World Literature Kreutzer Sonata Answers

Emma Keehan World Literature lesson 22

2. (B) Pozdnyshev believes that things should be as they are, so when doctors instruct women on ways by which to not have children, Pozdnyshev starts his hatred of “the high priests of science.” He continues with his rant of murders in the womb and operations to avoid children and that no one counts these murders because they, according to the majority of the population, are a benefit to humanity.

NF. How does it contribute to his “fall?” Possibly she becomes more selfish and distracted and finds Trukhachevski

(C) Pozdnyshev’s mannerisms include pausing during the story to appear thinking deeply and sadly, looking very emotional, regretful, his disgusted looks when talking about doctors, standing up and walking around for a minute before continuing the story, sighs and sobs, especially towards the end of the story.

NF. What beverage is Pozdnyshev drinking on the train and how is it fitting?

3. (A) According to Pozdnyshev, women are raised in the education of being charming as so to attract a husband and to posses them. He calls them “deceived daughters” because no matter if they go to school and study history, science, etc. their purpose and the purpose of those classes themselves is to attract men? CK

(B) By saying that women have “assumed…their vengeance on us men for having degraded them and deprived them of equal rights” Pozdnyshev means that they are used to pointless intercourse by men but that they have a power over them by being paid for what they do and dress so irresistibly that they trap men with their fashions; it overpowers them. Also, their fashions, bodies, and elegance convince men that they are “the one” and therefore “trapping” them in marriage, giving the women the option of money, good households, and all the obsessions they desire.

4. (A) The reason it took Pozdnyshev so long to get married is because he was in no rush to tie the knot. He wanted to enjoy his freedom while on a search for the perfect woman. When he meets this woman, he is drawn to her by her formfitting jersey and curly hair. The delusory he finds behind this is that he sees her for her beauty and body and not so much for who she really is, yet he falls for her anyways. The ideals he set before him of domestic life are marriage to a perfect woman with incomparable love for each other, children, and a respected life. The young couple’s honeymoon is a disillusion according to Pozdnyshev because it is filled with uneasiness, shame, pity, and ennui, however in the beginning, he hopes for joy, which do not arrive, and his wife starts to hate him. They quarrel once, Pozdnyshev thinking it will be the only one but it happens again for a second, third, and fourth time.

(B) NF What is the abyss? Why does it exist? It could be a path. Hiding your true self from the person you want to attract and marry so as not to drive them away and then once locked in a relationship, you feel safe enough to let go, exposing who you are; both good and bad.

5. The presence of Pozdnyshev’s children did not improve his relationship with his wife and also disunited them. Their children became a new subject to argue about with each other and the more the children grew, the more they argued. The children also had an effect on his wife by making her fearful, anxious, nervous; all for the loss of them.

6. When the doctors tell Pozdnyshev’s wife that she should not bear more children and teach her how to avoid it, Pozdnyshev is disgusted by the suggestions and struggles vainly against what is going on. Why is this ironic?NF. After the prescription from the doctor, Pozdnyshev notices a change in his wife. She is stouter and more handsome, paid a lot of attention to her appearance, ate heartily, and was always excited.

The force that encourages Pozdnyshev to not push away but draw nearer Trukhachevski is jealousy. He is jealous of his good looks and his musical ability, and it is almost like Pozdnyshev wants his wife to mess up the marriage so as to end it. He encourages his wife to play with Trukhachevski so that he can have a sense of control over their meetings rather then have them sneaking around behind his back. It is possible Pozdnyshev is jealous and possessive of her now because he sees what her and Trukhachevski have, which is what he had wanted in the beginning with his marriage.

In general, Pozdnyshev does not believe that music stirs the soul but that acts frightfully and irritably, not in a ennobling or debasing way.

7. Pozdnyshev’s alternatives to marriage, children, and love, are suicide, for example when he is on the train and thinks about throwing himself underneath the wheels. Also for marriage, divorce and just plainly leaving the house and family. His idea of a sane, religious life is no cheating on your spouse when married for it is against god.

8. The issues raised in the Kreutzer Sonata are quite serious and thought provoking. Serious because it is about his early life with prostitutes, his married life with serious arguments that are frightening, and then the murder of his wife purely out of jealousy. In marriage and love, there is a heated battle between the lust for each other and the in-between stages of this passionate affairs filled with arguments and hatred. This is not was Pozdnyshev had wanted; it is in fact, quite the opposite. He did love his children, not as much as his wife perhaps, but defiantly enough to care about them and think of them witnessing his wife kissing a foreign man.

Yes, all of Pozdnyshev’s ideas are born of cynicism in my opinion. He wanted the “perfect woman,” later his wife, for himself, he wanted children, he was jealous of Trukhachevski and his wife’s relationship so wanted Trukhachevski gone, and then also wanted his wife gone and killed her because he was tired of becoming a jealous animal, and so fixed the problem his thought was the best way. Admittedly, jealousy is hard to control and people could argue that he did not choose to kill his wife, but at the same time, it is as if he wanted his wife to make a mistake or to anger him enough to take the extremes.