Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Family Values
What
really struck me in Book 1 of War and
Peace was the difference between the Bolkónski family and the Rostóv
family. When I think of wealthy families and family structure I do not think of
the loving and supportive family of the Rostóvs but much more of the
splintered, money-driven family of the Bolkónskis. The Rostóv family more
highly values supporting each other with love whereas the Bolkónski family
places higher importance on education and intelligence. While Natasha is welcome
to interrupt adult social conversation and have a conversation with her parents
during her name-day celebration, Mary’s main contact with her father involves
lectures about calculus and other intellectual material. Although different in
many ways, both families are important and influential in the high society of
19th-century Russia. Why does Tolstoy develop two wealthy families
with very different structures and values?
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Do you think the Bolkonskis are actually less loving than the Rostovs, or do they just express it differently?
ReplyDeleteI don't quite understand what you mean by splintered, money driven. I thought that applied more toward the Kuragins. And on a different note, I would say both the Rostovs and the Bolkonskis are different from "normal" aristocratic families. What do you think of this?
ReplyDeleteI think it is also important to note the different environments these families are in. the Rostovs are in the middle of society whereas the Bolkonskis are isolated in the countryside with little outside contact. This makes a difference in the development of the family.
ReplyDeleteI believe Tolstoy used this tactic in order to appeal more to the reader. We are very social as people, and I think he took advantage of this by showing two different styles of family. Being a member of a family is very easy to relate to as a person, and I believe he is not only showing contrast between the two, but also allowing the reader to create deeper connections with the characters. I may be wrong, but tell me what you think!
ReplyDeleteTolstoy develops two different families with two different structures as in real life no one person is the same. I like to think of Tolstoy as a social writer and so the more variations of types of people he presents in his work, the more realistic or in tune it is with society.
ReplyDeleteSara, I do think that the Bolkonski family is just as loving as the Rostov family although it may not be in the traditional sense. To me, the fact that a father would push his daughter so hard to be great in a time period where women were so often treated as things to marry off shows love. And I think that by isolating her from society he thinks that he's protecting her from all of the bad things associated with it. For instance, instead of being a young, lost, pregnant woman like Lise, she's studying calculus and becoming interested in things other than parties. He may be misguided, but I think he's genuinely trying help her. From what we can see so far, both Mary and Andrew love their father a lot.
ReplyDeleteSara, I would completely agree with Carson's response to your question. I think that the Kuragins are equally (if not more) obsessed with money as the Bolkonski family. But I think the relationship between the Rostovs and the Bolkonski family is a much more interesting comparison especially since Nicholas and Andrew are good friends, but have been raised completely differently - this becomes very evident at the end of book two. I totally agree with Hannah's point about their locations. That is not something I took into account but is very important. The workings of high society, and therefore people's personal/family goals would completely change in a different setting/atmosphere. Aminata, I agree that every character is completely unique, I just found the bonds between the two families interesting because they were, in my opinion, such opposites.
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