52 pages 1 hour read

Leo Tolstoy

The Kreutzer Sonata

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1889

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Essay Topics

1.

In “Lesson of the Kreutzer Sonata,” Tolstoy clarifies his personal beliefs in regard to the novella’s themes and explains the messages he aimed to convey. Do any elements of the novella undermine Tolstoy’s messages?

2.

Analyze Tolstoy’s portrayal of Pozdnychev’s wife, through the lens of feminist theory.

3.

The Kreutzer Sonata was written during a particularly turbulent transitionary period in Russian history. How do rapidly changing social norms create Conflict Between Social Expectation and Moral Duty in the novella?