In the following excerpt, Hahn describes “The Duel” as “novelistic” in form and method, explores its theme, and compares the work to the fiction of Tolstoy.

In the following essay, Axelrod sees “the need for salvation and moral reform” as central to “The Duel,” and traces biblical references underlying this theme in the work.

In the following excerpt, Tulloch interprets “The Duel” in light of evolutionary degeneration theory, and views the conflict between an “ambivalence of false choice” and the story's “epic vision of hope and suffering.”