Maestro by peter goldsworthy
Maestro by peter goldsworthy"And thus while I listened, the future became the present unchallenged; and all too soon the regretted past".
Paul's growth to maturity is the central concern of the novel
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Discuss in relation to the novel's themes and issues.
The central concern of the novel "Maestro" is definitely the growth to maturity of Paul. The issues which arise in the novel, such as music, relationships,m love, and betrayal, all contribute and lead to his development to understanding.
Music is an on-going and interweaving motif throughout the novel, and is also the most important one. Music is the glue which bonds many relationships in the novel; Paul and Rosie's, Paul and the band's, Paul and Mr Keller, and Paul's parents. Through music, Paul was able to learn a lot - mostly from Herr Keller. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to a young, arrogant, smug, self-congratulatory boy who was proclaimed to be a musical prodigy by his parents. At first, Paul looks down on herr Keller and his seemingly ridiculous ways. Paul had never encountered such an eccentric or bizarre piano teacher before, and immediately ridiculed his methods. He felt that he was too good to be taught by Herr Keller, when in fact it was because he felt belittled by him. This arrogance is shown when herr Keller finally lets him play the piano on their 8th lesson.
"He fossicked among his own music for a few moments, finally emerging with a copy of "The Children's Bach".
"I played that years ago," I protested.
"You are too proud to play it again?"
"It's easy."
"...Bach is never easy."
The fact that Paul felt that Bach was "too easy" shos his arrogance, but with Herr Keller's response, he is put in his place and must re-evaluate himself.
Similar events to this occur many times before Paul realises the truth behind Herr Keller's enigmatic words.
Another example of Paul's self-righteousness is at the Brisbane Symphony Concert. Paul prided himself on being more cultured than the rest of his new town.
"....A smattering of applause broke out in the audience after the first movement...
"The plebs think it's finished,"[I said]...
"We are meant to clap between movements," he told me..."and stretch our legs. It is you who are ignorant.""
Because of his arrogance, Paul was infuriated. He thought he was better than the rest of the audience, but Herr Keller managed to put him in his place once again.
As he learnt to understand Herr Keller and about his past, the more sense Herr Keller's words made to him. He was no longer hurt by any slight criticism he made and he grew to understand him. An example would be when Paul happened to listen in on Herr Keller playing.
""...It's perfect. The most beautiful music I've ever heard."
"Then we must continute your education. You cannot have heard much."
I smiled, but internally, unseen......."
This shows Paul's decelopment to some understanding of Herr Keller. Normally, he would have felt frustrated and annoyed at such criticism from herr Keller, but this time he knew his own limits and that Herr Keller must be right.
As their relationship grew, they began to depend on each other; Paul on Herr Keller for musical guidance, and Herr Keller on Paul for a "second chance" in life. Paul develops respect and admiration, and even love, for Herr Keller when he finally realises what he is losing When he sees Herr Keller on his deathbed. Herr Keller had become a father figure to him. In many ways, herr Keller not only taught Paul about music, but also about love, sacrifice, survival, strength, suffering, and the harsh reality of war. We come to see a new Paul who has a comprehension of all these things.
But when Herr Keller finally speaks more than riddles to Paul, he insensitively pushes it away because of his hormonal biddings.
"...I wanted to know more, but at what price? Rosie might already be waiting, parked in the street. I knew she would be wearing nothing underneath...
...Half of me wanted to stay, to quiz him further... but half of me wanted to be out of there, no... I loved him in many ways - but i loved Rosie more."
At the height of Herr Heller's confession, his youthful desires forced him to leave and ignore what Herr Keller had to say. At a point where the reader suspects that Paul had grown up and become less insensitive, he surprises us and follows childish lust. Even while he was studying in Adelaide, he wa full of his own self-satisfaction.
"...Although I quoted him (Keller) tirelessly through those years... I wrote to him infrequently. I knew enough, I'd decided. I'd learnt all the lessons that were in his power to teach me.
This shows again the childish snobeery he used to display earlier in the novel. At this stage, the reader is unsure if Paul's attitude will ever change. His failings in this aspect return to him when it is too late to change, and when he realises, he regrets his actions.
When one grows up and understands, one can see where they have made mistakes. This shows at the end of the novel, when Paul looks at his life and weighs everything up. He realises that his life could have had so much more meaning and he regrets many things that his youthful ignorance had led him to miss, such as Herr Keller's lessons.
This self-evaluation is quoted below.
"Now I was faced with myself for the first time: Paul Crabbe, greying, dissatisfied, fast approaching mid-life, my backside stuck fast to a minor chair in a minor music school. Able to dupe my audiences at the odd concert, and even the critics - no, especially the critics - but never for one moment, even at my most unguarded, deluding myself."
This self-discovery and realisation marks that Paul has finally matured and fully understood, which is the main focus of the novel.
Another issue in the novel is relationships. His relationship with Rosie started with music. His attitude was snobby to start with - she liked him, and he knew it - but he used her selfishly. he wanted Megan, but settled for Rosie. This was a result of his childish selfishness, but he soon grew to love her. he finally learns that he loves her after a sexual encounter with Megan.
"...I watched till she (megan) turned the corner, then climbed onto my bike and pedalled to Rosie's house. I wasn't so much guilty, I was terrified. Terrified that I might lose her."
Through Rosie, he learn what love is, and learns to love emotionally. This step illustrates Paul's emotional development from acting out of lust to acting out of love.
His relationship with megan was purely physical and based on lust. On his path through adolescence, he had many wet-dreams about Megan. his fantasy comes true, but he finds himself unsatisfied and finds that he wants love instead. Through his relationship with megan, he learnt how to make love, which is all part of growing up.
The band was not a great growth-directed developer in Paul's life, but it did let him make friends and flaunt his musical ability as a performer. In teaching his band, the reader sees Paul directly and deliberately reflecting the Maestro's teachings. This suggests that, even then, Paul knew that everything Herr Keller taught him was right and not ridiculous.
Also, through the band, he sees the eye of betrayal. Members of the band are tossed around carelessly, much to Paul's surprise and dissatisfaction.
Betrayal is sprinkled throughout the novel in different forms. Paul betrays Bennie to be friends with the bullies; the Nazis betray Keller. Keller leaves Vienna; Paul leaves Darwin. In a way, Paul and Keller betrayed one another: Keller shows Paul artistic perfection and his flaws, while Paul half-heartedly attempted to reach the perfection, but then gives up and turns away with self-satisfaction, only to realise when it's too late that he'll never be perfect.
By the end of the novel, paul learns about his imperfection at music, about love, and about reality, and he finds himself with a lack of success; his life centred around music, but never cared enough or was too proud to reach perfection. he brtrayed his own potential for "love".
Paul always found his parents to be a mismatch - they were complete opposites, as verbally illustrated below.
"... When I think of my parents I see only polarities. hard, and soft. Fair, and dark. Thin, and thick.
.... Tall and short. Stoic, emotional. Quiet, talkative."
But as the novel progresses, he sees how perfectly they complement each other and realises that the ideas he'd had earlier about them had all only been judfed from surface value, which is another step in the path to maturity.
Striving for musical perfection, searching and finding love, living through adolescence, and understanding in relationships were all issues paul had to face on his path to maturity, which was the central concern of the novel.