The Kreutzer Sonata is an outstanding work of Leo Tolstoy, published in 1891. Because of her provocative content, she was immediately subjected to severe censorship. The story raises questions of marriage, family, attitudes towards women. The author has his own original opinion on all these burning topics, which shocked astonished readers. The content and problems of this work will be discussed in this article.
History of creation
The story of the “Kreutzer Sonata” was written by Tolstoy at the time of a cruel emotional and creative crisis. The author claimed that in his life there was a restructuring of "activities called artistic". Everything in the work - the poetic system, style, structure of literary characters - has undergone a significant change in comparison with the earlier works of Lev Nikolaevich. The main idea of the “Kreutzer Sonata” Tolstoy in his “Afterword” called the letter of a woman who was called Slavyanka and stated in her message her own opinion about the oppression of women by sexual demands. Researchers of the work of the classic date the draft writing of the novel in October 1887. The work by the author has been repeatedly copied. The final version was first read by Tolstoy in November 1989 for a select audience at the Kuzminsky’s house.
Censorship
In 1889, Tolstoy sent the novel “The Kreutzer Sonata” to the Petersburg publishing house “Intermediary”, where they immediately doubted that the work would be skipped by censorship. Employees of the publishing house took the trouble to personally rewrite the work and distribute copies of it throughout St. Petersburg. It produced the effect of an exploding bomb. However, the official publication was still very far away. The opinion of the employees of the Main Directorate of Press was unambiguous: the story will never be published in Russia, and the book is subject to immediate destruction. The thirteenth volume of the collected works of L. Tolstoy was refused to be printed for the same reasons - the Kreutzer Sonata was included in it. And only the personal permission of Alexander III, which was achieved by Tolstoy's wife , Sofia Andreevna, allowed to publish a scandalous book in 1891. Why was it so merciless to censorship? The answer to this question can be found in the description of the story.
Summary
“Kreutzer Sonata” tells the story of the fate of the protagonist, Vasily Pozdnyshev, who, having lived a turbulent youth full of funny adventures, at thirty decided to settle down and start a family. He married for love, wanted to adhere to "monogamy" and was terribly proud of his good intentions. However, the relationship between the spouses was shaken already in the honeymoon. Pozdnyshev felt the hostility of his young wife and compared her with the "satisfaction of sensuality", which supposedly "drained" the sublime love. Over time, the hero realized that his marriage would not bring him any pleasant feelings. Everything was "disgusting, shameful and boring." The birth and upbringing of children served as an extra reason for debate and abuse. For eight years, the couple had five children, after which the wife refused to give birth, put herself in order and began to look around in search of new experiences. She became interested in a pretty violinist during a joint performance of The Kreutzer Sonata with him. Pozdnyshev suffered from jealousy and once, having caught his wife and rival, killed her with a damask blade.
Attitude to a woman
The plot of the work is tragic, but quite acceptable. Why did Tolstoy’s “Kreutzer Sonata” society outrage and shock? First of all, the judgments made by the protagonist. His own dissolute behavior in his youth makes him disgusted. But he blames women first of all. They put on seductive dresses, they strive to be "objects of passion." He accuses mothers who want to profitably marry their daughters and for this dress them in seductive outfits. He says that women are well aware of their power over men and actively use it, knowing that carnal desires prevail over all the other most exalted intentions of the stronger sex. And all these judgments apply not only to fallen persons, whose services, not hiding, are used by representatives of the wealthy estates. In fact, he calls prostitution the behavior of ladies of the upper world and claims that women will always be in a humiliated position until they learn to be humble and chaste.
Relationship to marriage
The story of the Kreutzer Sonata, an analysis of which is presented in this article, actively promotes sexual abstinence. And not only out of wedlock. Tolstoy refers to the dictum from the Gospel of Matthew: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” and refers these lines not only to any outside lady, but even to his own spouse. He considers carnal pleasures unnatural and disgusting. He thinks that his relationship with his wife has deteriorated due to animal instincts, which he inappropriately often showed in relation to her. He believes that the human nature of an unspoiled girl resists all forms of bodily love. If a person carries out lofty aspirations in the name of love for God, then the base, carnal - out of love for himself, and this brings the sinner closer to the devil. And the unclean one provokes even greater crimes, in the case of Pozdnyshev, murder.
Attitude towards children
The Kreutzer Sonata contains many ambiguous judgments. Tolstoy (a summary of the story is given in this article) did not leave a stone unturned by the generally accepted opinion of selfless love for his own children. The appearance of five offspring in the Pozdnyshev family not only did not improve relations in the family of the protagonist, but completely ruined them. The gullible and child-loving wife was constantly worried about children, which ultimately poisoned the life of Pozdnyshev. When one of the children fell ill, the existence for Vasily turned into a perfect hell. In addition, the couple learned to "fight" with each other ... children. Each had his own favorite. Over time, the guys grew up and learned to take the side of one of the parents, which only once again added fuel to the fire. However, Tolstoy, through the mouth of his hero, claims that childbirth saved him from the pangs of constant jealousy, since his wife was engaged only in family affairs and did not want to flirt. The worst thing began when doctors taught her to prevent pregnancy.
Attitude to art
It is no coincidence that Lev Nikolaevich’s most scandalous novel is called the “Kreutzer Sonata”. Tolstoy, the summary of the work of which we are now retelling, had his original opinion about art. He considered him another evil, awakening the most base vices in people. Pozdnyshev's wife stopped giving birth, became prettier and again became interested in playing the piano. This was the beginning of the end. Firstly, according to the protagonist, most adultery is committed in a noble society under the pretext of practicing the arts, especially music. Secondly, the music makes an “annoying impression” on the audience, it makes you feel what the author of the work felt at the time of writing, merge with experiences that are not peculiar to man, make him believe in new opportunities, expand, so to speak, the horizons of his own perception . What for? What did Pozdnyshev’s wife feel at the moment of the performance of the “Kreutzer Sonata”, what new desires crept into her receptive soul? The main character is inclined to blame for the final fall of his wife precisely the corrupting power of music, which should correspond to the place and time of performance, and not to wake animal instincts in people.
The opinion of contemporaries
Tolstoy’s “Kreutzer Sonata” became the subject of fierce discussion not only in Russia but also abroad. Chekhov admired the importance of the design and the beauty of the execution of the story, but later it began to seem funny and stupid to him. Moreover, he argued that many judgments in the work expose its author as a person "ignorant, not bothering to ... read two or three books written by experts." The church categorically condemned the ideological content of the story. Many secular critics agreed with her. They vied with each other to praise the artistic features of the story and also fiercely criticize its meaning. A. Razumovsky, I. Romanov stated that Leo Nikolaevich “in a frenzy” distorted the innermost details of family relationships and “spoke nonsense”. They were echoed by foreign literary scholars. American Isabel Halgood, translator of Tolstoy, considered that the content of the story is obscene even by the standards of freedom of speech in Russia and Europe. Leo Tolstoy was forced to publish an “Afterword,” in which he set forth the basic ideas of his work in a simple and understandable language.
Reciprocal story
A lot of negative reviews heard about his story Leo Tolstoy. The Kreutzer Sonata forced readers to revise generally accepted norms, made the issue of gender relations unusually relevant and discussed. The opinion of the author’s wife, Sofya Andreevna, is interesting. Comparisons and parallels with the family life of Lev Nikolaevich after the publication of the story were inevitable. Although Tolstoy’s wife carefully rewrote the “Kreutzer Sonata” and actively sought to publish it, she harbored an insult to her famous husband. Being an outstanding and talented woman, she wrote the response work “Whose fault”, in which she entered into a polemic with Lev Nikolaevich. The story was published only in 1994, but received negative reviews from critics. However, in it Sofya Andreevna expressed her point of view, which exposed the behavior of men and their true attitude towards women. The Kreutzer Sonata, reviews of which appeared even after the author’s death, left a deep imprint on Tolstoy’s family life, forever upsetting his relationship with his wife.
Finally
In the collected works of Leo Tolstoy, the “Kreutzer Sonata” takes pride of place. The public of that time did not know a more frank book. The ban on official censorship made it even more popular. According to contemporaries, after the appearance of this work instead of the on-duty question “How are you?” everyone was asking each other about the Kreutzer Sonata. Many of the thoughts expressed in the work, and now seem controversial, and sometimes funny. However, the psychologically accurate description of family relationships, which over time acquire a negative connotation, is still relevant today and requires careful study.