L. N. Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov

L. N. Tolstoy (1828–1910) is one of the greatest writers in world literature, famous for revealing the inner world of his characters. «После бала», written in 1903, is one of his late stories; it is based on a real event the author knew of in his youth. The narrator, Ivan Vasilyevich, recalls how as a young man he fell in love with a girl named Varenka: at a ball in a provincial town he watches with delight as she dances with her father, a handsome, courteous colonel. The next morning he sees the same colonel directing the punishment of a runaway soldier, who is driven between two rows of soldiers and beaten. After this Ivan Vasilyevich gives up the idea of military service, and his love for Varenka begins to fade. The story is built on two opposed episodes, the ball and the punishment; through this contrast Tolstoy condemns the cruelty hidden behind outward elegance.