Passages for memorization from the novel

"War and Peace" (two of your choice)

I. Sky of Austerlitz

What's this? I'm falling! my legs give way, ”he thought, and fell on his back. He opened his eyes, hoping to see how the fight between the French and the artillerymen ended, and wishing to know whether the red-haired artilleryman had been killed or not, whether the guns had been taken or saved. But he didn't take anything. Above him there was nothing now but the sky—a high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with gray clouds quietly creeping across it. “How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all the way I ran,” thought Prince Andrei, “not the way we ran, shouted and fought; not at all like the way a Frenchman and an artilleryman dragged a bannik from each other with embittered and frightened faces - not at all like the clouds crawling across this high, endless sky. How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God!.. "

I.Description of oak

There was an oak at the edge of the road. Probably ten times older than the birches that made up the forest, it was ten times thicker and twice as tall as each birch. It was a huge oak tree in two girths with broken branches, which can be seen for a long time, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread out clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between smiling birches like an old, angry and contemptuous freak. Only he alone did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun.

"Spring, and love, and happiness!" - as if said this oak. - And how not to get tired of you all the same stupid and senseless deceit. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness. There, look, crushed dead firs are sitting, always alone, and there I spread my broken, peeled fingers, wherever they grew - from the back, from the sides; as I grew up, so I stand, and I do not believe your hopes and deceptions.

Prince Andrei looked back at this oak tree several times as he rode through the forest, as if he was expecting something from him. There were flowers and grass under the oak, but he still, frowning, motionless, ugly and stubbornly, stood in the middle of them.

“Yes, he is right, this oak is a thousand times right,” thought Prince Andrei, let others, young ones, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over! Whole new row Hopeless thoughts, but sadly pleasant in connection with this oak, arose in the soul of Prince Andrei. During this journey, it was as if he thought over his whole life again, and came to the same calming and hopeless conclusion that he had no need to start anything, that he should live his life without doing evil, without worrying and desiring nothing.

III. Description of oak

“Yes, here, in this forest, there was this oak, with which we agreed,” thought Prince Andrei. “Yes, where is he,” thought Prince Andrei again, looking at the left side of the road and, without knowing it, not recognizing him , admired the oak he was looking for. old oak, all transfigured, spread out in a tent of juicy, dark greenery, thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy fingers, no sores, no old mistrust and grief - nothing was visible. Juicy, young leaves broke through the tough, hundred-year-old bark without knots, so that it was impossible to believe that this old man had produced them. “Yes, this is the same oak,” thought Prince Andrei, and an unreasonable spring feeling of joy and renewal suddenly came over him. All the best moments of his life were suddenly remembered to him at the same time. And Austerlitz with a high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and the girl, excited by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon - and he suddenly remembered all this.

“No, life is not over at the age of 31,” Prince Andrei suddenly decided, finally, invariably. Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows this: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary for everyone to know me, so that my life does not go on for me alone, so that they do not live so independently of my life, so that it is reflected on everyone and that they all live with me together!

IV. Natasha's dance

Natasha threw off the handkerchief that was thrown over her, ran ahead of her uncle and, propping her hands on her hips, made a movement with her shoulders and stood.

Where, how, when she sucked into herself from that Russian air that she breathed - this Countess, brought up by a French emigrant - this spirit, where did she get these tricks that dances with a shawl should long ago have supplanted? But the spirit and methods were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian, which her uncle expected from her. As soon as she stood up, she smiled solemnly, proudly and cunningly cheerfully, the first fear that gripped Nikolai and all those present, the fear that she would do something wrong, passed, and they were already admiring her.

She did the same thing and did it so exactly, so quite exactly, that Anisia Fyodorovna, who immediately handed her the handkerchief necessary for her case, shed tears through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, educated countess in silk and velvet who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.

3 healing power nature.

The image of an oak tree in Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace". In his work, L. N. Tolstoy refers to different facets of personality in order to make it the most full portrait. It can be subtle facial movements: a smile or a sparkle in the eyes. When describing internal state the hero is important not only emotions, but also their external manifestations. Tolstoy finds other features that can show us his "dialectics of the soul", a term used by N. G. Chernyshevsky when characterizing the works of the great writer. In my essay, I will focus on the image of an oak tree from the novel "War and Peace", which helps us to reveal the state of mind of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.

Andrey meets this tree on his way before he gets to the Rostovs' estate, Otradnoye. Behind the prince's shoulders may be a short life, but rich in content. He saw all the facets of what the writer refers to in his work: peace and war. From such a journey, Bolkonsky made a firm conviction that life was over. “Yes, he is right, this oak tree is a thousand times right,” thought Prince Andrei, “let others, young people, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over!” The tree he sees makes Bolkonsky look again at the path he has traveled. But the memories do not change his attitude towards himself. The charm of spring does not resurrect beautiful moments in him and does not give a fresh breath of new life.

However, the writer, referring to such a journey that Bolkonsky started in Bogucharovo on the affairs of his son, shows that this particular oak becomes a kind of turning point in the fate of one of the main characters. Prince Andrei does not understand why his coachman Peter can be so happy. And the only one he finds as allies is an old oak, which is "probably ten times older than birches." It was he who further confirmed Bolkonsky in the opinion that “he didn’t need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and not wanting anything.”

The very description of the tree, which the writer cites in the work, helps us understand why Prince Andrei perceived him as the only ally in this beauty of spring fairy forest. “It was a huge oak tree in two girths with broken branches, which can be seen for a long time, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread, clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between the smiling birches, an old, angry and contemptuous freak. Only he alone did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun. From this description it follows that the oak also saw a lot in life. And from such a difficult struggle, he endured not only disappointment, but also the wounds that the sores on his bark speak of. In describing this picture, Tolstoy deftly uses one trick. The writer shows that two kindred souls met who were able to resist the general fun. However, they still remain lonely: the oak is in this forest, Andrei is in life. From the fact that two kindred souls have closed themselves from the light and others, nothing will change. After all, life goes on ... It brings new events and impressions that gradually overshadow any sadness. Natasha Rostova becomes such a creature for Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. He is struck by her sincere joy and admiration.

eat, what surrounds us in life. She rejoices in an ordinary night so directly and without slyness. “No, look at the moon! .. Oh, what a charm! .. So I would squat down, like this, I would grab myself under my knees - tighter, as tight as possible - you have to strain. Like this!"

In this case, the girl becomes not an ally, but one might say, an opponent of Prince Andrei. And it has its effect. Bolkonsky begins to think about the fact that everyday, inconspicuous things from the first time can please a person. He understands that simple items and phenomena of nature, such as the moon, can inspire. Maybe it is at this moment that Prince Andrei understands why Natasha was so happy all day. “Suddenly, such an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes, contradicting his whole life, rose in his soul, that he, feeling unable to understand his condition, immediately fell asleep.”

When he returns, travels from Otradnoye, he begins to pay attention to what surrounds him. This is no longer enthusiasm and a kind of spring awakening of nature. Spring has long come into its own, summer is in the yard. And at this moment, Prince Andrei cannot find the one with whom he was recently so alone in the realm of awakening nature.

The image of oak in the work plays a big role. After all, it is through the eyes of Bolkonsky that this tree is shown. In it, he finds an ally of his soul and thoughts, his passed life. The author uses this image in order not to open slightly through replicas inner world character. Prince Andrei is such a hero who does not speak directly about his anxieties and fears. Only with Pierre can he afford to be a little frank. In that crucial moment when a friend is not around, it was through the description of the tree that we understood what was happening, and what cardinal changes took place in Bolkonsky's soul. He, like this oak, came to life under the warm sun and could rejoice in summer days, like those birches that he met again on the way.

Natasha, with her admiration at the window, only gave impetus to a spark flaring up in Prince Andrei. But the hero strengthened his opinion only at the moment when he again saw that clumsy and “sad” oak. The tree itself seemed to rejoice at the life that spring opened before it, and Andrei “without knowing it, without recognizing it, admired the oak he was looking for. The old oak tree, all transformed, stretched out in a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. The new foliage hid the sores and wounds. So Bolkonsky thought, probably, that his spiritual wounds could also heal. Therefore, he will be able not only to transform like this oak tree, but also to start life from a new leaf. The tree, as if by its example, showed that grief and distrust can be crossed, as he himself did.

With a consistent description of the oak, the author seems to show the steps of the hero's rebirth. First, it is worth letting in the new that surrounds us. This will not only hide external flaws, but also convince yourself that grief will be left behind. Secondly, the most important thing is that you yourself can make everything around you move and come to life: “Through the tough, hundred-year-old bark, juicy, young leaves made their way without knots, so it was impossible to believe that this old man produced them.”

And Bolkonsky goes through all these stages together with the oak. “Yes, this is the same oak tree,” thought Prince Andrei, and a causeless, spring feeling of joy and renewal suddenly came over him. All the best moments of his life were suddenly remembered to him at the same time. And in memory young man, after all, Andrei is only thirty-one years old, only pleasant moments of his life began to emerge, which seemed to say that he could go forward and at the same time rely not only on dark and gloomy, but also bright moments. Bolkonsky seems to understand that it is renewal and admiration for life that allow you to boldly move forward to new heights, and not hide your youth and talent behind a “bark with sores”. He must live not only for himself, but also for others so that they, too, can see in him the best thing that has been hidden for a long time, “... so that everyone knows me, so that my life goes not for me alone, so that they don’t live like that regardless of my life, so that it is reflected on everyone and that they all live with me together!

So the meeting with the oak was the turning point that showed and approved the main character in the opinion that it is possible to start life from scratch. And those around him, perhaps, will help him in this, because during his awakening he remembers Pierre, the girl and now this resurrected oak.

So the image of the oak plays several roles in the story. He not only reveals to us the veil of secrecy over the inner world of the hero, but is also a character who finds his way of reviving Prince Andrei Bolkonsky to a new wonderful life. At the same time, the image of the oak enables the author to show us those qualities of the hero that could not be shown through a description of the appearance.

What meaning did Leo Tolstoy put into the episode "The Meeting of Prince Andrei with the Old Oak"?

The episode of the meeting of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky with an old oak is one of the turning points in the novel: this is the transition to new stage life, complete change hero's worldview. Meeting with an oak is a turning point in his old life and the opening of a new, joyful one, in unity with all the people.

Oak - symbolic image psychological state Prince Andrei, the image of large-scale and rapid changes that took place in his soul. At the first meeting of Andrei with an oak, he met him with a gloomy and not obeying the rest (forest) world tree: “With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between smiling birches as an old, angry, contemptuous freak. wanted to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun. We see the same contrast in the company of A.P. Scherer between the prince and the rest of the guests of this salon. He is not interested in talking about Bonaparte, who was the center of Anna Pavlovna's discussions, and, "apparently, all those who were in the living room not only knew each other, but he was already tired of him so much that he was very bored looking at them and listening to them." We see the same apathy in the outward appearance of the oak, standing wild and alone among the green birch grove.

But at their second meeting, Andrey finds the oak renewed, full vitality and love for the world around: "The old oak tree, all transformed, spread out in a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. Neither clumsy fingers, nor sores, nor old grief and distrust - nothing was visible. Through the hundred-year-old hard Juicy, young leaves broke through the bark without knots, so it was impossible to believe that it was the old man who produced them. How did this change take place in the oak so suddenly and so quickly? It happened because inside, in the veins of this mighty tree, there was already a source of change that had not yet been manifested during the first meeting with Andrei Bolkonsky. But we said that the oak is a symbolic image of Prince Andrei. So what was the potential lurking in Prince Andrei before their second meeting?

This "potential" was formed from the best moments of his life. The first was the Battle of Austerlitz, and "there was nothing above it but the sky - a high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with gray clouds quietly creeping across it." The second moment is a meeting with Pierre on the ferry, where Pierre told Andrei about Freemasonry, about eternal life, about God: "A meeting with Pierre was for Prince Andrei an era from which, although in appearance it was the same, but in his inner world new life". The third is a accidentally overheard conversation of a girl who was excited by the beauty of the night and wanted to fly into the sky (Natasha Rostova), which aroused in him long-extinguished feelings of joy and happiness.

But the many disappointments he experienced also pushed him to these changes. Firstly, this "fall" in his eyes is the idol of many members of the higher Russian society, including Prince Andrei, - Napoleon - after meeting with him: "It was Napoleon - his hero, but at that moment Napoleon seemed so small to him, insignificant person"," all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him, his hero himself seemed so petty to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory. "Secondly, this unexpected death Lisa: "You see a creature dear to you that is connected with you, before whom you were guilty and hoped to justify yourself, and suddenly this creature suffers, suffers and ceases to be ...".

All these events, superimposed on each other, are looking for a way out and a single optimal solution, and there is only one way out of the circle of repetitive and oppressive events that tormented Prince Andrei: a different life with new ideals and aspirations. Analyzing all your past life, Andrei understands that he lived only for himself (for example, dreaming of a personal feat, of his "toulon", which would glorify him). This is what led to frequent disappointments in life. And seeing the transformed oak, Prince Andrei fully appreciated the incorrectness of his former goals and principles, seeing the oak in front of him as a reflection of himself. The transformation of the oak is the inner transformation of Prince Andrei himself, it is a complete re-realization and renewal of all the foundations of his life.

Therefore, the meeting of Andrei Bolkonsky with the oak plays great importance. This is the hero's transition from a selfish proud life to a life "for others", in unity with all the people: "... so that my life goes not for me alone, so that it is reflected on everyone and so that they all live with me!"

In 1808 Emperor Alexander traveled to Erfurt to new meeting with Napoleon, and high society Much has been said about the importance of this event. In 1809, the proximity of the two "masters of the world", as Alexander and Napoleon were called, reached the point that when Napoleon declared war on Austria, the Russian corps went abroad to fight on the side of the former enemy against the former ally, the Austrian emperor.

Life is ordinary people she went on as usual, with her questions of health, love, work, hope, etc., regardless of Napoleon's relationship with Alexander. Prince Andrey lived in the village for two years, without going anywhere. All those measures that Pierre started on his estate and which he could not bring to any result, all these measures, without much difficulty, were successfully implemented by Prince Andrei. He, unlike Bezukhov, had that practical tenacity, thanks to which things moved forward without his special efforts. He listed some peasants as free cultivators, for others he replaced corvée with dues. Peasants and courtyards were taught to read and write, and a trained midwife was issued especially for them. Andrei spent one part of his time in the Bald Mountains with his father and son, the other - in the Bogucharovo estate. At the same time, he closely followed external events, read a lot and pondered. In the spring of 1809, Prince Andrei went to the Ryazan estate of his son, who was under his care.

Warmed by the spring sun, he sat in the carriage, looking at the first grass, the first birch leaves, and the first puffs of white spring clouds scattered across the bright blue of the sky. He did not think about anything, but looked cheerfully and senselessly around ...

There was an oak at the edge of the road. Probably ten times older than the birches that made up the forest, it was ten times thicker and twice as tall as each birch. It was a huge oak tree in two girths with broken branches, which can be seen for a long time, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread, clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between the smiling birches, an old, angry and contemptuous freak. Only he alone did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun.

“Spring, and love, and happiness!” this oak seemed to be saying, “and how you don’t get tired of all the same stupid and senseless deceit. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness. Look over there, crushed dead firs are sitting, always the same, and there I spread my broken, peeled fingers, wherever they grew - from the back, from the sides; as you have grown, so I stand, and I do not believe your hopes and deceptions.

Prince Andrei looked back at this oak tree several times as he rode through the forest, as if he was expecting something from him. There were flowers and grass under the oak, but he still, frowning, motionless, ugly and stubbornly, stood in the middle of them.

“Yes, he is right, this oak is a thousand times right,” thought Prince Andrei, let others, young ones, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over! A whole new series of thoughts, hopeless, but sadly pleasant in connection with this oak, arose in the soul of Prince Andrei. During this journey, it was as if he thought over his whole life again, and came to the same calming and hopeless conclusion that he had no need to start anything, that he should live his life without doing evil, without worrying and desiring nothing.

On guardianship matters, Prince Andrei needed to see the district marshal, Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov. Bolkonsky went to him in Otradnoye, where the count lived, as before, hosting the whole province, with hunts, theaters, dinners and musicians. Approaching the Rostovs' house, Andrei heard a woman's cry and saw a crowd of girls running across his carriage. Ahead of the others, closest to the carriage, ran a black-eyed girl in a yellow cotton dress, who was shouting something. But recognizing a stranger, she, without looking at him, ran back. The girl whom Prince Andrei drew attention to was Natasha Rostova. When looking at her, Bolkonsky suddenly felt pain.

“Why is she so happy? What is she thinking? And why is she happy? Prince Andrei involuntarily asked himself with curiosity.

During the day, during which Andrey was occupied by the senior owners and guests who arrived at the Rostov estate on the occasion of his name day, he repeatedly fixed his gaze on something Natasha, who was having fun, trying to understand what she was thinking and what she was so happy about.

In the evening, left alone in a new place, he could not sleep for a long time. He read, then put out the candle and lit it again...

Prince Andrei's room was on the middle floor; they also lived in the rooms above it and did not sleep. He heard a woman speak from above.

Just one more time, said from above female voice, which Prince Andrei now recognized.

So when are you going to sleep? answered another voice.

I won't, I can't sleep, what should I do! Well, last time...

Oh what a delight! Well, now sleep, and the end.

You sleep, but I can't, answered the first voice, approaching the window. She apparently leaned completely out of the window, because the rustling of her dress and even breathing could be heard. Everything was quiet and petrified, like the moon and its light and shadows. Prince Andrei was also afraid to move, so as not to betray his involuntary presence.

Sonya reluctantly answered something.

No, look what a moon!.. Oh, what a charm! You come here. Darling, dove, come here. Well, see? So I would squat down, like this, would grab myself under my knees - tighter, as tight as possible - you have to strain - and I would fly .. That's it!

All right, you're going to fall.

It's the second hour.

Ah, you're just ruining everything for me. Well, go, go.

Everything fell silent again, but Prince Andrei knew that she was still sitting there, he sometimes heard a quiet stir, sometimes sighs.

Oh my god! My God! what is it! she suddenly cried out.

Sleep so sleep! - and slammed the window.

"They don't care about my existence!" - thought Prince Andrei while he listened to her conversation, for some reason expecting and fearing that she would say something about him. - And again she! And how on purpose! he thought. Such an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes, which contradicted his whole life, suddenly arose in his soul, that he, feeling himself unable to understand his condition, immediately fell asleep.

The next day, saying goodbye only to the count, without waiting for the ladies to leave, Andrei went home. On the way back, he drove into the same birch grove, in which he was struck by a gnarled oak. But now Andrei looked at him in a completely different way.

The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy fingers, no sores, no old mistrust and grief - nothing was visible. Juicy, young leaves made their way out of the knots through the tough hundred-year-old bark, so that it was impossible to believe that this old man had produced them. “Yes, this is the same oak tree,” thought Prince Andrei, and a causeless spring feeling of joy and renewal suddenly came over him. All the best moments of his life were suddenly remembered to him at the same time. And Austerlitz with a high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and the girl, excited by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon - and he suddenly remembered all this.

“No, life is not over at the age of 31,” Prince Andrei suddenly decided definitively, without change. Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows this: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary that everyone knows me, so that my life goes not for me alone so that they do not live so independently of my life, so that it is reflected on everyone and that they all live with me together!

Returning from a trip to the estates, Andrei, unexpectedly for himself, decided to go to St. Petersburg in the fall. In August 1809, he carried out his intention. "This time was the apogee of the glory of the young Speransky and the energy of the coups he carried out."

Soon after his arrival, Prince Andrei appeared at the court, but the sovereign, having met him twice, did not honor him with a single word. According to the courtiers, Alexander was unhappy that Bolkonsky had not served since 1805. Andrei handed over his note with a proposal to introduce new military laws to the field marshal, a friend of his father. The field marshal received him amiably and promised to report to the sovereign about him. A few days later, Bolkonsky was summoned to an appointment with Arakcheev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, before whom the whole court trembled. Arakcheev, in a grumbling and contemptuous tone, informed Andrei that his note had been submitted to the committee on military regulations, and he himself was enlisted as a member of this committee.

While waiting for notification of his enrollment as a member of the committee, Andrey renewed his old acquaintances and, thanks to his natural intelligence and erudition, was well received in all the various and highest circles of St. Petersburg society. Those around him noticed that he had changed a lot since his last stay in St. Petersburg: “he softened and matured, that there was no former pretense, pride and mockery in him, and there was that calmness that is acquired over the years.”

The day after visiting Count Arakcheev, Prince Andrei was at the evening with Count Kochubey, where he met Speransky, the state secretary, speaker of the sovereign and his companion in Erfurt, where he met and spoke with Napoleon more than once. Prince Andrei carefully looked at Speransky, wanting to find complete perfection in him. human dignity. Speransky, paying tribute to the general conversation, recalled Andrey to the other side of the room and spoke to him about important state issues. At the end of the conversation, Speransky invited Andrei to his place for dinner with a proposal to continue their acquaintance.

Plunging into the atmosphere of St. Petersburg secular life, Prince Andrei felt that he did nothing, did not think about anything, but only said what he managed to comprehend during his life in the village. Speransky, appreciating Andrei's merits, often talked to him one on one. Andrei, who had to communicate with many worthless people, it seemed that he found in Speransky the ideal of a reasonable and completely virtuous person, who achieved power with energy and perseverance and used it only for the good of Russia. However, Bolkonsky was unpleasantly struck by the mirror look of Speransky, as well as his too great contempt for people. At the first time of his acquaintance with Speransky, Prince Andrei felt a sincere feeling of respect and admiration for him, but then this feeling began to wane. A week after arriving in St. Petersburg, Andrei became a member of the military regulations commission and head of the department of the law drafting commission.

In 1808, returning to St. Petersburg from a trip to the estates, Pierre was elected head of St. Petersburg Freemasonry. His duties included organizing dining and grave lodges, recruiting new members, and taking care of connecting the various lodges. He gave money for the construction of temples and replenished the collection of alms, which most members of Freemasonry were stingy with. Pierre's life, despite his new views and beliefs, went on as before. He liked to dine and drink well, and often took part in the amusements of bachelor societies. In the course of his studies and hobbies, Pierre felt that he was gradually moving away from Masonic principles, and the stronger his position in Freemasonry became, the stronger he felt his detachment from him. Realizing that most of the brothers entered Freemasonry not because of ideological convictions, but because of profit (hoping to be close to rich and influential people), Pierre could not feel satisfied with his activities.

In the summer of 1809, Pierre returned to Petersburg. By this time, he managed to get the confidence of many high-ranking officials abroad, was elevated to the highest degree and brought with him a lot for the prosperity of Freemasonry in Russia. At the solemn meeting of the lodge, Pierre delivered a speech in which he called on the brothers to take active steps "to spread the truth and deliver the triumph of virtue." This speech made a strong impression on the brothers, most of whom saw in it dangerous plans. Pierre's offer was rejected, and he went home in a bad mood. He succumbed to one of the attacks of melancholy, three days after the meeting of the lodge lay at home, doing nothing and not leaving anywhere. At this time, he received a letter from his wife, who begged him for a date and wrote that she wanted to devote her life to him. At the end of the letter, she informed him that one of these days she would come to St. Petersburg from abroad. A few days later, one of the Masonic brothers came to Pierre, who, starting a conversation about Pierre's marital relations, expressed the opinion that Pierre's attitude towards his wife was unfair and that without forgiving her, he deviated from the first rules of Freemasonry. Pierre understood that it was a conspiracy, that it was beneficial for someone to connect him with his wife, but he did not care. Under the influence of those around him, he got along with his wife, asking her to forgive everything old and forget everything that he could be guilty of before her.

The secular Petersburg society of that time was divided into several circles, the most extensive of which was French. One of the prominent places in this circle was occupied by Helen, from the time when she and Pierre settled in St. Petersburg. At her receptions there were important gentlemen of the French embassy and a large number of people who had a reputation for being smart and amiable. Helen was in Erfurt during the famous meeting of the Russian and French emperors and had great success there. The beauty of the Russian countess was noticed by Napoleon himself. Her success as beautiful woman did not surprise Pierre, because over the years she became even more beautiful. However, the fact that in two years his wife had managed to acquire a reputation as a “charming woman, as smart as she was beautiful” amazed Pierre. To be received in the salon of Countess Bezukhova was considered a great honor. Pierre, knowing that his wife was stupid, attended with a strange feeling the dinners she hosted, where politics, poetry, philosophy and other topics were discussed.

In the eyes of public opinion, Pierre was the very husband that a "brilliant secular woman" needed. Those around him considered him a funny eccentric, who did not interfere with anyone and did not spoil the general tone of the living room. Pierre himself behaved indifferently and casually with those around him - “he was equally happy and equally indifferent with everyone,” which for some reason inspired involuntary respect. However, all this time he did not stop thinking and reflecting on the meaning of life.

Among the young people who visited Countess Bezukhov daily was Boris Drubetskoy. Helen communicated with him with a special, affectionate smile, calling him her page. Pierre subconsciously felt that friendly relations Helen and Boris are hiding something more, but remembering what his jealousy had led to three years ago, he did not allow himself to suspect his wife. On the advice of Bazdeev, Pierre diligently kept a diary, recording all his actions and thoughts. He tried to engage in self-improvement, to eradicate laziness, gluttony and other vices in himself.

Soon Boris Drubetskoy was accepted into the lodge of Masons. Pierre wrote in his diary that he himself recommended Boris, struggling with an unworthy feeling of hatred for this man, although, in his opinion, Drubetskoy entered the box with one sole purpose- get close to famous and influential people.

The Rostovs lived in the village for two years, but despite this, their financial position didn't get better. The manager conducted business in such a way that debts grew every year. Count Rostov saw only one way out to improve the financial affairs of the family - to enter the service. To this end, he and his family moved to St. Petersburg. But if in Moscow the Rostovs belonged to high society, then in St. Petersburg they were considered provincials.

In St. Petersburg, the Rostovs continued to live hospitably, their dinners were attended by an audience belonging to different social strata. Shortly after the Rostovs' arrival in Petersburg, Berg made an offer to Vera, and it was accepted. For so long and with such significance he told others about how he was wounded in the battle of Austerlitz that in the end he received two awards for one wound. In the Finnish war, he also distinguished himself: he picked up a fragment of a grenade, which killed the adjutant near the commander-in-chief, and brought this fragment to the commander. As after Austerlitz, he recounted this event for a long time and persistently until he received two awards.

In 1809, Berg was a captain of the guard with decorations and held profitable positions in St. Petersburg, enjoying the reputation of a brave officer. Berg's courtship, met at first with bewilderment (he did not have a noble birth), was finally approved by the Rostovs, since Vera was already twenty-four years old, and despite the fact that she was considered beautiful girl No one has yet proposed to her. Berg did not hide from close friends that he was looking for benefits from the upcoming marriage. Before the wedding, he persistently asked Count Rostov to explain what dowry would be given for his daughter, and calmed down only when he was given twenty thousand in cash and a bill for eighty thousand rubles.

Boris, despite the fact that he made a brilliant career and stopped communicating with the Rostovs, nevertheless paid them a visit during their stay in St. Petersburg. Natasha, who by this time was sixteen years old, had never seen Boris since she kissed him. She understood that childhood had passed and everything that happened between them was childish, but in the depths of her soul she was tormented by the question: was her promise to Boris a joke or a serious obligation? Coming several times to Moscow, Boris never visited the Rostovs.

When the Rostovs arrived in St. Petersburg, Boris came to visit them.

He rode towards them not without emotion. The memory of Natasha was the most poetic memory of Boris. But at the same time, he rode with the firm intention of making it clear to her and her family that the childish relationship between him and Natasha could not be an obligation either for her or for him. He had a brilliant position in society, thanks to intimacy with Countess Bezukhova, a brilliant position in the service, thanks to the patronage of an important person, whose trust he fully enjoyed, and he had nascent plans for marrying one of the richest brides in St. Petersburg, which could very easily come true. . When Boris entered the Rostovs' living room, Natasha was in her room. Upon learning of his arrival, she almost ran into the living room, flushed... a completely different Natasha, he was embarrassed, and his face expressed enthusiastic surprise ...

What, you recognize your little naughty buddy? said the Countess. Boris kissed Natasha's hand and said that he was surprised at the change that had taken place in her.

How you have improved!

“Sure!” answered Natasha's laughing eyes...

Boris decided on his own to avoid meeting Natasha, but, despite this decision, he arrived a few days later and began to travel often and spend whole days with the Rostovs. It seemed to him that he needed to explain himself to Natasha, to tell her that everything old should be forgotten, that, despite everything ..., she cannot be his wife, that he has no fortune, and she will never be given for him . But he did not succeed in everything and it was embarrassing to start this explanation. Every day he became more and more confused. Natasha, according to the remark of her mother and Sonya, seemed to be in love with Boris in the old way. She sang his favorite songs to him, showed him her album, forced him to write in it, did not allow him to remember the old, letting him know how wonderful the new was; and every day he left in a fog, without saying what he intended to say, not knowing himself what he was doing and why he came, and how it would end.

One evening, while the countess was reading evening prayer, an excited Natasha ran into her room and asked what she thought about Boris. The countess said that at the age of sixteen she herself was already married, but if Natasha does not love Boris, then one should not rush. In addition, marriage with Natasha is also undesirable for Boris, because he is poor. Reproaching her daughter for turning the young man's head in vain, the countess promised to settle the matter herself. The next day, the countess invited Boris to her place, and after frank conversation with her, the young man stopped visiting the Rostovs' house.

On December 31, on the eve of the new year, 1810, one of Catherine's nobles arranged a ball, at which the sovereign was supposed to be.

Natasha looked into the mirrors and in the reflection she could not distinguish herself from others. Everything was mixed in one brilliant procession. At the entrance to the first hall, a uniform rumble of voices, steps, greetings deafened Natasha; the light and brilliance blinded her even more.

Two girls in white dresses, with identical roses in their black hair, sat down in the same way, but the hostess involuntarily fixed her gaze longer on thin Natasha. She looked at her, and smiled at her alone, in addition to her master's smile. Looking at her, the hostess remembered, perhaps, her golden, irrevocable girlish time, and her first ball. The owner also looked after Natasha and asked the count, who is his daughter?

Arrived at the ball great amount guests. The invitees exchanged whispers breaking news. Among the new arrivals, the Rostovs noticed two ugly girls, heirs of large fortunes, followed by "suitors" - Anatol Kuragin and Boris Drubetskoy. Among the guests was Pierre, who accompanied his wife.

Pierre walked, waddling his fat body, pushing the crowd apart, nodding right and left as casually and good-naturedly as if he were walking through the crowd of a bazaar. He moved through the crowd, apparently looking for someone.

Natasha looked with joy at Pierre's familiar face, and knew that Pierre was looking for them, and especially her, in the crowd. Pierre promised her to be at the ball and introduce her to the gentlemen.

But, before reaching them, Bezukhov stopped beside a short, very handsome brunette in a white uniform, who, standing at the window, was talking to some tall man in stars and ribbon. Natasha immediately recognized a short young man in a white uniform: it was Bolkonsky, who seemed to her very rejuvenated, cheerful and prettier ...

More than half of the ladies had cavaliers and were going or preparing to go to the Polish. Natasha felt that she remained with her mother and Sonya among the smaller part of the ladies pushed back to the wall and not taken to the Polish. She stood, lowering her thin arms, and with a measuredly rising, slightly defined chest, holding her breath, shining, frightened eyes looked ahead of her, with an expression of readiness for the greatest joy and for greatest grief. She was not occupied by either the sovereign, or all important persons- she had one thought: “Is it possible that no one will come up to me, is it possible that I will not dance between the first, is it possible that all these men will not notice me, who now, it seems, do not see me, and if they look at me, then they look with such an expression as if they are saying: “Ah! it's not her, so there's nothing to see. No, it can't be!" she thought. “They must know how I want to dance, how well I dance, and how fun it will be for them to dance with me.”

The sounds of Polish, which had gone on for quite some time, were already beginning to sound sad, a memory in Natasha's ears. She wanted to cry. The count was at the other end of the hall. The Countess, Sonya, and she stood alone as in a forest in this alien crowd, uninteresting and unnecessary to anyone. Prince Andrei walked past them with some lady, apparently not recognizing them. The handsome Anatole, smiling, said something to the lady he was leading, and looked at Natasha's face with the look with which they look at the walls. Boris walked past them twice and each time turned away...

Prince Andrei, in his colonel's white (for cavalry) uniform, in stockings and boots, lively and cheerful, stood in the forefront of the circle, not far from the Rostovs. Baron Firgof spoke to him about tomorrow, the proposed first meeting of the State Council ...

Prince Andrei watched these cavaliers and ladies, who were timid in the presence of the sovereign, trembling with the desire to be invited.

Pierre went up to Prince Andrei and grabbed his hand.

You are always dancing. There is ... Rostova is young, invite her, ”he said.

Where? Bolkonsky asked. “I’m sorry,” he said, turning to the baron, “we’ll finish this conversation in another place, but at the ball you have to dance.” - He stepped forward, in the direction that Pierre indicated to him. Natasha's desperate, fading face caught Prince Andrei's eyes. He recognized her, guessed her feelings, realized that she was a beginner, remembered her conversation at the window, and with a cheerful expression approached Countess Rostova.

Allow me to introduce you to my daughter,” said the Countess, blushing.

I have the pleasure of being acquainted, if the countess remembers me, - said Prince Andrei with a courteous and low bow, approaching Natasha, and raising his hand to hug her waist even before he finished the invitation to dance. He suggested a waltz tour. That fading expression on Natasha's face, ready for despair and delight, suddenly lit up with a happy, grateful, childlike smile.

“I have been waiting for you for a long time,” this frightened and happy girl seemed to say, with her smile that appeared because of ready tears, raising her hand on the shoulder of Prince Andrei.

Prince Andrei loved to dance, and wanting to quickly get rid of the political and intelligent conversations with which everyone turned to him, and wanting to quickly break this annoying circle of embarrassment formed by the presence of the sovereign, he went to dance and chose Natasha, because Pierre pointed her out to him. and because she was the first of the pretty women that caught his eye; but as soon as he embraced this thin, mobile body, and she moved so close to him and smiled so close to him, the wine of her charms hit him in the head: he felt revived and rejuvenated when, catching his breath and leaving her, he stopped and began to look on the dancers.

After Prince Andrei, Natasha was invited by other gentlemen, including Boris. She, happy and flushed, not noticing the intricacies of secular etiquette, did not stop dancing the whole evening.

Prince Andrei, like all people who grew up in the world, loved to meet in the world that which did not have a common secular imprint. And such was Natasha, with her surprise, joy and timidity, and even mistakes in French. He spoke with her especially tenderly and carefully. Sitting beside her, talking to her about the simplest and most insignificant subjects, Prince Andrei admired the joyful gleam in her eyes and smile, which related not to spoken speeches, but to her inner happiness. While Natasha was chosen and she got up with a smile and danced around the hall, Prince Andrei admired in particular her timid grace. In the middle of the cotillion, Natasha, having finished the figure, still breathing heavily, approached her place. The new gentleman again invited her. She was tired and out of breath, and apparently thought of refusing, but immediately again cheerfully raised her hand on the cavalier's shoulder and smiled at Prince Andrei ...

“If she comes first to her cousin, and then to another lady, then she will be my wife,” Prince Andrei said quite unexpectedly to himself, looking at her. She went up to her cousin first.

“What nonsense sometimes comes to mind! thought Prince Andrei; but it’s only true that this girl is so sweet, so special, that she won’t dance here for a month and get married ... This is a rarity here, ”he thought, when Natasha, straightening the rose that had fallen back from her corsage, sat down beside him.

Pierre at this ball for the first time felt insulted by the position that his wife occupied in higher spheres. He was sullen and distracted. There was a wide crease across his forehead, and he, standing at the window, looked through his glasses, seeing no one.

Natasha, on her way to dinner, walked past him.

The gloomy, unhappy face of Pierre struck her. She stopped in front of him. She wanted to help him, to convey to him the surplus of her happiness.

How fun, count, - she said, - isn't it?

Pierre smiled absently, obviously not understanding what was being said to him.

Yes, I'm very happy, he said.

“How can they be dissatisfied with something,” thought Natasha. Especially as good as this Bezukhov?” In Natasha's eyes, all those who were at the ball were equally kind, sweet, wonderful people, loving friend friend: no one could offend each other, and therefore everyone should have been happy.

The next day, Prince Andrei recalled the ball and Natasha. Sitting down to work, he was constantly distracted and could not do anything, and was delighted when one of the officials came to him to announce the opening State Council. This event, to which Prince Andrei would have paid much attention before, now seemed to him petty and insignificant. On the same day, Prince Andrei was invited to dinner with Speransky, which was also attended by other reformers. Bolkonsky listened with sadness and disappointment to the conversations of those present, their fun seemed to him unnatural and simulated. The sound of Speransky's voice struck him unpleasantly. The incessant laughter of the guests for some reason irritated and offended Andrey's feelings. Everything that Speransky did seemed to Andrei far-fetched and simulated. Bolkonsky left early and, returning home, began to recall all the meetings of the Council, at which a lot of time was spent discussing the form instead of solving pressing issues. This work now seemed to Andrei empty and unnecessary, and he himself was surprised how he could not understand this before.

The next day, Prince Andrei went on visits to some houses where he had not yet been, including the Rostovs, with whom he renewed his acquaintance at the last ball.

Natasha was one of the first to meet him. She was in a homely blue dress, in which she seemed to Prince Andrei even better than in the ballroom. She and the entire Rostov family accepted Prince Andrei as an old friend, simply and cordially ...

Prince Andrei felt in Natasha the presence of a completely alien to him, a special world, full of some joys unknown to him, that alien world that even then, in Otradnenskaya alley and on the window, in moonlit night so teased him. Now this world no longer teased him, there was no alien world; but he himself, entering into it, found in it a new pleasure for himself.

After dinner, Natasha, at the request of Prince Andrei, went to the clavichord and began to sing. Prince Andrei stood at the window, talking to the ladies, and listened to her. In the middle of a sentence, Prince Andrei fell silent and suddenly felt tears rising to his throat, the possibility of which he did not know behind him. He looked at the singing Natasha, and something new and happy happened in his soul...

Prince Andrei left the Rostovs late in the evening. He went to bed out of the habit of going to bed, but soon saw that he could not sleep. Lighting a candle, he sat in bed, then got up, then lay down again, not at all weighed down by insomnia: he felt so joyful and new in his soul, as if he had stepped out of a stuffy room into the free light of God ...

Bergs settled down on new apartment and, in order to secure their position in society, they decided to have a party. Among those invited were Pierre, Rostov, Bolkonsky. Thanks to the efforts of the hosts, this evening was no different from other similar evenings.

Pierre, as one of the most honored guests, was to sit in Boston with Ilya Andreevich, a general and a colonel. Pierre had to sit opposite Natasha at the Boston table, and the strange change that had taken place in her since the day of the ball struck him. Natasha was silent, and not only was she not as good as she was at the ball, but she would be bad if she did not have such a meek and indifferent look to everything.

"What with her?" - thought Pierre, looking at her ...

Prince Andrei, with a thrifty, tender expression, stood before her and said something to her. She, raising her head, blushing and apparently trying to hold her breath, looked at him. And bright light some kind of inner, previously extinguished fire, again burned in her. She has completely changed. From the bad girl she again became the same as she was at the ball.

Prince Andrei went up to Pierre and Pierre noticed a new, youthful expression in the face of his friend. Pierre changed seats several times during the game, now with his back, now facing Natasha, and during the entire course of 6 roberts he made observations of her and his friend.

“Something very important is happening between them,” thought Pierre, and a joyful and at the same time bitter feeling made him worry and forget about the game ...

It seemed to Natasha that even when she first saw Prince Andrei in Otradnoye, she fell in love with him. She seemed to be frightened by this strange, unexpected happiness that the one whom she had chosen back then (she was firmly convinced of this), that he had now met her again, and, as it seemed, was not indifferent to her. “And it was necessary for him, now that we are here, to come to Petersburg on purpose. And we should have met at this ball. All this is fate. It is clear that this is fate, that all this was led to this. Even then, as soon as I saw him, I felt something special.

From the time of the ball, Pierre felt the approach of fits of hypochondria in himself and with a desperate effort tried to fight against them. From the time of the prince’s rapprochement with his wife, Pierre was unexpectedly granted a chamberlain, and from that time on he began to feel heaviness and shame in a large society, and more often the same gloomy thoughts about the futility of everything human began to come to him. At the same time, the feeling he noticed between Natasha, who was patronized by him, and Prince Andrei, his opposition between his position and the position of his friend, further strengthened this gloomy mood ...

For marriage, permission from his father was required, and Andrei went to the Bald Mountains. old prince he received his son's message with inner malice, but with outward calmness. Recognizing that marriage was unprofitable either in terms of kinship or in terms of money, and the bride was young, he insisted that Andrei wait a year: he left the bride and went abroad to improve his health. Three weeks later, Andrei returned to St. Petersburg.

Prince Andrei with an anxious and serious face entered the living room. As soon as he saw Natasha, his face lit up. He kissed the hand of the countess and Natasha and sat down beside the sofa.

For a long time we have not had pleasure ... - the countess began, but Prince Andrei interrupted her, answering her question and obviously in a hurry to say what he needed.

I have not been with you all this time, because I was with my father: I had to talk to him about a very important matter. I just got back last night,” he said, looking at Natasha. “I need to talk to you, Countess,” he added after a moment's silence.

The Countess sighed heavily and lowered her eyes.

I am at your service,” she said.

Natasha knew that she had to leave, but she could not do it: something was squeezing her throat, and she was impolite, blunt, open eyes looked at Prince Andrei.

"Now? This minute!.. No, it can't be!” she thought.

He looked at her again, and this look convinced her that she had not been mistaken. - Yes, now, this very minute her fate was being decided.

Come on, Natasha, I'll call you, - said the countess in a whisper.

Natasha, with frightened, pleading eyes, looked at Prince Andrei and at her mother, and went out ...

Natasha sat on her bed, pale, with dry eyes, looked at the images and, quickly crossing herself, whispered something. Seeing her mother, she jumped up and rushed to her.

What? Mom?.. What?

Go, go to him. He asks for your hand, - said the countess coldly, as it seemed to Natasha ... - Go ... go, - the mother said with sadness and reproach after the fleeing daughter, and sighed heavily.

Natasha did not remember how she entered the living room. When she entered the door and saw him, she stopped. “Is this stranger really become my everything now?” - she asked herself and instantly answered: "Yes, everything: he alone is now dearer to me than everything in the world." Prince Andrei went up to her, lowering his eyes.

I loved you from the moment I saw you. Can I hope?

He looked at her, and the earnest passion of her countenance struck him. Her face said: “Why ask? Why doubt that which is impossible not to know? Why talk when you can’t express what you feel in words ...

Natasha did not understand why it was necessary to postpone the wedding for a year if they love each other. At Andrey's insistence, the engagement that took place between the Rostov and Bolkonsky families was not disclosed - Andrei did not want to bind Natasha with any obligations. On the eve of his departure from Petersburg, Prince Andrei brought Bezukhov to the Rostovs. He told Natasha that he had let Pierre know their secret, and asked her to contact him if anything happened during his absence.

Neither father and mother, nor Sonya, nor Prince Andrei himself could foresee how parting with her fiancé would affect Natasha. Red and agitated, with dry eyes, she walked around the house that day, doing the most insignificant things, as if not understanding what awaited her. She did not cry even at the moment when he said goodbye, he kissed her hand for the last time.

Don't leave! - she only said to him in a voice that made him think about whether he really needed to stay and which he remembered for a long time after that. When he left, she didn't cry either; but for several days she sat in her room without crying, was not interested in anything, and only sometimes said: “Ah, why did he leave!”

But two weeks after his departure, just as unexpectedly for those around her, she woke up from her moral illness, became the same as before, but only with a changed moral physiognomy, like children with a different face get out of bed after a long illness.

In the Bald Mountains, life went on as usual. The old prince became even more grouchy every day, Princess Mary was engaged in the education of Nicholas, the son of Andrei, more and more immersed in religion. She could not fail to notice the change that had taken place in Prince Andrei, but she did not know anything about her brother's love. However, soon Andrei from Switzerland informed her of his engagement to Natasha. Princess Mary took this news with displeasure. In the depths of her soul, she wished that Prince Andrei would change his intentions. In her free time, Princess Marya continued to host wanderers, read scriptures, and in the end, she decided to go wandering. However, pity for her father and little Nikolenka kept her from such a step.

The problem of loneliness and the search for the meaning of life worried Leo Tolstoy all his life, reflected in full measure in his work.

The author created a description and image of an oak tree in the novel "War and Peace" in order to convey the state of Andrei Bolkonsky during a period of reassessment of life values. Circumstances change the inner world of a person, sometimes turn the soul inside out.

excerpts

2 vol. 3 part. 1 chapter (1 excerpt)

There was an oak at the edge of the road. Probably ten times older than the birches that made up the forest, it was ten times thicker, and twice as tall as each birch. It was a huge, two-girth oak, with boughs broken off, apparently long ago, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically outstretched clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between the smiling birches like an old, angry and contemptuous freak. Only he alone did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun.

“Spring, and love, and happiness! - as if said this oak. “And how do you not get tired of the same stupid senseless deceit! Everything is the same, and everything is a lie! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness. Look over there, crushed dead firs are sitting, always the same, and there I spread my broken, peeled fingers, wherever they grew - from the back, from the sides. As they grew up, I stand and do not believe your hopes and deceptions.

Prince Andrei looked back at this oak tree several times as he rode through the forest, as if he was expecting something from him. There were flowers and grass under the oak, but he still, frowning, motionless, ugly and stubbornly, stood in the middle of them.

“Yes, he is right, this oak is a thousand times right,” thought Prince Andrei, “let others, young people, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over! A whole new series of hopeless, but sadly pleasant thoughts arose in the soul of Prince Andrei in connection with this oak tree. During this journey, it was as if he thought over his whole life again and came to the same old, reassuring and hopeless conclusion that he did not need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and desiring nothing. .

Chapter 3 (2 excerpt)

“Yes, here, in this forest, there was this oak, with which we agreed,” thought Prince Andrei. - Where is he? - thought Prince Andrei again, looking at the left side of the road and, without knowing it, without recognizing him, admired the oak he was looking for. The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy fingers, no sores, no old grief and mistrust - nothing was visible. Juicy, young leaves broke through the hundred-year-old hard bark without knots, so that it was impossible to believe that the old man had produced them. “Yes, this is the same oak tree,” thought Prince Andrei, and an unreasonable spring feeling of joy and renewal suddenly came over him. All the best moments of his life were suddenly remembered to him at the same time. And Austerlitz with a high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and the girl, excited by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon - and he suddenly remembered all this.

“No, life is not over even for thirty-one years,” Prince Andrei suddenly decided without change. - Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows this: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary that everyone knows me, so that my life goes not for me alone. life, so that they do not live like this girl, regardless of my life, so that it is reflected in everyone and so that they all live with me together!

The image and characteristics of Oak

Widower, father, owner

Two years have passed since the Battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei was a widow in the Bald Mountains with a young son, father and sister. Sometimes he had to travel on business to the Kolenka estates, since he was the boy's legal guardian.

Bolkonsky retired from military affairs and became a leading master. In some villages, the prince transferred the peasants to the status of free cultivators. In other estates, he replaced the serf service of corvée with dues. Innovations had a positive effect on family income.

In his free time, Bolkonsky read a lot, kept notes about the reasons for the defeat of Russian soldiers in the war with Napoleon. Nothing comforted the soul of a thirty-one-year-old man. The emotional side of life did not fit into his daily routine.

spring forest

The road lay in the Ryazan province, it was necessary to check the affairs in the villages of the son. The spring of 1809 turned out to be warm, Andrei indifferently examined the green grass, young buds on trees, which looked especially beautiful against the background of a bright blue sky.

It was especially warm in the birch grove, there was no wind here, it was getting hot, although earlier the remains of snow could be seen under the bridge. purple flowers that adorned the glades, instilled faith in springtime. The horses were sweating, and the birds and the men on the goats rejoiced at the changing seasons.

The prince did not understand the reason human joy. He thought about the oak that stood by the road.

What did the oak tree look like after winter?

The tree was much older than those birches that surrounded it, because the trunk is immense, and the height was twice the height of the birches. Old branches were broken off many years ago, in their place sticking out ugly crippled bitches, as a symbol of rich spiritual experience.

More than once, the oak lost its bark in places, which overgrown with moss, like ancient wounds, indicating that the tree had to go through a lot. With age, the symmetry lost its lines, the tree looked clumsy, senile freak against the background of young birches, rejoicing at the arrival of spring:

“It was a huge, two-girth oak, with boughs broken off, apparently long ago, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between smiling birches like an old, angry and contemptuous freak.

What was common between the oak and Prince Bolkonsky

Andrei imagined how the tree was indignant about the general fun.

“Spring, and love, and happiness! - as if said this oak. “And how do you not get tired of the same stupid senseless deceit! Everything is the same, and everything is a lie! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness.

The hero, like an oak tree he meets, feels like a stranger among the joyful faces of those around him. He lost his wife two years ago, the pain of loss left a mark on his soul, reminiscent of peeled bark on a tree trunk. The officer survived the defeat of the Russian army in the battles of Shangreben and Austerlitz, passed through himself the humiliation in captivity, disappointment in the authority of Napoleon.

Bolkonsky's soul, like this oak, was disfigured by the trials of fate, he perceived the joy of those around him as hypocrisy, and happiness as a non-existent category of worldview. Emotionally, the man felt empty. Life, love and joy seemed inaccessible due to age and bitterness. life experience.

“Yes, he is right, this oak tree is a thousand times right,” thought Prince Andrei, “let others, young people, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over!”

The hero decided that his destiny was to live out the years predetermined by the Lord, avoiding temptations, calmly, without getting angry, without worrying, unlike the whole world. Like an oak that doesn't accept spring rules, stands, not covered with bright foliage.

The image of an oak tree in summer

Ryazan affairs demanded a meeting with Ilya Nikolaevich Rostov. The prince found the count in Otradnoe. I had to spend one June night at the estate. Natasha Rostova excited the imagination of Bolkonsky, who was in despondency. The girl so naturally, so enthusiastically admired the beginning of summer, that an unconscious hope rattled in the soul of the hero.

The road home again lay past the protesting oak, which in the spring remained imperturbable and indifferent to the general awakening. The forest closed overhead in a thick edge. Andrei wanted to see his mute associate, he gazed intently at the left side of the grove.
Suddenly he caught himself involuntarily admiring that oak whose gloomy image he wanted to find. It's amazing how the ancient tree has changed. The evening sun warmed the crown, filled with juicy greenery, which rustled sweetly, swaying in a light breeze.

Young foliage successfully covered all the flaws of the old trunk, rejuvenating it with itself. The life-affirming state of the oak was transferred to Bolkonsky. Victorious moments flashed in my memory, the sky near Austerlitz at the moment of injury, the face of the departed Liza and the happy girl Natasha Rostova, whose image evoked a desire to rejoice in everything that is beautiful around.

“No, life is not over even for thirty-one years,” Prince Andrei suddenly decided without change.

The prince radically changes life, tries to create a new military charter, take into account the mistakes of past battles, and increase the combat readiness of the state. Together with Minister Speransky, they are working on army reforms. A new stage in the life of Prince Bolkonsky begins. The sprout of romantic attraction to young Natasha took root in the soul young man to fill the void there.