“Blind musician” Korolenko in brief summary
In the Southwest of Ukraine, in the family of the rich country landowners Popelskikh, a blind boy is born. At first no one notices his blindness, only his mother guesses this by the strange expression of Petrusya’s face. Doctors confirm the terrible guess.
Father Peter – a good-natured man, but rather indifferent to everything, except for the economy. Uncle, Maxim Yatsenko, is distinguished by his fighting character. In his youth he was known everywhere as a “dangerous bully” and justified this characteristic: he went to Italy, where he entered Garibaldi’s detachment. In the battle with the Austrians Maxim lost his leg, received many injuries and was forced to return home in order to live out his life in inactivity. Uncle decides to take up the education of Petrusya. He has to fight with blind maternal love: he explains to his sister Anna Mikhailovna, Petrusya’s mother, that excessive care can damage the boy’s development. Uncle Maxim
Spring comes. The child is alarmed by the noise of the awakening nature. Mother and uncle lead Petrusya to walk to the bank of the river. Adults do not notice the excitement of a boy who does not cope with an abundance of impressions. Petrus loses consciousness. After this incident, the mother and uncle Maxim try to help the boy to comprehend sounds and sensations.
Petrus likes to listen to the game of groom Jochim on the pipe. His groom made a wonderful tool himself; Unhappy love disposes of Joachim to sad melodies. He plays every evening, and on one of these evenings a blind panich comes to him at the stables. Petrus learns from Jochim playing on the pipe. A mother, overcome with jealousy, writes out the piano from the city. But when she starts to play, the boy again almost loses his feelings: this complex music seems to him rude, loud. The same opinion and Johim. Then Anna Mikhailovna realizes that in the simple game of the groom there is much more of a living feeling. She secretly listens to the tune of Joachim and learns from him. In the
Petrusya has no friends. Country boys are wild at it. And in the neighboring estate of the elderly Yaskul, daughter Evelina grows, the same age as Petrusya. This beautiful girl is calm and reasonable. Evelina accidentally gets acquainted with Peter for a walk. At first she does not know that the boy is blind. When Petrus tries to touch her face, Evelina becomes frightened, and when she learns of his blindness, she weeps bitterly with pity. Peter and Evelyn become friends. Together they take lessons from Uncle Maxim. Children grow up, and their friendship grows ever stronger.
Uncle Maxim invites his old friend Stavruchenko to visit with his sons-students, people’s lovers and collectors of folklore. With them comes their cadet friend. Young people bring revival into the quiet life of the estate. Uncle Maxim wants Peter and Evelyn to feel that a bright and interesting life flows next. Evelina understands that this is a test for her feelings for Peter. She firmly decides to marry Peter and tells him about it.
The blind youth plays the piano before the guests. Everyone is shocked and predicts his fame. For the first time Peter realizes that he is able to do something in life.
The Popelskies are making a return visit to the estate of Stavruchenkov. The hosts and guests go to the N-th monastery. On the way, they stop near the gravestone, under which the Cossack ataman Ignat Karyi is buried, and next to him there is a blind bandura player Yurko, who accompanied the ataman in campaigns. Everyone sighs about the glorious past. And Uncle Maxim says that the eternal struggle continues, although in other forms.
The blind bell-ringer, the novice Yegory, escorted everyone to the monastery. He is young and his face is very similar to Peter. Egori is angry with the whole world. He roughly criticizes village children trying to penetrate the bell tower. After everyone descends, Peter remains talking with the bell ringer. It turns out that Yegory is also blind. In the monastery there is another bell ringer, Roman, blind from the age of seven. Yegory envies Roman, who saw the light, saw his mother, remembers it… When Peter and Egor finish the conversation, Roman comes. He is kind, gently treats a flock of children.
This meeting makes Peter understand the depth of his misfortune. He seems to be becoming another, as embittered as Yegory. In his conviction that all blind people are angry, Peter tortures relatives. He asks to explain the incomprehensible color difference for him. Peter reacts painfully to the touch of the sun’s rays to his face. He even envies poor beggars who are forced to for a time forget about blindness.
Uncle Maxim and Peter go to the N-th miraculous icon. The beggars are begging nearby. Uncle Peter offers to know the share of beggars. Peter wants to leave rather quickly, so as not to hear the songs of the blind. But Uncle Maxim forces him to give each soap.
Peter is seriously ill. After recovery, he declares home that he will go with Uncle Maxim to Kiev, where he will take lessons from a famous musician.
Uncle Maxim really goes to Kiev and from there writes home calming letters. Meanwhile, Peter secretly from the mother, along with impoverished blind men, among whom the uncle Maxim Fyodor Kandyba’s acquaintance, goes to Pochaev. In this journey, Peter learns the world in its diversity and, empathizing with someone else’s grief, forgets about his sufferings.
In the estate Peter returns a completely different person, his soul is healed. A mother is angry with him for deceit, but soon forgives. Peter talks a lot about his travels. Comes from Kiev and Uncle Maxim. The trip to Kiev is canceled for a year.
The same autumn, Peter marries Evelina. But in his happiness he does not forget about his fellow travelers. Now on the edge of the village there is a new cottage of Fedor Kandyba, and Peter often comes to him.
Peter has a son. The father is afraid that the boy will be blind. And when the doctor reports that the child is certainly seeing, Peter embraces such joy that for a few moments he seems to see himself, heaven, earth, his loved ones.
It takes three years. Peter becomes famous for his musical talent. In Kiev, during the Fair “Contracts”, a large audience is going to listen to a blind musician, whose fate is already legendary.
Among the public and Uncle Maxim. He listens to the musician’s improvisations, in which the motifs of folk songs are intertwined. Suddenly a song of beggars is bursting into a lively melody. Maxim understands that Peter was able to feel life in its fullness, to remind people of other people’s sufferings. Conscious of this and his merit, Maxim is convinced that he lived a life not in vain.
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