An ideal family in the understanding of L.N. Tolstoy (based on the novel “War and Peace”)

(375 words)

Tolstoy's novel War and Peace was written in 1869. Despite the fact that most of the narrative is occupied by battle scenes and the war with Napoleon, the main storyline is the history of families. The author describes Russian society during the war period, and through genealogical connections it is best possible to show the behavior and feelings of people during a historical upheaval. Family thought in the epic novel “War and Peace” also reveals the writer’s philosophical and moral credo.

We are shown the lives of three different secular families. They are completely different from each other, but their lives are closely intertwined. These are the houses of the Bolkonskys, Rostovs and Kuragins; using their examples, the author presents the family foundations of several generations.

The reader gets to visit the Bolkonskys. The most important member of the family is Prince Nikolai, he believed that everything and everyone in his family should obey strict order. The hero independently taught his daughter the sciences, and also cultivated in her such qualities as intelligence and character.

Princess Marya loved her father, she obeyed him and cared for him with zeal. Her brother Andrei also loved Nikolai Bolkonsky and respected him, but could not tolerate his oppressive morals for long.

The relationship between them was calm, everyone was busy with what they were supposed to do and had their place. They were honest and decent people and, moreover, true patriots, but did not like the light and idle talk in high society.

Unlike the previous family, the Rostovs were close tender love, sincerity, mutual understanding and support. They actively participated in each other's destinies, helping even when the actions of the guilty turned out to be reprehensible. The patriotism that manifests itself in the Rostovs proves the importance of “family thought” in “War and Peace.” The eldest son became a hussar, Natasha gave a cart for the mutilated, the parents sacrificed their home to shelter the victims, and the youngest son Petya heroically died in a partisan battle.

The Kuragins are a family completely opposite to the first two. In this family, no one knows how to love and worry about each other. Prince Vasily lives only for profit and always knows with whom to engage his children, with whom to be friends in order to get a profitable life. He adapts to the situation, and loyalty to the homeland is out of the question in their family.

At the end of the novel, the Bolkonsky and Rostov families become related. They were always connected by spiritual kinship. Tolstoy showed each clan as an individual and unique unit of society, where all members actively live and raise new generations in best traditions ancestors

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The main thought in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” along with the people’s thought, is “family thought,” which was expressed in thoughts about types of families. The writer believed that the family is the basis of the whole society, and it reflects the processes that occur in society." According to Tolstoy, the family is the basis for the formation human soul. And at the same time, each family is a whole world, special, unlike anything else, full of complex relationships. The atmosphere of the family nest determines the characters, destinies and views of the heroes of the work.

1.What is Tolstoy's ideal seven And? This is a patriarchal family, with its holy kindness, with the care of the younger and older for each other, with the ability to give more than to take, with relationships built on goodness and truth. According to Tolstoy, what makes a family a family is the constant work of the souls of all family members.

2. All families are different, but the writer denotes the spiritual community of people with the word “breed” .Mother is Tolstoy’s synonym for peace, her spiritual tuning fork. The main thing without which there can be no real family is sincerity. Tolstoy believes: “There is no beauty where there is no truth.”

3.In the novel we see the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.

A).Family R skeletons - 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.

B). 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.

IN). Unlike the Rostovs, Bolkonskylive with the mind, not the heart . 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.

D).The old Prince Bolkonsky embodies the best traits of a servant (nobility, devoted to the one to whom he “sworn allegiance”). The concept of honor and duty as an officer came first for him. He served under Catherine II and took part in Suvorov’s campaigns. He considered intelligence and activity to be the main virtues, and laziness and idleness to be the vices. 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. “Your path is the path of honor,” he tells his son. And Prince Andrei carried out his father’s parting words during the campaign of 1806, in Shengraben and Battles of 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.

D). These are very different families, but, like any wonderful families, they have a lot in common. Both the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys are patriots, their feelings especially clearly manifested itself during Patriotic War 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.

4. It is on the example of these families that Tolstoy draws his family ideal. Tolstoy's favorite heroes are characterized by:

- constant work of the soul;

- naturalness;

-careful attitude to relatives;

-patriarchal lifestyle;

-hospitality;

- the feeling that home and family are the support in difficult moments of life;

- “childishness of the soul”;

- closeness to the people.

It is by these qualities that we recognize ideal, from the writer’s point of view, families.

5.In the epilogue of the novel, two more families are shown, miraculously uniting Tolstoy’s favorite families. 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.

“All people are like rivers, each has its own source: home, family, its traditions...” - this is what Tolstoy believed. Therefore this great importance Tolstoy attached importance to the issue of family. That is why the “family thought” in the novel “War and Peace” was no less important to him than the “folk thought”

2. The theme of loneliness as the leading motive of M.Yu. Lermontov. Reading by heart one of the poet’s poems (of the student’s choice).

M. Yu. Lermontov lived and worked during the years of the most severe political reaction that set in in Russia after the defeat of the Decembrist uprising. Losing a mother in early age and the very personality of the poet accompanied the aggravation in his consciousness of the tragic imperfection of the world. Throughout his short but fruitful life he was lonely.

1.That is why loneliness is the central theme of his poetry.

A). Lermontov's lyrical hero is a proud, lonely person opposed to the world and society. He does not find refuge for himself either in secular society, or in love and friendship, or in the Fatherland.

B). His loneliness in light reflected in the poem “Duma”. Here he showed how modern generation lagged behind in spiritual development. Cowardice secular society, who cowered before the rampant despotism, evoked angry contempt in Lermontov, but the poet does not separate himself from this generation: the pronoun “we” is constantly found in the poem. His involvement in a spiritually bankrupt generation allows him to express the tragic worldview of his contemporaries and at the same time pass a harsh sentence on them from the perspective of future generations.

Lermontov expressed the same thought in the poem “How often, surrounded by a motley crowd.” Here he feels lonely among the “decorously pulled masks,” and the touch of “urban beauties” is unpleasant to him. He alone stands against this crowd, he wants to “boldly throw an iron verse, drenched in bitterness and anger” in their faces.

IN). Lermontov yearned for real life. He regrets the generation lost to this life, he envies the great past, full of the glory of great deeds.

In the poem “Both Boring and Sad,” the whole life is reduced to an “empty and stupid joke.” And indeed, it does not make sense when “there is no one to shake hands with in a moment of spiritual adversity.” This poem shows not only loneliness Lermontov in society, but also in love and friendship. His disbelief in love is clearly visible:

Loving... but who?.., for a while - not worth the trouble,

And it's impossible to love forever.

In the poem “Gratitude” there is still the same motive of loneliness . The lyrical hero apparently thanks his beloved “for the bitterness of tears, the poison of a kiss, for the revenge of enemies, for the slander of friends,” but in this gratitude one hears a reproach for the insincerity of feelings, he considers the kiss “poison”, and his friends as hypocrites who slandered his.

G). In the poem “The Cliff,” Lermontov allegorically talks about the fragility of human relationships . The cliff suffers from loneliness, which is why it is so dear to him to visit the cloud, which rushed off in the morning, “playing merrily across the azure.”

The poem “In the Wild North” talks about a pine tree standing “alone on a bare top.” She dreams of a palm tree, which “in the distant desert, in the land where the sun rises,” stands, like a pine tree, “alone and sad.” This pine dreams of soul mate located in distant warm lands.

IN In the poem “Leaf” we see the motives of loneliness and the search for one’s native land. An oak leaf is looking for shelter. He “huddled at the root of a tall plane tree,” but she drove him away. And he is again alone in this world. Lermontov, like this piece of paper, was looking for shelter, but never found it.

D). The lyrical hero is an exile not only of society, but also of his homeland, At the same time, his attitude towards his homeland is twofold: unconsciously loving his homeland, he nevertheless, he is completely alone in it. Thus, in the poem “Clouds,” Lermontov first compares his lyrical hero with the clouds (“you rush, as if you were exiles like me...”), and then contrasts him with them (“passions are alien to you and suffering is alien to you”). The poet shows the clouds as “eternal wanderers” - this eternal wandering often carries with it a hint of wandering, characteristic feature Lermontov's hero becomes homeless .

Lermontov’s concept of homeland is associated primarily with the concept of people, labor, and nature (“Motherland”), however, the lyrical hero, a free and proud person, cannot live in “the country of slaves, the country of masters,” he does not accept Russia, uncomplaining, submissive, in which arbitrariness and lawlessness reign (“Farewell, unwashed Russia...”).

2. How does Lermontov’s lyrical hero perceive his loneliness?:

A ) In some cases, doom to loneliness evokes a sad, melancholy mood. Lermontov’s lyrical hero would like to “give his hand” to someone who will understand him and save him from loneliness, but there is no one .In such works as “It’s lonely in the wild north...”, “The Cliff”, “No, it’s not you that I love so passionately...” and others, loneliness appears as the eternal destiny of all creatures and, above all, of man. This is an emotional motive. such poems convey melancholy, awareness of the tragedy of life.

B) However, more often loneliness is perceived by Lermontov’s lyrical hero as a sign of chosenness . This feeling can be called proud loneliness . Lermontov's lyrical hero is lonely because he is above people who not only do not want, but also cannot understand him. In the secular crowd, in general in human society, there is no one who is worthy of a poet. He's lonely because he's... extraordinary person, and such loneliness is really possible be proud. This thought runs through such poems as “No, I’m not Byron, I’m different...”, “Death of a Poet”, “Prophet”, “How often, surrounded by a motley crowd...”, “Sail”.

Concluding the theme of loneliness in Lermontov’s lyrics, it must be said that the poet owns several wonderful works, full of energy and noble indignation, the desire to change the existing reality. His lyrics reflected all the complexity spiritual world poet.

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 glitter of the ball, Helen was so beautiful 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 powerful beauty. She seemed to want 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. On the contrary, his brother’s face was also clouded with idiocy and invariably expressed self-confident disgust, and his body was thin and weak. His 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 Hippolytus can serve as a living example of the fact that even positive idiocy is sometimes presented in society as something of significance thanks to the gloss imparted by knowledge French, and the 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 obliged 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 to burst stretched string, when everyone is waiting for an imminent coup, it is necessary to work as closely as possible and more people to join hand in hand 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! It’s a good boy! The father is lying on the bed, and he’s amusing himself, putting the policeman on a bear. It’s a shame, father, it’s a shame to go 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. People are drawn to the Rostovs, and above all to their common favorite Natasha. the best people: Andrey 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 crude morality of society kills the humanity in him. Tolstoy reveals the complex experiences of Nikolai in the so-called Ostrovny case. For this case, he received the St. George Cross, and was known as a brave man. How did Rostov himself evaluate his behavior in this battle, facing the young man in battle? a 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 action. 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, others will be brought up nice people Russia.

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, dear, smart person, 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 in the depths of the soul there is continuous work. 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!” -

In a brilliant portrayal of the national Russian folk character, the sound of the most precious 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, she 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, regardless. 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.

There is a lot in world literature 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 her 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 hiding about the details in front of Pierre last days her love for Andrey. 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, Natashin last portrait also warmed with warmth and love: “She grew plump and wider, so that it was difficult to recognize in this strong mother the former thin, active Natasha.” 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 so important and the right person for society - 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. 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

Families in the novel "War and Peace"

In Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” the reader unfolds a chronicle of Russia’s participation in the hostilities of 1805 in Austria and the war of 1812. But this is not just a listing of the chronology of events; Tolstoy talks about the war from the point of view of the changes taking place in people's lives.

These were mainly noble families whose sons took part in these wars. Each had their own goals for their participation in hostilities, and they manifested themselves in accordance with the families that raised and educated them. The families were different, and the characteristics of the families in the novel “War and Peace” help to understand the meaning of many of the actions of the heroes of the novel.

The life of two main families runs through the entire novel: the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys. But a deep understanding and awareness of the actions and actions of the members of these families would have been impossible if not for the other heroes of the novel:

• Pierre Bezukhov with his relatives caring for his dying father;
• The Drubetsky family (mother Anna Mikhailovna and son Boris);
• The Kuragin family (Prince Vasily, his sons Ippolit and Anatole, daughter Helen);
• Dolokhov family: Fedor and his mother.

These families are like the embodiment of different moral guidelines and the moods manifested in society at that time.

Citing a description of families in the novel “War and Peace,” Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy leads the reader to think about the role of the family in the life of every person. In all situations described in the novel, the actions of each character are associated with hereditary characteristics not only of appearance, but also of character traits inherent in a particular family.

Rostov family

For the first time, the reader meets the Rostov family, busy preparing to receive guests. From the very first lines the reader is presented with a great Friendly family, where everyone loves each other and those around them. They are open and emotional, when they are sad they cry, when they are happy they laugh, not always thinking about what impression they make on others.

All the children of this kind family, who grew up in love and respect from their parents, expect that those around them will treat them the same way. Honest and direct, they rarely hide their attitude to what is happening.

Bolkonsky family

The Bolkonsky family is completely different. A stern warrior, old Prince Nikolai follows a certain routine in everything, and demands this from his loved ones. According to him, emotions cannot be shown, this is a manifestation of weakness. His children, Andrei and Maria, are equally restrained in expressing their feelings.

Bezukhovs

The old Count Kirill Bezukhov dies at the very beginning of the story, leaving his illegitimate son the title of count and fortune.
Pierre Bezukhov, at first glance standing alone on the sidelines of the family clans, is in fact also a member of Count Bezukhov’s family.

Although Pierre is illegitimate, he is the beloved son of the old dying count, a former handsome man and a favorite of women. The nobility of the count's family gradually manifests itself in the character of Pierre. If at the beginning of the novel we see a young reveler, then at the end he is a serious and thinking man.

Drubetsky

The Drubetsky family, the widow Anna Mikhailovna and her son Boris, can be described as people who seek and find their own benefit in everything. Anna Mikhailovna, for the sake of love for her only son, is ready to be humiliated not only in front of Prince Kuragin, but in front of anyone. Boris, who watches his mother’s actions with seeming condescension, actually also calculates his every step and does practically nothing without benefiting himself.

Kuragins

In the novel “War and Peace,” a description of the Kuragin family can be made from the depiction of various actions of members of this family.

First, Prince Vasily tries to steal the will of Count Bezukhov, then, almost by deception, his daughter Helen marries Pierre and mocks his kindness and naivety.

Anatole, who tried to seduce Natasha Rostova, is no better.

And Hippolytus appears in the novel as an extremely unpleasant strange man, whose “face was clouded with idiocy and invariably expressed self-confident grumbling, and his body was thin and weak.”

Deceitful, calculating, short people, bringing destruction to the lives of those who encounter them during the course of the novel.

Dolokhovs

Fyodor, a reckless and vengeful officer and his unconditionally loving and adoring mother, although they appear on the pages of the novel only a few times, play a serious role in the destinies of the main characters.

Conclusion

The description of the events taking place in the families of the heroes of the novel, the characteristics of the families given by the author, all this, in fact, shows the origins of patriotism Russian army, the reasons for its victories and defeats in the war.

The metamorphoses that occur with the heroes of the novel during the course of the narrative give a clear idea of ​​what is happening in the souls and minds of people living in Russia during that period.

Work test

“War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which is reflected 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 heroes. 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 lives of several noble families: Rostov, Bolkonsky and Kuragin.

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 road -- road honor,” he says to his son. And Prince Andrei fulfills his father’s instructions 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. Tolstoy's novel family national

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 dear ones - 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 divorced from folk life, 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 spiritual kindness in relation to 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.