There was fierce debate over the meaning of the title of Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”. Now, it seems, everyone has come to more or less definite interpretations.
Antithesis in the broadest sense of the word
Indeed, if you read only the title of the novel, then the simplest contrast is immediately evident: a peaceful, quiet life and military battles, which occupy a very significant place in the work. The meaning of the name "War and Peace" lies, as it were, on the surface. Consider this side of the issue. Of the four volumes of the novel, only the second covers exclusively peaceful life. In the remaining volumes, the war is interspersed with a description of episodes from the life of various parts of society. No wonder the Count himself, naming his epic in French, wrote only La guerre et la paix, which is translated without additional interpretations: "war is war, and peace is only everyday life." There is reason to believe that the author considered the meaning of the name “War and Peace” without additional context. Nevertheless, it is embedded in it.
Inveterate Disputes
Before the reform of the Russian language, the word "peace" was written and interpreted in two ways. It was “peace” and “peace” through i, which in the Cyrillic alphabet was called “and”, and Izhitsa, which was written as “and”. These words differed in meaning. “Mir" is a time without military events, and the second option meant the universe, the globe, society. Spelling could easily change the meaning of the name "War and Peace." Employees of the country's main Institute of the Russian language found that the old spelling, which appeared in a single rare book, was nothing more than a typo. One slip was also found in a business document that caught the attention of some commentators. But the author in the letters wrote only "Mir". As the name of the novel appeared, it has not yet been reliably established. Again, we refer to our leading institute, in which linguists have not established exact analogies.
The problems of the novel
What issues are addressed in the novel?
- Noble society.
- Private life.
- The problems of the people.
And all of them are somehow connected with wars and peaceful life, which reflects the meaning of the name “War and Peace”. The artistic technique of the author is a contrast. In the first part of the first volume, the reader only plunged into the life of St. Petersburg and Moscow, as soon as the second part takes him to Austria, where preparations are underway for the Shengraben battle. The third part of the first volume mixes the life of Bezukhov in St. Petersburg, the trip of Prince Vasily and Anatole to the Bald Mountains to the Bolkonsky and the battle of Austerlitz.
Contrasts of society
The Russian nobility is a unique layer. In Russia, the peasantry perceived him as foreigners: they spoke French, their manners and ways of life were different from Russian. In Europe, on the contrary, they were looked at as "Russian bears." In any country they were strangers.
In their native country, they could always wait for a peasant riot. Here is another contrast of society, which reflected the meaning of the title of the novel "War and Peace." For an example, we cite an episode from the third volume, part 2. When the French approached Bogucharov, the men did not want to let Princess Mary go to Moscow. Only the intervention of N. Rostov, who accidentally passed by with a squadron, saved the princess and pacified the peasants. Tolstoy’s wartime and peacetime are intertwined, as is the case in modern life.
Movement from west to east
Two wars are described by the author. One is alien to the Russian man who does not understand its meaning, but is fighting the enemy, as ordered by his superiors, not sparing himself, even without the necessary uniforms. The second is understandable and natural: the defense of the Fatherland and the struggle for their families, for peaceful life in their native land. This is also evidenced by the meaning of the title of the novel "War and Peace." Against this background, the opposing, antagonistic qualities of Napoleon and Kutuzov are revealed, the role of the personality in history is revealed.
The epilogue of the novel tells a lot about this. It gives comparisons of emperors, commanders, generals, and also analyzes issues of will and necessity, genius and chance.
Contrasting Battles and Peaceful Life
On the whole, L. Tolstoy divides peace and war into two polar parts. The war, which is completely filled with the history of mankind, is disgusting and unnatural. It causes hatred and hostility in people and brings destruction and death.
Peace is happiness and joy, freedom and naturalness, work for the benefit of society and the individual. Each episode of the novel is a song of the joys of a peaceful life and a condemnation of war as an indispensable attribute of human life. Such a contrast is the meaning of the name of the epic novel “War and Peace”. The world not only in the novel, but also in life denies war. The innovation of L. Tolstoy, who himself participated in the Sevastopol battles, lies in the fact that he showed not her heroism, but the wrong side - everyday, genuine, experiencing all the spiritual forces of man.
Noble society, its contrasts
Nobles do not constitute a single cohesive mass. Petersburg, the Upper World, looks down on the stubborn good-natured Muscovites. Salon Scherer, Rostov’s house and unique, intelligent, generally standing alone Bogucharovo - these are so different worlds that they will always be divided by a precipice.
The meaning of the name "War and Peace": essay
Six years of life (1863 - 1869) were given by L. Tolstoy to the writing of the epic novel, which he subsequently spoke about with disdain. But we appreciate this masterpiece for opening the widest panorama of life, which includes everything that surrounds a person day after day.
The main technique that we see in all episodes is the antithesis. The whole novel, even a description of peaceful life, is built on contrasts: the ceremonial salon of A. Scherer and the cold family way of Lisa and Andrei Bolkonsky, the patriarchal warm family of the Rostovs and the rich intellectual life in God-forgotten Bogucharov, the beggarly quiet existence of the adored Dolokhov family and its external, empty , the catchy life of an adventurer, Pierre’s unnecessary meetings with Freemasons, who are not asked deep questions of the reorganization of life, like Bezukhov.
War also has polar sides. The foreign company of 1805-1806, meaningless for Russian soldiers and officers, and the terrible 12th year, when, having retreated, we had to give a bloody battle near Borodin and surrender Moscow, and then, having liberated our homeland, across Europe to drive the enemy to Paris, leaving him in integrity.
The coalition that formed after the war at the Vienna Congress, when all countries united against Russia, fearing its unexpected power.
He infinitely invested in the epic novel of his philosophical reasoning by L. N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”). The meaning of the name does not lend itself to unambiguous interpretation.
It is multidimensional and multifaceted, like the life itself that surrounds us. This novel has been and will be relevant at all times, and not only for Russians who understand it more deeply, but also for foreigners who turn to him again and again, making feature films.