from the fate he suffered.
Scott, I'd like to congratulate you once again on a truly epic post. Your insight and observations are, as always, eye-opening.
But flattery isn't the point of this post. I actually wanted to mention a thought I had while reading through some later posts. For the entire story, Jacob continues to think about thinks in terms of profits, even after his various realizations. At the funeral, he considers what a fine job he did on Martha's coffin. Under the willow tree he speculates on the riches he might have accumulated. Even the gift of his fiddle I believe is at least in part because he shudders to imagine it going to waste. These things show that, just because someone might make a realization, even one of having wasted your entire life considering everything you don't have, that doesn't necessarily mean you come away from that realization a changed person. I don't believe Jacob becomes a new person after his Chekhovian moment, he only recognizes the good person he could have been had he lived his life differently.
Also, haha, after Thanh's second post I realized I've been spelling dying as "dieing" as well...My browser doesn't underline it as misspelled though. Can anyone clarify why that is?
And for those of you wondering why I'm still awake at this horrible hour, well, just keep wondering, heh heh. While you're at it, you can also wonder why I'm on the blog when I had already posted earlier. I'll answer that one for you, actually. It's very boring at 5:30 in the morning when there are very few people to talk to and not much going on besides that. So I say to myself, "Matt, you should go hang out on the blog for a little while. Go throw another 2 cents into the pot." So I have. There's my 2 cents (again).
I’m not fully sure on a precise moment when it happens; I think this Chekhovian moment appears many times over Rothschild’s Fiddle. Each Chekhovian moment builds off of the one before. The first Chekhovian moment comes when Martha tells Jacob she’s dying. The look of happiness on Martha’s face implies that she is happy with dying and escaping the misery of her life. Looking at this Jacob realizes that he never treated Martha with any affection, making her life miserable and cheerful, always blaming her for his losses. This realization brings a chill to him and this chill is the first Chekhovian Moment. After Martha has died and is in her grave. Jacob overcome with misery and experiences the same realization of Martha’s mistreatment again, then he subconsciously walks to the willow Martha mentioned without knowing where he was going only that he is sad over his Martha’s death. He remember the daughter they had, and the Willow they sat singing by, but once again his mind wander to what he could have become if he was part of another trade, how much money he could’ve made. Its funny though that all Jacob can think of are his profits and losses but he never mentions what he would do with the money. It seems as if he, upon getting the money, would only complain about not getting anything else. And finally when he realizes that he is going to die, he shows affection for his violin which he wants better taken care of after his death, this act shows the other side of him. A side that he never new he had until what he had was taken away from him.
dieing is the act of coloring, like those tie-dyed shirts.
dying is the act of going into the mortal coil, exploring the abyss, moving towards the light, finding whether there is a higher power, that sort of stuff.
So, if you die you are no longer alive, and if you dye, you are giving something color...but if you are dieing, you are in the process of giving something color, and if you are dying, you are in the process of becoming not alive? Why do they make it so jumbled up?
I know right?! Holy cow, I was thinking about that when I was writing the definition, because it makes no sense. Especially when I was trying to figure out if it was tie-dye, or tye-dye, or tie-die, nothing seems to really work. Ohh well, what can we do with the english language but be content with what we have?
Okay, that's just about enough -- everyone out of the pool!
And just for the record, the participle form of the verb "dye" is "dyeing". As in: I plan to spend tomorrow tie-dyeing t-shirts to distribute at the old folk's home.
And the present participle of "die" is…you guessed it, "dying". As in: thanks to the timely intervention of the nearsighted veterinarian, my marmoset Suactop* is dying.
*Note: "suactop" is the "word" I had to type in the space so that I could post this "comment".
Sayonara, and a very merry Suactop to you all!
I believe that the central epiphany in the short story occurs when Jacob realizes that his "life had flowed past without profit, without enjoyment--gone aimlessly, leaving nothing to show for it. The future was empty." Jacob has lived his life without caring what impact he has had upon others. He suddenly realizes in the period catalysting from his wife's death what purpose did his unsubstantial life had. This has a spiritual quality to it as Jacob is close to death himself. It is common for one to question one's motivation to continue living when all those around are gone. In this time of reflection one usually rejoices in one's accomplishments--fame, fortune, family--or depairs at one's lack thereof. Jacob is the latter. His sole connection to the present world becomes his fiddle. While he appears not to enjoy playing with his fellow musicians, this job grounds him.
Sorry this post is so late.
I think the Chekovian moments mentioned so far are appealing, such as when Martha tells Jacob she is dying. However, I find myself drawn to the moment when Jacob is confronted with making the coffin to bury a wife he never treated well and only realized he had cared before when it is too late. I like Michael's identification of inner-reflection, and I believe a similar moment occurs when Jacob is trying to figure out when to build Martha's coffin; looking "at her miserably." He convinces himself it mu be done, only because he can't work the next four days. His revelation is not complete, but I believe this is an important piece in the progression. There is a real sense of pain, not because Martha is happy to leave him but from the guilt that shes is struggling to stay standing because he yells at her for such behavior. There is true emotion expressed in this passage that does no appear when Martha asserts that she is dying.
I still feel like everyone has already mentioned any moments of epiphany and all evidence leading up to such an epiphany, but, Mr. Duncan, if you insist, I suppose I'll just regurgitate what many of my classmates have already pointed out.
In my interpretation of the story, Jacob's epiphany really comes after Chekhov points out that "Without the hate and malice folks could get a lot of profit out of each other." To me, this really speaks to the change in Jacob's perception of the world, though this may come too late for him, I feel it's a necessary part of accepting and preparing for your own death. He needs to realize what he could have done better and feel that awful regret before he can move on. I also believe that one needs to remember all the joys of their life before passing on. Jacob does this too when he remembers his child.
I also noticed as I was rereading this paragraph and, correct me if I'm totally off the mark, but the line "But now it was flat and bare with the one little silver birch on the near side, slim and youthful as a young girl." may be hinting at what the birch represents throughout the story. Chekhov mentions wood a great deal and I was wondering what everyone else might make of the suggestion that wood is his wife, or woman, or the kindness that woman represents. I think I have the start of this, but I'm not quite cognitive enough to wrap this up. I've literally been in Westview since 6:30 this morning until 10:30 this evening and I'm due to wake up in a few hours, so I'd really best be on my way.
There is a Japanese saying that states, "humans understand/realize for the first time when they are actually put into the situation." I believe that Jacob's experience is quite like this saying, in that the Chekhovian moment came when Martha dies. Until then, Jacob does not feel any sense of affection towards her wife despite the fact of their 52 year span of relationship, and he also does not seem to understand the significance of her in his own life. When he came home drunk at night, Martha was the one who took him to bed and cared for him even while fearing his rage and potential violence. Because he constantly complained about his lack of money, Martha never wined for a cup of tea. It's as though Martha never existed in his conscious and was only a ghostly figure that roamed in his home. She had sacrificed so much of herself to devote to him, yet he saw her in a way of annoyance and showed no gratitude what so ever.
When Martha tells Jacob that she is dying and is joyous, I thought this was another way she was trying to make him feel better. By disappearing, he would not have to worry about her expenses and thus have a little more wealth and complain less. And by dying, he could make another coffin, which he did best at. Martha's selflessness can be observed even at the brink of death.
A question also came up in my mind about Jacob, that if Martha hadn't gotten ill and died, would he have never had the epiphany of life?
Post a Comment