Tolstoy Family Happiness Questions for Exploration and Discussio

Family Happiness – Questions for Exploration and Discussion

2 Main characters – protagonists

Male protagonist: Sergey Mikhailovich (I’ll abbreviate him as SM)
Female protagonist: Maria Alexandrovna – Masha

1) What pet name did Sergey Mikhailovich have for Masha? What is its significance in your opinion?
2) Give a synopsis of Masha’s personality, beliefs, and desires.
3) Describe SM’s personality.
4) What one major thing unites SM and Masha at the beginning of the story?
5) Give three examples of foreshadowing.
6) Is Masha an adult at the time of her wedding to SM? When, in your opinion, does she become an adult?
7) What are some of the problems between SM and Masha as a result of their significant age difference?
8) What does SM come to realize about Masha when they live in St. Petersburg?
9) What events/actions contribute to a change in SM’s and Masha’s relationship during their life in St. P and abroad? Do you think that a cooling off of a relationship is inevitable in every marriage relationship? Does Tolstoy give us any insight as to how to keep a marriage/relationship fresh and “alive”?
10) The ending – denoument (razvyazka)
Did you find it satisfactory (expected)? Would you end the piece differently and why?

11) What Russian cultural elements did you notice in Family Happiness?

Write three (3) interesting questions for discussion and bring to class on Tue.