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Stefan Zweig - impatience of the heart. A brief retelling of Stefan Zweig's short story “Impatience of the Heart” Contents impatience

"Impatience of the Heart"(German) Ungeduld des Herzens, 1938, published 1939) is the only completed novel by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig.

Issues

In this novel, Stefan Zweig shows Austria-Hungary in the early 20th century on the eve of the First World War, describing the mores and social prejudices of the time. Like the author's best short stories, the novel is replete with the smallest psychological nuances, which reveal the feelings and motivations of the characters' actions. In the epigraph to his novel, Stefan Zweig wrote:

“There are two kinds of compassion. One is cowardly and sentimental, it is, in essence, nothing more than the impatience of the heart, rushing to quickly get rid of the painful sensation at the sight of someone else’s misfortune; This is not compassion, but only an instinctive desire to protect one’s peace from the suffering of one’s neighbor. But there is another compassion - true, which requires action, not sentimentality, it knows what it wants, and is full of determination, suffering and compassion, to do everything that is humanly possible and even beyond it.” end of quote

Plot

The novel begins in 1913 in a small town near Vienna. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, Anton Hofmiller. At the beginning of the novel, this is a young man aged 25, a cavalry lieutenant in the Austrian army, who grew up in a poor large family and got to early military service, considered prestigious for a man. The young man was spared the need to take independent decisions in his life, he was only required to follow the orders of the command, but, on the other hand, the monotonous life in the garrison of a small town and the lack of prospects quickly began to weigh on him.

One day Anton is invited to dinner at the castle of the richest landowner in the area - Mr. von Kekesfalva. There he meets two charming young girls: the owner’s only daughter, Edith, and her cousin Ilona. Anton and Ilona quickly find common topics for conversation, have fun, dance a lot. Anton, who had almost forgotten about the owner’s daughter, invited Edith to a waltz, but in response the girl burst into tears. Not understanding what is happening, Anton turns to Ilona for clarification, who tells him that Edith has paralysis of her legs and cannot move without crutches and outside help. Confused, Anton leaves Kekesfalva's castle, even forgetting to say goodbye. All night his conscience torments him, he feels sorry for Edith and even experiences involuntary shame because of his good health, which has never happened to him before. The next morning, Anton buys a huge bouquet with his last money Red roses and sends them to Edith along with a note of apology. Edith writes back that she is not offended, thanks for the flowers and invites them to visit them at any time.

Anton begins to spend his time free time in the castle, trying to entertain the girls. All the inhabitants of the castle are very happy about his visits and accept him as their own. In one of the conversations, Ilona says that she has a fiancé, but out of love for her cousin and at the request of her uncle, she agreed to postpone marriage and devotes all her time and energy to caring for Edith. At first, Anton likes to communicate with the Kekesfalva family, because here the young man found what he had been missing for many years: home, family coziness, comfort, communication with educated people, pleasant female society. His comrades in the service become aware of his visits to the castle, who react differently: some mock, others envy, some believe that he wants to get rich in this way, because Edith is a rich heiress. Anton tries to clearly distinguish between his life in the garrison and his visits to the castle for fear of public opinion.

Stefan Zweig

"Impatience of the Heart"

In 1938, the narrator accidentally met Anton Hofmiller, Knight of the Order of Maria Theresa, who told him about what happened to him a quarter of a century ago, when he was twenty-five years old. The narrator wrote down his story, changing only the names and some small details that allowed him to guess who and what he was talking about.

Anton Hofmiller was the son of a poor official, burdened with a large family. He was sent to military school, and at the age of eighteen he graduated from it. Thanks to a distant relative, he joined the cavalry. Service in this branch of the army is not within everyone’s means, and the young man found himself surrounded by much wealthier comrades. At the end of 1913, the squadron where he served was transferred from Jaroslavice to a small garrison town near the Hungarian border. In May 1914, the local pharmacist, who was also the burgomaster's assistant, introduced Anton to the richest man in the area - Mr. von Kekesfalve, whose niece amazed Anton with her beauty. Anton was invited to the Kekeshfalva's house, and he was delighted with the warm welcome. He danced a lot with Kekeshfalva’s niece Ilona and with other girls, and only at half past ten he realized that he had forgotten about the owner’s daughter and had not invited her to the waltz. Anton hurried to correct the mistake, but in response to his invitation, Edith Kekesfalva burst into tears. Anton could not understand what was the matter, and Ilona explained to him that Edith’s legs were paralyzed and she could not take a single step without crutches. Confused, Anton hurried to leave.

He felt as if he had whipped a child and then ran away like a criminal without even trying to justify himself. To make amends, Anton used his last money to buy a huge bouquet of roses and send it to Edith. The girl answered him letter of thanks and invited me for a cup of tea. When Anton arrived, Edith and Ilona were delighted and accepted him as a dear friend. He began to visit them easily and became very attached to both, but Ilona seemed to him a real woman with whom he wanted to dance and kiss, and Edith, at seventeen or eighteen years old, looked like a child whom he wanted to caress and console. Edith felt some strange uneasiness, her mood often changed. When Anton first saw how Edith moved, clutching crutches and dragging her legs with difficulty, he was horrified. Suffering endlessly from her helplessness, she wanted to take revenge on the healthy by forcing them to watch her suffering. Her father invited the most famous doctors in the hope that they would cure her, because just five years ago she was a cheerful, active child. He asked Anton not to be offended by Edith: she is often harsh, but her heart is kind. Anton felt boundless compassion and even felt shame about his health.

One day, when he was galloping on a horse, he suddenly thought that if Edith could see him from the window of the estate, then it might be painful for her to watch this gallop. He jerked the reins and gave the command to his lancers to break into a trot, and only when the estate was out of sight did he allow them to gallop again. Anton experienced a surge of warm sympathy for the unfortunate sick girl, he even tried to brighten up her dreary life: seeing how the girls rejoiced at his arrival, he began to visit them almost every day: he told funny stories, entertained them as best he could. The owner thanked him touchingly for bringing Edith back into a good mood and making her almost as cheerful as before. Anton learned that Ilona was engaged to a notary's assistant from Bechkeret and was waiting for Edith to recover or for her condition to improve in order to marry him. Anton guessed that Kekesfalva had promised the poor relative a dowry if she agreed to postpone the marriage. Therefore, the attraction that flared up for Ilona quickly faded away, and his affection became increasingly focused on Edith, destitute and defenseless. Friends began to make fun of Anton, who stopped attending their parties at the Red Lion: they say, of course, Kekesfalva has better food. Seeing Anton's gold cigarette case - a gift from Ilona and Edith for his birthday - his comrades noticed that he had learned quite well how to choose his friends. With their ridicule they deprived Anton of self-confidence. He felt like a giver, a helper, and then suddenly he saw what his relationship with the Kekesfalves looked like from the outside, and realized that many around him might consider his behavior to be far from selfless. He began to visit the Kekeshfalves less often. Edith was offended and made a scene for him, although she later asked for forgiveness. In order not to upset the sick girl, Anton again frequented their estate. Kekesfalva asked Anton to ask Dr. Condor, who was treating Edith, about what her chances of recovery really were: doctors often spare patients and their relatives and do not tell them the whole truth, and Edith is tired of uncertainty and is losing patience. Kekesfalva hoped that to a stranger like Anton, Doctor Condor would tell it like it is. Anton promised, and after dinner at the Kekesfalvos’, he went out with Condor and struck up a conversation with him.

The Condor told him that, first of all, he was concerned about the state of health not of Edith, but of her father: the old man was so worried about his daughter that he had lost peace and sleep, and with his weak heart this could end badly. The Condor told Anton, who considered Kekesfalva a Hungarian aristocrat, that in fact Kekesfalva was born into a poor Jewish family and his real name was Lemmel Kanitz. As a child, he was an errand boy, but he devoted every free minute to studying and gradually began to carry out more and more serious assignments. At twenty-five he already lived in Vienna and was an agent for a reputable insurance company. His awareness and the range of his activities became wider every year. From a middleman, he turned into an entrepreneur and made a fortune. One day he was traveling on a train from Budapest to Vienna. Pretending to be asleep, he overheard the conversation of his fellow travelers. They discussed the sensational case of the inheritance of Princess Oroszvar: the evil old woman, having quarreled with her relatives, left her entire fortune to her companion, Fraulein Ditzenhoff, a modest, downtrodden woman who patiently endured all her nagging and whims. The princess's relatives managed to fool the impractical heiress, and all that was left of her million-dollar inheritance was the Kekeshfalva estate, which she would most likely also squander. Kanitz decided without wasting any time to go to the Kekesfalva estate and try to cheaply buy a collection of antique Chinese porcelain from Fraulein Ditzenhof. A woman opened the door to him, whom he mistook for a servant, but it turned out that she was the new mistress of the estate. After talking with her, Kanitz realized that the unexpectedly fallen wealth was not a joy for this woman, not spoiled by life, but, on the contrary, a burden, because she did not know what to do with it. She said that she would like to sell the Kekesfalva estate. Hearing this, Kanitz immediately decided to buy it. He skillfully conducted the conversation and incorrectly translated the lawyer’s letter from Hungarian, as a result of which Fraulein Ditzenhoff agreed to sell the estate for one hundred and fifty thousand crowns, considering this sum to be huge, while it was at least four times less than its real price. In order to prevent the gullible woman from coming to her senses, Kanitz hurried to go with her to Vienna and quickly complete the paperwork. When the bill of sale was signed, Fraulein Ditzenhoff wanted to pay Kanitz for his efforts. He refused the money, and she began to thank him profusely. Kanitz felt remorse. No one ever thanked him, and he felt ashamed in front of the woman he had deceived. The successful deal no longer made him happy. He decided to return the estate to the maid of honor if she one day regretted selling it. Having bought a large box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, he showed up at the hotel where she was staying to tell her about his decision. Fraulein was touched by his attention, and he, having learned that she was going to go to Westphalia to distant relatives, with whom nothing connects her, proposed to her. Two months later they got married. Kanitz converted to Christianity, and then changed his surname to a more sonorous one - von Kekesfalva. The couple were very happy, they had a daughter, Edith, but Kanitsa’s wife turned out to have cancer and she died.

After no millions helped him save his wife, Kanitz began to despise money. He spoiled his daughter and threw money left and right. When Edith fell ill five years ago, Kanitz considered it a punishment for his previous sins and did everything to cure the girl. Anton asked Condor if Edith's illness was curable. Condor honestly said that he does not know: he is trying different means, but has not yet achieved encouraging results. He once read about the method of Professor Vienneau and wrote to him to find out whether his method was applicable to such a patient as Edith, but had not yet received an answer.

When, after talking with Condor, Anton approached the barracks, he saw Kekesfalva, who was waiting for him in the rain, because he was eager to find out what the doctor said about Edith’s state of health. Anton did not have the courage to disappoint the old man, and he said that Condor was going to try a new method of treatment and was confident of success. Kekeshfalva told Edith everything, and the girl believed that she would soon be healthy. Having learned that Anton had reassured the patient on his behalf, Condor became very angry. He received a response from Professor Vienne, from which it became clear: the new method was not suitable for treating Edith. Anton began to convince him that revealing the whole truth to Edith now would mean killing her. It seemed to him that inspiration and high spirits could play a positive role, and the girl would feel at least a little better. Condor warned Anton that he was taking on too much greater responsibility, but this did not frighten Anton. Before going to bed, Anton opened the volume of fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights” and read a fairy tale about a lame old man who could not walk and asked the young man to carry him on his shoulders. But as soon as the old man, who was in fact a genie, climbed onto the young man’s shoulders, he began to mercilessly chase him, not allowing him to rest. In a dream, the old man from the fairy tale acquired the features of Kekeshfalva, and Anton himself turned into an unhappy young man. When he came to the Kekeshfalves the next day, Edith announced to him that in ten days she was leaving for Switzerland for treatment. She asked when Anton would come there to visit them, and when the young man said that he had no money, she replied that her father would be happy to pay for his trip. Pride did not allow Anton to accept such a gift. Edith began to find out why he was visiting them at all, saying that she could not stand everyone’s pity and condescension. And suddenly she said that it was better to throw herself from the tower than to endure such an attitude. She was so excited that she wanted to hit Anton, but she couldn’t stay on her feet and fell. Anton could not understand the reasons for her anger, but soon she asked for forgiveness and, when Anton was about to leave, she suddenly clung to him and kissed him passionately on the lips. Anton was stunned: it never occurred to him that a helpless girl, essentially a cripple, could to love and want to be loved like any other woman. Later, Anton learned from Ilona that Edith had loved him for a long time, and Ilona, in order not to upset her, constantly convinced her sick relative that Anton undoubtedly liked her. Ilona tried to persuade Anton not to disappoint the poor girl now, on the verge of recovery - after all, treatment would require a lot of effort from her. Anton felt trapped.

He received a love letter from Edith, followed by another, where she asked him to destroy the first. Out of excitement during the exercise, Anton gave the wrong command and incurred the wrath of the colonel. Anton wanted to quit, leave Austria, even asked a friend to help him, and soon he was offered a position as assistant purser on a merchant ship. Anton wrote his resignation, but then he remembered Edith’s letters and decided to consult with Condor on what to do. He went to the doctor's home and was amazed to discover that Condor was married to a blind woman, that he lived in a poor neighborhood and treated the poor from morning to night. When Anton told everything to the Condor, he explained to him that if he, having turned the girl’s head with his beautiful-hearted compassion, now runs away, it will kill her. Anton backed down from his decision to resign. He began to feel grateful to Edith for her love. When he still visited the Kekeshfalves, he always felt a hidden, greedy expectation in Edith’s behavior. Anton counted the days until her departure for Switzerland: after all, this was supposed to bring him the desired freedom. But Ilona informed him that the departure was postponed. Seeing that Anton felt nothing but compassion for her, Edith changed her mind about getting treatment: after all, she wanted to be healthy only for his sake. Kekesfalva begged Anton on his knees not to reject Edith’s love. Anton tried to explain to him that everyone would certainly decide that he married Edith for money and would begin to despise him, and Edith herself would not believe in the sincerity of his feelings and would begin to think that he married her out of pity. He said that later, when Edith recovered, everything would be different. Kekeshfalva seized on his words and asked permission to convey them to Edith. Anton, firmly knowing that her illness was incurable, decided under no circumstances to go beyond this non-binding promise. Before Edith left, Anton came to the Kekeshfalves and, when everyone raised their glasses to her health, in a surge of tenderness he hugged his old father and kissed the girl. Thus the engagement took place. Edith put a ring on Anton’s finger so that he would think about her while she was gone. Anton saw that he gave people happiness and rejoiced with them. When he was about to leave, Edith tried to escort him out herself, without crutches. She took a few steps, but lost her balance and fell. Instead of rushing to her aid, Anton stepped back in horror. He understood that right now he had to prove his loyalty to her, but he no longer had the strength to deceive and he cowardly fled.

Out of grief, he went to a cafe where he met friends. The pharmacist had already managed to tell them, from the words of one of Kekeshfalva’s servants, that Anton had become engaged to Edith. Anton, not knowing how to explain to them what he himself did not properly understand, said that this was not true. Realizing the depth of his betrayal, he wanted to shoot himself, but decided to first tell the colonel about everything. The colonel said that it was stupid to put a bullet in the forehead over such nonsense, in addition, it casts a shadow on the entire regiment. He promised to talk to everyone who heard Anton’s words, and the very next morning he sent Anton himself with a letter to Časlavice to the lieutenant colonel there. The next morning Anton left.

His path lay through Vienna. He wanted to see Condor, but did not find him at home. He left Condor a detailed letter and asked him to immediately go to Edith and tell her how cowardly he had renounced the engagement. If Edith, in spite of everything, forgives him, the engagement will be sacred to him and he will remain with her forever, whether she recovers or not. Anton felt that from now on his whole life belonged to the girl who loved him. Fearing that Condor would not immediately receive his letter and would not have time to arrive at the estate by half past four, when Anton usually came there, he sent a telegram to Edith from the road, but it was not delivered to Kekesfalva: due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the postal the message was interrupted. Anton managed to get through to Condor in Vienna, and he told him that Edith had found out about his betrayal. Seizing the moment, she threw herself from the tower and fell to her death.

Anton went to the front and became famous for his bravery. The real point was that he did not value life. After the war, he gained courage, consigned the past to oblivion and began to live like other people. Since no one reminded him of his guilt, he himself began to gradually forget about this tragic story. Only once did the past remind itself. At the Vienna Opera, he noticed Doctor Condor and his blind wife in adjacent seats. He felt ashamed. He was afraid that Condor would recognize him and, as soon as the curtain began to fall after the first act, he hastily left the hall. From that moment he was finally convinced that “no guilt can be consigned to oblivion as long as the conscience remembers it.”

Anton Hofmiller, at fifty years old, being a Knight of the Order of Maria Theresa, was enveloped in memories of his childhood, beginning to tell the story of his love. His father, a poor official, had a large family. Anton himself was sent to a military school, which he graduated at eighteen. Then he joined the cavalry. In 1913, his squadron was transferred to Jaroslavice, on the Hungarian border. After a year of service, Anton is introduced to Mr. von Kekesfalve, whose niece, Ilona, immediately fell in love with the guy. He is invited to a reception, where he spends the evening dancing with the girls, Ilona, and, because of the fun, he completely forgets to invite Kekesfalve’s daughter, Edith, to dance. Rushing to correct the mistake, he approached her and invited her to dance, but in response the girl only burst into tears. As it turned out, he was paralyzed and at eighteen walked on crutches. In shame for his action, Anton leaves the master's estate. Wanting to apologize, he buys flowers and sends them to Edith, for which in return he receives an invitation to drink tea. Edith and Ilona received Hofmiller with pleasure, and the guy began to visit the girls more often. In Ilona, the gentleman saw a real woman with whom he wanted to spend a lot of time, but he was embarrassed by Edith, who had frequent mood swings, and, seeing how she moved on crutches, all desire to get closer to the girl simply disappeared. Mr. von Kekesfalwe asked Anton not to react too harshly to these changes, because the girl was only five years old since she became disabled, having previously been a very cheerful person.

The visits of the young gentleman brought joy to Edith, and Anton began to visit more often, almost every day. He finds out that Ilona is already engaged, and, saddened, switches to Edith in order to cheer up the girl. But because of his friends’ jealousy of their colleague’s new attraction, Anton saw himself from the outside and began to visit the girls less often. Having met Kekesfalve on the street, Anton was surprised, but the gentleman only wanted to ask the guy to find out about the state of his daughter’s health from her attending physician Condor. The guy agreed, met with the doctor and found out that while his method was not effective, it would not benefit the girl, but Condor read about the new remedy and made a request, but the answer had not yet come. Not wanting to upset the old man Kekesfalve, Anton, having met with him, said that the doctor’s new technique should help Edith’s recovery. The guy’s words reassured the girl, but the doctor received the long-awaited answer, which indicated that the new technique was not suitable for Edith’s case. Anton asked Condor not to tell this to Edith, because the truth could kill her. Having visited the girls, the guy finds out that in ten days they are going to Switzerland, where Edith will be treated. Having stayed until the evening and getting ready to leave, Edith suddenly begins to get angry with Anton, then apologizes and passionately kisses him on the lips. This act discouraged the young man, but Ilona asks him to reciprocate her feelings, because Edith has been in love with him for a long time and, when she has the chance to get back on her feet after treatment, she should be full of strength. The guy was trapped.

Hofmiller began to count the days until his departure, but he learns from Ilona that because of his cold relationship with Edith, the girl refused to go. Old man Kekesfalve begs the guy to persuade his daughter to go for treatment. Anton promised that he would convince her by proposing marriage to her. Just before leaving for the estate, the young couple got engaged, at which Edith put a ring on Anton, so that he would not forget about his future wife when she was undergoing treatment.

Confused about his actions, Antov turned to his colonel for help, and in the morning the guy, with a letter of direction, went to Chaslavitsa to the local colonel. Having learned about the betrayal of her beloved, Edith chose the moment and jumped from the tower, falling to her death.

Anton ended up in the war, where he became famous for his bravery. After the front, he began to forget his past, but when he met Condor at the opera, he was afraid that he would recognize him, and Anton realized that “no guilt can be consigned to oblivion as long as the conscience remembers it.”

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Tatiana Alkecheva

“Impatience of the Heart” - plot

The novel begins in 1913 in a small town near Vienna. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, Anton Hofmiller. At the beginning of the novel, he is a young man aged 25, a cavalry lieutenant in the Austrian army, who grew up in a poor, large family and entered military service early, which was considered prestigious for a man. The young man was freed from the need to make independent decisions in his life, he was only required to follow the orders of the command, but, on the other hand, the monotonous life in the garrison of a small town and the lack of prospects quickly began to weigh on him.

One day Anton is invited to dinner at the castle of the richest landowner in the area - Mr. von Kekesfalva. There he meets two charming young girls: the owner’s only daughter, Edith, and her cousin Ilona. Anton and Ilona quickly find common topics for conversation, have fun, and dance a lot. Anton, who had almost forgotten about the owner’s daughter, invited Edith to a waltz, but in response the girl burst into tears. Not understanding what is happening, Anton turns to Ilona for clarification, who tells him that Edith has paralysis of her legs and cannot move without crutches and outside help. Confused, Anton leaves Kekesfalva's castle, even forgetting to say goodbye. All night his conscience torments him, he feels sorry for Edith and even experiences involuntary shame because of his good health, which has never happened to him before. The next morning, Anton uses his last money to buy a huge bouquet of scarlet roses and sends them to Edith along with a note of apology. Edith writes back that she is not offended, thanks for the flowers and invites them to visit them at any time.

Anton begins to spend all his free time in the castle, trying to entertain the girls. All the inhabitants of the castle are very happy about his visits and accept him as their own. In one of the conversations, Ilona says that she has a fiancé, but out of love for her cousin and at the request of her uncle, she agreed to postpone marriage and devotes all her time and energy to caring for Edith. At first, Anton likes to communicate with the Kekesfalva family, because here the young man found what he had been missing for many years: home, family coziness, comfort, communication with educated people, pleasant female society. His comrades in the service become aware of his visits to the castle, who react differently: some mock, others envy, some believe that he wants to get rich in this way, because Edith is a rich heiress. Anton tries to clearly distinguish between his life in the garrison and his visits to the castle for fear of public opinion.

Meanwhile, Dr. Condor arrives at the castle for another medical examination of Edith. Kekesfalva asks Anton to find out from the doctor when Edith will recover. Anton is confused, but under pressure from Kekesfalva and wanting to help, he agrees. Condor, in a conversation with Anton, talks about Kekeshfalva's past: about his Jewish origin, about the source of his wealth, about the death of his wife and about the accident with his daughter. Condor also tells Anton about his blind wife - a former patient - whom the doctor married after he realized that he could not cure her, thereby taking responsibility for another person. Condor tries to make the young man understand the difference between pity and helping another person, and the doctor says about Edith’s health that the girl is now improving. Anton and Kekeshfalva misinterpret Condor's words: the young man thinks that the doctor is confident that Edith will recover quickly, and the father hastened to please his daughter. The doctor sternly reprimands Anton for the false hope he unwittingly gave to the Kekesfalva family.

Gradually, Anton realizes that his acquaintance with the Kekesfalva family, which began with a pleasant pastime, began to burden him more and more. One day, Edith is the first to kiss Anton, and this comes as a complete surprise to him. The young man does not know what to do next and, in particular, how to behave with Edith in the future and is not ready to take responsibility for her. Soon he receives love letters from Edith. She realizes the hopelessness of her love, but hopes that they can be together when Edith gets better. Anton, who received the letters, is horrified by this unsolicited passion. He decides to leave the service and leave Austria. Anton comes to Dr. Condor to say goodbye and confesses to him that he is no longer able to bear Edith’s love, and he is frightened more by public opinion than by the girl’s injury. Nevertheless, Dr. Condor manages to convince Anton to stay, because by fleeing he is signing Edith’s death warrant. Anton agrees to stay until Edith leaves for Switzerland to continue a new course of treatment.

Soon Anton again comes to the Kekesfalva estate. He firmly decided to endure these eight days and not show Edith his feelings: fear and pity. However, he fails to pretend and assure Edith of his love, and this causes “strange hostility” in the girl. Three days later, von Kekesfalva himself visits Anton, begging him to save Edith, to help her. Tormented by pity and compassion, Anton asks to tell Edith that they will be together when the girl recovers. Under pressure from Kekesfalva Condor, Anton agrees to be engaged to Edith. However, he still feels only compassion for her, not love, and is afraid of the ridicule of his comrades. Besides, he's embarrassed Jewish origin the girl's father, he is afraid public opinion. When his comrades in the barracks directly ask Anton if it is true that he became engaged to Kekesfalva's daughter, he does not have the courage to confess and denies everything. Depressed Anton decides to commit suicide, but meets a colonel, to whom he tells about his lies. The colonel promises to settle everything and sends Anton to Časlavice. Before the trip, Anton leaves Doctor Condor a letter in which he asks him to tell Edith everything. However, Anton does not renounce the engagement, asks the girl for forgiveness and wants to stay with her, atonement for his cowardice, his lies.

Anton sends a telegram, which later does not reach the recipient. During the trip, Anton tries to call Kekesfalva Castle and Doctor Condor, but all the lines are overloaded.

Edith, having not received news from her fiancé and accidentally hearing accusations against her, chooses the moment when Ilona does not have time to follow her, throws herself down from the castle terrace and falls to her death.

Anton blames himself for what happened, reflecting on the fact that Edith was the only person who truly loved him, who truly needed him. Tormented by remorse, Anton goes to the front, running away from life, seeking death in battle, but survives and at the age of 28 he is awarded the Order of Maria Theresa for his bravery in the war.

Years pass, Anton's life gradually improves, he plucked up courage and began to live, allowing himself to forget about that long history with Edith. But one day in 1938, at the Vienna Opera House, Anton Hofmiller accidentally sees Doctor Condor and his wife, a man “whose compassion was not a murderous weakness, like mine, but a saving power and self-sacrifice - the only one who could condemn me, the only one before whom I was ashamed!<…>from that moment I was finally convinced that no guilt can be consigned to oblivion as long as the conscience remembers it.”

Story

Criticism

In the novel “Impatience of the Heart,” Stefan Zweig addresses the theme of life’s duty and human purpose in life. Pictures of army life in a provincial town of Austria-Hungary are depicted. Main character– Anton Gofmiller, 25 years old, a decent but ordinary person.

Life flows smoothly until chance interferes with his fate. The pharmacist takes him into the house of the rich man Kekeshfalva. An unpleasant surprise - under the mask of a rich man is hiding the Jewish businessman Leopold Kanitz. The only consolation is the daughter Edith - a smart, wonderful girl, but she is paralyzed.

Edith is a complex character and psychologically rich; she is capable of selfless love, but her illness dooms her feelings to unrequited feelings. The novel is an analysis of the relationships between young people. The starting point is the absurd awkwardness when the hero asks the girl to dance.

She falls in love with Hofmiller and has no doubt about his reciprocal feelings; hope grows. Hofmiller finds himself in a difficult situation; pity for the girl prevents him from stopping this game, and he agrees to marry Edith, but secretly leaves the house. Edith could not stand the betrayal.

Specificity of the problem - Zweig depicts the tragedy of the heroes’ delusion. Edith sees love in compassion. The hero turns out to be guilty without guilt. Compassion turns into cruelty. Dr. Condor says there are two types of compassion:

1) impatience of the heart - false compassion, which seeks to get rid of the feeling of guilt at the sight of other people's misfortunes;

2) true compassion, which requires action. Effective compassion, requiring specific actions, should become the norm of personal behavior. The hero's fault is inconsistency; in the end he actually becomes Edith's murderer.

Anton Hofmiller was the son of a poor official, burdened with a large family. He was sent to a military school, and at the age of eighteen he graduated from it. Thanks to a distant relative, he joined the cavalry. Service in this branch of the army is not within everyone’s means, and the young man found himself surrounded by much wealthier comrades. At the end of 1913, the squadron where he served was transferred from Jaroslavice to a small garrison town near the Hungarian border. In May 1914, the local pharmacist, who was also the burgomaster's assistant, introduced Anton to the richest man in the area - Mr. von Kekesfalve, whose niece amazed Anton with her beauty. Anton was invited to the Kekeshfalva's house, and he was delighted with the warm welcome. He danced a lot with Kekeshfalva’s niece Ilona and with other girls, and only at half past ten he realized that he had forgotten about the owner’s daughter and had not invited her to the waltz. Anton hurried to correct the mistake, but in response to his invitation, Edith Kekesfalva burst into tears. Anton could not understand what was the matter, and Ilona explained to him that Edith’s legs were paralyzed and she could not take a single step without crutches. Confused, Anton hurried to leave.

He felt as if he had whipped a child and then ran away like a criminal without even trying to justify himself. To make amends, Anton used his last money to buy a huge bouquet of roses and send it to Edith. The girl answered him with a letter of gratitude and invited him for a cup of tea. When Anton arrived, Edith and Ilona were delighted and accepted him as a dear friend. He began to visit them easily and became very attached to both, but Ilona seemed to him a real woman with whom he wanted to dance and kiss, and Edith, at seventeen or eighteen years old, looked like a child whom he wanted to caress and console. Edith felt some strange uneasiness, her mood often changed. When Anton first saw how Edith moved, clutching crutches and dragging her feet with difficulty, he was horrified. Suffering endlessly from her helplessness, she wanted to take revenge on the healthy by forcing them to watch her suffering. Her father invited the most famous doctors in the hope that they would cure her, because five years ago she was a cheerful, active child. He asked Anton not to be offended by Edith: she is often harsh, but she has a kind heart. Anton felt boundless compassion and even felt shame about his health.

One day, when he was galloping on a horse, he suddenly thought that if Edith could see him from the window of the estate, then it might be painful for her to watch this gallop. He jerked the reins and gave the command to his lancers to break into a trot, and only when the estate was out of sight did he allow them to gallop again. Anton experienced a surge of warm sympathy for the unfortunate sick girl, he even tried to brighten up her dreary life: seeing how the girls rejoiced at his arrival, he began to visit them almost every day: he told funny stories, entertained them as best he could. The owner thanked him touchingly for restoring Edith’s good mood and making her almost as cheerful as before. Anton learned that Ilona was engaged to a notary's assistant from Bechkeret and was waiting for Edith to recover or for her condition to improve in order to marry him. Anton guessed that Kekesfalva had promised the poor relative a dowry if she agreed to postpone the marriage. Therefore, the attraction that flared up for Ilona quickly faded away, and his affection became increasingly focused on Edith, destitute and defenseless. Friends began to make fun of Anton, who stopped attending their parties at the Red Lion: they say, of course, Kekesfalva has better food. Seeing Anton's gold cigarette case - a gift from Ilona and Edith for his birthday - his comrades noticed that he had learned quite well how to choose his friends. With their ridicule they deprived Anton of self-confidence. He felt like a giver, a helper, and then suddenly he saw what his relationship with the Kekesfalves looked like from the outside, and realized that many around him might consider his behavior to be far from selfless. He began to visit the Kekeshfalves less often. Edith was offended and made a scene for him, although she later asked for forgiveness. In order not to upset the sick girl, Anton again frequented their estate. Kekesfalva asked Anton to ask Dr. Condor, who was treating Edith, about what her chances of recovery really were: doctors often spare patients and their relatives and do not tell them the whole truth, and Edith is tired of uncertainty and is losing patience. Kekesfalva hoped that to a stranger like Anton, Doctor Condor would tell it like it is. Anton promised, and after dinner at the Kekesfalvos’, he went out with Condor and struck up a conversation with him.

The Condor told him that, first of all, he was concerned about the state of health not of Edith, but of her father: the old man was so worried about his daughter that he had lost peace and sleep, and with his weak heart this could end badly. The Condor told Anton, who considered Kekesfalva a Hungarian aristocrat, that in fact Kekesfalva was born into a poor Jewish family and his real name was Lemmel Kanitz. As a child, he was an errand boy, but he devoted every free minute to studying and gradually began to carry out more and more serious assignments. At the age of twenty-five, he already lived in Vienna and was an agent for a reputable insurance company. His awareness and the range of his activities became wider every year. From a middleman, he turned into an entrepreneur and made a fortune. One day he was traveling on a train from Budapest to Vienna. Pretending to be asleep, he overheard the conversation of his fellow travelers. They discussed the sensational case of the inheritance of Princess Oroszvar: the evil old woman, having quarreled with her relatives, left her entire fortune to her companion, Fraulein Ditzenhoff, a modest, downtrodden woman who patiently endured all her nagging and whims. The princess's relatives managed to fool the impractical heiress, and all that was left of her million-dollar inheritance was the Kekeshfalva estate, which she would most likely also squander. Kanitz decided without wasting any time to go to the Kekesfalva estate and try to cheaply buy a collection of antique Chinese porcelain from Fraulein Ditzenhof. A woman opened the door to him, whom he mistook for a servant, but it turned out that she was the new mistress of the estate. After talking with her, Kanitz realized that the unexpectedly fallen wealth was not a joy for this woman, not spoiled by life, but, on the contrary, a burden, because she did not know what to do with it. She said that she would like to sell the Kekesfalva estate. Hearing this, Kanitz immediately decided to buy it. He skillfully led the conversation and incorrectly translated the lawyer’s letter from Hungarian, as a result of which Fraulein Ditzenhof agreed to sell the estate for one hundred and fifty thousand crowns, considering this sum to be huge, while it was at least four times less than its real price. In order to prevent the gullible woman from coming to her senses, Kanitz hurried to go with her to Vienna and quickly complete the paperwork. When the bill of sale was signed, Fraulein Ditzenhoff wanted to pay Kanitz for his efforts. He refused the money, and she began to thank him profusely. Kanitz felt remorse. No one ever thanked him, and he felt ashamed in front of the woman he had deceived. The successful deal no longer made him happy. He decided to return the estate to the maid of honor if she one day regretted selling it. Having bought a large box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, he showed up at the hotel where she was staying to tell her about his decision. Fraulein was touched by his attention, and he, having learned that she was going to go to Westphalia to visit distant relatives with whom she had nothing in common, proposed to her. Two months later they got married. Kanitz converted to Christianity, and then changed his surname to a more sonorous one - von Kekesfalva. The couple were very happy, they had a daughter, Edith, but Kanitsa’s wife turned out to have cancer and she died.

When, after talking with Condor, Anton approached the barracks, he saw Kekesfalva, who was waiting for him in the rain, because he was eager to find out what the doctor said about Edith’s state of health. Anton did not have the courage to disappoint the old man, and he said that Condor was going to try a new method of treatment and was confident of success. Kekeshfalva told Edith everything, and the girl believed that she would soon be healthy. Having learned that Anton had reassured the patient on his behalf, Condor became very angry. He received a response from Professor Vienne, from which it became clear: the new method was not suitable for treating Edith. Anton began to convince him that revealing the whole truth to Edith now would mean killing her. It seemed to him that inspiration and high spirits could play a positive role, and the girl would feel at least a little better. Condor warned Anton that he was taking on too much responsibility, but this did not frighten Anton. Before going to bed, Anton opened the volume of fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights” and read a fairy tale about a lame old man who could not walk and asked the young man to carry him on his shoulders. But as soon as the old man, who was in fact a genie, climbed onto the young man’s shoulders, he began to mercilessly chase him, not allowing him to rest. In a dream, the old man from the fairy tale acquired the features of Kekeshfalva, and Anton himself turned into an unhappy young man. When he came to the Kekesfalvs the next day, Edith announced to him that in ten days she was leaving for Switzerland for treatment. She asked when Anton would come there to visit them, and when the young man said that he had no money, she replied that her father would be happy to pay for his trip. Pride did not allow Anton to accept such a gift. Edith began to find out why he was visiting them at all, saying that she could not stand everyone’s pity and condescension. And suddenly she said that it was better to throw herself from the tower than to endure such an attitude. She was so excited that she wanted to hit Anton, but she couldn’t stay on her feet and fell. Anton could not understand the reasons for her anger, but soon she asked for forgiveness and, when Anton was about to leave, she suddenly clung to him and kissed him passionately on the lips. Anton was stunned: it never occurred to him that a helpless girl, essentially a cripple, could to love and want to be loved like any other woman. Later, Anton learned from Ilona that Edith had loved him for a long time, and Ilona, in order not to upset her, constantly convinced her sick relative that Anton undoubtedly liked her. Ilona tried to persuade Anton not to disappoint the poor girl now, on the verge of recovery - after all, treatment would require a lot of effort from her. Anton felt trapped.

Impatience of the heart

He felt as if he had whipped a child and then ran away like a criminal without even trying to justify himself. To make amends, Anton used his last money to buy a huge bouquet of roses and send it to Edith. The girl answered him with a letter of gratitude and invited him for a cup of tea. When Anton arrived, Edith and Ilona were delighted and accepted him as a dear friend. He began to visit them easily and became very attached to both, but Ilona seemed to him a real woman with whom he wanted to dance and kiss, and Edith, at seventeen or eighteen years old, looked like a child whom he wanted to caress and console. Edith felt some strange uneasiness, her mood often changed. When Anton first saw how Edith moved, clutching crutches and dragging her feet with difficulty, he was horrified. Suffering endlessly from her helplessness, she wanted to take revenge on the healthy by forcing them to watch her suffering. Her father invited the most famous doctors in the hope that they would cure her, because five years ago she was a cheerful, active child. He asked Anton not to be offended by Edith: she is often harsh, but she has a kind heart. Anton felt boundless compassion and even felt shame about his health.

One day, when he was galloping on a horse, he suddenly thought that if Edith could see him from the window of the estate, then it might be painful for her to watch this gallop. He jerked the reins and gave the command to his lancers to break into a trot, and only when the estate was out of sight did he allow them to gallop again. Anton experienced a surge of warm sympathy for the unfortunate sick girl, he even tried to brighten up her dreary life: seeing how the girls rejoiced at his arrival, he began to visit them almost every day: he told funny stories, entertained them as best he could. The owner thanked him touchingly for restoring Edith’s good mood and making her almost as cheerful as before. Anton learned that Ilona was engaged to a notary's assistant from Bechkeret and was waiting for Edith to recover or for her condition to improve in order to marry him. Anton guessed that Kekesfalva had promised the poor relative a dowry if she agreed to postpone the marriage. Therefore, the attraction that flared up for Ilona quickly faded away, and his affection became increasingly focused on Edith, destitute and defenseless. Friends began to make fun of Anton, who stopped attending their parties at the Red Lion: they say, of course, Kekesfalva has better food. Seeing Anton's gold cigarette case - a gift from Ilona and Edith for his birthday - his comrades noticed that he had learned quite well how to choose his friends. With their ridicule they deprived Anton of self-confidence. He felt like a giver, a helper, and then suddenly he saw what his relationship with the Kekesfalves looked like from the outside, and realized that many around him might consider his behavior to be far from selfless. He began to visit the Kekeshfalves less often. Edith was offended and made a scene for him, although she later asked for forgiveness. In order not to upset the sick girl, Anton again frequented their estate. Kekesfalva asked Anton to ask Dr. Condor, who was treating Edith, about what her chances of recovery really were: doctors often spare patients and their relatives and do not tell them the whole truth, and Edith is tired of uncertainty and is losing patience. Kekesfalva hoped that to a stranger like Anton, Doctor Condor would tell it like it is. Anton promised, and after dinner at the Kekesfalvos’, he went out with Condor and struck up a conversation with him.

The Condor told him that, first of all, he was concerned about the state of health not of Edith, but of her father: the old man was so worried about his daughter that he had lost peace and sleep, and with his weak heart this could end badly. The Condor told Anton, who considered Kekesfalva a Hungarian aristocrat, that in fact Kekesfalva was born into a poor Jewish family and his real name was Lemmel Kanitz. As a child, he was an errand boy, but he devoted every free minute to studying and gradually began to carry out more and more serious assignments. At the age of twenty-five, he already lived in Vienna and was an agent for a reputable insurance company. His awareness and the range of his activities became wider every year. From a middleman, he turned into an entrepreneur and made a fortune. One day he was traveling on a train from Budapest to Vienna. Pretending to be asleep, he overheard the conversation of his fellow travelers. They discussed the sensational case of the inheritance of Princess Oroszvar: the evil old woman, having quarreled with her relatives, left her entire fortune to her companion, Fraulein Ditzenhoff, a modest, downtrodden woman who patiently endured all her nagging and whims. The princess's relatives managed to fool the impractical heiress, and all that was left of her million-dollar inheritance was the Kekeshfalva estate, which she would most likely also squander. Kanitz decided without wasting any time to go to the Kekesfalva estate and try to cheaply buy a collection of antique Chinese porcelain from Fraulein Ditzenhof. A woman opened the door to him, whom he mistook for a servant, but it turned out that she was the new mistress of the estate. After talking with her, Kanitz realized that the unexpectedly fallen wealth was not a joy for this woman, not spoiled by life, but, on the contrary, a burden, because she did not know what to do with it. She said that she would like to sell the Kekesfalva estate. Hearing this, Kanitz immediately decided to buy it. He skillfully led the conversation and incorrectly translated the lawyer’s letter from Hungarian, as a result of which Fraulein Ditzenhof agreed to sell the estate for one hundred and fifty thousand crowns, considering this sum to be huge, while it was at least four times less than its real price. In order to prevent the gullible woman from coming to her senses, Kanitz hurried to go with her to Vienna and quickly complete the paperwork. When the bill of sale was signed, Fraulein Ditzenhoff wanted to pay Kanitz for his efforts. He refused the money, and she began to thank him profusely. Kanitz felt remorse. No one ever thanked him, and he felt ashamed in front of the woman he had deceived. The successful deal no longer made him happy. He decided to return the estate to the maid of honor if she one day regretted selling it. Having bought a large box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, he showed up at the hotel where she was staying to tell her about his decision. Fraulein was touched by his attention, and he, having learned that she was going to go to Westphalia to visit distant relatives with whom she had nothing in common, proposed to her. Two months later they got married. Kanitz converted to Christianity, and then changed his surname to a more sonorous one - von Kekesfalva. The couple were very happy, they had a daughter, Edith, but Kanitsa’s wife turned out to have cancer and she died.

When, after talking with Condor, Anton approached the barracks, he saw Kekesfalva, who was waiting for him in the rain, because he was eager to find out what the doctor said about Edith’s state of health. Anton did not have the courage to disappoint the old man, and he said that Condor was going to try a new method of treatment and was confident of success. Kekeshfalva told Edith everything, and the girl believed that she would soon be healthy. Having learned that Anton had reassured the patient on his behalf, Condor became very angry. He received a response from Professor Vienne, from which it became clear: the new method was not suitable for treating Edith. Anton began to convince him that revealing the whole truth to Edith now would mean killing her. It seemed to him that inspiration and high spirits could play a positive role, and the girl would feel at least a little better. Condor warned Anton that he was taking on too much responsibility, but this did not frighten Anton. Before going to bed, Anton opened the volume of fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights" and read a fairy tale about a lame old man who could not walk and asked the young man to carry him on his shoulders. But as soon as the old man, who was in fact a genie, climbed onto the young man’s shoulders, he began to mercilessly chase him, not allowing him to rest. In a dream, the old man from the fairy tale acquired the features of Kekeshfalva, and Anton himself turned into an unhappy young man. When he came to the Kekesfalvs the next day, Edith announced to him that in ten days she was leaving for Switzerland for treatment. She asked when Anton would come there to visit them, and when the young man said that he had no money, she replied that her father would be happy to pay for his trip. Pride did not allow Anton to accept such a gift. Edith began to find out why he was visiting them at all, saying that she could not stand everyone’s pity and condescension. And suddenly she said that it was better to throw herself from the tower than to endure such an attitude. She was so excited that she wanted to hit Anton, but she couldn’t stay on her feet and fell. Anton could not understand the reasons for her anger, but soon she asked for forgiveness and, when Anton was about to leave, she suddenly clung to him and kissed him passionately on the lips. Anton was stunned: it never occurred to him that a helpless girl, essentially a cripple, could to love and want to be loved like any other woman. Later, Anton learned from Ilona that Edith had loved him for a long time, and Ilona, in order not to upset her, constantly convinced her sick relative that Anton undoubtedly liked her. Ilona tried to persuade Anton not to disappoint the poor girl now, on the verge of recovery - after all, treatment would require a lot of effort from her. Anton felt trapped.