Unhappy in Its Own Way

My departure will upset you. I am sorry about that, but understand and believe that I could not act any other way. My situation at home is becoming, has become unbearable. Apart from everything else, (since) I can no longer live in these conditions of luxury in which I have been living, I am doing what elderly people of my age generally do: give up on the worldly life and go off to spend the final days of their lives in solitude and quietude. Please understand this and don’t come after me…—Lev Tolstoy to his wife, October 28,1910

The marriage of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya may be one of the most famous—or infamous—in history. Indeed, in 2009, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of Tolstoy’s death, a Hollywood movie, The Last Station (based on Jay Parini’s 1990 novel), brought the tragic conclusion of the 48-year marriage to the movie-going masses who might never have picked...