Master and Man
by Leo Tolstoy
'Master and Man' Summary
In this short story, a land owner named Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov takes one of his peasants, Nikita, for a short journey by sleigh. They are traveling to visit another landowner so that Vasili Andreyevich can purchase a forest. He is impatient and wishes to get there more quickly before other contenders can get there.
The two men find themselves in the middle of a blizzard, but the master, in his avarice, wishes to press on. Due to snow, they find themselves losing the road and getting lost. They eventually find themselves in a town and stop to rest. Vasily Andreyevich decides they must set back out.
The men lose the road and the horse gets tired out, so they decide to try to sleep out the night and find their way in the morning. Nikita, who is not as warmly dressed as Vasily Andreyevich, soon finds himself about to die from hypothermia.
Vasily Andreyevich decides to leave Nikita to die and sets out on his own on the horse. He wanders through the snow in circles and eventually falls off the horse, finding himself back by Nikita and the sleigh. The master attains a spiritual/moral revelation, and Tolstoy repeats one of his famous themes: that the only true happiness in life is found by living for others.
The master then lies on top of the peasant to keep him warm through the cold night. In the morning, peasants dig out the sleigh, which was only half a mile from town. They find Vasily Andreyevich and the horse dead but Nikita is still alive.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
RussianPublished In
1895Author
Leo Tolstoy
Russia
Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Tolstoy is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878),often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved litera...
More on Leo TolstoyDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The River Duddon: A Series of Sonnets by William Wordsworth
Located in a part of Cumbria that was once part of Lancashire, the River Duddon rises in the high fells of the Lake District and flows for 25 miles th...
Sight Unseen by Mary Roberts Rinehart
It is a thrilling mystery novel that follows the story of a young woman named Judith and her fiancé as they investigate a series of strange occurrence...
Studies of Death by Count Stanislaus Eric Stenbock
It is a collection of seven short stories, first published in 1894. The stories are all set in the late 19th century, and they explore the themes of d...
The Improvement of Human Reason by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Tufail
"The Improvement of Human Reason" by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Tufail is a timeless philosophical work that beckons the mind to wander through th...
El Dorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
El Dorado, by Baroness Orczy is a sequel book to the classic adventure tale, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was first published in 1913. The novel is notab...
Initiation by Robert Hugh Benson
It is a captivating novel that explores the spiritual journey of a young protagonist. The book delves into themes of faith, self-discovery, and the se...
Mount Royal Volume II by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The mystery deepens in the Canadian wilderness, as a young woman races to save her half-sister from a dangerous and powerful enemy. In Mount Royal Vo...
The Strange Visitation by Marie Corelli
A mysterious stranger arrives in a small village, claiming to be a prophet sent by God. The stranger, who calls himself John Silence, is a tall, dark...
Lourdes by Emile Zola
Lourdes is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior...
The Crimson Cryptogram by Fergus Hume
A mysterious crimson cryptogram, a brutal murder, and a detective determined to find the truth... In the heart of Victorian England, a young woman is...
Reviews for Master and Man
No reviews posted or approved, yet...