Yeah so I didn’t really like this. I was aware that Tolstoy’s novels and his other works were pretty much worlds apart, but wasn’t expecting this.

The plot revolves around a man who killed his wife and recalls how he got to that point. He’s basically trying to argue that love can’t last, and eventually two will hate each other and it’ll possibly end up in murder. His story, however, exposes a lot of flaws in his thinking. For one, he immediately outs his deranged jealousy, which he thinks is normal but I don’t think anybody (incl Tolstoy) would agree. Anything from her being checked by doctors to not being allowed to breastfeed her child is a cause of tension. 

Of course, it all culminates when cheating is suspected. I don’t know if Tolstoy wanted us to sympathise with this guy, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt because I know his moral compass from his other writings. The cheating episode is left very ambiguous. There is a chance that something was going on, maybe it was one sided on the part of the musician, but I think our very unreliable narrator didn’t overall manage to convince anyone of his wife’s guilt, he ultimately presents no evidence, which is damning in and of itself. 

Still, I feel like he’s presented with a degree of humanity, he’s allowed to tell his story, because it exposes the ugliness of society and relative expectations about love and marriage. Men’s jealousy is the biggest culprit here, rather than a woman’s infidelity or any other fault. Everything she does sparks hatred from her husband, even the most ridiculous situation. I don’t know if that’s also saying something about love in general, but I don’t think so. More so that some people are incapable of it due to their own issues.

Anyway, I still didn’t like it because it was a bit too strong. Just a miserable story really, and with it being so short, I felt the payoff was a bit lacking. Just not my cup of tea.