Sleep Brother

Author: Robert Schumann
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: Elias is the illegitimate child of a deputy pastor and a farmer's wife. He suffers discrimination from his family and society from a young age, growing up in an ignorant and barbaric environment. However, he has exceptional hearing, able to understand and mimic the sounds of various animals perfectly. Only his cousin Peter recognizes his extraordinary abilities and comes to accompany him every day. To take revenge on his father for breaking his arm, Peter sets fire to their house. Elias saves his cousin Irène from the fire and falls in love with her as a result. His love for his cousin becomes the source of his musical talent. With his natural gift, Elias becomes an organist through self-study and wins first prize in an organ competition, regarded as a hidden musical genius. When he discovers that his cousin Irène does not love him, Elias tries to save his love in a special way. From then on, he stops sleeping, believing that "when one sleeps, one does not love," and uses this to end his own life, because "death is the brother of sleep."