Best Quotes about Prince Andrei Bolkonsky will be useful when writing essays dedicated to one of the main characters of the epic novel L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". The quotes present Bolkonsky's appearance, describe the main episodes of his life, the relationship between Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova, set out Bolkonsky's thoughts about the meaning of life, about love and happiness, and his opinion about war.
Volume 1 part 1
(Description of Andrei Bolkonsky’s appearance at the beginning of the novel)
At this time a new face entered the living room. The new face was the young Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, the husband of the little princess. Prince Bolkonsky was small in stature, a very handsome young man with definite and dry features. Everything about his figure, from his tired, bored look to his quiet, measured step, represented the sharpest contrast with his little, lively wife. Apparently, everyone in the living room was not only familiar to him, but he was so tired of it that he found it very boring to look at them and listen to them. Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bore him the most. With a grimace that spoiled him beautiful face, he turned away from her. He kissed Anna Pavlovna's hand and, squinting, looked around at the whole company.
(Character qualities of Andrei Bolkonsky)
Pierre considered Prince Andrei a model of all perfections precisely because Prince Andrei highest degree combined all those qualities that Pierre did not have and which can most closely be expressed by the concept of willpower. Pierre was always amazed at Prince Andrei's ability to calmly deal with all kinds of people, his extraordinary memory, erudition (he read everything, knew everything, had an idea about everything) and most of all his ability to work and study. If Pierre was often struck by Andrei’s lack of ability for dreamy philosophizing (to which Pierre was especially prone), then in this he saw not a disadvantage, but a strength.
(Dialogue between Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov about the war)
“If everyone fought only according to their convictions, there would be no war,” he said.
“That would be wonderful,” said Pierre.
Prince Andrei grinned.
“It may very well be that it would be wonderful, but it will never happen...
- Well, why are you going to war? - asked Pierre.
- For what? I don't know. That's how it should be. Besides, I’m going...” He stopped. “I’m going because this life that I lead here, this life is not for me!”
(Andrei Bolkonsky, in a conversation with Pierre Bezukhov, expresses his disappointment with marriage, women and secular society)
Never, never marry, my friend; Here's my advice to you, don't get married until you tell yourself that you did everything you could, and until you stop loving the woman you chose, until you see her clearly, and then you will make a cruel and irreparable mistake. Marry an old man, good for nothing... Otherwise, everything that is good and lofty in you will be lost. Everything will be spent on little things.
“My wife,” continued Prince Andrei, “ beautiful woman. This is one of those rare women with whom you can be at peace with your honor; but, my God, what I wouldn’t give now not to be married! I’m telling you this alone and first, because I love you.
Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot escape. I'm going to war now, greatest war, which has only happened, but I don’t know anything and I’m no good for anything.<…>Selfishness, vanity, stupidity, insignificance in everything - these are women when they show themselves as they are. If you look at them in the light, it seems that there is something, but there is nothing, nothing, nothing! Yes, don’t get married, my soul, don’t get married.
(Conversation between Andrei Bolkonsky and Princess Marya)
I cannot reproach myself for anything, I have not reproached and will never reproach my wife, and I myself cannot reproach myself for anything in relation to her, and this will always be so, no matter what my circumstances. But if you want to know the truth... do you want to know if I'm happy? No. Is she happy? No. Why is this? Don't know...
(Bolkonsky is going to leave for the army)
In moments of departure and a change in life, people who are able to think about their actions usually find themselves in a serious mood of thought. At these moments the past is usually reviewed and plans for the future are made. Prince Andrei's face was very thoughtful and tender. He, with his hands behind him, quickly walked around the room from corner to corner, looking ahead of him, and thoughtfully shaking his head. Was he afraid to go to war, was he sad to leave his wife - maybe it was both, but, apparently, not wanting to be seen in this position, hearing footsteps in the hallway, he hastily freed his hands, stopped at the table, as if he was tying the cover of a box, and assumed his usual calm and impenetrable expression.
Volume 1 part 2
(Description of Andrei Bolkonsky’s appearance after he joined the army)
Despite the fact that not much time has passed since Prince Andrei left Russia, he has changed a lot during this time. In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, the former pretense, fatigue and laziness were almost not noticeable; he had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy doing something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and gaze were more cheerful and attractive.
(Bolkonsky is Kutuzov’s adjutant. The attitude of the army towards Prince Andrei)
Kutuzov, whom he caught up with in Poland, received him very kindly, promised him not to forget him, distinguished him from other adjutants, took him with him to Vienna and gave him more serious assignments. From Vienna, Kutuzov wrote to his old comrade, the father of Prince Andrei.
“Your son,” he wrote, “shows hope of becoming an officer, out of the ordinary in his knowledge, firmness and diligence. I consider myself lucky to have such a subordinate at hand.”
At Kutuzov's headquarters, among his fellow soldiers and in the army in general, Prince Andrei, as well as in St. Petersburg society, had two completely opposite reputations. Some, a minority, recognized Prince Andrei as something special from themselves and from all other people, expected great success from him, listened to him, admired him and imitated him; and with these people Prince Andrei was simple and pleasant. Others, the majority, did not like Prince Andrei, considered him a pompous, cold and unpleasant person. But with these people, Prince Andrei knew how to position himself in such a way that he was respected and even feared.
(Bolkonsky strives for fame)
This news was sad and at the same time pleasant for Prince Andrei. As soon as he learned that the Russian army was in such a hopeless situation, it occurred to him that he was precisely destined to lead the Russian army out of this situation, that here was Toulon, who would lead him out of the ranks of unknown officers and reveal to him the first path to glory! Listening to Bilibin, he was already thinking how, having arrived at the army, he would present an opinion at the military council that alone would save the army, and how he alone would be entrusted with the execution of this plan.
“Stop joking, Bilibin,” said Bolkonsky.
- I tell you sincerely and in a friendly manner. Judge. Where and why will you go now that you can stay here? One of two things awaits you (he gathered the skin above his left temple): either you don’t reach the army and peace will be concluded, or defeat and disgrace with the entire Kutuzov army.
And Bilibin loosened his skin, feeling that his dilemma was irrefutable.
“I can’t judge this,” Prince Andrei said coldly, but he thought: “I’m going to save the army.”
(Battle of Shengraben. Bolkonsky hopes to prove himself in the battle and find “his Toulon”)
Prince Andrei stood on horseback on the battery, looking at the smoke of the gun from which the cannonball flew out. His eyes darted across the vast space. He only saw that the previously motionless masses of the French began to sway and that there really was a battery to the left. The smoke has not yet cleared from it. Two French cavalry, probably adjutants, galloped along the mountain. A clearly visible small column of the enemy was moving downhill, probably to strengthen the chain. The smoke of the first shot had not yet cleared when another smoke and a shot appeared. The battle has begun. Prince Andrei turned his horse and galloped back to Grunt to look for Prince Bagration. Behind him, he heard the cannonade becoming more frequent and louder. Apparently, our people were starting to respond. Below, in the place where the envoys were passing, rifle shots were heard.
“It has begun! Here it is! - thought Prince Andrei, feeling how the blood began to flow more often to his heart. “But where? How will my Toulon be expressed? - he thought.
Volume 1 part 3
(Andrei Bolkonsky's dream of personal glory)
“Well, and then...” Prince Andrei answers himself, “I don’t know what will happen next, I don’t want and can’t know; but if I want this, I want fame, I want to be famous people, I want to be loved by them, then it’s not my fault that I want this, that I want this alone, for this alone I live. Yes, for this alone! I'll never tell anyone this, but oh my God! What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love? Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear many people are to me - my father, sister, wife - the most dear people to me - but, no matter how scary and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love people whom I don’t know and won’t know, for the love of these people,” he thought, listening to the conversation in Kutuzov’s yard.
(The Sky of Austerlitz as an important episode on the path of the spiritual formation of Prince Andrei)
"What is this? Am I falling? My legs are giving way,” he thought and fell on his back. He opened his eyes, hoping to see how the fight between the French and the artillerymen ended, and wanting to know whether the red-haired artilleryman was killed or not, whether the guns were taken or saved. But he didn't see anything. There was nothing above him anymore except the sky - a high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with gray clouds quietly creeping across it. “How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all like how I ran,” thought Prince Andrei, “not like how we ran, shouted and fought; It’s not at all like how the Frenchman and the artilleryman pulled the banner from each other with embittered and frightened faces - not at all like how the clouds crawl across this high endless sky. How come I haven’t seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally recognized him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. There is nothing, nothing, except him. But even that is not there, there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!..”
He felt that he was emanating blood, and he saw above him the distant, high and eternal sky. He knew that it was Napoleon - his hero, but at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was now happening between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. He didn’t care at all at that moment, no matter who stood above him, no matter what they said about him; He was only glad that people were standing over him, and he only wished that these people would help him and return him to life, which seemed so beautiful to him, because he understood it so differently now.
Despite the fact that five minutes before this, Prince Andrei could say a few words to the soldiers carrying him, he now, directly fixing his eyes on Napoleon, was silent... All the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him at that moment, so petty it seemed to him that his hero himself, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood, that he could not answer him. And everything seemed so useless and insignificant in comparison with the strict and majestic structure of thought that was caused in him by the weakening of his strength from the bleeding, suffering and the imminent expectation of death. Looking into the eyes of Napoleon, Prince Andrei thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, the meaning of which no one could understand, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one living could understand and explain.
Volume 2 part 2
(Meeting of Prince Andrei and Pierre Bezukhov in Bogucharovo)
Pierre was struck by the modesty of the small, although clean, house after those brilliant conditions in which last time he saw his friend in St. Petersburg. He hurriedly entered the still pine-smelling, unplastered small room and wanted to move on, but Anton tiptoed forward and knocked on the door.
- Well, what's there? - a sharp, unpleasant voice was heard.
“Guest,” answered Anton.
“Ask me to wait,” and I heard a chair being pushed back. Pierre with quick steps walked up to the door and came face to face with the frowning and aged Prince Andrey coming out to him. Pierre hugged him and, raising his glasses, kissed him on the cheeks and looked at him closely.
“I didn’t expect it, I’m very glad,” said Prince Andrei. Pierre said nothing; He looked at his friend in surprise, without taking his eyes off. He was struck by the change that had taken place in Prince Andrei. The words were affectionate, a smile was on Prince Andrei’s lips and face, but his gaze was dull, dead, to which, despite his apparent desire, Prince Andrei could not give a joyful and cheerful shine. It’s not that his friend has lost weight, turned pale, and matured; but this look and the wrinkle on his forehead, expressing long concentration on one thing, amazed and alienated Pierre until he got used to them.
When meeting after a long separation, as always happens, the conversation could not be established for a long time; they asked and answered briefly about things that they themselves knew should have been talked about at length. Finally, the conversation began to dwell little by little on what had been said fragmentarily before, on questions about past life, about plans for the future, about Pierre’s travels, about his activities, about the war, etc. That concentration and depression that Pierre noticed in the look of Prince Andrei was now expressed even more strongly in the smile with which he listened to Pierre, especially then when Pierre spoke with animated joy about the past or the future. It was as if Prince Andrei would have wanted, but could not, take part in what he was saying. Pierre began to feel that enthusiasm, dreams, hopes for happiness and goodness in front of Prince Andrei were indecent. He was ashamed to express all his new, Masonic thoughts, especially those renewed and aroused in him by his last trip. He restrained himself, was afraid to be naive; at the same time, he irresistibly wanted to quickly show his friend that he was now a completely different, better Pierre than the one who was in St. Petersburg.
“I can’t tell you how much I experienced during this time.” I wouldn't recognize myself.
“Yes, we have changed a lot, a lot since then,” said Prince Andrei.
- Well, what about you? - asked Pierre. — What are your plans?
- Plans? - Prince Andrey repeated ironically. - My plans? - he repeated, as if surprised by the meaning of such a word. - Yes, you see, I’m building, I want to move completely by next year...
Pierre silently peered intently into Andrei's aged face.
“No, I’m asking,” said Pierre, but Prince Andrei interrupted him:
- But what can I say about me... tell me, tell me about your journey, about everything you did there on your estates?
Pierre began to talk about what he had done on his estates, trying as much as possible to hide his participation in the improvements made by him. Prince Andrei several times suggested to Pierre what he was telling, as if everything that Pierre had done had happened a long time ago. famous story, and listened not only not with interest, but even as if ashamed of what Pierre was telling.
Pierre felt awkward and even difficult in the company of his friend. He fell silent.
“Well, here’s the thing, my soul,” said Prince Andrei, who, obviously, was also hard and shy with his guest, “I’m here in bivouacs, I just came to look.” And now I’m going back to my sister. I'll introduce you to them. “Yes, you seem to know each other,” he said, obviously entertaining the guest with whom he now felt nothing in common. “We’ll go after dinner.” Now do you want to see my estate? “They went out and walked around until lunch, talking about political news and mutual acquaintances, like people who are not very close to each other. With some animation and interest, Prince Andrei spoke only about the new estate and building he was organizing, but even here, in the middle of the conversation, on the stage, when Prince Andrei was describing to Pierre the future location of the house, he suddenly stopped. “However, there is nothing interesting here, let’s go to dinner.” and let's go.
Volume 2 part 3
(Description of an old oak tree)
There was an oak tree on the edge of the road. Probably ten times older than the birches that made up the forest, it was ten times thicker and twice as tall as each birch. It was a huge oak tree, two girths wide, with branches that had been broken off for a long time and with broken bark overgrown with old sores. With his huge, clumsy, asymmetrically splayed, gnarled hands and fingers, he stood like an old, angry and contemptuous freak between the smiling birch trees. Only he alone did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun.
“Spring, and love, and happiness!” - as if this oak tree was saying, - “and how can you not get tired of the same stupid and senseless deception. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness. Look there, the crushed dead spruce trees are sitting, always the same, and there I am, spreading out my broken, skinned fingers, wherever they grew - from the back, from the sides; As we grew up, I still stand, and I don’t believe your hopes and deceptions.”
Prince Andrei looked back at this oak tree several times while driving through the forest, as if he was expecting something from it. There were flowers and grass under the oak tree, but he still stood in the midst of them, frowning, motionless, ugly and stubborn.
“Yes, he is right, this oak tree is right a thousand times,” thought Prince Andrei, let others, young people, again succumb to this deception, but we know life, our life is over! A whole new series of hopeless, but sadly pleasant thoughts in connection with this oak tree arose in the soul of Prince Andrei. During this journey, he seemed to think over his whole life again, and came to the same old reassuring and hopeless conclusion that he did not need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and without wanting anything.
(Bolkonsky’s reputation in society)
Prince Andrei was in one of the most favorable provisions in order to be well received into all the most diverse and highest circles of the then St. Petersburg society. The Party of Reformers cordially received and lured him, firstly, because he had a reputation for intelligence and great reading, and secondly, because by his release of the peasants he had already made himself a reputation as a liberal. The party of dissatisfied old men, just like their father’s son, turned to him for sympathy, condemning the reforms. Women's society and the world welcomed him cordially, because he was a groom, rich and noble, and almost a new face with a halo romantic story about his imaginary death and the tragic death of his wife. In addition, the general voice about him from everyone who knew him before was that he had changed a lot for the better in these five years, had softened and matured, that there was no former pretense, pride and mockery in him and that there was that calmness that is acquired for years. They started talking about him, they were interested in him, and everyone wanted to see him.
(New feelings and new plans for the future)
Prince Andrei felt in Natasha the presence of a completely alien to him, special world, filled with some unknown joys, that alien world that was still there then, in the Otradnensky alley and on the window in moonlit night, so teased him. Now this world no longer teased him, it was no longer an alien world; but he himself, having entered it, found in it a new pleasure for himself.
After dinner, Natasha, at the request of Prince Andrei, went to the clavichord and began to sing. Prince Andrei stood at the window, talking with the ladies, and listened to her. In the middle of the sentence, Prince Andrei fell silent and suddenly felt tears coming to his throat, the possibility of which he did not know was within himself. He looked at Natasha singing, and something new and happy happened in his soul. He was happy, and at the same time he was sad. He had absolutely nothing to cry about, but was he ready to cry? About what? About former love? About the little princess? About your disappointments?.. About your hopes for the future? Yes and no. The main thing he wanted to cry about was the terrible contrast he suddenly became acutely aware of between something infinitely great and indefinable that was within him, and something narrow and corporeal that he himself was and even she was. This contrast tormented and delighted him while she sang.
Prince Andrei left the Rostovs late in the evening. He went to bed out of habit, but soon saw that he could not sleep. Having lit a candle, he sat in bed, then got up, then lay down again, not at all burdened by insomnia: his soul was so joyful and new, as if he had stepped out of a stuffy room into the free light of God. It never occurred to him that he was in love with Rostova; he didn't think about her; he only imagined her, and as a result his whole life seemed to him in a new light. “What am I fighting for, why am I fussing in this narrow, closed frame, when life, all life with all its joys, is open to me?” - he said to himself. And for the first time after a long time, he began to make happy plans for the future. He decided on his own that he needed to start raising his son, finding him a teacher and entrusting him with it; then you have to retire and go abroad, see England, Switzerland, Italy. “I need to use my freedom while I feel so much strength and youth in myself,” he said to himself. - Pierre was right when he said that you need to believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and now I believe in him. Let’s leave the dead to bury the dead, but while you’re alive, you must live and be happy,” he thought.
(Oak description, update)
“Yes, here, in this forest, there was this oak tree with which we agreed,” thought Prince Andrei. - Where is he? “- Prince Andrei thought again, looking at left side road and, without knowing it, without recognizing him, admired the oak tree that he was looking for. The old oak tree, completely transformed, spread out like a tent of lush, dark greenery, was melting, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No gnarled fingers, no sores, no old grief and mistrust - nothing was visible. Juicy, young leaves broke through the hundred-year-old hard bark without knots, so it was impossible to believe that it was the old man who produced them. “Yes, this is the same oak tree,” thought Prince Andrei, and suddenly an unreasonable spring feeling of joy and renewal came over him. All the best moments of his life suddenly came back to him at the same time. And Austerlitz with the high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and the girl excited by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon - and all this suddenly came to his mind.
“No, life is not over even for thirty-one years,” Prince Andrei suddenly finally and irrevocably decided. “Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary for everyone to know it: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary for everyone to know me, so that my life is not for me alone.” life, so that they don’t live like this girl, regardless of my life, so that it affects everyone and so that they all live with me!”
Returning from his trip, Prince Andrei decided to go to St. Petersburg in the fall and came up with the idea various reasons this decision. A whole series reasonable, logical arguments why he needed to go to St. Petersburg and even serve, he was ready for his services every minute. Even now he did not understand how he could ever doubt the need to take an active part in life, just as a month ago he did not understand how the thought of leaving the village could have occurred to him. It seemed clear to him that all his experiences in life would have been in vain and would have been meaningless if he had not applied them to action and taken an active part in life again. He did not even understand how, on the basis of the same poor reasonable arguments, it had previously been obvious that he would have humiliated himself if now, after his life lessons, he again believed in the possibility of being useful and in the possibility of happiness and love. Now my mind suggested something completely different. After this trip, Prince Andrei began to get bored in the village, his previous activities did not interest him, and often, sitting alone in his office, he got up, went to the mirror and looked at his face for a long time. Then he would turn away and look at the portrait of the deceased Lisa, who, with her curls whipped up a la grecque, tenderly and cheerfully looked at him from the golden frame. She no longer spoke the same terrible words to her husband; she simply and cheerfully looked at him with curiosity. And Prince Andrei, clasping his hands back, walked around the room for a long time, now frowning, now smiling, reconsidering those unreasonable, inexpressible in words, secret as a crime thoughts associated with Pierre, with fame, with the girl on the window, with the oak tree, with female beauty and love that changed his whole life. And at these moments, when someone came to him, he was especially dry, strictly decisive and especially unpleasantly logical.
(Bolkonsky tells Pierre about his love for Natasha Rostova)
Prince Andrei, with a radiant, enthusiastic and renewed face, stopped in front of Pierre and, without noticing him, sad face, smiled at him with the egoism of happiness.
“Well, my soul,” he said, “yesterday I wanted to tell you and today I came to you for this.” I've never experienced anything like it. I'm in love, my friend.
Pierre suddenly sighed heavily and collapsed with his heavy body on the sofa next to Prince Andrei.
- To Natasha Rostova, right? - he said.
- Yes, yes, who? I would never believe it, but this feeling is stronger than me. Yesterday I suffered, I suffered, but I wouldn’t give up this torment for anything in the world. I haven't lived before. Now only I live, but I cannot live without her. But can she love me?.. I'm too old for her... What aren't you saying?..
- I? I? “What did I tell you,” Pierre suddenly said, getting up and starting to walk around the room. - I always thought that... This girl is such a treasure, such... This rare girl... Dear friend, I ask you, don’t get smart, don’t doubt, get married, get married and get married... And I’m sure that there will be no happier person than you.
- But she?
- She loves you.
“Don’t talk nonsense...” said Prince Andrei, smiling and looking into Pierre’s eyes.
“He loves me, I know,” Pierre shouted angrily.
“No, listen,” said Prince Andrei, stopping him by the hand.
- Do you know what situation I'm in? I need to tell everything to someone.
“Well, well, say, I’m very glad,” said Pierre, and indeed his face changed, the wrinkles smoothed out, and he joyfully listened to Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei seemed and was a completely different, new person. Where was his melancholy, his contempt for life, his disappointment? Pierre was the only person to whom he dared to speak; but for that he already expressed to him everything that was in his soul. Either he easily and boldly made plans for a long future, talked about how he could not sacrifice his happiness for the whim of his father, how he would force his father to agree to this marriage and love her or do without his consent, then he was surprised how something strange, alien, independent of him, influenced by the feeling that possessed him.
“I wouldn’t believe anyone who told me that I could love like that,” said Prince Andrei. “This is not at all the feeling that I had before.” The whole world is divided for me into two halves: one is she, and there is all the happiness, hope, light; the other half is everything where she is not there, there is all despondency and darkness...
“Darkness and gloom,” Pierre repeated, “yes, yes, I understand that.”
- I can’t help but love the world, it’s not my fault. And I'm very happy. Do you understand me? I know you're happy for me.
“Yes, yes,” Pierre confirmed, looking at his friend with tender and sad eyes. The brighter the fate of Prince Andrei seemed to him, the darker his own seemed.
(Relationship between Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova after the marriage proposal)
There was no engagement and Bolkonsky’s engagement to Natasha was not announced to anyone; Prince Andrei insisted on this. He said that since he was the cause of the delay, he must bear the entire burden of it. He said that he was forever bound by his word, but that he did not want to bind Natasha and gave her complete freedom. If after six months she feels that she does not love him, she will be within her right if she refuses him. It goes without saying that neither the parents nor Natasha wanted to hear about it; but Prince Andrei insisted on his own. Prince Andrei visited the Rostovs every day, but did not treat Natasha like a groom: he told her you and kissed only her hand. After the day of the proposal, a completely different, close, simple relationship was established between Prince Andrei and Natasha. It was as if they didn't know each other until now. Both he and she loved to remember how they looked at each other when they were still nothing; now both of them felt like completely different creatures: then feigned, now simple and sincere.
The old count sometimes approached Prince Andrei, kissed him, and asked him for advice on the upbringing of Petya or the service of Nicholas. The old countess sighed as she looked at them. Sonya was afraid at every moment of being superfluous and tried to find excuses to leave them alone when they didn’t need it. When Prince Andrei spoke (he spoke very well), Natasha listened to him with pride; when she spoke, she noticed with fear and joy that he was looking at her carefully and searchingly. She asked herself in bewilderment: “What is he looking for in me? He is trying to achieve something with his gaze! What if there is not in me what he is looking for with this look?” Sometimes she entered into her characteristic insanely cheerful mood, and then she especially loved to listen and watch how Prince Andrei laughed. He rarely laughed, but when he laughed, he gave himself entirely to his laughter, and every time after this laugh she felt closer to him. Natasha would have been completely happy if the thought of the impending and approaching separation did not frighten her, since he too turned pale and cold at the mere thought of it.
(From a letter from Princess Marya to Julie Karagina)
“Our family life continues as before, with the exception of the presence of brother Andrei. He, as I already wrote to you, has changed a lot lately. After his grief, only this year has he completely morally come to life. He became the same as I knew him as a child: kind, gentle, with that golden heart that I know no equal to. He realized, it seems to me, that life is not over for him. But along with this moral change he was physically very weak. He became thinner than before, more nervous. I am afraid for him and am glad that he took this trip abroad, which doctors have long prescribed for him. I hope this fixes it. You write to me that in St. Petersburg they talk about him as one of the most active, educated and intelligent young people. Sorry for the pride of kinship - I never doubted it. It is impossible to count the good that he did here to everyone, from his peasants to the nobles. Arriving in St. Petersburg, he took only what he should have.”
Volume 3 part 2
(Conversation between Bolkonsky and Bezukhov about Natasha Rostova after the incident with Prince Kuragin. Andrei cannot forgive Natasha)
“Forgive me if I’m bothering you...” Pierre realized that Prince Andrei wanted to talk about Natasha, and wide face he was expressed regret and sympathy. This expression on Pierre's face angered Prince Andrei; he continued decisively, loudly and unpleasantly: “I received a refusal from Countess Rostova, and I heard rumors about your brother-in-law seeking her hand or the like.” Is this true?
“It’s true and it’s not true,” Pierre began; but Prince Andrei interrupted him.
“Here are her letters,” he said, “and a portrait.” “He took the bundle from the table and handed it to Pierre.
- Give it to the Countess... if you see her.
“She is very sick,” said Pierre.
- So she's still here? - said Prince Andrei. - And Prince Kuragin? - he asked quickly.
- He left a long time ago. She was dying...
“I’m very sorry about her illness,” said Prince Andrei. He grinned coldly, evilly, unpleasantly, like his father.
“But Mr. Kuragin, therefore, did not deign to give Countess Rostov his hand?” - said Andrey. — He snorted several times.
“He couldn’t get married because he was married,” said Pierre.
Prince Andrei laughed unpleasantly, again resembling his father.
- Where is he now, your brother-in-law, may I know? - he said.
“He went to Peter... however, I don’t know,” said Pierre.
“Well, it’s all the same,” said Prince Andrei. “Tell Countess Rostova that she was and is completely free and that I wish her all the best.”
Pierre picked up a bunch of papers. Prince Andrei, as if remembering whether he needed to say something else, or waiting to see if Pierre would say something, looked at him with a fixed gaze.
“Listen, you remember our argument in St. Petersburg,” said Pierre, “remember about...
“I remember,” Prince Andrei hastily answered, “I said that a fallen woman must be forgiven, but I did not say that I can forgive.” I can't.
“Is it possible to compare this?..” said Pierre. Prince Andrei interrupted him. He shouted sharply:
- Yes, ask for her hand again, be generous and the like?.. Yes, this is very noble, but I am not able to follow sur les brisées de monsieur (in the footsteps of this gentleman). If you want to be my friend, don't ever talk to me about this... about all this. Well, goodbye.
(Conversation between Bolkonsky and Bezukhov about war, victory and loss in battle)
Pierre looked at him in surprise.
“However,” he said, “they say that war is like a chess game.”
“Yes,” said Prince Andrei, “only with this small difference that in chess you can think about every step as much as you want, that you are there outside the conditions of time, and with this difference that a knight is always stronger than a pawn and two pawns are always stronger.” one, and in war one battalion is sometimes stronger than a division, and sometimes weaker than a company. The relative strength of the troops cannot be known to anyone. Believe me,” he said, “if anything depended on the orders of the headquarters, then I would be there and give orders, but instead I have the honor of serving here, in the regiment, with these gentlemen, and I believe that from us tomorrow will indeed depend, and not on them... Success has never depended and will not depend either on position, or on weapons, or even on numbers; and least of all from the position.
- And from what?
“From the feeling that is in me, in him,” he pointed to Timokhin, “in every soldier.”
- The battle will be won by the one who is determined to win it. Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz? Our loss was almost equal to the French, but we told ourselves very early that we had lost the battle - and we lost. And we said this because we had no need to fight there: we wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. “If you lose, then run away!” - we ran. If we hadn’t said this until the evening, God knows what would have happened.
(Andrei Bolkonsky’s opinion about the war in a conversation with Pierre Bezukhov on the eve of the Battle of Borodino)
War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and we must understand this and not play at war. We must take this terrible necessity strictly and seriously. That's all there is to it: throw away the lies, and war is war, not a toy. Otherwise, war is the favorite pastime of idle and frivolous people... The military class is the most honorable. What is war, what is needed for success in military affairs, what are the morals of military society? The purpose of war is murder, the weapons of war are espionage, treason and its encouragement, the ruin of the inhabitants, their robbery or theft to feed the army; deception and lies, called stratagems; the morals of the military class - lack of freedom, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery, drunkenness. And despite this, this is the highest class, respected by everyone. All kings, except the Chinese, wear a military uniform, and the one who killed the most people is given a large reward... They will come together, like tomorrow, to kill each other, kill, maim tens of thousands of people, and then they will serve thanksgiving services for that they beat many people (whose number is still being added), and they proclaim victory, believing that the more people are beaten, the greater the merit.
(About love and compassion)
In the unfortunate, sobbing, exhausted man, whose leg had just been taken away, he recognized Anatoly Kuragin. They held Anatole in their arms and offered him water in a glass, the edge of which he could not catch with his trembling, swollen lips. Anatole was sobbing heavily. “Yes, it’s him; “Yes, this man is somehow closely and deeply connected with me,” thought Prince Andrei, not yet clearly understanding what was in front of him. “What is this person’s connection with my childhood, with my life?” - he asked himself, not finding an answer. And suddenly a new, unexpected memory from the world of childhood, pure and loving, presented itself to Prince Andrei. He remembered Natasha as he saw her for the first time at the ball in 1810, with a thin neck and thin arms, with a frightened, happy face ready for delight, and love and tenderness for her, even more vivid and stronger than ever , woke up in his soul. He now remembered this connection that existed between him and this man, who, through tears filling his swollen eyes, looked dully at him. Prince Andrey remembered everything, and enthusiastic pity and love for this man filled his happy heart.
Prince Andrei could no longer hold on and began to cry tender, loving tears over people, over himself and over them and his delusions.
“Compassion, love for brothers, for those who love, love for those who hate us, love for enemies - yes, that love that God preached on earth, which Princess Mary taught me and which I did not understand; That’s why I felt sorry for life, that’s what was still left for me if I were alive. But now it's too late. I know it!
Volume 3 part 3
(Oh happiness)
“Yes, I discovered a new happiness that is inherent in a person.<…>Happiness that is outside of material forces, outside of material external influences on a person, the happiness of one soul, the happiness of love! Every person can understand it, but only God could recognize and prescribe it.”
(About love and hate)
“Yes, love (he thought again with perfect clarity), but not the love that loves for something, for something or for some reason, but the love that I experienced for the first time, when, dying, I saw his enemy and still loved him. I experienced that feeling of love, which is the very essence of the soul and for which no object is needed. I still experience this blissful feeling. Love your neighbors, love your enemies. To love everything is to love God in all manifestations. You can love someone dear human love; but only an enemy can be loved with Divine love. And that’s why I felt such joy when I felt that I loved that person. What's wrong with him? Is he alive... Loving with human love, you can move from love to hatred; but Divine love cannot change. Nothing, not death, nothing can destroy it. She is the essence of the soul. And how many people have I hated in my life. And of all the people, I have never loved or hated anyone more than her.” And he vividly imagined Natasha, not as he had imagined her before, with only her charm, joyful for himself; but for the first time I imagined her soul. And he understood her feeling, her suffering, shame, repentance. Now for the first time he understood the cruelty of his refusal, saw the cruelty of his break with her. “If only I could see her one more time. Once, looking into these eyes, say..."
Volume 4 part 1
(Bolkonsky’s thoughts on love, life and death)
Prince Andrei not only knew that he would die, but he felt that he was dying, that he was already half dead. He experienced a consciousness of alienation from everything earthly and a joyful and strange lightness of being. He, without haste and without worry, awaited what lay ahead of him. That menacing, eternal, unknown and distant, the presence of which he never ceased to feel throughout his entire life, was now close to him and - due to the strange lightness of being that he experienced - almost understandable and felt.
Before, he was afraid of the end. He experienced this terrible, painful feeling of fear of death, of the end, twice, and now he no longer understood it.
The first time he experienced this feeling was when a grenade was spinning like a top in front of him and he looked at the stubble, at the bushes, at the sky and knew that death was in front of him. When he woke up after the wound and in his soul, instantly, as if freed from the oppression of life that held him back, this flower of love, eternal, free, independent of this life, blossomed, he was no longer afraid of death and did not think about it. The more he, in those hours of suffering solitude and semi-delirium that he spent after his wound, thought about the new beginning that was open to him eternal love Moreover, without feeling it himself, he renounced earthly life. Everything, to love everyone, to always sacrifice oneself for love, meant not loving anyone, meant not living this earthly life. And the more he was imbued with this principle of love, the more he renounced life and the more completely he destroyed that terrible barrier that, without love, stands between life and death. When, at first, he remembered that he had to die, he said to himself: well, so much the better.
But after that night in Mytishchi, when the one he desired appeared in front of him in a semi-delirium, and when he, pressing her hand to his lips, cried quiet, joyful tears, love for one woman imperceptibly crept into his heart and again tied him to life. Both joyful and anxious thoughts began to come to him. Remembering that moment at the dressing station when he saw Kuragin, he now could not return to that feeling: he was tormented by the question of whether he was alive? And he didn't dare ask this.
As he fell asleep, he kept thinking about the same thing he had been thinking about all this time - about life and death. And more about death. He felt closer to her.
"Love? What is love? - he thought. — Love interferes with death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by one thing. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source.”
But at the same moment as he died, Prince Andrei remembered that he was sleeping, and at the same moment as he died, he, making an effort on himself, woke up.
“Yes, it was death. I died - I woke up. Yes, death is awakening! — his soul suddenly brightened, and the veil that had hitherto hidden the unknown was lifted before his spiritual gaze. He felt a kind of liberation of the strength previously bound in him and that strange lightness that has not left him since then.
Chernyshevsky pointed out that a feature of Tolstoy’s realism is his depiction of the internal psychological process of human life, the “dialectic of the soul” of a person. Tolstoy great attention devotes inner life heroes. His heroes are trying to answer the eternal questions: “What is good and evil? Why do I live and who am I? What is the meaning of human life? We have to go through a lot emotional drama, try yourself in a variety of fields, make mistakes, fall and be reborn again, in order to ultimately come to the harmony of life. Tolstoy paints his heroes in a certain environment, in a certain era, showing how this environment, this environment influence people’s worldview.
We meet Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov in the Scherer salon and immediately notice something in common that makes them similar and sets them apart from secular society. Both are nobles by birth. Their fathers know each other well, they once served together, perhaps this is where the origins of their friendship lie. But secular society treats them differently. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is one of our own, an equal, if not in views, then in origin. And Bezukhov is greeted only by bowing his head, because he is illegitimate. Andrei lived most of the time on his father’s estate. His family is there. Pierre Bezukhov has just returned from Paris, where he was finishing his education. They also differ in appearance. Prince Andrey - socialite. He is dressed in the latest fashion, he has excellent French pronunciation, a quiet, slow gait and universal boredom in his eyes. Pierre is fat, huge and clumsy; he looks very little like a society dandy. Andrey is older than Pierre, but they enjoy each other's company. Prince Andrei appears before us as a completely mature person, which cannot be said about Pierre Bezukhov. The formation of this hero occurs throughout the seven years of the novel’s life. When they meet, Prince Andrei tells Pierre about his dissatisfaction with the life he leads. “This life that I lead here, this life is not for me,” says Prince Andrei. Let's try to trace what Prince Andrei and Pierre Bezukhov were talking about after they left the salon. At first there seems to be a conversation about everyday problems, affairs, career and marriage of Pierre. But Tolstoy is already revealing here inner world Andrei, saying that “Prince Andrei was apparently not interested in these abstract conversations about eternal peace" This means he is interested in something else. So what? The conversation turns to war, and Prince Andrei expresses his views. Andrei craves fame, believes in Napoleon and wants to imitate him. Pierre at this time also admires Napoleon, mistakenly seeing him as the leader of revolutionary France.
After the meeting at Scherer, Andrei and Pierre's paths diverge for a short time. Prince Andrey enters service at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief.
He dreams of accomplishing a feat in order to be noticed. At the Battle of Austerlitz, leading soldiers into battle, he was noticed, even by the same Napoleon, whom he had previously admired so much. But now this is no longer the main thing for Andrey. Wounded, he sees the blue high sky and begins to understand that happiness lies in himself. He thinks about his relatives who are left at home. Disillusioned with his military career, having never found the meaning of life in the war, Bolkonsky returns home.
What is Pierre doing at this time? His life is spent in fun and revelry in the company of Kuragin. The old Count Bezukhov, Pierre's father, dies and makes his illegitimate son his only heir. Pierre receives wealth and title. He is noticed in the world, now he is a welcome guest in all salons and houses. He's marrying himself beautiful woman- Helen Kuragina, who, for all her beauty, turns out to be a stupid and empty person. Now Pierre begins to think about the meaning of life, to look for answers to eternal questions. He carries out a number of reforms to make life easier for his serfs, but remains misunderstood by the peasants, many of them simply consider him a fool. In order to understand the people and be understood by them, Pierre will still need to live among these people, go through all the horror of the war with them.
Prince Andrei, returning from the war, receives another blow - his wife dies, leaving him little son. Shocked by this tragedy, Andrei buries himself alive in the village. He is now trying, like Pierre, to improve the lives of the peasants. Pierre arrives in Bogucharovo and finds Andrei completely depressed. Another thing happens between them important conversation. Andrei saw Austerlitz, saw the senselessness and cruelty of the murder. He is devastated, all his dreams and hopes have been crushed. Pierre, on the contrary, is elated: he is interested in Freemasonry and believes that he has learned the truth. Pierre at first does not understand the reason for Andrey's misfortune. We are talking about murder, is it possible to kill at all? After the war, Prince Andrei believes that there are people who can be killed, since they kill themselves. Pierre is frightened by these words and advises living according to God's commandments: act towards others as you want people to treat you. Andrey believes that in life we must strive for happiness, and happiness is the absence of remorse and illness. To distract his friend, Pierre tells him about Freemasonry. Prince Andrey listens attentively to Pierre's words, but sees beyond Masonic philosophy. Pierre's words open up for him new way. Andrei looks up, sees the same high and eternal sky as the one he looked into at Austerlitz, and that’s where revelation descends on him. For the second time in my life. It seems that he is re-learning the secrets of the universe. “The meeting with Pierre was for Prince Andrei the era that began in appearance, and the same, but in the inner world, his new life.”
In Otradnoye, Andrei meets Natasha, whose whole appearance fascinates him. She has so much energy and joy of life that he involuntarily wants to experience something similar himself. Now Prince Andrei believes that life at 31 does not end, but only begins. Bolkonsky leaves for St. Petersburg. There he meets new people and participates in the work of government commissions. Prince Andrei strives to benefit the fatherland, but all his work turns out to be idle. Andrei returns to Natasha, but she is carried away by Anatoly Kuragin and allows herself to be persuaded to run away from home. Proud Prince Andrei cannot forgive her for this act. When French troops invade Russia, he goes off to war again.
Pierre also goes to war. Having sold his estate, he used the money to form a regiment. He also had to go through the war, like Andrei. Pierre lives among the soldiers, sleeps side by side with them, and, like them, goes hungry. There he meets Platon Karataev, who becomes a real teacher for him. Pierre endured a lot and understood a lot. Was he destined to see Prince Andrey again? but this meeting was the last. The conversation between them was about the war. Both understood that the battle awaiting the Russian troops was a decisive one, in which they must win at any cost. Pierre looks with fear at Prince Andrei, who is unlike himself, angry, and every now and then breaks into a cry, who offers not to take prisoners. But in Borodino, it is Prince Andrey who does not fire a single shot, and Pierre helps the soldiers at Raevsky’s battery. Seriously wounded, Prince Andrei hopes to find peace of mind through understanding his inner world. And again Natasha helps him with this. She is no longer the same, but different, but now she is infinitely dear to him. Prince Andrei dies, but before his death he finds that highest truth that he had been looking for all his life. His successor, both in physical and in spiritual sense, will be his son Nikolenka.
Pierre still had to experience earthly happiness. After Helen died, he happily married Natasha. Using the example of their marriage, Tolstoy showed a model of a family that one should strive for.
Throughout the entire time allotted to them in the novel, the characters are looking for answers to important life questions, trying to understand the meaning human existence on the ground. Bolkonsky believes that you need to live for yourself. Happiness for Pierre lies in being useful to others. Pierre considers it unfair that there is evil for another person. Each hero found his own happiness and his own understanding of life.
I would like to end with the words of Tolstoy: “A living person is one who goes forward to where it is illuminated... in front of him by a moving lantern, and who never reaches the illuminated place, but the illuminated place goes ahead of him. And that's life. And there is no other.” A person must constantly look for himself, his place in life. And while he is looking for it, he will live.
Battle of Borodino - climax episode the entire multi-volume novel by Tolstoy “War and Peace”. It was this battle that revealed what, according to the writer, helped the Russian people defeat Napoleon. It was in the description of Borodino that Tolstoy’s point of view on war in general, on the course of history, its driving forces was revealed.
The conversation between the writer's two favorite heroes - Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky - precedes the Battle of Borodino and places some emphasis on the themes of war, violence, the issue of victory or defeat in the novel.
Prince Andrei on the evening of August 24, the day before the Battle of Borodino, meets Bezukhov at the location of his regiment. We remember that Pierre decided to join the Russian troops in order to be at the center of events, to be involved in the great things that were happening around him. Therefore, Bezukhov was also among the Russian troops.
But Bolkonsky, seeing his old friend, for whom he felt sincere affection, was not at all happy. Moreover, he was unpleasant about the appearance of Pierre: he reminded him of Moscow and everything that had happened in the life of Prince Andrei recently. That is why the hero met Pierre so unfriendly and did not want to talk with him alone.
The first half of the conversation between the two friends took place in the presence of several other officers, among whom was Captain Timokhin. Of course, the general conversation revolved around the war with Napoleon, the upcoming battle, and the appointment of Kutuzov to the post of commander in chief. In the presence of Pierre, this completely non-military man, who seemed completely out of place in such a situation, the officers felt constrained. The timid and shy captain Timokhin did most of the talking.
The conversation touched on the appointment of Kutuzov and the removal of Barclay de Tolly. Prince Andrei was very happy about such a reshuffle, as were the other officers. Already here the theme of patriotism begins to sound, that hidden love for the homeland that lives in every Russian person. And if Barclay acts with his mind and does not worry with his whole being about the outcome of the battle, then Kutuzov, perhaps, is not such a skilled commander, with all his heart he is with his people, country, and soldiers. That is why the advantage is on his side.
This episode reveals Tolstoy's view of the forces influencing the course of military operations. If Pierre looks at the war only from the point of view of a theorist and an outsider, then Bolkonsky sees it from the inside. He understands perfectly well that the outcome of a battle cannot be calculated, because “in war, one battalion is sometimes stronger than a division, and sometimes weaker than a company. The relative strength of the troops cannot be known to anyone.” What does success in war depend on? According to Prince Andrei, exclusively “from the feeling that is in me, in him,” he pointed to Timokhin, “in every soldier.”
Bolkonsky cites the example of the battle of Austerlitz. He believes that the Russians were defeated there because they did not set themselves up properly and did not give themselves the mindset to win. This happened because they had nothing to fight for; the Russian people did not feel a vested interest in victory at Austerlitz. Now everything is different. And the outcome of the battle will depend on ordinary ordinary soldiers.
According to Prince Andrei, military commanders can in no way change or influence the outcome of the battle. All their fuss and preparations are nothing more than “fun”, “childishness”, in the opinion of the hero. Moreover, with their bustle they only interfere with the general course of affairs, because they are busy only with themselves and their interests. The leadership, for the most part, seeks to benefit for itself, to get an extra cross or praise from the emperor. Apart from this, few people are interested in anything.
Unlike them, the common people understand the significance of the upcoming battle. Timokhin says that his soldiers even refused to drink vodka - “not such a day, they say.”
When the friends were left alone, Bolkonsky expressed confidence that the upcoming battle would be won. A warmer and more frank conversation began between these heroes. In it, Prince Andrei expressed his true attitude towards the war (here his thoughts are close to the thoughts of Tolstoy himself). This hero considers war a dirty and bloody business. Therefore, it needs to be “studyed” seriously, and not played, as people like to do.
For some reason, the military class is considered one of the most respected in society. And if you look at it, then why respect people who consider it their business to kill innocent people and bloodshed? According to Tolstoy, people treat war too easily and carelessly; any trifle can serve as a reason for it. But this is fundamentally wrong. Prince Andrey begins to think seriously about this, and Pierre agrees with him.
It is important that the heroes feel that this meeting is their last. This is what happened, however. Everyone left after this conversation with their own thoughts, reflections, in anticipation important event, which they were about to witness.
Thus, this episode plays an important role in the novel. From it we learn the writer’s own concept regarding war in general, the forces influencing victory, etc. In addition, the thoughts coming from the lips of Bolkonsky and Bezukhov characterize them as truly Russian people who, at a critical moment, found themselves together with their Motherland.
/ / / Analysis of the episode “Conversation between Prince Andrei and Pierre before the Battle of Borodino” (based on Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”)Where is he hiding? climax Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace"? Readers have thought about this question many times! And the answer is obvious! - this is what is at the heart of the novel.
In his description of this episode, Tolstoy expresses his attitude towards military operations in general. Also, it shows those features of the battles that allowed the Russian people to prevail over Napoleon and his armies.
Before the Battle of Borodino, we listen to the conversation between the two main characters of the novel. The day before the start of the battle, Prince Andrei meets his good comrade at the location of the Russian troops. decided to take part in the great events that were taking place in his country, and it was for this reason that he found himself on military territory.
When Andrei saw his comrade, he remembered Moscow, about all the events that had happened recently. This upset the hero, and he reacted without much joy to such an unexpected meeting.
The first part of the conversation between the prince and Pierre took place in the presence of other military officers. Of course, we were talking about the war, about the appointment of Kutuzov to new position. Pierre seemed superfluous during these conversations, because he was very far from military news and events. The thought slips between the men that the appointment of Kutuzov and the dismissal of Barclay can be called a joyful event. The officers and the prince show their patriotic position. They know that Kutuzov is with his army, with his Russian people, with all his heart. It was with these qualities that he gained an advantage among the warriors.
In this conversation, Tolstoy shows us how far Pierre is from the events that take place in the war. He sees only the superficial side of what is happening. But he has thoroughly accurate information and experiences any situation from the inside. Bolkonsky says that the outcome of the battle cannot be predicted. Victory will depend only on the inner spirit of each warrior, each soldier.
Defeat in former battle near Austerlitz, according to Bolkonsky, occurred due to the disorder and confusion of the soldiers. They were not interested in the battle itself. But now the situation is completely different. The prince expresses the idea that military commanders cannot influence their soldiers in any way. They only dispel panic with their preparations and excessive fuss. After all, what is on the minds of bosses is the desire to receive an extra reward. That's it! But ordinary people assess the situation completely differently. For example, before the Battle of Borodino, the soldiers even refused to drink vodka, saying that this was not such a day!
After the general conversation, an individual conversation took place between Andrei and Pierre. In it, the prince expressed his understanding of the war. And it can also be attributed to the author of the novel himself. Bolkonsky calls her dirty, bloody. And war should be fought by those who understand, knowledgeable people, not just for fun. According to Tolstoy, people can quite easily start a war over any trifle, destroy, burn, kill. But such a step must be taken seriously, reasonably, and thoughtfully.
These are the thoughts Andrey shares in a conversation with Per. Friends understand and feel that this conversation and this meeting is their last. They go in different directions, with different thoughts and beliefs.
In this episode of the novel, the reader can learn about the position of the author himself regarding the military events that took place on earth. Also, from the conversation between Bolkonsky and Bezukhov, it is clear that they are real Russian people, devoted to their country.
The main philosophical conflict arises between the two main characters of the novel - Prince Andrei and Pierre. It is impossible to express this conflict using only their inner speech. A real clash of opinions is necessary, and a dialogue is introduced into the book - a conversation between two heroes. From the very beginning a parallel is drawn: Prince Andrei - Pierre. They have different views on life different fate, but they are very close to each other. An association arises based on the names of the apostle brothers Peter and Andrew. Peter brought Christianity to Europe, and Andrei - to Rus'. The author shows the clash between “Western” Peter and “Eastern” Andrei.
For the first time we meet Prince Andrei and Pierre in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. They exchange a few phrases, but we see what close, friendly relations bind them from the prince’s soft smile, from the conversation as a whole. The real dialogue begins later, when, having left the salon, friends can free themselves from conventions and reveal their souls. But a philosophical dialogue is not being built. There is a conversation about everyday problems, affairs, Pierre's career and marriage.
Not much time passes between the first and second dialogue, but the conversation in Bogucharovo reveals to us completely new characters. Andrei saw the eternal sky of Austerlitz, saw the meaninglessness and cruelty of the murder, he was devastated, all his ideas and dreams collapsed at once. Pierre, on the contrary, has a spiritual upsurge. He is interested in Freemasonry, it seems to him that he has comprehended the truth, and does not understand how it is possible in this beautiful, complete hidden meaning world to be unhappy.
A dialogue begins about murder - is it possible to kill at all. Prince Andrey allows for a division into “good” and “bad”, into those who can be killed and who cannot. Pierre is scared by these scary words, reminding us of Raskolnikov’s theory of “blood according to conscience.” The dialogue about evil and happiness is one of the most important moral and ethical moments of the work. In a conversation with Pierre, Prince Andrei claims that he will never serve in the Russian army again. Thus, Bogucharov’s conversations play a significant compositional role and serve to further development plot, but more important is the internal one, philosophical meaning this dialogue. In any dialogue, you can better understand yourself, your thoughts, and here Prince Andrei needs to speak out, he must pour out his difficult thoughts in order to understand himself, and for Pierre this is a test of the strength of his Masonic ideas.
Pierre's monologue is significant as part of his philosophical worldview and as part of the philosophy of Tolstoy himself, but Andrei almost does not listen to him. You have to reach philosophical revelations yourself, and no one can convey in words the essence of the teachings and revelations. But Pierre’s words about God, about truth, by the end of the monologue melt the heart of Prince Andrei. He listens to the meaning of Pierre's words, delves into it, but sees further, deeper than Masonic philosophy. Pierre's words open up his own new path. Once again, Prince Andrei looks at the sky and sees that high and eternal sky into which he looked at the field of Austerlitz, and again a revelation descends on him. For the second time in my life. It seems that he is re-learning the secrets of the universe.
The next, insignificant meeting of the heroes takes place at a ball in St. Petersburg, Natasha’s first ball: Pierre asks Prince Andrei to invite Rostova to dance.
Last meeting Prince Andrei and Pierre take place on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. Andrei is afraid to be alone with Pierre - he feels that he is not destined to live. Pierre feels this too. Once again the conversation is about murder - about war, about the philosophy of war and the philosophy of victory. The officers understand that tomorrow they will win at any cost. Pierre looks with fear at the alien, embittered Prince Andrei, who offers not to take prisoners. But it is precisely in the Battle of Borodino that Prince Andrei does not fire a single shot and personifies the holy army, and Pierre spiritually helps at Raevsky’s battery. Once again we see a contradiction between Prince Andrei and Pierre. Prince Andrei calls for non-resistance to evil through violence, he calls for turning to oneself, to the family, and Pierre is trying with all his might to benefit his army. He thinks that he can do good for Russia by being involved in politics, etc. Prince Andrei hopes to achieve harmony through inner peace. If he is happy, if his family is happy and if everyone thinks about their own good, then the world will finally achieve harmony.
Pierre, despite his dislike for external activities, is involved in public affairs, etc. But we still do not receive an answer as to which path is true.
After the death of Prince Andrei, his dialogue with Pierre does not stop. Pierre remembers Bolkonsky and communicates with him spiritually. Prince Andrei did not completely leave this world. His son Nikolenka also feels this, who internally often turns to his father and will probably continue his spiritual search.