PICTURE OF SECULAR SOCIETY IN THE NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” The work was completed by 10th grade students of MAOU Secondary School No. 11 Olga Tsygankova, Angelina Mazurina G. Kaliningrad
Tolstoy recalled that he was inspired to write the novel “WAR and PEACE” by “folk thought.” It was from the people that TOLSTOY himself learned and advised others to do the same. Therefore, the main characters of his novel are people from the people or those who were close to ordinary people. Without denying the merits of the nobility to the people, he divides it into two categories. The first category includes those who, by their character, outlook, worldview, are close to the people or come to this through trials. The best representatives of the nobility in this regard are Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre BezuKHOV, Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya Bolkonskaya.
But there are other representatives of the nobility, the so-called “secular society,” who constitute a special caste. These are people who recognize only a few values: title, power and money. Only those who have one or all of the listed values are allowed into their circle and recognized as their own. Secular society is completely empty, just as its individual representatives are empty and insignificant, people without any moral or ethical principles, without life goals. Their spiritual world is just as empty and insignificant. But despite this, they have great power. This is the elite that runs the country, the people who decide the destinies of their fellow citizens.
Tolstoy tries in the novel to show the entire nation and all its representatives. "War and Peace" begins with scenes depicting the highest noble society. The author shows mainly the present, but also touches on the past. Tolstoy paints the nobles of this bygone era. Count Bezukhov is one of their representatives. Bezukhov is rich and noble, he has a good estate, money, power, which he received from the kings for small services. A former favorite of Catherine, a reveler and a libertine, he devoted his entire life to pleasure. He is opposed by the old Prince Bolkonsky, his peer. Bolkonsky is a loyal defender of the fatherland, which he served faithfully. For this he was repeatedly in disgrace and out of favor with those in power.
“Secular society,” even with the onset of the War of 1812, changed little: “calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue...” The only thing that changed was the conversations - they began to talk more about Napoleon and patriotism.
In War and Peace all layers of Moscow noble society are represented. Tolstoy, characterizing noble society, strives to show not individual representatives, but entire families. After all, it is in the family that both the foundations of integrity and morality, as well as spiritual emptiness and idleness, are laid. One of these families is the Kuragin family. Its head, Vasily Kuragin, occupies a fairly high position in the country. He is a minister called to take care of the people. Instead, all the elder Kuragin’s concerns are directed towards himself and his own children. His son Ippolit is a diplomat who cannot speak Russian at all. For all his stupidity and insignificance, he craves power and wealth. Anatol Kuragin is no better than his brother. His only entertainment is carousing and drinking. It seems that this person is completely indifferent to everything except indulging his own whims. His friend Drubetskoy is Anatole’s constant companion and a witness to his dark deeds.
Thus, by depicting noble society, Tolstoy shows its inactivity and inability to rule the country. The noble nobility has outlived its usefulness and must leave the stage of history. The necessity and inevitability of this was convincingly demonstrated by the Patriotic War of 1812. The highest nobility differs from the people even in their language. The language of the noble nobility is a Frenchized language. He is as dead as the rest of society. It preserves empty cliches, once and for all established expressions, ready-made phrases that are used in convenient cases. People have learned to hide their feelings behind common phrases.
Tolstoy recalled that when writing a ro-
mana "War and Peace" he was inspired by the "thought
folk." It was from the people that Tolstoy learned
I myself advised others to do this. That's why
The main characters of his novel are
people from the people or those who stood close
to ordinary people. Without denying the merits of the two
swearing before the people, he divides it into two
categories. The first category includes those
who by their character, outlook, world-
view close to the people or through the use of
torture comes to this. The best pre-
leaders of the nobility in this regard
are Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre
Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya
Bolkonskaya. But there are other representatives
nobility, the so-called “secular society”
“stvo”, which constitute a special caste. This
people who recognize only a few
values: title, power and money. Only
those who have one or all of the pe-
listed values, they allow into their
circle and recognize them as their own. Secular society
completely empty, just like empty and insignificant
we are its individual representatives, people without
any moral or ethics
toev, without life goals. Equally empty
their spiritual world is insignificant. But despite
this, they have great power. This is the ver-
the hushka who runs the country are the people
who decide the destinies of their fellow citizens.
Tolstoy tries in his novel to show all
the nation and all its representatives. "War and
world" begins with scenes depicting the highest
noble society. The author shows in
new modernity, but also touches on the pro-g
bad. Tolstoy draws the nobles of this departing
current era. Count Kirill Bezukhov is one of
their representatives. Bezukhov is rich and noble,
he has a good estate, money, power, which
ry received from kings for minor services.
Catherine's former favorite, reveler and
gatekeeper, he dedicated his whole life to pleasure
yam. He is opposed by the old Prince Bolkon-
skiy is his age. Bolkonsky - faithful
defender of the fatherland he served
faithfully. For this he repeatedly
was in disgrace and out of favor with the authorities
haves.
Anti-nationality, complete disregard
the needs of ordinary people, the thirst for profit -
These are the distinguishing features of the higher two-
Ryansk society. These features are also inherent in state
there the ladies-in-waiting Schörer, and the visitors of the French
Tsuzsky salon of Countess Bezukhova. Here
selfishness, self-interest, career-seeking reign
rism and intrigue. Small talk -
nothing more than ordinary slander,
often turning into slander. Behind the mask
good nature hides hypocrisy and pretense
things that have become a habit. All normal people
human feelings are distorted, everything is saturated
lies, all that remains of friendship and love is vi-
dimness. The origins of the moral decay of the highest
Tolstoy sees our society in parasitism
and idleness. It’s not in vain that he will introduce everyone to him -
Lei calls drones. Saltykov-Shchedrin,
characterizing the novel “War and Peace”,
remarked: “And our so-called “higher society”
“The count famously captured the society.”
"Secular society" even with the advent
After the War of 1812, little changed: “the
comfortable, luxurious, concerned only with
ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg
life went on as before; and because of the course of this
life had to make great efforts,
to be aware of the danger and the difficult situation
the situation in which the Russian people found themselves.
There were the same exits, balls, the same French
theater, the same interests of the courtyards, the same in-
interests of service and intrigue..." The times have changed
all that talk - they started talking more
talk about Napoleon and patriotism.
At the top of noble society are
Emperor Alexander I died. Alexander I
the cauldron is exactly as it was imagined
most of the nobles. But in the guise of an emperor
traits of duplicity, posturing and
that cutesy sensuality in which flatter-
people saw a manifestation of a “high soul
king The true appearance of Alexander I is particularly
but is clearly shown in the scene of the king’s arrival in Armik
after the defeat of the invaders. Kutuzov Tsar for-
embraces them, accompanying them with an evil
hissing: “Old comedian.” Tolstoy considers
melts that the top of the nation has become dead and now
lives an “artificial life.” Everything is approaching
the king's wives are no different from him
. my. The country is run by a bunch of foreigners
who don't care about Russia. Mini-
countries, generals, diplomats, staff officers
ry and other close associates of the emperor were busy
you with your own enrichment and career.
The same lies, the same intrigues reign here,
opportunism, as everywhere else. It is Ote-
the honorable war of 1812 showed the real
the essential essence of government officials. False
their patriotism is covered with loud words
you about your homeland and people. But their mediocrity
and the inability to govern the country is clearly visible
in the novel.
All layers are represented in War and Peace
Moscow noble society. Tolstoy,
characterizing noble society, str-
tries to show not individual representations
lei, but whole families. After all, it is in the family that
laid down as the foundations of integrity
and morality, and spiritual emptiness and
idleness. One of these families is
Kuragin family. Its head is Vasily Kuragin
occupies a fairly high position in the country.
He is a minister called upon to take care of the people.
de. Instead, all the worries of the elder Kur-
gina are aimed at oneself and at one’s own
married children. His son Hippolyte is a diplomat,
who can't speak any language at all
Russian For all his stupidity and insignificance
he craves power and wealth. Anatol Ku-
Ragin is no better than his brother. His only
entertainment is carousing and drinking.
It seems that this man is completely
indifferent to everything except self-indulgence
personal whims. His friend Drubetskoy -
Anatole's constant companion and witness
dark affairs.
We get to know these people already
the first pages of the novel, where Tolstoy describes
attracts visitors and regulars of the salon
Anna Pavlovna Sherer. Here they spin and
cold and calculating rogue Vasya
Liy Kuragin, who is looking for clever moves
“whether to the cross, to the shtetl,” and his son Ana-
only, which the father himself calls “restless”
stupid fool”, and destroyers of other people’s destinies
Hippolyte and Helen. Helen - the first beauty
city, but at the same time cold and spiritually pu-
wait man. She realizes her beauty and
puts her on display, allowing her to admire -
Xia. But this woman is far from harmless,
as it may seem at first glance. Av-
Thor emphasizes Helen's smile - she is “inexorably
Menna." I would like to compare Helen herself with Elena
A beautiful, ancient heroine, because of which
the Trojan War began. Helen also
brings nothing but trouble. Later she
taking advantage of Pierre's gullibility,
lures him into her network and marries him.
In Scherer's salon we see both Pierre and An-
Drey Bolkonsky. The author contrasts
these living people to the dead high society.
We understand that Pierre found himself in a society where
to whom he is alien and who does not understand at all
his. Only Andrey's intervention helps
avoid scandal.
Boris Drubetskoy - another representative
tel of the highest noble society. He's alone
of those who will replace the older one
generation. But the author paints him the same way -
gentle from the people, like everyone else. Boris
cares only about his career. He has a ho-
a cool mind and a sober mind, he knew exactly
He doesn’t know what he needs in this life. He sets a goal
and achieves it. Even during the Drubetskaya war
thinks about awards and promotions,
wants to “arrange for himself the best position”
tion, especially the position of the adjutant during important
new face, which seemed especially tempting to him
you are in the army." He also makes acquaintances
only those that are beneficial to him. Let's remember
how the Drubetskys turned away from the Rostovs when
Yes, they were ruined. This despite
that families were once friendly.
The highest nobility differs from the people even
with your tongue. The language of the noble nobility is
Frenchized language. He's just as dead
vyy, like the rest of society. It preserved
empty stamps, folded once and for all -
all expressions, ready-made phrases that
used in convenient cases. People on-
learned to hide their feelings behind everyday
in my phrases.
Thus, drawing the noble society
in, Tolstoy shows his inactivity
and inability to govern the country. Nobles-
The nobles have outlived their usefulness and must leave the stage.
us stories. Necessity and inevitability
this was convincingly demonstrated by the Patriotic
war of 1812.
Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” allows us to judge what Russian society was like at the beginning of the 19th century.
The writer shows the reader not only representatives of high society, but also the Moscow and local nobility, and creates amazing images of peasants. Thus, almost all social strata of Russia are represented in the novel.
Pictures of Russian society in the novel “War and Peace”
Historical figures
- Emperor Alexander I,
- Napoleon,
- Kutuzov,
- marshals of France,
- generals of the Russian army.
When showing historical figures, Tolstoy is authorially biased: for him, Kutuzov is a truly historical, majestic personality. Both Emperor Alexander and Napoleon think first of all about themselves, their role in history, therefore their role in real history is illusory. Kutuzov feels the spirit of providence and subordinates his activities to the service of the Fatherland. Tolstoy writes:
“There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.”
Therefore, Kutuzov is great and Napoleon and others like him are insignificant.
Images of Russian nobles in the novel “War and Peace”
Revealing the images of Russian nobles, the writer uses his favorite technique of contrast. The St. Petersburg nobility, the high society of St. Petersburg are opposed to the Moscow and local nobility by the desire for their own benefit, career, and narrow personal interests.
The personification of such a society is the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, whose description of the evening begins the novel. The hostess herself and her guests are likened to a workshop where machines make noise and spindles spin. Pierre's behavior and sincerity seem like bad manners to regulars of the salon.
The Kuragin family also becomes a symbol of the deceit of high society. External beauty is not necessarily an attribute of internal beauty. The beauty of Helen and Anatole hides their predatory nature, which is aimed only at obtaining their own pleasure. Pierre's marriage to Helene, Natasha's false love for Anatole - mistakes for which they pay with disappointment in life, a fragile fate.
The essence of high society is manifested in relation to the War of 1812. During the Battle of Borodino, St. Petersburg is more occupied with which of the two contenders for her hand will be chosen by Princess Bezukhova, Helen, while her husband is alive. The patriotism of this society is expressed in the refusal to speak French and the inability to speak Russian. The deceitfulness of this society is clearly visible in the behavior of Prince Vasily Kuragin during the struggle for the appointment of Kutuzov as commander of the Russian army. Kuragins, Bergs, Drubetskys, Rostopchin, even in war, seek only benefits; true patriotism and the unity of the nation are alien to them.
Moscow nobles and locals are close to the people. Moscow treats the War of 1812 differently. The nobles gather the militia, seized by a single impulse of patriotism, they meet Emperor Alexander. Pierre equips an entire regiment of militia and demands that the carts, which are intended for transporting things during the retreat, be given to the wounded. Tolstoy admires a single family house, where masters and servants represent a single whole (scenes of name days in the Rostovs’ house, Natasha’s hunt and dance in the Rostovs’ uncle’s house).
Images of the people, merchants "War and Peace"
For each of Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, a man of the people becomes the measure of truth:
- for Andrei Bolkonsky this is a meeting with Tushin in the Battle of Shengraben,
- for Pierre - with Platon Karataev in captivity,
- for Denisov - with Tikhon Shcherbaty in the partisan detachment.
The unity of the nation is also represented by the image of Muscovites, in particular the Moscow lady who leaves the city
“with a vague awareness that she is not Bonaparte’s servant.”
The merchant class is represented in the novel by the character Ferapontov, who opens his barns to residents and soldiers during the retreat from Smolensk, shouting:
“Take everything...Raseya has decided.”
The images of peasants are extremely interesting. Tolstoy shows the diversity of Russian folk characters.
- This is Tikhon Shcherbaty - “the most necessary person in Denisov’s detachment”, a man who can walk the same distance as a horseman, pull a horse out of a swamp, take a prisoner.
- This is only the elder Vasilisa mentioned by the writer, who led the partisan detachment.
- This is Captain Tushin, small, nondescript, thanks to whom it was possible to save the Russian army in the Battle of Shengraben.
- This is Captain Timokhin, an unnoticed war worker on whom the Russian army rests.
- This is the philosopher and sage Platon Karataev, whose contradictory image still confuses critics. Plato was a good soldier, but he also takes captivity as a given, as life, while maintaining a sense of self-esteem.
Tolstoy would not have been Tolstoy if he had not shown the contradictory attitudes of the peasants towards the invasion. The revolt of the Bogucharovsky peasants, their reluctance to go into captivity, speaks of the hopes of the peasantry for liberation from serfdom.
“In War and Peace,” Tolstoy will say, “I loved popular thought.”
Russian families in the novel
But family thought also plays an important role in the novel. Tolstoy considers the family to be the basis of the state.
The Rostov, Bolkonsky families, at the end of the novel the families of Pierre and Natasha, Nikolai and Marya - this is the moral ideal of a family where there is kinship of souls, unity and mutual understanding.
It is in these families that talented children grow up, the basis of the future of Russia.
He wrote that his novel was
“a picture of morals built on a historical event.”
The novel gives a lot for understanding the mysteries of the Russian soul and the Russian national character, the amazing strength of the nation, the people in the broad sense during deep national upheavals.
Did you like it? Don't hide your joy from the world - share itAll the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” (both fictional characters and historical figures) are grouped and assessed by Tolstoy depending on the degree of their closeness or distance from the people. This single principle of characterizing and assessing the entire set of characters (and there are more than five hundred of them in the novel) allowed the writer to bring together the image of people from very different social strata and different individual destinies.
The main accusation that Tolstoy makes against the St. Petersburg secular society, which leads a “ghostly”, artificial life, is isolation from the people, especially in times of terrible trials. “War and Peace” begins with a description of an evening in Anna Pavlovna Scherer’s salon, where the capital’s nobility gathers. In itself, the comparison of the evening with a spinning workshop (“Spindles made noise evenly and incessantly from different sides”) was quite accurate and definitely expressed the author’s attitude to the world of falsehood and emptiness, to that artificial life, which is characterized by mechanism and deadness. The thought of old Prince Bolkonsky about European politics: “some kind of puppet comedy” - takes on a generalized meaning.
L.N. Tolstoy puts forward certain criteria with the help of which he determines the value of the human personality: a person’s attitude to his homeland, people, nature, the ability for introspection, depth of experience, moral quest. Representatives of secular society do not stand the test of humanity. The environment of the Kuragins and others like them (Adolf Berg, Boris Drubetskoy and Rostopchin with his pseudo-patriotism) is distinguished precisely by their lifelessness, puppetry, hostility towards everything truly human, natural, and finally, simply decent. Vasily Kuragin tried to rob Pierre, his son, Anatole, involved Pierre in scandalous stories, and he brought a lot of grief to Marya Bolkonskaya and Natasha Rostova. Pierre had every reason to say, turning to Helen and referring not only to her alone, but to the entire secular world that she embodied: “...where you are, there is debauchery, evil...”.
The basic principle of Tolstoy’s depiction of negative characters is static, lack of movement, and depth of experience. Their moral world is always primitive, devoid of intellectual richness and moral attractiveness; they are not given a living perception of nature (none of them are depicted outside city houses, social evenings, balls, etc.). Thus, already in “War and Peace,” that “tearing off of all and every mask” begins, which will become especially characteristic of Tolstoy’s subsequent work. Elaborated poses, unchanging smiles, and acting were common both for habitual visitors to Anna Pavlovna’s salon and for Napoleon.
The motifs of puppetry and play as signs of unnaturalness and artificiality are heard especially clearly in the episodes where we are talking about how Natasha, who has just returned from the village and has not yet had time to get used to the conventions of secular society, visits the opera house. Tolstoy describes an opera performance, seen as if through her eyes, that is, from the point of view of a natural person: “... then some other people came running and began to drag away that girl who was previously in a white dress, and now in a blue dress. They didn’t drag her away right away, but sang to her for a long time, and then they dragged her away...” It is here, in the theater,
Natasha meets Anatole and becomes infatuated with him. The atmosphere of artificiality, falsehood, when the shameful, illegal turns out to be permitted and ordinary (“Naked Helen sat next to her ...”), deprives Natasha of simple, natural human ideas, her guidelines have shifted, and what would have been impossible for her moral sense just recently, is now becoming quite acceptable.
Tolstoy does not accept a life concerned only with “ghosts, reflections”, devoid of truly human values. And it is characteristic that representatives of the secular world, hated by the author, gradually occupy less and less space in the development of the action, in the end almost completely disappearing from the pages of the novel.
Unexpectedly, Helen dies from a strange and mysterious illness; nothing is said in the epilogue about the Kuragins and Scherer, Berg and Drubetsky. Napoleon is also forgotten. Everything dark, selfish, negative goes away, goodness, light, openness and naturalness win. Heroines of the epic novel “Tolstoy’s moral sensitivity,” writes E. A. Maimin, “forces him to portray heroes - both positive and negative - in the light of his ideal. He does not like those of his heroes who lack life and a unique personality.
In 1867, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy completed work on the work “War and Peace”. Speaking about his novel, Tolstoy admitted that in War and Peace he “loved popular thought.” The author poetizes simplicity, kindness, morality...
“War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which reflected the character of a great people at the moment when its historical destinies were being decided. Tolstoy, trying to cover everything that he knew and felt at that time, gave in the novel a set of life, morals,...
Natasha Rostova is the central female character in the novel “War and Peace” and, perhaps, the author’s favorite. Tolstoy presents us with the evolution of his heroine over the fifteen-year period of her life, from 1805 to 1820, and over more than one and a half thousand...
Without knowing Tolstoy, one cannot consider oneself to know the country, one cannot consider oneself a cultured person. A.M. Bitter. The last page of the novel by L.N. has been turned. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”... Whenever you close a book you have just read, you are left with a feeling...
1. “War and Peace” is an epic novel.
2. The concept and history of the work.
3. Petersburgers and Muscovites in the novel.
4. The significance of the work for understanding the society of the 19th century.
What are passions? - after all, sooner or later their sweet illness
Disappears at the word of reason; And life, as you look around with cold attention -
Such an empty and stupid joke...
M.Yu.Lermontov
“War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy is one of the greatest works, included in the world classics of literature. A long and painstaking work was carried out on the novel. The writer began it in 1863, and finished it only six years later - in 1869. During this time, the novel underwent multiple corrections and was rewritten several times, almost from scratch.
The concept of the novel can be judged from the following letter addressed to A. I. Herzen and dated 1861: “I started a novel about four months ago, the hero of which should be the returning Decembrist ... in 56 to Russia with his wife, son and daughter and trying on his strict and somewhat ideal view of the new Russia...” However, the original idea expanded and changed over time (Tolstoy’s diary entry): “Involuntarily, I moved from the present to 1825, the era of my hero’s delusions and misfortunes, and left what I started. But even in 1825, my hero was already a mature, family man. To understand him, I needed to travel back to his youth, and his youth coincided with the glorious era of 1812 for Russia. Another time I abandoned what I had started and began to write from the time of 1812, the smell and sound of which are still audible and dear to us... The third time I returned back out of a feeling that may seem strange... I was ashamed to write about our triumph in the fight against Bonaparte's France, without describing our failures and our shame. So, having returned from 1856 to 1805, from now on I intend to take not one, but many of my heroines and heroes through the historical events of 1805, 1807, 1812, 1825 and 1856.”
In this novel, also called an epic novel, the author managed to thoroughly accurately, vividly and at the same time interestingly convey the life of the Russian nobility of the first half of the 19th century. A significant role is also given to the description of secular society, at that time divided into two “camps” that are very different from each other and constantly warring with each other - Moscow and St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg, which was the capital city at that time, is still distinguished to this day by its austere and cold beauty. He is unfriendly, unapproachable and beautiful. It is on a par with European cities, since it itself is a window to Europe. The high society of St. Petersburg is a special, closed and isolated world with its own laws and orders. The morals and customs of the members of this society are oriented towards European traditions. But the first, striking difference between such people is the extreme unnaturalness of their thoughts, words, and gestures. Representatives of this circle are too accustomed to the fact that going out into society is a game where you have to keep your face and you cannot show sincere emotions and feelings. It is no coincidence that Prince Vasily, who is directly related to this category of people, is repeatedly compared to an actor.
The main and favorite form of intellectual pastime of St. Petersburg society is the so-called salons. They held conversations about everything and nothing at the same time: they discussed acquaintances, politicians and emperors, news of war and culture. Naturally, the communication was conducted “at the highest level” and it might seem to an unfamiliar person that the things discussed by these people were very important and serious, and that the people talking were well-read and smart. However, this is not so, because it is no coincidence that the author himself compares one of these salons of Madame Scherer with a “talking machine.” There is something indifferent, mechanical in these techniques, acting without emotion according to a program set by the operator.
Such a pastime cannot satisfy an intelligent, inquisitive and lively person - there is too little soul and really important words in it. However, the people who form the basis of this society need such entertainment. For such salon regulars, this manner of behavior and communication extends to family life, devoid of warmth and understanding and filled with mechanical, cold calculation. A typical St. Petersburg family is the Kuragin “clan”.
Moscow society is presented completely differently. Despite some similarities with St. Petersburg, Moscow nobles evoke great reader sympathy. The first mention of Moscow high society is a description of the Rostov house. The morning reception of guests, dedicated to the name day, on the one hand, resembles gatherings at Scherer’s - the same gossip, as well as empty talk and discussion of important matters. The scale of conversations is smaller, as is less feigned surprise and deceit, which completely disappears from the room with the arrival of children. Children bring with them happiness, spontaneity, light and purity, and adults begin to enjoy life with them.
At the reception, the main qualities of Moscow high society are fully revealed - cordiality, family, hospitality. Moscow society resembles one big family with common troubles and joys. Here everyone knows about everyone and forgives each other’s minor sins, although they can scold each other publicly. Thus, Natasha Rostova’s outburst, which is natural for Moscow, will be absolutely unacceptable in St. Petersburg society. The Moscow world is closer to the people, remembers and honors their traditions. The author's sympathies lie with the Muscovites; it is not for nothing that the Rostovs live in Moscow. And although Muscovites also have shortcomings (the same gossip), Tolstoy does not focus on them.
When depicting secular society, the author constantly resorts to the technique of “detachment,” which allows one to look at the characters from a new, previously unexamined side. Likewise, the French language in the speech of the heroes is the same technique of “detachment”, which makes it possible to more accurately convey the thoughts and emotions of society. He spoke mainly French and German.
The epic novel was created already in the second half of the 19th century, that is, the author could not be a witness to the time period he described and used the works of writers and historical documents. It is for this reason that the depiction of society in the work is both traditional and revolutionary new. Thanks to the masterfully created characters of the heroes and correctly described details of social life, the novel “War and Peace” became a kind of encyclopedia of the Russian nobility of the first quarter of the 19th century.