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Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. 1865-1869. A groundbreaker…. Considered one of the world’s greatest novels Huge influence on subsequent literature Tolstoy did not consider it a novel within the meaning prevalent at the time In fact redefined what a novel meant for subsequent generations.

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Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

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  1. Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace 1865-1869

  2. A groundbreaker… • Considered one of the world’s greatest novels • Huge influence on subsequent literature • Tolstoy did not consider it a novel within the meaning prevalent at the time • In fact redefined what a novel meant for subsequent generations

  3. War and Peace:History and private lives • Tolstoy shows how history impinges on private lives • Weaves battle scenes with scenes from private lives: birth, proposals, marriages, adultery, duels, debts, dying… • Individuals propose, God, or fate, disposes, determining the actual course of events. • (Note how the author, in a sense, becomes God, determining the lives of his characters.)

  4. War: the extreme stress point of history • First truly successful attempt to depict battle scenes on a large scale • Tolstoy’s first war scenes described the war in the Caucasus and the siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean war • (although owed a certain debt to Stendal’s La Chartreuse de Parme, which described the battle of Waterloo) • The soldier is seen as an individual: the battle is the sum of the actions of the individual soldiers • Focusses on Russian history from 1805 to 1813, with an epilogue up to 1820: the battles of Schöngrabern and Austerlitz (Austria) and Borodino (1812), outside Moscow

  5. Philosophical purpose • Tolstoy wanted to challenge the (Romantic) idea that history is made by “great men.” • His Napoleon is unsuccessful and does not control the movement of battle or of history • His opponent, the Russian general Kutuzov, “lets the battle happen,” knowing there is nothing he can do • History is thus the movement of nations, the sum of all the private lives involved • The true victor of the battles against Napoleon is the Russian people, the narod

  6. Tasks of the historical novelist • To weave the fictional, e.g. his character Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, with the historical, e.g. Napoleon, seamlessly, so that we do not notice • To make the chance encounters and relationships of his characters plausible, so that the reader’s credulity is not challenged

  7. Core Characters…

  8. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky • At beginning of novel, married to Liza • Goes off to be an adjutant to Kutuzov, almost killed at Austerlitz, saved by Napoleon • Returns to his father’s estate in time to see his wife die in childbirth • Dances with Natasha Rostova, falls in love and proposes • They are engaged, but then he is fatally wounded at Borodino • Description of his slow death, cared for by Natasha and his sister Princess Marya

  9. Pierre Bezukhov • Projection of author into novel • Illegitimate son of rich Moscow nobleman • Has spent much time in France, imbued with revolutionary ideas, joins freemasons • His father dies, leaving him his wealth • Foolishly marries the voluptuous Hélène Kuragin • Has a duel over one of her adulterous affairs • Is a witness at Borodino, taken prisoner by French • Meets Platon Karataev, Russian peasant, realizes the power of the Russian narod.

  10. Natasha Rostova • The main heroine of the novel • Like Pushkin’s Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, assumes a symbolic role as representative of Russia • Falls in love with Prince Andrei, but they never marry • Natasha one of the great representations of Russian womanhood: is sophisticated, yet deeply Russian • Ends up marrying Pierre, once his wife dies

  11. Representatives of the common people, the Russian narod • Captain Tushin: the modest professional soldier, an artilleryman, who saves the day at Schöngrabern • Platon Karataev: the peasant whose wisdom inspires Pierre Bezukhov when they meet in French captivity

  12. Famous scenes I • Natasha waltzing with Prince Andrei at the ball in St Petersburg (her first!) where the Emperor Alexander is present. • Pierre is in love with her, but cannot dance: encourages his friend Prince Andrei to dance with her. • Prince Andrei, a widower, proposes to her.

  13. Famous scenes II • Natasha’s famous Russian folk dance to the accompaniment of her uncle in the country cabin. • Compare the scene in Anna Karenina of Levin mowing with the peasants: the desire to be at one with the Russian narod The wolf hunt

  14. Famous film versions • Hollywood version with Audrey Hepburn as Natasha (1956)

  15. Famous film versions • Russian version (1967), dir. Sergei Bondarchuk, with Liudmila Savelieva. • Sergei Bondarchuk as Pierre Bezukhov (right)

  16. Famous film versions TV miniseries with Clemence Poesy (2006)

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