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Tolstoy's most nearly autobiographical drama, in which he
compares Christian ethics with Christian practice and
depicts the opposition a man faces from his family and
society when he tries to live according to his conscience.
Nikolay Saryntsov, who recognises the absurdity of
aristocratic life, wishes to turn over his estate to the
peasants. His wife, however, is unwilling to give up her
claim to his property or deny it to her seven children. The
only converts to Nikolay's views are Boris, who is the
fiancé of his daughter Lyuba, and a young Orthodox
priest named Vasily. In the end Boris dies in an army camp,
Vasily recants and returns to the church, and Lyuba becomes
engaged to an idle aristocrat. Princess Cheremshanova,
Boris's mother, shoots Nikolay, whom she holds responsible
for her son's death. As Nikolay dies from the wound, he
learns of the Dukhobors, a dissident sect, who agree with
his vision of life.
(Laurence Senelick)
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