The Eternal Husband

The Eternal Husband is a novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in Russian in 1870. Its uneasy reunion turns jealousy after an affair into psychological comedy, menace, and self-accusation.

Alexei Velchaninov is ill-tempered, sleepless, and increasingly troubled by memories when Pavel Pavlovich Trusotsky appears in St. Petersburg. Pavel is the widower of Natalia, with whom Velchaninov once had an affair, and his uncertain purpose creates a contest of mutual suspicion.

The arrival of Liza, Natalia's neglected young daughter, makes the old triangle a question of paternity and responsibility. Velchaninov tries to rescue her while Pavel alternates between dependence, humiliation, and hostility, placing a child inside adult revenge.

Dostoevsky keeps both men morally unstable: seducer and betrayed husband recognize themselves through rivalry yet continue performing their familiar roles. The title names marriage as a repeated identity, while the narrative tests whether shame can produce care rather than another act of violence.

"Summer had come, and Velchaninoff, contrary to his expectations, was still in St. Petersburg. His trip to the south of Russia had fallen through, and there seemed no end to the business which had detained him. This business—which was a lawsuit as to certain property—had taken a very disagreeable aspect."

This download follows Frederick Whishaw's English translation, published in London in 1888.