Peter is a short story by

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

. It was first published in ''

The Mahogany Tree ''The Mahogany Tree'' was a weekly literary magazine published from January until December 1892. The magazine was based in Boston. Overview The magazine was started by Mildred Aldrich, and it was supposedly "devoted solely to the 'fine arts'." Acc ...

'' in 1892.Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 543

Plot summary

Peter Sadelack played second chair violin in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, and, despite losing his ability to play, continues to treasure his

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

. His eldest son, Antone, tries to convince Peter to sell the violin. The story then describes his glamorous life back in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

as he reminisces. After comparing his past and current lives, he attempts to play "Ave Maria", or

Ellens dritter Gesang "" ("", D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6, 1825), in English: "Ellen's Third Song", was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825 as part of his Op. 52, a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott's 1810 popular narrative poem '' The Lady of the Lake'', loosely tr ...

, on his violin. He cannot finish the song because of his shaking arm. Peter takes his violin to the stable and takes down Antone's gun. He breaks the violin and then shoots himself. Antone finds his father frozen in the stable the next morning. He notices that his father forgot to break the bow, and he plans to sell it in town. Because Peter committed suicide outside in the cold, his body was unable to be straightened for a coffin; he is buried in a pine box instead.

Characters

*Peter Sadelack, the main character of the short story. He was a second chair violinist in an orchestra in

. Despite tradition, he is not the master of his household. He likes to drink

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

and reminisce about the past. *Antone, Peter's son. He is the master of the household, and he is very careful with his money and requires each family member to help run the household and farm. *Herr Mikilsdoff, an orchestra conductor in

in Peter's youth. *French woman, a singer from Peter's days in

. She was very beautiful and had a wonderful voice. Peter enjoyed watching her sing, even though he couldn't understand the words. He mentions her just before he kills himself.

Allusions to actual history

*In his youth, Peter knew

Marie d'Agoult Marie Cathérine Sophie, Comtesse d'Agoult (née de Flavigny; 31 December 18055 March 1876), was a Franco-German romantic author and historian, known also by her pen name, Daniel Stern. Life Marie was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with th ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

Allusions to other works

*Peter remembers seeing Sarah Bernhardt act in

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

's ''

La Tosca ''La Tosca'' is a five- act drama by the 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou. It was first performed on 24 November 1887 at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. Despite negative ...

''. He also mentions

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

and ''

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

''.

Criticism and significance

''Peter'' was retouched and submitted for publication by her English professor, Herbert Bates, without her knowledge.Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, 'Introduction' by Mildred R. Bennett, page xxvii It has been argued that ''Peter'' reappeared in ''

My Ántonia ''My Ántonia'' ( ) is a novel published in 1918 by American writer Willa Cather, considered one of her best works. The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigran ...

'', with Mr Shimerda's suicide.

References

External links

''Original Publication''
at th
''Willa Cather Archive''
{{Cather 1892 short stories Short stories by Willa Cather Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in literary magazines