Predestination and Free Will
During the discussion, a participant noted that Tolstoy seems to believe in “predestination—God knowing our fate at birth.” Tolstoy’s opening for Volume III certainly plays with this point. Specifically speaking about the interpretation of history, Tolstoy criticizes “historians in their simple-minded certitude.” Looking at things in retrospect, they use a series of concrete events, usually involving “great men” or major political events and decisions, to explain why things turned out the way they did. Instead, Tolstoy asserts, “we find ourselves faced with an incalculable multiplicity of causes. The more deeply we go into the causes, the more of them there are, and each individual cause seems as justifiable as all the rest, and as false as all the rest in its worthlessness.” As humans, we can’t know the larger scheme of things. Someone also mentioned that it was an obstacle thinking that “free will is not a given!” I’m not entirely sure that Tolstoy says that people don’t have free will at all. In fact, he claims, “Each man lives for himself, using his freedom to get what he wants, and he feels with every fiber of his being that at any particular time he is free to perform an action or refrain from doing so, but the moment any action is taken, it becomes an irrevocable piece of history, with a significance which has more to do with predetermination than freedom.” On an individual level, people act and choose as they please, but every individual’s actions considered altogether builds up the “multiplicity of causes” of why and how things turn out. “Every action they perform, which they take to be self-determined and independent, is in a historical sense quite the opposite; it is interconnected with the whole course of history, and predetermined from eternity.”
Tolstoy—a Pacifist?
Many people in the discussion considered Tolstoy to be a pacifist: “He states that there are many valid reasons for war, but they can’t justify the devastation that will occur.” Another noted that Tolstoy has “a fatalist perspective pertaining to war’s inevitability.” At the beginning of Volume III, the narrator/Tolstoy states, “…war began. In other words, an event took place, which defined human reason and all human nature. Millions of men set out to inflict on one another untold evils—deception, treachery robbery, forgery, counterfeiting, theft, arson, and murder…though at the time the men responsible did not think of these deeds as crimes.” So Tolstoy certainly doesn’t glorify war, as many noted, but considers it something that is bound to happen. Throughout the novel, such violence isn’t restricted to the war scenes—it also occurs in the peace scenes. One noted, “Even peace in life is bloody—the hunt, the bloodlust that Anatole and Dolokhov display, the policeman tied to the bear…” Tolstoy questions why war occurs if “its continued existence is one of the great conundrums to those who believe in the progress of humanity,” as one participant put it. He explores human fallibility, and his stance on predestination and free will offers an answer as to why war occurs.
Pierre, Natasha, and the Comet of 1812
Volume II ends with Pierre gazing at the comet of 1812, “that popular harbinger of untold horrors and the end of he world.” What’s the importance of this comet, and why do we see it through Pierre’s eyes? A participant made a great inference, “Why waste a good comet that so conveniently coincides with the elements of the plot?” Too true! Many noted that this comet could refer to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia or the misfortune of Natasha and Prince Andrei’s breakup…or, some terrible event in the novel that’s yet to come. Through Pierre’s eyes, however, “this heavenly body seemed perfectly attuned to Pierre’s newly melted heart, as it gathered reassurance and blossomed into new life.” One pointed out that the comet signified “a change in Pierre’s outlook of life”—it’s an important spiritual moment for Pierre, much like the night sky was for Natasha and Prince Andrei. It’s interesting how the night sky connects all three of them. Pierre is the common thread amongst the three—he’s the one to introduce Natasha and Prince Andrei to each other (he knew them both before they knew each other, he was the one to recommend Natasha as a dance partner to the Prince at the ball, he speaks to both of them after the break up). Pierre also “seems to understand the emotional sates of both of them.” He seems to be seeing more of what’s going on around him. Not only does he take notice of the comet, but also of Natasha—“he hopes to comfort her” and “becomes a confidante for her.” A participant even made the prediction that “Pierre and Natasha are meant for each other! They both have feelings and consideration for the feelings of others, unlike some they have been attached to.”
Prince Andrei’s Coldness
A few people made the conclusion that Pierre and Natasha seem more similar to each other than Natasha and Prince Andrei. Natasha seems to be forgiving like Pierre, but in this section, Prince Andrei shows no signs of forgiveness towards her whatsoever. Despite his initial reaction of disgust, Pierre is overcome by love and pity, eventually coming around to forgive Natasha. One noted, “Prince Andrei seems to have gone back on his pledge to treat the women in his life better.” A few attested Prince Andrei’s coldness to following the footsteps of his father—“his rigidity and inability to see from any viewpoint but his own.” Prince Andrei’s abandonment of Natasha seems quite abrupt—similar to how he abandoned Speransky, and before that the isolated life on Bald Hills, and before that dreams of becoming the next Napoleon. He goes through and gives up on so many attempts at having meaning and fulfillment in his life! Many pointed out Prince Andrei’s inconsistencies in his beliefs. “Interesting, Andrei made an emotional attachment to both Natasha and Speransky, in different ways, then supports one and not the other…I’m not sure what that says about him.” Prince Andrei does contradict himself a number of times. When he breaks with Natasha officially, he claims that he never liked Speransky despite the fact that he was swooning over him just a few pages before. Even though Prince Andrei experiences so many epiphanies, they seem to slip his memory!
Natasha in Helene’s World
Once again, the Kuragins reappear only to ruin more lives. At the opera, Natasha has her first close conversations with the Kuragins—Helene and Anatole. When Pierre first learns of Natasha’s break with Prince Andrei and attempt to run off with Anatole, he compares her to Helene. He claims that “those” types of women are all alike. In defense of Natasha, someone noted, “Natasha IS caught up in Helene’s world.” Natasha has just returned to the city from the country and is somewhat vulnerable to the charms and “the grotesque” city life and its deceptions. Helene, the master of these deceptions, manages to enchant Natasha with her poise and beauty. If that isn’t enough, Helene even asserts that it would be “amusing” to get her brother and Natasha together. She plays an active role setting up meetings between Natasha and Anatole with her social connections and maneuverings. The Kuragins play with Natasha, as the city atmosphere and Helene’s company seem to suck out Natasha’s usual spiritual vitality. At the same time though, Natasha has been a sort of “temptress for the two major characters (Pierre and Prince Andrei)” among others (Boris, Denisov). It’s no secret that she likes and even craves male attention. So Anatole’s attention “no doubt had a profound effect on Natasha and made her more vulnerable”—especially after being around Helene who is quite experienced in scandalous affairs. As someone put it, “The Kuragins have a great eye for vulnerability!”
Why Does Natasha Fall for Anatole?
A number of factors have already been mentioned as to why Natasha claims to have fallen in love with Anatole: the delay of her wedding and Prince Andrei’s absence, her desire for male attention, the influence of Helene. Anatole himself also has an overbearing presence—Natasha mentions feeling as if there wasn’t that “moral barrier” that’s normally there between her and other males. Anatole was described as “not caring for others” and that “he assumes things will always work out for him, such that he usually gets what he wants.” He doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. Someone noted, “Anatole and his sister are truly sociopathic, devoid of any effect of their consciousness on tempering their behavior.” Interestingly, Natasha doesn’t see the Helene and Anatole for who they are! Is it purely naivety as “a cloistered young society girl”? Not entirely. There are other reasons why Natasha’s judgment may be clouded—she’s completely entranced by the opera, especially after just coming from the country. She even gets lightheaded and feels confused, and her mother isn’t in the city to be there to advise or talk with her. So Natasha follows what’s acceptable by the standards of those around her—and this time it’s Helene. So many of these scenarios are completely out of Natasha’s control, like being stuck in Moscow without her mother due to the financial crisis of the family, which is related to Nikolai’s refusal to marry Julie Karagin, which is related to Nikolai realizing his love for Sonya because of the mummers and cross-dressing. Helene happens to be in Moscow instead of St. Petersburg, and Natasha is also completely ignorant of Anatole’s secret marriage with another Polish girl. There are so many other examples that can be pulled from the text! The decisions of so many other characters—decisions they made with their own free will—all play into Natasha’s fate of not marrying Prince Andrei.
The Bolkonskys and Natasha
In this section, Princess Marya and Natasha meet each other—but they turn out to dislike each other. The entire meeting is a disaster. Princess Marya is relieved that Natasha breaks things off with Prince Andrei but at the same time holds contempt towards her for the same reasons (“Who would drop Andrei for Anatole?”). A few hundred pages back, however, Princess Marya also falls for Anatole and even thinks, “Who knows, I might have done that myself.” Even though Princess Marya ends up rejecting what she considers “temptations” to pursue a married life with Anatole, she seems to distance herself from Natasha and doesn’t sympathize with her situation too much. Princess Marya knows that she should forgive Natasha for the sake of upholding her own moral and spiritual character, but the fact that Natasha deeply hurt Prince Andrei seems to be a “physical world” factor that the Princess has trouble reconciling with her higher notions of spiritual purity.
The Old Prince also disagrees with the marriage and barely speaks to Natasha when she arrives at Bald Hills for a visit. Many wondered—why is the Old Prince so cruel, not only to Natasha, but to his own daughter, Princess Marya? One participant asserted, “It seems to be a love-hate thing. He does give her quite an education, but treats her abominably—really, it’s abuse.” Besides clearly being old and cranky, the Old Prince is also close to death. The thought of dying or being so old to the point of feeling irrelevant to the present day taunts the Old Prince. He’s “a man from another century” that valued class structure and discipline. One participant observed, “A character that cries out for the past and all its norms, he seems to be a link to the past that is now remembered by fewer Russians who are now in the shadow of Napoleon.”
Until next week!
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