Pierre is a prime example of how status and money does not
make one adverse to coercion or give on the power to manipulate. Although in Book 3 we see his elevated status to
Count Bezükhov along with a new fortune he is still being pulled in different directions
by nearly everyone. Pierre does everything from giving the princesses money to
marrying Helene. Yet he always believe
he is the one holding the cards and making each decision. It just
makes sense to him that these people would love and be interested in him so he
is swept along in it all. But I wonder if it is coercion by others or by himself?
He is smart enough to realize Anna Pávlovna treats him differently but he doesn’t
quite seem to connect why. Pierre has
always been easily manipulated and rather withdrawn but is this his mental state or
his way of coping and not having to deal with the reality of these people using
him/disliking him? Does he have more depth or is he merely serving as a facilitator and
furthering Tolstoy’s theme of coercion?
I really like the point you made here! Money=power is a statement that people all take for granted as being true but this book shows that that isn't necessarily a thing. I think that he has the ability to stand up for himself but he's just really out of his element at this point. He's already begun to take a stand with Hélène when he confronts her about Dólokhov so now it's only a matter of time until he grows a backbone and becomes more selective with his friends.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, this is very interesting. I think that since Pierre has been educated far away he has not had enough "experience" with Russian society to really know where he stands, making him incapable of understanding how he is being manipulated. I do not mean this literally. Of course he literally understands he is one of Russia's richest men now, but he doesn't have enough experience as an adult in Russian high society, because he grew up abroad, to truly understand how/why people would be manipulating him, leaving him open to being tricked by other and by himself. So, I think it is both his fault and by others.
ReplyDeleteI also don't know if it's necessarily anyones fault. It's just the character he is and how Tolstoy chooses to portray Pierre. I think it will be interesting to see how he develops know he begins to have to realize what has been going on behind his back (Helene and Dólokhov) or if he will continue as is.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Pierre's ability to be coerced in any way makes him happy? It seems to a degree that he is deluding himself just as much as he is being deluded by others. Does his purposeful stupidity mean that he would rather be happily coerced than cynically independent?
ReplyDelete