The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

What is this novella about?

Four people are on a train. An “unattractive and no longer young lady”, “a smoker, with a worn-out face”, “her acquaintance, a garrulous man of about forty”, and “another gentleman… with unusually glittering eyes…”

They get into a discussion about love and marriageo The woman argues that love sanctifies

marriageo One of the men argues that women must

fear and revere their husbands

Theodore Roosevelt called Tolstoy a “sexually moral pervert” after reading the novella. American publishers originally refused to circulate it because it was such a harsh criticism of marriage.

o The protagonist (man with glittering eyes)

argues:

He tells the story of his marriage, of how he pretty much went insane from his hatred of his wife and children, and how he murdered his wife when he discovered her cheating on him with a violinist named Troukhatchevsky (which literally means “trashy person” in Russian).

A few quotes:

“Why should it go on, this human race?” he said.“Why?” If it didn’t we wouldn’t exist.”“And why should we exist?”“Why? In order to live.”“And why live? If there’s no goal at all, if life is given for

the sake of life, there’s no need to live. And if so, then the Schopenhauers, and the Hartmanns, and all the Buddhists are perfectly right.”

“Again, what terrible lying goes on about children. Children are God’s blessing, children are a joy. That’s all a lie.”

“Marriages are set up that way now, like traps. Isn’t it only natural? The wench is ripe, she must get married. It seems

Love is NEVER everlasting

Love is carnal and only carnal

Marriage is deceitful! Couples pretend to live monogamously but in reality live polygamously.

so simple, when the wench is not ugly and there are men who wish to marry. … Only one percent or less of us, the profligates, found it no good and invented something new. And what is this new thing? The new thing is that the girls sit there, and the men, as in a marketplace, walk around and choose.”

So guys. This is a clearly very controversial, politically incorrect, and religiously sacrilegious piece of literature.

Perhaps it is too much? Or has it piqued your interest?

This novella brings up themes that are directly relevant to you (Sex. Love. Marriage.)

You might find the extreme views offensive and upsetting or perhaps darkly comedic.

Whether you agree with the ideas presented or not, it will offer great room for debate and give an exciting introduction to Russian literature.

Available online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/689

It’s about 70 pages in my version of the text but the ebook is 189 pages.

I would say that it is a relatively easy read; the sentences are not long and complicated as they were in, say, Sense and Sensibility, and the plot is quite straightforward. Sex is referenced frequently enough so that teenage minds

might stay engaged (I’m being facetious, but perhaps you do find anything related to sex engaging.)