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AUTHOR: Finding Inspiration in Tolstoy's
War and Peace
By Andrew
Kaufman
War and Peace is a daring, epic novel that tells the
story of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812. It paints
a vivid tableau of Russian society at the beginning of the
nineteenth-century. Written and published before Anna
Karenina, from 1865 to 1869 (when Tolstoy was in his late
30s), War and Peace tells of four aristocratic
families—the Bezukhovs, Bolkonskies, Rostovs and
Kuragins—whose personal lives become caught up in the
tumultuous events of the time.
In War and
Peace, Tolstoy maintains a delicate balance between
stirring scenes of major historical events and intimate
portraits of daily life. In 365 chapters (approximately 1500
pages), the author moves back and forth between social life
and military life, ballrooms and battles, marriages and
massacres, and many venues in between. No character is too
small and no subject too large for Tolstoy's broad literary
canvas. One critic from Tolstoy's time called its author "a
reflector as vast as a natural lake; a monster harnessed to
his great subject—all of human life!"
Characters That Live and
Breathe
Tolstoy depicts a vast array of characters
from all walks of life. Each character is remarkably real and
irreducibly individual. In fact, Tolstoy's realism has had
such a lasting impact that even today an ordinary Russian can
usually recall in colorful detail how her favorite character
in War and Peace speaks, dresses and behaves, as if
they were someone from her own life.
Pierre
Bezukhov: War and Peace has several heroes. One of
the most famous is this illegitimate son of a wealthy Russian
count. At the beginning of the novel, Pierre unexpectedly
inherits a large fortune and is thrust into a world of
conflict and responsibility. Like Levin in Anna
Karenina, Pierre is naďve and socially awkward, and he is
on a passionate quest for meaning. He is seduced by and
marries the beautiful, immoral Helene Kuragin—a union which
ends bitterly. Pierre then tries Freemasonry but becomes
disillusioned. He attempts social reform on his estate with
disastrous financial results. He even believes at one point
that he is destined to end Napoleon's rule. The fraught hero
ultimately finds happiness in the family he creates with
Natasha Rostova.
Natasha Rostova: One of
Tolstoy's best known female characters, Natasha is similar to
Kitty in Anna Karenina. Natasha represents the purity
of the Russian soul. At the beginning of the novel she lights
up other peoples' lives with her childlike spontaneity and her
creative energy, and she eventually matures into a calm,
responsible adult. Some readers are disappointed that Tolstoy
has Natasha lose her delightfully impulsive nature by the
novel's end, but Tolstoy believed that this process had to
happen in order for Natasha to embrace her noblest calling of
all: to become a loving wife and mother.
Prince
Andrew Bolkonsky: He is another of the novel's prominent
characters and is Pierre's closest friend. Prince Andrew's
cold, mysterious nature is in stark contrast with Pierre's
warm, free-flowing spirit. At one point Andrew is engaged to
Natasha, but uncontrollable events intervene. The fact that
Prince Andrew's closest friend will eventually marry Natasha
demonstrates Tolstoy's belief in the strong interconnectedness
of human destinies.
The Big
Picture
Tolstoy's sprawling novel still arouses in
readers a sense of mystery and awe in the infinite
possibilities of human life. Depicted are the joys, sorrows,
struggles and sensual delights of the world. Many of the
novel's greatest moments, such as Natasha Rostova's first
grand ball, the Rostov's wolf hunt and Prince Andrew's vision
of the "lofty infinite sky" on the battlefield at Austerlitz,
are among the most moving and memorable scenes in all of world
literature.
Of the important messages in War and
Peace, one is that every human being is sacred and has
great influence over his or her personal destiny. While none
of us can control the large, impersonal forces of history, war
and death, each of us can make positive choices in our
everyday lives—choices that help create happiness for
ourselves and the important people in our lives.
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