Has anyone read *The Kreutzer Sonata?* It was an interesting and yet disturbing read. I saw quite a few people on GoodReads remark on how it led them to believe that marriage amounts to nothing and love can only last for so long before it begins to be replaced with simple content, or in the case of Pozdnyshev, everlasting arguments, terrible jealousy, and an unsurprising affair.
Tolstoy dives into the hypocrisy of society, the perspective of women, the fading love, and the animalistic attributes of humans in terms of sexual relations. When I read the novel, it seemed for chapters upon chapters, Tolstoy, in disguise of Pozdnyshev (the main character), goes into unnecessarily large speeches about the evilness that lays in sex, marriage, and love. To me, it seems that Tolstoy at this time became heavily anti-marriage and anti-sex. The novel almost alluded to the idea that to remain happy in life, to avoid the troubles that come with attachment, that come with creating relations with someone whether it be sexually or simply romantically (for some, an admixture), it is better to remain single. To never be married. This does not mean to create relations beyond marriage, however, as he also preaches abstinence. He also preaches the rights of of women. He claims that despite women gaining esteem in society and holding more roles that were not permissible before, a man will only continue to see her as a body, despite referring to her with respect. He makes a controversial take, as well, in stating that if love between man and woman ceases to exist, the role of the woman in marriage becomes nothing more than of a prostitute.
It is notable to mention that given the different time period, women were treated as second-class citizens. Tolstoy makes note of this. He states, “The young girls are seated, and the gentlemen walk up and down before them, as in a bazaar, and make their choice.” Here he claims that men have the ability to choose who they deem fit, beautiful and when chosen, the role of the woman becomes like one of a servant. It is hard to tell whether Tolstoy sought to believe this because he wanted women to be held in better esteem or an observation of what was occurring.
Towards the end of the novel, he claims, “If I had known what I now know, I should never have married her, never, not for anything.” This is extremely important. Pozdnyshev had become infatuated with the beauty of his wife, of her flirtatious attitudes, and more importantly, the growing relation between her and a man named, Trukhachevsky, and overall, became extremely bitter. In essence, Pozdnyshev, despite not wanting to claim so, was extremely jealous between the tension he felt grow between the two. To conquer this feeling, he continued to invite the man over to play music since both Trukhachevsky and his wife took a liking to music. After confronting his wife when the feelings became too much, his wife proclaimed that there was nothing going on and if he felt insecure, she would simply no longer see him. Pozdnyshev takes joy in hearing this and restores faith back into her. A few days later, Pozdnyshev must attend to a business meeting out of town, but in the midst of it all, he returns to find his wife and Trukhachevsky laying together. He murders her and regrets it. That is it.
(Pozdnyshev never saw his wife as a person, a human being. It was only until he murdered her that he began to realize that she was beyond his wife and the mother of five, but a person. Today, in society, people still fail at the separation of women and roles. “For the first time I saw in her a human being.”)
tl:dr – Man murders wife. Lives on to talk about it, regrets it, and preaches the corruption sex has on the man’s mind, the role of women, and to never get married or have sex.
by Professional_Rope217
2 Comments
Pozdnyshev never mentions his wife’s name. Although making a large account of the novel, he rather name the man she has an alleged affair with. I always thought that was an interesting concept, to state progressive ideals, yet to never name her. It made sense given the novel.
Yes, we read it as part of a collection last fall in r/bookclub.
I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that Tolstoy was promoting his own anti-marriage or anti-sex views. My book’s introduction (which was fantastic) pointed out that Tolstoy was likely questioning the idea of women’s education and enlightenment purely as a tool to raise her value for objectification.