McBeth's wife in County M

Author: Leskov
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Leskov was an outstanding and unique novelist on the 19th-century Russian literary scene, whose works had a significant influence on writers like Chekhov and Gorky. This book selects seven of the author's most renowned works. It is Leskov's most representative realist novel and the Russian version of a tragedy akin to Macbeth. The protagonist, Katerina, is a poor girl who is forced to marry an elderly merchant as his stepmother. In pursuit of happiness, she engages in an affair with her servant Sergey, poisons her father-in-law, strangles her husband, and eventually takes the life of a child who has the right to inherit her property. When the case is exposed, she is sentenced to public flogging and exiled to Siberia. During her exile, Sergey abandons her for a new lover, and Katerina, unable to endure the relentless humiliation, drags the new lover into the river with her, leading to their mutual demise.
A tragic writer, tragic characters, dramatic folk tales, humorous satirical pieces—Leskov's charm is undeniable. The book was adapted into an opera by the Soviet composer Shostakovich in 1934 and was later brought to the screen in 1981.