The Kreutzer Sonata Summary

On a long train ride, a man named Pozdnyshev tells his seatmate the story of how he murdered his wife in a fit of jealous rage. Believing himself to be "in love," Pozdnyshev marries after a brief courtship based more on carnal rather than spiritual union. But Pozdnyshev tells his companion that he prides himself on his determination to remain faithful to his wife in a monogamous relationship. Whenever left alone together, the couple has difficulty making conversation rather than love. On the third or fourth day after their wedding, Pozdnyshev notices his wife seems depressed. When he asks why, she says she can see that he does not love her. After the satisfaction of their sensuality, he tells his travel companion, they could see themselves in their true relationship "as two egotists quite alien to each other." In...