In 1915, I. Bunin created one of the most remarkable and deepest works of his time, in which he painted an unpleasant portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco. In this story, published in the collection "Word", an outstanding Russian writer with his inherent sarcasm demonstrates the ship of human life, which moves in the middle of the ocean of sins.
This tough, difficult 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 retaliation is inevitable.
How the idea came about
In one of the essays, the author himself said that when he was 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 Gauthier Bunin did not go into the store and did not buy it. In autumn, in September, the writer was visiting his cousin's estate in Oryol. There he remembered the story he hadn’t acquired and decided to write about the sudden death of an unknown American.
How was the story created?
Unlike the usual quick creation of a new work, which Ivan Alekseevich was not accompanied by excitement, this time he worked slowly and even cried in 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 gray. After working, the writer went for a walk in the garden or, taking a gun, went to the threshing floor. There the pigeons flocked to the grains, which he shot.
Returning, he again sat down at the table. So, in 4 days he completely completed his work, creating an amazing story and a finished portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco. The entire work was invented by the writer from beginning to end, except for one point: some American really died suddenly after lunch at a hotel in Capri. Several manuscripts of the story have been preserved. From them one can trace how the author worked hard on a word, avoiding edification, cliches, foreign words and epithets. The story of the German writer "Death in Venice" was read after Bunin wrote his story.
Summary of the plot
The action takes place at the beginning of the XX century. The main character, like everyone else, has no name. He is a rich or very, very wealthy old American who is 58 years old. He worked tirelessly all his life and now, in old age, went with his adult unmarried daughter and wife for two years to Europe.
On the way back, he planned to call in Japan. Money could open before him the whole world. They are driven by the luxurious, powerful, reliable ship Atlantis. The portrait of the gentleman from San Francisco, which begins to be created even before boarding the ship, shows us a man who has squeezed all his strength out of his workers and is now gracious and condescending to the servant, giving her a plentiful tip. The family, of course, occupies the luxury cabin, spending a measured rest on the decks during the day, and resting in the evenings at sumptuous dinners and balls, where all the ladies are dressed in elegant evening dresses, and men wear tuxedos and tailcoats.
No one is in a hurry. Italy is steadily approaching, but in December the weather in Naples turned out to be nasty, gloomy and rainy. The family moves to Capri. On the ship "chatter", everyone suffers from seasickness. On the island they occupy a wonderful room in the best hotel. Her master and servant diligently cater to wealthy guests from America. They fail to enjoy the rest. Dressing up 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 the gentleman from San Francisco at that moment is terrible: the lines glow with a glass shine, his eyes bulge, his neck tightens, his pince-nez flies from his nose. He wheezes, trying to take a breath, his mouth opens, his head shakes. And he, wriggling his whole body, crawled to the floor, fighting death. The owner came running, instructed the servants to move the beating person in a damp, inferior room. Life still gurgled in it, and then it broke off. His wife and daughter were told to immediately pick him up from the hotel. There were no ready-made coffins, and the landlord ordered the women to be given a long and large crate of soda water. In the early morning, the widow and daughter take the deceased to Naples. After going through humiliation and failure, they still send the body to the New World. Ironically, this happens deep in the bowels of the same ship on which they merrily sailed to Europe. And on the deck and halls there is still the same joyful life with dinners, balls and all kinds of entertainment.
Story analysis
The work is written in long, hard-to-hear sentences, which L. N. Tolstoy loved. This monstrous ship, dissecting the darkness of the ocean and sparkling with fires like diamonds, is filled with human sins, against which the portrait of the hero, the gentleman from San Francisco, is lost in his tarred coffin in the dark womb of the giant.
He accompanies carefree travelers, in whose hands are not only other people's lives, but also material wealth, allowing them to manage the world according to their own taste. The colossal ship becomes a symbol of I. Bunin's insignificant, but proud humanity, to which belongs the portrait of the main character - the gentleman from San Francisco. Only death in the most primitive and gross form can push them out of luxurious halls into the cold of the grave. The rest will indifferently continue their fun.
External character image
The portrait of the gentleman from San Francisco, the description of which we will now give, consists of insignificant but important details. He is short, old and almost bald. On the round head, "the remains of pearl hair." His teeth are false. He is not fat, but rather dry. “It is improperly tailored,” as the writer put it. There is something Mongolian in the yellowish face. A trimmed mustache silvered gray hair. In large ivory-colored teeth, golden fillings glisten.
From increased nutrition, he begins to gain weight, his waist spreads, and he hardly puts on wardrobe items, gathering for his last lunch. His fingers are short with “gouty nodes”. The nails are convex and large, "almond color." His legs are dry, "with flat feet." He is dressed, as is customary in his midst: cream silk underwear, over which a tightly starched white shirt with a standing collar is worn, a tuxedo, black trousers on urinals, black stockings. Ornaments are expensive cufflinks.
Portrait of a gentleman from San Francisco: quotes
The characterization of the protagonist will be incomplete unless we offer a few quotes. Although he is an influential and generous man with footmen, none of the staff “remembered his name either in Naples or in Capri”. Bunin bluntly says that "he was rich." Most likely, this person owned a factory or plants. Only "the Chinese, whom he wrote out for his work as many as thousands", imagined what their master was. He was persistent and hardworking all his life. "He did not live, but existed, with all his hopes for the future." Here it happened. He retires and goes on a trip around the world with his family, which included a middle-aged wife and daughter in marriage, for which so far there was no worthy contender. On the boat, the girl with trepidation met the oriental prince, who traveled incognito. But this acquaintance was interrupted, ending with nothing. And then the girl watched her father, who was looking at the "all-around beauty".
She was a “tall, amazingly built blonde,” who was only interested in her little dog. The daughter tried, but could not help but notice. “Over the years of work, he wanted to reward himself first and foremost.” Resting, our hero drinks a lot and visits dens, where he admires “live pictures”. He is generous with the servant and speaks to her in a “creaky, unhurried, offensively polite voice,” calmly speaking through gritted teeth. ” He only stops at the best hotels that are visited by tall persons, and occupies their apartments.
We tried to offer the reader a complete look at the story of I. A. Bunin, “The Master from San Francisco,” including a characterization of the hero with separate quotes.