A remarkable woman was Sophia Tolstoy, the wife of Leo Tolstoy. Her biography is closely connected with the life and work of her great husband. This woman sacrificed secular society and the usual city life in order to be with him. After the death of the writer, it was Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya who was engaged in the publication of his legacy. The biography of this woman will be examined in detail in the article.
L.N. Tolstoy married on September 23, 1862. The maiden name of Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy is Bers. At that time, the girl was 18 years old, and Leo Nikolaevich - 34. The couple lived together for a very long time - 48 years. They were separated by the death of Count Tolstoy. However, this marriage cannot be called cloudlessly happy and easy. Sophia Tolstaya gave birth to Lev Nikolaevich 13 children. She published the lifetime collection of Tolstoy, as well as the posthumous publication of letters by the great author. Lev Nikolaevich, in his last message addressed to his wife after a quarrel, admitted that, in spite of everything, he loved her, but he could not live with her. After that, he set off on his last journey to Art. Astapovo
Was Sofya Andreevna a bad wife?
During the life of her husband, and after the death of Lev Nikolaevich, Sophia Andreevna was accused of not being able to understand her husband and share his ideas. She allegedly was too mundane and very far from the philosophical views of Tolstoy. Lev Nikolaevich himself accused her of this. In fact, this was the main reason for their disagreements, which overshadowed at least the last 20 years of married life. However, she cannot be called a bad wife. This is evidenced by the biography of Sofia Tolstoy. She devoted her whole life to the birth and upbringing of children, solving economic and peasant problems, housework and preserving her husband’s creative heritage. For this, she had to forget about social life, and about dresses.
Tolstoy's friendship with the Beers family
Count Tolstoy, before meeting with his wife, had already managed to make a pedagogical and military career. In addition, he became a famous writer. Tolstoy was familiar with the Bersov family even before serving in the Caucasus and traveling around Europe in the 1850s. Sophia is the second daughter of Andrei Bers, a doctor who worked in the Moscow Palace Office, and Lyubov Bers, his wife (maiden name - Islavina). In total, the family had three daughters, as well as two sons. Bers lived in Moscow, but rarely visited the Tula estate of the Islavins, located in the village of Ivitsy, from where it was very close to Yasnaya Polyana. Lyubov Alexandrovna was friends with Maria, the sister of Lev Nikolaevich. And Konstantin, her brother, was a friend of the count himself. Tolstoy first saw Sophia and her sisters as children. They spent time together in Moscow and in Yasnaya Polyana, sang, played the piano, and even once staged an opera.
Education
The future wife of Tolstoy, Sofia Bers (Tolstaya), received an excellent home education. From childhood, her mother instilled in her children a taste for literature. Then she graduated from Moscow University, receiving a diploma of a home teacher. It is known that Sophia Bers wrote short stories. She composed them from her youth. In addition, Sophia kept a diary, later recognized as one of the best examples of the memoir genre.
How Sofya Andreyevna charmed Tolstoy
Tolstoy, returning to Moscow, found a charming adult girl instead of a little girl, whom he remembered Sophia Bers. The families became close again and began to visit each other. The Bercy noticed Lev Nikolayevich's interest in his daughter, but believed that Tolstoy would match up with the eldest, Elizabeth. It is known that at one time he himself doubted, but in August 1862, after the next day that Leo Tolstoy spent with his family, he made a final decision. The girl conquered him with clarity and simplicity of judgment, her spontaneity. They parted for several days, and then the count himself went to Ivica. Here Bercy had a ball. Sophia danced on it so that Tolstoy cast aside his last doubts.
Reading Tolstoy's diary
On September 16, Leo Tolstoy asked Sophia Bers for his hands, having sent a letter to the girl in advance in order to verify her agreement. Tolstoy, wanting to be honest with his future wife, gave Sophia to read his diary. Bers learned about Lev Nikolaevich’s turbulent past, about gambling, about many novels, including a connection with Aksinya, a peasant girl, who was expecting a child from the count. This shocked the future wife of Tolstoy, but she hid her feelings as best she could. Nevertheless, Sophia will carry through her whole life the memory of these revelations.
The wedding and the first years of marriage
A week after the engagement, they played a wedding. The count wanted to marry his bride as soon as possible. As it seemed to Tolstoy, he finally found the very one he had dreamed about since childhood. Lev Nikolaevich, who had lost his mother early, often listened to stories about her. He wanted the future wife to be just as loving, faithful, an assistant and mother sharing his views, simple and at the same time able to appreciate the gift of her husband and the beauty of literature. That was exactly what Sophia Bers seemed to him - an 18-year-old girl who refused beautiful dresses, social receptions, city life in order to be with her husband, to live in his country estate. She took care of the household, gradually getting used to rural life, so unlike the previous one.
Family World Tolstoy
Sofya Andreevna created a special family world. The Tolstoys have their own traditions. It was felt most during family holidays, it was also felt at Christmas, Trinity, Easter. All these holidays were loved in Yasnaya Polyana. They prepared for them in advance and always solemnly celebrated. The family went to St. Nicholas Church for a liturgy. She was two kilometers south of the estate. Every year, a Christmas tree was put up, decorated with gilded nuts, carved animal figures from cardboard, etc. In addition, a masked ball was arranged in Yasnaya Polyana. It was attended by Sofya Andreevna, Lev Nikolaevich, their children, as well as guests, peasant children, courtyards. Ankovsky pie and turkey were invariably served for a festive dinner.
Sophia brought the pie recipe from her family. It was passed to Bersam by Professor Anke, a doctor and a family friend. In the summer, the life of the Tolstoys came to life. Have a bath in the river. A funnel, a game of towns and tennis, mushroom trips, picnics, home performances, music evenings. We often dined in the courtyard, drank tea on the veranda. Many guests invariably came to the Tolstoys, and all of them had a place to sleep. Sofya Andreevna could feed everyone, and dignify her attention. According to A. Fet, the countess combined two important qualities - "poetry of nature" and "practical instinct."
In the family of Ilya Lvovich, the son of Sophia, in 1888, daughter Anna was born. She became the first granddaughter of Sophia Andreevna and Lev Nikolaevich. Since that time, the large Tolstoy family has been growing every year. Grandchildren became the most welcome guests in Yasnaya Polyana.
First manifestation of character
In 1863, Sophia Tolstaya gave birth to the first-born Seryozha. Then Tolstoy set about writing his great novel, War and Peace. His wife, in spite of the difficult pregnancy, not only was engaged in household chores, but also found time and energy to help her husband in her work - she was completely copying drafts.
After the birth of Seryozha, Sofya Andreevna first showed her character. She was not able to feed her son herself, so she demanded that she bring a nurse, although Tolstoy was categorically against it. He said that in this case, the children of this woman would be left without milk. In all other respects, Sophia Tolstaya followed the rules established by her husband. She solved the problems of the peasants who lived in the surrounding villages, treated them. Sophia Tolstaya raised and taught all children at home. Of the thirteen at an early age, five died, and the death of each of them left a mark in the soul of this woman.
Grievances accumulate
The first 20 years passed almost cloudlessly, however, claims gradually accumulated. In 1877, Tolstoy graduated from Anna Karenina. He felt dissatisfied with life. This greatly offended and saddened the spouse. After all, Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya sacrificed everything for him, and in return - dissatisfaction with the life that she had arranged for him so diligently.
The moral searches of Lev Nikolaevich took shape in the commandments, according to which his family should now live. The count called, among other things, for a simple existence, for quitting smoking, alcohol, and meat. He wore peasant clothes, made shoes and clothes for children, his wife and himself. Lev Nikolaevich even wanted to abandon the property in favor of the villagers. His wife was worth a lot of work to dissuade him from this act.
Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya could not come to terms with the fact that Lev Nikolaevich, feeling his guilt before humanity, did not feel it before her. He was ready to give the peasants everything they had gained over the years. And the count expected from his wife that she would completely share both material and spiritual life, the philosophical views of Lev Nikolaevich. Tolstoy, for the first time seriously quarreling with his wife, left home. After his return, he did not trust Sofya Andreyevna with his manuscripts. The obligation to copy drafts now fell on daughters, and Leo Tolstoy's wife, Tolstaya Sofya Andreevna, was very jealous of them.
The story of Alexander Taneyev
The death of Vanya, the last child born in 1888, crippled the wife of the great writer. This boy did not live up to 7 years. At first, general grief brought the spouses closer, but not for long. Separating their abyss, misunderstanding, mutual insults pushed Sofya Andreevna to find solace on the side. Tolstaya was fond of music. She began to travel often to Moscow, where she took lessons from Alexander Taneyev. Neither for Tolstoy, nor for Taneyev himself were Sophia’s romantic feelings for the latter, but the relationship between them remained friendly. Nevertheless, Lev Nikolayevich, angry, jealous, could not forgive his wife this "cheating".
Fatal quarrel
Mutual resentment and suspicion in recent years has grown into a manic obsession. Tolstoy began to re-read her husband’s diaries, trying to find something bad about her. Lev Nikolaevich scolded her for being too suspicious. A fatal quarrel occurred between the spouses on the night of October 27-28, 1910. The count gathered his things and left, leaving a farewell letter to Sofya Andreevna. He said that he loved her, but could not do otherwise. After reading the note, according to homework, Sofya Andreevna rushed to drown. Tolstoy was miraculously dragged from the pond.
Tolstoy's illness and death
After some time, information was received that Lev Nikolaevich, having caught a cold, was dying at the Astapovo station from pneumonia. His children and Sofya Nikolaevna, which he did not want to see even then, came to him at the station superintendent's house. Just before the death of the writer, the last meeting of the spouses took place. Lev Nikolaevich died on November 7, 1910
The life of Sofia Andreevna after the death of her husband
Sophia Tolstaya, the wife of Leo Tolstoy, outlived her husband by nine years. She published his diaries. The departure of Tolstoy and his death had a severe effect on her. She could not forget that she had not seen her husband conscious before his death.
In recent years, Sofya Andreevna has lived in Yasnaya Polyana, putting her husband’s heritage in order. Tolstaya in the last years of her life described books and objects in cabinets and rooms. In the bedroom of her husband and his office, Sofya Andreevna left the furnishings of the last day of his life, and conducted the first excursions through these rooms.
She died on November 4, 1919 from pneumonia, having survived to 75 years. Not far from the estate, at Kochakovsky cemetery, Sofia Tolstaya was buried. A photo of the graves of this woman and Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya, her sister, is presented above.