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Leo Tolstoy and Sofia Behrs
They say no relationship is easy. Was the relationship between Leo Tolstoy and Sofia Behrs a sad one? Or a happy journey?
This relationship is one of the most scrutinized and discussed unions in the world of literature.
“I was wondering today why there were no women writers, artists or composers of genius. It’s because all the passion and abilities of an energetic woman are consumed by her family, love, her husband — and especially her children. Her other abilities are not developed, they remain embryonic and atrophy. When she has finished bearing and educating her children her artistic needs awaken, but by then it’s too late.” — Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (anglicized as Sofia Tolstoy, Sophia Tolstoy)
Let’s dig deeper…
Partnership between Leo and Sofia was not only a marriage but a complex collaboration that deeply influenced both their lives and the works of Tolstoy, one of the greatest novelists of all time.
Leo Tolstoy, born into Russian nobility in 1828, was already a celebrated author by the time he met Sofia Behrs. Behrs, 16 years his junior, came from a well-educated and cultured family. They married in 1862, Leo was 34 and Sofia was only 18.
Sofia quickly became an integral part of Tolstoy’s life and work. She wasn’t only a housewife, she copied his manuscripts…
