The Kreutzer Sonata

Historical Context and Significance

"The Kreutzer Sonata" by Leo Tolstoy is a psychological novella written in 1889 that had a significant impact on discussions about marriage, love, sexual morality, and the role of women in late 19th-century society. The book sparked widespread public and cultural debates, became a subject of criticism and analysis in feminist theory, and stimulated discussions about individual rights and freedoms. This work reflects Tolstoy's views on Christian ethics and morality, which had significantly changed after his spiritual crisis in the mid-1870s. The piercing analysis of human relationships and morality made this novella one of the most significant in Russian literature of that time.