Dolokhov
Characteristic literary hero The author describes Fyodor Dolokhov as follows: “Dolokhov was a man of average height, curly-haired and with light, blue eyes. He was about twenty-five years old. He did not wear a mustache, like all infantry officers, and his mouth, the most striking feature of his face, was completely visible. The lines of this mouth were remarkably finely curved. In the middle, the upper lip energetically dropped onto the strong lower lip like a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles constantly formed in the corners, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent look, it created such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face.” This hero is not rich, but he knows how to position himself in such a way that everyone around him respects and fears him. He loves to have fun, and in a rather strange and sometimes cruel way. For one case of bullying a policeman, D. was demoted to soldier. But during the hostilities he regained his rank of officer. He is a smart, brave and cold-blooded person. He is not afraid of death, he is reputed an evil person, hides his tender love for his mother. In fact, D. does not want to know anyone except those he really loves. He divides people into harmful and useful, sees mostly harmful people around him and is ready to get rid of them if they suddenly get in his way. D. was Helen's lover, he provokes Pierre into a duel, dishonestly beats Nikolai Rostov at cards, and helps Anatole arrange an escape with Natasha.
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Dolokhov is not the main character of the novel “War and Peace,” but his image is so bright and individual that it immediately interests the reader. Tolstoy endows this hero with such seemingly incompatible character traits that throughout the entire novel we wonder what he really is like.
For the first time we meet Dolokhov, a Semyonov officer, during a revelry at Anatoly Kuragin’s place, at the moment of making a bet that he “will drink a bottle of rum while sitting on the third floor window with his legs hanging out.” The reader is in suspense: how will this crazy prank end and who is this confident, daring young man?
Dolokhov's appearance stood out clearly from others. He was “a man of average height, curly hair and light eyes. He was about twenty-five years old... his mouth, the most striking feature of his face, was completely visible... and all together, and especially in combination with his firm, insolent, intelligent gaze, created the impression that it was impossible not to notice this face "
In general, the desire to stand out, to always be in the center of attention - distinguishing feature Dolokhova. To be a leader among the rich guards officers, he becomes a dashing rake, a gambler and a thief. Being a poor man, without any connections, living with Anatoly Kuragin, a very rich young man, he “managed to position himself in such a way that Anatole and everyone who knew them respected Dolokhov more than Anatole.”
Upon further acquaintance with Dolokhov, we see that he is a selfish and painfully proud young man. For him it's like that moral concept, like friendship, is a purely relative concept. Being on friendly terms with Pierre, who hospitably provided him with his own, Dolokhov, with a clear conscience, starts dating his wife and, on top of all this, cynically and brazenly insults Pierre in the presence of guests, bringing the matter to a duel. Dolokhov is always used to winning against everyone and achieving what he wants. He just as easily excludes Nikolai Rostov from among his friends when he finds out that Sonya loves Nikolai, and not him. This is a blow to his pride. But losing is not in his nature. He must take revenge or win back. Having challenged Nikolai to a game, he dispassionately wins a huge amount of money from him, thereby compensating for his loss.
Yes, Dolokhov is a player by nature, and life for him is to a greater extent a game. A man of an adventurous nature, he likes to tempt fate. This is confirmed by his prank with the policeman, for which he was demoted to soldier, and by Natasha’s escape plan, which he prepared at Anatole’s request. Dolokhov also shows desperate fearlessness in war, when he captures the enemy or penetrates the French camp along with Petya Rostov, whose life he risks as well as his own.
But all his heroism is largely ostentatious, demonstrative, aimed at self-affirmation. He will definitely later remind his superiors about his successes.
But not everything about this hero is clear and understandable to the reader. There are scenes in the novel that reveal to us a completely different Dolokhov. So, from the duel scene we learn that Dolokhov, this desperate reveler and rake, is a loving son and brother. Wounded, he cries and confesses to Rostov that he has a mother, how much he loves her: “...she will not bear this... My mother, my angel, my adored angel...” What tenderness and these words are imbued with love! It is also surprising that Dolokhov, seemingly incapable of feelings and experiences, despising female society, suddenly falls in love with Sonya and even proposes to her. And before the Battle of Borodino, having accidentally met Pierre, he asks to forgive him for everything that happened between them.
At such crucial moments in life, it seems that Dolokhov tears off his mask and reveals the best and real that is in him. And how can such completely opposite feelings - hatred and love, cruelty and tenderness - coexist in him? He confesses to Nikolai: “I don’t want to know anyone except those I love; but whoever I love, I love him so much that I will give my life, and I will crush everyone else if they get in my way.”
Sometimes Dolokhov reminds me of Pechorin in some way. After all, Pechorin also always has his own interests in the foreground. Here is Pechorin’s entry in his diary: “I look at the suffering and joy of others only in relation to myself as food that supports my spiritual strength.” And here is Dolokhov’s statement: “...I pay attention to the rest only to the extent that they are useful or harmful.”
So, to a greater extent, Tolstoy deduces Dolokhov as negative hero. It is noteworthy that the author himself never calls him by name. Dolokhov does not pass his test by the moral categories of goodness, truth and simplicity. The author condemns false heroism and personal egoism in it. It’s no coincidence that Natasha didn’t like him so much. It seems to me that the author expresses her attitude towards him with the words: “...Everything is assigned to him. And I don’t like it.” I agree with Tolstoy. But still, I like Dolokhov more than Berg or Boris Drubetskoy, who always try to look better than they really are. Tolstoy endowed this hero with a feeling of love for his mother, and this, I think, leaves us with hope that not everything is lost in his fate, that Fyodor Dolokhov will still meet in his life “such a heavenly being who would revive, purify and exalt him "
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That's how we are we see him for the first time - drunk, in a white shirt, at dawn, in the noisy company of Anatoly Kuragin: “Dolokhov was a man of average height, curly hair and with light blue eyes... He did not wear a mustache, like all infantry officers, and his mouth, the most striking the entire feature of his face was completely visible... In the middle, the upper lip energetically dropped onto the strong lower lip like a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles constantly formed in the corners... and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent look, made the impression such that it was impossible not to notice this face.” We will see these light blue eyes, this firm, impudent and intelligent look many times: at the review in Braunau, and in the battle of Shengraben; during a duel with Pierre, and at the card table, at which Rostov lost forty-three thousand to Dolokhov, and at the gates of the house on Staraya Konyushennaya, when Anatole’s attempt to take Natasha away was foiled, and later, in the war of 1812, when the detachment of Denisov and Dolokhov saved from French captivity of Pierre, but in the battle for the prisoners, a boy, Petya Rostov, will die - then Dolokhov’s cruel mouth will curl, and he will give the order: to shoot all the captured French.
Dolokhov- the most incomprehensible, the most mysterious of all the heroes of War and Peace. We admire his reckless courage, his sudden and brief tenderness; we are frightened by his cruelty, we want to comprehend this mysterious character. What is he really, Fyodor Dolokhov? He “was a poor man, without any connections. And, despite the fact that Anatole lived in tens of thousands, Dolokhov lived with him and managed to position himself in such a way that Anatole and everyone who knew them respected Dolokhov more than Anatole.” He has nothing and no one to count on - only himself. The three of us had fun: Dolokhov, Anatole and Pierre - “they got a bear somewhere, put it in a carriage with them and took it to the actresses. The police came running to calm them down. They caught the policeman and tied him back to back to the bear and let the bear into the Moika; the bear is swimming, and the policeman is on it...” How did it all end?
Dolokhov was an officer- and therefore he was demoted to soldier. Pierre did not serve anywhere, he could not be demoted, but he received a light punishment, apparently out of respect for his dying father. Anatole was an officer - he was not demoted. Dolokhov remembered this for both Anatoly and Pierre. He learned another lesson on . Having met Zherkov, who previously belonged to his “violent society,” he became convinced that Zherkov “did not consider it necessary to recognize him” in a soldier’s overcoat. Dolokhov did not forget this either - and when Zherkov, after Kutuzov’s conversation with the demoted man, joyfully greeted Dolokhov, he responded, pointedly coldly. This is how a character is formed before our eyes, a cruel and selfish person is formed, lonely as a wolf. The first words we heard from Dolokhov were cruel. Drunk Pierre tried to repeat his “feat”: drink a bottle of rum while sitting on open window. Anatole tried to hold Pierre.
- “Let it go, let it go,” said Dolokhov, smiling.”
After that A year has passed - a very difficult year of soldiering, difficult campaigns and no less difficult reviews. We saw how Dolokhov defended his dignity before the review in Braunau and how persistently he reminded the general of his merits in battle. He miraculously did not die on the ice of Austrian ponds, came to Moscow and settled in Pierre’s house. Just as he didn’t feel sorry for Pierre before, he doesn’t feel sorry for him now: while living in his house, he started an affair with his wife. He didn’t fall in love with her, didn’t love her - that would at least to some extent justify him. No, Helen is as indifferent to him as other society women, he is just having fun and, perhaps, taking revenge on Pierre for the story with the bear, for the fact that Pierre is rich and noble. At a dinner in honor of Bagration, “Pierre sat opposite Dolokhov and Nikolai Rostov. He ate a lot and greedily and drank a lot, as always. But... he didn’t seem to see or hear anything... and was thinking about one thing, heavy and unresolved.
This one is unresolved, the question that tormented him were the hints of the princess in Moscow about Dolokhov’s closeness to his wife and this morning the anonymous letter he received... Every time his gaze accidentally met Dolokhov’s beautiful, insolent eyes, Pierre felt like something terrible, ugly was rising in his soul, and he would rather turn away.” Pierre knows: Dolokhov will not stop at disgracing his old friend. “It would be a special delight for him to dishonor my name and laugh at me, precisely because I ... helped him.” This is what Pierre thinks while Dolokhov and Nikolai Rostov, looking at him mockingly and disapprovingly, drink to pretty women.
He is afraid of Dolokhov- mighty Pierre. Having trained himself to think everything through to the end and to be frank with himself, he honestly admits to himself: “It means nothing to him to kill a person... He must think that I am afraid of him. And indeed, I’m afraid of him...” But in his soul, overcoming fear, rage rises, and when Dolokhov, with “a serious expression, but with a smiling mouth at the corners, turned to Pierre with a glass,” this rage boils up and seeks a way out.
- "For health beautiful women, Petrusha, and their lovers,” said Dolokhov.
- This was not enough: he snatched from Pierre’s hands a piece of paper with the text of the cantata - in itself this would have been quite possible with their friendly relations, but now “something terrible and ugly, which had troubled him during dinner, rose up and took possession of” Pierre.
- “Don’t you dare take it! - he shouted.”
Dolokhov knows that Pierre does not know how to shoot. But he also answers the second: “No apologies, nothing decisive.” Both seconds understand that a murder is taking place. Therefore, they hesitate for about three minutes, when everything is ready. It seems that nothing can save Pierre. Does Dolokhov understand this? What is Pierre's guilt before him - why is he ready to kill this man? Dolokhov missed, shooting at Pierre, whom he severely insulted. But in a few weeks he will not miss in another duel - a bloodless one. Living in Pierre's family, Dolokhov destroyed this family. Entering the house of Nikolai Rostov, he tried to take his friend’s bride away. Sonya refused him - Dolokhov is not the type not to take revenge. He does not challenge Nikolai to a duel, but beats him at cards - consciously, coldly and deliberately: he invites his victim with a note to the hotel, asks several times: “Or are you afraid to play with me?”, warns: “There is a rumor in Moscow that I a sharper, so I advise you to be careful with me,” “and, having won a huge amount, “smiling clearly and looking into Nikolai’s eyes,” he remarks: “You know the saying: “Happy in love, unhappy in cards.” Your cousin is in love with you. I know". He will not allow himself to be insulted with impunity, but did Nikolai really want to insult him? On the contrary - he worshiped him, adored him - this is how he is punished for his adoration.
May be, a few months later, while helping Anatoly take Natasha away, Dolokhov will remember how Sonya did not respond to his feelings and preferred Nikolai. Maybe this way he will take revenge on the Rostovs in his own way.
He scary man, Fedor Dolokhov. At twenty-five years old, he knows the people among whom he lives well, and understands: neither honesty, nor intelligence, nor talent are valued by these people. He was used to not trusting honesty, intelligence and talent. He is cynical and can deceive anyone, even yesterday's best friend, because he knows: it will be forgiven. Weakness will not be forgiven. And inhumanity will evoke respect and fear. Maybe that’s why Dolokhov calls his mother an angel and loves her devotedly, because she alone wants to see in him a “high, heavenly soul”? He chose correctly: Sonya is exactly the pure and faithful soul he is looking for. But he doesn’t happiness: she loves someone else. Deciding to take revenge on Nikolai, Dolokhov decided to win forty-three thousand from him. “He chose this number because forty-three was the sum of his years and Sonya’s years. It’s difficult for us to imagine that this cruel, cold-tempered man capable of such sensitivity - adding up his years and Sonya's. But he is capable.
Leo Tolstoy was critical of careerism, exposing the self-interest and deceitful patriotism of nobles and officers. The image and characterization of Dolokhov in the novel “War and Peace” reveals the problems of hypocrisy and spiritual emptiness of a person who cares exclusively about his own interests.
Appearance
The blue-eyed young man with curls of blond hair was popular with women. There was something cold in the bottomless depths of the eyes. The guy’s gaze was distinguished by tenacity, intelligence, and insight. The hero knew what he wanted.A man of average height with a military bearing, always slim and fit. In 1805, he looks like a twenty-five-year-old youth when he and his friends let a bear into the river.
Fedor differs from his friends in that he does not wear a mustache, although infantry officers consider it a virtue of a man of those times. Tolstoy focuses on the oral area of the face. The line of the lips had clear, thin, cute curves; the upper lip was especially interesting, superimposed on the lower: in an intricate wedge.
Due to the peculiarity of the natural shape of his mouth, it seemed that Fedor was constantly smiling and in a great mood. The smile went perfectly with the cunning expression in the eyes. Possessing an easily memorable appearance, the officer of the elite regiment carefully monitored the cleanliness and tidiness of his body. He always wore white shirts and was neatly shaven.
Personality and character
His comrades consider Dolokhov to be kind, he is the life of the party, he is friends with Prince Anatoly Kuragin. Together, the officers go on a spree and seduce young ladies, for which they became famous in St. Petersburg society. Charisma and military bearing explain Fedor’s authority in his circles:“Now we have no word without Dolokhov; they swear by it, they call on it like a sterlet.”
Many comrades approach Fyodor ingratiatingly and value getting to know him. The card game became the basis of the hero's life. Leo Tolstoy writes about him as a breter. This means that the daredevil often started duels, and the reason for the conflict could be a minor dispute.
An avid gambler knows how to play all popular card games. He is not embarrassed by the fame of a fraudster. On the contrary, he boasts of the nickname of a sharper as a personal achievement on the basis that he always remains a winner.
Demotion to private
When the young people drank wine, no one could stop them. In 1805, a company led by Dolokhov and Prince Kuragin got carried away in a revelry; they made so much noise on the street that residents called the police. The guard came running first and tried to calm down the violent outburst of the guys.Not wanting to part with the gypsies, songs and dances, the young people grabbed the law enforcement officer, tied him to the back of a trained bear and let the animal swim into the river. Unconscious from alcohol, the company laughed merrily while the animal floundered in the cold water, and on its back the terrified guard screamed loudly.
The authorities could not help but react to the blatant case of violation of law and order by children of high-ranking officials. Many were severely punished, and Dolokhov was demoted to the rank and file.
Battle of Shengraben
Fedor ended up in the company of the modest captain Timokhin, an alcoholic but brave commander. The Streltsy regiment, covering the left wing of the Bagrationov detachment, was not placed at gunpoint when the French attacked them. Panic began, many ran in different directions. Through the noise of the shooting it was impossible to hear the command of the commanders.Prince Bolkonsky watched from the right flank as the Napoleonic army captured left side Russian line. Suddenly the enemies turned around and rushed back. Andrei could not understand the reason until he saw Timokhin’s company fighting at the edge of the forest, the only formation that had maintained its battle line and fought back.
Dolokhov ran after his desperate commander, but he managed to deftly grab the surrendering officer by the collar and take his sword away. Then Fedor obsessively reported to his superiors about his personal participation:
“Your Excellency, here are two trophies,” said Dolokhov, pointing to the French sword and bag. - I captured an officer. I stopped the company. - Dolokhov was breathing heavily from fatigue; he spoke intermittently. - The whole company can testify. Please remember, Your Excellency!”
The author, on one page of the novel, juxtaposed the selfless true heroism of Captain Timokhin in order to emphasize the falsity of Dolokhov’s bold actions, dictated by consumer motivation.
Duel with Bezukhov
After the war in Austria, Fedor turned to his old friend Pierre for help. It was necessary to renew the title, but there was not enough money even for the necessary things. The count allowed the ladies' man into his house, gave him a certain amount, for which he paid dearly.Dolokhov did not know the feeling of gratitude, he basely seduced the frivolous Helen Bezukhova. Pierre was ashamed of his wife's behavior, and the hints of those around him hurt him. Dolokhov's jokes sounded like mockery.
Bezukhov challenged the tenant to a duel, where, unexpectedly for himself, he hit the offender and wounded him. The tragedy of the episode lies in the fact that Pierre, as normal person, is tormented by his actions. The duel changes his decisions, plans, his whole life.
Dolokhov, on the contrary, behaves cold-bloodedly, ready to take a person’s life at any moment. Just like that, because of petty ambitions.
Dolokhov from the novel “War and Peace”
thoughts about the hero
The likes and dislikes of readers of a particular work are not always on the side in morally more perfect heroes. Romanticization of evil and vice is a very common phenomenon. I do not gravitate towards either the moralizing category of people, or towards those who prefer predominantly demonism in all its manifestations. Only the measure of a writer’s talent can breathe life into any seemingly stilted and operetta-like plot outline. I would just like to clarify for myself why this particular character became the most interesting in the novel for me. I don't want to justify him, but try to understand him.
Painful pride and great ambitions lead to the fact that a person who considers himself not only no worse, but better than many noble and rich people (in all respects - externally, intellectually, physically stronger, tougher, braver), finds special pleasure in to mock them. Become their wives' lover. Manipulate fools and take advantage of their connections and capabilities. A power-hungry, gifted, cold-blooded person thus indulges his vanity. His cruelty is not meaningless - it conceals dissatisfaction with life, with what it offers him: to be content with second or third roles, while he was born for great achievements. This is much more talented and clever man, whom nature created for serious business. (At the end of the novel, he finds it - it is in war, in an environment of increased danger, that he has the opportunity to open up, show his abilities, and he is transformed.)
Rigidity and sentimentality are not so a rare event, classic intriguers or “villains” are touched by innocence, purity, and incorruptibility. But Dolokhov is not so stilted. Sonechka could not “save” and “transform” him; he would get bored with her very quickly. Sonya is not a person, not a bearer of certain values, unlike Princess Marya, she is just an obedient girl, who has been brought up to be humble towards her benefactors and have an increased sense of gratitude. This is exactly the heroine of the second or third plan, and in many ways deservedly so. She may be faithful and devoted, like Lermontov’s Bela, but this is a type of woman whose charm fades over time, when the first flowering of youth passes. They don't fill the void - no caresses or proofs eternal love. And a woman - the best in the world - cannot turn the energy of such extraordinary people into a peaceful channel. Love is not a substitute for Business. And this is exactly what Dolokhov needed.
However, Sonya’s refusal was a blow to pride - Dolokhov could understand that it was not a matter of social status and fortune, but she still preferred her cousin, Count Rostov. “Happiness, family joys, a career - all this is for them, high-born youths pampered by their mothers and fathers, they waste money, they get everything, and I, the best of them, get scraps from the master’s table?” - Dolokhov could think so. This is the secret torment that resulted in cold rage, a desire to annoy, punish, and take revenge. There is no justification for his actions - he ruined a family that showed kindness to him. But Dolokhov doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion; the source of his hatred is too deep. He doesn’t hate the Rostovs specifically, he hates “all of them.”
In love and hate he was sincere - the transitions were instantaneous. Restrained gratitude, pain and cold hatred. A man of extremes - and at the same time very collected, courageous and strong-willed. He was aware of who he was considered to be, but Tolstoy paid very little attention inner life hero - unlike Andrei, Pierre and, in my opinion, much less deserving Nikolai. Perhaps Dolokhov is not a philosopher or metaphysician, he is a man of a specific huge task, super-tasks that should have been set before him. He could have made a commander. And the name would thunder just like Kutuzov and Napoleon.
But either this type of personality was less interesting to Tolstoy (or he considered that there were already plenty of discussions about the war), or did he decide not to bring Dolokhov to the fore, leaving him in the background? Most likely, both. But the ending of this storyline didn't surprise me. It was natural.
Reviews
Yes, I, too, have always been interested in this image - somehow, perhaps, atypical among the other heroes of “War and Peace”? After all, the novel was supposed to have a continuation, I wonder what would have happened to it?
One of the prototypes of Dolokhov, as far as I know, could be A.S. Figner (1787 - 1813):
“After the French occupied Moscow, he, with the permission of the commander-in-chief, went there as a scout, but with the secret intention of killing Napoleon, for whom he had fanatical hatred, as well as for all the French. He failed to fulfill this intention, but, thanks to his extraordinary ingenuity and knowledge foreign languages Figner, dressing in different costumes, moved freely among the enemies, obtained the necessary information and reported it to our main apartment. Having recruited a small detachment of hunters and backward soldiers, Figner, with the assistance of the peasants, began to disturb the enemy’s rear communications and with his brave enterprises caused such fear that his head was valued by Napoleon ... "
But Figner, alas, did not live to see the end of that war.
And if it happened to him, who would he be? Senate Square?
Well, who knows, maybe not so much ideas as this hatred would attract him?
Here, in my opinion, is another overlapping fate:
"Peter Grigorievich Kakhovsky (1797-1826) - Russian nobleman, Decembrist.
He served in the guard, was demoted to the ranks of soldiers and exiled to the Caucasus; retired with the rank of lieutenant. He was in great poverty, extremely lonely, without family ties and friends.
Kakhovsky believed that it was necessary to destroy autocratic power, exterminate all royal dynasty and the establishment of a republic. On December 14, on Senate Square, Kakhovsky killed St. Petersburg Governor General Miloradovich and Colonel Sturler.
During the investigation he behaved impudently, speaking openly about the shortcomings of the Russian political system and unflatteringly characterizing the emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.
He was hanged among the 5 Decembrists.
Having fallen from the noose due to the inexperience of the executioner, he was hanged a second time."