A review by wandering_meditations
The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Before reading this book I knew how much Tolstoy was criticized and attacked for it when it got published, being labelled a misogynist among other names. After reading, I have to say I disagree with the criticizers. 

There is nothing remotely misogynistic about this novel at all. In fact, Tolstoy doesn't just attack women for the "excesses of sensuality", but he also attacks men, stating that the abundance of food and the physical idleness a lot of men have is a leading cause of debauchery and "excesses of sensuality". Furthermore, just because Pozdnyshev ends up killing his wife in an 'honour/rage' killing, doesn't mean Tolstoy is supporting that. In fact, at the end of the novel Pozdnyshev REGRETS what he did and begs forgiveness, not just from his dying wife but even from the narrator who he tells the story to on the train. Tolstoy was merely pointing out the fact that in Russia at the time, men could get away with committing such heinous crimes.