“The Gentleman from San Francisco” is one of the most famous stories of the Russian prose writer Ivan Alekseevich Bunin. It was published in 1915 and has long become a textbook, it is held in schools and universities. Behind the seeming simplicity of this work, deep meanings and problems are hidden, which never loses relevance.
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History of creation and plot of the story
According to Bunin himself, the inspiration for writing "Mr...." was Thomas Mann's story "Death in Venice". At that time, Ivan Alekseevich did not read the work of his German colleague, but only knew that an American was dying in it on the island of Capri. So “The Gentleman from San Francisco” and “Death in Venice” are not connected in any way, except perhaps by a good idea.
In the story, a certain gentleman from San Francisco, along with his wife and young daughter, set off on a big journey from the New World to the Old World. The gentleman worked all his life and amassed a solid fortune. Now, like all people of his status, he can afford a well-deserved rest. The family sails on a luxurious ship called "Atlantis". The ship is more like a chic mobile hotel, where the eternal holiday lasts and everything works in order to bring pleasure to its obscenely wealthy passengers.
The first tourist point in the route of our travelers is Naples, which meets them unfavorably - the city has disgusting weather. Soon a gentleman from San Francisco leaves the city to go to the shores of sunny Capri. However, there, in a cozy reading room of a fashionable hotel, an unexpected death from an attack awaits him. The gentleman is hastily transferred to the cheapest room (so as not to spoil the reputation of the hotel) and in a dead box, in the hold of the Atlantis, they are sent home to San Francisco.
Main characters: characterization of images
gentleman from san francisco
We get acquainted with the gentleman from San Francisco from the first pages of the story, because he is the central character of the work. Surprisingly, the author does not honor his hero with a name. Throughout the story, he remains "master" or "mister." Why? In this, the writer honestly admits to his reader - this person is faceless “in his desire to buy charms with the wealth he has. real life”.
Before hanging labels, let's get to know this gentleman better. Suddenly he's not so bad? So, our hero worked hard all his life (“the Chinese, whom he ordered to work for him by the thousands, knew this well”). He is 58 years old and now he has the full material and moral right to arrange for himself (and his family part-time) a great vacation.
“Until this time, he did not live, but only existed, though not badly, but still placing all his hopes on the future”
Describing the appearance of his nameless master, Bunin, who was distinguished by his ability to notice individual features in everyone, for some reason does not find anything special in this person. He casually draws a portrait of him - "dry, short, awkwardly cut, but tightly sewn ... a yellowish face with trimmed silver mustaches ... large teeth ... a strong bald head." It seems that behind this rough “ammunition”, which is issued complete with a solid state, it is difficult to consider the thoughts and feelings of a person, and, perhaps, everything sensual simply turns sour in such storage conditions.
With a closer acquaintance with the master, we still learn little about him. We know that he wears elegant, expensive suits with suffocating collars, we know that at dinner at Atlantis he gorges himself, smokes red-hot cigars and gets drunk on liquors, and this brings pleasure, but in fact we don’t know anything else.
It is amazing, but during the entire long journey on the ship and stay in Naples, not a single enthusiastic exclamation sounded from the lips of the gentleman, he does not admire anything, is not surprised by anything, does not argue about anything. The trip brings him a lot of inconvenience, but he cannot help but go, because all people of his rank do this. So it is necessary - first Italy, then France, Spain, Greece, certainly Egypt and the British Isles, exotic Japan on the way back ...
Exhausted by seasickness, he sails to the island of Capri (an obligatory point on the way of any self-respecting tourist). In a chic room in the best hotel on the island, a gentleman from San Francisco constantly says “Oh, this is terrible!” Without even trying to understand what exactly is terrible. The pricks of cufflinks, the stuffiness of a starched collar, naughty gouty fingers ... I would rather go to the reading room and drink local wine, all respected tourists certainly drink it.
And having reached his “mecca” in the hotel reading room, the gentleman from San Francisco dies, but we do not feel sorry for him. No, no, we do not want a righteous reprisal, we simply do not care, as if a chair were broken. We wouldn't shed tears about a chair.
In pursuit of wealth this deep limited person did not know how to manage the money, and therefore bought what society imposed on him - uncomfortable clothes, unnecessary travel, even the daily routine, according to which all travelers were required to rest. Early rise, first breakfast, walk on the deck or “enjoyment” of the sights of the city, second breakfast, voluntary-compulsory sleep (everyone should be tired at this time!), gatherings and a long-awaited dinner, plentiful, satisfying, drunk. This is what the imaginary “freedom” of a rich man from the New World looks like.
master's wife
The wife of the gentleman from San Francisco, alas, also has no name. The author calls her "Mrs" and characterizes her as "a large, broad and calm woman." She, like a faceless shadow, follows her wealthy spouse, walks along the deck, has breakfast, dinner, “enjoys” the sights. The writer admits that she is not very impressionable, but, like all elderly American women, she is a passionate traveler ... At least she is supposed to be.
The only emotional outburst occurs after the death of a spouse. Mrs. is indignant that the manager of the hotel refuses to place the body of the deceased in expensive rooms and leaves him to “spend the night” in a shabby, damp little room. And not a word about the loss of a spouse, they have lost respect, status - that's what occupies an unfortunate woman.
Master's daughter
This sweet miss does not cause negative emotions. She is not capricious, not swaggering, not talkative, on the contrary, she is very reserved and shy.
“Tall, thin, with magnificent hair, beautifully done up, with aromatic breath from violet cakes and with the most delicate pink pimples near the lips and between the shoulder blades”
At first glance, the author is favorable to this lovely person, but he does not even give a name to his daughter, because again there is nothing individual in her. Remember the episode when she trembles while talking aboard the Atlantis with the Crown Prince, who was traveling incognito. Everyone, of course, knew that this was an oriental prince and knew how fabulously rich he was. The young miss went crazy with excitement when he noticed her, perhaps she even fell in love with him. Meanwhile, the oriental prince was not at all good-looking - small, like a boy, thin face with tight swarthy skin, sparse mustaches, unattractive European attire (he travels incognito!). Falling in love with princes is supposed to be, even if he is a real freak.
Other characters
As a contrast to our cold trinity, the author intersperses descriptions of characters from the people. This is the boatman Lorenzo (“carefree reveler and handsome man”), and two highlanders with bagpipes at the ready, and simple Italians meeting the boat from the shore. All of them are the inhabitants of a joyful, cheerful, beautiful country, they are its masters, its sweat and blood. They do not have untold fortunes, tight collars, and social duties, but in their poverty they are richer than all the San Francisco gentlemen put together, their cold wives and tender daughters.
A gentleman from San Francisco understands this on some subconscious, intuitive level ... and hates all these “men who stink of garlic”, because he cannot just run barefoot along the shore - he has lunch on schedule.
Analysis of the work
The story can be conditionally divided into two unequal parts - before and after the death of a gentleman from San Francisco. We are witnessing a vivid metamorphosis that has taken place literally in everything. How the money and the status of this man, this self-proclaimed ruler of life, instantly depreciated. The manager of the hotel, who just a few hours ago broke into a sweet smile in front of a wealthy guest, now allows himself undisguised familiarity in relation to Mrs., Miss and the deceased gentleman. Now this is not an honored guest who will leave a substantial amount in the cash register, but simply a corpse, which risks casting a shadow on the high-society hotel.
With expressive strokes, Bunin draws the chilling indifference of everyone around to the death of a person, starting from the guests, whose evening is now overshadowed, and ending with his wife and daughter, whose journey is hopelessly ruined. Fierce selfishness and coldness - everyone thinks only about himself.
The generalized allegory of this thoroughly false bourgeois society is the ship "Atlantis". It is also divided into classes by its decks. In luxurious halls, the rich have fun and get drunk with their companions and families, and in the holds, those who are not considered by representatives of the high society and for people work up to a sweat. But the world of money and lack of spirituality is doomed, which is why the author calls his ship-allegory in honor of the sunken mainland "Atlantis".
Problems of the work
In the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” Ivan Bunin raises the following questions:
- What is the true meaning of money in life?
- Can you buy joy and happiness?
- Is it worth enduring constant deprivation for the sake of an illusory reward?
- Who is freer: the rich or the poor?
- What is the purpose of man in this world?
The last question is of particular interest. It is certainly not new - many writers have thought about what is the meaning of human existence. Bunin does not go into a complex philosophy, his conclusion is simple - a person must live in such a way as to leave a mark. Whether it will be works of art, reforms in the lives of millions, or a bright memory in the hearts of loved ones, it does not matter. The gentleman from San Francisco left nothing, no one will sincerely mourn him, even his wife and daughter.
Place in literature: Literature of the 20th century → Russian literature of the 20th century → The work of Ivan Bunin → The story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” (1915).
We also recommend that you read the work Pure Monday. Ivan Bunin considered this work to be his best work.
gentleman from san francisco- at the very beginning of the story, the lack of a name for the hero is motivated by the fact that "no one remembered him." G. “went to the Old World for two whole years, with his wife and daughter, solely for the sake of entertainment. He was firmly convinced that he had every right to rest, to enjoy, to travel in every way excellent. For such confidence, he had the argument that, firstly, he was rich, and secondly, he had just begun life, despite his fifty-eight years. Bunin sets out in detail the route of the upcoming trip: Southern Italy - Nice - Monte Carlo - Florence - Rome - Venice - Paris - Seville - Athens - Palestine - Egypt, "even Japan - of course, already on the way back." “Everything went fine at first,” but in this dispassionate statement of what is happening, “hammers of fate” are heard.
G.- one of the many passengers of the large ship "Atlantis", similar to "a huge hotel with all the amenities - with a night bar, with oriental baths, with its own newspaper." The ocean, which has long become a symbol of life in world literature in its variability, menacingness and unpredictability, "was terrible, but they did not think about it"; “A siren on the forecastle kept screaming with hellish gloominess and squealing with furious malice, but few of the diners heard the siren - it was drowned out by the sounds of a beautiful string orchestra.” “Siren” is a symbol of world chaos, “music” is a calm harmony. The constant juxtaposition of these leitmotifs determines the dissonant stylistic intonation of the story. Bunin gives a portrait of his hero: “Dry, short, awkwardly tailored, but tightly sewn<...>. There was something Mongolian in him yellowish face with a trimmed silver mustache, his large teeth shone with gold fillings, his strong bald head was old ivory. One more, as it turns out later, deceptive detail is important: “The tuxedo and starched linen were very young” G.
When the ship arrived in Naples, G., together with his family, decided to get off the ship and go to Capri, where, "everyone assured", it was warm. Bunin does not indicate whether the tragic outcome of G. was predetermined if he had remained on Atlantis. Already during the voyage on a small steamboat to the island of Capri, G. felt "as he should be - a very old man" and thought with irritation about the purpose of his trip - about Italy.
The day of arrival in Capri became "significant" in the fate of G. He looks forward to an exquisite evening in the company of a famous beauty, but when he dresses, he involuntarily mutters: "Oh, this is terrible!", "Not trying to understand, not thinking what exactly is terrible." He overcomes himself, waits in the reading room for his wife, reads newspapers - “suddenly the lines flashed in front of him with a glassy sheen, his neck tensed up, his eyes bulged, his pince-nez flew off his nose ... He rushed forward, wanted to take a breath of air - and groaned wildly; his lower jaw fell off, illuminating his entire mouth with gold fillings, his head fell on his shoulder and rolled around, his shirt chest bulged out like a box - and his whole body, wriggling, raising the carpet with his heels, crawled to the floor, desperately fighting with someone. G.'s agony is depicted physiologically and dispassionately. However, death does not fit into the lifestyle of a rich hotel. “If there hadn’t been a German in the reading room, they would have quickly and deftly managed to hush up this terrible incident in the hotel<...>they would have dashed off by the legs and by the head of the gentleman from San Francisco, to hell - and not a single soul from the guests would have known what he had done. G. "persistently fights death", but calms down "in the smallest, worst, coldest and dampest, at the end of the lower corridor" room. A quarter of an hour later, everything is in order in the hotel, but with a reminder of death, "the evening was irreparably spoiled."
On Christmas Day, the body of a “dead old man, having experienced many humiliations, many human inattentions” in “a long box of English soda water” sets off along the same path, first on a small steamboat, then on “the same famous ship” goes home. But the body is now hidden from the living in the womb of the ship - in the hold. There is a vision of the Devil, observing "a ship, many-tiered, many-pipe, created by the pride of a New Man with an old heart."
At the end of the story, Bunin re-describes the brilliant and easy life of the ship's passengers, including the dance of a pair of hired lovers: and no one knew their secret and fatigue from pretense, no one knew about G.'s body "at the bottom of the dark hold, in the neighborhood of gloomy and sultry bowels of the ship, heavily overcoming the darkness, the ocean, the blizzard ... ". This ending can be interpreted as a victory over death and at the same time as submission to the eternal circle of being: life - death. T. Mann put the story on a par with "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by L. Tolstoy.
The story was originally titled "Death on Capri". Bunin connected the idea of the story with Thomas Mann's story "Death in Venice", but in more with memories of the sudden death of an American who came to Capri. However, as the writer admitted, “and San Francisco and everything else” he invented while living on the estate of his cousin in the Yelets district of the Oryol province.
Thematically, the prose of I. A. Bunin is quite extensive. In his stories, he raises the theme of love and death, the theme of Russia and the bourgeois world. All of them are closely intertwined. Russia is associated in the writer's work with love and passion, and the bourgeois world is inseparable from the motive of death. An example of the last property of Bunin's prose is the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco", in which the protagonist enjoys the benefits of a large fortune, and then suddenly dies.
The story is full of symbols, from the gentleman in San Francisco to the ship and the ocean.
The bulk of the ship with the symbolic name "Atlantis", on which the family of an unnamed millionaire from San Francisco travels, is modern Babylon, the death of which is inevitable. The bustle of the saloons is but an imitation of life, a ghostly game of life as deceitful as the game of love of a young couple hired by the shipping company to entertain bored passengers. But this game is insignificant and worthless in the face of death - "return to eternity." This is the central idea of this story.
The hero is called simply "master" because that is his essence. At least he considers himself a master and revels in his position. The author reveals the meaninglessness of his philosophy of life, according to which the hero decides to "start life" at fifty-eight. And before that, the gentleman was only busy enriching himself: “He worked tirelessly ... and finally saw that a lot had already been done, that he was almost equal to those whom he had once taken as a model.” The hero can afford to go “to the Old World for two whole years only for the sake of entertainment”, he can enjoy all the benefits guaranteed by his status. This is the background of the gentleman from San Francisco. It is no coincidence that the author does not report other facts of his biography. This emphasizes the idea that there was nothing else in the life of the hero, only a dull craving for wealth.
What is his portrait? “Dry, short, awkwardly tailored, but tightly sewn, he sat in the golden radiance of this hall.” Again, a symbolic description. The author deliberately speaks of a living person as a costume. This reification of the protagonist indicates not only his reliability, but also his inner emptiness. It's not a person, but a shell. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the author's remark that "up to this time he did not live, but only existed." And it seems that he never learned to live.
Even here, in this lazy environment, in the middle of the ocean, the gentleman decides to turn one more business: to marry his only daughter: “Here sometimes you sit at the table and look at the frescoes next to the billionaire.”
The author also gives one more characteristic of the appearance of the gentleman from San Francisco: “There was something Mongolian in his yellowish face with trimmed silver mustaches, his large teeth shone with gold fillings, and his strong bald head was old ivory.” And again, this is not a person, but a statue, but very expensive. It is no coincidence that Bunin uses such an interesting color scheme: gold, silver, ivory. These are noble materials, but, as it turns out, there is nothing noble in the hero, only appearance. On an ocean liner, he is generous to those who feed and water him. But when fate brings his family to a small steamboat and seasickness torments mercilessly, mister: "... already with anguish and anger I thought about all these greedy, stinking garlic people." Now he feels like an old man, "as befitted him."
His time, as well as the time of all vacationers, is occupied only by food, liquors, dancing and cigar smoke. They are like puppets who only think they are acting on their own. Here is how Bunin, the great master of the word, describes it in one sentence: “At the fifth hour, refreshed and cheerful, they were given strong fragrant tea with cookies.”
Only once the hero thinks about what is happening and understands that "this is terrible": "Oh, this is terrible!" he muttered, lowering his strong bald head and not trying to understand what exactly is terrible. But the insight did not last long. After a few minutes, he will already say: "Great." The author specifically uses this paradoxical opposition of words.
And now, when, it would seem, the master's dreams of an idle, carefree life began to come true, he is overtaken by an accidental, absurd death. It comes as a retribution for self-interest, a passion for momentary pleasures, an inability to comprehend the pettiness of one's aspirations in the face of non-existence.
How unlike the sudden death of the master in the midst of a beautiful evening is the death of a peasant from the story "The Village", which he perceives as a well-deserved liberation from earthly burdens and anxieties, as eternal rest. The master struggles with death, which has suddenly fallen on him, but loses.
The hero had no concept of spirituality, the goal of his life was wealth. He achieved it, but did not have time to reap the fruits of his labors. The human begins to manifest itself in him only at death: "His features began to become thinner, brighter."
Summing up a person's life, death emphasizes the insignificance and ephemeral nature of material aspirations, the transience of life and therefore its inexpressible charm.
In 1915, I. Bunin created one of the most remarkable and profound works of his time, in which he painted an impartial portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco. In this story, published in the collection "Word", the outstanding Russian writer, with his characteristic sarcasm, demonstrates the ship of human life, which moves in the middle of the ocean of sins.
This hard, heavy and gloomy work of I. Bunin is gradually revealed to us as a reminder that everyone is mortal, even those who live without worries and do not think about their crimes against humanity, and retribution is inevitable.
How did the idea come about
The author himself said in one of the essays that, being in Moscow at the end of the summer, he saw T. Mann's book "Death in Venice" in the window of one of the bookstores, but Bunin did not go into Gauthier's store and did not buy it. In autumn, in September, the writer was visiting his cousin's estate in the Oryol region. There he remembered the unacquired story and decided to write about the sudden death of an unknown American.
How the story was created
In contrast to the usual rapid creation of a new work, which Ivan Alekseevich was not accompanied by excitement, this time he worked slowly and even burst into tears at the end. As soon as the first words came out from under his pen, he understood what the story would be called, and that a portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco would be created, who should not even be given a name. The days were quiet, cool and grey. After working, the writer went for a walk in the garden or, taking a gun, went to the threshing floor. Pigeons flew there on the grains, which he shot.
When he returned, he sat down at the table again. So, in 4 days he completely finished his work, creating an amazing story and a completed portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco. The whole work was invented by the writer from beginning to end, except for one moment: some American really died suddenly after dinner at a hotel in Capri. Several manuscripts of the story have survived. According to them, one can trace how intensely the author worked on the word, avoiding edification, clichés, foreign words and epithets. The story of the German writer "Death in Venice" was read after Bunin wrote his story.
The action takes place at the beginning of the 20th century. Main character, like all others, has no name. This is a rich or very, very wealthy old American, 58 years old. He worked tirelessly all his life and now, in his old age, he went with an adult unmarried daughter and wife to Europe for two years.
On the way back, he planned to stop by Japan. Money could open up the whole world to him. They are carried by a luxurious, powerful, reliable ship "Atlantis". The portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco, which begins to be created even before boarding the ship, shows us a man who squeezed all the strength out of his workers, and now treats the servants mercifully and condescendingly, giving them generous tips. The family, of course, occupies a deluxe cabin, spending a measured rest on the decks during the day, and relaxing in the evenings at sumptuous dinners and balls, where all the ladies are dressed in exquisite evening dresses, and the men wear tuxedos and tailcoats.
Nobody is in a hurry. Italy is steadily approaching, but in December the weather in Naples turned out to be bad, gloomy and rainy. The family moves to Capri. On the ship "chatter", everyone suffers from seasickness. On the island they occupy a fine room in the best hotel. Her master and servants diligently cater to wealthy guests from America. They are unable to enjoy their holidays. Changing clothes for dinner, our hero feels the inconvenience of a too tight collar and goes to the reading room to wait for his wife and daughter. There is only one person who witnesses the sudden death of the main character.
The portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco at this moment is terrible: the lines glow with a glassy sheen, his eyes bulge, his neck tenses, pince-nez flies off his nose. He wheezes, trying to take a breath, his mouth opens, his head dangles. And he himself, wriggling with his whole body, crawled to the floor, struggling with death. The owner came running, instructed the servants to move the convulsing man to a damp, inferior room. Life still gurgled hoarsely in it, and then it broke off. His wife and daughter were told to pick him up from the hotel at once. There were no ready coffins, and the owner ordered to give the women a long and large box of soda water. In the early morning, the widow and daughter take the deceased to Naples. After going through humiliation and rejection, they still send the body to the New World. Ironically, this takes place deep in the bowels of the same ship on which they sailed merrily to Europe. And on the deck and in the halls, the same joyful life goes on with dinners, balls and all kinds of entertainment.
Story analysis
The work is written in long, hard-to-ear sentences, which L. N. Tolstoy loved. This monstrous ship, cutting through the darkness of the ocean and sparkling with lights like diamonds, is filled with human sins, against which the portrait of a hero, a gentleman from San Francisco, is lost in his tarred coffin in the dark womb of a giant.
He accompanies carefree travelers, in whose hands are not only other people's lives, but also material goods, allowing them to manage the world according to their own taste. I. Bunin's colossal ship becomes a symbol of an insignificant, but proud humanity, to which the portrait of the protagonist, a gentleman from San Francisco, belongs. Only death in its most primitive and brutal form can push them out of the luxurious halls into the cold of the grave. The rest, indifferently, will continue their fun.
The external image of the character
The portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco, which we will now describe, is made up of minor but important details. He is short, old and almost bald. On the round head "remains of pearl hair have been preserved." He has false teeth. He is not fat, but dry. "Awkwardly tailored," as the writer put it. There is something Mongolian in the yellowish face. The trimmed mustache was silvered by gray hair. Gold fillings gleam in large, aged ivory teeth.
From increased nutrition, he begins to gain weight, his waist swells, and he hardly puts on his wardrobe items, going to his last meal. His fingers are short with "gouty knots". The nails are convex and large, "almond color". His feet are dry, "flat-footed." He is dressed, as is customary in his environment: cream silk underwear, over which he wears a stiffly starched white shirt with a stand-up collar, a tuxedo, black pants with a shoulder strap, black stockings. Jewelry are expensive cufflinks.
Portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco: quotes
The characterization of the protagonist will be incomplete if we do not offer a few quotes. Although this is an influential and generous person with lackeys, none of the staff "remembered his name either in Naples or in Capri." Bunin says directly that "he was rich." Most likely, this person owned a factory or factories. Only "the Chinese, whom he signed out for himself by the thousands," imagined what their master was like. All his life he was stubborn and hardworking. "He did not live, but existed, laying all his hopes on the future." Here it is done. He retires and goes on a trip around the world with his family, which included a middle-aged wife and a marriageable daughter, for whom there has not yet been a worthy applicant. On the steamer, the girl with trepidation met an oriental prince who traveled incognito. But this acquaintance was interrupted, ending in nothing. And then the girl watched her father, who looked at the "worldwide beauty."
She was a "tall, amazingly built blonde" who was only interested in her little dog. The daughter tried, but could not ignore it. “For years of work, he wanted to reward himself first of all.” Resting, our hero drinks a lot and visits dens, where he admires "living pictures". He is generous with servants and speaks to them in a "creaky, unhurried, insultingly polite voice," speaking calmly through his teeth. He stays only in the best hotels visited by high-ranking persons, and occupies their apartments.
We tried to offer the reader a complete look at the story of I. A. Bunin "The Gentleman from San Francisco", including the characterization of the hero with separate quotes.
