From Rival Butchers to Singing Companions

The Master Butchers Singing Club

The rivalry between Fidelis and Pete Kozka turns from a grotesque prank into a durable friendship through shared work and music.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A New Competitor A New Competitor from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". Two Butchers in Argus Business and pride Fidelis leaves Pete Kozka’s shop and opens his own business across town.

A New Competitor from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". Two Butchers in Argus Business and pride Fidelis leaves Pete Kozka’s shop and opens his own business across town.

Two Butchers in Argus Business and pride Fidelis leaves Pete Kozka’s shop and opens his own business across town. Their competition begins as a mixture of professional rivalry and practical jokes. Different principles Fidelis gives scraps away, while Pete saves even minor waste for sale. Their disagreement about dogs soon makes the rivalry personal.

Hottentot’s Bone Trail Hottentot’s Bone Trail from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Joke Escalates A dog follows food Hottentot visits Fidelis for scraps.

Hottentot’s Bone Trail from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Joke Escalates A dog follows food Hottentot visits Fidelis for scraps.

A Joke Escalates A dog follows food Hottentot visits Fidelis for scraps. Fidelis deliberately sends him home with increasingly grotesque carcass pieces, treating the dog’s hunger as proof of his point. A domestic insult Pete retaliates by carrying spoiled bones into the Waldvogel bedroom. The prank crosses a boundary and leaves Eva furious.

The Sow’s Attack The Sow’s Attack from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Butchering Disaster The animal resists A prize sow charges Fidelis in the chute and badly damages his knee.

The Sow’s Attack from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Butchering Disaster The animal resists A prize sow charges Fidelis in the chute and badly damages his knee.

A Butchering Disaster The animal resists A prize sow charges Fidelis in the chute and badly damages his knee. The violent encounter exposes the risk and vulnerability beneath his professional control. Unexpected grief Fidelis weeps for the animal after killing it. The experience complicates his sense of himself as a man accustomed to dealing death.

The Singing Club Opens The Singing Club Opens from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". Music Beyond the Trade A wider fellowship Fidelis invites men from different occupations to sing in his slaughtering room.

The Singing Club Opens from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". Music Beyond the Trade A wider fellowship Fidelis invites men from different occupations to sing in his slaughtering room.

Music Beyond the Trade A wider fellowship Fidelis invites men from different occupations to sing in his slaughtering room. The group becomes a popular town institution. Rivalry eases Pete joins because he loves singing and does not want to be excluded. Their shared voices make a way back to friendship.

Old Friends Reassemble Old Friends Reassemble from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Changed Fellowship The group endures losses As war, death, and distance thin the gathering, familiar songs preserve the men’s connections.

Old Friends Reassemble from "The Master Butchers Singing Club". A Changed Fellowship The group endures losses As war, death, and distance thin the gathering, familiar songs preserve the men’s connections.

A Changed Fellowship The group endures losses As war, death, and distance thin the gathering, familiar songs preserve the men’s connections. Old disagreements matter less than the chance to sing together. A return to company Pete appears again among the aging singers. His presence restores a piece of the community that has repeatedly been diminished.

After Fidelis establishes his shop

Early in their rivalry

A summer morning after the rivalry begins

After Fidelis’s recovery begins

After the war, in the 1940s