Master and Man
1895
A merchant and his servant lose their way in a killing winter storm. What begins as a story about class, greed, and the transactional relationship between master and man becomes something far more unsettling. Tolstoy strips away everything social, leaving two men alone with each other and with themselves. Vasili Brekhunov is a man possessed by a land deal, pressing forward through a blizzard that threatens to bury them both. Nikita, his laborer, has sworn off drink and follows without complaint. But as the cold deepens and the snow deepens, the hierarchy between them begins to thaw. Survival demands something neither man expected: a reckoning with what it means to truly see another person. This is Tolstoy at his most spare and devastating, writing about the lies we tell ourselves about power, possession, and what we owe to each other. A short novel that reads like a morality play crossed with a thriller, and ends in a place you will not forget.
Editions
X-Ray
“The thought that he might, and very probably would die that night occurred to him, but did not seem particularly unpleasant or dreadful.It did not seem particularly unpleasant, because his whole life had been not a continual holiday, but on the contrary an unceasing round of toil of which he was beginning to feel weary. And it did not seem particularly dreadful, because besides the masters he had served here, like Vasili Andreevich, he always felt himself dependent on the Chief Master, who had sent him into this life, and he knew that when dying he would still be in that Master's power and would not be ill-used by Him.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“In the depths of his heart Vasili Andreevich knew that it could not yet be near morning, but he was growing more and more afraid, and wished both to get to know and yet to deceive himself.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“Although Vasili Andreevich felt quite warm in his two fur coats, especially after struggling in the snow drift, a cold shiver ran down his back on realizing that he must really spend the night where they were.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“Whether he is better or worse off there where he awoke after his death, disappointed, or found there what he expected we shall all soon learn.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“Like all those who live in touch with nature and have known want, he was patient and could wait for hours, even days without growing restless or irritable””
— Leo Tolstoy
“Blizzard or no blizzard I start out. So business gets done. They think money making is a joke. No, take pains and rack your brains.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“Он, как и все люди, живущие с природой и знающие нужду, был терпелив и мог спокойно ждать часы, дни даже, не испытывая ни беспокойства, ни раздражения.(He, like all people who live with nature and know want, was patient and could wait calmly for hours, even days, without feeling either alarm or vexation)””
— Leo Tolstoy
“And he remembered his money, his shop, his house, the buying and selling, and Mironov's millions, and it was hard for him to understand why that man, called Vasili Brekhunov, had troubled himself with all those things with which he had been troubled. 'Well, it was because he did not know what the real thing was,' he thought, concerning that Vasili Brekhunov. 'He did not know, but now I know and know for sure. Now I know!' And again he heard the voice of the one who had called him before. 'I'm coming! Coming!' he responded gladly, and his whole being was filled with joyful emotion. He felt himself free and that nothing could hold him back any longer.””
— Leo Tolstoy
“he always felt himself dependent on the Chief Master, who had sent him into this life, and he knew that when dying he would still be in that Master's power and would not be ill-used by Him.””
— Leo Tolstoy
