THERE IS a man who plays contrabass in the national orchestra. He treasures the contrabass as it is, yet the fact that nobody concentrates on the tone of the contrabass in performances bothers him. And just he goes unnoticed in the orchestra, he is also not seen by the one he loves. His inability to stand out leads to inner unrest, and makes him accuse himself. Written in the form of a monodrama, Patrick Suskind’s Contrabass portrays ordinary people’s struggle for existence and love.

Contrabass: essential, but ignored
The protagonist of this novel passionately tries to show the important role of the contrabass in the orchestra, explaining its function and playing the instrument to demonstrate his point to the audience of his monodrama. He cherishes his contrabass as if it were his mother’s body. But at the same time, he is frustrated that people do not pay attention to his part in the orchestra, and that the contrabasses are always seated behind violins, cellos, and the brass. He even yells out with hatred: “Why do you stand on my road you fool!” This shows that he has both a sense of pride and alienation, since, as a contrabassist, his instrument is necessary but ignored.
The situation of the contrabassist resembles that of the petit-bourgeois in our society. Both try to find the meaning of life on their own, but are hindered by the surroundings, and thus live in obscurity. Perhaps the author wants to show us that while we try to deny it, the man might be giving a portrait of our own struggles.

Love: pathetic, but neglected
   He declares, “The tone of soprano and of contrabass cannot be harmonized,” since their range is too far apart. Despite the differences in their tones, he falls in love with a soprano named Sarah in the orchestra, glancing at her secretly while performing. She does not even know who he is, however, even though he is in the same orchestra. He is always in agony about how to communicate his feelings to her, and thinks that the only way to make her become aware of his existence is by shouting “Sarah!” before playing his part; he cannot catch her eyes otherwise. “Now, I will go to the hall, and shout that I love her if I have courage to do so.” But he is never able to put this into action, since he thinks himself shabby compared to Sarah, who stands out and is invited to luxurious dinners after performances. He is like us in everyday life. We make up our minds hundreds of thousands of times in our head, but become numb when faced in reality with the one we love.

Future: well, it’s up to us
   Although he seems to love his contrabass, his position, and performing, he is not satisfied with his life, and even wants to quit his job. Moreover, he blames himself for becoming timid in front of Sarah. Yet, he cannot give up his position as a contrabassist and confess his love due to a lack of confidence; he still has the lingering hope that he will be acknowledged by people and her someday.
Like a contrabass, with its significant but faint existence, our lives are special but easily ignored by everyone but ourselves. This is why his story seems familiar to ordinary people like us. It arouses sincere empathy and makes the readers wonder what will happen to him later. However, the book never tells. Whether or not he will be able to attain what he wants is up to our own imagination, as his story is the picture of our life.

Contrabass by Patrick Suskind
* Original (German) title: Der Kontrabass
* Page: 107
* Price: 8,500 won 
* Location (Yonsei-Samsung Library): 832 Su81k 000가

Other books by the author
1. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2. On Love and Death
3. The Story of Mr. Sommer