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Abstract
This introduction locates Tolstoi’s artistic achievements within a continuum of influences: those which helped him mature as a writer and those he exerted on other writers and thinkers. Section 1 considers the impact on Tolstoi of two figures who are generally claimed to have been formative influences on him: Rousseau and Schopenhauer. Rousseau’s influence is particularly evident in the confessional component in Tolstoi’s work, while Rousseau’s craving for authenticity in social relationships is detectable in the views and lifestyle of the later Tolstoi. Schopenhauer emphasized the power of art in his philosophy, a subject Tolstoi wrestled with in his What Is Art?. Section 2 examines Tolstoi’s debt to Pushkin in the provision of themes he elaborated at length; though in his later years Tolstoi repudiated his predecessor’s work along with that of many other major writers. Section 3 traces the evolution of Tolstoi’s popularity in England, from his early acclaim by Matthew Arnold to later polemics centring on Anna Karenina. Section 4 examines aspects of Tolstoi’s philosophical thought, and contemporary thinkers’ reactions to it. Tolstoi’s legacy in post-revolutionary Russia is the theme of Section 5, while Section 6 assesses Tolstoi’s popularity today. Section 7 reviews the chapters of the collection.