The Kreutzer Sonata

The Kreutzer Sonata

Title page of the 1901 Geneve edition in Russian
Author Leo Tolstoy
Original title Крейцерова соната, Kreitzerova Sonata
Translator Frederic Lyster (1890)
David McDuff & Paul Foote (2008)
Country Russia
Language Russian, French, English, German
Genre Historical, Romance, Philosophical
Publisher Bibliographic Office, Berlin
Publication date
 1889
Pages 118 (Pollard's 1890 English edition)
ISBN 978-0-14-044960-0
Text The Kreutzer Sonata at Wikisource

The Kreutzer Sonata (Russian: Крейцерова соната, Kreitzerova Sonata) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an argument for the ideal of sexual abstinence and an in-depth first-person description of jealous rage. The main character, Pozdnyshev, relates the events leading up to his killing his wife: in his analysis, the root causes for the deed were the "animal excesses" and "swinish connection" governing the relation between the sexes.

Summary

Tolstoy's novella inspired the 1901 painting Kreutzer Sonata by René François Xavier Prinet.

During a train ride, Pozdnyshev overhears a conversation concerning marriage, divorce and love. When a woman argues that marriage should not be arranged but based on true love, he asks "what is love?" and points out that, if understood as an exclusive preference for one person, it often passes quickly. Convention dictates that two married people stay together, and initial love can quickly turn into hatred. He then relates how he used to visit prostitutes when he was young, and complains that women's dresses are designed to arouse men's desires. He further states that women will never enjoy equal rights to men as long as men view them as objects of desire, yet describes their situation as a form of power over men, mentioning how much of society is geared towards their pleasure and well-being and how much sway they have over men's actions.

After he meets and marries his wife, periods of passionate love and vicious fights alternate. She bears five children, and then receives contraceptives: "The last excuse for our swinish life -- children -- was then taken away, and life became viler than ever." His wife takes a liking to a violinist, Troukhatchevsky, and the two perform Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata (Sonata No. 9 in A Major for piano and violin, Op. 47) together. Pozdnyshev complains that some music is powerful enough to change one's internal state to a foreign one. He hides his raging jealousy and goes on a trip, returns early, finds Troukhatchevsky and his wife together and kills his wife with a dagger. The violinist escapes: "I wanted to run after him, but remembered that it is ridiculous to run after one's wife's lover in one's socks; and I did not wish to be ridiculous but terrible."

Later acquitted of murder in light of his wife's apparent adultery, Pozdnyshev rides the trains seeking forgiveness from fellow passengers.

Censorship

After the work had been forbidden in Russia by the censors, a mimeographed version was widely circulated. In 1890, the United States Post Office Department prohibited the mailing of newspapers containing serialized installments of The Kreutzer Sonata. This was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney General in the same year. Theodore Roosevelt called Tolstoy a "sexual moral pervert."[1] The ban on its sale was struck down in New York and Pennsylvania courts in 1890.[2][3]

Epilogue

In the Epilogue To The Kreutzer Sonata, published in 1890, Tolstoy clarifies the intended message of the novella, writing:

Countering the argument that widespread abstinence would lead to a cessation of the human race, he describes chastity as an ideal that provides guidance and direction, not as a firm rule. Writing from a position of deep religiosity (that he had explained in his Confession in 1882), he points out that not Christ, but the Church (which he despises) instituted marriage. "The Christian's ideal is love of God and his neighbor, self-renunciation in order to serve God and his neighbour; carnal love, marriage, means serving oneself, and therefore is, in any case, a hindrance in the service of God and men".

During the international celebration of Tolstoy's 80th birthday in 1908, G. K. Chesterton criticized this aspect of Tolstoy's thought in an article in the 19 September issue of Illustrated London News: "Tolstoy is not content with pitying humanity for its pains: such as poverty and prisons. He also pities humanity for its pleasures, such as music and patriotism. He weeps at the thought of hatred; but in The Kreutzer Sonata he weeps almost as much at the thought of love. He and all the humanitarians pity the joys of men." He went on to address Tolstoy directly: "What you dislike is being a man. You are at least next door to hating humanity, for you pity humanity because it is human."

Adaptations

Plays

The Kreutzer Sonata, directed by Harrison Grey Fiske premiered at the Lyric Theatre in New York on 10 September 1906.
Bertha Kalich portrayed Miriam Friedlander in Langdon Mitchell's The Kreutzer Sonata (1906), adapted from Jacob Gordin's earlier Yiddish adaptation.

Films

The Kreutzer Sonata has been adapted for film well over a dozen times. Some of these include:

Music

The novella, inspired by Beethoven's music, in turn gave rise to Leoš Janáček's First String Quartet.

Ballet

In 2000, the Carolina Ballet, with original choreography by Robert Weiss and combining the music of Beethoven, Janáček, and J. Mark Scearce, mounted an innovative production combining dance and drama, with a narrator/actor telling the story and flashbacks leading into the ballet segments.[9]

Painting

The novella inspired the 1901 painting "Kreutzer Sonata" by René François Xavier Prinet, which shows a passionate kiss between the violinist and the pianist. The painting was used for years in Tabu perfume ads.

Novels

Arab Israeli author Sayed Kashua's 2010 novel Second Person Singular echoes the Kreutzer Sonata set in present-day Israel. Also, a copy of The Kreutzer Sonata functions as a major plot device.[10]

References

  1. ↑ The Kreutzer Sonata
  2. ↑ "Count Tolstoi Not Obscene", The New York Times, September 25, 1890
  3. ↑ "'Kreutzer Sonata' in Court", The New York Times, August 8, 1890
  4. ↑ www.culture.in.mk
  5. ↑ youtube.com
  6. ↑ Wade's play was performed at the Australian Chamber Orchestra's Kreutzer vs. Kreutzer tour.
  7. ↑ The playwright described his work as "a conduit to the story" rather than a full adaptation.
  8. ↑ http://saltlaketribune.ut.newsmemory.com/ The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 October 2015, p. D1
  9. ↑ Carolina Ballet takes on Shakespeare, Tolstoy
  10. ↑ www.haaretz.com
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