Perhaps a bit overwhelmed, someone in the discussion mentioned, “A lot goes on in this section.” Whoever said it was dead on! A lot does happen and seemingly everywhere too—we see the very spiffy death of Helene back at the Petersburg salons, the long and drawn out (though “light”) death of Prince Andrei in French-invaded Moscow, Nikolai entertains the notion of marrying Princess Marya during their reunion in Boronezh, Pierre meets the curious Platon Karatayev in prison, and Napoleon is on his way out of Russia. In all of these events, there is a sense of being freed—characters finally begin to understand their infinitesimal position in “the wholeness” of things, and Russia itself seems to find its place as Napoleon finally makes his exit.
Soldiers Preparing for Battle
To backtrack a bit, a few people had questions about the peculiar way soldiers behaved before battle—instead of shaking with fear, the narrator described them as “preparing gaily, happily, without any cares.” In a way, everyone in the army tries to distract themselves from death. The common soldiers, the backbone of the Russian army, deal with things simply and sincerely, taking the time to laugh at Pierre’s silly white hat. The higher-ranked officials “seem to be doing a lot of partying--living the life they were used to.” They all have their own ways of avoiding thinking about the inevitable—that they may die in just a few hours, days, weeks during battle. Prince Andrei does the same thing in the scene when he gets hit by shrapnel and receives the fatal wound that will kill him. Both Prince Andrei and Pierre, though, admire the simple soldiers for their vitality. Prince Andrei chooses to stay with them when he returns to the army after Austerlitz instead of taking up his previous position with Kutuzov. Pierre begins to even admire the ways of the simple soldiers and wants to be like them. So the soldiers preparing for battle—simply and easily, without overbearing psychological contemplation on death—is part of what makes up the Russian soldiers’ vitality and strength and even becomes a characteristic of admiration for Prince Andrei and Pierre.
Platon Karatayev
Speaking of simplicity and sincerity, Platon Karatayev, a soldier himself, seems to be the epitome of such characteristics. He’s even described as “a grandmother—he has that same warmth.” One participant observed, “Platon is the very embodiment of the great common Russian who is the salvation of the nation in difference to the elites of the salons.” He seems to stand for “Russian peasant and Russian Christian soul, both words in Russian being almost spelled the same way.” Platon is fond of speaking in snippets of truthful aphorisms, almost like a prophet: “He would say things without thinking and seems he didn't understand what he was saying. It was almost like someone was speaking through him.” Pierre is so drawn to Karatayev because of his ability to live in the moment, the way he takes things so simply, and his heart-on-the-sleeve sort of kindness. In comparison to Pierre, “Platon speaks of ordinary things that contradicts Pierre's life of wealth and privileges.” Some people connected this observation with the frivolity of the Petersburg salons depicted at the start of Volume IV. Platon embodies something completely different—“It seems as if Tolstoy's emulation of the Russian peasant is a reaction to, and a total rejection of the modern and Western and aristocratic ideals of education, wealth, sophistication, and the like.” Others also connected Platon’s simplicity with the generals “bumbling about their job and duties.” Platon seems to hold a greater truth than these so-called “great men.” A participant noted, “I wonder if Pierre's interaction with Platov is setting the stage for Pierre to come to a personal discovery about himself, that being true to his Russian heritage will give him grounding, identity, etc.” Platon does become very important for Pierre, a sort of role model during his time in captivity. This may perhaps fit in with Pierre’s tendency to follow those in charge around him, but Platon is very different from the others Pierre once followed blindly. Platon is not at all like Anna Mikhaylovna telling Pierre what to do at his father’s funeral or the cryptic Freemasons. Platon seems to carry a magnetizing “life force” that tends to attract and direct Pierre naturally rather than artificially. A participant reminded us, “Platon feels things happen not as planned but as God judges, seems to be a recurring theme with Tolstoy.”
Platon—both a soldier and a peasant—seems to differ from the peasants depicted earlier, the peasants who wouldn’t allow Princess Marya to leave her estate. Those peasants were described as “a dark, chaotic force,” a huge contrast with the way Platon is depicted! Tolstoy shows both sides of the peasants.
Why Does Pierre Meet Platon When He Does?
A participant observed that Pierre meets Platon right after the execution scene in order “to balance the violence in the executions. Tolstoy brings in Platon who is peaceful and loving.” Another noted, “You have a godly intervention, with Pierre being saved from death, and then Platon enters the stage for Pierre's self-discovery, or transformation.” Surviving the execution is like a sort of rebirth for Pierre and Platon meets him at the opportune moment, “Pierre may be more open to Platon's viewpoint, he's being reborn after believing he was going to die.” Platon “restores Pierre’s faith in life.” Platon revitalizes Pierre’s belief in the goodness in life: “I felt after the execution scene Pierre feels the world is out of control, Pierre faith has been destroyed. He keeps seeing the faces of the killed and killers. And then he meets Platon—Platon brings back goodness and love.”
Human Connection, Death of Prince Andrei, and Lots and Lots of Doors
Platon and Pierre’s meeting signifies the power of the human connection, especially in the midst of a brutal war. This idea of the “saving” power of human connection comes up a number of times in War and Peace. Some pointed out the moment with Davout, when he and Pierre make eye contact, a moment that saves Pierre’s life. Then, there is that moment with Nikolai and the French soldier where Nikolai’s recognition of the soldier’s eyes keeps Nikolai from killing him, and then the moment with Vereshchagin where the thread of human sympathy breaks, and the mob kills him. Again, this happens when Natasha and Prince Andrei reunite.
Pierre’s spiritual death and rejuvenation relates with Prince Andrei’s actual death. One noted that Prince Andrei, though, had to die: “If Andrei had recovered it would have been something of an anti-climax. Where does he go from here? He seems to be a person who agonizes a lot, and I don't see a clear way for him.” Along these same lines, Prince Andrei’s death hindges on the happiness of others—“ Also, Marya and Nikolay could not marry, and more importantly, another resolution would not take place later in the novel.” Once Prince Andrei forgives Natasha, he begins to accept and understand death. As one noted, “As Karatayev said you have to accept suffering and death as part of the journey. Once Andrei experiences his dream of death, he seems to begin the process of leaving the conscious world. Its referred to in the text as a "reawakening from life", which was a curious phrase. To me, Tolstoy could be implying that Andrei had his life on earth, now there is something else waiting for him on the other side.”
Prince Andrei has a number of strange visions while sitting in bed ill and has a very strange dream the moment right before he dies. The dream functions as a sort of “reawakening from life.” Many caught on to the door metaphor—Prince Andrei’s transition between life and death. The idea of Prince Andrei looking into open doors reappears again and again in the novel before he actually has the dream about the door before his death. Sara pointed out one particular part of the novel where the doors act as a kind of foreshadowing: “As Andrei is saying good-bye to Marya at the VERY BEGINNING of the novel, when he has dropped Lise off at his father's house, we read ‘His handsome eyes were shining with an unusual brightness and kindness, but he was looking past his sister's head through the open door into the darkness beyond.’ !!! Fate, or novelistic plotting??” One observed, “It screams of his eventual demise.” Prince Andrei also comes to the realization that “love is God, love is life, God is life.” In the last moments before his death, Prince Andrei seems to let go of his love for Natasha, a love that binds him to one person, rather than to all or to the All. He has to learn the lesson that Pierre learns from Platon.
The Notion of Fate in Relation to Two Women: Sonya and Helene
A few participants in the discussion were curious about the change Sonya undergoes. “Speaking of Sonya, I am confused about her. She writes Nikolai and releases him from his promise. It is said that she does this because she is thankful for what the Rostovs have done for her. It goes on to say that she is angry with Natasha because she doesn't know what sacrifice is about.” So Sonya writes to Nikolai, freeing him to marry Princess Marya. It seems to be “fate”—Tolstoy first has Nikolai pray to get out of his commitment to Sonya, and then God seems to answer his prayer when Sonya’s letter arrives (similar to God answering his prayer at the wolf hunt). However, we later find out that Sonya only writes the letter because the Countess Rostov forces her to do so. Sonya adopts a curious slyness when we find out that she only wrote the letter because she believes that Prince Andrei will recover, so Nikolai and Princess Marya wouldn’t be able to marry anyways. Her words about “sacrifice” to Natasha hide her ulterior motives. A few participants found this conflicting. One said, “Poor, poor Sonya. She is poor and doesn't seem to have a chance.” Another saw it differently: “Tolstoy does depict women as a bit scheming, doesn't he?” Another, still, noted, “I feel Tolstoy makes it clear that Sonya writes the letter to appease the Countess, but also because she knows Nikolai can't marry Marya if Andrei recovers.” Whether Sonya is being conniving or is simply a victim, her plan altogether backfires since Prince Andrei dies, after all.
Another woman seems to be a victim to fate—Helene. One observed, “I kind of liked that she was ‘offed’ rather quickly! Seemed to fit.” Helene becomes involved in two separate affairs outside her marriage with Pierre, and even attempts to remarry while not quite getting a divorce from Pierre. Her death is rather mysterious, “It also implies she takes an overdose of the prescribed medicine. It went right over my head it might be complications of an abortion.” One noted, “But the actual death is quick - and she dies like she lived, the subject of salon gossip.” The quick death of Helene is in sharp contrast with the prolonged death of Prince Andrei—her frivolous life seems to complement her empty death, and the realizations Prince Andrei comes to reflect the questioning and struggling he experiences in life. However, a note that with Helene's death - we're not privy to it. We've never been inside her head, like Pierre or Prince Andrei— Nor are we now. We're as distanced from her as ever.
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