Simply Tolstoy Simply Tolstoy DONNA TUSSING ORWIN SIMPLY CHARLY NEW YORK Copyright © 2017 by Donna Tussing Orwin Cover Illustration by José Ramos Cover Design by Scarlett Rugers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below. [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-943657-16-2 Brought to you by http://simplycharly.com To Thanina and Hannah Contents Praise for Simply Tolstoy ix Other Great Lives xi Series Editor's Foreword xii Preface xiii 1. Early Life 1 2. War and Peace and the 1860s 27 3. The 1870s and Anna Karenina 44 4. A Midlife Crisis 57 5. A New Path 78 6. Tolstoy as Guru and Man in Later Life 95 7. Art and Aesthetics in the Late Period 108 8. Conclusion and Legacy 114 Sources 119 Suggested Reading 120 About the Author 125 A Word from the Publisher 126 Praise for Simply Tolstoy “No title could better suit Donna Orwin’s wise and riveting biography than Simply Tolstoy. For the actual man was contradictory and immensely complex; he only dreamed of simplicity. On this massive life, the erudite and compassionate Orwin trains a meticulous lens that keeps out none of the dark but lets through all the light.” —Caryl Emerson, A. Watson Armour III University Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University “This is a little gem, the best introduction to Tolstoy I have ever encountered, and it is more than that. The most accomplished scholar will find important new insights, the sort that one immediately recognizes as both true and profound. Orwin brings Tolstoy to life as a person and as a writer, and she also shows beautifully how the two are linked. The discussions of Tolstoy’s views on psychology and the nature of art are especially illuminating.” —Gary Saul Morson, Lawrence B. Dumas Professor of the Arts and Humanities and Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Northwestern University “Tolstoy’s life, work and thought in 100 pages? It can’t be done! But in Simply Tolstoy, Donna Orwin does it. Providing concise overviews of Tolstoy’s most important literary work in the context of his biography and intellectual historical background, this brief book will appeal to a wide range of readers curious to understand Russia’s great novelist and thinker.” —Andrew Wachtel, President, American University of Central Asia Praise for Simply Tolstoy | ix “Donna Tussing Orwin’s Simply Tolstoy is both a personal essay and fact-packed critical biography of Tolstoy.Readers are fortunate that Orwin, one of the foremost scholars of Tolstoy, distills her knowledge into an accessible encounter with this giant. She describes her youthful curiosity about Tolstoy’s sincerity and moral goals, concluding that he was a post-Kantian romantic ‘who relied on feeling rather than reason for access to . truth,’ and a pacifist who was the ‘greatest war writer of modern times.’ Orwin shows how Tolstoy’s estate Yasnaya Polyana, ‘his little homeland,’ shaped his experience. Reading War and Peace as a ‘founding myth of modern Russia,’ she argues that war is its dominant theme. ‘Horrible as it is, war has its charm.’ Simply Tolstoy raises questions relevant today, about war, marriage, intimacy, or how to live a moral life, questions that play out against the canvas of actuality: ‘No author,’ writes Orwin, ‘has more thoroughly recreated the interplay between circumstance and free choice than Tolstoy.’” —Robin Feuer Miller,Edytha Macy Gross Professor of Humanities, Brandeis University “This engaging and readable little work is an introduction worthy of the master. Donna Orwin, the foremost Western Tolstoy scholar, has spent a lifetime immersed in the writer’s works. She brings to the task a formidable knowledge of philosophy, Russian literature, and history, and biting, critical intelligence. Authoritative, thorough, and stimulating, this book brims with original insights that seasoned readers, as well as Tolstoy’s novices, will appreciate. Take a couple of hours, curl up under your beach umbrella, and read Simply Tolstoy. Then go back and read your Tolstoy, with this powerful little book at your elbow.” —Carol Apollonio, Professor of the Practice of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Duke University x | Praise for Simply Tolstoy Other Great Lives Simply Austen by Joan Klingel Ray Simply Beckett by Katherine Weiss Simply Beethoven by Leon Plantinga Simply Chaplin by David Sterritt Simply Chekhov by Carol Apollonio Simply Chomsky by Raphael Salkie Simply Chopin by William Smialek Simply Darwin by Michael Ruse Simply Descartes by Kurt Smith Simply Dickens by Paul Schlicke Simply Edison by Paul Israel Simply Einstein by Jimena Canales Simply Eliot by Joseph Maddrey Simply Euler by Robert E. Bradley Simply Faulkner by Philip Weinstein Simply Fitzgerald by Kim Moreland Simply Freud by Stephen Frosh Simply Gödel by Richard Tieszen Simply Hegel by Robert Wicks Simply Hitchcock by David Sterritt Simply Joyce by Margot Norris Simply Machiavelli by Robert Fredona Simply Napoleon by J. David Markham & Matthew Zarzeczny Simply Proust by Jack L. Jordan Simply Riemann by Jeremy Gray Simply Tolstoy by Donna Tussing Orwin Simply Stravinsky by Pieter van den Toorn Simply Turing by Michael Olinick Simply Wagner by Thomas S. Grey Simply Wittgenstein by James C. Klagge Other Great Lives | xi Series Editor's Foreword imply Charly’s “Great Lives” series offers brief but authoritative S introductions to the world’s most influential people—scientists, artists, writers, economists, and other historical figures whose contributions have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society. Each book provides an illuminating look at the works, ideas, personal lives, and the legacies these individuals left behind, also shedding light on the thought processes, specific events, and experiences that led these remarkable people to their groundbreaking discoveries or other achievements. Additionally, every volume explores various challenges they had to face and overcome to make history in their respective fields, as well as the little-known character traits, quirks, strengths, and frailties, myths and controversies that sometimes surrounded these personalities. Our authors are prominent scholars and other top experts who have dedicated their careers to exploring each facet of their subjects’ work and personal lives. Unlike many other works that are merely descriptions of the major milestones in a person’s life, the “Great Lives” series goes above and beyond the standard format and content. It brings substance, depth, and clarity to the sometimes-complex lives and works of history’s most powerful and influential people. We hope that by exploring this series, readers will not only gain new knowledge and understanding of what drove these geniuses, but also find inspiration for their own lives. Isn’t this what a great book is supposed to do? Charles Carlini, Simply Charly New York City xii | Series Editor's Foreword Preface eo (Lev) Tolstoy is one of the world’s most famous writers. His L works have been translated into over 60 languages, including Arabic, Albanian, Afrikaans, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese (Myanmar language), Catalan, Chinese, Chuvash, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Ha, Hebrew,Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Mongolian, Norwegian, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Sorbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Welsh, and Yiddish. There have been 13 translations of the novel Anna Karenina into English alone, and nine of them are still in print. Two early translations are also available as print-on-demand publications. War and Peace has 12 translations, plus two substantial revisions of previous translations. Seven of those are still in print, and four early translations available as print-on-demand publications. There have been 16 translations of The Death of Ivan Ilych, with 10 still in print, and three early ones available as print-on-demand publications. Tolstoy was more than a writer of fiction. In his lifetime and beyond, he inspired social and political change. Though he died before the Russian Revolution of 1917, in his later life he contributed to the delegitimization of the Tsarist regime, and, as we shall see, his influence spread far beyond Russian borders. I became attracted to Tolstoy when, as a student, I discovered in his diaries that he had struggled in his youth with the same questions and problems I had, and he investigated them with a sincerity that I admired. In my long career, I haven’t found answers to all my questions, in his writing or elsewhere, but he still fascinates me. I wanted to know the relationship between that Preface | xiii sincerity and his moral goals, and that is one of the overarching themes in this book. This first question led me to many others, some of which I elaborate on. It is not an exaggeration to say that characters from his fiction have become constant presences in my life, companions whose life stories have guided me in my own. Even when, as happens from time to time, Tolstoy infuriates me, I find myself reconnecting with him through his works. I feel privileged and humbled to have such a great man as a mentor.My bond with him and his art is an example of how great authors can influence individuals and societies distant from them in time and space. Tolstoy lived until age 82, and he was a prolific writer.