War and Peace: An Exposé of Human Transience by KaylaS

When Darius, King of Persia first invaded Greece in 490 B.C., he expected to totally annihilate the Greeks, with good reason. He outnumbered them two to one and had a united, strong, fresh army ready to macerate the little Greeks. He arrived at Marathon, Greece, arrogant, but woefully unprepared for the task ahead. Unfortunately for Persia he forgot to take into account the resilience of the Greek soldiers.  Few Athenians perished during the now-famous Battle of Marathon, but many Persians were slaughtered. A small, inexperienced military force had pulverized Darius’ once-strong army.

While some might point to Greece’s unity as the reason for her success, Greece prevailed only because of Darius’ pride. His belief in his own apparent invincibility was his greatest downfall. Most difficulties in life today come from our heightened estimation of ourselves. Instead of having a healthy view of our own weaknesses, we often value pride, calling it self-esteem rather than arrogance. From Ancient Greece to Modern America, pride has always been the Achilles Heel of civilization. This attitude shows itself in the books and writings of cultures past and present.

When he wrote War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy did not ignore human weaknesses like some have done. His frank and complete description of several different flaws in human nature endears him to the reader and helps them to examine their own lives. Each of his characters has a particular flaw common to the human race, and he does not shirk from depicting them for what they really are. One of his critics remoarked about the tome,

“There are unendurable things in it and there are wonderful things in it, and the wonderful things—they predominate—are so magnificently good that no one has ever written better and it is doubtful if anything as good has ever been written before” (Chute 56).

Such an enduring novel should be read and carefully considered by the students and adults of today’s world.

            Tolstoy’s descriptions of defects in humans are accurate and needed in literature. Students and Christians should read War and Peace and use it as a tool for introspection.

            Brilliantly, Leo Tolstoy exposes different defects in War in Peace, the first of which is lack of self-control. Secondly, he depicts the pitfalls of infidelity, followed by the enormous consequences of a life of selfishness. Fourthly, he shows the dangers of cynicism, and concludes with portraying the result of hatred toward others.

            Pierre Bezukhov, the rich, illegitimate only child of the wealthy Count Bezukhov, never understands the meaning of moderation. Whenever he learns of a new philosophy, he pursues it relentlessly. Fascination with a beautiful woman consumes him to the point he can barely think. When he first meets her he,

“lowered his eyes, raised them again, and wanted to see her once more as a distant, alien beauty, the way he had seen her every day before then; but he could no longer do that. Could not, just as a man who once looked at a stalk of tall grass in the mist and saw it as a tree, can look at the stalk of grass itself and once more see it as a tree. She was terribly close to him. She already had power over him. And there were no longer any obstructions between them, except for the obstruction of his own will” (War and Peace, 206).

Pierre has no self-control. Once he desires Hélène, nothing stands in the way of his desires. He pursues her blunderingly and lustfully. Due to her own lack of self-control, Hélène accepts his advances and encourages them flirtatiously. Interestingly, Pierre is so enticed by her beauty that he cannot remember how to say “I love you” in French.  Food entices him temptingly. In fact, Pierre “was clumsy. Fat, unusually tall, broad, with enormous hands” (War and Peace, 22).  He was known amongst his friends for his gluttony for food and wine.

Interestingly, Tolstoy does not attempt to idealize Pierre’s appearance, like so many other authors have done with their main characters. His struggle with restraint shows itself in his obesity. Fat and unattractive, Pierre in his gluttony presents an unsightly picture. The Bible also eschews gluttony. Solomon writes in Proverbs 23:20-21, “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” Clearly, Christians are not called to a life of intemperance; however, many fall into this common trap. In Proverbs 25:28, Solomon observes,  “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Apparently, God looks down upon those who live immoderately. In fact, one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control in all things. This does not mean abstaining from food, wine, love, etc altogether. Rather, it means to enjoy all things in moderation., Tolstoy does not shrink from exposing such a grave human error by examining it in the character of Pierre.

            Very few Americans remain physically faithful to their spouse during their marriages. The majority of marriages today end in divorce. Sadly, most do not value fidelity in marriage like they should. Hebrews 13:4 calls Christians to, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” In a time where teenagers are encouraged to promiscuity, parents should hardly expect them to embrace ‘undefilement’ once married. Clearly, there is nothing new under the sun.

Most of Tolstoy’s married characters are unfaithful to their spouses. Hélène Bezukhov only marries her husband Pierre because of his wealth. Then, she ruins her marriage by callously flirting with every young man in sight, moves out, and accuses Pierre of adultery in order to gain an annulment from the church. Notoriously, Tolstoy himself misused and emotionally abused his wife. He forced her to write out and edit his enormous novel, even while she was pregnant. Indeed, he died after contracting pneumonia from leaving his wife in the dead of winter at age 82 (Yenne 47). Surely, Tolstoy must have based his realistic view of marriage on his own.

Natasha Rostov begins an emotional affair with an immoral gambler named Anatole Kuragin. Tolstoy uses her persona to juxtapose true love and physical attraction. Contrastingly to her relationship with her fiancé, her relationship with Anatole is merely lust. When he first meets her, Anatole, “

“Never took his smiling eyes from Natasha’s face, neck, and bared arms. Natasha knew beyond doubt that he admired her. She enjoyed that, but for some reason his presence made her feel constrained, hot, and op pressed. When she was not looking at him, she felt that he was looking at her shoulders, and she involuntarily intercepted his glance, preferring that he look into her eyes. But, looking into his eyes, she felt with fear that between him and her that barrier of modesty, which she had always felt between herself and other men, was not there at all. Without knowing how herself, after five minutes she felt terribly close to this man. Whenever she turned away, she was afraid he might take her bare arm from behind or kiss her on the neck. They talked about the simplest things, and she felt that they were closer than she had ever been with any man…She kept feeling that she was doing something indecent in speaking with him” (War and Peace, 565).

Poignantly, Tolstoy shows what lust really looks like, and the dangerous path of infidelity it encourages. Today, television shows, romance novels, and explicit movies idealize and dramatize lust. They make lust seem necessary if one desires true love. “Following your heart” is the biggest stress of such media, even down to movies produced by Disney for small children. However, the Bible teaches us that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Rather than glorifying their actions, Tolstoy shows the ridiculousness but also the stark reality of lust.

Sadly, Natasha nearly elopes with Anatole, and ruins her engagement to Prince Andrei. One unfaithful move changed Natasha and Andrei’s life forever. Tolstoy’s graphic depiction of adultery is greatly needed. People today call adultery “affairs” instead of labeling them as sin. Tolstoy, father of twelve children, wrote a letter to his oldest son after his marriage. In it he encourages,

“To make marriage, union with one you live, the principal aim of life, displacing everything else, s a great mistake. And an obvious one, if you think about it. Object—marriage. Well, you marry, and what then? If you had no other purpose in life before marriage, it will be doubly hard, terribly hard, almost impossible to find one afterward” (Tolstoy, 210).

As in his letter Tolstoy uses his book to show what true marital fidelity looks like: a walking ‘hand in hand’ towards a common goal in a marriage. Rather than glamorizing so called ‘affairs’ Tolstoy shows their putrescence, as he should. Reading this clear, unappetizing description of such a common sin would greatly benefit our society.

However, unfaithfulness in marriage is not the only way people misconstrue fidelity. Children everywhere get away with ingratitude and disrespect, for parents brush it aside as, “It’s just a phase.” If that is the case, then all of humanity is in a phase, and a corrupt, immoral one at that. The popular modern television series Supernanny features a British psychologist nanny who comes and helps parents with disobedient and rebellions children. However, rather than addressing the sin issue of disrespect and unfaithfulness to parents, the nanny only really corrects the parents for employing the wrong technique necessary for their children’s particular phases. Certainly, today’s culture has a skewed view of filial obedience and faithfulness if it is taught only through behavior modification.

Yet again, Tolstoy does not shirk his duty by avoiding such a painful subject. Instead, he describes characters such as Nikolai Rostov, who plays cards and loses his family’s entire fortune. His one decision rooted in infidelity ruins his family’s well being. Tolstoy’s descriptions show the consequences of different manifestations of infidelity, and why it should be avoided at all costs.

To contrast, Princess Marya Bolkonsky has a completely different view of her father. She does not see him as a source of income, or someone to make fun of. Instead, she honors her grouchy old father with her thoughts, words and actions. For example when her father made fun of her for her seeming inability to do Geometry, Marya accepts his criticism humbly. She does not become angry at his harsh words about her stupidity, but becomes brokenhearted and seeks to do better. Also, though he treats her poorly, Prince Bolkonsky does not want Marya to marry when she receives her first proposal. Marya could have taken this opportunity to escape her rude father forever, but instead accepts his wishes. Even when he gives her the ability to choose for herself, Marya still declines, as she only wants to make her father happy. Thus she maintains an unusual companionship with her father, and becomes his sole comforter toward the end of his life. Here, Tolstoy gives an accurate picture of the rewards of fidelity, and his readers should seek to do the same in their own lives.

            In the end all human weakness comes down to pride and a false sense of self-worth. People kill because they do not value another person’s life as much as they treasure their own. Covetousness comes from a desire to be the best by having the best. Lying occurs when the liar considers himself above the truth, and thus more important. The list continues infinitely. Thankfully, Tolstoy does not forget to include his analysis of the most basic human flaw in his exposé. Hélène, the rich heiress who married the ugly but wealthy Pierre Bezukhov for his money, ruins the engagement of her friend Natasha Rostov by encouraging her to leave her loyal fiancé for Hélène’s worthless brother. Hélène’s chief interest was in herself. She felt her self-worth soar and loved the feeling of having an influence in another person’s life, be it good or evil influence. Interestingly, Hélène’s selfishly prideful act sparked a similar occurrence in Natasha’s life. Callously, Natasha left Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, her fiancé, in order to satisfy the whim suggested to her by Hélène. One selfish act encouraged another, and wrecked the hopes of key characters.

In an instance of selfishness, Nikolai Rostov, Natasha’s brother and the oldest of the Rostov children, gambles away his inheritance and his family’s financial well being in a single game of cards with a shady charlatan. Callously, he approaches his father after incurring the debt.

“Papa, I’ve come on business. I nearly forgot…I need money…I’ve lost a bit at cards, that is, a good deal, even a very great deal, forty-three thousand…I promised to pay tomorrow…No help for it! It happens to everybody,” his son said in a careless, brazen tone, while in his soul he considered himself a villain, a scoundrel, whose whole life would not be enough to redeem his crime. He would have liked to kiss his father’s hands, to go to his knees and ask for forgiveness, yet he said in a careless and even rude tone that it happened to everybody.(War and Peace, 343-344).

Nikolai’s response is unfaithful and quite rude. He ruined his family’s financial well-being, and cannot bring himself at first to apologize properly. His single act of egocentricity tainted the welfare of his family forever. Because they had no money left, Nikolai was forced to break off his engagement with his sweet, but unfortunately poor cousin Sonya. Additionally, his family lost their ancient home, and worried about money until Nikolai married an heiress. One sordid act of selfishness affected the lives of countless others

Sadly, pride and selfishness often have such gross and unfortunate consequences. This is why the Scriptures warn so strongly against it. Philippians 2:3-4 tells Christians to, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This leaves no room for excuses. If people would seek to do absolutely nothing for themselves, selfishness would be impossible. In another letter written to his son on the topic of life, Tolstoy instructs,

Life is a place for service, and in that service one sometimes has to endure much pain, but often experiences much joy. And that can be genuine only when people regard life as service, and have a purpose in life outside themselves and their personal happiness (Tolstoy 211).

Clearly, his beliefs show themselves in War and Peace and he does not seek to disguise the realities of selfishness. Tolstoy’s potent examples serve to warn against selfishness because of its dangerous and life-altering consequences.

War and Peace criticizes cynicism as well. Too often, Americans fall into this sin pattern in their daily lives. Today, people chalk up cynicism to “realism.” They feel they must expect the worst in order to escape disappointment of any kind. Sadly, cynics miss much of the beauty in God’s world. They miss the excitement of anticipating something wonderful, because they do not believe something wonderful can happen. On the flip side cynics are never surprised by trials, for they expected trouble in the first place.

Clearly, Tolstoy does not appreciate or condone cynicism. In War and Peace Tolstoy treats cynics with disdain. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, widower and father of one, looks at the world with a pessimistic view. He never takes delight in life’s small pleasures. He is known in his clubs for a “peevish expression and manner” (War and Peace, 99).  In fact he completely ignored his wife and her love, and she died without knowing his true feelings for her.. He allows his fiancée to attempt to run away with another man, for his pessimism tells him that in essence, he knew it would happen all along. Distant towards his fiancée, he causes her to ask herself,

Am I lost for Prince Andrei’s love or not?…What a fool I am to  be asking that! What happened to me? Nothing. I did nothing. I didn’t provoke it in any way. No one will know if it, and I will never see him again…So it’s clear that nothing happened, that there’s nothing to repent of, that Prince Andrei can love me like this. But what’s this like this? Ah, my God, my God! Why isn’t he here? (War and Peace, 566).

Andrei’s pessimism ultimately ruins his engagement, for Natasha, his fiancée, doubts his love because of his increasing lack of interest and affection while they are apart. Tolstoy shows that being continually in the doldrums never pays in the end.

Undoubtedly, Christ understood this tendency while giving the Sermon on the Mount. There he stated, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). L.M. Montgomery holds that, “You only feel like you are doing something when you worry” (Think Exist). Christians should follow this more and work on their reactions to trials of any kind. Christians should not spend their short lives on earth worrying and being pessimistic about what is to come. Rather, they should learn the lesson from teachers like Tolstoy, who show that cynicism rarely produces something worthwhile.

Often, parents teach their children that hatred is all right, as long as they control their anger and do not lash out. Once, on a popular television show angry children were told to hit pillows, or scream to themselves when frustrated, just as long as they do not do it to or in front of other people. However, Christians should avoid hatred at all costs. Christ himself bore no hatred against the very men who beat him and nailed him to the cross. Amazingly, he kept their hearts pumping and their lungs breathing as they were torturing him. His wondrous love puts Christian hatred to shame. Oftentimes, Christians bear malice towards someone for saying something they did not like. Instead, they should consider Christ’s example, and realize that if he could love those who killed him, we should also love those who sin against us. Solomon informs in Proverbs, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses” (Proverbs 10:12). Unfortunately, many fail to follow this excellent exhortation. Such actions have severe and often permanent repercussions.

Again, Tolstoy presents potent examples of consequences of sin in War and Peace. Dolokhov, a handsome gambler and seducer, enjoys stealing the affections of the rich wives of wealthy and influential men. Foolishly, he initiates an affair with Hélène Bezukhov, Count Pierre Bezukhov’s beautiful and flirtatious wife. Rashly, Pierre’s hatred rises up when he finds out about Dolokhov’s schemes and immediately challenges him to a duel. When she hears of it, the enraged Hélène exclaims,

“What a brave fellow we’ve got here! Well, answer, what is this duel? What did you want to prove by it? What, I ask you…since you don’t answer, I’ll tell you…you believe everything you’re told. You were told…that Dolokhov is my lover…and you believed it! But what did you prove by it? What did you prove by this duel? That you’re a fool, that you’re a fool; everybody knew that anyway. What will it lead to? That I will become the laughing-stock of all Moscow; that everyone will say that you, in a drunken state, forgetting yourself, challenged to a duel a man of whom you were groundlessly jealous…and who is better than you in all respects…We’ll part if you please, but only if you give me a fortune” (War and Peace, 320).

Pierre’s hatred encouraged his wife’s loathing. His attempted killing of Dolokhov only makes matters worth and ends up finishing off their relationship. He further alienates his wife, and ruins all hope of repairing their marriage in the future. Pierre allowed hatred rule his life and it ruins his marriage.

Contrastingly, Tolstoy shows an example of how to stifle one’s hatred. Marya Bolkonsky, the plain but wealthy daughter of a rich prince, puts up with a lot of difficulty from her father. Continually, he abuses her emotionally, and constantly comments on her plain appearance and apparently stupid attempts at schoolwork. Day after day he degrades and discourages her. Surprisingly, Marya does not retaliate. Instead, she responds with Christian love. Daily she prays for strength and guidance from the Lord saying, “My God, how can I suppress these devil’s thoughts in my heart? How can I renounce evil imaginings forever, so as peacefully to do Thy will?” (War and Peace, 221). Her sweet response to adversity angers her brother, who believes she should stand up for herself saying “He’s always been tough, but now I think he’s becoming difficult” (War and Peace, 106). Marya ignores this statement and continues to unconditionally love her father, despite his callously rude attitude toward her.

Finally, at the end of his life Marya’s father finally takes notice of his loving daughter. He apologizes for his cruel actions, and shows her love in the end. If Marya had responded in like kind to her father’s rudeness, she might have ruined all chance of him showing his love to her. Her kindness and patience were rewarded in the end, and Christians should take notice of this. If Christians would seek to emulate Marya’s example and avoid becoming like Pierre, they would improve their relationships with God and others by avoiding hatred at all costs.

Many object to a true picture of human weakness in literature. They present weak arguments for their position. First, they argue that pride is all right, because God surely does not call Christians to have low self-esteem. When they argue this, they forget that we are to boast in Christ’s greatness instead of our own, and to understand our own weakness. Christians are called to boast in Christ alone. Paul encouraged the Corinthians,

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’ ” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).

Christian’s only true confidence comes from Him; anything coming above that is sinful. Princess Marya boasted in her Savior. Her quiet confidence, rather than high self-esteem, helped her through many trials in the book. Christians should reexamine their own attitude toward pride, and understand its sinfulness more fully.

Christians also object to a negative portrayal of cynicism. They often can be heard saying, “Its not cynicism, its just realism.” However, constantly doubting the goodness of God’s will for Christian’s lives is selfishness, and only results in doubt and fear. 1Thessalonians tells Christians, “Rejoice always…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16,18). Christ sends difficult circumstances to sanctify his children. Christians should look to Christ and rejoice in difficult circumstances, rather than becoming embittered.

Finally, it is often argued that people have to be at least a little selfish to get anywhere in life. These people argue that if one is constantly doing something for others, he or she will never succeed. Rather than avoiding doing something for themselves, Christians should seek to do things for other before doing things for themselves. James holds, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:16).

Christians can do things for themselves, as long as they keep others before them. They can work toward their goals as long as they do not hurt others in the process. Christ, the Lord of all Creation, put others before himself. This is not to say he did not bathe and sleep, it just means he ministered to others before he did something for himself. Having the correct balance is key in understanding selflessness.

            Today, obesity in America is at an all-time high. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Movies and literature encourage children and adults alike to ‘follow their hearts’ and dreams at all costs, rather than looking to the interests of others. Cynics have their own talk shows and are looked up to because of their ‘realistic’ view of life. Hatred is not scorned, for it is seen as a perfectly natural part of life. Clearly, American students and adults could should ‘take a page’ out of Tolstoy’s book. His potent scrutiny of individuals and their sin patterns would be useful in a world where people often ignore their own finite humanity. If Christians only read the books of their time, they would miss the many valuable lessons and observations presented by Tolstoy in his sweeping epic.  War and Peace is as applicable now as it was when Tolstoy wrote it, 150 years ago.

During his 33 years in earth Christ did not ignore the blatant flaws in human nature. He lived perfectly in his humanity, but taught others the errors of their ways. He ate with tax collectors and sinners, but sought to encourage them unto righteousness. Humbly, he took the offering of a prostitute, but did not by any means condone her immorality. Having this attitude enabled him to love others more, for he understood their weaknesses and knew how to help them. Tolstoy acts the same way towards his characters. He sees people’s humanity accurately, just as Christ did. Tolstoy wrote in a letter to his son,

In order to love people and be loved by them, one must learn humility, gentleness, and the art of bearing with disagreeable people and situations, the art of always behaving in a way that will not hurt anyone…And this is the hardest work of all, work that never ceases, from the moment you wake up in the morning till you go to sleep at night. But it is the most joyful work, because day by day you can rejoice in your growing success and receive the added reward, unnoticed at first but very gratifying, of being loved (Tolstoy, 212).

Tolstoy’s Christ-like lessons would only bring good to the reader’s life. Understanding how Christians fail every day would help the reader to know how to make changes in his or her life. Nothing bad can come of an increased desire to love and honor God. An increased belief in human transience would point the culture to a Savior who bore their limitations to bring them to a Heaven that knows no such bounds.

Works Cited:

Tolstoy, Ilya. Tolstoy, My Father: Reminiscences. 1st American Ed. Chicago, IL: Cowles Book Company, Inc., 1971. Print.

Tolstoy, Leo, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky. War and Peace. 1st Ed. New York City, NY: Knopf, 2007. Print.

Chute, Patricia. Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana. 1st ed. New York City, NY: Harpercollins, 1991. Print.

Unknown Author. "Lucy Maud Montgomery Quotes." Brainy Quote. Jan 01, 2009. Brainy Media, Web. 15 Dec 2009. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/lucymaudmo388238.html>.

Yenne, Bill, and Christine Perkins. 100 Authors Who Shaped World History. 1st ed. San Mateo, CA: Bluewood Books, 1996. Print.