(wr. 1900; unfinished)
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 recognizes 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.