The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-22
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THE kREuTzER SONATA.
What f, J. EdvxaI IDS Has to- Sayrof ? Toll
stsf's Late It Production.
rspeciaI Co -respondence. j,

NEW Yo.K, Aug. 1.-THE ac5ionSof the
coveruErsuArespec,s ng the " krputzeCSona-
fsD makes ahat hooI Shetopic of tho week.
It has sesuaed wall n some one InssF1f'hor-
ity in the-rpstOflEs. department. 10 proanblG
this book from tn 1naIs. HABIT not peen
for this action, the n-ork would have, been
forgotten, and blythe great mascot read
ers would bsve been wholly ignored
Nothing Rsz5thergF eiSt repute Of Todst'oI as
a realistic writer blxyaght any atteIHlon
whatever 20 the Iiook when 1FaPoeaEed.
When tkeAoritics EaniES5d 1t the ocsV OF
them at once promo unceo II a reVeia1eon OF
what had before b sen SUSPECTED, and that
was that Tolst0i's great iuteaect Is ch0uded
and his mental fac, 1lties disSEdered
It is true that o, scasionaAfy IN thlsthttle
work lines GPpeR which suggest the
author Of anna b, RrezHna" ara OF Fence
and war;' but TIN .se Eints OF genius are
infreuueat. The siJry assa WORK OF hoer-
airy art would have satzr:7css1d no attention
whatever had not Tofsts6 written 1T. Il
NAV also be said that Fths great realist
wouM have desDi Ied hiTnAeE in hrs besn
DAYS had he belle red that las pen would
ever commit such % thing as this to paper.
Inssyin9 this the literary art, the power
of realistic reproC luction and the great
virility which hay t heretofore charactec>
lied Tolstoi are rel, srsed to.
Those persons WHO buy the book expect
ing to be delighted 18th it as they were, for
instance, with that e2 quisite short story OF
his which he called AThe Cossacks," vii
be bitterly disappoiu ted. On the other
hand, those who have purchased 1t expect
ing to find therein ssmething which Will
give delight to a dtEea sed imagination and
TO fondness for the suggestive and foN-
hidden, viii also be disappointed and rs
greet that they spent "a penny for the book
The subject which Iiolstoi treats in the
story is the marriage relations, but 1t Is
treated with the brutl lily Of dissecting
knife, and dull one, too, at that, rather
than che passionate " aImth and romantic
irlacininGs which characterize some Of the
french writers. It is more like medical
work than a novel, and therefore it Will
give but little delight to those who have
found pleasure in '"rhe Quick and the
Dead, "A Modern Marriage, " ''The Pace
That Kills" and oUher novels Of the SEN
sual school 1t tends to kill warmth rather
Than TO create it, and 1t is safe to say that
readers viii throw the book down, not
only disguised, but wearied by it.
In the view of many of the critics his
story Of THE COssacks," which is ex-
ouisiteIy volEptuouS book, is far more rep
rehensible tran THE Kreutzer Sonata"
For '"The Cossaclls" is a magnificent exhi-
bition of TolstoI's powers, a supreme work
of art, and vivid and delightful in the per-
lection with which the characters are ma
terialized In all modern fiction there IS
not a more perfect, truly flesh and blood
creature than the Cossack girl whom ToL
stoi painted, nor is there a more taking
scene for the voluptuary than one which is
described in this little novel. IL is, how
ever, such a great work of genius and its
art is so superior that it is not regarded as
reprehensible at all.
Some effort has been made to take ad-
vantage of the notOriety given to The
kreutzer Sonata" by the posboftice authori-
ties, but it is safe predict that this repu-
tation VIII be shortlived, and thework will
be consigned to the flames by every one
who buys it as wsaTisome, nauseating and
untrue. For ToLstoi's argument in it is
that the marriage relation is all wrong,
and that the perfect life for men and wom-
en- to lead is practically one of cehbacy.
One aspect of the work, however, has oc-
CURED to someAof TOlstOi's worshiDers. 1t
Is that tie author is not striving to teach
lesson, but IS simply portraying the mental
disease which jealousy causes. If that was
his purpose then it must be said that he
WIS realistic as he had never been before
and from that point of view his art is per-
feet. TOls5Ol, however, has destroyed this
hope of his .admirers by declaring that he
wrote the book to teach a monstrous les
son. K. J. EDWARDS.