In this article we will talk about Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”. We will pay special attention to the Russian noble society, carefully described in the work, in particular, we will be interested in the Kuragin family.
The novel "War and Peace"
The novel was completed in 1869. In his work, Tolstoy depicted Russian society during the war with Napoleon. That is, the novel covers the period from 1805 to 1812. The writer for a very long time hatched the idea of ​​a novel. Initially, Tolstoy conceived to describe the story of the Decembrist hero. However, the writer gradually came to the conclusion that it is best to start a work from 1805.
For the first time, the novel War and Peace began to be published in separate chapters in 1865. The Kuragin family already appears in these passages. The reader almost at the very beginning of the novel gets acquainted with its members. However, let’s talk in more detail about why the description of high society and noble families occupies such a large place in the novel.
The role of high society in the work
In the novel, Tolstoy takes the place of a judge, who begins the trial of high society. The writer first of all assesses not the position of a person in the world, but his moral qualities. And the most important virtues for Tolstoy were truthfulness, kindness and simplicity. The author seeks to tear off the shining covers of secular gloss and show the true essence of the nobility. Therefore, the reader from the first pages becomes a witness to the low deeds committed by the nobles. Recall at least the drunken revelry of Anatol Kuragin and Pierre Bezukhov.
The Kuragin family, among other noble families, is under the gaze of Tolstoy. How does the writer see each member of this family?
General idea of ​​the Kuragin family
Tolstoy saw in the family the foundation of human society, so he attached so much importance to the image of the noble families in the novel. The writer presents the reader Kuraginykh as the embodiment of immorality. All members of this family are hypocritical, self-serving, ready to commit a crime for the sake of wealth, irresponsible, selfish.
Among all the families depicted by Tolstoy, only the Kuragins are guided in their actions by exclusively personal interest. It was these people who destroyed the lives of other people: Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Andrey Bolkonsky, etc.
Even the family ties of the Kuragins are different. Members of this family are not connected by poetic intimacy, kinship of souls and caring, but by instinctive solidarity, almost a mutual guarantee, which is more reminiscent of the relationship of animals than of people.
Composition of the Kuragin family: Prince Vasily, Princess Alina (his wife), Anatole, Helene, Hippolytus.
Vasily Kuragin
Prince Vasily is the head of the family. For the first time, the reader sees him in the salon of Anna Pavlovna. He was dressed in a court uniform, stockings and chumps and had a "bright expression on a flat face." The prince speaks French, always flaunting, lazily, like an actor playing a role in an old play. The prince was a respected man among the society of the novel "War and Peace." The Kuragin family was generally quite favorably received by other nobles.
Prince Kuragin, with all kind and generous to all, was close to the emperor, he was surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic fans. However, the external well-being hid an ongoing internal struggle between the desire to appear moral and worthy of a person and the real motives of his actions.
Tolstoy liked to use the method of discrepancy between the internal and external character of the character. It was he who used it, creating the image of Prince Vasily in the novel "War and Peace." The Kuragin family, whose characteristics we are so interested in, generally differs from other families in this duplicity. Which clearly does not speak in her favor.
As for the count himself, his true face appeared in the scene of the struggle for the inheritance of the deceased Count Bezukhov. It is here that the ability of the hero to intrigue and dishonorable acts is shown.
Anatole Kuragin
Anatole is also endowed with all the qualities that the Kuragin family represents. The characterization of this character is primarily based on the words of the author himself: "Simple and with carnal inclinations." For Anatole, life is a continuous fun that everyone is obligated to arrange for him. This person never thought about the consequences of his actions and about the people around him, guided only by his desires. The idea that one should answer for one’s actions never occurred to Anatole.
This character is completely free of responsibility. The egoism of Anatole is almost naive and good-natured, comes from its animal origin, which is why it is absolute. This egoism is an integral part of the hero, he is inside him, in his feelings. Anatole is deprived of the opportunity to think about what will happen after a momentary pleasure. He lives only in the present. Anatole has a strong belief that everything around is intended only for his pleasure. He does not know the pangs of conscience, regret, or doubt. At the same time, Kuragin is confident that he is a wonderful person. That is why in his movements and appearance there is so much freedom.
However, this freedom stems from the meaninglessness of Anatole, since he sensually approaches the perception of the world, but does not realize it, does not try to comprehend, as, for example, Pierre.
Helen Kuragin
Another character who embodies the duality that carries the Kuragin family . The characterization of Helen, like Anatole, is excellently given by Tolstoy himself. The writer describes the girl as a beautiful antique statue that is empty inside. Behind the appearance of Helen there is nothing, she is soulless, although beautiful. It is not for nothing that comparisons of her with marble statues are constantly found in the text.
The heroine in the novel becomes the personification of depravity and immorality. Like all Kuragini, Helen is an egoist who does not recognize moral standards, she lives according to the laws of the fulfillment of her desires. A great example of this is her marriage to Pierre Bezukhov. Helen gets married only to improve her well-being.
After marriage, she did not change at all, continuing to follow only her base desires. Helene begins to cheat on her husband, while she has no desire to have children. That is why Tolstoy leaves her childless. For a writer who believes that a woman should be devoted to her husband and raise children, Helen became the embodiment of the most unpleasant qualities that a female representative can only have.
Hippolyt Kuragin
The Kuragin family in the novel "War and Peace" personifies a destructive force that causes harm not only to others, but also to herself. Each member of the family is a carrier of some kind of vice, from which he himself suffers as a result. The only exception is Hippolytus. His character harms only him, but does not destroy the life of others.
Prince Hippolytus looks very much like his sister Helen, but at the same time he is completely foolish of himself. His face was “fogged by idiocy”, and his body was weak and thin. Hippolytus is incredibly stupid, but because of the confidence with which he speaks, everyone cannot understand whether he is smart or impenetrably stupid. He often speaks out of place, inserts inappropriate comments, does not always understand what he is discussing.
Thanks to the patronage of his father, Hippolytus makes a military career, but among the officers he is considered a jester. Despite all this, the hero is successful in women. Prince Vasily himself speaks of his son as a "late fool."
Comparison with other noble families
As noted above, noble families are of great importance for understanding the novel. And it is not for nothing that Tolstoy immediately takes several families to describe. So, the main characters are members of five noble families: Bolkonsky, Rostovs, Drubetskys, Kuraginy and Bezukhov.
Each noble family describes various human values ​​and sins. The Kuragin family in this respect stands out from other representatives of the upper world. And not for the better. In addition, as soon as kuraginsky egoism invades someone else's family, it immediately causes a crisis in it.
The Rostov and Kuragin family
As noted above, Kuragini are low, callous, depraved and selfish people. They do not feel any tenderness and care for each other. And if they provide assistance, then only for selfish reasons.
Relations in this family contrast sharply with the atmosphere that prevails in the Rostovs' house. Here, family members understand and love each other, they sincerely take care of loved ones, showing warmth and participation. So, Natasha, seeing Sonya's tears, also begins to cry.
We can say that the Kuragin family in the novel "War and Peace" is opposed to the Rostov family, in which Tolstoy saw the embodiment of family values.
The relationship in the marriage of Helen and Natasha is also indicative. If the former cheated on her husband and did not want to have children at all, the latter became the personification of the feminine in Tolstoy’s understanding. Natasha became an ideal wife and a beautiful mother.
Interesting episodes of communication between brothers and sisters. How dissimilar intimate friendly conversations of Nikolenka and Natasha are to the cold phrases of Anatole and Helen.
Family of Bolkonsky and Kuragins
These noble families are also very different from each other.
To begin with, let's compare the fathers of two families. Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky is an outstanding person who values ​​intelligence and activity. If necessary, he is ready to serve his homeland. Nikolai Andreevich loves his children, sincerely cares for them. Prince Vasily, who thinks only of his own benefit and does not worry at all about the well-being of his children, is completely different from him. For him, the main thing is money and position in society.
In addition, Bolkonsky Sr., like his son later, was disappointed in the society, which so beckons all Kuragini. Andrey is the successor of the affairs and views of his father, while the children of Prince Vasily go their own way. Even Marya inherits rigor in raising children from Bolkonsky Sr. And the description of the Kuragin family clearly indicates the absence of any continuity in their family.
Thus, in the Bolkonsky family, despite the apparent severity of Nikolai Andreyevich, love and understanding, continuity and care reign. Andrei and Marya are sincerely attached to their father and have respect for him. The relationship between brother and sister was cool for a long time, until a common grief - the death of the father - rallied them.
Kuragin is alien to all these feelings. They are not able to sincerely support each other in a difficult situation. Their destiny is only destruction.
Conclusion
In his novel, Tolstoy wanted to show what ideal family relationships are based on. However, he needed to present the worst option for the development of family ties. It was this option that became the Kuragin family, in which the worst human qualities were embodied. On the example of the fate of the Kuragins, Tolstoy shows what moral decline and animal egoism can lead to. None of them found such a desired happiness precisely because they thought only of themselves. People with this attitude to life, according to Tolstoy, do not deserve prosperity.