Tonya and Sasha’s relationship is one of the most moving love stories in literature. The novel “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak tells the story of the two medical students, who meet at a party in 1910 when Tonya is only 14 years old. The two fall in love, but they are separated when Tonya’s family moves to Moscow, while Sasha remains behind to live with relatives in the country.
The two meet again four years later and begin to date, but their relationship is discovered by Tonya’s father. He arranges for her to marry a wealthy man named Komarovsky, who has also been courting her. Sasha refuses to give Tonya up and runs away with her, but he is caught by police and sent to prison in Siberia. Meanwhile, Tonya holds a wedding ceremony with Komarovsky and then flees to join Sasha. They are found together by police officers and arrested for breaking the law against cohabitation. Sasha is sentenced to hard labor in Siberia, while Tonya is forced to return home and live with Komarovsky. She eventually divorces him and goes to join Sasha in Siberia.
Finally together again after all of their struggles, Tonya and Sasha continue their forbidden romance. But their happiness is short-lived: Sasha gets tuberculosis, and Tonya is sent away from him and their daughter Irina so that she doesn’t get infected as well. The family is torn apart for a second time when Sasha dies of the disease.
