The world of family in L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace"

The main thought in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” along with the people’s thought, is “family thought.” The writer believed that the family is the basis of the entire society, and it reflects the processes that occur in society.

The novel shows heroes who go through a certain path of ideological and spiritual development; through trial and error, they try to find their place in life and realize their purpose. These characters are shown against the backdrop of family relationships. So, the Rostov and Bolkonsky families appear before us. Tolstoy depicted the entire Russian nation from top to bottom in his novel, thereby showing that the top of the nation had become spiritually dead, having lost contact with the people. He shows this process using the example of the family of Prince Vasily Kuragin and his children, who are characterized by the expression of all the negative qualities inherent in people of high society - extreme selfishness, baseness of interests, lack of sincere feelings.

All the heroes of the novel are bright individuals, but the members of the same family have a certain common feature that unites them all.

Thus, the main feature of the Bolkonsky family can be called the desire to follow the laws of reason. None of them, except, perhaps, Princess Marya, is characterized by an open manifestation of their feelings. The image of the head of the family, the old prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, embodies the best features of the ancient Russian nobility. He is a representative of an ancient aristocratic family, his character bizarrely combines the morals of an imperious nobleman, before whom all the household are in awe, from the servants to his own daughter, an aristocrat proud of his long pedigree, the traits of a man of great intelligence and simple habits. At a time when no one required women to display any special knowledge, he teaches his daughter geometry and algebra, motivating it like this: “And I don’t want you to be like our stupid ladies.” He educated his daughter in order to develop in her the main virtues, which, in his opinion, were “activity and intelligence.”

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His son, Prince Andrei, also embodied the best features of the nobility, the progressive noble youth. Prince Andrei has his own path to understanding real life. And he will go through errors, but his unerring moral sense will help him get rid of false ideals. So, . Napoleon and Speransky turn out to be debunked in his mind, and love for Natasha will enter his life, so unlike all the other ladies of high society, the main features of which, in his opinion and the opinion of his father, are “selfishness, vanity, insignificance in everything” . Natasha will become for him the personification of real life, opposing the falsehood of the world. Her betrayal of him is tantamount to the collapse of an ideal. Just like his father, Prince Andrei is intolerant of simple human weaknesses that his wife, a very ordinary woman, has, a sister who is looking for some special truth from “God’s people,” and many other people whom he encounters in life.

A peculiar exception in the Bolkonsky family is Princess Marya. She lives only for the sake of self-sacrifice, which is elevated to a moral principle that determines her entire life. She is ready to give all of herself to others, suppressing personal desires. Submission to her fate, to all the whims of her domineering father, who loves her in his own way, religiosity is combined in her with a thirst for simple, human happiness. Her humility is the result of a peculiarly understood sense of duty as a daughter who does not have the moral right to judge her father, as she says to Mademoiselle Burien: “I will not allow myself to judge him and would not want others to do this.” But nevertheless, when self-esteem demands, she can show the necessary firmness. This is revealed with particular force when her sense of patriotism, which distinguishes all Bolkonskys, is insulted. However, she can sacrifice her pride if it is necessary to save another person. So, she asks for forgiveness, although she is not guilty of anything, from her companion for herself and the serf servant, on whom her father’s wrath fell.

Another family depicted in the novel is in some way opposed to the Bolkonsky family. This is the Rostov family. If the Bolkonskys strive to follow the arguments of reason, then the Rostovs obey the voice of feelings. Natasha is little guided by the requirements of decency, she is spontaneous, she has many child traits, which is highly valued by the author. He emphasizes many times that Natasha is ugly, unlike Helen Kuragina. For him, it is not the external beauty of a person that is important, but his internal qualities.

The behavior of all members of this family shows high nobility of feelings, kindness, rare generosity, naturalness, closeness to the people, moral purity and integrity. The local nobility, unlike the highest St. Petersburg nobility, is faithful to national traditions. It was not for nothing that Natasha, dancing with her uncle after the hunt, “knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya’s father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.”

Tolstoy attaches great importance to family ties and the unity of the whole family. Although the Bolkonsikh clan should unite with the Rostov clan through the marriage of Prince Andrei and Natasha, her mother cannot come to terms with this, cannot accept Andrei into the family, “she wanted to love him like a son, but she felt that he was a stranger and terrible to her Human". Families cannot unite through Natasha and Andrei, but are united through the marriage of Princess Marya to Nikolai Rostov. This marriage is successful, it saves the Rostovs from ruin.

The novel also shows the Kuragin family: Prince Vasily and his three children: the soulless doll Helen, the “dead fool” Ippolit and the “restless fool” Anatole. Prince Vasily is a calculating and cold intriguer and ambitious man who claims the inheritance of Kirila Bezukhov, without having a direct right to do so. He is connected with his children only by blood ties and common interests: they care only about their well-being and position in society.

The daughter of Prince Vasily, Helen, is a typical social beauty with impeccable manners and reputation. She amazes everyone with her beauty, which is described several times as “marble,” that is, cold beauty, devoid of feeling and soul, the beauty of a statue. The only thing that occupies Helen is her salon and social receptions.

The sons of Prince Vasily, in his opinion, are both “fools.” His father managed to place Hippolytus in the diplomatic service, and his fate is considered settled. The brawler and rake Anatole causes a lot of trouble for everyone around him, and, in order to calm him down, Prince Vasily wants to marry him to the rich heiress Princess Marya. This marriage cannot take place due to the fact that Princess Marya does not want to part with her father, and Anatole indulges in his former amusements with renewed vigor.

Thus, people who are not only related by blood, but also spiritually, unite into families. The ancient Bolkonsky family is not interrupted by the death of Prince Andrei; Nikolenka Bolkonsky remains, who will likely continue the tradition of moral quests of his father and grandfather. Marya Bolkonskaya brings high spirituality to the Rostov family. So, “family thought,” along with “folk thought,” is the main one in L. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.” Tolstoy's family is studied at turning points in history. Having shown three families most fully in the novel, the writer makes it clear to the reader that the future belongs to such families as the Rostov and Bolkonsky families, who embody sincerity of feelings and high spirituality, the most prominent representatives of which each go through their own path of rapprochement with the people.

“War and Peace” is one of the best works of Russian and world literature. In it, the author historically correctly recreated the life of Russian people at the beginning of the 19th century. The writer describes in detail the events of 1805-1807 and 1812. Despite the fact that the “family thought” is the main one in the novel “Anna Karenina”, in the epic novel “War and Peace” it also occupies a very important place. Tolstoy saw the beginning of all beginnings in the family. As you know, a person is not born good or bad, but his family and the atmosphere that prevails within it make him so. The author brilliantly outlined many of the characters in the novel, showed their formation and development, which is called the “dialectics of the soul.” Tolstoy, paying great attention to the origins of the formation of a person’s personality, has similarities with Goncharov. The hero of the novel “Oblomov” was not born apathetic and lazy, but life in his Oblomovka, where 300 Zakharovs were ready to fulfill his every desire, made him so.

Following the traditions of realism, the author wanted to show and also compare various families that are typical of their era. In this comparison, the author often uses the technique of antithesis: some families are shown in development, while others are frozen. The latter includes the Kuragin family. Tolstoy, showing all its members, be it Helen or Prince Vasily, pays great attention to the portrait and appearance. This is no coincidence: the external beauty of the Kuragins replaces the spiritual. There are many human vices in this family. Thus, the meanness and hypocrisy of Prince Vasily are revealed in his attitude towards the inexperienced Pierre, whom he despises as an illegitimate. As soon as Pierre receives an inheritance from the deceased Count Bezukhov, his opinion about him completely changes, and Prince Vasily begins to see in Pierre an excellent match for his daughter Helen. This turn of events is explained by the low and selfish interests of Prince Vasily and his daughter. Helen, having agreed to a marriage of convenience, reveals her moral baseness. Her relationship with Pierre can hardly be called a family one; the spouses are constantly separated. In addition, Helen ridicules Pierre's desire to have children: she does not want to burden herself with unnecessary worries. Children, in her understanding, are a burden that interferes with life. Tolstoy considered such a low moral decline to be the most terrible thing for a woman. He wrote that the main purpose of a woman is to become a good mother and raise worthy children. The author shows all the uselessness and emptiness of Helen's life. Having failed to fulfill her destiny in this world, she dies. None of the Kuragin family leaves behind heirs.

The complete opposite of the Kuragins is the Bolkonsky family. Here you can feel the author’s desire to show people of honor and duty, highly moral and complex characters.

The father of the family is Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, a man of Catherine’s temperament, who places honor and duty above other human values. This is most clearly manifested in the scene of farewell to his son, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who is leaving for the war. The son does not let his father down, does not lose honor. Unlike many adjutants, he does not sit at headquarters, but is on the front line, in the very center of military operations. The author emphasizes his intelligence and nobility. After the death of his wife, Prince Andrey was left with Nikolenka. We can have no doubt that he will become a worthy person and, like his father and grandfather, will not tarnish the honor of the old Bolkonsky family.

The daughter of the old Prince Bolkonsky is Marya, a person of pure soul, pious, patient, kind. The father did not show his feelings for her, since it was not in his rules. Marya understands all the prince’s whims and treats them resignedly, because she knows that her father’s love for her is hidden in the depths of his soul. The author emphasizes in the character of Princess Marya self-sacrifice for the sake of another, a deep understanding of daughterly duty. The old prince, unable to pour out his love, withdraws into himself, sometimes acting cruelly. Princess Marya will not contradict him: the ability to understand another person, to enter into his position - this is one of the main traits of her character. This trait often helps save a family and prevents it from falling apart.

Another antithesis to the Kuragin clan is the Rostov family, showing whom Tolstoy emphasizes such qualities of people as kindness, spiritual openness within the family, hospitality, moral purity, innocence, closeness to people's life. Many people are drawn to the Rostovs, many sympathize with them. Unlike the Bolkonskys, an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding often reigns within the Rostov family. This may not always be the case in reality, but Tolstoy wanted to idealize openness and show its necessity between all family members. Each member of the Rostov family is an individual.

Nikolai, the eldest son of the Rostovs, is a brave, selfless man, he passionately loves his parents and sisters. Tolstoy notes that Nikolai does not hide from his family his feelings and desires that overwhelm him. Vera, the Rostovs' eldest daughter, is noticeably different from other family members. She grew up an outsider in her family, withdrawn and angry. The old count says that the countess “did something tricky with her.” Showing the Countess, Tolstoy focuses on her trait of selfishness. The Countess thinks exclusively about her family and wants to see her children happy at all costs, even if their happiness is built on the misfortune of other people. Tolstoy showed in her the ideal of a female mother who worries only about her cubs. This is most clearly demonstrated in the scene of the family's departure from Moscow during the fire. Natasha, having a kind soul and heart, helps the wounded leave Moscow, giving them carts, and leaves all the accumulated wealth and belongings in the city, since this is a profitable business. She does not hesitate to make a choice between her well-being and the lives of other people. The Countess, not without hesitation, agrees to such a sacrifice. Blind maternal instinct shines through here.

At the end of the novel, the author shows us the formation of two families: Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha Rostova. Both the princess and Natasha, each in their own way, are morally high and noble. They both suffered a lot and finally found their happiness in family life and became the guardians of the family hearth. As Dostoevsky wrote: “Man is not born for happiness and deserves it through suffering.” These two heroines have one thing in common: they will be able to become wonderful mothers, they will be able to raise a worthy generation, which, according to the author, is the main thing in a woman’s life, and Tolstoy, in the name of this, forgives them some of the shortcomings characteristic of ordinary people.

As a result, we see that “family thought” is one of the fundamental ones in the novel. Tolstoy shows not only individuals, but also families, shows the complexity of relationships both within one family and between families.

“War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which reflected the national character of the Russian people at the moment when their historical fate was being decided. L.N. Tolstoy worked on the novel for almost six years: from 1863 to 1869. From the very beginning of work on the work, the writer’s attention was attracted not only by historical events, but also by the private, family life of the characters. Tolstoy believed that the family is a unit of the world, in which the spirit of mutual understanding, naturalness and closeness to the people should reign.

The novel “War and Peace” describes the life of several noble families: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys and the Kuragins.

The Rostov family is an ideal harmonious whole, where the heart prevails over the mind. Love binds all family members. It manifests itself in sensitivity, attention, and closeness. With the Rostovs, everything is sincere, it comes from the heart. Cordiality, hospitality, hospitality reign in this family, and the traditions and customs of Russian life are preserved.

Parents raised their children, giving them all their love. They can understand, forgive and help. For example, when Nikolenka Rostov lost a huge amount of money to Dolokhov, he did not hear a word of reproach from his father and was able to pay off his gambling debt.

The children of this family have absorbed all the best qualities of the “Rostov breed”. Natasha is the personification of heartfelt sensitivity, poetry, musicality and intuitiveness. She knows how to enjoy life and people like a child.

Life of the heart, honesty, naturalness, moral purity and decency determine their relationships in the family and behavior among people.

Unlike the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys live with their minds, not their hearts. This is an old aristocratic family. In addition to blood ties, the members of this family are also connected by spiritual closeness.

At first glance, the relationships in this family are difficult and devoid of cordiality. However, internally these people are close to each other. They are not inclined to show their feelings.

Old Prince Bolkonsky embodies the best features of a serviceman (nobility, devoted to the one to whom he “sworn allegiance.” The concept of honor and duty of an officer was in the first place for him. He served under Catherine II, participated in Suvorov’s campaigns. He considered intelligence and activity to be the main virtues , and his vices are laziness and idleness. The life of Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky is a continuous activity. He either writes memoirs about past campaigns, or manages the estate. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky greatly respects and honors his father, who was able to instill in him a high concept of honor. “Yours the road is the road of honor,” he tells his son. And Prince Andrei follows his father’s parting words both during the campaign of 1806, in the battles of Shengraben and Austerlitz, and during the war of 1812.

Marya Bolkonskaya loves her father and brother very much. She is ready to give all of herself for the sake of her loved ones. Princess Marya completely submits to her father's will. His word is law for her. At first glance, she seems weak and indecisive, but at the right moment she shows strength of will and fortitude.

Both the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys are patriots, their feelings were especially clearly manifested during the Patriotic War of 1812. They express the people's spirit of war. Prince Nikolai Andreevich dies because his heart could not stand the shame of the retreat of the Russian troops and the surrender of Smolensk. Marya Bolkonskaya rejects the French general's offer of patronage and leaves Bogucharovo. The Rostovs give their carts to the soldiers wounded on the Borodino field and pay the most dearly - with the death of Petya.

Another family is shown in the novel. This is Kuragin. The members of this family appear before us in all their insignificance, vulgarity, callousness, greed, and immorality. They use people to achieve their selfish goals. The family is devoid of spirituality. For Helen and Anatole, the main thing in life is the satisfaction of their base desires. They are completely cut off from people's life, they live in a brilliant but cold world, where all feelings are perverted. During the war, they lead the same salon life, talking about patriotism.

In the epilogue of the novel, two more families are shown. This is the Bezukhov family (Pierre and Natasha), which embodied the author's ideal of a family based on mutual understanding and trust, and the Rostov family - Marya and Nikolai. Marya brought kindness and tenderness, high spirituality to the Rostov family, and Nikolai shows kindness in his relationships with those closest to him.

By showing different families in his novel, Tolstoy wanted to say that the future belongs to families such as the Rostovs, Bezukhovs, and Bolkonskys.

The theme of family in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”

In the novel “War and Peace” L.N. Tolstoy singled out and considered “folk thought” more significant. It is most clearly expressed in those parts of the work that tell about the war. In the depiction of the “world,” the “family thought” predominates, which also plays a very important role in the novel, because the author thinks of the family as the basis of foundations. The novel is structured as a family story. Family members inherit the traits of the breed. The family, according to Tolstoy, should be strengthened, since through the family a person joins the people.

At the center of the novel are three families: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Kuragins. Tolstoy shows many of the events described in the novel through the history of these families.

The patriarchal Rostov family arouses the author's special sympathies. We first meet its members at the name day of Countess Rostova. The first thing you feel here is the atmosphere of love and kindness. “Air of love” reigns in this family.

The elder Rostovs are simple and kind people. They welcome everyone who enters their home and do not judge a person by the amount of money they have. Their daughter Natasha captivates with her sincerity, and their youngest son Petya is a kind and childishly naive boy. Here parents understand their children, and children sincerely love their parents. They experience troubles and joys together. Getting to know them, the reader understands that this is where real happiness lies. That’s why Sonya feels good in the Rostovs’ house. Although she is not their own daughter, they love her like their own children.

Even the courtyard people: Tikhon, Praskovya Savishna are full members of this family. They love and respect their masters, live with their problems and concerns.

Vera alone, the Rostovs' eldest daughter, does not fit into the overall picture. This is a cold and selfish person. “The Countess has done something clever,” says Rostov the Father, speaking about Vera. Apparently, the upbringing of the eldest daughter was influenced by Princess Drubetskaya, who used to be the best friend of Countess Rostova. And, indeed, Vera is much more similar to the son of Countess Boris Drubetsky than, for example, to her sister Natasha.

Tolstoy shows this family not only in joy, but also in grief. They remain in Moscow until the last minute, although Napoleon is advancing on the city. When they finally decide to leave, they are faced with the question of what to do - leave things, despite the value of many of them, and give the carts to the wounded, or leave without thinking about other people. Natasha solves the problem. She says, or rather, screams with a distorted face, that it is a shame to leave the wounded to the enemy. Not even the most valuable thing can be equal to human life. The Rostovs are leaving without their things, and we understand that such a decision is natural for this family. They simply could not do otherwise.

Another one appears in the novel is the Bolkonsky family. Tolstoy shows three generations of the Bolkonskys: the old Prince Nikolai Andreevich, his children - Prince Anrei and Princess Marya - and grandson Nikolenka. In the Bolkonsky family, from generation to generation, such qualities as a sense of duty, patriotism, and nobility were brought up.

If the Rostov family is based on feeling, then the defining line of the Bolkonskys is reason. Old Prince Bolkonsky is firmly convinced that there are “only two virtues in the world - activity and intelligence.” He is a man who always follows his convictions. He works himself (either he writes the military regulations, or he studies the exact sciences with his daughter) and demands that the children also not be lazy. The character of Prince Andrey retains many of the traits of his father’s nature. He is also trying to find his way in life, to be useful to his country. It is the desire to work that leads him to work on the Speransky Commission. Young Bolkonsky is a patriot, like his father. The old prince, having learned that Napoleon is marching on Moscow, forgets his previous grievances and actively participates in the militia. Andrei, having lost faith in his “Toulon” under the sky of Austerlitz, promises himself not to take part in military campaigns anymore. But during the War of 1812, he defends his homeland and dies for it.

If in the Rostov family the relationship between children and parents is friendly and trusting, then with the Bolonskys, at first glance, the situation is different. The old prince also sincerely loves Andrei and Marya. He worries about them. He notices, for example, that Andrei does not love his wife Lisa. Having told his son about this, although he sympathizes with him, he immediately reminds him of his duty to his wife and family. The very type of relationship the Bolkonskys have is different from the Rostovs. The prince hides his feelings for his children. So, for example, he is always strict with Marya and sometimes talks to her rudely. He reproaches his daughter for her inability to solve mathematical problems, and tells her sharply and directly that she is ugly. Princess Marya suffered from such an attitude on the part of her father, because he diligently hid his love for her in the depths of his soul. Only before his death does the old prince realize how dear his daughter is to him. In the last minutes of his life, he felt an inner kinship with her.

Marya is a special person in the Bolkonsky family. Despite her harsh upbringing, she did not become bitter. She loves her father, brother and nephew immensely. Moreover, she is ready to sacrifice herself for them, to give everything she has.

The third generation of Bolkonskys is the son of Prince Andrei Nikolenko. In the epilogue of the novel we see him as a child. But the author shows that he listens attentively to adults, some kind of mental work is going on in him. This means that the Bolkonskys’ precepts about an active mind will not be forgotten in this generation.

A completely different type of family is the Kuragin family. They bring nothing but troubles to the Bolkonskys and Rostovs. The head of the family, Prince Vasily, is a false and deceitful person. He lives in an atmosphere of intrigue and gossip. One of his main character traits is greed. He also marries his daughter Helen to Pierre Bezukhov because he is rich. The most important thing in life for Prince Kuragin is money. For their sake, he is ready to commit a crime.

The children of Prince Vasily are no better than their father. Pierre correctly notes that they are such a “mean breed.” Helen, unlike Princess Marya, is beautiful. But its beauty is its external shine. Helen lacks the spontaneity and openness of Natasha.

Helen is empty, selfish and deceitful at heart. Marrying her almost ruins Pierre's life. Pierre Bezukhov was convinced from his own experience that external beauty is not always the key to internal beauty and family happiness. A bitter feeling of disappointment, gloomy despondency, contempt for his wife, for life, for himself came over him some time after the wedding, when Helen’s “mystery” turned into spiritual emptiness, stupidity and debauchery. Without thinking about anything, Helen arranges an affair between Anatole and Natasha Rostova. Anatol Kuragin - Helen's brother - becomes the reason for the gap between Natasha and Andrei Bolkonsky. He, like his sister, is used to indulging his whims in everything, and therefore the fate of the girl whom he was going to take away from home does not bother him.

The Kuragin family is opposed to the Rostov and Bolkonsky families. On the pages of the novel we see its degradation and destruction. As for the Bolkonskys and Rostovs, Tolstoy rewards them with family happiness. They experienced many troubles and difficulties, but managed to preserve the best that was in them - honesty, sincerity, kindness. In the finale we see a happy family of Natasha and Pierre, built with love and respect for each other. Natasha internally merged with Pierre, did not leave “a single corner open for him” in her duo.

Moreover, Tolstoy unites the Rostovs and the Bolognas into one family. The family of Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya combines the best features of these families. Nikolai Rostov loves his wife and admires “her soulfulness, the almost inaccessible, sublime and moral world in which his wife lived.” And Marya sincerely loves her husband, who “will never understand everything that she understands,” and this makes her love him even more.

The fates of Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya were not easy. Quiet, meek, ugly in appearance, but beautiful in soul, the princess during her father’s lifetime did not hope to get married and have children. The only one who wooed her, and even then for the sake of a dowry, Anatol Kuragin, of course, could not understand her high spirituality and moral beauty.

A chance meeting with Rostov, his noble deed awakened an unfamiliar, exciting feeling in Marya. Her soul recognized in him a “noble, firm, selfless soul.” Each meeting revealed each other more and more to them and connected them. The awkward, shy princess was transformed, becoming graceful and almost beautiful. Nikolai admired the beautiful soul that had revealed itself to him and felt that Marya was taller than himself and Sonechka, whom he seemed to have loved before, but who remained a “barren flower.” Her soul did not live, did not make mistakes and did not suffer and, according to Tolstoy, did not “deserve” family happiness.

These new happy families did not arise by chance. They are the result of the unity of the entire Russian people that occurred during the Patriotic War of 1812. The year 1812 changed a lot in Russia, in particular, it removed some class prejudices and gave a new level of human relations.

Tolstoy has his favorite heroes and favorite families, where, perhaps, serene calm does not always reign, but where people live “in peace,” that is, in harmony, together, supporting each other. Only those who are spiritually high have, according to the writer, the right to real family happiness.

In the eyes of secular society, Prince Kuragin is a respected person, “close to the emperor, surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic women, scattering social pleasantries and chuckling complacently.” In words he was a decent, sympathetic person, but in reality there was a constant internal struggle in him between the desire to seem like a decent person and the actual depravity of his motives. Prince Vasily knew that influence in the world is capital that must be protected so that it does not disappear, and, once realizing that if he begins to ask for everyone who asks him, then soon he will not be able to ask for himself, he rarely used it influence. But at the same time, he sometimes felt remorse. So, in the case of Princess Drubetskaya, he felt “something like a reproach of conscience,” since she reminded him that “he owed his first steps in the service to her father.”

Tolstoy's favorite technique is the contrast between the internal and external characters of the heroes. The image of Prince Vasily very clearly reflects this opposition.

Prince Vasily is not alien to fatherly feelings, although they are expressed rather in the desire to “accommodate” his children rather than to give them fatherly love and warmth. According to Anna Pavlovna Sherer, people like the prince should not have children. “...And why would children be born to people like you? If you weren’t the father, I wouldn’t be able to blame you for anything.” To which the prince replies: “What should I do? You know, I did everything a father could to raise them.”

The prince forced Pierre to marry Helene, pursuing selfish goals. To Anna Pavlovna Sherer’s proposal to “marry the prodigal son Anatole” to Princess Maria Bolkonskaya, he says: “she has a good name and is rich. Everything I need.” At the same time, Prince Vasily does not think at all about the fact that Princess Marya may be unhappy in her marriage to the dissolute scamp Anatole, who looked upon his entire life as one continuous amusement.

Prince Vasily and his children absorbed all the base, vicious traits.

Helen, the daughter of Vasily Kuragin, is the embodiment of external beauty and internal emptiness, fossilization. Tolstoy constantly mentions her “monotonous,” “unchanging” smile and “antique beauty of her body,” she resembles a beautiful, soulless statue. This is how the master of words describes Helene’s appearance in Scherer’s salon: “Noisily with her white ballroom gown, decorated with ivy and moss, and shining with the whiteness of her shoulders, the gloss of her hair and diamonds, she passed, not looking at anyone, but smiling at everyone and, as if kindly providing everyone with the right to admire the beauty of her figure, full shoulders, very open in the fashion of that time, chest and back, and as if bringing with her the splendor of the ball. Helen was so good that not only was there not a shadow of coquetry noticeable in her, but, on the contrary, she "as if she was ashamed of her undoubted and too powerfully effective beauty. It was as if she wanted and could not diminish the effect of this beauty."

Helen personifies immorality and depravity. Helen marries only for her own enrichment. She cheats on her husband because the animal nature predominates in her nature. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy leaves Helen childless. “I’m not stupid enough to have children,” she admits. Even as Pierre’s wife, Helene, in front of the whole society, is organizing her personal life.

She loves nothing in life except her body, she lets her brother kiss her shoulders, but does not give money. She calmly chooses her lovers, like dishes from a menu, knows how to maintain the respect of the world and even acquires a reputation as an intelligent woman thanks to her appearance of cold dignity and social tact. This type could only have developed in the circle where Helen lived. This adoration of one's own body could only develop where idleness and luxury gave full play to all sensual impulses. This shameless calm is where high position, ensuring impunity, teaches one to neglect the respect of society, where wealth and connections provide every means to hide intrigue and shut up talkative mouths.

In addition to a luxurious bust, a rich and beautiful body, this representative of high society had an extraordinary ability to hide her mental and moral poverty, and all this was thanks only to the grace of her manners and the memorization of certain phrases and techniques. Shamelessness manifests itself in her under such grandiose, high-society forms that it arouses, in others, almost respect.

Eventually Helen dies. This death is a direct consequence of her own intrigues. “Countess Elena Bezukhova died suddenly from... a terrible disease, which is usually called chest sore throat, but in intimate circles they talked about how the life physician of the Queen of Spain prescribed Helen small doses of some medicine to produce a certain effect; how Helen, tormented by the fact, that the old count suspected her, and the fact that the husband to whom she wrote (that unfortunate depraved Pierre) did not answer her, suddenly took a huge dose of the medicine prescribed for her and died in agony before help could be given.”

Ippolit Kuragin, Helen’s brother, “... amazes with his extraordinary resemblance to his beautiful sister and even more so because, despite the similarity, he is strikingly bad-looking. His facial features are the same as his sister’s, but with her everything was illuminated with a cheerful, self-satisfied , a young, unchanging smile and an extraordinary, antique beauty of the body. My brother, on the contrary, also had a face clouded with idiocy and invariably expressed self-confident disgust, and his body was thin and weak. Eyes, nose, mouth - everything seemed to shrink into one vague, boring grimace , and the arms and legs always took an unnatural position."

Hippolytus was unusually stupid. Because of the self-confidence with which he spoke, no one could understand whether what he said was very smart or very stupid.

At Scherer's reception, he appears to us "in a dark green tailcoat, in trousers the color of a frightened nymph, as he himself said, in stockings and shoes." And such absurdity of the outfit does not bother him at all.

His stupidity was manifested in the fact that he sometimes spoke, and then understood what he said. Hippolytus often expressed his opinions when no one needed them. He liked to insert phrases into the conversation that were completely irrelevant to the essence of the topic being discussed.

Let's give an example from the novel: “Prince Hippolyte, who had been looking at the Viscount through his lorgnette for a long time, suddenly turned his whole body to the little princess and, asking her for a needle, began to show her, drawing with a needle on the table, the coat of arms of Kande. He explained this coat of arms to her with such with a significant look, as if the princess was asking him about it."

Thanks to his father, Hippolyte makes a career and during the war with Napoleon becomes the secretary of the embassy. Among the officers serving at the embassy, ​​he is considered a jester.

The character of Hippolyte can serve as a living example of the fact that even positive idiocy is sometimes presented in the world as something of significance thanks to the gloss imparted by knowledge of the French language, and that extraordinary property of this language to support and at the same time mask spiritual emptiness.

Prince Vasily calls Hippolyte a “dead fool.” Tolstoy in the novel is “sluggish and breaking.” These are the dominant character traits of Hippolytus. Hippolyte is stupid, but at least with his stupidity he does not harm anyone, unlike his younger brother Anatole.

Anatol Kuragin, the youngest son of Vasily Kuragin, according to Tolstoy, is “simple and with carnal inclinations.” These are the dominant character traits of Anatole. He looks at his whole life as a continuous entertainment that someone like that for some reason agreed to arrange for him.

Anatole is completely free from considerations of responsibility and the consequences of what he does. His egoism is spontaneous, animal-naive and good-natured, absolute egoism, for it is not constrained by anything inside Anatole, in consciousness, feeling. It’s just that Kuragin is deprived of the ability to know what will happen next to the moment of his pleasure and how it will affect the lives of other people, as others will see. All this does not exist for him at all. He is sincerely convinced, instinctively, with his whole being, that everything around him has the sole purpose of entertaining him and exists for this. No regard for people, their opinions, consequences, no long-term goal that would force one to concentrate on achieving it, no remorse, reflection, hesitation, doubt - Anatole, no matter what he does, naturally and sincerely considers himself an impeccable person and highly carries his beautiful head.

One of Anatole's character traits is slowness and lack of eloquence in conversations. But he has the ability of calm and unchangeable confidence, precious for the world: “Anatole was silent, shook his leg, cheerfully observing the princess’s hairstyle. It was clear that he could remain silent so calmly for a very long time. In addition, Anotole had that manner in dealing with women ", which most of all inspires curiosity, fear and even love in women - a manner of contemptuous consciousness of one's own superiority."

At her brother’s request, Helen will introduce Natasha to Anatole. After five minutes of talking with him, Natasha “feels terribly close to this man.” Natasha is deceived by Anatole's false beauty. She feels “pleasant” in Anatole’s presence, but for some reason it feels cramped and difficult; she experiences pleasure and excitement, and at the same time, fear from the absence of a barrier of modesty between her and this man.

Knowing that Natasha is engaged to Prince Andrei, Anatole still confesses his love to her. What could come out of this courtship, Anatole could not know, since he never knew what would come out of each of his actions. In a letter to Natasha, he says that either she will love him or he will die, that if Natasha says yes, he will kidnap her and take her to the ends of the world. Impressed by this letter, Natasha refuses Prince Andrei and agrees to escape with Kuragin. But the escape fails, Natasha's note falls into the wrong hands, and the kidnapping plan fails. The next day after the unsuccessful kidnapping, Anatole comes across Pierre on the street, who knows nothing and is at that moment going to Akhrosimova, where he will be told the whole story. Anatole sits in a sleigh “straight, in the classic pose of military dandies,” his face is fresh and ruddy in the cold, snow is falling on his curled hair. It is clear that everything that happened yesterday is already far from him; he is happy with himself and life now and is beautiful, in his own way even beautiful in this confident and calm contentment.”

In a conversation with Natasha, Pierre revealed to her that Anatole is married, so all his promises are deception. Then Bezukhov went to Anatoly and demanded that he return Natasha’s letters and leave Moscow:

... - you are a scoundrel and a scoundrel, and I don’t know what is holding me back from the pleasure of smashing your head...

Did you promise to marry her?

I, I, I didn't think; however, I never promised...

Do you have her letters? Do you have any letters? - Pierre repeated, moving towards Anatole.

Anatole looked at him and reached into his pocket for his wallet...

- ...you must leave Moscow tomorrow.

-...you must never say a word about what happened between you and the countess.

The next day Anatole left for St. Petersburg. Having learned about Natasha's betrayal and about Anatole's role in this, Prince Andrei was going to challenge him to a duel and searched for him throughout the army for a long time. But when he met Anatole, whose leg had just been amputated, Prince Andrei remembered everything, and enthusiastic pity for this man filled his heart. He forgave him everything.

5) The Rostov family.

"War and Peace" is one of those books that cannot be forgotten. “When you stand and wait for this taut string to break, when everyone is waiting for an inevitable revolution, you need to join hand in hand with as many people as possible to resist the general catastrophe,” said L. Tolstoy in this novel.

Its very name contains all of human life. And “War and Peace” is a model of the structure of the world, the universe, which is why the symbol of this world appears in Part IV of the novel (Pierre Bezukhov’s dream) - a globe-ball. “This globe was a living, oscillating ball, without dimensions.” Its entire surface consisted of drops tightly compressed together. The drops moved and moved, now merging, now separating. Each tried to spread out, to capture the largest space, but the others, shrinking, sometimes destroyed each other, sometimes merged into one.

“How simple and clear it all is,” we repeat, rereading our favorite pages of the novel. And these pages, like drops on the surface of a globe, connecting with others, form part of a single whole. Episode by episode we move towards the infinite and eternal, which is human life.

But the writer Tolstoy would not have been a philosopher Tolstoy if he had not shown us the polar sides of existence: life in which form predominates, and life that contains the fullness of content. It is from these Tolstoy ideas about life that the episode of the name day in the Rostov house will be considered.

The curious and absurd incident with the bear and the policeman in the Rostov house evokes good-natured laughter in some (Count Rostov), ​​curiosity in others (mainly young people), and some with a maternal note (Marya Dmitrievna) threateningly scold poor Pierre: “Good, "There's nothing to say! Good boy! Father is lying on his bed, and he's amusing himself, putting the policeman on a bear. It's a shame, father, it's a shame! It would be better if he went to war." Oh, if only there were more such formidable instructions to Pierre Bezukhov, perhaps there would be no unforgivable mistakes in his life. The very image of the aunt, Countess Marya Dmitrievna, is also interesting. She always spoke Russian, not recognizing secular conventions; It should be noted that French speech is heard much less often in the Rostov house than in the St. Petersburg living room (or almost not heard). And the way everyone stood respectfully in front of her was by no means a false ritual of politeness in front of the “useless aunt” Scherer, but a natural desire to express respect for the respectable lady.

What attracts readers to the Rostov family? First of all, this is a distinctly Russian family. The way of life, customs, likes and dislikes are all Russian, national. What is the basis of the “Rostov spirit”? First of all, a poetic attitude, boundless love for one’s folk, Russian, for one’s native nature, native songs, holidays and their prowess. They absorbed the spirit of the people with its cheerfulness, ability to suffer steadfastly, and easily make sacrifices not for show, but with all their spiritual breadth. No wonder the uncle, listening to Natasha’s songs and admiring her dance, is amazed at how this countess, raised by French women, could so understand and feel the authenticity of the Russian, folk spirit. The Rostovs' actions are spontaneous: their joys are truly joyful, their grief is bitter, their love and affections are strong and deep. Sincerity is one of the main traits of all family members.

The life of the young Rostovs is closed. They are happy and easy when they are together. Society with its hypocrisy remains alien and incomprehensible to them for a long time. Appearing for the first time at the ball. Natasha is so little like secular young ladies, the contrast between her and the “light” is so clear.

Having barely crossed the threshold of her family, Natasha finds herself deceived. The best people are drawn to the Rostovs, and above all to their common favorite Natasha: Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Vasily Denisov.

Let us turn to the characteristics of individual members of the Rostov family. Let us first consider representatives of the older generation.

Old Count Ilya Andreevich is an unremarkable man: a spendthrift gentleman, a lover of throwing a feast for all of Moscow, a ruiner of fortunes, leaving his beloved children without an inheritance. It seems that in his entire life he has not committed a single reasonable act. We haven’t heard any smart decisions from him, and yet he arouses sympathy, and sometimes even charms.

A representative of the old nobility, who has no understanding of the management of estates, who trusted a rogue clerk who robs the serfs, Rostov is deprived of one of the most disgusting features of the landowner class - money-grubbing. This is not a predatory gentleman. There is no lordly contempt for the serfs in his nature. They are people for him. Sacrificing material wealth for the sake of a person means nothing to Ilya Andreevich. He recognizes not logic; and with the whole being that a person, his joy and happiness are above any good. All this sets Rostoy apart from his circle. He is an epicurean, lives by the principle: a person should be happy. His happiness lies in the ability to rejoice with others. And the feasts that he sets are not a desire to show off, not a desire to satisfy ambition. This is the joy of bringing happiness to others, the opportunity to rejoice and have fun yourself.

How brilliantly the character of Ilya Andreevich is revealed at the ball during the performance of the ancient dance - Danila Kupora! How charming the Count is! With what prowess he dances, it surprises everyone gathered.

“Father, you are ours! Eagle!" - say the servants, admiring the dancing old man.

“Faster, faster and faster, faster, faster and faster, the count unfolded, now on tiptoes, now on heels, rushing around Marya Dmitrievna and, finally, turning his lady to her place, made the last step..., bowing his sweaty head with a smiling face and He waved his right hand roundly amid the roar of applause and laughter, especially from Natasha.

This is how they danced in our time, mother,” he said.

The old count brings an atmosphere of love and friendship into the family. Nikolai, Natasha, Sonya, and Petya owe him the poetic and loving air that they have absorbed since childhood.

Prince Vasily calls him a “rude bear”, and Prince Andrei calls him a “stupid old man”; old Bolkonsky speaks unflatteringly of him. But all this does not reduce the charm of Rostov. How clearly his original character is revealed in the hunting scene! And youthful joy, and excitement, and embarrassment in front of the arriving Danila - all this seems to merge into a complete description of Rostov.

During the events of the twelfth year, Ilya Andreevich appears from the most attractive side. True to himself, he gave carts to the wounded while leaving Moscow, abandoning his property. He knows he will be ruined. The rich put up a militia, confident that this would not bring them much. damage. Ilya Andreevich gives back the carts, remembering one thing: wounded Russians cannot remain with the French! It is noteworthy that the entire Rostov family is unanimous in this decision. This is what truly Russian people did, leaving the French without thinking, because “under the French everything is worse.”

On the one hand, Rostov was influenced by the loving and poetic atmosphere of his own family, on the other hand, by the customs of the “golden youth” - carousing, trips to the gypsies, playing cards, duels. On the one hand, it was shaped by the general atmosphere of patriotic enthusiasm and tempered by military affairs and the camaraderie of the regiment; on the other hand, it was poisoned by reckless orgies with debauchery and drunkenness.

Under the influence of such opposing factors, the formation of Nikolai’s character took place. This created the duality of his nature. It contains nobility, ardent love for the fatherland, courage, a sense of duty, and camaraderie. On the other hand, contempt for work, for mental life, loyal sentiments.

Nikolai has the characteristics of the times: a reluctance to get to the cause of phenomena, a desire to evade answering questions: “Why?” Why is this so? A subtle reaction to the environment makes him responsive. This sets him apart from the heartless “golden youth” environment. Neither the officer environment, neither the harsh morality of society kills the humanity in him. Tolstoy reveals the complex experiences of Nikolai in the so-called Ostrovny affair. For this matter, he received the St. George Cross and was known as a brave man. How did Rostov himself evaluate his behavior in this battle? Having come face to face with a young man in battle French officer, Nikolai struck him with a saber. The question arose before him: why did he hit the boy officer? Why would this Frenchman strike him too?

“All this and the next day, Rostov’s friends and comrades noticed that he was not boring, not angry, but silent, thoughtful and concentrated... Rostov kept thinking about this brilliant feat of his... And he just couldn’t understand something " However, when faced with such questions, Rostov seeks to avoid answering. He confines himself to experiences and, as a rule, tries to exterminate in himself the painful feeling of anxiety. This is what happened to him in Tilsit, when he was working for Denisov, and the reflection ended in the same way: over the Ostrovny episode.

His character is especially convincingly revealed in the scene of the liberation of Princess Marya from the rebellious peasants. It is difficult to imagine a more historically accurate depiction of the entire convention of noble morality. Tolstoy does not directly express his attitude towards Rostov’s act. This attitude emerges from the description. Rostov beats the men with curses to save the princess and does not hesitate for a minute in carrying out such reprisals. He does not experience a single reproach of conscience.

Rostov leaves the stage as a son of his century and his class. - As soon as the war was over, the hussar changed his uniform to a jacket. He is a landowner. The extravagance and extravagance of youth are replaced by stinginess and prudence. Now he in no way resembles his good-natured, stupidly wasted father.

At the end of the novel, two families emerge - the Rostovs and the Bezukhovs. Whatever the views of Nicholas, when he turns out to be the owner-landowner, no matter how many of his actions trumpet, the new family, with Marya Bolkonskaya in the center, retains many of the features that previously distinguished the Rostovs and Bolkonskys from the circle of noble society. This new family will become a fertile environment in which not only Nikolenka Bolkonsky, but, perhaps, other glorious people of Russia will be raised.

The bearer of the “Rostov spirit”, the brightest person in the family, is undoubtedly everyone’s favorite Natasha, the center of attraction for the Rostov house of all the best that is in society.

Natasha is a generously gifted person. Her actions are original. No prejudices hang over her. She is guided by her heart. This is a captivating image of a Russian woman. The structure of feelings and thoughts, character and temperament - everything in her is clearly expressed and national.

Natasha first appears as a teenager, with thin arms, a large mouth, ugly and at the same time charming. The writer seems to emphasize that all its charm lies in its internal originality. In childhood, this originality manifested itself in wild joy, in sensitivity, in a passionate reaction to everything around him. Not a single false sound escaped her attention. Natasha, in the words of those who know her, is “gunpowder”, “Cossack”, “sorceress”. The world in which she grows up is the poetic world of a family with a peculiar structure, friendship and childhood love. This world is a sharp contrast to society. Like a foreign body, the prim Julie Karagina appears at a birthday party among the lovely youth of the Rostovs. The French dialect sounds like a sharp contrast to Russian speech.

How much enthusiasm and energy there is in the willful and playful Natasha! She is not afraid to disrupt the socially decent flow of the birthday dinner. Her jokes, childish stubbornness, bold attacks on adults are the play of a talent sparkling with all facets. Natasha even flaunts her reluctance to recognize generally accepted conventions. Her young world is full of poetic fantasy, she even has her own language, understandable only to the youth of the Rostovs.

Natasha's development is rapid. At first, the richness of her soul finds outlet in singing. She is taught by an Italian, but all the charm of her talent comes from the very depths of her temperament, building her soul. Hussar Denisov, the first to be truly charmed by Natasha, calls her “Sorceress!” Alarmed for the first time by the closeness of love, Natasha is tormented by pity for Denisov. The scene of her explanation with Denisov is one of the poetic pages of the novel.

The time of Natasha's childhood ends early. When she was just a girl, she was taken out into the world. Among the sparkle of lights, outfits, in the thunder of music, after the poetic silence of the Rostov house, Natasha feels shocked. What can she, a thin girl, mean in front of the dazzling beauty of Countess Helen?

Going to the “big world” turned out to be the end of her cloudless happiness. A new time has begun. Love has arrived. Just like Denisov, Prince Andrei experienced Natasha's charm. With her characteristic sensitivity, she saw in him a person unlike others. “Is it really me, that girl-child (that’s what they said about me),” thought Natasha, “is it really from this moment that I am the wife, equal to this stranger, sweet, intelligent man, respected even by my father.”

The new time is a time of complex internal work and spiritual growth. Natasha finds herself in Otradnoye, among village life, among nature, surrounded by nannies and servants. They were her first educators; they conveyed to her all the originality of the people's spirit.

The time spent in Otradnoye leaves a deep imprint on her soul. Children's dreams are intertwined with a feeling of ever-increasing love. At this time of happiness, all the strings of her rich nature sound with special force. Not one of them has yet been cut off, fate has not yet dealt a single blow to it.

Natasha seems to be looking for where to use the energy that overwhelms her. She goes hunting with her brother and father, enthusiastically indulges in Christmas fun, sings, dances, daydreams. And deep down, the soul is incessantly working. Happiness is so great that anxiety also arises next to it. Internal anxiety gives Natasha's actions a touch of strangeness. She is either concentrated or completely surrendered to the feelings overwhelming her.

The scene of Natasha singing with her family is wonderfully and vividly written. In singing, she found an outlet for the feeling that overwhelmed her. “...she had not sung for a long time, before and for a long time after, as she sang that evening.” Count Ilya Andreevich left his work and listened to her. Nikolai, sitting at the clavichord, did not take his eyes off his sister, the Countess-mother, listening, thought about Natasha: “Ah! How afraid I am for her, how afraid I am..." Her maternal instinct told her that there was too much of something in Natasha, and that this would not make her happy."

Happy in this world are the Kuragins, Drubetskys, Bergs, Elena Vasilievnas, Anna Pavlovnas - those who live without a heart, without love, without honor, according to the laws of “light”.

Tolstoy achieves enormous power when he depicts Natasha visiting her uncle: “Where, how, when did this countess, raised by a French emigrant, suck into herself from that Russian air that she breathed, this spirit, where did she get these techniques?... But these spirits and techniques were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian ones that her uncle expected from her.”

And in racing in troikas on a frosty Christmas night, and in dancing with mummers, and in games, and in singing, Natasha appears in all the charm of her original character. What captivates and enchants in all these Otradnensky scenes is not what is done, but how it is done. And this is done with all the Russian prowess, with all the breadth and passion, in all the splendor of Russian poetry. The color of national life, moral health, and a huge reserve of mental strength are enchanting. And it is no coincidence that V.I. Lenin reread the hunting scenes with such pleasure. And asking which of the European writers could be placed next to Tolstoy, he concluded - “No one!” -

The brilliant depiction of the national Russian folk character, the sound of the most dear and deep strings of the Russian heart contains the unfading charm of the Otradnensky scenes. The life of the Rostovs is so clear and close, despite the remoteness of the era, the complete alienness of the environment in which the heroes act. They are close and understandable to us, just as Anisya Fedorovna (uncle’s housekeeper) was close and understandable, who “teared through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, brought up countess in silk and velvet, who knew how to understand everything.” what was in Anisya, and in Anisya’s father, and in his aunt, and in his mother, and in every Russian person.”

Natasha feels lonely and alien after Otradny in the theater, among the capital's aristocrats. Their life is unnatural, their feelings are false, everything that is played out on stage is distant and incomprehensible!

The evening at the theater turned out to be fatal “for Natasha. She, noticed by the light, liked Anatoly Kuragin for her “freshness”, “untouchedness”, and turned out to be the subject of intrigue.

Kuragin captivated her with flattery and playing on gullibility and inexperience. In her short-term infatuation and in the grief that befell her, Natasha remained the same strong-willed and decisive nature, capable of desperate acts and able to face adversity with fortitude.

After a serious illness, which was the result of mental turmoil, Natasha returned to life renewed. Trouble did not break her, the light did not defeat her.

The events of the twelfth year return Natasha's energy. With what sincerity does she regret that she cannot stay in. Moscow. How ardently she demands from her father and mother to give the carts to the wounded, leaving the property!

The old count speaks about her with tears: “Eggs... eggs teach a chicken...” To

Leaving Moscow coincides with Natasha's advancing maturity. Many, many Russian people are undergoing severe trials these days. For Natasha, the time of great trials is also coming. With what determination she goes to the wounded Andrei! He is not only the person she loves, he is a wounded warrior. What better could heal the wounds of a hero than the selfless love of a patriotic woman! Natasha appears here in all the beauty of her feminine and certainly heroic character. She is guided only by the dictates of her heart. She paid heavily for her inexperience. But what is given to others over years and years of experience, Natasha learned immediately. She returned to a life capable of resisting society, and did not lose faith in herself. She did not ask others what to do. in one case or another, but acted as her heart told her. At night, Natasha makes her way to the sick Andrei and asks him for forgiveness, because she knows that she loved and loves only him, that he cannot help but understand her. Selflessly, without regard with “decency,” Natasha takes care of the dying man.

The illness and death of Prince Andrei seem to reborn Natasha. Her songs fell silent. Illusions dissipated, magical dreams faded. Natasha looks at life with open eyes. From the spiritual height that she had reached, among hundreds of people she noted the wonderful “eccentric” Pierre, appreciating not only his “heart of gold”, but also his intelligence. all his complex and deep nature. Love for Pierre was Natasha's victory. This Russian girl, not bound by the shackles of tradition, not defeated by the “light”, chose the only thing that a woman like her could find in those conditions - a family. Natasha is a wife-friend, wife-companion, who has taken on her shoulders part of her husband’s business. Her character reveals the spiritual world of Russian women - the wives of the Decembrists, who followed their husbands to hard labor and exile.

In world literature there are many female images, marked by bright national features. Among them, the image of Natasha Rostova occupies its own, very special place. Breadth, independence, courage, poetic attitude, passionate attitude towards all phenomena of life - these are the features that fill this image.

A little space is given in the novel to young Petya Rostov: However, this is one of the charming, long-remembered images. Petya, in Denisov’s words, is one of the representatives of the “stupid Rostov breed.” He resembles Natasha, and although he is not as generously gifted by nature as his sister, he has the same poetic nature, and most importantly, the same indomitable effectiveness. Petya strives to imitate others, adopting good things from everyone. In this he also resembles Natasha. Petya, like his sister, is sensitive to goodness. But he is too trusting and sees good in everything. Cordiality combined with an impetuous temperament is the source of Petya’s charm.

Having appeared in Denisov’s detachment, young Rostov first of all wants to please everyone. He feels pity for the captive French boy. He is affectionate with the soldiers and does not see anything bad in Dolokhov. His dreams on the night before the fight are full of poetry, colored with lyricism. His heroic impulse is not at all similar to Nikolai’s “hussarism.” Petya strives for a feat not for the sake of vanity, he sincerely wants to serve his homeland. It is not for nothing that in the first battle, like Nikolai, he does not experience fear, duality, or remorse for going to war. Making his way to the rear of the French with Dolokhov, he behaves courageously. But he turns out to be too inexperienced, without a sense of self-preservation, and dies in the first attack.

Sensitive Denisov immediately guessed Petya’s beautiful soul. His death shocked the shelled hussar to the very depths. “He rode up to Petya, got off his horse and with trembling hands turned Petya’s already pale face, stained with blood and dirt, towards him.”

“I'm used to something sweet. Excellent raisins, take them all,” he remembered. And the Cossacks looked back in surprise at the sounds similar to the barking of a dog, with which Denisov quickly turned away, walked up to the fence and grabbed him.” The image of Petya complements the gallery of officer-heroes of the Patriotic War. It clearly shows the animation of the young generation of the twelfth year, which has just entered into life. It was this generation, growing up in an atmosphere of general patriotic enthusiasm, that carried within itself a passionate, energetic love for the homeland and a desire to serve it.

Vera, the eldest daughter of Ilya Andreevich, stands apart in the Rostov family. Cold, unkind, a stranger in the circle of brothers and sisters, she is a foreign body in the Rostov house. The pupil Sonya, full of selfless and grateful love for the whole family, concludes; gallery of the Rostov family.

6) The relationship between Pierre Bezukhov and Natalya Rostova is an idyll of family happiness.

Letter from Pierre Bezukhov to Natasha Rostova

Dear Natasha, on that magnificent summer evening,

when I met you at the emperor's ball,

I realized that all my life I wanted to have

a wife as beautiful as you. I looked at

you all evening, without stopping for a minute,

peered into your slightest movement, tried to look

into every, no matter how small, hole

your soul. I didn't take my eyes off for a second

your magnificent body. But alas, all my efforts

to get your attention were unsuccessful. I think that

will just be a waste of time

all the prayers and promises on my part.

For I know that mine is too small

status in the empire. But I still want to assure you that

you are the most beautiful creature in the world.

I've never, ever met one like this

homeland. And only your enormous

modesty hides it.

Natasha, I love you!

Pierre Bezukhov

After the death of Prince Andrei, Natasha “thought that her life was over. But suddenly love for her mother showed her that the essence of her life - love - was still alive in her.” And the author does not deprive her of new happiness, which comes to her quite accidentally and at the same time unexpectedly quickly (because the writer is aware that dooming Natasha to a long period of waiting is fraught with unpredictable consequences).

Pierre, having returned from captivity and learned that his wife had died and he was free, hears about the Rostovs, that they are in Kostroma, but the thought of Natasha rarely visits him: “If she came, it was only as a pleasant memory of the long past.” Even having met her, he does not immediately recognize Natasha in a pale and thin woman with sad eyes without a shadow of a smile, sitting next to Princess Marya, to whom he came.

After tragedies and losses, both of them, if they crave anything, it is not new happiness, but rather oblivion. She is still completely in her grief, but it is natural for her to speak out without concealment in front of Pierre about the details of the last days of her love for Andrei. Pierre “listened to her and only felt sorry for her for the suffering that she was now experiencing as she spoke.” For Pierre it is a joy and a “rare pleasure” to tell Natasha about his adventures during captivity. For Natasha, joy is listening to him, “guessing the secret meaning of all Pierre’s spiritual work.”

And having met, these two people created by L. Tolstoy for each other will no longer part. The writer arrived at his desired goal: his Natasha and Pierre took with them the bitter experience of previous mistakes and suffering, went through temptations, delusions, shame, and deprivation, which prepared them for love.

Natasha is twenty-one years old, Pierre is twenty-eight. The book could begin with this meeting of theirs, but it comes to an end... Pierre is now only a year older than Prince Andrei was at the beginning of the novel. But today's Pierre is a much more mature person than that Andrei. Prince Andrey in 1805 knew only one thing for sure: that he was dissatisfied with the life he had to lead. He did not know what to strive for, he did not know how to love.

In the spring of 1813, Natasha married Pierre. All is well that ends well. It seems that this was the name of the novel when L. Tolstoy was just starting War and Peace. Natasha appears for the last time in the novel in a new role - wife and mother.

L. Tolstoy expressed his attitude towards Natasha in her new life with the thoughts of the old countess, who understood with “maternal instinct” that “all Natasha’s impulses began only with the need to have a family, to have a husband, as she, not so much jokingly as in reality, screamed in Otradnoye." Countess Rostova “was surprised at the surprise of people who did not understand Natasha, and repeated that she always knew that Natasha would be an exemplary wife and mother.”

The author who created Natasha and endowed her with the best qualities of a woman in his eyes also knew this. In Natasha Rostova-Bezukhova, L. Tolstoy, if we switch to pompous language, sang the noble woman of that era as he imagined her.

The portrait of Natasha - wife and mother - completes the gallery of portraits of Natasha from a thirteen-year-old girl to a twenty-eight-year-old woman, mother of four children. Like all the previous ones, Natasha’s last portrait is also warmed with warmth and love: “She grew plump and wider, so that it was difficult to recognize the former thin, active Natasha in this strong mother.” Her facial features “had an expression of calm softness and clarity.” The “fire of revival” that had been constantly burning before was lit in her only when “her husband returned, when the child was recovering, or when she and Countess Marya remembered Prince Andrei,” and “very rarely, when something accidentally drew her into singing.” . But when the old fire was lit in her “developed beautiful body,” she “was even more attractive than before.”

Natasha knows “Pierre’s whole soul,” she loves in him what he respects in himself, and Pierre, who with Natasha’s help found a spiritual answer in the earthly, sees himself “reflected in his wife.” While talking, they “with extraordinary clarity and speed,” as they say, on the fly grasp each other’s thoughts, from which we draw the conclusion about their complete spiritual unity.

On the last pages, the beloved heroine has the chance to become the embodiment of the author’s idea about the essence and purpose of marriage, the foundations of family life, and the purpose of a woman in the family. Natasha’s state of mind and her entire life during this period embody L. Tolstoy’s cherished ideal: “the goal of marriage is family.”

Natasha is shown in her care and affection for her children and her husband: “She attributed, without understanding it, great importance to everything that was her husband’s mental, abstract work, and was constantly in fear of being an obstacle in this activity of her husband.”

Natasha is both the poetry of life and its prose at the same time. And this is not a “nice” phrase. The reader has never seen her more prosaic than at the end of the book, neither in grief nor in joy.

Having depicted in the epilogue the idyll, from the point of view of L.N. Tolstoy, of Natasha’s family happiness, the writer turns her “into a strong, beautiful and fertile female,” in which now, as he himself admits, the former fire was very rarely lit. Disheveled, in a dressing gown, a diaper with a yellow spot, walking with long steps from the nursery - this is Natasha L. Tolstoy offers as the truth of the book at the end of his four-volume narrative.

Can we, following L. Tolstoy, think the same way? A question that I think everyone can answer for themselves. The writer, until the end of his days, remained faithful to his point of view, no, not on the “women’s issue,” but on the role and place of women in his own life. This and no other, I dare to believe, he wanted to see his wife Sofya Andreevna. And for some reason she did not fit into the framework intended for her by her husband.

For L. Tolstoy, Natasha is the same life in which everything that is done is for the better, and in which no one knows what awaits him tomorrow. The ending of the book is a simple, uncomplicated thought: life itself, with all its worries and anxieties, is the meaning of life, it is the sum of everything and nothing in it can be foreseen or predicted, it is also the truth sought by Leo Tolstoy’s heroes.

That is why the book ends not with some great figure or national hero, not with the proud Bolkonsky, or even with Kutuzov. It is Natasha - the embodiment of life, such as the writer understands and accepts it at this time - and Pierre, Natasha's husband, that we meet in the epilogue.

Conclusion.

Based on the above, we can draw the following conclusions:

1. True history, as L. Tolstoy sees and understands it, is life itself, simple, measured, consisting - like a gold-bearing vein with scatterings of precious grains of sand and small ingots - of ordinary moments and days that bring happiness to a person, like those interspersed in the text of “War and Peace”: Natasha’s first kiss; her meeting of her brother, who had come on vacation, when she, “holding onto the hem of his Hungarian shirt, jumped like a goat, all in one place and squealed shrilly”; the night when Natasha does not let Sonya sleep: “After all, such a lovely night has never, never happened”; the duet of Natasha and Nikolai, when singing touches something better that was in Rostov’s soul (“And this something was independent of everything in the world and above everything in the world”); the smile of a recovering child, when “the radiant eyes of Princess Marya, in the dull half-light of the canopy, shone more than usual with happy tears”; one view of a transformed old oak tree, which, “spread out like a tent of lush, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun”; a waltz tour at Natasha’s first ball, when her face, “ready for despair and delight, suddenly lit up with a happy, grateful, childish smile”; an evening of Christmas fun with riding in troikas and fortune-telling girls in mirrors and a fabulous night when Sonya was “in an unusually animated and energetic mood,” and Nikolai was enchanted and excited by Sonya’s closeness; the passion and beauty of the hunt, after which Natasha, “without taking a breath, joyfully and enthusiastically squealed so piercingly that her ears were ringing”; the sedate joy of the uncle’s guitar plucking and Natasha’s Russian dance, “in the silk and velvet of the countess, who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya’s father, and in the aunt, and in the mother, and in every Russian person”... For the sake of These happiness-bringing minutes, much less often hours, are what a person lives on.

2. Creating “War and Peace”, L. Tolstoy was looking for a fulcrum for himself that would allow him to find an internal connection, a cohesion of images, episodes, paintings, motifs, details, thoughts, ideas, feelings. In those same years, when from his pen came the memorable pages where a smiling Helen, shining with black eyes, demonstrates her power over Pierre: “So you still haven’t noticed how beautiful I am?.. You haven’t noticed that I am a woman? Yes, I am a woman who can belong to anyone, and to you too”; where Nikolai Rostov, at the moment of a quarrel and a possible duel with Andrei Bolkonsky, “thought about how pleased he would be to see the fear of this small, weak and proud man under his pistol...”; where the enchanted Natasha listens to Pierre talk about active virtue, and one thing confuses her: “Is it really possible that such an important and necessary person for society is at the same time my husband? Why did this happen?” - in those very years he wrote: “The goal of the artist... is to make one love life in its countless, never-exhaustible manifestations.”

3. Not great historical events, not ideas that claim to guide them, not the Napoleon leaders themselves, but a person “corresponding to all aspects of life” stands at the basis of everything. It measures ideas, events, and history. This is exactly the kind of person L. Tolstoy sees Natasha. Being the author, he puts her at the center of the book; he recognizes the family of Natasha and Pierre as the best, ideal.

4. Family in Tolstoy’s life and work is associated with warmth and comfort. Home is a place where everyone is dear to you and you are dear to everyone. According to the writer, the closer people are to natural life, the stronger the family ties, the more happiness and joy in the life of each family member. It is this point of view that Tolstoy expresses on the pages of his novel, depicting the family of Natasha and Pierre. This is the opinion of the writer, who even today seems modern to us.

List of used literature.

1. Bocharov S.G. Novel by L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. – M.: Fiction, 1978.

2. Gusev N.N. The life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. L.N. Tolstoy at the peak of his artistic genius.

3. Zhdanov V.A. Love in the life of Leo Tolstoy. M., 1928

4. Motyleva T. On the global significance of Tolstoy L. N. - M.: Soviet writer, 1957.

5. Plekhanov G.V. Art and literature. – M.: Goslitizdat, 1948

6. Plekhanov G.V. L.N. Tolstoy in Russian criticism. – M.: Goslitizdat, 1952.

7. Smirnova L. A. Russian literature of the 18th – 19th centuries. – M.: - Education, 1995.

8. Tolstoy L.N. War and Peace - M.: -Enlightenment 1978

Bocharov S. G. Novel by L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace.” – M.: Fiction, 1978 – p. 7

Gusev N.N. The life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. L.N. Tolstoy in the prime of artistic genius, p. 101

For Tolstoy, the family is the soil for the formation of the human soul, and at the same time, in War and Peace, the introduction of the family theme is one of the ways of organizing the text. The atmosphere of the house, the family nest, according to the writer, determines the psychology, views and even the fate of the heroes. That is why, in the system of all the main images of the novel, L. N. Tolstoy identifies several families, the example of which clearly expresses the author’s attitude to the ideal of the home - these are the Bolkonskys, Rostovs and Kuragins.

At the same time, the Bolkonskys and Rostovs are not just families, they are entire ways of life, ways of life based on Russian national traditions. Probably, these features are most fully manifested in the life of the Rostovs - a noble-naive family, living by feelings and impulses, combining a serious attitude towards family honor (Nikolai Rostov does not refuse his father’s debts), and cordiality, and the warmth of intra-family relationships, and hospitality and hospitality, always characteristic of Russian people.

The kindness and carelessness of the Rostov family extends not only to its members; even a stranger to them, Andrei Bolkonsky, finding himself in Otradnoye, struck by the naturalness and cheerfulness of Natasha Rostova, strives to change his life. And, probably, the brightest and most characteristic representative of the Rostov breed is Natasha. In her naturalness, ardor, naivety and some superficiality - the essence of family.

Such purity of relationships and high morality make the Rostovs related to representatives of another noble family in the novel - the Bolkonskys. But this breed has the main qualities opposite to those of Rostov. Everything is subordinated to reason, honor and duty. It is precisely these principles that the sensual Rostovs probably cannot accept and understand.

The feeling of family superiority and dignity itself is clearly expressed in Marya - after all, she, more than all the Bolkonskys, inclined to hide her feelings, considered the marriage of her brother and Natasha Rostova unsuitable.

But along with this, one cannot fail to note the role of duty to the Fatherland in the life of this family - protecting the interests of the state is higher for them than even personal happiness. Andrei Bolkonsky leaves at a time when his wife is about to give birth; the old prince, in a fit of patriotism, forgetting about his daughter, rushes to defend the Fatherland.

And at the same time, it must be said that in the Bolkonskys’ relationship there is, albeit deeply hidden, natural and sincere love, hidden under the mask of coldness and arrogance.

The straight, proud Bolkonskys are not at all like the cozy and homely Rostovs, and that is why the unity of these two families, in Tolstoy’s view, is possible only between the most uncharacteristic representatives of the families (the marriage between Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya), which is why the meeting of Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky in Mytishchi serves not to connect and correct their relationships, but to replenish and clarify them. This is precisely the reason for the solemnity and pathos of their relationship in the last days of Andrei Bolkonsky’s life.

The low, “mean” breed of the Kuragins are not at all like these two families; they can hardly even be called a family: there is no love between them, there is only the mother’s envy of her daughter, Prince Vasily’s contempt for his sons: the “calm fool” Hippolyte and the “restless fool” Anatoly. Their closeness is the mutual responsibility of selfish people; their appearance, often in a romantic aura, causes crises in other families.

Anatole, a symbol of freedom for Natasha, freedom, QT restrictions of the patriarchal world and at the same time from the boundaries of what is permitted, from the moral framework of what is permissible...

In this “breed,” unlike the Rostovs and Bolkonskys, there is no cult of the child, no reverent attitude towards him.

But this family of Napoleon intriguers disappears in the fire of 1812, like the unsuccessful world adventure of the great emperor, all of Helen’s intrigues disappear - entangled in them, she dies.

But by the end of the novel, new families appear, embodying the best features of both families - the pride of Nikolai Rostov gives way to the needs of the family and a growing feeling, and Natasha Rostova and Pierre Bezukhoe create that homeliness, that atmosphere that they were both looking for.

Nikolai and Princess Marya will probably be happy - after all, they are precisely those representatives of the Bolkonsky and Rostov families who are able to find something in common; “ice and fire”, Prince Andrei and Natasha, were unable to connect their lives - after all, even when they loved, they could not fully understand each other.

It is interesting to add that the condition for the union of Nikolai Rostov and the much deeper Marya Bolkonskaya was the absence of a relationship between Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova, so this love line is activated only at the end of the epic.

But, despite all the external completeness of the novel, one can also note such a compositional feature as the openness of the ending - after all, the last scene, the scene with Nikolenka, which absorbed all the best and purest that the Bolkonskys, Rostovs and Bezukhov had, is not accidental.

He is the future...

62. PICTURE OF FAMILIES IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” (I version)

In the novel "War and Peace" the theme of family occupies one of the key positions. Family is the simplest form of unity of people. The novel depicts the stories of the Bolkonsky, Rostov, Kuragin families, and in the epilogue also the Bezukhov family and the “new” Rostov family.

“War and Peace” is seen here not only as a historical and philosophical, but also as a family novel.

The Bolkonsky and Rostov families are contrasted with the Kuragin family, but the Bolkonsky and Rostov families are by no means identical. They embody the philosophical antithesis of simplicity (Rostov) and complexity (Bolkonsky). Kuragins personify aggression and the base aspirations of man. Each family has its own aura, its own spirit, its own inner world.

The Bolkonskys and Rostovs live and exist according to the laws of humanity, they have their own spiritual needs. The members of these families have an internal monologue that is absent in the Kuragins. Kuragins do not create, they only destroy what they touch. Pierre Bezukhoe says about them: “A vile breed.” In his depiction of the Bolkonsky and Rostov families, Tolstoy demonstrates their inner, everyday life. The Kuragins lack the theme of home and family. Home and family do not exist as values ​​for them.

In the Kuragin family, it is not feelings, not humanity, that rule the show, but self-interest and calculation inherent in each member of this family. Kuragins seem to have no inner world. This is emphasized by their portraits: they are detailed, static and seemingly lifeless. The emotionality, movement, dynamism of the portraits of the Rostovs and Bolkonskys, on the contrary, emphasizes the fact that they are alive, that they live not only in body, but also in spirit.

The life of the Bolkonskys is more conflicting than the life of the Rostovs. The Rostovs' emotional attitude to life is built on feelings, on intuition, on the life of the heart. But the Bolkonskys live more subordinate to reason and logic, their life is the life of the mind. The Rostovs' intra-family relationships are simple. Warmth and spontaneity dominate here, some disorder and an atmosphere of universal (with the exception of Vera) love. Order, adherence to traditions and foundations, restraint (although not always) are the principles of the Bolkonskys’ life. They perceive the world through their position, without moving away from it. Their mind and intellect are a barrier to life. Even religion for Princess Marya is not just faith, but a whole worldview. The Bolkonskys seem to be afraid to see themselves as ordinary, simple. Therefore, they “see the light” either after experiencing something very, very strong, or before death (Prince Bolkonsky).

The Rostovs, in contrast to the Bolkonskys, have the ability to directly perceive the world (Patasha). They are natural and simple. The Rostov house opens its doors to many people. They are raising four of their own children (Vera, Nikolai, Natasha and Petya) and two strangers (poor relative Sonya and Boris Drubetskoy). But the poorer the Rostovs become, the more clearly traits appear in the countess, previously a kind and generous woman, that are more characteristic of Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya: stinginess, spiritual callousness, the desire to sacrifice “strangers” for “their own.”

The Rostovs and Bolkonskys may be ugly or too simple (Natasha, Princess Marya), and the Kuragins are beautiful (only Ippolit is an exception), but the Rostovs and Bolkonskys personify two creative principles: male and female, and the Kuragins are the destructive principle, the beginning that destroys feelings .

The Rostovs and Bolkonskys, personifying two opposite poles, two energies, successfully complement each other. Their interaction and complementarity occurs through the marriage of Nicholas to Princess Marya. But only one family is ideal (for the author) - the Bezukhov family. It is harmonious, because the basis of this harmony is the human equivalence of Natasha and Pierre. They enter a new period of life cleared of Napoleonic ideas. In the Bezukhov family, Pierre is the head, the intellectual center. Natasha is the spiritual support of the family, its foundation, because giving birth and raising children, caring for her husband is her life. Natasha gives herself entirely to this.

The Rostov family is deprived of harmony. Countess Marya is smarter than her husband, he is deeper as a person. Nikolai realizes that he will never understand her, that Marya’s spiritual life is closed to him. He is busy with housework and stands firmly on his feet. He is modest and kind, but these qualities do not compensate for his inability to answer for his actions to his own conscience, nor do they compensate for his spiritual poverty in comparison with his wife. The Rostovs and Bezukhovs are close to each other. But they are not measurably far away. Pierre is the future Decembrist, Nikolai is the one who will be on the other side of the barricades. The author chooses a boy, Nikolenka Bolkonsky, as the judge in the dispute between Rostov and Bezukhov about the fate of Russia. He “loved his uncle, but with a slightly noticeable tinge of contempt. He adored Pierre. He didn’t want to be either a hussar or a Knight of St. George, like Uncle Nikolai, he wanted to be a scientist, smart and kind, like Pierre.” The child, having the opportunity to choose between two principles, chooses Pierre.

Tolstoy depicted five families. The Rostovs and Bolkonskys are different, but they create and this is opposed to Kuragin, who destroys. The family of Nikolai and Marya is a fusion of mind and heart, but inharmonious: Marya is spiritually deeper than Nikolai. Only the Bezukhov family is quite good and, one might say, full of harmony, the foundation of which is the complete spiritual equivalence of Pierre and Natasha.

63. PICTURE OF FAMILIES IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” (II version)

The theme of family is present in one way or another in almost every writer. It received special development in the second half of the 19th century. At this time, the family is an object of controversy, polemics, a source of conflict for the main characters, and a means of expressing the author’s ideas.

Despite the fact that in the novel “War and Peace” the leading role is given to the thoughts of the people, family thought also has its own dynamics of development, therefore “War and Peace” is not only a historical novel, but also a family novel. It is characterized by orderliness and chronicity of the narrative. The history of three families (Bolkonsky, Rostov, Kuragin) is fragmentarily presented in the novel, while each of them has its own core and inner world. By comparing them, we can understand what standard of life Tolstoy preached." In accordance with his worldview, a clear hierarchy of families is built in descending order: Rostovs, Bolkonskys, Kuragins. Despite the fact that Tolstoy describes them episodically, in strokes, the reader gets a fairly complete picture the lives of three families.Small details in their depiction play a role in this.

The Rostovs, Bolkonskys, and Kuragins occupy a prominent place in secular society, or rather, in the social life of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But still, Kuragins stand out against their background. They constantly take part in intrigues and behind-the-scenes games (the story of old man Bezukhov’s “mosaic briefcase”), and are regulars at social events and balls. The Bolkonskys and Rostovs rarely appear in society, but they are heard by everyone; known as people with large dowries and connections.

The Kuragins are united by immorality (Tolstoy hints at some secret connections between Anatole and Helen), unprincipledness (an attempt to drag Natasha into an escape adventure, knowing that she is engaged), narrow-mindedness, prudence (the marriage of Pierre and Helen), false patriotism.

The vital spiritual needs of the Bolkonskys and Rostovs are cohesion and love. Drawing the Kuragins, Tolstoy does not give us an accurate picture of their family, does not show them all together; it is unclear whether they live together or not.

When creating images of families, Tolstoy uses a technique characteristic of his work: “tearing off all kinds of masks.” It is mainly used in the description of the Kuragins. For example, in the comparison of Helen with Hippolytus: he “struck with his extraordinary resemblance to his beautiful sister,” but, despite this, “his face was clouded with idiocy.” At the same time, Helen’s beauty immediately fades.

The Bolkonskys and Rostovs show the dynamics of their development, they are moving and improving. They have a rich, intense and complex internal monologue, a deep spiritual world, unlike the Kuragins, who have neither one nor the other. They are motionless, artificial; their portraits are detailed but static. It is symbolic to compare them with inanimate, cold material (Helen’s marble shoulders). None of the Kuragins are ever shown in the lap of nature, while Natasha, Nikolai, Andrey are often present in landscape descriptions. They are part of nature; they know how to feel and understand it, pass it through the soul, and experience it with it. This brings them closer to naturalness, to simplicity, which, according to Tolstoy, were the ideals of human life.

The constant reminder to the reader that Helen is a beauty and Anatole is “extraordinarily handsome” leads him to think that in fact their beauty did not seem to the writer to be true beauty. It looks more like an external gloss, grooming, but there is nothing else behind it.

There is one more feature that helps the reader understand that the Kuragins’ form of life contradicts Tolstoy - their absence in the epilogue. It is easy to notice that at the conclusion of the novel there are characters who are deeply sympathetic to Tolstoy. They changed and improved as a result of searches and mistakes. Kuragins flourish, but do not change.

Tolstoy's point of view on artificiality and naturalness plays a significant role in the novel. Representatives of one side or another are the Bolkonskys and Rostovs.

In the life of the Rostovs, the emotional principle and feeling predominate. They are smart with the “mind of the heart,” so their internal family relationships are much simpler and easier than those of the Bolkonskys. Warmth reigns in their family, “an atmosphere of universal love.” The attitude towards life is formed through the sensory perception of the world, just like a child. This is easily perceptible in the example of Natasha’s internal monologues: they are confused, uncertain, but at the same time they come from the depths of the soul, breaking out with force. The fact that in many cases she lives by feelings is confirmed by the hunting scene: “Natasha... squealed so shrilly that her ears were ringing. With this screech she expressed everything that other hunters also expressed in their one-time conversation.”

In contrast to the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys are “more complex” than them, therefore life in the family of Prince Andrei is more dressed up, the atmosphere is conflictual. Their intellect, will, and logic are more developed. They are smart "with their wits." The Bolkonsky family is dominated by the foundations, orders and laws established by the old prince, therefore relations between family members are dry, restrained, sometimes turning into coldness. They think in the same orderly manner and reason sensibly. For example, for Princess Marya, correspondence replaces friendship. She puts herself completely into the text. Then she has a diary, which also involves the presentation of ready-made, structured thoughts and analysis. Therefore, the Bolkonskys - the personification of the complex, artificial - need the Rostovs as an integral part.

In the novel, all three families carry a certain philosophical load. Drawing images of the Bolkonskys, Rostovs, Kuragins, Tolstoy solves important problems for himself: false and true beauty, good and evil. The function of the Kuragin family is to introduce anxiety, chaos, and anxiety into the lives of two other families. “Where you are, there is depravity, evil,” says Pierre Helen in a fit of anger. Kuragins represent the base material aspects of life. Depicting the Rostovs and Bolkonskys, Tolstoy reveals with their help the philosophical, aesthetic and epic aspects of his worldview.

64. “FAMILY THOUGHT” IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” (I version)

Family. Human society began with her. With the development of civilization, it has not lost its significance. The personality of each of us begins to form from it. The theme of family can be considered one of the main ones in world literature.

She found a vivid embodiment in two novels by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. In the epic novel War and Peace, this is one of the main themes. “Family Thought” formed the basis of “Anna Karenina,” another of his novels. The heroine's love for Vronsky destroys not only her family, but also leads Anna Karenina herself to death.

In the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy shows three different family structures typical of Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century, and their fates over several generations.

The Rostov family is first shown on the countess and Natasha's name day. This family holiday has nothing in common with the evening in Anna Pavlovna’s living room, where the hostess “started up a smooth, decent conversational machine.” For the world, the Rostov family is somewhat strange and unusual. The Count is a "dirty bear" to many. People of the world often do not accept or understand the love, friendship and mutual understanding that characterize this family. These qualities of the Rostovs distinguish them from other characters shown in the novel. But happiness did not come to the Rostov family right away. Tolstoy shows this with the example of Countess Vera, the eldest daughter. “The Countess was wise with Vera,” Count Rostov says about her. The consequences of this experiment are immediately visible: the arrogant and cold Vera seems like a stranger in this friendly family. The rest of the Rostovs are completely different. They are characterized by a sense of patriotism (Nikolai and Petya went to war) and compassion. They are close to the people.

An example of a different way of life is the Bolkonsky family. Their distinguishing feature is pride. It is she who prevents the old prince from showing his feelings. “With the people around him, from his daughter to his servants, the prince was harsh and invariably demanding.” For him there are “only two virtues: activity and intelligence.” In accordance with these beliefs, he raised his children. 5 this family lacks that tenderness and openness that so adorns the Rostov family.

Perhaps this is why Prince Andrei, having married without love, treats his wife as a stranger. “Marry an old man, good for nothing,” he tells Pierre. His wife burdens him. But even after the death of the little princess, Prince Andrei did not find a new goal in life. Although his meeting with Natasha in Otradnoye gave him hope, he was never able to start all over again. People like father and son Bolkonsky are not created for a quiet family life. Great things are their destiny. Therefore, the Bolkonsky family cannot, according to Tolstoy, be called ideal.

The third episode is Kuragin. They are typical of high society: noble, once rich, and now on the verge of ruin. Their family cannot be happy: they give too much to the light. There is no place for sincere, tender feelings where there is a hunt for a huge inheritance and rich brides. Both the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys almost suffered from those people.

The two families whose lives are shown in the epilogue of the novel are completely different. The young Rostov family successfully combines love and understanding. Nikolai rejoices that Marya “with her soul not only belonged to him, but also formed a part of him.” But at the same time he felt that he was “insignificant before her in the spiritual world.” People so different cannot create a strong family.

Another family is the Bezukhovs. Although those around him believe that Pierre is “under his wife’s shoe,” and Natasha has descended and become a slob, their family is truly happy. Yes, Natasha forced Pierre to submit “from the first days of their marriage,” this practically does not constrain him. Often Natasha helps him understand himself. Nikolenka Volkonsky also conveys Tolstoy’s attitude towards this family. He loves Pierre and Natasha with all his soul, and Nikolai Rostov - with a tinge of contempt.

For Tolstoy, “family thought” is one of the most important. In his opinion, not everyone can create and maintain a family. To achieve family well-being, his heroes require not only their desire. Tolstoy gives family happiness only to the most worthy.

65. “FAMILY THOUGHT” IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” (II version)

What does it take to be happy? Quiet family life...<...>the opportunity to do good to people.

L. N. Tolstoy

The genre of “War and Peace” is an epic novel. The scale of Tolstoy’s plan determined the features of the plot-positional structure. Conventionally, in a novel it is customary to distinguish three plot levels - historical, socio-philosophical and family chronicle.

In the “family” part of the novel, the author describes not peasant families, but noble families. He writes about the life of such families because the nobility was not burdened with problems of poverty and survival and they were more concerned with moral problems. Describing the lives of such heroes, Tolstoy studies history through the prism of the destinies of ordinary citizens of the country who shared a common lot with the people. The author turns to the past in order to better understand and comprehend the present.

We find many similar traits in Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, the prototypes of which were members of the family of the writer himself and Sofia Alexandrovna Bers. The constant work of the soul unites Pierre, Patasha, Andrei, Marya, Nikolai, makes them related, makes the relationship between them friendly, “family-like”.

Tolstoy stands at the origins of folk philosophy and adheres to the popular point of view on the family - with its patriarchal structure, the authority of parents, and their care for children.

Therefore, at the center of the novel are two families: the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys. The novel is based on a comparison of the lives of these families.

The Rostov family is closest to Tolstoy. Those around you are attracted by the atmosphere of love and goodwill that reigns here. Naturalness, sincerity, truly Russian cordiality, selflessness distinguish all family members.

Taking the popular point of view, the author considers the mother to be the moral core of the family, and the highest virtue of a woman is the sacred duty of motherhood: “The Countess was a woman with an oriental type of thin face,” she had 12 children. The slowness of her movements and speech, resulting from weakness of strength, gave her a significant appearance that inspired respect.

After the death of Petya and her husband, Tolstoy will call her old age “hopeless, powerless and aimless”, forcing her to die first spiritually and then physically (“She has already done her life’s work”).

Mother is synonymous with the world of family in Tolstoy, that natural tuning fork by which the Rostov children will test their lives: Natasha, Nikolai, Petya. They are united by important qualities inherent in the parents’ family: sincerity and naturalness, openness and cordiality.

From here, from home, is the Rostovs’ ability to attract people to themselves, the talent to understand someone else’s soul, the ability to empathize and participate. And all this is on the verge of self-denial. The Rostovs do not know how to feel “halfway”; they surrender completely to the feeling that has taken possession of their soul. So, for example, Petya will take pity on the French drummer Vincent; Natasha will “revive” Andrei after the trip to Otradnoye with her enthusiastic love of life and will share her mother’s grief after the death of Petya; Nikolai will protect Princess Marya on his father’s estate from the mutiny of the men. For Tolstoy, the word “family” means peace, harmony, love.

Tolstoy treats the Bolkonsky family with warmth and sympathy. Bald Mountains have their own special order and rhythm of life. Prince Nikolai Andreevich evokes constant respect from all people, despite the fact that he has not been in public service for a long time. He raised wonderful children.

He loves children passionately and reverently, even his severity and exactingness comes only from the desire for good for the children. Restrained in his feelings, the old prince hides a kind, unprotected heart and warm fatherly feelings under the harshness of his words.

For him, the arrival and matchmaking of the Kuragins, this “stupid, heartless breed,” is painful and insulting. This was the most painful insult, because it did not apply to him, but to someone else, to his daughter, whom he loves more than himself.”

A year to test the feelings of Andrei and Natasha is an attempt to protect the feeling of their son from accidents and troubles: “There was a son whom it was a pity to give to the girl.”

Tolstoy proves his point: if there is no moral core in parents, there will be none in children. An example of this is the family of Vasily Kuragin.

Tolstoy never once calls the Kuragins family. This alone speaks volumes. Here everything is subordinated to self-interest, material gain.

Even the relationships within the family of these people are inhumane. The members of this family are connected to each other by a strange mixture of base instincts and impulses: the mother feels jealousy and envy of her daughter; the father wholeheartedly welcomes his children's arranged marriages. Living human relationships are replaced by false, feigned ones. Instead of faces there are masks. The writer in this case shows the family as it should not be. Their spiritual callousness, meanness of soul, selfishness, insignificance of desires are branded by Tolstoy in the words of Pierre: “Where you are, there is depravity, evil.”

In the epilogue of the novel, Tolstoy shows two happy families: Nicholas and Princess Marya, Pierre and Natasha.

Having gotten married, Princess Marya brings sophistication and the warmth of confidential communication into the existence of the family. And Nikolai Rostov, not at all possessing such qualities of nature at first, intuitively reaches out to his wife. Slowly, calmly, lovingly, she creates a bright atmosphere in the house, so necessary for everyone, especially children. In this heroine of Tolstoy, there is not just inner beauty and talent, but the gift of overcoming the internal real contradictions of a person. Tolstoy's ideal is a patriarchal family with its sacred care of the elders for the younger and the younger for the elders, with the ability of everyone in the family to give more than they take, with relationships built on “goodness and truth.” Tolstoy considers the family of Pierre and Natasha to be such an ideal family.

Natasha the wife anticipates and fulfills her husband’s wishes. The harmony of their relationship, mutual understanding is exactly what will allow Pierre to feel “the joyful, firm consciousness that he is not a bad person, and he felt this because he saw himself reflected in his wife.”

And for Natasha, family life “reflected only what was truly good: everything that was not entirely good was discarded.”

Having overcome temptations, conquered their base instincts, made terrible mistakes and atoned for them, Pierre and Natasha enter a new stage in their lives. In the Bezukhov family, Pierre is the head, the intellectual center, and Natasha is the spiritual support of the family, its foundation. Pierre's hard work for the benefit of Russia is the most important social contribution of this family.

In “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy, the family fulfills its high, true purpose. Home here is a special world in which traditions are preserved and connections between generations are established; it is a refuge for man and the basis of everything that exists. Home, as a calm, reliable haven, is contrasted with war, family happiness - with senseless mutual destruction.

66. “FAMILY THOUGHT” IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” (III version)

Family. What does it mean in a person’s life? In my opinion, that's it. Listen to this word: “seven I.” Yes, yes, exactly seven I. In a family, people are so close to each other that they feel like one whole, all its members are spiritually connected with each other. Family is that small world in which a person’s character and life principles are formed. Family is the atmosphere into which he is immersed immediately after birth. When a baby is born, the first thing he sees is his family and friends. It depends on them how he will enter human society: whether he will love him, or hate him, or simply remain indifferent. Family ties connect people all their lives. I believe that family is the highest spiritual value.

But families can be different. A family can teach a person to do both good and evil. Family thought is revealed very well in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.” The work talks about three families: Bolkonsky, Rostov and Kuragin.

Bolkonsky. At first glance, there is excessive coldness in the house. But that's not true! Yes, there is strict order in the house, but it does not prevent father, son and daughter from loving and respecting each other. How carefully every morning old Prince Bolkonsky inquires about his daughter’s health! And the fact that the road was cleared before the arrival of Prince Vasily Kuragin makes him furious: “What? Minister? Which minister? Who ordered? They didn’t clear it for the princess, my daughter, but for the minister! I have no ministers!”

Nikolai Bolkonsky believed “that there are only two sources of human vices: idleness and superstition, and that there are only two virtues: activity and intelligence.” Therefore, he himself was involved in the upbringing of Princess Marya and gave her lessons in algebra and geometry in order to develop both main virtues in her. The old prince did not want to see his daughter as an empty socialite: “Mathematics is a great thing, my madam. And I don’t want you to be like our stupid ladies.” The old prince was able to teach the princess to love and respect people, forgive them for their weaknesses, and take care of them. What about the honesty and courage of Prince Andrei, his contempt for secular society? All this was brought up in his son by the old Prince Bolkonsky. Nikolai Bolkonsky loves Prince Andrei so much that on the day of his arrival in Ly?ye-Gory he makes an exception in his lifestyle and lets him into his half while dressing. And what about the young prince? When talking with his father, he follows “with animated and respectful eyes the movement of every feature of his father’s face.” It is with him that Prince Andrei leaves his pregnant wife and asks him to raise his son in the event of his death. Trust and mutual understanding permeate the relationship between father and son. This is how the old Prince Andrei sees off to the war: “Remember one thing, Prince Andrei: if they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man... And if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be... ashamed!” “You might not have told me that, father,” the son replies.

The relationship between brother and sister is touching and tender. Princess Marya blesses her brother with the image, and he, in turn, worries whether his father’s character is too hard for his sister.

But, unfortunately, one common feature of all members of the Bolkonsky family prevents them from understanding the people around them. This is pride, contempt for people who were brought up differently, who have different life principles. This prevents Prince Andrei from being happy with his wife, and the old prince from expressing all his love for his daughter; Princess Marya forms an unfavorable opinion about Natasha Rostova at their first meeting.

And what’s surprising is that there is music playing in the house all the time, symbolizing harmony. Natasha’s singing brings Nikolai out of the gloomy mood, who lost a large sum of money to Dolokhov: “All this, misfortune, and honor, all this is nonsense... but here it is real...”

Family, relatives - this is the main thing, the real thing in a person’s life. During Natasha’s illness, after her unsuccessful escape with Anatoly Kuragin, no one cares about the shame that she brought on the family, everyone only wishes for a speedy recovery for the patient. And when the illness subsided, Natasha’s voice and music began to sound in the house again.

The Rostov and Bolkonsky families are very different from each other: in one, cordiality and hospitality come first, and in the other, duty, service and honor, but there is also something that unites them: these families raise worthy people, honest and courageous, capable love and respect a person.

Kuragins are the complete opposite. L.N. Tolstoy more than once shows how the Rostovs or Bolkonskys get together at the table, not only to have lunch or dinner, but to discuss problems and consult. But we never see the Kuragins gathered together. All members of this family are connected only by a common surname and position in the world, egoism.

Prince Vasily barely manages to keep up from one evening to the next in order to better arrange his material affairs and meet the right people; Anatol Kuragin is enjoying himself with all his might, not caring about the consequences of his behavior, he believes that everything in the world was created only for his pleasure; the beautiful Helen goes from one ball to another, giving everyone her cold smile; Ippolit baffles everyone with inappropriate jokes and anecdotes, but everything is forgiven to him. Prince Vasily could not teach his children goodness; true love and respect are alien to them. All their feelings are ostentatious, just like those of Prince Vasily himself. Coldness and alienation characterize this house. And the saddest thing is that none of the young Kuragins will be able to create a real family in the future. The marriage of Helen and Pierre will be unsuccessful; Anatole, who already has a wife in Poland, will try to kidnap Natasha Rostova.

Natasha and Nikolai Rostov, Marya Volkonskaya will continue the good tradition of their families. A marriage of convenience between Nikolai and Marya will develop into a harmonious union of two people, based on mutual respect.

What about the fragile and musical Natasha? Having become Pierre's wife and having children, she devotes herself entirely to the family. Happiness, peace of mind, the health of her husband and children will become the main things in her life. Natasha will stop going to balls and theaters and taking care of herself. The meaning of her life will be family.

If a family supports a person in difficult times, helps him find harmony with the world around him, and understands himself, isn’t it the highest spiritual value? Yes, such a family, yes. I believe that it was this idea that L.N. Tolstoy wanted to express in his novel. A real family should form only good feelings in a person. Let’s imagine that every person will be brought up in such a family, then the whole society will become a single family, a family in which everyone will be happy.

How often Tolstoy uses the word family, family to designate the Rostov house! What a warm light and comfort emanates from this word, so familiar and kind to everyone! Behind this word is peace, harmony, love.

How are the Bolkonsky house and the Rostov house similar?

(First of all, a sense of family, spiritual kinship, patriarchal way of life (general feelings of grief or joy embrace not only family members, but even their servants: “The Rostov footmen joyfully rushed to take off his (Pierre’s) cloak and take his stick and hat,” “Nicholas takes Gavrila has money for a cab driver"; the Rostovs' valet is as devoted to the Rostovs' house as Alpatych is to the Bolkonskys' house. "The Rostov Family", "Bolkonskys", "The Rostovs' House"; "the Bolkonskys' estate" - already in these definitions the sense of connectedness is obvious: " On Nikolin’s day, on the prince’s name day, all of Moscow was at the entrance of his (Bolkonsky) house...” “The prince’s house was not what is called “light,” but it was such a small circle that, although it was not heard of in the city, but in which it was most flattering to be accepted...".)

Name the distinctive feature of the Bolkonsky and Rostov houses.

(Hospitality is a distinctive feature of these houses: “Even in Otradnoye there were up to 400 guests,” in Bald Mountains - up to a hundred guests four times a year. Natasha, Nikolai, Petya are honest, sincere, frank with each other; they open their souls to their parents, hoping for complete mutual understanding (Natasha - to her mother about self-love; Nikolai - to her father even about losing 43 thousand; Petya - to everyone at home about the desire to go to war...); Andrei and Marya are friendly (Andrei - to his father about his wife). Both families differ greatly parents' care for their children: Rostova, the eldest, hesitates between the choice - carts for the wounded or family values ​​(the future material security of the children). The son is a warrior - the pride of the mother. She is involved in raising children: tutors, balls, outings, youth evenings, Natasha's singing , music, preparation for studying at the Petit University; plans about their future family, children. The Rostovs and Bolkonskys love children more than themselves: Rostova - the eldest cannot bear the death of her husband and the younger Petit; the old Bolkonsky loves children passionately and reverently, even severity and His exactingness comes only from the desire for good for the children.)

Why is the personality of old man Bolkonsky interesting to Tolstoy and to us, the readers?

(Bolkonsky attracts both Tolstoy and modern readers with his originality. “An old man with keen, intelligent eyes,” “with the brilliance of smart and young eyes,” “inspiring a feeling of respect and even fear,” “he was harsh and invariably demanding.” A friend of Kutuzov, he even in his youth he received the general-in-chief. And disgraced, he never ceased to be interested in politics. His energetic mind requires an outlet. Nikolai Andreevich, honoring only two human virtues: “activity and intelligence,” “was constantly busy either writing his memoirs or making calculations from higher mathematics, either turning snuff boxes on a machine, or working in the garden and supervising buildings...” “He himself was involved in raising his daughter.” It is not for nothing that Andrei has an urgent need to communicate with his father, whose intelligence he appreciates and whose analytical abilities he never ceases to be amazed at. Proud and adamant, the prince asks his son to “transmit notes... to the sovereign after... my death." And for the Academy he has prepared a prize for the one who writes the history of Suvorov’s wars... Here are my remarks, after me read for yourself, you will find benefit "

He creates a militia, arms people, tries to be useful, to put his military experience into practice. Nikolai Andreevich sees in his heart the sacredness of his son and himself helps him in a difficult conversation about the wife he is leaving and his unborn child.

And the year unfinished by the old prince to test the feelings of Andrei and Natasha is also an attempt to protect the feeling of his son from accidents and troubles: “There was a son whom it was a pity to give to the girl.”

The old prince took care of the upbringing and education of his children himself, not trusting or entrusting this to anyone.)

Why is Bolkonsky demanding of his daughter to the point of despotism?

(The key to the solution is in the phrase of Nikolai Andreevich himself: “And I don’t want you to be like our stupid young ladies.” He considers idleness and superstition to be the source of human vices. And the main condition for activity is order. A father, proud of his son’s intelligence, knows , that between Marya and Andrey there is not only complete mutual understanding, but also sincere friendship, based on unity of views. Thoughts... He understands how rich the spiritual world of his daughter is; knows how beautiful she can be in moments of emotional excitement. That is why he is so painful for him the arrival and matchmaking of the Kuragins, this “stupid, heartless breed.”)

When and how will paternal pride manifest itself in Princess Marya?

(She will be able to refuse Anatoly Kuragin, whom her father brought to woo the Bolkonskys; she will indignantly reject the patronage of the French general Rom; she will be able to suppress her pride in the scene of farewell to the bankrupt Nikolai Rostov: “don’t deprive me of your friendship.” She will even say in her father’s phrase: “To me It will hurt.")

How does the Bolkonsky breed manifest itself in Prince Andrei?

(Like his father. Andrei will be disillusioned with the world and will go into the army. The son will want to realize his father’s dream of a perfect military manual, but Andrei’s work will not be appreciated. Kutuzov will appoint the son of a service comrade as an adjutant and will write to Nikolai Andreevich that Andrei promises to be an outstanding officer. The courage and personal bravery of the young Bolkonsky in the Battle of Austerlitz does not lead the hero to the heights of personal glory, and participation in the Battle of Shengraben convinces that true heroism is modest, and the hero is outwardly ordinary. That is why it is so bitter to see Captain Tushin, who, according to Andrei's conviction, "owed to the success of the day", ridiculed and punished at a meeting of officers. Only Andrei will stand up for him, will be able to go against the general opinion.

Andrei’s work is as tireless as his father’s work... Work in the Speransky commission, an attempt to draw up and approve his plan for the deployment of troops at Shengraben, the liberation of the peasants, and the improvement of their living conditions. But during the war, the son, like his father, sees his main interest in the general course of military affairs.)

In what scenes will the feeling of fatherhood in the old man Bolkonsky manifest itself with particular force?

(Nikolai Andreevich does not trust anyone not only with his fate, but even with the upbringing of his children. With what “outer calm and inner malice” does he agree to Andrei’s marriage to Natasha; the impossibility of being separated from Princess Marya pushes him to desperate, evil, bilious actions: The groom will tell his daughter: "... there is no point in disfiguring yourself - and she is so bad." He was insulted by the Kuragins' matchmaking for his daughter. The insult was the most painful, because it did not apply to him, to his daughter, whom he loved more than himself.")

Re-read the lines about how the old man reacts to his son’s declaration of love for Rostova: he screams, then “plays the subtle diplomat”; the same techniques as when the Kuragins were matchmaking with Marya.

How will Marya embody her father's ideal of a family?

(She will become demanding of her children like a father, observing their behavior, encouraging them for good deeds and punishing them for evil ones. A wise wife, she will be able to instill in Nikolai the need to consult with himself, and noticing that his sympathies are on the side of his youngest daughter, Natasha , reproaches him for this. She will reproach herself for what she thinks is not enough love for her nephew, but we know that Marya is too pure of soul and honest, that she never betrayed the memory of her beloved brother, that for her Nikolenka is a continuation of the prince Andrey. She will call her eldest son “Andryusha.”)

How does Tolstoy prove his idea that if there is no moral core in parents, there will not be one in children either?

(Vasil Kuragin is the father of three children, but all his dreams come down to one thing: to find a better place for them, to sell them off. All the Kuragins easily endure the shame of matchmaking. Anatole, who accidentally met Marya on the day of the matchmaking, holds Burien in his arms. Helen calmly and frozen The beauty's smile was condescending towards the idea of ​​her family and friends to marry her to Pierre. He, Anatole, was only slightly annoyed by the unsuccessful attempt to take Natasha away. Only once will their “control” change them: Helen will scream for fear of being killed by Pierre, and her brother will cry as a woman who has lost her leg. Their calmness comes from indifference to everyone except themselves: Anatole “had the ability of calm and unchangeable confidence, precious to the world.” Their spiritual callousness and meanness will be branded by the most honest and delicate Pierre, and therefore the accusation will sound from his lips , like a shot: “Where you are, there is depravity, evil.”

They are alien to Tolstoy's ethics. Egoists are closed only to themselves. Barren flowers. Nothing will be born from them, because in a family one must be able to give others the warmth of the soul and care. They only know how to take: “I’m not a fool to give birth to children” (Helen), “We need to take a girl while she’s still a flower in the bud” (Anatole).)

Marriages of convenience... Will they become a family in Tolstoy's sense of the word?

(The dream of Drubetsky and Berg came true: they married successfully. In their houses everything is the same as in all rich houses. Everything is as it should be: comme il faut. But the rebirth of the heroes does not occur. There are no feelings. The soul is silent.)

But a true feeling of love regenerates Tolstoy’s favorite heroes. Describe it.

(Even the “thinking” Prince Andrei, in love with Natasha, seems different to Pierre: “Prince Andrei seemed and was a completely different, new person.”

For Andrey, Natasha’s love is everything: “happiness, hope, light.” “This feeling is stronger than me.” “I wouldn’t believe anyone who told me that I could love like that.” “I can’t help but love the world, it’s not my fault,” “I’ve never experienced anything like this.” “Prince Andrei, with a radiant, enthusiastic and renewed face, stopped in front of Pierre...”

Natasha responds to Andrei’s love with all her heart: “But this, this has never happened to me.” “I can’t bear the separation”...

Natasha comes to life after Andrei’s death under the rays of Pierre’s love: “The whole face, gait, look, voice - everything suddenly changed in her. The power of life, unexpected for her, hopes for happiness surfaced and demanded satisfaction,” “The change... surprised Princess Marya.”

Nikolai “drew closer and closer to his wife, discovering new spiritual treasures in her every day.” He is happy with his wife’s spiritual superiority over him and strives to be better.

The hitherto unknown happiness of love for her husband and children makes Marya even more attentive, kinder and more gentle: “I would never, never believe,” she whispered to herself, “that you could be so happy.”

And Marya worries about her husband’s temper, she worries painfully, to the point of tears: “She never cried from pain or annoyance, but always from sadness and pity. And when she cried, her radiant eyes acquired an irresistible charm.” In her face, “suffering and loving,” Nikolai now finds answers to the questions that torment him, he is proud of him and is afraid of losing her.

After separation, Natasha meets Pierre; her conversation with her husband takes a new path, contrary to all the laws of logic... Already because at the same time they were talking about completely different subjects... This was the surest sign that “they completely understand each other.”)

Love gives vigilance to their souls, strength to their feelings.

They can sacrifice everything for their loved one, for the happiness of others. Pierre belongs undividedly to the family, and she belongs to him. Natasha leaves all her hobbies. She has something more important, the most precious thing - family. And the family cares about its main talent - the talent of care, understanding, love. They: Pierre, Natasha, Marya, Nikolai - the embodiment of family thought in the novel.

But Tolstoy’s “family” epithet itself is much broader and deeper. Can you prove it?

(Yes, the family circle is Raevsky’s battery; the father and children are Captain Tushin and his batteries; “everyone looked like children”; the father of the soldiers is Kutuzov. And the girl Malashka Kutuzov is the grandfather. That’s how she will call the commander in a related way. Kutuzov, having learned from Andrei about the death of Nikolai Andreevich, will say that now he is the father for the prince. The soldiers stopped the words Kamensky - father to Kutuzov - father. “A son worried about the fate of the Motherland,” - Bagration, who in a letter to Arakcheev will express his son’s concern and love to Russia.

And the Russian army is also a family, with a special, deep sense of brotherhood, unity in the face of common misfortune. The exponent of the people's worldview in the novel is Platon Karataev. He, with his fatherly, fatherly attitude towards everyone, became for Pierre and for us the ideal of serving people, the ideal of kindness, conscientiousness, a model of “moral” life - life according to God, life “for everyone”.

Therefore, together with Pierre, we ask Karataev: “What would he approve of?” And we hear Pierre’s answer to Natasha: “I would approve of our family life. He so wanted to see beauty, happiness, tranquility in everything, and I would proudly show him us.” It is in the family that Pierre comes to the conclusion: “...if vicious people are connected with each other and constitute a force, then honest people only need to do the same. It’s so simple.”)

Maybe Pierre, raised outside the family, put his family at the center of his future life?

(What is amazing about him, a man, is his childlike conscientiousness, sensitivity, ability to respond with his heart to the pain of another person and alleviate his suffering. “Pierre smiled with his kind smile,” “Pierre sat awkwardly in the middle of the living room,” “he was shy.” He feels his mother’s despair , who lost a child in burning Moscow; empathizes with the grief of Marya, who lost her brother; considers himself obligated to reassure Anatole and asks him to leave, and in the salon of Scherer and his wife he will deny rumors about Natasha’s escape with Anatole. Therefore, the goal of his public service is good, “active virtue".)

In which scenes of the novel does this property of Pierre’s soul manifest itself especially clearly?

(Both Nikolai and Andrei call Pierre a big child. Bolkonsky will entrust the secret of love for Natasha to him, Pierre. He will entrust Natasha, the bride, to him. He will advise her to turn to him, Pierre, in difficult times. “With a heart of gold,” a glorious fellow ", Pierre will be a real friend in the novel. It is with him that Natasha's aunt Akhrosimova will consult regarding her beloved niece. But it is he, Pierre, who will introduce Andrei and Natasha at the first adult ball in her life. He will notice the confusion of Natasha's feelings, which no one invited dance, and will ask his friend Andrey to engage her.)

What are the similarities and differences between the mental structure of Pierre and Natasha?

(The structure of the soul of Natasha and Pierre is in many ways similar. Pierre, in an intimate conversation with Andrei, confesses to a friend: “I feel that, besides me, spirits live above me and that there is truth in this world,” “we lived and will live forever there, in everything (he pointed to the sky)." Natasha "knows" that in her previous life everyone was an angel. Pierre was the first to feel this connection very keenly (he is older) and involuntarily worried about Natasha's fate: he was happy and for some reason sad, When he listened to Andrei’s confession of his love for Rostova, he seemed to be afraid of something.

But Natasha will also be afraid for herself and for Andrei: “I’m so afraid for him and for myself, and for everything I’m afraid...” And Andrei’s feeling of love for her will be mixed with a feeling of fear and responsibility for the fate of this girl.

This will not be the feeling for Pierre and Natasha. Love will revive their souls. There will be no room for doubt in the soul, everything will be filled with love.

But the insightful Tolstoy saw that even at the age of 13, Natasha, with her responsive to everything truly beautiful and kind soul, noted Pierre: at the table she looked from Boris Drubetsky, whom she vowed to “love until the very end,” to Pierre; Pierre is the first adult man whom he invites to dance; it is for Pierre that the girl Natasha takes a fan and pretends to be an adult. "I love him so much".

The “unchanging moral certainty” of Natasha and Pierre can be traced throughout the entire novel. “He did not want to curry public favor,” he built his life on internal personal foundations: hopes, aspirations, goals, which were based on the same family interests; Natasha does what her heart tells her. In essence, Tolstoy emphasizes that “doing good” for his favorite heroes means responding “purely intuitively, with heart and soul” to others. Natasha and Pierre sense and understand, “with their characteristic sensitivity of heart,” the slightest falsehood. At the age of 15, Natasha says to her brother Nikolai: “Don’t be angry, but I know that you won’t marry her (Sonya). “Natasha, with her sensitivity, also noticed her brother’s condition,” “She knew how to understand what was ... in every Russian person,” Natasha “understands nothing” in Pierre’s sciences, but attributes great importance to them. They never “use” anyone and call for only one type of connection - spiritual kinship. They truly feel it, experience it: they cry, scream, laugh, share secrets, despair and again look for the meaning of life in caring for others.)

What is the importance of children in the Rostov and Bezukhov families?

(Children for people “non-family” are a cross, a burden, a burden. And only for family people they are happiness, the meaning of life, life itself. How glad the Rostovs are to return from the front on vacation to Nicholas, their favorite and hero! With what love and care they take on hands of children Nikolai and Pierre! Do you remember the same expression on the face of Nikolai and his favorite - black-eyed Natasha? Do you remember with what love Natasha peers into her younger son’s familiar facial features, finding him similar to Pierre? Marya is happy in the family. Not one like the happy ones we will not find family pictures in the Kuragins, Drubetskys, Bergs, Karagins. Remember, Drubetsky was “unpleasant to remember his childhood love for Natasha,” and all the Rostovs were absolutely happy at home: “Everyone shouted, talked, kissed Nikolai at the same time ", here, at home, among his relatives, Nikolai is happy in a way he has not been happy for a year and a half. The family world for Tolstoy’s favorite heroes is the world of childhood. In the most difficult moments of their lives, Andrei and Nikolai remember their relatives: Andrei on the Field of Austerlitz remembers home , Marye; under bullets - about the father's order. Wounded Rostov, in moments of oblivion, sees his home and all his friends. These heroes are living people we understand. Their experiences, grief, joy cannot but touch.)

Can we say that the heroes of the novel have a child's soul?

(They, the author’s favorite heroes, have their own world, a high world of goodness and beauty, a children’s pure world. Natasha and Nikolai transport themselves to the world of a winter fairy tale on Christmas Eve. In a magical dream, 15-year-old Petya spends the last night of his life at the front Rostov. “Come on, our Matvevna,” Tushin said to himself. “Matvevna” was represented in his imagination by a cannon (large, extreme, ancient casting...). And the world of music also unites the heroes, elevating, spiritualizing them. Petya In a dream, Rostov leads an invisible orchestra, “Princess Marya played the clavichord,” Natasha is taught singing by a famous Italian. Nikolai comes out of a moral impasse (losing to Dolokhov by 43 thousand!) under the influence of his sister’s singing. And books play an important role in the lives of these heroes. Andrei stocking up on books in Brünn “for a hike." Nikolai made it a rule not to buy a new book without first reading the old ones. We will see Marya, Natasha with a book in their hands, and never Helen.)

IV. Results.

Tolstoy associates even the purest word “childish” with the word “family.” “Rostov again entered this family children’s world”... “Rostov felt as if under the influence of these bright rays of Natasha’s love, for the first time in a year and a half. That childish and pure smile blossomed in his soul and on his face, which he had never smiled with since he left home.” Pierre has a childish smile. Junker Nikolai Rostov has a childish, enthusiastic face.

The childishness of the soul (purity, naivety, naturalness) that a person preserves is, according to Tolstoy, the heart - the fault of morality, the essence of beauty in a person:

Andrei, on Pratsenskaya Heights, with a banner in his hands, raises a soldier behind him: “Guys, go ahead! - he shouted in a child’s voice.”

Andrei Kutuzov will look at Andrei Kutuzov with childish, unhappy eyes, having learned about the death of the elder Bolkonsky, his comrade in arms. Marya will respond with a childish expression of extreme resentment (tears) to outbursts of her husband’s causeless anger.

They, these heroes, even have confidential, homely vocabulary. The word “darling” is pronounced by the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, Tushin, and Kutuzov. Therefore, class barriers are broken, and the soldiers at Raevsky’s battery accepted Pierre into their family and nicknamed him our master; Nikolai and Petya easily join the officer’s family; the families of the young Rostovs, Natasha and Nikolai, are very friendly. The family develops in them the best feelings - love and dedication.

"People's Thought" in the novel "War and Peace". Historical plan in the novel. Images of Kutuzov and Napoleon. The combination of the personal and the general in the novel. The meaning of the image of Platon Karataev.

Target: generalize throughout the novel the role of the people in history, the author’s attitude towards the people.

During the classes

The lesson-lecture is conducted according to plan with the recording of theses:

I. Gradual change and deepening of the concept and theme of the novel “War and Peace”.

II. “People's thought” is the main idea of ​​the novel.

1. The main conflicts of the novel.

2. Tearing off all kinds of masks from court and staff lackeys and drones.

3. “Russian at heart” (The best part of the noble society in the novel. Kutuzov as the leader of the people’s war).

4. Depiction of the moral greatness of the people and the liberating nature of the people's war of 1812.

III. The immortality of the novel "War and Peace".

For the work to be good,

you have to love the main, fundamental idea in it.

In “War and Peace” I loved popular thought,

due to the War of 1812.

L. N. Tolstoy

Lecture material

L.N. Tolstoy, based on his statement, considered “folk thought” the main idea of ​​the novel “War and Peace”. This is a novel about the destinies of people, about the fate of Russia, about the people's feat, about the reflection of history in a person.

The main conflicts of the novel - Russia's struggle against Napoleonic aggression and the clash of the best part of the nobility, expressing national interests, with court lackeys and staff drones, pursuing selfish, selfish interests both in the years of peace and in the years of war - are connected with the theme of the people's war.

“I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy. The main character of the novel is the people; a people thrown into a war of 1805 that was alien to its interests, unnecessary and incomprehensible, a people who rose up in 1812 to defend their Motherland from foreign invaders and defeated in a just, liberating war a huge enemy army led by a hitherto invincible commander, a people united by a great goal - “cleanse your land from invasion.”

There are more than a hundred crowd scenes in the novel, over two hundred named people from the people act in it, but the significance of the image of the people is determined, of course, not by this, but by the fact that all the important events in the novel are assessed by the author from the people's point of view. Tolstoy expresses the popular assessment of the war of 1805 in the words of Prince Andrei: “Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz? There was no need for us to fight there: we wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible.” The popular assessment of the Battle of Borodino, when the hand of the strongest enemy in spirit was laid on the French, is expressed by the writer at the end of Part I of Vol. III of the novel: “The moral strength of the French attacking army was exhausted. Not the victory that is determined by the pieces of material picked up on sticks called banners, and by the space on which the troops stood and are standing, but a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness, was won by the Russians under Borodin."

“People's thought” is present everywhere in the novel. We clearly feel it in the merciless “tearing off masks” that Tolstoy resorts to when painting the Kuragins, Rostopchin, Arakcheev, Bennigsen, Drubetsky, Julie Karagin and others. Their calm, luxurious St. Petersburg life went on as before.

Often social life is presented through the prism of popular views. Remember the scene of the opera and ballet performance at which Natasha Rostova meets Helen and Anatoly Kuragin (vol. II, part V, chapters 9-10). “After the village... all this was wild and surprising to her. ... -... she felt either ashamed of the actors or funny for them.” The performance is depicted as if it is being watched by an observant peasant with a healthy sense of beauty, surprised at how absurdly the gentlemen are amusing themselves.

“People's thought” is felt more clearly where heroes close to the people are depicted: Tushin and Timokhin, Natasha and Princess Marya, Pierre and Prince Andrei - they are all Russian at heart.

It is Tushin and Timokhin who are shown as the true heroes of the Battle of Shengraben; victory in the Battle of Borodino, according to Prince Andrei, will depend on the feeling that is in him, in Timokhin and in every soldier. “Tomorrow, no matter what, we will win the battle!” - says Prince Andrei, and Timokhin agrees with him: “Here, your Excellency, the truth, the true truth.”

In many scenes of the novel, both Natasha and Pierre act as bearers of popular feeling and “folk thought”, who understood the “hidden warmth of patriotism” that was in the militia and soldiers on the eve and on the day of the Battle of Borodino; Pierre, who, according to the servants, “was taken a simpleton” in captivity, and Prince Andrei, when he became “our prince” for the soldiers of his regiment.

Tolstoy portrays Kutuzov as a man who embodied the spirit of the people. Kutuzov is a truly people's commander. Expressing the needs, thoughts and feelings of the soldiers, he appears during the review at Braunau, and during the Battle of Austerlitz, and during the war of liberation of 1812. “Kutuzov,” writes Tolstoy, “with all his Russian being knew and felt what every Russian soldier felt...” During the War of 1812, all his efforts were aimed at one goal - cleansing his native land from invaders. On behalf of the people, Kutuzov rejects Lauriston's proposal for a truce. He understands and repeatedly says that the Battle of Borodino is a victory; Understanding, like no one else, the popular nature of the War of 1812, he supports the plan for the deployment of partisan actions proposed by Denisov. It was his understanding of the people’s feelings that forced the people to choose this old man, who was in disgrace, as the leader of the people’s war against the will of the tsar.

Also, “people's thought” was fully manifested in the depiction of the heroism and patriotism of the Russian people and army during the Patriotic War of 1812. Tolstoy shows extraordinary tenacity, courage and fearlessness of the soldiers and the best part of the officers. He writes that not only Napoleon and his generals, but all the soldiers of the French army experienced in the Battle of Borodino “a feeling of horror in front of that enemy who, having lost half the army, stood just as menacingly at the end as at the beginning of the battle.”

The War of 1812 was not like other wars. Tolstoy showed how the “club of the people’s war” rose, painted numerous images of partisans, and among them - the memorable image of the peasant Tikhon Shcherbaty. We see the patriotism of civilians who left Moscow, abandoned and destroyed their property. “They went because for the Russian people there could be no question: whether it would be good or bad under the control of the French in Moscow. You can’t be under French rule: that was the worst thing.”

Thus, reading the novel, we are convinced that the writer judges the great events of the past, the life and morals of various strata of Russian society, individual people, war and peace from the position of popular interests. And this is the “folk thought” that Tolstoy loved in his novel.