The image of Napoleon in “War and Peace”
The image of Napoleon in “War and Peace” is one of the brilliant artistic discoveries of L.N. Tolstoy. In the novel, the French emperor acts at a time when he has transformed from a bourgeois revolutionary into a despot and conqueror. Tolstoy's diary entries during the period of work on War and Peace show that he followed a conscious intention - to tear away from Napoleon the aura of false greatness. Napoleon's idol is glory, greatness, that is, other people's opinion of him. It is natural that he strives to make a certain impression on people with his words and appearance. Hence his passion for pose and phrase. They are not so much qualities of Napoleon’s personality as obligatory attributes of his position as a “great” man. By acting, he abandons real, authentic life, “with its essential interests, health, illness, work, rest... with the interests of thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, passions.” The role that Napoleon plays in the world does not require highest qualities, on the contrary, it is possible only for one who renounces the human in himself. “Not only does a good commander not need genius or any special qualities, but on the contrary, he needs the absence of the highest and best human qualities - love, poetry, tenderness, philosophical, inquisitive doubt. For Tolstoy, Napoleon is not great person, but an inferior, flawed person.
Napoleon is the “executioner of nations.” According to Tolstoy, evil is brought to people by an unhappy person who does not know joys true life. The writer wants to instill in his readers the idea that only a person who has lost the true idea of himself and the world can justify all the cruelties and crimes of war. That's what Napoleon was. When he examines the field of the Borodino battle, a battlefield strewn with corpses, here for the first time, as Tolstoy writes, “a personal human feeling for a short moment took precedence over that artificial ghost of life that he had served for so long. He endured the suffering and death that he saw on the battlefield. The heaviness of his head and chest reminded him of the possibility of suffering and death for him.” But this feeling, writes Tolstoy, was brief, instantaneous. Napoleon has to hide the absence of living human feeling, imitate it. Having received a portrait of his son as a gift from his wife, little boy, “he walked up to the portrait and pretended to be thoughtfully tender. He felt that what he would say and do now was history. And it seemed to him that the best thing he could do now is that he, with his greatness... should show, in contrast to this greatness, the simplest fatherly tenderness.”
Napoleon is able to understand the experiences of other people (and for Tolstoy this is the same as not feeling like a human being). This makes Napoleon ready “...to perform that cruel, sad and difficult, inhuman role that was intended for him.” Meanwhile, according to Tolstoy, man and society are alive precisely by “personal human feeling.”
“Personal human feeling” saves Pierre Bezukhov when he, suspected of espionage, is brought in for questioning by Marshal Dove. Pierre, believing that he was sentenced to death, reflects: “Who finally executed, killed, took his life - Pierre, with all his memories, aspirations, hopes, thoughts? Who did this? And Pierre felt that it was no one. It was an order, a pattern of circumstances.” But if a human feeling appears in people who fulfill the demands of this “order,” then it is hostile to the “order” and is saving for a person. This feeling saved Pierre. “Both of them at that moment vaguely had a presentiment of countless things and realized that they were both children of humanity, that they were brothers.”
When L.N. Tolstoy talks about the attitude of historians towards “great people”, and in particular towards Napoleon, he leaves the calm epic manner of narration and we hear the passionate voice of Tolstoy - the preacher. But at the same time, the author of “War and Peace” remains a consistent, strict and original thinker. It is not difficult to sneer at Tolstoy, who gives greatness to recognized historical figures. It is more difficult to understand the essence of his views and assessments and compare them. “And it will not occur to anyone,” Tolstoy declared, “that recognition of greatness, immeasurable by the measure of good and bad, is only recognition of one’s insignificance and immeasurable smallness.” Many reproached L.N. Tolstoy for his biased portrayal of Napoleon, but, as far as we know, no one has refuted his arguments. Tolstoy, as is typical for him, transfers the problem from an objective-abstract plane to a vital-personal one; he turns not only to the human mind, but to the whole person, to his dignity.
The author rightly believes that when a person evaluates a phenomenon, he also evaluates himself, necessarily giving himself one or another meaning. If a person recognizes as great something that is in no way commensurate with him, with his life, feelings, or even hostile to everything that he loves and values in his personal life, then he recognizes his insignificance. To value something that despises and denies you means not to value yourself. L.N. Tolstoy disagrees with the idea that the course of history is determined by individuals. He considers this view “... not only incorrect and unreasonable, but also disgusting to the entire human being.” Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy addresses the whole “human being,” and not just the mind of his reader.
War and Peace is Tolstoy's novel, which became a masterpiece of Russian literature. There the author uses different images, creates many characters where the destinies of both fictional heroes and real, historical ones are intertwined. Among all the figures, an important place is given to the image of Napoleon, whom the author mentions at the beginning of his novel. His personality is actively discussed in the salon, where the entire elite has gathered. Many heroes are interested in him, admire his strategies, his tenacity. However, there are those who did not support him and called him a criminal.
Creating the image of Napoleon, the writer gives an ambiguous characterization of the hero, a brief assessment of which we will reflect today in ours.
Creating the image of Napoleon in War and Peace, the writer shows historical figure from several angles. We see Napoleon as a commander who was military strong, erudite, a man with experience and talent that manifested itself in military affairs and in his strategies. Many heroes at the beginning of the novel admire him, but immediately we see despotism, tyranny and cruelty in the face of Napoleon. For many, a once idol turns into negative hero, which was dangerous not only for other countries and peoples, but also for France itself as a whole.
Image of Napoleon
Zhe revealed his attitude towards the French emperor already in the second part, where he debunks the aura of Napoleon's greatness. In general, in his work, the author often repeats the description of Napoleon, where he uses such adjectives as short, not so handsome, fat, unpleasant. He writes that he is a fat man with a big belly and broad, thick shoulders. Him fat thighs, thick neck and full face. On top of that, Napoleon is endowed with negative traits. Reading the work, you understand how terrible and cruel a man he was, who believed in his superhumanity and decided to decide the destinies of people. He is self-confident, selfish, narcissistic, pompous and arrogant.
Somehow you even feel sorry for such a person, who is a little flawed and morally poor. Love, tenderness are alien to him, the joys of life are unfamiliar, even after receiving a photo of his son, Napoleon could not show joy in a human, fatherly way, only an imitation of feelings.
Napoleon Bonaparte was not interested in the fate of people; for him, people were like pawns on a chessboard, where he could only move the pieces. He follows the corpses to his goals and power; this is a person, as Bolkonsky put it, who experiences happiness from the misfortune of other people.
The personality of the Emperor of France excites the minds of historians and writers of all times. The secret of the evil genius who destroyed millions human lives, many scientists and writers tried to reveal.
Leo Tolstoy acted as an objective critic; the image and characterization of Napoleon in the novel “War and Peace” was comprehensively highlighted, without warning.
What does the Emperor of France look like?
Napoleon's thin face in 1805 near Austerlitz testified to his busy schedule, fatigue, youthful enthusiasm. In 1812, the Emperor of France looks different: a round belly indicates a passion for fatty foods. A plump neck peeks out from the collar of his blue uniform, and the bulges of his thick thighs are clearly visible through the tight fabric of his white leggings.
Military trained posture allowed Bonaparte to last days look majestic. He was distinguished by his short stature, stocky figure and involuntarily protruding belly; he always wore boots - he lived on horseback. The man became famous for his well-groomed dandy with white beautiful hands, loved perfume, his body was constantly enveloped in the thick aroma of cologne.
Napoleon launched a military campaign against Russia at the age of forty. His dexterity and movements became less agile than in his youth, but his step remained firm and fast. The emperor's voice sounded loud, he tried to clearly pronounce each letter, especially beautifully finishing the last syllable in words.
How do the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” characterize Napoleon?
The owner of the St. Petersburg salon, Anna Scherrer, repeats rumors spread from Prussia that Bonaparte is invincible, Europe will not be able to stop his army. It's only 1805, and some of the guests invited to the party speak admiringly of the activities of the new French government and its ambitious leader.
At the beginning of the novel, Andrei Bolkonsky considers the military leader promising. At the mentioned evening, the young prince recalls noble deeds commander, respectful: visiting hospitals, communicating with plague-infected soldiers.
After the Battle of Borodino, when a Russian officer had to die among many killed soldiers, he heard Napoleon above him. He spoke about the picture of death unfolding before his eyes, admiringly, with delight, with inspiration. Prince Andrei realized that he was hearing the words of a sick man, obsessed with the suffering of others, vile and grounded by unhealthy instincts.
Pierre Bezukhov was similarly disappointed in the image of the French military leader. The young count emphasized the state professionalism of a figure who managed to separate the abuses of the revolution, who accepted the equality of citizens as the basis of a new political rule. Pierre especially diligently tried to explain to the Russian nobility positive value freedom of speech, which originated in young France.
In the ashes of Moscow, Bezukhov changed his opinion to the opposite. Under the theatrical greatness of Napoleon's soul, Pierre saw the scale of lawlessness committed single-handedly by the emperor. The consequence of the actions of the person in power was inhuman cruelty. Mass lawlessness was the result of greed and insignificance.
Nikolai Rostov, due to his youth and straightforwardness, considered Napoleon a criminal, and as an emotionally mature representative of youth, he hated the commander of the enemy army with all the strength of his youthful soul.
The Russian statesman Count Rostopchin compares the activities of the evil genius with the pirate traditions that took place on the ships they captured.
Napoleon's Character Traits
The future conqueror of Europe had Italian roots, could, like most representatives of this nation, spontaneously change facial expressions. But contemporaries argued that an expression of complacency and happiness was present on the face little man often, especially in moments of battle.
The author repeatedly mentions the narcissism, self-adoration of this character, selfishness reaches the level of madness. An outright lie escapes his lips, emphasized by the sincere expression in his eyes. War for him is a noble craft, he does not notice that behind these words there is a red picture of millions of lives lost, rivers of blood flowing from the battlefields.
The mass murder of peoples is turning into a habit, a passionate addiction. Napoleon himself calls war his craft. His military career became his life goal since my youth. Having reached power, the emperor values luxury, organizes a magnificent court, and demands honor. His orders are carried out unquestioningly; he himself, according to Tolstoy, began to believe in the correctness of his thoughts, as the only correct ones.
The Emperor is under the delusion that his beliefs are infallible, ideal and perfect in their truth. Tolstoy does not deny that Bonaparte has significant experience in warfare, but the character is not an educated person, but, on the contrary, is a limited person in many respects.
Portrait of NapoleonLev Nikolaevich emphasizes the limitations and self-confidence of this commander, which is manifested in all his words, gestures and actions. The portrait of Napoleon is ironic. He has a “short”, “plump” figure, “fat thighs”, a fussy, swift gait, a “white plump neck”, “a round belly”, “thick shoulders”. This is the image of Napoleon in the novel War and Peace. Describing the morning toilet of the French emperor before the Battle of Borodino, Lev Nikolaevich is revealing portrait characteristics, given initially in the work, enhances. The emperor has a “groomed body”, “overgrown fat breasts”, a “yellow” and “swollen” face. These details show that Napoleon Bonaparte (War and Peace) was a man far from working life and alien to popular roots. The leader of the French is shown as a narcissistic egoist who thinks that the entire Universe obeys his will. People are of no interest to him.
Napoleon's behavior, his manner of speaking
The image of Napoleon in the novel "War and Peace" is revealed not only through a description of his appearance. His manner of speaking and behavior also reveals narcissism and narrow-mindedness. He is convinced of his own genius and greatness. Good is what came into his head, and not what is actually good, as Tolstoy notes. In the novel, every appearance of this character is accompanied by the author's merciless commentary. So, for example, in the third volume (first part, sixth chapter) Lev Nikolaevich writes that it was clear from this man that only what was happening in his soul was of interest to him.
In the work "War and Peace" the characterization of Napoleon is also marked by the following details. With subtle irony, which sometimes turns into sarcasm, the writer exposes Bonaparte's claims to world domination, as well as his acting and constant posing for history. The French emperor played all the time; there was nothing natural or simple in his words and behavior. This is shown very expressively by Lev Nikolaevich in the scene when he admired the portrait of his son on the Borodino field. In it, the image of Napoleon in the novel "War and Peace" acquires some very important details. Let's describe this scene briefly.
Episode with a portrait of Napoleon's son
Napoleon approached the picture, feeling that what he would do and say now “is history.” The portrait depicted the emperor's son playing with a globe in a bilbok. This expressed the greatness of the leader of the French, but Napoleon wanted to show “fatherly tenderness.” Of course it was clean water acting. Napoleon did not express any sincere feelings, he was only acting, posing for history. This scene shows the arrogance of this man, who believed that all of Russia would be conquered with the conquest of Moscow and thus his plans for domination over the entire world would be realized.
Napoleon - actor and player
And in a number of further episodes, the description of Napoleon (“War and Peace”) indicates that he is an actor and player. He says on the eve of the Battle of Borodino that the chess has already been set, the game will begin tomorrow. On the day of the battle, Lev Nikolaevich remarks after the cannon shots: “The game has begun.” Further, the writer shows that it cost tens of thousands of people their lives. Prince Andrei thinks that war is not a game, but only a cruel necessity. A fundamentally different approach to it was contained in this thought of one of the main characters of the work “War and Peace”. The image of Napoleon is shaded thanks to this remark. Prince Andrei expressed the opinion of a peaceful people who were forced under exceptional circumstances to take up arms, as the threat of enslavement loomed over their homeland.
The comic effect produced French Emperor
It didn’t matter to Napoleon what was outside of himself, since it seemed to him that everything in the world depended only on his will. Tolstoy makes such a remark in the episode of his meeting with Balashev (“War and Peace”). The image of Napoleon in it is complemented by new details. Lev Nikolaevich emphasizes the contrast between the insignificance of the emperor and his inflated self-esteem. The comic conflict that arises is the best proof of the emptiness and powerlessness of this historical figure, who pretends to be majestic and strong.
The spiritual world of Napoleon
In Tolstoy's understanding spiritual world the leader of the French is an “artificial world” inhabited by “ghosts of some kind of greatness” (volume three, part two, chapter 38). In fact, Napoleon is living proof of one old truth that “the king is a slave of history” (volume three, part one, chapter 1). Believing that he is fulfilling own will, this historical figure merely played the “difficult”, “sad” and “cruel” “inhuman role” that was intended for him. He would hardly have been able to bear it if this man’s conscience and mind had not been darkened (volume three, part two, chapter 38). The writer sees the darkening of the mind of this commander-in-chief in the fact that he consciously cultivated spiritual callousness in himself, which he mistook for true greatness and courage.
So, for example, in the third volume (part two, chapter 38) it is said that he loved to look at the wounded and killed, thereby testing his spiritual strength (as Napoleon himself believed). In the episode when a squadron of Polish lancers swam across the Neman River and the adjutant, in front of his eyes, allowed himself to draw the attention of the emperor to the devotion of the Poles, Napoleon called Berthier to him and began to walk with him along the shore, giving him orders and occasionally looking displeasedly at the drowned lancers who were entertaining his attention. For him, death is a boring and familiar sight. Napoleon takes for granted the selfless devotion of his own soldiers.
Napoleon is a deeply unhappy man
Tolstoy emphasizes that this man was deeply unhappy, but did not notice this only due to the absence of at least some moral feeling. The "Great" Napoleon, the "European hero" is morally blind. He cannot understand beauty, goodness, truth, or the meaning of his own actions, which, as Leo Tolstoy notes, were “the opposite of good and truth,” “far from everything human.” Napoleon simply could not understand the meaning of his actions (volume three, part two, chapter 38). According to the writer, one can come to truth and goodness only by renouncing the imaginary greatness of one’s personality. However, Napoleon is not at all capable of such a “heroic” act.
Napoleon's responsibility for what he did
Despite the fact that he is doomed to play in history negative role, Tolstoy does not at all diminish the moral responsibility of this man for everything he has done. He writes that Napoleon, destined for the “unfree”, “sad” role of the executioner of many peoples, nevertheless assured himself that their good was the goal of his actions and that he could control and guide the destinies of many people, do things through his power of beneficence. Napoleon imagined that the war with Russia took place according to his will; his soul was not struck by the horror of what had happened (volume three, part two, chapter 38).
Napoleonic qualities of the heroes of the work
In other heroes of the work, Lev Nikolaevich associates Napoleonic qualities with the characters’ lack of moral sense (for example, Helen) or with their tragic errors. Thus, in his youth, Pierre Bezukhov, who was carried away by the ideas of the French emperor, remained in Moscow in order to kill him and thereby become the “savior of mankind.” In the early stages of his spiritual life, Andrei Bolkonsky dreamed of rising above other people, even if this required sacrificing loved ones and family. In the image of Lev Nikolaevich, Napoleonism is a dangerous disease that divides people. It forces them to wander blindly along the spiritual “off-road.”
The image of Napoleon in “War and Peace” is one of the brilliant artistic discoveries of L.N. Tolstoy. In the novel, the French emperor acts at a time when he has transformed from a bourgeois revolutionary into a despot and conqueror. Tolstoy's diary entries during the period of work on War and Peace show that he followed a conscious intention - to tear away from Napoleon the aura of false greatness. Napoleon's idol is glory, greatness, that is, other people's opinion of him. It is natural that he strives to make a certain impression on people with his words and appearance. Hence his passion for pose and phrase. They are not so much qualities of Napoleon’s personality as obligatory attributes of his position as a “great” man. By acting, he abandons real, authentic life, “with its essential interests, health, illness, work, rest... with the interests of thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, passions.” The role that Napoleon plays in the world does not require the highest qualities; on the contrary, it is possible only for someone who renounces the human in himself. “Not only does a good commander not need genius or any special qualities, but on the contrary, he needs the absence of the highest and best human qualities - love, poetry, tenderness, philosophical, inquisitive doubt. For Tolstoy, Napoleon is not a great man, but an inferior, flawed person.
Napoleon is the “executioner of nations.” According to Tolstoy, evil is brought to people by an unhappy person who does not know the joys of true life. The writer wants to instill in his readers the idea that only a person who has lost the true idea of himself and the world can justify all the cruelties and crimes of war. That's what Napoleon was. When he examines the field of the Borodino battle, a battlefield strewn with corpses, here for the first time, as Tolstoy writes, “a personal human feeling for a short moment took precedence over that artificial ghost of life that he had served for so long. He endured the suffering and death that he saw on the battlefield. The heaviness of his head and chest reminded him of the possibility of suffering and death for him.” But this feeling, writes Tolstoy, was brief, instantaneous. Napoleon has to hide the absence of living human feeling, imitate it. Having received a portrait of his son, a little boy, as a gift from his wife, “he approached the portrait and pretended to be thoughtfully tender. He felt that what he would say and do now was history. And it seemed to him that the best thing he could do now is that he, with his greatness... should show, in contrast to this greatness, the simplest fatherly tenderness.”
Napoleon is able to understand the experiences of other people (and for Tolstoy this is the same as not feeling like a human being). This makes Napoleon ready “...to perform that cruel, sad and difficult, inhuman role that was intended for him.” Meanwhile, according to Tolstoy, man and society are alive precisely by “personal human feeling.”
“Personal human feeling” saves Pierre Bezukhov when he, suspected of espionage, is brought in for questioning by Marshal Dove. Pierre, believing that he was sentenced to death, reflects: “Who finally executed, killed, took his life - Pierre, with all his memories, aspirations, hopes, thoughts? Who did this? And Pierre felt that it was no one. It was an order, a pattern of circumstances.” But if a human feeling appears in people who fulfill the demands of this “order,” then it is hostile to the “order” and is saving for a person. This feeling saved Pierre. “Both of them at that moment vaguely had a presentiment of countless things and realized that they were both children of humanity, that they were brothers.”
When L.N. Tolstoy talks about the attitude of historians towards “great people”, and in particular towards Napoleon, he leaves the calm epic manner of narration and we hear the passionate voice of Tolstoy - the preacher. But at the same time, the author of “War and Peace” remains a consistent, strict and original thinker. It is not difficult to sneer at Tolstoy, who gives greatness to recognized historical figures. It is more difficult to understand the essence of his views and assessments and compare them. “And it will not occur to anyone,” Tolstoy declared, “that recognition of greatness, immeasurable by the measure of good and bad, is only recognition of one’s insignificance and immeasurable smallness.” Many reproached L.N. Tolstoy for his biased portrayal of Napoleon, but, as far as we know, no one has refuted his arguments. Tolstoy, as is typical for him, transfers the problem from an objective-abstract plane to a vital-personal one; he turns not only to the human mind, but to the whole person, to his dignity.
The author rightly believes that when a person evaluates a phenomenon, he also evaluates himself, necessarily giving himself one or another meaning. If a person recognizes as great something that is in no way commensurate with him, with his life, feelings, or even hostile to everything that he loves and values in his personal life, then he recognizes his insignificance. To value something that despises and denies you means not to value yourself. L.N. Tolstoy disagrees with the idea that the course of history is determined by individuals. He considers this view “... not only incorrect and unreasonable, but also disgusting to the entire human being.” Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy addresses the whole “human being,” and not just the mind of his reader.