The idea of family is one of the main thoughts of the novel. Family Thought based on the epic novel War and Peace (Tolstoy Lev N.)
Closely connected with the theme of the people in the novel theme of family and nobility. The author divides the nobles into “haves” (these include Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov), local patriots (old man Bolkonsky, the Rostovs), and secular nobility (the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen).
According to Tolstoy, the family is the soil for the formation of the human soul. And at the same time, each family is a whole world, special, unlike anything else, full of complex relationships. In the novel “War and Peace,” the theme of family, according to the author’s plan, serves as the most important means of organizing the text. The atmosphere of the family nest determines the characters, destinies and views of the heroes of the work. In the system of all the main images of the novel, the author identifies several families, using the example of which he expresses his attitude towards the ideal of home - these are the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, the Kuragins.
The Rostovs and Bolkonskys are not just families, they are ways of life based on national traditions. These traditions were most fully manifested in the life of the Rostov representatives - a noble-naive family living by feelings, combining a serious attitude to family honor (Nikolai Rostov does not refuse his father’s debts), warmth and cordiality of family relationships, hospitality and hospitality that distinguishes Russian people. Talking about Petya, Natasha, Nikolai and the elder Rostovs, Tolstoy sought to artistically recreate the history of an average noble family at the beginning of the 19th century.
During the course of the story, Tolstoy introduces the reader to all representatives of the Rostov family, talking about them with deep interest and sympathy. The Rostov house in Moscow was considered one of the most hospitable, and therefore one of the most beloved. A kind, carefree and forgiving spirit of benevolent love reigned here. This caused good-natured ridicule among some, but it did not prevent anyone from taking advantage of Count Rostov’s hospitable generosity: kindness and love are always attractive.
The most prominent representative of the Rostov family is Natasha - charming, natural, cheerful and naive. All these traits are dear to Tolstoy, and for them he loves his heroine. Starting from the first acquaintance, the writer emphasizes that Natasha is not like other characters in the novel. We see her as a daring child when, at her name day, she fearlessly, despite the presence of Countess Akhrosimova (whom the whole world was afraid of), asks what kind of cake will be served for dessert; then matured, but still just as lively, spontaneous and charming, when she has to make the first important decision - to refuse Denisov, who proposed to her. She says: “Vasily Dmitrich, I feel so sorry for you!.. No, but you are so nice... but don’t... this is... otherwise I will always love you...” There is no direct logic in Natasha’s words , but at the same time they are touchingly pure and truthful. Later we see Natasha with Nikolai and Petya in Mikhailovsk, visiting her uncle, when she performs a Russian dance, causing admiration from those around her; Natasha, in love with Prince Andrei, and then carried away by Anatoly Kuragin. As she grows up, Natasha’s character traits also develop: love of life, optimism, amorousness. Tolstoy shows her in joy, in grief, and in despair, and shows her in such a way that the reader cannot doubt: all her feelings are sincere and genuine.
As the story progresses, we learn a lot of important things about Count Rostov: about the financial worries of Ilya Nikolaevich; about his hospitality and good nature; about how inimitably and fervently he dances Danila Kupora; about how much effort he makes to organize a reception in honor of Bagration; about how, in a fit of patriotic delight, returning from the palace where he heard and saw the emperor, he lets his youngest minor son go to war. Tolstoy almost always shows Countess Rostova through the eyes of Natasha. Her main feature is her love for children. For Natasha, she is the first friend and adviser. The Countess understands her children perfectly and is always ready to warn them against mistakes and give the necessary advice.
Tolstoy treats Petya, the youngest son of the Rostovs, with especially touching sympathy. This is a wonderful, kind, loving and beloved boy, so similar to Natasha, a faithful companion of her games, her page, unquestioningly fulfilling all the desires and whims of his sister. He, like Natasha, loves life in all its manifestations. He knows how to take pity on the captive French drummer, invites him to dinner and treats him to fried meat, just as his father, Count Rostov, invited everyone to his house to feed and caress him. Petya's death is clear evidence of the senselessness and mercilessness of the war.
For the Rostovs, love is the basis of family life. Here they are not afraid to express their feelings either to each other or to friends and acquaintances. The love, kindness and warmth of the Rostovs extend not only to its members, but also to people who, by the will of fate, have become their loved ones. So, Andrei Bolkonsky, finding himself in Otradnoye, struck by Natasha’s cheerfulness, decides to change his life. The Rostov family never condemns or reproaches each other even when an act committed by one of its members deserves condemnation, be it Nikolai, who lost a huge amount of money to Dolokhov and put the family in danger of ruin, or Natasha, who tried to escape with Anatoly Kuragin. Here we are always ready to help each other and stand up for a loved one at any moment.
Such purity of relationships and high morality make the Rostovs similar to the Bolkonskys. But the Bolkonskys, in contrast to the Rostovs, attach great importance to their birth and wealth. They do not accept everyone indiscriminately. A special order reigns here, understandable only to family members; here everything is subordinated to honor, reason and duty. All representatives of this family have a clearly expressed sense of family superiority and self-esteem. But at the same time, in the Bolkonskys’ relationship there is natural and sincere love, hidden under the mask of arrogance. The proud Bolkonskys are noticeably different in character from the cozy and homely Rostovs, and that is why the unity of these two families, in the author’s view, is possible only between uncharacteristic representatives of these families (Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya).
The Bolkonsky family in the novel is contrasted with the Kuragin family. Both the Bolkonskys and the Kuragins occupy a prominent place in the social life of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But if, when describing the members of the Bolkonsky family, the author draws attention to issues of pride and honor, then the Kuragins are depicted as active participants in intrigues and behind-the-scenes games (the story with Count Bezukhov’s briefcase), regulars at balls and social events. The way of life of the Bolkonsky family is based on love and cohesion. All representatives of the Kuragin family are united by immorality (secret connections between Anatole and Helen), unscrupulousness (an attempt to arrange Natasha’s escape), prudence (the marriage of Pierre and Helen), and false patriotism.
It is no coincidence that representatives of the Kuragin family belong to high society. From the first pages of the novel, the reader is transported to the St. Petersburg drawing rooms of high society and gets acquainted with the “cream” of this society: nobles, dignitaries, diplomats, ladies-in-waiting. As the narrative progresses, Tolstoy tears away the veils of external brilliance and refined manners from these people, and their spiritual squalor and moral baseness are revealed to the reader. There is neither simplicity, nor goodness, nor truth in their behavior and relationships. Everything is unnatural, hypocritical in Anna Pavlovna Scherer’s salon. Everything alive, be it a thought and a feeling, a sincere impulse or a topical wit, fades away in a soulless environment. That is why the naturalness and openness in Pierre’s behavior frightened Scherer so much. Here they are accustomed to “decently pulled masks”, to a masquerade. Prince Vasily speaks lazily, like an actor in an old play, while the hostess herself behaves with artificial enthusiasm.
Tolstoy compares the evening reception at Scherer’s to a spinning workshop, in which “spindles made noise evenly and incessantly from different sides.” But in these workshops, important matters are decided, state intrigues are woven, personal problems are solved, selfish plans are outlined: places are looked for for unsettled sons, like Ippolit Kuragin, profitable matches for marriage are discussed. In this light, “eternal inhuman enmity, the struggle for mortal blessings, boils.” Suffice it to recall the distorted faces of the “mournful” Drubetskaya and the “merciful” Prince Vasily, when the two of them clutched the briefcase with the will at the bedside of the dying Count Bezukhov.
Prince Vasily Kuragin, the head of the Kuragin family, is a bright type of enterprising careerist, money-grubber and egoist. Entrepreneurship and acquisitiveness became, as it were, “involuntary” traits of his character. As Tolstoy emphasizes, Prince Vasily knew how to use people and hide this skill, covering it with subtle observance of the rules of secular behavior. Thanks to this skill, Prince Vasily achieves a lot in life, because in the society in which he lives, the search for various kinds of benefits is the main thing in relations between people. For the sake of his own selfish goals, Prince Vasily is developing very vigorous activity. Suffice it to recall the campaign launched to marry Pierre to his daughter Helen. Without waiting for Pierre and Helene’s explanation or matchmaking, Prince Vasily bursts into the room with an icon in his hands and blesses the newlyweds - the mousetrap slammed shut. The siege of Maria Bolkonskaya, a rich bride for Anatole, began, and only chance prevented the successful completion of this “operation.” What kind of love and family well-being can we talk about when marriages are made out of open calculation? Tolstoy tells with irony about Prince Vasily, when he fools and robs Pierre, embezzling income from his estates and keeping several thousand quitrents from the Ryazan estate, hiding his actions under the guise of kindness and care for the young man, whom he cannot leave to the mercy of fate. .
Helen is the only one of all the children of Prince Vasily who does not burden him, but brings joy with her successes. This is explained by the fact that she was a true daughter of her father and early understood what rules she needed to play by in the world in order to achieve success and occupy a strong position. Beauty is Helen's only virtue. She understands this very well and uses it as a means to achieve personal gain. When Helen walks through the hall, the dazzling whiteness of her shoulders attracts the gaze of all the men present. Having married Pierre, she began to shine even brighter, did not miss a single ball and was always a welcome guest. Having openly cheated on her husband, she cynically declares that she does not want to have children from him. Pierre rightly defined its essence: “Where you are, there is debauchery.”
Prince Vasily is openly burdened by his sons. The youngest son of Prince Vasily, Anatol Kuragin, causes disgust from the very first moment of meeting him. When writing a description of this hero, Tolstoy noted: “He is like a beautiful doll, there is nothing in his eyes.” Anatole is sure that the world was created for his pleasure. According to the author, “he was instinctively convinced that he could not live differently than he lived,” that he “must live on an income of thirty thousand and always occupy the highest position in society.” Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes that Anatole is handsome. But his outer beauty contrasts with his empty inner appearance. Anatole's immorality is especially evident during his courtship of Natasha Rostova, when she was the bride of Andrei Bolkonsky. Anatol Kuragin became a symbol of freedom for Natasha Rostova, and she, with her purity, naivety and faith in people, could not understand that this is freedom from the boundaries of what is permitted, from the moral framework of what is permissible. The second son of Prince Vasily - Ippolit - is described by the author as a rake and a veil. But unlike Anatole, he is also mentally limited, which makes his actions especially ridiculous. Tolstoy devotes rather little space to Ippolit in the novel, not deigning him with his attention. The beauty and youth of the Kuragins takes on a repulsive character, for this beauty is insincere, not warmed by the soul.
Tolstoy depicted the declaration of love between Boris Drubetsky and Julie Karagina with irony and sarcasm. Julie knows that this brilliant but poor handsome man does not love her, but demands a declaration of love according to all the rules for his wealth. And Boris, uttering the right words, thinks that it is always possible to arrange it so that he rarely sees his wife. For the Kuragins and Drubetskys, all means are good to achieve success and fame and strengthen their position in society. You can join a Masonic lodge, pretending that you are close to the ideas of love, equality, brotherhood, although in fact the only purpose of this is the desire to make profitable acquaintances. Pierre, a sincere and trusting man, soon saw that these people were not interested in questions of truth, the good of humanity, but in the uniforms and crosses that they sought in life.
Reflection on family values (based on L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”)
Family is one of the greatest values in the life of every person. Family members value each other and see in loved ones the joy of life, support, and hope for the future. This is provided that the family has the correct moral principles and concepts. The material values of a family are accumulated over the years, but the spiritual ones, reflecting the emotional world of people, are associated with their heredity, upbringing, and environment.
In the novel L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" in the center of the story are three families - the Kuragins, the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs.
In each family, the tone is set by the head of the family, and he passes on to his children not only character traits, but also his moral essence, life commandments, concepts of values - those that reflect the aspirations, inclinations, goals of both older and younger family members.
The Kuragin family is one of the well-known in the highest circles of St. Petersburg. Prince Vasily Kuragin, an insincere and narrow-minded man, nevertheless managed to build the most advantageous position for his son and daughter: for Anatoly - a successful career, for Helen - a marriage with one of the richest people in Russia.
When the soulless handsome Anatole talks with the old Prince Bolkonsky, he can hardly restrain himself from laughing. Both the prince himself and the old man’s words that he, young Kuragin, must serve “the Tsar and the Fatherland” seem “eccentric” to him. It turns out that the regiment to which Anatole is “assigned” has already set out, and Anatole will not be “in action,” which does not bother the secular rake at all. “What do I have to do with it, dad?” - he cynically asks his father, and this arouses the anger and contempt of old Bolkonsky, a retired general-in-chief, a man of duty and honor.
Helene is the wife of the smartest, but extremely naive and kind Pierre Bezukhov. When Pierre's father dies, Prince Vasily, the elder Kuragin, builds a dishonest and vile plan, according to which the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov might not receive either an inheritance or a count's title. However, Prince Vasily’s intrigue failed, and he, with his pressure, cynicism and cunning, almost by force unites the good Pierre and his daughter Helen in marriage. Pierre is struck by the fact that in the eyes of the world Helene was very smart, but only he knew how stupid, vulgar and depraved she was.
Both the father and the young Kuragins are predators. One of their family values is the ability to invade someone else's life and break it for the sake of their selfish interests.
Material benefits, the ability to appear but not be - these are their priorities. But the law comes into play, according to which “... there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” Life takes terrible revenge on them: on Borodin’s field, Anatoly’s leg is amputated (he still had to “serve”); Helen Bezukhova dies early, in the prime of her youth and beauty.
The Bolkonsky family is from a noble, most famous family in Russia, rich and influential. Old Bolkonsky, a man of honor, saw one of the most important family values in the extent to which his son would fulfill one of the main commandments - to be, and not to appear; correspond to family status; do not exchange life for immoral actions and base goals.
And Andrei, a purely military man, does not stay as the adjutant of “his Serene Highness,” Kutuzov, since this is a “lackey position.” He is at the forefront, in the center of the battles of Shengraben, in the events of Austerlitz, on the Borodin field. Uncompromisingness and even rigidity of character make Prince Andrei a person extremely difficult for those around him. He does not forgive people for their weaknesses, as he is demanding of himself. But gradually, over the years, wisdom and other life assessments come to Bolkonsky. In the first war with Napoleon, he, being a famous person at Kutuzov’s headquarters, could cordially meet the unknown Drubetsky, who was looking for the patronage of influential people. At the same time, Andrei could afford to treat the request of a military general, an honored man, carelessly and even with contempt.
In the events of 1812, young Bolkonsky, who suffered a lot and understood a lot in life, serves in the active army. He, the colonel, is the commander of the regiment both in thoughts and in the way he acts together with his subordinates. He takes part in the inglorious and bloody battle near Smolensk, walks a difficult road of retreat and in the battle of Borodino receives a wound that becomes fatal. It should be noted that at the beginning of the 1812 campaign, Bolkonsky “lost himself forever in the court world, not asking to remain with the sovereign, but asking permission to serve in the army.”
The kind spirit of the Bolkonsky family is Princess Marya, who, with her patience and forgiveness, concentrates in herself the idea of love and kindness.
The Rostov family are L.N.’s favorite heroes. Tolstoy, which embody the features of the Russian national character.
The old Count Rostov with his extravagance and generosity, the addicted Natasha with a constant readiness to love and be loved, Nikolai, who sacrifices the well-being of the family, defending the honor of Denisov and Sonya - they all make mistakes that cost them and their loved ones dearly.
But they are always faithful to “good and truth”, they are honest, they live with the joys and misfortunes of their people. These are the highest values for the whole family.
Young Petya Rostov was killed in the first battle without firing a single shot; at first glance, his death is absurd and accidental. But the meaning of this fact is that the young man does not spare his life in the name of the Tsar and the Fatherland in the highest and heroic sense of these words.
The Rostovs are completely ruined, leaving their property in Moscow, captured by enemies. Natasha passionately argues that saving the unfortunate wounded is much more important than saving the family’s material assets.
The old count is proud of his daughter, the impulse of her beautiful, bright soul.
On the last pages of the novel, Pierre, Nikolai, Natasha, Marya are happy in the families they have built; they love and are loved, they stand firmly on the ground and enjoy life.
In conclusion, we can say that the highest family values for Tolstoy’s favorite heroes are the purity of their thoughts, high morality, and love for the world.
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“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 private family life.
For L.N. Tolstoy himself, one of his main values was family. The family in which he grew up, without which we would not have known Tolstoy the writer, the family he created
Myself. Family as a school of life and family as an institution. In life, a family is a way of reproduction and the best means to instill moral principles in a person and develop his talents. Family is the transfer of experience of generations, the uniqueness of a nation.
“Family thought” was first seriously touched upon by Tolstoy in “Childhood.” He depicts his family, its climate, the relationship between children and parents and the influence of the family atmosphere on himself. The apogee of the development of “family thought” in Tolstoy’s work was the novel “Anna Karenina”. The novel “War and Peace” examines the Patriotic War of 1812 through the prism of “family thought.”
“War and Peace” describes the life of several noble families: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys and the Kuragins.
The Bolkonskys and Rostovs are families with whom Tolstoy sympathizes. From them come Marya and Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha - the writer’s favorite characters. The members of these families were subjected to three main tests by the writer: social life, love, war. Families are shown not in isolation from the surrounding world, but in close contact with it and contacts with each other. It is in this way that Tolstoy reveals the “family thought.”
In the Rostov family, it was customary not to be afraid to express their feelings: cry, fall in love. This was one of the most hospitable families in Moscow. In addition to their children, they raised Boris and Sonya. An atmosphere of universal love and trust reigned in the house. Love binds all family members. It manifests itself in sensitivity, attention, and closeness. With the Rostovs, everything is sincere, it comes from the heart. In this family, cordiality, hospitality, hospitality reign, and the traditions and customs of Russian life are preserved. Only from such a family can children like Nikolai and Natasha come out. These are people with a strong intuitive beginning, but do not carry any spiritual values. That is why they are drawn to the Bolkonsky family, who carry moral and spiritual values.
The Bolkonsky family has a spartan atmosphere. It’s not customary to cry here, they don’t like guests here, everything here is subordinated to reason. This is an old aristocratic family. In addition to blood ties, the members of this family are also connected by spiritual closeness. Nikolai Andreevich, loving his daughter, forces her to study natural sciences, believing that she is completely bad. However, the princess’s spiritual foundations prevail. The happiness given to her at the end of the novel is a reward for suffering. Prince Andrey is the image of a real man: strong-willed, strong, practical, educated, moderately sensitive.
These two families form, as it were, two halves, and it is quite natural that they are attracted to each other, and they form harmonious couples. The spiritual and practical are reunited in the pair Nikolai - Princess Marya. The same thing should have happened between Prince Andrei and Natasha, but Bolkonsky’s death prevents this.
Tolstoy contrasts the Kuragin family with Rostov and Bolkonsky. Kuragins are a symbol of a degraded family, a family in which material interests are placed above spiritual ones. The members of this family appear before us in all their insignificance, vulgarity, callousness, and greed. Kuragins live an artificial life; they are selfishly occupied with everyday interests. 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. Prince Vasily is so carried away by secular affairs that he has lost all human essence. According to Tolstoy, this family has no right to exist, almost all of its members die. The family of Vera and Berg can be compared with the Kuragins. Their whole life consists of imitating others. Their motto is “like others.” This family will be given children, but they will certainly be moral monsters.
The couple Natasha Rostova - Pierre Bezukhov becomes the ideal of a harmonious family. All of Pierre’s spiritual quests and all of Natasha’s tireless energy went towards creating a strong and reliable family. It is safe to say that their children will grow up healthy physically and morally.
By showing three families most fully in the novel, Tolstoy makes it clear to the reader that the future belongs to families such as the Rostov and Bolkonsky families, who embody sincerity of feelings and high spirituality.
The novel “War and Peace” very clearly emphasizes the huge role of the family in the development of the individual and society as a whole. The fate of a person largely depends on the environment in which he grew up, because he himself will then build his life, following the attitudes, traditions and moral standards adopted in his family.
War and Peace focuses on three families, completely different in the nature of the relationships between people within each of them. These are the Rostov, Bolkonsky and Kuragin families. Using their example, Tolstoy shows how strongly the mentality developed during growing up influences how people build their relationships with others and what goals and objectives they set for themselves.
The first to appear before the readers is the Kuragin family. The nature of the relationship that has developed in her is typical of a secular society - coldness and alienation from each other reigns in their home. The mother experiences jealousy and envy of her daughter; the father welcomes his children's arranged marriages. The whole atmosphere is permeated with falsehood and pretense. 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.”
Relationships in the Rostov house are structured completely differently - here sincerity and love of life are manifested in every family member. Only the eldest daughter, Vera, with her cold and arrogant demeanor, isolates herself from the rest of the family, as if wanting to prove to herself and those around her her own superiority.
But she is nothing more than an unpleasant exception to the general situation. The father, Count Ilya Andreevich, radiates warmth and cordiality and, when meeting guests, greets and bows to everyone equally, not paying attention to rank and title, which already very much distinguishes him from representatives of high society. The mother, Natalya Rostova, “a woman with an oriental type of thin face, about forty-five years old,” enjoys the trust of her children, they try to tell her about their experiences and doubts. The presence of mutual understanding between parents and children is a distinctive feature of this family.
Having grown up in such an atmosphere, Natasha, Nikolai and Petya sincerely and openly show their feelings, not considering it necessary to hide themselves under an artificial mask, they have an ardent and at the same time soft and kind disposition.
Thanks to these qualities, Natasha made a huge impression on Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who saw her for the first time at a time when he was in a state of mental devastation and loss of strength. He did not feel the desire to live further and did not see the meaning in his existence, but she was distinguished by the fact that she did not occupy herself with the search for her higher purpose, and simply lived on the wave of her own feelings, radiating the warmth and love of life that Prince Andrei so lacked.
The main distinguishing feature of the Bolkonsky family was their proud, unbending disposition. Self-esteem is heightened in all members of this family, although this manifests itself differently in each person. A lot of attention was paid here to intellectual development. The old prince, Nikolai Bolkonsky, had a great passion for order. His whole day was scheduled minute by minute, and “with the people around him, from his daughter to the servants, the prince was harsh and invariably demanding and therefore, without being cruel, he aroused fear and respect for himself, which the most cruel person could not easily achieve "
The old prince raised his children in severity and restraint, which taught his children to also be restrained in expressing their feelings. However, this coldness was external, and the father’s enormous love still made itself felt. “Remember one thing, Prince Andrei,” he says to his son, seeing him off to war, “If they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man.” It was thanks to this upbringing that Prince Andrei was able to feel sincere love for Natasha, but the habit of being restrained and a mocking attitude towards emotional fervor made him doubt the sincerity of her love and agree to his father’s demand to postpone the wedding for a year.
The innocence and breadth of soul characteristic of the Rostov family, in which there was something childish and naive, gave these people, on the one hand, extraordinary strength, and on the other hand made them vulnerable in the face of other people's deceit and lies. Natasha failed to recognize the vile motives of Anatoly Kuragin, who was courting her, and the cold cynicism of his sister Helen, thereby exposing herself to the danger of shame and death.
Bolkonsky was unable to forgive Natasha for her betrayal, regarding her actions as a manifestation of depravity and hypocrisy, which he was most afraid of discovering in her. “I said that a fallen woman must be forgiven, but I did not say that I can forgive.”
But the strength of her soul did not allow her to be disappointed in people. Natasha remained just as sincere and open, which attracted the love of Pierre to her, who experienced a feeling of enormous elation after an explanation with her, realizing that all the actions of this girl were dictated by her open, tender heart. “All the people seemed so pitiful, so poor in comparison with the feeling of tenderness and love that he experienced; in comparison with the softened, grateful look with which she looked at him the last time because of her tears.”
Natasha and Pierre were united by a sincere love for life without artificial embellishments, embodied in the family they created. Marriage to Natasha helped Pierre find inner peace after a painful search for the purpose of his existence. “After seven years of marriage, Pierre felt a joyful, firm consciousness that he was not a bad person, and he felt this because he saw himself reflected in his wife.”
We find the same feeling of harmony in the family of Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya. They successfully complement each other: in this union, Nikolai plays the role of the economic head of the family, reliable and faithful, while Countess Marya is the spiritual core of this family. “If Nikolai could be aware of his feeling, he would have found that the main basis of his firm, tender and proud love for his wife was always based on this feeling of surprise at her sincerity, at that sublime, moral world, almost inaccessible to Nikolai, in where his wife always lived."
It seems to me that the author wanted to show how fruitful the atmosphere reigns in houses like those of Natasha and Pierre and Marya and Nikolai, in which wonderful children will grow up, on whom the future development of Russian society will depend. This is why Tolstoy attaches such great importance to the family as the fundamental unit of social progress - the correct moral principles and principles inherited from their ancestors will help younger generations build a strong and powerful state.
L. N. Tolstoy. "War and Peace" “Family Thought” in the novel Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy believed that when working on a work, one must love the “main thought” in it and reduce all other ideas to it. Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya wrote down in his diary his words that, when creating “War and Peace,” he “loved folk thought,” and in “Anna Karenina” - “family thought.” Indeed, “popular thought” is the fundamental idea of “War and Peace” as a historical and philosophical work.
But Tolstoy’s very approach to art history, which involves comprehending the laws of history through a scrupulous study of the entire course of human life, includes an intense interest in the family, therefore “War and Peace” can also be considered as a family chronicle. And Tolstoy’s innovation was manifested not only in his views on art, science and philosophy, but also in his attitude to everything related to the theme of family and everyday life. The novels of the “natural school” were structured in such a way that the attention of authors and readers was focused on social and philosophical problems . The heroes realized themselves in the spiritual sphere, in public service and treated everyday life with deep contempt. “The prose of the natural school in general created ironic pictures of almost all accepted forms of social and domestic life... The everyday, economic, practical-everyday side of life here does not look everywhere as a natural element of the process of human existence: it appears before the heroes as a threat, as the beginning , hostile to everything that is best in their personality,” writes A. Zhuk.
Tolstoy was outraged by this arrogant irony over the foundations of human existence. In the family, in family life, he saw one of the main areas of human self-realization, requiring talent, soul, and creative insights. For him, the family is a microcosm of the human community, the beginning and basis of society. And the most important characteristic of the heroes of War and Peace is their family life.
Three families, three houses, three “breeds” of people form the basis of the “family thought” of the novel: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys and the Kuragins. The world of the Kuragins is a world of the secular mob, of perverted relationships with others and with loved ones. Their family is openly and actively opposed by the author to the world of the Bolkonskys and Rostovs. But the families of his beloved heroes do not at all duplicate each other, they also oppose each other in many ways: it is no coincidence that the elder Rostovs are alien to Prince Andrei, Nikolai is unpleasant; It is no coincidence that Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky will not accept Natasha and will be so opposed to his son’s marriage.
The houses of the Rostovs and Bolkonskys differ primarily in their internal atmosphere. In the Rostov family they openly rejoice and openly cry, openly fall in love and all experience everyone’s love dramas together.
Their hospitality is famous throughout Moscow, they are ready to accept and treat anyone: in the family, in addition to four natural children, Sonya is being raised. Everything is different at the estate in Bald Mountains. There is a spirit of isolation and Spartan restraint reigning there; there it is not customary to be recklessly frank: only in decisive moments of life do they sparingly and carefully pronounce Bolkon’s words of love and open their souls. But it's not just a matter of different lifestyles. These families live in different systems of moral values. And, going out into the world, each hero carries within himself not only the usual family way of life, but also the morality accepted in his home, the attitude towards himself and the world brought up by his parents.
The hospitable and generous house of the Rostovs cannot but charm the reader. Tolstoy describes the Count and Countess with tenderness: these elderly people who have lived their lives together tenderly and reverently love each other; they have wonderful children; in their home it is cozy for both friends and strangers... And we are ready to ignore several dissonant notes in this family harmony: the coldness of Vera, who despises everyone; Sonya's passionate desire to sacrifice herself to benefactors and her fear that the countess will oppose her marriage to Nikolai. However, further, following the fate of the heroes, we will increasingly have to look back at that first evening in the Rostov house and think about the hints dropped by the author, as if in passing. It becomes more and more unpleasant to meet Vera on the pages of the novel. Sonya’s desire to sacrifice herself becomes more and more persistent in order to show how grateful she is to the family that sheltered her.
And Nikolai surprises: a sincere, kind fellow, brave, honest and sensitive - but uninteresting, catastrophically colorless! He does not know how to think at all, he is afraid to reflect: this will be revealed with tragic clarity in the case of Denisov, when loyal delight completely obscures from Nikolai Rostov thoughts about the broken fate of his unjustly convicted friend. And in how, without reasoning, obeying only physical attraction, he rushes to Anatoly Natasha - this Rostov desire to “live by feelings” will also manifest itself, this liberation of oneself from the obligation to think and be responsible for one’s actions. In order to understand Tolstoy’s attitude to the family, to its role in the life of every person and all humanity, it is necessary to pay special attention to female images of the novel.
If a man mainly realizes himself in public service, in the social sphere, then a woman’s world, according to Tolstoy, is the family. It is the woman who creates this microcosm of humanity, and she is responsible for it before people and before God. She raises children, all her life she creates that Home, which becomes her main world, a reliable and calm rear for her husband and the source of everything for the younger generation. She affirms the dominant system of moral values in the house, she spins the threads that connect all members of her family. The Tolstoy House cannot create unloved heroines.
Helen and Anna Pavlovna Scherer, symbolizing for the author not only the lack of spirituality and soullessness of the world, but also the absolute loss of the feminine principle, replaced by the cult of physical beauty, are located on the “negative pole” of the novel. They are confronted by Natasha and Princess Marya. But the world of the novel is not monochromatic, and as straightforward as Tolstoy is in his historical and philosophical reasoning, so secretly and latently does he carry out his most important thoughts about the role of the family, about the highest purpose of women. Here the author does not declare anything openly: he is counting on a thoughtful, thinking reader. Tolstoy is sure: the purpose of a woman is to be a faithful, loving wife and mother, selflessly devoted to her family. But here, too, there is an important, key point for the author: her love and devotion have no right to cross certain limits!
What are these boundaries? To understand them, let’s return to the Rostov family. Where could soulless Vera come from in a kind, loving family?! Count Ilya Andreevich himself tries to explain this phenomenon very simply and equally unconvincingly: “The Countess was being clever with Vera.” It’s unlikely that a loving mother could have done such tricks with her daughter so that a smaller copy of Helen would grow out of her!
What's the matter? It's probably something to do with the "countess" herself.
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