A Russian Classic Revisited: Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

To read War and Peace is to read into the fabric of humanity. To read War and Peace is to delve into the relationships that bind us together as humans, and allow us to weather the good times and the bad times with a tempered dignity befitting our narrow definitions of what it means to be human. Written by Leo Tolstoy at his estate of Yasnaya Polyana south of

Moscow over the course of several years, the work has been lauded as one of the most ambitious books ever written in terms of its scope.

Tolstoy, the omnipresent force in Russian Literature of the 19th century wrote War and Peace at a turbulent time in Russian history, following the troubling defeat the empire suffered in the Crimean War. The quasi-novel is set in the salons of Moscow, the halls of St. Petersburg, as well as upon the killing fields of Austerlitz, Schongraben, and Borodino. Tolstoy guides the reader with a deftly descriptive pen through the battlefields, for example: “Over Borodino and on both sides of it- especially to the left where the Voyna flowed through the marshy land and fell into the Kolocha- hung a mist that spread, dissolved and grew translucent in the brilliant sunlight…” (948).

Contrary to the initial impression, Tolstoy only glorifies the still moments before battle, where the sunlight glints off of both the steel used by the men of the East and the men of the West, to maim their brothers. Over a century of shifting maneuvers and coalitions had led up to these moments, at Borodino, and again at Moscow. The French had broken free of their geographical constraints by simultaneously making war upon their hereditary foes: England, Austria, Prussia, and Spain. Now, having vanquished three, and with England barely treading water, Napoleon’s forces met Czar Alexander’s armies on these fields -- the emperors locked horns in the ultimate contest for European supremacy.

Once the cannonades subside, however, Tolstoy steps back to try to grapple with the essential question underlying, and haunting this enormous war: the reason behind it. One finds Tolstoy’s reasoning for the Napoleonic Wars in the idea that:

If... great men lead humanity towards the attainment of certain goals- the grandeur of Russia and France, the balance of power in Europe, the dissemination of the ideas of the Revolution...Then it is impossible to explain the phenomena of History without the concepts of Chance and Genius. (1354)

These concepts serve to illustrate Tolstoy’s idea that it is an accumulation of small reasons which only amount to a speck of dust, insignificant to men such as Napoleon. Yet these seemingly insignificant justifications for war ultimately lead to millions of men taking up arms against those who had no predisposition of engaging in slaughter. This concept is applicable today, as we question our own country’s role abroad and the reasons behind our interventions in conflicts around the globe.

Overall, this masterpiece of Russian literature weaves people together with places and periods of time that stand immortal. Examples of this are evident towards the twilight of the novel, when Pierre Bezukhov, the protagonist, suddenly becomes seized by the desire to lead a simple life. While this does not last, however, the lessons learned by his exemplary and extraordinary desire to seek a greater meaning in life are quite intriguing, for these heated desires lead Pierre to become a Freemason, and later to duel Dolokhov in a clash of epic proportions.

All of the characters in this work do not follow a linear progression. One of these characters is Natasha Rostova, who completes a radical change by the end of the book. The meaning of each change is not easily deciphered, however. Natasha’s ever-twisting progression from a debauched songbird to a matronly and rather concordant disposition does not have a clear meaning. Is the marriage of Pierre to Natasha tying back to the theme that “all’s well that ends well?” And from a historical perspective; how can we see the author’s momentous decision not to portray the Russian march to Paris between 1813 to 1815? Is that Tolstoy’s way of condemning the tide of nationalist patriotism which has impacted upon Russia as upon many modern states? War and Peace, massive in scope and ambition, remains relevant today; offering didactic lessons on the questionable motives of men, the power of love, and the sweep of nations and their multifarious and sometimes violent cataclysms.