The end product is a straightforward, yet somewhat ambiguous expression of Tolstoy’s own personal anxieties and worldview. Tolstoy weaves together a story of sexual debauchery, marriage, jealousy, adultery, and murder as a way to convey the values he espoused later in life after his “spiritual crisis.” Much of Sonata and the essay that follows is an articulation of a Tolstoyan doctrine, encouraging his contemporaries to follow the example of Christ (not to be confused with ideas espouses by a corrupt Church and clergy).
These are a few of the meta-level issues Tolstoy grapples with in The Kreutzer Sonata and the attached essay, “A Sequel to The Kreutzer Sonata.” But the novel also deals with questions of transgression on a more local level. According to Tolstoy, art itself is inherently transgressive and should be reconceptualized for the betterment of society. Art, replete with sensual stimuli, possesses the power to move individuals beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior. The music itself acts as a driving force in the novel, demonstrating the emotive power of art to evoke unnatural sensations within its audience. I invite my audience to begin by listening to the composition that inspired The Kreutzer Sonata (1889) by Lev Tolstoy.
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