Tolstoy composes the theme of love and marriage, which then also troubled him in his private life, with a narrative in which the protagonist's bitter voice becomes sharp dramatic representation. Far from being a tragedy of jealousy, The Kreutzer Sonata is the drama of an insatiable carnal hate-love between two selfishnesses that doggedly tend to submit to each other in the satisfaction of their lust. And only death, so absurdly and lucidly sought by the protagonist, ends the conflict of two people who cannot find unity between themselves.
This volume includes The Kreutzer Sonata, Ivan the Fool, A lost opportunity, Polikushka, The candle. All stories are mainly about love, but they take very different attitudes towards it.