The Devil (novella)

1911 novella by Leo Tolstoy

"The Devil" (Russian: Дьявол) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy. It was written in 1889, given an alternative ending in 1909,[1] but published only posthumously in 1911.[2] Like Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata, written around the same time, "The Devil" deals with the consequences of sexual emotion.[3]

## Plot summary

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Two young men, Eugene Irtenev and his brother, are left a large inheritance after the death of their father. However, the inheritance is saddled with debts, and the brothers must decide whether or not to accept it. Eugene accepts the inheritance and buys off his brother's portion, thinking that he can sell off large tracts of land while making improvements to the rest. Living alone with his mother while working on the farm, Eugene misses the relations he had with women while living in St. Petersburg. He inquires around the village, and the watchman introduces Eugene to a local peasant named Stepanida whose husband lives away in the city. For several months Eugene and Stepanida have encounters, with Eugene paying her each time. Eventually, Eugene's mother thinks it is time for him to get married, preferably to an heiress who will help them with their debts. To her disappointment, Eugene falls in love with Liza Annenskaya, a charming middle-class girl, and they are married after Eugene breaks off relations with Stepanida.

After a year of marriage, Liza employs two peasant women to help with cleaning the estate. One of them is Stepanida. When Eugene notices her, all the passion for her that he thought was forgotten comes rushing back. He can't stop thinking about her and decides that she must be sent away. Liza later suffers a harmful fall while pregnant, and Eugene takes her for a rest cure to Crimea for two months on doctor's orders. She gives birth to a daughter, and Eugene's financial prospects are starting to look promising. His estate is described as being in the best working condition it has ever been, and he thinks he is finally happy.

At a village festival, Eugene notices Stepanida dancing, and their glances re-awaken his desire. Tormented by lust, he thinks of resuming relations with her, but realizes that the affair would cause too much of a scandal. Eugene says of Stepanida, "Really, she is--a devil. Simply a devil. She has possessed herself of me against my own will."[4] He convinces himself that there are only two options: to kill Stepanida, or to kill his wife and run off with Stepanida. Eugene then thinks of a third option, which is to commit suicide. When his family finds him dead of a revolver shot, they cannot understand why he killed himself since, although he was evidently tormented, he did not confide in his closest relatives.

## See also

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* Leo Tolstoy bibliography

## References

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1. ^ Igor Masarek, Review of "The Devil"[usurped], accessed 2011-09-03
2. ^ "Tolstoy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22\. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 1956.
3. ^ Bayley, J. (1967). "Introduction". Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy. Perennial Library. p. ix. ISBN 0-06-083071-9.
4. ^ Maude translation

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Leo Tolstoy

* Bibliography

Novels|

* Childhood (1852)
* Boyhood (1854)
* Youth (1856)
* The Cossacks (1863)
* War and Peace (1869)
* Anna Karenina (1878)
* Resurrection (1899)
* Hadji Murat (1912)

Novellas|

* A Landowner's Morning (1856)
* Two Hussars (1856)
* Family Happiness (1859)
* Polikúshka (1860)
* The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886)
* Walk in the Light While There is Light (1888)
* The Kreutzer Sonata (1889)
* The Devil (1889)
* Master and Man (1895)
* Father Sergius (1898)
* The Forged Coupon (1904)

Short stories|

* "The Raid" (1852)
* "The Cutting of the Forest" (1855)
* "Sevastopol Sketches" (1855)
* "Recollections of a Billiard-marker" (1855)
* "The Snowstorm" (1856)
* "Lucerne" (1857)
* "Albert" (1858)
* "Three Deaths" (1859)
* "The Porcelain Doll" (1863)
* "God Sees the Truth, But Waits" (1872)
* "The Prisoner of the Caucasus" (1872)
* "The Bear Hunt" (1872)
* "What Men Live By" (1881)
* "Diary of a Lunatic" (1884)
* "Quench the Spark" (1885)
* "An Old Acquaintance" (1885)
* "Where Love Is, God Is" (1885)
* "Ivan the Fool" (1885)
* "Evil Allures, But Good Endures" (1885)
* "Wisdom of Children" (1885)
* "The Three Hermits" (1886)
* "Promoting a Devil" (1886)
* "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" (1886)
* "The Grain" (1886)
* "Repentance" (1886)
* "Croesus and Fate" (1886)
* "Kholstomer" (1886)
* "The Two Brothers and the Gold" (1886)
* "A Lost Opportunity" (1889)
* "A Dialogue Among Clever People" (1892)
* "The Coffee-House of Surat" (1893)
* "The Young Tsar" (1894)
* "Too Dear!" (1897)
* "Work, Death, and Sickness" (1903)
* "Three Questions" (1903)
* "Alyosha the Pot" (1905)
* "After the Ball" (1911)

Plays|

* The Power of Darkness (1886)
* The First Distiller (1886)
* The Light Shines in the Darkness (1890)
* The Fruits of Enlightenment (1891)
* The Living Corpse (1900)
* The Cause of It All (1910)

Non-fiction|

* A History of Yesterday (1851)
* Confession (1882)
* The Gospel in Brief (1883)
* What I Believe (1884)
* What Is to Be Done? (1886)
* "The First Step" (1891 essay)
* The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894)
* What Is Art? (1897)
* "A Letter to a Hindu" (1908)
* The Inevitable Revolution (1909)
* A Calendar of Wisdom (1910)

Unfinished|

* The Decembrists (1884)
* "Posthumous Notes of the Hermit Fëdor Kuzmich" (1905)

Family|

* Sophia (wife)
* Alexandra (daughter)
* Ilya (son)
* Lev Lvovich (son)
* Tatyana (daughter)

Life and legacy|

* Yasnaya Polyana
* Tolstoyan movement
* Christian anarchism
* Departure of a Grand Old Man (1912 film)
* Lev Tolstoy and the Russia of Nicholas II (1928 documentary)
* Lev Tolstoy (1984 film)
* The Last Station (1990 novel, 2009 film)
* Story of One Appointment (2018 film)
* A Couple (2022 film)

Honors|

* Tolstoy Farm
* Tolstoj quadrangle
* crater

Related|

* The Triumph of the Farmer or Industry and Parasitism (1888)
* Vladimir Chertkov
* Aylmer and Louise Maude
* Translators of Tolstoy
* Tolstoy scholars

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