Peter (short story)

Peter is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in "The Mahogany Tree" in 1892 [Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 543] .

Plot summary

Antone wants to sell his father's old fiddle to make money. The latter doesn't want to, as this is his ultimate memory of his glamorous life back in Bohemia. At night he takes the violin and Antone's gun; he intends to break the violin then kill himself, so it won't just be snatched away from him. However he pulls the trigger before breaking it. The next day his body is found, and Antone sells the fiddle.

Characters

*Peter Sadelack. He is from Bohemia and moved into a homestead in Nebraska with his family. He drinks whiskey.
*Antone, Peter's son. He is thrifty and hardworking.
*Herr Mikilsdoff, an orchestra conductor in Prague in Peter's youth.

Allusions to actual history

*In his youth, Peter knew Marie d'Agoult, Sarah Bernhardt and Rachel.

Allusions to other works

*Peter remembers seeing Sarah Bernhardt act in Victorien Sardou's "La Tosca". He also mentions Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and "Ave Maria".

Criticism and significance

"Peter" was retouched and submitted for publication by her English professor, Herbert Bates, without her knowledgeWilla 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 Antonia", with Mr Shimerda's suicide.

References

External links

* [http://cather.unl.edu/writings/shortfiction/peter.html Full text]