Well, book 8 really threw everybody off! I feel as though this event between Andrew, Anatole, and Natasha epitomizes the structure, instability, and scandal of developing marriages in War and Peace. To be honest, I feel as though this could have been easily predicted when looking at other relationships that have been formed throughout the book. Pierre, another classic example of marriage so far in War and Peace, blindly "falls in love" with Helene, and it eventually backfires on him. His immaturity, the manipulation of the family involved, and the speed of events that occurred all lead to his ultimate unhappiness.
This directly parallels with Natasha. After being "vaguely interested" in Anatole, Natasha begins her downward spiral, just as Pierre experienced. Her blindness to the future and rapid development of "love" with him eventually leads to attempted self-harm and complete unhappiness. It was also a very irresponsible act that didn't take into consideration the feelings of Prince Andrew. Albeit, he mentioned that she could cut their engagement at any point, she did so in a way that could seriously due emotional damage to an already instable Andrew.
Good points! Tolstoy definitely has some untraditional views on love compared to other authors at this time period. For instance, Victor Hugo believed that love could conquer absolutely anything and that even unrequited love could save you in some ways. In War and Peace, however, love is meant to ruin you.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you put quotations around the word "love." Do you think that Tolstoy meant for Natasha's/Anitole's, Natasha's/Andrew's love to be fake? And if so, do you think that Tolstoy believes in actual love and has different opinions on it?
Thats a really good question! I feel like Tolstoy intended their love to be so rushed and hurried that there was no way for it to be true/deep love. I'm not sure whether Tolstoy actually believed in love or not. From what he's said, it certainly doesn't seem like it; But if he does, it isn't to the extent of Victor Hugo.
DeleteSpeaking of parallels between Natasha and Pierre, before they were married both of them were in search of something new and life-changing. Pierre is constantly in search of purpose and Natasha in search of maturity; maybe Tolstoy is saying that marriage cannot fulfill any personal angst. In the few successful marriages the characters seem to be relatively at ease with themselves and their future goals.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree completely with that. The people who have had the most successful relationships definitely are those who have inner stability. It was, and is to this day, very difficult to manage relations with other when you can barely manage to find yourself. However, people do find others who help them in that journey. Maybe thats what Natasha was going to do for Andrew?
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