Gentleman in Moscow

When it comes to gentlemen, most men around you may blurt out "Ladies first". It seems that I know that women should be given priority in some occasions, even if I am a qualified gentleman, or I can ask the lady present for advice when touching the cigarette case, which is even more rare. However, if you read The Gentleman of Moscow, you will find that the word "gentleman" contains much more than that.

I was on vacation at home these days and was deeply attracted by the gentleman in Moscow. I read it in two days at a time-attracted by the story itself, the author's narrative style, and the characters, especially the protagonist Count Rostov, which deepened my understanding of "gentleman".

Count Rostov in the story comes from a Russian aristocratic family. He introduced himself like this-Santandrea Medal winner, member of the horse racing club, Master Hunter. ...

If you think Rostov is a pampered guy, you are wrong. His godfather, a Russian archduke, once said to him:

At that time, he was still a little boy who had just lost his parents and was under ten years old. Fortunately, under the care of my grandmother and the old countess, Rostov and his sister were able to grow up in a good environment and education.

Perhaps, at that time, no one expected that the earl's adversity would come in 1922, when he was 33 years old and lasted for more than 30 years.

He was asked not to leave the Metropolitan Hotel, not to step out of the hotel, and not to live in the original luxury suite, but to live in a small room in the attic.

This is an unimaginable blow to the average person. Despair, depression, world-weariness ... all kinds of reactions should be normal, not to mention how to adapt to the huge gap of a noble. Let alone control your own destiny.

In fact, no matter what happens, more or less, we always have something to control. Even in a very limited choice, we can still choose how to treat ourselves, whether physically or mentally. We can still choose the way to see the world, the angle of thinking and the attitude of getting along with others. Counting starts with what he can control.

He just got up a little late the next morning after moving to the attic, and then got up early all year round.

Although the space is small, he will exercise after getting up every day. Do twenty squats and twenty stretches first, and with the increase of age, gradually reduce to fifteen and five groups, but never stop. He adheres to a regular diet and enjoys a life without luxury. Breakfast every day is very simple, a pot of coffee, two biscuits and a piece of fruit; Go to the restaurant for lunch and choose the most suitable wine according to the main course; Sometimes I go to the hotel bar for a drink in the evening.

He moved the desk left by the Grand Duke to the attic, because he always thought that "kings use castles to make themselves strong, and gentlemen use desks". He took his father to the hotel library to rearrange it and chose a collection of Montaigne essays. When he was young, he made up his mind to read it many times, but he never put it into action, because he knew he had plenty of time and nothing more to distract him. He also planned a daily reading schedule and tried to concentrate himself.

He brought to the attic the clock customized by his father in Switzerland, the small and exquisite telescope used by his grandmother to go to the theater, the portrait of his sister and the scissors commonly used in embroidery. He let himself still live around things with the imprint of his relatives. In fact, he also let himself still live in the atmosphere of love in the past.

He pays great attention to his image, does not appear decadent, and goes to have a haircut at a fixed time every week. He made himself as comfortable as possible and ordered the best quality sheets, his favorite French soap and his favorite French Melaleuca cake. He filled the day with a sense of ceremony and even commemorated the first anniversary of his house arrest. Of course, life didn't disappoint him. On that day, he met his favorite woman Anna for decades.

It is precisely because he can keep his body and mind healthy that the count can spend long decades day after day in the limited space of the hotel.

In fact, if you are strong enough, no matter how bad the external conditions are, you can't be defeated. People are often defeated by themselves first.

During this period, the external social situation has changed. For the count, the hotel has become the safest place and will not be reduced to a more tragic situation.

During his decades in the Metropolitan Hotel, compared with the past, the earl's actions and space were greatly restricted, but he was not depressed and further isolated himself from others.

On the contrary, hotel waiters, chefs, sewing workers, hairdressers, repairmen ... even a little girl who has lived in a hotel for several years, a diplomat, people from the same class, the same age group and the same country can all become his friends.

So, how did he do it? Is it to cater to the mood with small favors, or to flatter? Neither, just because he is a real gentleman.

How to become a real gentleman can apply the earl's answer to Nina's "rules of becoming a princess"-starting with cultivating good manners and habits.

Politeness here is not simply an external form, but a genuine courtesy, a genuine respect, and an unconscious habit without consideration.

Such examples are all in the book.

On the night when the count was asked to move to the attic, three familiar hotel staff came to visit him. He was so grateful that he entertained them with brandy. When the guests left, he sent them to the tower and said good night to them, which was roughly the same as his "courtesy when seeing them off at the gate of their manor in St. Petersburg."

The count always addresses the barber who serves him as "my friend". When a reckless guest in the shop unexpectedly cut off the earl's carefully maintained beard, he wanted to vent his anger on the barber, but he thought, "What do I know about the guy who attacked me just now?" Moreover, he knows that a person's image is more determined by his manners, speech and demeanor. After that, he never bothered to grow a beard.

At the same time, the door to the outside world seems to be closed to the count. But because he didn't set aside a prison, and the metropolis was open to the society as the most prestigious hotel in the capital, the earl's world didn't get smaller.

It is through this hotel that the count has always been linked with society and the world. From this, he can get in touch with many people of all kinds, some people become his friends, and some people can give him important help at critical moments. Here, he also got an adopted daughter Sophia by accident, and raised her as a piano player who attracted attention as soon as she stepped onto the stage.

In the past 30 years, although the count didn't wait for the release notice, he finally planned and implemented a beautiful and perfect plan with his wisdom, rigor and courage, which not only made his adopted daughter Sophia go to a wider world, but also made him leave the Metropolitan Hotel and return to his hometown with Anna, leaving no future trouble.

The author of The Gentleman in Moscow is a man named Elmer? Toles is an American writer. This is his second work, published on 20 16, which was once rated as the best seller of the year by authoritative media such as Washington post. It is said that because of this work, more and more tourists from all over the world have entered the Metropolitan Hotel, and this "Moscow gentleman" is also displayed in the lobby of the hotel. Bill? Gates also included this book in the summer recommended bibliography of 20 19.