The theme of the family in the novel by L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace"

In the novel “War and Peace”, L. N. Tolstoy singled out and considered “folk thought” to be more significant. It is most clearly expressed in those parts of the work that tell about the war. In the depiction of the “world”, the “family thought” prevails, which also plays a very important role in the novel, because the family is thought of by the author as the foundation of the foundations. The novel is built as a story of families. Family members inherit the traits of the breed. The family, according to Tolstoy, should be strengthened, because through the family a person joins the people.

Three families stand at the center of the novel: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Kuragins. Many of the events described in the novel are shown by Tolstoy through the history of these families.

The patriarchal Rostov family arouses special sympathy for the author. For the first time we meet with its members at the name day of Countess Rostova. The first thing that is felt here is the atmosphere of love and kindness. "Love air" reigns in this family.

The elder Rostovs are simple and kind people. They are glad to everyone who enters their house, and do not judge a person by the amount of money. Their daughter Natasha conquers with her sincerity, and the youngest son Petya is a kind and childishly naive boy. Here parents understand their children, and children sincerely love their parents. Together they experience troubles and joys. Getting acquainted with them, the reader understands that this is where true happiness lies. Therefore, Sonya feels good in the Rostovs' house. Although she is not their own daughter, they love her like their children.

Even courtyard people: Tikhon, Praskovya Savishna - are full members of this family. They love and respect their masters, live with their problems and worries.

Only Vera - the eldest daughter of the Rostovs - does not fit into the overall picture. He is a cold and selfish person. “The countess has done something,” says Father Rostov, speaking of Vera. Apparently, the influence of Princess Drubetskaya, who used to be the best friend of Countess Rostova, affected the upbringing of the eldest daughter. And, indeed, Vera is much more like the son of Countess Boris Drubetskoy than, for example, her sister Natasha.

Tolstoy shows this family not only in joy, but also in grief. They remain in Moscow until the last minute, although Napoleon is advancing on the city. When they finally decide to leave, they face the question of what to do - leave things, despite the value of many of them, and give carts to the wounded or leave without thinking about other people. Natasha solves the problem. She says, or rather, screams with a distorted face, that it is a shame to leave the wounded to the enemy. Not a single thing, even the most valuable thing, can equal a person's life. Rostovs leave without things, And we understand that such a decision is natural for this family. They just couldn't have done otherwise.

Another appears in the novel, the Bolkonsky family. Tolstoy shows three generations of the Bolkonskys: the old Prince Nikolai Andreevich, his children - Prince Anrey and Princess Marya - and grandson Nikolenka. In the Bolkonsky family, from generation to generation they brought up such qualities as a sense of duty, patriotism, and nobility.

If the basis of the Rostov family is a feeling, then the defining line of the Bolkonskys is the mind. The old prince Bolkonsky is firmly convinced that there are "only two virtues in the world - activity and intelligence." He is a man who always follows his convictions. He works himself (sometimes he writes a military charter, then he studies the exact sciences with his daughter) and demands that the children not be lazy either. In the character of Prince Anrey, many features of his father's nature are preserved. He is also trying to find his way in life, to be useful to his country. It is the desire to work that leads him to work in the Speransky commission. Young Bolkonsky is a patriot, like his father. The old prince, having learned that Napoleon is going to Moscow, forgets his previous grievances and actively participates in the militia. Andrei, having lost faith in his "Toulon" under the sky of Austerlitz, promises himself not to take any more part in military campaigns. But during the war of 1812, he defends his homeland and dies for it.

If in the Rostov family the relationship between children and parents is friendly and trusting, then with the Bolognas, at first glance, the situation is different. The old prince also sincerely loves Andrei and Marya. He worries about them. He notices, for example, that Andrei does not love his wife Lisa. Having told his son about this, although he sympathizes with him, he immediately reminds him of his duty to his wife and family. The very type of relationship with the Bolkonskys is different than that of the Rostovs. The prince hides his feelings for the children. So, for example, with Marya he is always strict and sometimes speaks rudely to her. He reproaches his daughter for her inability to solve mathematical problems, sharply and directly tells her that she is ugly. Princess Mary suffered from such an attitude on the part of her father, because he diligently hid his love in her in the depths of his soul. Only before his death, the old prince realizes how dear his daughter is to him. In the last minutes of his life, he felt an inner kinship with her.

Marya is a special person in the Bolkonsky family. Despite a harsh upbringing, she did not harden. She loves her father, brother and nephew immensely. Moreover, she is ready to sacrifice herself for them, to give everything she has.

The third generation of the Bolkonskys is the son of Prince Andrei Nikolenka. In the epilogue of the novel, we see him as a child. But the author shows that he listens attentively to adults, some kind of work of the mind is going on in him. And, therefore, in this generation the precepts of the Bolkonskys about the active mind will not be forgotten.

A completely different type of family is the Kuragin family. They bring only trouble to Bolkonsky and Rostov. The head of the family - Prince Vasily - is a false and deceitful person. He lives in an atmosphere of intrigue and gossip. One of the main features of his character is greed. He also marries his daughter Helen to Pierre Bezukhov, because he is rich. The most important thing for Prince Kuragin in life is money. For their sake, he is ready to go to the crime.

The children of Prince Vasily are no better than their father. Pierre rightly remarks that they have such a "vile breed." Helen, unlike Princess Mary, is beautiful. But her beauty is outward brilliance. In Helen there is no spontaneity and openness of Natasha.

Helen is empty, selfish and deceitful in her soul. Marrying her nearly ruins Pierre's life. Pierre Bezukhov was convinced from his own experience that external beauty is not always the key to internal beauty and family happiness. A bitter feeling of disappointment, gloomy despondency, contempt for his wife, for life, for himself seized him some time after the wedding, when Helen's "mysteriousness" turned into spiritual emptiness, stupidity and depravity. Without thinking about anything, Helen arranges an affair between Anatole and Natasha Rostova. Anatole Kuragin - Helen's brother - causes a gap between Natasha and Andrei Bolkonsky. He, like his sister, is used to indulging his whims in everything, and therefore the fate of the girl he was going to take away from home does not bother him.

The Kuragin family is opposed to the Rostov and Bolkonsky families. On the pages of the novel, we see its degradation and destruction. As for the Bolkonskys and Rostovs, Tolstoy rewards them with family happiness. They experienced many troubles and difficulties, but managed to keep the best that was in them - honesty, sincerity, kindness. In the finale, we see the happy family of Natasha and Pierre, built with love and respect for each other. Natasha internally merged with Pierre, did not leave in her duo "not a single corner not open for him."

Moreover, Tolstoy combines the Rostovs and Bolognas into one family. The family of Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya combines the best features of these families. Nikolai Rostov loves his wife and admires "her sincerity, before that sublime and moral world, almost inaccessible to him, in which his wife lived." And Marya sincerely loves her husband, who "will never understand everything that she understands," and this makes her love him even more.

The fate of Nikolai Rostov and Princess Marya was not easy. Quiet, meek, ugly in appearance, but beautiful in soul, the princess during the life of her father did not hope to get married and have children. The only one who wooed her, and even then for the sake of a dowry, Anatole Kuragin, of course, could not understand her high spirituality, moral beauty.

A chance meeting with Rostov, his noble deed, awakened in Marya an unfamiliar, exciting feeling. Her soul guessed in him "a noble, firm, selfless soul." Each meeting more and more revealed each other to them, connected them. The awkward, shy princess was transformed, becoming graceful and almost beautiful. Nikolay admired the beautiful soul that opened up to him and felt that Marya was higher than himself and Sonechka, whom he seemed to love before, but which remained “an empty flower”. Her soul did not live, did not make mistakes and did not suffer, and, according to Tolstoy, did not "deserve" family happiness.

These new happy families did not come about by chance. They are the result of the unity of the entire Russian people, which took place during the Patriotic War of 1812. The year 1812 changed a lot in Russia, in particular, removed some class prejudices and gave a new level of human relations.

Tolstoy has favorite heroes and favorite families, where, perhaps, serene calm does not always reign, but where people live in "peace", that is, together, together, supporting each other. Only those who are high spiritually have, according to the writer, the right to real family happiness.

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The novel "War and Peace" by Tolstoy was written in 1869. Despite the fact that most of the narrative is occupied by battle scenes and the war with Napoleon, the main storyline is the history of families. The author describes Russian society during the war period, and through genealogical ties, one can best show the behavior and feelings of people during a historical upheaval. The family thought in the epic novel "War and Peace" also reveals the philosophical and moral credo of the writer.

We are shown the lives of three different secular families. They are completely different from each other, but their lives are closely intertwined. These are the houses of the Bolkonskys, Rostovs and Kuragins, using their examples the author presents the family foundations of several generations.

The reader comes to visit the Bolkonskys. The most important member of the family is Prince Nikolai, he believed that everything and everyone in his family should obey a strict order. The hero independently taught his daughter the sciences, and also brought up in her such qualities as intelligence and character activity.

Princess Mary loved her father, she obeyed him and took care of him with zeal. Her brother Andrei also loved Nikolai Bolkonsky and respected him, but could not endure his despotic manners for a long time.

Relations between them were calm, each was busy with what he was supposed to do, and had his own place. They were honest and decent people and, moreover, true patriots, but they did not like the light and idle talk in high society.

Unlike the previous family, the Rostovs were close to tender love, sincerity, mutual understanding and support. They actively participated in the fate of each other, helped even when the deeds of the guilty turned out to be reprehensible. The patriotism that manifests itself in the Rostovs proves the importance of "family thought" in War and Peace. The eldest son became a hussar, Natasha gave a cart for the maimed, the parents donated their house to shelter the victims, and the youngest son Petya died heroically in a partisan battle.

Kuragins are a family that is absolutely opposite to the first two. In this family, no one knows how to love and worry about each other. Prince Vasily lives only for the sake of profit and always knows with whom to conclude the engagement of children, with whom it is worth being friends in order to profitably settle in life. He adapts to the situation, and there can be no talk of devotion to the motherland in their family.

At the end of the novel, the Bolkonsky and Rostov families are related. They have always been linked by spiritual kinship. Tolstoy showed each clan as an individual and unique cell of society, where all members actively live and educate new generations in the best traditions of their ancestors.

In the eyes of secular society, Prince Kuragin is a respected person, "close to the emperor, surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic women, scattering secular courtesies and laughing complacently." In words he was a decent, sympathetic person, but in reality he constantly had an internal struggle between the desire to appear a decent person and the actual depravity of his motives. Prince Vasily knew that influence in the world is a capital that must be protected so that it does not disappear, and, once realizing that if he begins to ask for everyone who asks him, then soon he will not be able to ask for himself, he rarely used it. influence. But at the same time, he sometimes felt remorse. So, in the case of Princess Drubetskaya, he felt "something like a reproach of conscience", as she reminded him that "he owed his first steps in the service to her father."

Tolstoy's favorite technique is the opposition of the internal and external characters of the characters. The image of Prince Vasily very clearly reflects this opposition.

Fatherly feelings are not alien to Prince Vasily, although they are expressed rather in the desire to "attach" their children, rather than to give them fatherly love and warmth. According to Anna Pavlovna Sherer, people like the prince should not have children. "... And why will children be born to people like you? If you weren't the father, I wouldn't be able to reproach you for anything." To which the prince replies: "What should I do? You know, I did everything that a father can for their upbringing."

The prince forced Pierre to marry Helen, pursuing selfish goals. To Anna Pavlovna Scherer's proposal to "marry the prodigal son Anatole" to Princess Maria Bolkonskaya, he says: "she has a good surname and is rich. Everything I need." At the same time, Prince Vasily does not at all think about the fact that Princess Marya may be unhappy in marriage with the dissolute varmint Anatole, who looked at all his life as one continuous amusement.

Absorbed all the vile, vicious traits of Prince Vasily and his children.

Helen, the daughter of Vasily Kuragin, is the embodiment of external beauty and internal emptiness, a fossil. Tolstoy constantly mentions her "monotonous", "unchanging" smile and "ancient beauty of the body", she resembles a beautiful, soulless statue. Here is how the master of words describes the appearance of Helen in the Scherer salon: "Noisy with her white ballroom robe, trimmed with ivy and moss, and shining with the whiteness of her shoulders, with the gloss of her hair and diamonds, she passed, not looking at anyone, but smiling to everyone and as if kindly giving everyone the right to admire the beauty of her figure, full of shoulders, very open in the fashion of that time, chest and back, and as if bringing with her the splendor of the ball Helen was so good that not only was there not a trace of coquetry in her, but, on the contrary, she as if she was ashamed of her undoubted and too strong acting beauty. She seemed to want and could not belittle the effects of this beauty.

Helen personifies immorality and depravity. Helen only marries for her own enrichment. She is cheating on her husband, because her nature is dominated by the animal nature. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy leaves Helen childless. "I'm not stupid enough to have kids," she admits. Still, being the wife of Pierre, Helen, in front of the eyes of the whole society, is arranging her personal life.

She loves nothing in life except her body, gives her brother a kiss on her shoulders, and does not give money. She cold-bloodedly chooses her lovers, like dishes from the menu, knows how to maintain the respect of the world and even acquire a reputation as an intelligent woman thanks to her air of cold dignity and social tact. This type could develop only in the circle where Helen lived. This adoration of one's own body could develop only where idleness and luxury gave full play to all sensual impulses. This shameless calm is where a high position, providing impunity, teaches to neglect the respect of society, where wealth and connections provide every means to hide intrigue and shut up chatty mouths.

In addition to a luxurious bust, a rich and beautiful body, this representative of the big world had an extraordinary ability to hide her mental and moral poverty, and all this was due only to the elegance of her manners and the memorization of some phrases and techniques. Shamelessness manifests itself in her under such grandiose high society forms that it excites, in others, almost respect.

Helen eventually dies. This death is a direct consequence of her own intrigues. "Countess Elena Bezukhova died suddenly from ... a terrible disease, which is commonly called chest sore throat, but in intimate circles they talked about how the life doctor of the Queen of Spain prescribed Helen small doses of some kind of medicine to produce a well-known action; like Helen, tormented by the fact that the old count suspected her, and because the husband to whom she wrote (that unfortunate depraved Pierre) did not answer her, she suddenly took a huge dose of the medicine prescribed for her and died in agony before help could be given.

Ippolit Kuragin, Helen's brother, "... strikes with his extraordinary resemblance to his beautiful sister, and even more so because, despite the resemblance, he is strikingly ugly. His features are the same as those of his sister, but with her everything was illuminated by a cheerful, self-satisfied "Young, unchanging smile and extraordinary, ancient beauty of the body. On the contrary, my brother's face was also hazy with idiocy and invariably expressed self-confident disgust, and the body was thin and weak. Eyes, nose, mouth - everything was compressed as if into one indefinite boring grimace , and the arms and legs always assumed an unnatural position."

Hippolyte was extraordinarily stupid. Due to the self-confidence with which he spoke, no one could understand whether what he said was very smart or very stupid.

At the reception at Scherer, he appears to us "in a dark green tailcoat, in pantaloons the color of a frightened nymph, as he himself said, in stockings and shoes." And such an absurd outfit does not bother him at all.

His stupidity was manifested in the fact that he sometimes spoke, and then he understood what he said. Hippolyte often expressed his opinions when no one needed them. He liked to insert phrases into the conversation that were completely irrelevant to the essence of the topic under discussion.

Let us give an example from the novel: “Prince Hippolyte, who had been looking at the viscount in a lorgnette for a long time, suddenly turned his whole body to the little princess and, asking her for a needle, began to show her, drawing with a needle on the table, the coat of arms of Cande. He explained this coat of arms to her with such with a significant look, as if the princess asked him about it.

Thanks to his father, Hippolyte makes a career and during the war with Napoleon becomes the secretary of the embassy. Among the officers in the service of the embassy, ​​he is considered a jester.

The character of Hippolyte can serve as a living example of the fact that even positive idiocy is sometimes presented in the world as something of significance due to the gloss attached by knowledge of the French language, and that extraordinary property of this language to support and at the same time mask spiritual emptiness.

Prince Vasily calls Ippolit "a dead fool." Tolstoy in the novel - "sluggish and breaking." These are the dominant character traits of Hippolytus. Hippolyte is stupid, but at least he does not harm anyone with his stupidity, unlike his younger brother Anatole.

Anatole Kuragin, the youngest son of Vasily Kuragin, according to Tolstoy, "simple and with carnal inclinations." These are the dominant character traits of Anatole. He looks at his whole life as an uninterrupted entertainment that someone like that for some reason undertook to arrange for him.

Anatole is completely free from considerations of responsibility and consequences of what he does. His egoism is direct, animal-naive and good-natured, absolute egoism, for Anatole is not constrained by anything inside, in consciousness, feeling. It’s just that Kuragin is deprived of the ability to know what will happen next for a minute of his pleasure and how it will affect the lives of other people, how others will look. All this does not exist for him at all. He is sincerely convinced, instinctively, with his whole being, that everything around him has the sole purpose of entertainment and exists for this. No looking back at people, their opinions, the consequences, no long-term goal that would force them to focus on achieving it, no remorse, reflection, hesitation, doubt - Anatole, no matter what he does, naturally and sincerely considers himself an impeccable person and highly carries its beautiful head.

One of Anatole's character traits is slowness and lack of eloquence in conversations. But he has the ability of calmness, precious to the world, and unchanging confidence: “Anatole was silent, shook his leg, cheerfully observing the princess’s hairstyle. It was clear that he could be silent so calmly for a very long time. which most of all inspires curiosity, fear and even love in women is the manner of contemptuous consciousness of one's own superiority.

At her brother's request, Helen introduces Natasha to Anatole. After five minutes of talking with him, Natasha "feels terribly close to this man." Natasha is deceived by Anatole's false beauty. In the presence of Anatole, she is “pleasant, but for some reason cramped and hard,” she experiences pleasure and excitement, and at the same time, fear from the lack of a barrier of modesty between her and this person.

Knowing that Natasha is engaged to Prince Andrei, Anatole nevertheless confesses his love to her. What could come out of this courtship, Anatole could not know, since he never knew what would come out of his every act. In a letter to Natasha, he says that either she will love him or he will die, that if Natasha says yes, he will kidnap her and take her to the ends of the earth. Impressed by this letter, Natasha refuses Prince Andrei and agrees to escape with Kuragin. But the escape fails, Natasha's note falls into the wrong hands, and the kidnapping plan fails. The day after the unsuccessful kidnapping, Anatole comes across Pierre on the street, who knows nothing and is driving at that moment to Akhrosimova, where the whole story will be told to him. Anatole in the sleigh sits "upright, in the classic pose of military dandies", his face is fresh and ruddy in the cold, snow falls on his curled hair. It is clear that all that was yesterday is already far from him; he is pleased with himself and life now and is handsome, in his own way even beautiful in this confident and calm contentment of his.

In a conversation with Natasha, Pierre revealed to her that Anatole is married, so all his promises are a lie. Then Bezukhov went to Anatole and demanded that he return Natasha's letters and leave Moscow:

... - you are a scoundrel and a bastard, and I don’t know what keeps me from the pleasure of crushing your head ...

Did you promise to marry her?

I, I, I didn't think; However, I never promised...

Do you have her letters? Do you have letters? - Pierre repeated, moving towards Anatole.

Anatole looked at him and reached into his pocket for his wallet...

- ... you must leave Moscow tomorrow.

- ... you should never say a word about what happened between you and the countess.

The next day Anatole left for Petersburg. Having learned about Natasha's betrayal and about the role of Anatole in this, Prince Andrei was going to challenge him to a duel and searched for him for a long time throughout the army. But when he met Anatole, whose leg had just been taken away, Prince Andrei remembered everything, and enthusiastic pity for this man filled his heart. He forgave him everything.

5) The Rostov family.

"War and Peace" is one of those books that cannot be forgotten. “When you stand and wait for this tense string to burst, when everyone is waiting for an imminent revolution, you need to take hand in hand as closely as possible and as many people as possible in order to resist the general catastrophe,” L. Tolstoy said in this novel.

In its very name - all human life. And also "War and Peace" is a model of the structure of the world, the universe, and therefore appears in the IV part of the novel (Pierre Bezukhov's dream) the symbol of this world - a globe-ball. "This globe was a living, oscillating ball, without dimensions." Its entire surface consisted of drops tightly compressed together. The drops moved, moved, now merging, now separating. Each sought to spread, to capture the largest space, but others, shrinking, sometimes destroyed each other, sometimes merged into one.

"How simple and clear it all is," we repeat, rereading our favorite pages of the novel. And these pages, like drops on the surface of the globe, connecting with others, form part of a single whole. Episode by episode we move towards the infinite and eternal, which is the life of man.

But the writer Tolstoy would not have been a philosopher Tolstoy if he had not shown us the polar sides of being: life, in which form prevails, and life, which contains the fullness of content. It is from these Tolstoy ideas about life that the episode of the name day in the Rostov house will be considered.

A curious and absurd incident with a bear and a quarter will evoke good-natured laughter in the Rostovs' house (from Count Rostov), ​​others - curiosity (mainly among young people), and who with a maternal note (Marya Dmitrievna) menacingly scold poor Pierre: "Good, nothing to say! Good boy! Father is lying on his bed, and he is amusing himself, putting the quarter on a bear astride. Shame on you, father, shame on you! It would be better to go to war." Oh, if there were more such formidable instructions to Pierre Bezukhov, perhaps there would be no unforgivable mistakes in his life. The very image of the aunt, Countess Marya Dmitrievna, is also interesting. She always spoke Russian, not recognizing secular conventions; it should be noted that French speech in the Rostovs' house sounds much less frequently than in the St. Petersburg drawing room (or almost does not sound). And the way everyone respectfully stood in front of her was by no means a false rite of courtesy in front of the "unnecessary aunt" Scherer, but a natural desire to express respect to the honorable lady.

What attracts readers to the Rostov family? First of all, this is a pronounced Russian family. Way of life, customs, likes and dislikes - all this is Russian, national. What is the basis of the "Rostov spirit"? First of all, a poetic attitude, boundless love for one's folk, Russian, for native nature, native songs, holidays and their prowess. They absorbed the spirit of the people with its cheerfulness, the ability to suffer steadfastly, to easily make sacrifices, not for show, but with all the spiritual breadth. No wonder the uncle, listening to Natasha's songs and admiring her dance, is amazed at where this countess, brought up by French women, could so understand, feel the authenticity of the Russian, folk spirit. The actions of the Rostovs are immediate: their joys are truly joyful, their grief is bitter, their love and affections are strong and deep. Sincerity is one of the main features of all family members.

The life of the young Rostovs is closed. They are happy and easy when they are together. Society with its hypocrisy remains alien and incomprehensible to them for a long time. Appearing for the first time at the ball. Natasha bears so little resemblance to secular young ladies, the contrast between her and the "light" is so distinct.

Barely stepping over the threshold of the family, Natasha is deceived. The best people are drawn to the Rostovs, and above all to their common favorite Natasha: Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Vasily Denisov.

Let us turn to the characteristics of individual members of the Rostov family. Consider first the representatives of the older generation.

The old Count Ilya Andreevich is an unremarkable man: a shady gentleman, a fan of setting a feast for all of Moscow, a destroyer of fortunes, leaving his beloved children without an inheritance. It seems that in all his life he did not make a single reasonable act. We have not heard from him smart solutions, but meanwhile he excites sympathy, and sometimes charms.

The representative of the old nobility, who does not understand the management of estates, who trusted the rogue clerk who robs the serfs, Rostov is deprived of one of the most disgusting features of the landowner class - money-grubbing. This is not a master predator. There is no lordly contempt for serfs in his nature. They are people for him. To sacrifice material wealth for the sake of a person does not amount to anything for Ilya Andreevich. He recognizes no logic; but with the whole being, that a person, his joy and happiness are higher than any blessings. All this distinguishes Rostoy from the environment of his circle. He is an epicurean, he lives by the principle: a person should be happy. His happiness lies in the ability to rejoice with others. And the feasts that he sets are not a desire to splurge, not a desire to satisfy ambition. It is the joy of bringing happiness to others, the opportunity to rejoice and have fun yourself.

How brilliantly the character of Ilya Andreevich is revealed at the ball during the performance of the old dance Danila Kupor! How charming the Count is! With what prowess he dances to the surprise of all those gathered.

"You are our father! Eagle!" - say the servants, admiring the dancing old man.

“Quicker, faster and faster, more and more, and more and more, the count unfolded, now on tiptoe, now on heels, rushing around Marya Dmitrievna and, finally, turning his lady to her place, made the last step ... bowing his sweaty head with a smiling face and roundly waved his right hand amid the roar of applause and laughter, especially of Natasha.

This is how they danced in our time, mother, ”he said.

The old count brings an atmosphere of love and friendship into the family. Nikolai, and Natasha, and Sonya, and Petya are indebted to him for the poetic-love air that they absorb from childhood.

Prince Vasily calls him a "rude bear", and Prince Andrei calls him a "stupid old man", the old Bolkonsky speaks unflatteringly of him. But all this does not reduce the charm of Rostov. How vividly his original character is manifested in the hunting scene! And youthful joy, and excitement, and embarrassment in front of the arriving Danila - all this, as it were, merges into a complete characterization of Rostov.

During the events of the twelfth year, Ilya Andreevich appears from the most attractive side. True to himself, he gives carts to the wounded while leaving Moscow, leaving property. He knows he will be ruined. The rich put up a militia, confident that it would not bring them much. damage. Ilya Andreevich hands over the carts, remembering one thing: wounded Russians cannot stay with the French! It is noteworthy that the entire Rostov family is unanimous in this decision. So did the truly Russian people, who left the French without hesitation, for "under the French everything is worse."

On the one hand, Rostov was influenced by the loving and poetic atmosphere of his own family, on the other hand, the customs of the “golden youth” - revels, trips to gypsies, playing cards, duels. On the one hand, it was shaped by the general atmosphere of patriotic enthusiasm and tempered military affairs, the camaraderie of the regiment, on the other hand, reckless orgies with debauchery and drunkenness were poisoned.

Under the influence of such opposing factors, the formation of the character of Nicholas went on. This created the duality of his nature. In it - and nobility, and ardent love for the motherland, and courage, and a sense of duty, camaraderie. On the other hand, contempt for work, for intellectual life, loyal moods.

Nikolai is characterized by the features of the time: unwillingness to reach the cause of phenomena, the desire to evade answers to the questions: why?" why so? A subtle reaction to the environment makes him responsive. This makes him stand out from the heartless "golden youth" environment. Neither the officer environment, neither the rude morality of society kills humanity in him. Tolstoy reveals the complex experiences of Nikolai in the so-called Ostrovnensky case. For this case, he received the St. George Cross, was known as a brave man. How did Rostov himself regard his behavior in this battle? Faced in battle face to face with a young a French officer, Nikolai stabbed him with a saber.The question arose before him: why did he hit the boy officer? Why would this Frenchman hit him too?

“All this and the next day, friends and comrades of Rostov, noticed that he was not boring, not angry, but silent, thoughtful and concentrated ... Rostov kept thinking about this brilliant feat of his ... And he could not understand something ". However, when confronted with such questions, Rostov tends to evade the answer. He confines himself to emotions and, as a rule, tries to exterminate the painful feeling of uneasiness in himself. So it was with him in Tilsit, when he was fussing for Denisov, the reflection on the Ostrovny episode ended the same way.

His character is especially convincingly revealed in the scene of the liberation of Princess Marya from the rebellious peasants. It is difficult to imagine a more historically accurate depiction of the entire conventionality of noble morality. Tolstoy does not directly express his attitude to Rostov's act. This attitude emerges from the description. Rostov beats the peasants with swear words in order to save the princess and does not hesitate for a minute, inflicting such reprisals. He does not feel a single reproach of conscience.

The son of his age and his estate, Rostov leaves the stage. - As soon as the war passed - the hussar changed his uniform to a jacket. He is a landlord. The extravagance and extravagance of youth are replaced by stinginess and prudence. He now does not resemble in any way a good-natured, stupidly wound-up father.

At the end of the novel, two families are formed - the Rostovs and the Bezukhovs. Whatever the views of Nicholas, when he turns out to be a landowner, no matter how many of his actions, the new family, with Marya Bolkonskaya in the center, retains many of the features that distinguished the Rostovs and Bolkonskys from the circle of noble society before. This new family will become a fertile environment in which not only Nikolenka Bolkonsky, but, perhaps, other glorious people of Russia will be brought up.

The bearer of the "Rostov spirit", the brightest person in the family, is undoubtedly the favorite of all Natasha, the center of attraction to the Rostov house of all the best that exists in society.

Natasha is a generously gifted person. Her actions are original. No prejudices hang over her. Her heart rules. This is a captivating image of a Russian woman. The structure of feelings and thoughts, character and temperament - everything in it is pronounced, national.

For the first time, Natasha appears as a teenager, with thin hands, with a large mouth, ugly and at the same time charming. The writer, as it were, emphasizes that all her charm lies in her inner originality. In childhood, this originality was manifested in stormy fun, in sensitivity, in a hot reaction to everything around. Not a single false sound escaped her notice. Natasha, according to those who know her, is “gunpowder”, “Cossack”, “sorceress”. The world in which she grows up is the poetic world of a family with a peculiar system of friendship and childish love. This world is a sharp contrast to society. As if a foreign body appears at a birthday party among the dear youth of the Rostovs, the stiff Julie Karagina. A sharp contrast to Russian speech sounds French dialect.

How much enthusiasm, energy in the willful-playful Natasha! She is not afraid to break the secular-decent course of a birthday dinner. Her jokes, childish stubbornness, bold attacks on adults - this is a game of talent sparkling with all facets. Natasha even flaunts her unwillingness to accept generally accepted conventions. Her young world is full of poetic fantasy, she even has her own language, understandable only to the youth of the Rostovs.

Natasha's development is proceeding rapidly. At first, the wealth of her soul finds an outlet in singing. She is trained by an Italian, but all the charm of talent comes from the very depths of her temperament, building her soul. Gusar Denisov, the first truly fascinated by Natasha, calls her "Sorceress!" Alarmed for the first time, by the closeness of love, Natasha is tormented by pity for Denisov. The scene of her explanation with Denisov is one of the poetic pages of the novel.

The time of Natasha's childhood ends early. Quite a girl she is taken out into the "light". Among the glitter of lights, dresses, in the thunder of music, after the poetic silence of the Rostov house, Natasha feels shocked. What can she mean, a thin girl, in front of the dazzling beauty of Countess _Helene?

Departure to the "big world" turned out to be the end of her cloudless happiness. A new time has begun. Love has come. Just like Denisov, Prince Andrei experienced the charm of Natasha. With her characteristic sensitivity, she saw in him a man who was not like the others. “Is it really me, that child girl (they said so about me), thought Natasha, “can I really be a wife from now on, equal to this strange, sweet, intelligent person, respected even by my father.”

The new time is a time of complex inner work, spiritual growth. Natasha finds herself in Otradnoye, among village life, among nature, surrounded by nannies, courtyards. It was they who were her first educators, they conveyed to her all the originality of the national spirit.

The time spent in Otradnoye leaves a deep mark on her soul. Children's dreams are intertwined with a feeling of ever-increasing love. At this time of happiness, all the strings of her rich nature sound with special force. Not one of them has yet been cut off, not a single blow has yet been dealt to her by fate.

Natasha seems to be looking for where to use the energy that overwhelms her. With her brother and father, she rides hunting, enthusiastically indulges in Christmas fun, sings, dances, daydreams. And in the depths of the soul there is an ongoing work. Happiness is so great that anxiety rises next to it. Inner restlessness gives Natasha's actions a touch of strangeness. She is now concentrated, then all is given to her overwhelming feelings.

The scene of Natasha's singing in the family circle is wonderfully vividly written. In singing, she found an outlet for the feeling that overwhelmed her. "... for a long time, before and for a long time after, she did not sing the way she sang that evening." Count Ilya Andreevich left his affairs and listened to her. Nikolai, sitting at the clavichord, did not take his eyes off his sister, the countess mother, listening, thought about Natasha: “Ah! How I fear for her, how I fear ... "Her maternal instinct told her that there was too much in Natasha, and that she would not be happy from this."

Happy in this world are Kuragins, Drubetskoys, Bergs, Elena Vasilievna, Anna Pavlovna - those who live without a heart, without love, without honor, according to the laws of "light".

Tolstoy achieves great strength by drawing Natasha visiting her uncle: “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 techniques from? ... But these spirit and methods were the same, inimitable, not studied, Russian, which uncle expected from her.

And in troika races on a frosty Christmas night, and in dancing with mummers, and in games, and in singing, Natasha appears in all the charm of her original character. What captures, enchants in all these Otradnensky scenes is not what is done, but how it is done. And this is done with all Russian prowess, with all the breadth and passion, in all the brilliance of Russian poetry. The coloring of national life, moral health, a huge supply of mental strength enchants. And it is no coincidence that V.I. Lenin reread the hunting scenes with such pleasure. And asking which of the writers of Europe can be put next to Tolstoy, he concluded - "There is no one!" -

In the brilliant depiction of the national Russian folk character, in the sound of the most dear and deepest strings of the Russian heart, the unfading charm of Otradnensky scenes is contained. So understandable and close is the life of the Rostovs, despite the remoteness of the era, the complete alienation of the environment in which the heroes act. They are close and understandable to us, just as Anisya Fedorovna (uncle’s housekeeper) was close and understandable, who “shed a tear through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, educated countess in silk and velvet, who knew how to understand everything what was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.

Natasha feels lonely, alien after Otradny in the theater, among the capital's aristocrats. Their life is unnatural, their feelings are false, everything that is played out on the stage is far and incomprehensible!

The evening at the theater turned out to be fatal "for Natasha. She, noticed by the light, liked Anatole Kuragin with her "freshness", "untouchedness", turned out to be the subject of intrigue.

With flattery, playing on gullibility and inexperience, Kuragin captivated her. In a short-term passion and in the grief that befell her, Natasha remained the same strong-willed and resolute nature, capable of desperate deeds and able to steadfastly face trouble.

After a serious illness, which was the result of mental upheavals, Natasha returned to a renewed life. The trouble did not break her, the light did not defeat her.

The events of the twelfth year give Natasha back her energy. With what sincerity she regrets that she cannot stay in. Moscow. How ardently she demands from her father and mother to give carts to the wounded, leaving property!

The old count with tears says about her: “Eggs ... eggs teach a chicken ...”

Leaving Moscow coincides with the upcoming maturity of Natasha. Many, many Russian people are undergoing severe trials these days. For Natasha, it is also time for great trials. With what determination she goes to the wounded Andrey! He is not only the man she loves, he is a wounded warrior. What better way to heal the wounds of a hero than the selfless love of a patriotic woman! Natasha appears here in all the beauty of her feminine and undoubtedly heroic character. She is guided only by the dictates of her heart. She paid heavily for her inexperience. But what is given to others by years and years of experience, Natasha learned immediately. She returned to life capable of resisting society, did not lose faith in herself. She did not ask others how to act in one case or another, but acted as her heart told her.At night, Natasha sneaks to the sick Andrey and asks his forgiveness, because she knows that she loved and loves only him, that he cannot but understand her. with "decencies", Natasha takes care of the dying.

The illness and death of Prince Andrei, as it were, regenerate Natasha. Her songs were silenced. Illusions were dispelled, magical dreams faded. Natasha looks at life with open eyes. From the spiritual height that she reached, among hundreds of people, she noted the wonderful "eccentric" Pierre, appreciating not only his "heart of gold", but also his mind. all its complex and deep nature. Love for Pierre was Natasha's victory. This Russian girl, not bound by the fetters of tradition, not defeated by the "light", chose the only thing that a woman like her could find in those conditions - a family. Natasha is a wife-friend, a wife-companion, who took on her shoulders part of her husband's business. In her character, the spiritual world of Russian women is guessed - the wives of the Decembrists, who followed their husbands to hard labor and exile.

In world literature, there are many female images marked with bright national features. Among them, the image of Natasha Rostova occupies its own, very special place. Breadth, independence, courage, poetic attitude, passionate attitude to all phenomena of life - these are the features that fill this image.

Little space is given in the novel to young Petya Rostov: However, this is one of the charming, memorable images. Petya, in the words of Denisov, is one of the representatives of the "stupid Rostov breed." He resembles Natasha, and although he is not as generously gifted by nature as his sister, he has the same poetic nature, and most importantly, the same indomitable efficiency. Petya strives to imitate others, adopting the good from everyone. In this he also resembles Natasha. Petya, like his sister, is sensitive to goodness. But he is too trusting, and sees the good in everything. Cordiality, combined with impetuous temperament, is the source of Petya's charm.

Appearing in the detachment of Denisov, young Rostov, first of all, wants to please everyone. He is imbued with pity for the captured French boy. He is affectionate with the soldiers, he does not see anything bad in Dolokhov. His dreams on the night before the fight are full of poetry, colored with lyricism. His heroic impulse is not at all like the “hussarism” of Nikolai Petya strives for a feat not for the sake of vanity, he sincerely wants to serve his homeland. It is not for nothing that in the first battle he does not feel, like Nicholas, neither fear, nor split, nor remorse that he went to war. Making his way with Dolokhov to the rear of the French, he behaves courageously. But it turns out to be too inexperienced, without a sense of self-preservation, and dies in the first attack.

Sensitive Denisov immediately guessed the beautiful soul of Petya. His death shocked the shelled hussar to the very depths. “He rode up to Petya, dismounted from his horse, and with trembling hands turned towards him Petya’s already pale face, stained with blood and mud.”

“I'm used to anything sweet. Excellent raisins, take them all,” he recalled. And the Cossacks looked back in surprise at the sounds similar to the barking of a dog, with which Denisov quickly turned away, went up to the wattle fence and grabbed it. The animation of the young generation of the twelfth year, which has just entered into life, is clearly manifested in it. It was this generation, which grew up in an atmosphere of general patriotic upsurge, that carried a passionate, energetic love for the motherland, a desire to serve it.

Standing apart in the Rostov family is Vera, the eldest daughter of Ilya Andreevich. Cold, unkind, a stranger in the circle of brothers and sisters, she is in the Rostovs' house - a foreign body. The pupil Sonya, full of selfless and grateful love for the whole family, completes; gallery of the Rostov family.

6) The relationship between Pierre Bezukhov and Natalya Rostova is an idyll of family happiness.

Pierre Bezukhov's letter to Natasha Rostova

Dear Natasha, on that magnificent summer evening,

when I met you at the emperor's ball,

I realized that all my life I wanted to have

a wife as beautiful as you. I looked at

you all evening, without stopping for a minute,

peered at your slightest movement, tried to look

in each, even the smallest, hole

your soul. I didn't take my eyes off it for a second.

your gorgeous body. But alas, all my efforts

to get your attention were unsuccessful. I think that

will be just a waste of time

all prayers and promises from my side.

For I know that I have too little

status in the empire. However, I would like to assure you that

you are the most beautiful being in the world.

I never, never met such

homeland. And only your greatest

modesty hides it.

Natasha, I love you!

Pierre Bezukhov

After the death of Prince Andrei, Natasha “thought that her life was over. But suddenly love for her mother showed her that the essence of her life - love - is still alive in her. And the author does not deprive her of new happiness, which comes to her quite by accident and at the same time unexpectedly quickly (because the writer is aware that dooming Natasha to a long wait is fraught with unpredictable consequences).

Pierre, having returned from captivity and having learned that his wife has died and he is free, hears about the Rostovs, that they are in Kostroma, but the thought of Natasha rarely visits him: “If she came, it was only as a pleasant memory of the past.” Even having met her, he does not immediately recognize Natasha in a pale and thin woman with sad eyes without a shadow of a smile, who was sitting near Princess Marya, to whom he arrived.

Both of them, after tragedies, losses, if they crave something, then not new happiness, but rather oblivion. She is still all in her grief, but it is natural for her to speak out without concealment about the details of the last days of her love for Andrei in front of Pierre. Pierre “listened to her and only felt sorry for her for the suffering that she was now experiencing while telling.” For Pierre, it is a joy and a “rare pleasure” to tell Natasha about his adventures during captivity. For Natasha, the joy is listening to him, "guessing the secret meaning of all Pierre's spiritual work."

And having met, these two people, created by L. Tolstoy for each other, will no longer part. The writer came to the desired goal: his Natasha and Pierre took with them the bitter experience of past mistakes and suffering, went through temptations, delusions, shame, hardships that prepared them for love.

Natasha is twenty-one years old, Pierre is twenty-eight. The book could begin with this meeting of theirs, but it is coming to an end ... Pierre is now only a year older than Prince Andrei was at the beginning of the novel. But today's Pierre is a much more mature person than that Andrey. Prince Andrei in 1805 knew only one thing for sure: that he was dissatisfied with the life he had to lead. He did not know what to strive for, he did not know how to love.

In the spring of 1813, Natasha married Pierre. All is well that ends well. It seems that this was the name of the novel when L. Tolstoy was just beginning War and Peace. The last time Natasha appears in the novel in a new role - wife and mother.

L. Tolstoy expressed his attitude towards Natasha in her new life with the thoughts of the old countess, who, with her “motherly instinct”, understood that “all Natasha’s impulses began only with the need to have a family, to have a husband, as she, not so much joking as really, screamed in Otradnoe. Countess Rostova "was surprised at the surprise of people who did not understand Natasha, and repeated that she always knew that Natasha would be an exemplary wife and mother."

The author, who created Natasha and endowed her with the best qualities of a woman in his eyes, also knew this. In Natasha Rostova-Bezukhova, L. Tolstoy, if we switch to high-flown language, sang the noble woman of that era, as he imagined her.

The portrait of Natasha - wife and mother - completes the gallery of portraits of Natasha from a thirteen-year-old girl to a twenty-eight-year-old woman, mother of four children. Like all the previous ones, Natasha’s last portrait is also warmed by warmth and love: “She grew stout and wide, so it was difficult to recognize the former thin mobile Natasha in this strong mother.” Her facial features "had an expression of calm softness and clarity." The “fire of revival” that had been constantly burning before was lit in her now only when “the husband returned, when the child was recovering, or when she and Countess Marya remembered Prince Andrei”, and “very rarely, when something accidentally involved her in singing” . But when the old fire was kindled in her "developed beautiful body", she "was even more attractive than before."

Natasha knows “Pierre’s whole soul”, she loves in him what he respects in himself, and Pierre, who with the help of Natasha found a spiritual answer in the earthly, sees himself “reflected in his wife”. Speaking, they “with unusual clarity and speed”, as they say, on the fly grasp each other’s thoughts, from which we conclude that they are completely spiritually united.

On the last pages, the favorite heroine has the share of becoming the embodiment of the author's idea about the essence and purpose of marriage, the basics of family life, the appointment of a woman in the family. Natasha's state of mind and her whole life during this period embody the cherished ideal of L. Tolstoy: "the purpose of marriage is the family."

Natasha is shown in her cares and affection for her children and her husband: “Everything that was the mental, abstract business of her husband, she attributed, without understanding it, of great importance and was constantly in fear of being a hindrance in this activity of her husband.”

Natasha is both the poetry of life and its prose at the same time. And this is not a “beautiful” phrase. More prosaic than in the finale of the book, the reader has never seen her, either in grief or in joy.

Having depicted in the epilogue an idyll, from the point of view of L.N. Tolstoy, Natasha’s family happiness, the writer turns her “into a strong, beautiful and prolific female”, in which now, as he himself admits, the former fire was very rarely lit. Disheveled, in a dressing gown, with a diaper with a yellow spot, walking with long steps from the nursery - such Natasha L. Tolstoy offers as the truth of the book at the end of his four-volume narrative.

Can we, following L. Tolstoy, think the same way? A question that I think everyone will answer for themselves. The writer, to the end of his days, remained true to his point of view, no, not on the “women's issue”, but on the role and place of women in his own life. Such and no other, I dare to believe, he wanted to see his wife Sofya Andreevna. And for some reason, she did not fit into the framework intended for her by her husband.

For L. Tolstoy, Natasha is the very life in which everything that is done is for the better, and in which no one knows what awaits him tomorrow. The finale of the book is a simple, uncomplicated thought: life itself, with all its anxieties and anxieties, is the meaning of life, it contains the result of everything and nothing can be foreseen and predicted in it, it is the truth sought by the heroes of Leo Tolstoy.

That is why the book is completed not by some great figure or national hero, not by the proud Bolkonsky, and not even by Kutuzov. It is Natasha - the embodiment of life, such as the writer understands and accepts at this time - and Pierre, Natasha's husband, we meet in the epilogue.

Conclusion.

Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. True history, as L. Tolstoy sees and understands it, is life itself, simple, measured, consisting - like a gold-bearing vein with placers of precious grains of sand and small ingots - of ordinary moments and days that bring happiness to a person, like those interspersed in the text of "War and Peace": Natasha's first kiss; she met her brother, who had come on vacation, when she, “holding on to the floor of his Hungarian coat, jumped like a goat, all in one place and squealed piercingly”; the night when Natasha does not let Sonya sleep: “After all, such a lovely night has never, never happened”; the duet of Natasha and Nikolai, when singing touches something better that was in the soul of Rostov (“And this something was independent of everything in the world and above everything in the world”); the smile of a recovering child, when “Princess Marya’s radiant eyes, in the matte half-light of the canopy, shone more than usual from happy tears”; one view of a transformed old oak tree, which, “spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun”; a waltz tour at Natasha's first ball, when her face, “ready for despair and delight, suddenly lit up with a happy, grateful, childlike smile”; an evening of Christmas fun with riding on troikas and divination of girls in mirrors and a fabulous night when Sonya was “in a lively and energetic mood unusual for her”, and Nikolai was fascinated and excited by Sonya’s proximity; the passion and beauty of the hunt, after which Natasha, “not taking a breath, squealed joyfully and enthusiastically so piercingly that her ears rang”; the sedate merriment of the uncle’s guitar picks and the Russian dance of Natasha, “in silk and velvet of the countess, 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” ... For the sake of these happiness-bringing minutes, much less often - hours, a person lives.

2. Creating "War and Peace", L. Tolstoy was looking for a foothold, allowing him to find an internal connection, a cohesion of images, episodes, paintings, motives, details, thoughts, ideas, feelings. In those same years, when pages memorable to everyone came out from under his pen, where smiling Helen, shining with black eyes, demonstrates her power over Pierre: “So you still haven’t noticed how beautiful I am? .. You haven’t noticed that I am a woman? Yes, I am a woman who can belong to anyone, and to you too”; where Nikolai Rostov, at the moment of a quarrel and a possible duel with Andrei Bolkonsky, “thought about how pleased he would be to see the fright of this small, weak and proud little man under his pistol ...”; where the enchanted Natasha listens to Pierre talking about active virtue, and one thing confuses her: “Is it really such an important and necessary person for society - at the same time my husband? Why did it happen like this?”, - in those very years he wrote: “The goal of the artist ... is to make you love life in countless, never exhausted all its manifestations.”

3. Not great historical events, not the ideas that claim to guide them, not the Napoleonic leaders themselves, but a person “corresponding to all aspects of life”, stands at the foundation of everything. They measure ideas, events, and history. This is the kind of person L. Tolstoy sees Natasha. She, being the author, and he puts forward in the center of the book, he recognizes the family of Natasha and Pierre as the best, ideal.

4. The family in the life and work of Tolstoy is associated with warmth and comfort. Home is a place where everyone is dear to you and you are dear to everyone. According to the writer, the closer people are to natural life, the stronger the intra-family ties, the more happiness and joy in the life of each family member. It is this point of view expressed by Tolstoy on the pages of his novel, depicting the family of Natasha and Pierre. This is the opinion of a writer who still seems modern to us today.

List of used literature.

1. Bocharov S. G. The novel by L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. - M .: Fiction, 1978.

2. Gusev N.N. Life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. L.N. Tolstoy at the height of his artistic genius.

3. Zhdanov V.A. Love in the life of Leo Tolstoy. M., 1928

4. Motyleva T. On the world significance of Tolstoy L. N. - M .: Soviet writer, 1957.

5. Plekhanov G. V. Art and literature. - M .: Goslitizdat, 1948

6. Plekhanov G. V. L. N. Tolstoy in Russian criticism. – M.: Goslitizdat, 1952.

7. Smirnova L. A. Russian literature of the 18th - 19th centuries. - M .: - Enlightenment, 1995.

8. Tolstoy L.N. War and Peace - M .: - Enlightenment 1978

Bocharov S. G. The novel by L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". - M .: Fiction, 1978 - p. 7

Gusev N.N. Life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. L.N. Tolstoy in the heyday of artistic genius, p. 101

Lesson Objectives:

• to show that Tolstoy's ideal is a patriarchal family with its sacred care of the elders for the younger and the younger for the elders, with the ability of everyone in the family to give more than to take; with relationships built on "good and truth";
• to reveal wider and deeper the epithet family in Tolstoy;
• to form the ability to analyze episodes;
• the ability to create a creative, friendly atmosphere in the classroom.

Equipment: the book "L.N. Tolstoy in portraits, illustrations, documents", A guide for the teacher. Moscow "Enlightenment", 1956.

Family - a group of relatives living together; unity, the union of people united by common interests. (S. Ozhegov "Dictionary of the Russian Language")

Lesson plan

1. Reflection of family thought in the novel.

2. "A man's eyes are a window into his soul" (L. Tolstoy)

3. Why can't it be different in the Rostovs' house?

4. Bolkonsky's house.

5. There is no moral core in parents - it will not be in children either.

6. Family "circles".

7. Epilogue.

The students were given the challenge:

Group 1 - analyze the portrait characteristics of Natasha, Vera, Andrey, Marya, Helen;

Group 2 - analyze scenes showing the family life of the Rostovs;

Group 3 - analyze scenes showing the family life of the Bolkonskys;

4 group - family life of the Kuragins;

group 5 - family "circles" in the novel;

Group 6 - "Epilogue".

Introductory speech of the teacher

The theme of the family is present in one way or another in almost every writer. It received special development in the second half of the 19th century. Despite the fact that in the novel the leading role is given to folk thought, family thought also has its own dynamics of development, therefore War and Peace is not only a historical, but also a family novel. It is characterized by the orderliness and chronicle of the narrative. The stories of families presented in the novel, each has its own core and inner world. Comparing them, we can understand what standard of life L. Tolstoy preached.

The family for Tolstoy is the soil for the formation of the human soul. The atmosphere of the house, the family nest, according to the writer, determines the warehouse of psychology, views and even the fate of the characters.

In the novel "War and Peace" the family fulfills its true, high purpose. Tolstoy's house is a special world in which traditions are preserved, communication between generations is carried out; it is a refuge for man and the basis of all that exists.

In the system of all the main images of the novel, L. Tolstoy identifies several families, on the example of which the author's attitude to the ideal of the hearth is clearly expressed - these are the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs and the Kuragins.

Group 1 performance

Tolstoy's favorite heroes radiate, their eyes shine, because (according to popular belief) the eyes are a mirror of the human soul: “The eyes look and speak with you.” The author conveys the life of the soul of the heroes through the radiance, radiance, sparkle of the eyes.

NATASHA- “a smile of joy and reassurance”, sometimes “happy”, sometimes “appearing because of ready tears”, sometimes “thoughtful”, sometimes “soothing”, “enthusiastic”, sometimes “solemn”, sometimes “more than affectionate”. “And the face with attentive eyes with difficulty, with effort, like a rusty door opens, smiled ...” (comparison). She looks with “questioning-surprised eyes”, “wide-open, frightened”, “red and trembling”, she looks at Anatole “frightened-inquiringly”.

Natasha's smile reveals a rich world of diverse feelings. In the eyes - the wealth of the spiritual world.

NIKOLENKA -“When everyone got up for dinner, Nikolenka Bolkonsky approached Pierre, pale, with shining, radiant eyes ...”

PRINCESS MARIA- “radiant eyes and a heavy tread”, which, in moments of spiritual revival, made Marya’s ugly face beautiful. “... the eyes of the princess, large, deep and radiant (as if rays of warm light sometimes came out of them in sheaves), were so good that very often, despite the ugliness of the whole face, these eyes became more attractive than beauty”;

Marya "always looked prettier when she cried" in moments of deep emotion.

“Her face, from the time Rostov entered, suddenly changed ... All her inner, dissatisfied work, her suffering, striving for good, humility, love, self-sacrifice - all this shone now in these radiant eyes ... In every feature of her tender face ".

By definition, the radiant Tolstoy draws the inner world of his heroes, emphasizing precisely the “higher spiritual life” of the Bolkonskys. The word radiant appears in the text in combination with the nouns eyes, sight, light (eye), shine (eye).

ANDREW- “... looked with kind eyes. But in his gaze, friendly, affectionate, the consciousness of his superiority was nevertheless expressed. (meeting with Pierre).

HELEN- “With a calm and proud smile, Helen shouted bravo in delight, - there, under the shadow of this Helen, there it was all clear and simple; but now alone, with herself, it was incomprehensible, ”Natasha thought (metaphor,“ under the shadow of this Helen ”).

Spirituality, emptiness, according to Tolstoy, extinguish the sparkle of the eyes, make the face a lifeless mask: the soulless beauty Helen - a "beautiful statue" with a frozen smile - glistens and shines with everything except her eyes: smile ”(in each portrait description of Helen there is an ironic tinge). Helen has an unchanging, ordinary, monotonously beautiful or self-satisfied smile. We do not see Helen's eye. Apparently, they are beautiful, like her shoulders, lips. Tolstoy does not draw her eyes, because they do not shine with thought and feeling.

VERA- a cold face, calm, which "a smile makes unpleasant."

It is important for N. Tolstoy to emphasize the nature of a smile or the originality of the facial expression of a particular character, most often the author focuses on the expression of the eyes, the nature of the look.

One of the dominant means in creating portrait characteristics is the use of light adjectives as artistic definitions.

Group 2 performance. ROSTOVS (vol. 1, part 1, ch. 7-17; vol. 2, ch. 1-3; part 1, ch. 13-15; vol. 2, part 1, ch. 1-3; Part 3, Chapters 14-17; Part 5, Chapters 6-18; Vol. 3, Part 3, Chapters 12-17; Chapters 30-32; Vol. 4, Part 1, Ch. 6-8; ch. 14-16; part 2, ch. 7-9; part 4, ch. 1-3)

Rostova - the elder "the countess was a woman with an oriental type of thin face, about 45 years old, apparently exhausted by children, ... The slowness of her movements and speech, which came from the weakness of her strength, gave her a significant look that inspired respect."

Rostov children.

Openness of soul, cordiality (name day, holiday in honor of the guest Denisov, dinner in an English club in honor of Prince Bagration).

The Rostovs' ability to attract people to themselves, to understand someone else's soul, the ability to empathize, sympathize (Petya Rostov and the French drummer; Natasha and Sonya, Natasha "revive" Andrey's heart; Natasha the patriot, without hesitation, gives all the carts for the wounded; caring for the wounded Bolkonsky Nikolai Rostov will protect Princess Marya on her father's estate from a rebellion of peasants.)

Conclusion: The Rostov family is closest to Tolstoy. Surrounding people are attracted by the atmosphere of love and goodwill that prevails here. Truly Russian hospitality. Selflessness distinguishes all family members. Sincerity, naturalness, liveliness of these people, the author conveys through their movements. The images are unusually plastic, full of vital charm.

The Rostovs are not capable of lying, secrecy disgusts their honest natures: Nikolai will inform his father about the loss to Dolokhov of 43 thousand. Natasha will tell Sonya about the upcoming escape with Anatole; write a letter to Princess Mary about the break with Andrei.

Group 3 performance. BOLKONSKIE(vol. 1, part 1, ch. 22-25; part 3 ch. 11-19; vol. 2, ch. 7-9; vol. 2, part 2, ch. 10-14; vol. 3 , part 3, chapters 1-3; part 3, chapters 20-24; v. 3, part 2, chapters 13-14; chapters 36-37)

Tolstoy treats the Bolkonsky family with warmth and sympathy.

PRINCE NICHOLAS ANDREEVICH. The Bald Mountains have their own special order, a special rhythm of life. The prince evokes invariable respect among all people, despite the fact that he has not been in the public service for a long time. His active mind is constantly busy with something. He raised wonderful children.

PRINCESS MARIA. The compassionate heart of the princess experiences someone else's pain more than her own. “I saw a heartbreaking scene. It was a batch of recruits recruited from us and sent to the army. It was necessary to see the state in which the mothers, wives and children of those who were leaving were, and to hear the sobs of both. You would think that humanity has forgotten the laws of its divine savior, who taught us love and the encouragement of insults, and that it considers its chief merit to be in the art of killing one another.

Analysis of the chapters of the invasion of Prince Vasily with his son into the pure world of Princess Marya.

It is possible that it was precisely thanks to the strict, sometimes harsh rules that the old prince established in his house that this pure, bright soul, as close to God as possible for a person, was able to form.

PRINCE ANDREI.“Nicholas Andreevich Bolkonsky’s son, out of mercy, will not serve anyone.”

How and why is Prince Andrei's attitude to family life changing?

"Never, 0never marry, my friend ... what would I not give now, so as not to be married," says Pier. Dream of glory, of your Toulon. But his thoughts take a different direction when he, wounded, is carried away from the field of Austerlitz. A revolution takes place in Andrey's soul. Ambitious dreams give way to a craving for a simple and quiet family life. But he remembered the "little princess" and realized that in his dismissive attitude towards her he was often unfair. Life takes revenge on him for Bolkon's pride. And when the Prince, having become kinder and softened, returns to his native nest, the wife dies from childbirth.

4 group- KURAGINS (vol. 1, part 1, ch. 18-21; part 2, ch. 9-12; part 3, ch. 1-5; vol. 2, part 1, 6-7; t 3, part 2, chapters 36-37; part 3, chapter 5)

LN Tolstoy never calls the Kuragins a family. Here everything is subordinated to self-interest, material gain. All-consuming aspiration leaves its mark on the character, behavior, appearance of Prince Vasily, Helen, Anatole, Hippolyte.

BASIL- a secular person, a careerist, and an egoist (the desire to become the heir to the dying rich nobleman Count Bezukhov; a profitable party for Helen is Pierre; a dream: to marry Anatole's son to Princess Marya;). Prince Vasily's contempt for his sons: the "calm fool" Ippolit and the "restless fool" Anatole.

ANATOL(played a performance of passionate love for Natasha Rostova). Anatole endures the shame of matchmaking easily. He, who accidentally met on the day of marriage to Mary, holds Bourien in his arms. “Anatole bowed to Princess Mary with a cheerful smile, as if inviting her not to laugh at this strange incident, and, shrugging her shoulders, went through the door ...” She would cry once, like a woman, having lost her leg.

HIPPOLITE- mental limitation, which makes his actions ridiculous.

HELEN- "I'm not a fool to give birth" In this "breed" there is no cult of the child, there is no reverent attitude towards him.

Conclusion. The purpose of their life is to be in the spotlight of the world all the time. They are alien to Tolstoy's ethics. Empty flowers. Unloved heroes are shown in isolation from everything. According to S. Bocharov, the Kuragin family is deprived of that “ancestral poetry” that is characteristic of the Rostov and Bolkonsky families, where relationships are built on love. They are united only by kinship, they do not even perceive themselves as close people (the relationship between Anatole and Helen, the jealousy of the old princess for her daughter and the recognition of Prince Vasily that he is deprived of “parental love” and children are “a burden on his existence”).

This family of intriguers disappears in the fire of 1812, like the unsuccessful world adventure of the great emperor, all Helen's intrigues disappear - entangled in them, she dies.

Performance of the 5th group. FAMILY MUGS"(vol. 1, part 2, ch. 13-21; part 3, ch. 14-19; vol. 3, part 2, ch. 24-29; ch. 30-32; vol. 3, part 3, chapters 3-4)

The house as a calm, reliable harbor is opposed to war, family happiness - to senseless mutual destruction.

The concept of HOME is expanding. When Nikolai Rostov returned from vacation, the regiment seemed like a home, as sweet as his parents' house. The essence of the home, the family, manifested itself with particular force on the Borodino field.

RAYEVSKY'S BATTERY“.. here on the battery ... one felt the same and common to everyone, as if family revival.” “These soldiers immediately mentally accepted Pierre into their family ...” (Analysis of the chapters)

Conclusion: this is where the defenders of Borodin drew strength, these are the sources of courage, firmness, and steadfastness. The national, religious, family principles miraculously merged at the decisive hour in the Russian army (Pierre “is completely absorbed in the contemplation of this, more and more burning fire, which in the same way ... flared up in his soul) and gave such a fusion of feelings and such actions, before which any conqueror is powerless. With a wise senile mind, Kutuzov understood this like no one else.

Tushin- an awkward, completely non-military artilleryman, with "big, kind and intelligent eyes." Captain Tushin's battery heroically fulfilled its duty, without even thinking about retreat. During the battle, the captain did not think about the danger, “his face became more and more animated” Despite his non-military appearance and “weak, thin, indecisive voice”, the soldiers loved him on his commander.” Tushin did not think that he could be killed, he only worried when his soldiers were killed and wounded.

KUTUZOV FOR MALASHI - grandfather (as she calls the commander in a related way). Episode "Council in Fili".

BAGRATION- "a son who is worried about the fate of the Motherland."

NAPOLEON- analysis of chapters 26-29, part 2, v.3. The writer emphasizes the coldness, complacency, deliberate profundity in Napoleon's facial expression.

One of his traits, posturing, stands out especially sharply. He behaves like an actor on stage. In front of the portrait of his son, he "made an appearance of thoughtful tenderness", his gesture is "gracefully majestic." Napoleon is sure that everything he does and says "is history"

RUSSIAN ARMY. There is a point of view that Platon Karataev, according to Tolstoy, is a generalized image of the Russian people. (Episodes associated with Pierre in captivity). With his paternal, paternal attitude, he teaches Pierre as the son of gentleness, forgiveness, patience; Karataev fulfilled his mission - "remained forever in the soul of Pierre."

« EPILOGUE"- this is the apotheosis of family happiness and harmony. There are no signs of serious dramatic conflicts here. Everything is simple and reliable in the young families of the Rostovs and Bezukhovs: a well-established way of life, deep affection of the spouses to each other, love for children, understanding, participation,

Family of Nikolai Rostov.

Family of Pierre Bezukhov.

CONCLUSION: L.N. Tolstoy in the novel shows his ideal of a woman and family. This ideal is given in the images of Natasha Rostova and Marya Bolkonskaya and the images of their families. Tolstoy's favorite heroes want to live honestly. In family relationships, the heroes keep such moral values ​​as simplicity, naturalness, noble self-esteem, admiration for motherhood, love and respect. It is these moral values ​​that save Russia in a moment of national danger. The family and the woman - the keeper of the family hearth - have always been the moral foundations of society.

Introduction

Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest prose writers of the 19th century, the "golden age" of Russian literature. For two centuries now, his works have been read all over the world, because these amazingly lively and vivid verbal canvases not only occupy the reader, but make you think about many important questions for a person - and provide answers to some of them. A vivid example of this is the pinnacle of the writer's work, the epic novel "War and Peace", in which Tolstoy touches on topics that are burning for any thinking person. The theme of the family in the novel "War and Peace" by Tolstoy is very important, as well as for the author himself. That is why Tolstoy's heroes are practically never alone.

The text most fully reveals the structure and relationships of three completely different families: the Rostovs, Bolkonskys and Kuragins - of which the first two for the most part correspond to the opinion of the author himself on this issue.

Rostovs, or the great power of love

The head of the large Rostov family, Ilya Andreevich, is a Moscow nobleman, a very kind, generous and trusting person, who adores his wife and children. In view of his extreme spiritual simplicity, he does not know how to run a household at all, so the family is on the verge of ruin. But Rostov Sr. cannot refuse anything to the household: he leads a luxurious life, pays his son's debts.

The Rostovs are very kind, always ready to help, sincere and responsive, so they have many friends. It is not surprising that it was in this family that the true patriot of the Motherland Petya Rostov grew up. Authoritarianism is not inherent in the Rostov family at all: here children respect their parents, and parents respect their children. That is why Natasha was able to persuade her parents to take out not valuable things from besieged Moscow, but wounded soldiers. The Rostovs preferred to remain penniless rather than transgress the laws of honor, conscience and compassion. In the images of the Rostov family, Tolstoy embodied his own ideas about the ideal family nest, about the indestructible connection of a real Russian family. Isn't this the best illustration that can show how big the role of the family is in War and Peace?

The "fruit" of such love, such a highly moral upbringing is beautiful - this is Natasha Rostova. She absorbed the best qualities of her parents: from her father she took kindness and breadth of nature, the desire to make the whole world happy, and from her mother - caring and thriftiness. One of the most important qualities of Natasha is naturalness. She is not able to play a role, to live according to secular laws, her behavior does not depend on the opinions of others. This is a girl with an open soul, an extrovert, capable of completely and completely surrendering to love for all people in general and for her soulmate. She is the ideal woman from Tolstoy's point of view. And this ideal was brought up by an ideal family.

Another representative of the younger generation of the Rostov family, Nikolai, does not differ in either depth of mind or breadth of soul, but he is a simple, honest and decent young man.

The "ugly duckling" of the Rostov family, Vera, chose a completely different path for herself - the path of selfishness. Having married Berg, she created a family that did not look like either the Rostovs or the Bolkonskys. This cell of society is based on external gloss and a thirst for enrichment. Such a family, according to Tolstoy, cannot become the foundation of society. Why? Because there is nothing spiritual in such a relationship. This is the path of separation and degradation, leading to nowhere.

Bolkonsky: duty, honor and reason

The Bolkonsky family, serving nobles, is somewhat different. Each of the members of this genus is a remarkable personality, talented, integral and spiritualized. This is a family of strong people. The head of the family, Prince Nikolai, is a man of an extremely harsh and quarrelsome nature, but not cruel. Therefore, he is respected and feared even by his own children. Most of all, the old prince appreciates smart and active people, and therefore he tries to instill such qualities in his daughter. Andrei Bolkonsky inherited nobility, sharpness of mind, pride and independence from his father. The son and father of the Bolkonsky are diversified, intelligent and strong-willed people. Andrei is one of the most complex characters in the novel. From the first chapters of the epic to the end of his life, this person goes through the most difficult spiritual evolution, trying to comprehend the meaning of life and find his calling. The theme of the family in "War and Peace" is fully revealed at the end of Andrei's life, when he nevertheless understands that only a family man surrounded by people dear to his heart can become happy.

Andrei's sister, Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, is shown in the novel as an absolutely whole physically, psychologically and morally person. A girl who is not distinguished by physical beauty lives in constant expectation of quiet family happiness. This is a boat filled with love and care, waiting for a patient and skillful captain. This smart, romantic and extremely religious girl dutifully endures all the rudeness of her father, never for a moment ceasing to love him strongly and sincerely.

Thus, the younger generation of the Bolkonsky family inherited all the best qualities of the old prince, ignoring only his rudeness, imperiousness and intolerance. Therefore, Andrei and Marya are able to truly love people, which means they are able to develop as individuals, climb the spiritual ladder - to the ideal, to the light, to God. Therefore, the war and peace of the Bolkonsky family are so difficult to understand for most of their contemporaries, therefore neither Maria nor Andrei love social life.

Kuragins, or the abomination of empty egoism

The Kuragin family is directly opposite to the two previous genera. The head of the family, Prince Vasily, hides the rotten nature of a greedy, through and through false brute behind an external gloss. For him, the main thing is money and social position. His children, Helen, Anatole and Hippolyte, are in no way inferior to their father: outwardly attractive, superficially smart and successful young people in society are in fact empty, albeit beautiful, vessels. Behind their own egoism and greed, they do not see the spiritual world - or do not want to see. In general, the Kuragin family are vile toads dressed in lace and hung with jewelry; they sit in a dirty swamp and croak contentedly, not seeing the beautiful endless sky above their heads. For Tolstoy, this family is the personification of the world of the "secular mob", which the author himself despised with all his heart.

conclusions

Finishing the essay “The Theme of the Family in the Novel War and Peace”, I want to note that this topic is one of the main ones in the text. This thread permeates the fate of almost all the heroes of the work. The reader can observe in action the causal relationship between upbringing, the atmosphere in the parental home, the future fate of a matured person - and his influence on the world.

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