One of the most fundamental and highly artistic prose works in history domestic literature is the epic novel "War and Peace". The high ideological and compositional perfection of the work is the fruit of many years of work. The history of the creation of Tolstoy's War and Peace reflects the hard work on the novel from 1863 to 1870.
Interest in the themes of the Decembrists
The work is based on the Patriotic War of 1812, its reflection on the fate of people, the awakening of moral and patriotic feelings, the spiritual unity of the Russian people. However, before proceeding with the creation of a story about Patriotic war, the author changed his plans many times. For many years he was worried about the topic of the Decembrists, their role in the development of the state and the outcome of the uprising.
Tolstoy decided to write a work reflecting the story of the Decembrist, who returned in 1856 after a 30-year exile. The beginning of the story, according to Tolstoy's plan, was to begin in 1856. Later, the author decides to start his story from 1825 in order to show what reasons led the hero to exile. But having plunged into the abyss of historical events, the author felt the need to depict not only the fate of one hero, but the very Decembrist uprising, its origins.
original intent
The work was conceived as a story, and later the novel "The Decembrists", on which he worked in 1860-1861. Over time, the author is not satisfied only with the events of 1825 and comes to the understanding that it is necessary to reveal in the work the earlier historical events that formed the wave of the patriotic movement and the awakening of civil consciousness in Russia. But the author did not stop there, realizing inseparable bond events of 1812 with their origins, which originate from 1805. Thus, the idea of creative recreation of artistic and historical reality is planned by the author into a half-century large-scale picture, reflecting the events from 1805 to the 1850s.
"Three pores" in the history of Russia
The author called this idea of recreating historical reality "Three pores". The first of them was supposed to reflect the historical realities of the 19th century, which personified the conditions for the formation of young Decembrists. The next time is the 1820s - the moment of the formation of civic activity and the moral position of the Decembrists. The culmination of this historical period, according to Tolstoy, was a direct description of the Decembrist uprising, its defeat and consequences. The third period was conceived by the author as a recreation of the reality of the 50s, marked by the return of the Decembrists from exile under an amnesty in connection with the death of Nicholas I. The third part was to become the personification of the time of the long-awaited changes in the political atmosphere of Russia.
Such a global intention of the author, which consists in depicting a very wide time period filled with numerous and significant historical events, demanded great effort from the writer and artistic forces. The work, in the final of which it was planned to return Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha Rostova from exile, did not fit into the framework of not only a traditional historical story, but even a novel. Realizing this and realizing the importance of a detailed reconstruction of the pictures of the war of 1812 and its starting points, Lev Nikolayevich decides to narrow historical framework intended work.
final art plan
In the final idea of the author, the 20s turn out to be the extreme time point. XIX years centuries, which the reader learns about only in the prologue, the main events of the work coincide with historical reality from 1805 to 1812. Despite the fact that the author decided to convey the essence historical era more briefly, the book has never been able to fit into any of the traditional historical genres. The work, which combines detailed descriptions of all aspects of wartime and peacetime, resulted in a four-volume epic novel,
Work on a novel
Despite the fact that the author has established himself with the final version artistic intent, work on the work was not easy. During the seven-year period of its creation, the author repeatedly abandoned work on the novel and returned to it again. Numerous manuscripts of the work, kept in the writer's archive, numbering more than five thousand pages, testify to the features of the work. According to them, the history of the creation of the novel "War and Peace" can be traced.
15 draft versions of the novel were found in the archive, which indicates the author's ultimate responsibility for working on the work, high degree introspection and criticism. Realizing the importance of the topic, Tolstoy wanted to be as close as possible to the true historical facts, philosophical and moral views of society, civil sentiments of the first quarter XIX century. To write the novel "War and Peace", the writer had to study a lot of memoirs of eyewitnesses of the war, historical documents and scientific works, personal letters. “When I write history, I like to be true to reality to the smallest detail,” Tolstoy said. As a result, it turned out that the writer unwittingly collected a whole collection of books, events 1812.
In addition to working on historical sources, for a reliable depiction of the events of the war, the author visited the places of military battles. It was these trips that formed the basis of the unique landscape sketches turning the novel from historical chronicle into a highly artistic work of literature.
The title of the work chosen by the author represents main idea. Peace, which lies in spiritual harmony and in the absence of hostilities on native land can make a person truly happy. L.N. Tolstoy, who at the time of the creation of the work wrote: “The goal of the artist is not to undeniably resolve the issue, but to make you love life in countless, never exhausted all its manifestations,” undoubtedly managed to embody his ideological concept.
Artwork test
All passions, all moments human life, from the cry of a newborn to the last flash of feeling of a dying old man, all the sorrows and joys available to a person - everything is in this picture! All passions, all moments of human life, from the cry of a newborn to the last flash of feeling of a dying old man, all the sorrows and joys available to a person - everything is in this picture! N.Strakhov N.Strakhov
The path to the novel "War and Peace" The psychologism of the story "Childhood" (1852) Truth-seeking and deromanticization of war " Sevastopol stories"(1855) Nationality of the story "Cossacks" (1862) "War and Peace" (year)
G.g. On every day of work, you leave a piece of yourself in the inkwell. On every day of work, you leave a piece of yourself in the inkwell. L. Tolstoy L. Tolstoy
Development of the idea “I tried to write the history of the people” 1856 Meeting with Pushchin and 1856 Meeting with Pushchin and Volkonsky novel “The Decembrists” Volkonsky novel “The Decembrists” (heroes - Pyotr and Natalya Lobazov) (heroes - Pyotr and Natalya Lobazov) 1825 Uprising on the Senate Square Senate Square 1812 Patriotic War War of 1805 War with Napoleon in alliance with Austria in alliance with Austria
The meaning of the title "War and Peace" "War and Peace" 1. The state of society, the opposite of war; the absence of war, strife and enmity between people. 2.Calmness, silence. 3.Human society, community (world) 4.Universe 1.Armed struggle between states or peoples. 2. Fight, hostile relationship with someone or something
The truth lies in the brotherhood of man, men should not fight each other. And all characters show how a person approaches or departs from this truth. AV Lunacharsky The truth lies in the brotherhood of people, people should not fight with each other. And all the characters show how a person approaches or departs from this truth. A.V. Lunacharsky War and Peace Kutuzov Bolkonsky P. Bezukhov Rostov Napoleon Alexander the First Kuraginy
The genre of the work is an epic novel. EPOPE is the largest genre form of the epic, a work depicting big period historical time or a significant, fateful event in the life of a nation (war, revolution, etc.). EPIC - the largest genre form of the epic, a work depicting a large period of historical time or a significant, fateful event in the life of a nation (war, revolution, etc.). E. is characterized by: E. is characterized by: - a wide geographical coverage, - a wide geographical coverage, - a reflection of the life and life of all strata of society, - a reflection of the life and life of all strata of society, - the nationality of the content (the fusion of author's and folk consciousness, the expression of folk ideals, evaluation of events in the light folk performances and values) - the nationality of the content (the fusion of the author's and the people's consciousness, the expression of people's ideals, the assessment of events in the light of people's ideas and values)
The era in the novel Volume 1 - the events of 1805 (the war of Russia in alliance with Austria against France, the Austerlitz and Shengraben battles) Volume 1 - the events of 1805 (the war of Russia in alliance with Austria against France, the Austerlitz and Shengraben battles) Volume 2 .G. (war in alliance with Prussia in 1806; Peace of Tilsit) 2 vol. (war in alliance with Prussia in 1806; Peace of Tilsit) 3 and 4 volumes - Patriotic War of 1812 (transition French army through the Neman, the retreat of the Russians, the surrender of Smolensk, battle of Borodino, council in Fili, abandonment of Moscow, partisan movement, Kutuzov’s flank march, Tarutino battle, collapse of the invaders’ army) 3 and 4 volumes - Patriotic War of 1812 (transition of the French army across the Neman, Russian retreat, surrender of Smolensk, Battle of Borodino, council in Filiakh, abandonment of Moscow, partisan movement, Kutuzov's flank march, Battle of Tarutino, collapse of the invaders' army) Epilogue (secret noble societies) Epilogue of the city (secret noble societies)
Sources of the work family lore Family legends Sevastopol experience Sevastopol experience Historical documents Historical documents Private letters Private letters Memoirs of participants in events Memoirs of participants in events A trip to the Borodino field A trip to the Borodino field
Problematics of the work The role of the individual and the people in history The role of the individual and the people in history The meaning of human life The meaning of human life The improvement of society and man The improvement of society and man The role of the nobility in the history of the state The role of the nobility in the history of the state True and false values True and false values Faith Faith Life and death Life and death The origins of war and its consequences The origins of war and its consequences
Human, artistic and journalistic experience of Tolstoy in the 50s - early 60s. resulted in the path to the "big" genre. The rejection of current reality and the need to influence the course of its movement turned Tolstoy to the history of Russia, to the search for a socially significant manifestation of moral principles in the past. The past thus established itself as a theme and predetermined future character"big" genre as a genre of historical and at the same time relevant.
The idea of the novel about people who went through Decembrism and exile (The Decembrists, 1863) leads Tolstoy to the era of 1812, which with unprecedented force exposed the power and vitality of the Russian character and the nation as a whole. But the task of identifying the internal sources of opposition to evil and the victory of a person (and a nation) over him turns the writer to the era of "failures and defeats", where the essence of character should have "expressed even brighter". The beginning of the action of "War and Peace" is postponed to 1805.
In the 60s. in connection with the peasant reform and the subsequent transformations of the country, questions about the patterns of development of history, about the process itself historical movement of mankind become the most important for Russia. Dostoevsky's The Idiot (1868), Goncharov's The Cliff (1869), and Saltykov-Shchedrin's History of a City (1870) were peculiar answers to them. Tolstoy's historical concept turned out to be in the mainstream of the search for Russian social and literary thought of this period.
Tolstoy himself perceived "War and Peace" as "a book about the past," not subsumed under any of the genre forms. “This is not a novel, still less a poem, still less a historical chronicle,” he wrote. “War and Peace is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed.”
However, the breadth of philosophical and historical synthesis and the depth of social psychological analysis The diverse manifestations of history in man and man in history led to the assignment of the definition of "epic novel" to "War and Peace".
The infinity of the process of spiritual extractions when reading "War and Peace" is organically connected with Tolstoy's task of revealing the general patterns of social and personal life that subjugate the fate of individuals, peoples and humanity as a whole, and is in direct connection with Tolstoy's search for the path of people to each other, with the thought of a possible and proper human "unity".
War and peace - as a theme - is life in its universal scope. At the same time, war and peace are the most profound and tragic contradiction of life.10 Tolstoy’s reflections on this problem resulted primarily in the study of the relationship between freedom and act of will personality and the objective result of its consequences at a particular moment.
Calling the era of the creation of "War and Peace" "a self-confident time" that forgot about the existence of this problem, Tolstoy refers to the philosophical, theological and natural science thought of the past, which struggled to solve the issue of the relationship between freedom and necessity (Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine of the Blessed, Hobbes, Spinoza , Kant, Hume, Schopenhauer, Buckle, Darwin, etc.), and nowhere - neither in philosophy, nor in theology, nor in natural science - does it find a final positive result in solving the problem.
In search past centuries Tolstoy discovers the constant return of new generations to the "penelope work" of their predecessors: "Considering philosophical history question, we will see that this question is not only unresolved, but has two solutions. From the point of view of reason, there is no and cannot be freedom; from the point of view of consciousness, there is no and cannot be a need.
Reflections on patterns of development human history lead Tolstoy to separate the concepts of mind and consciousness. The “revelations” of consciousness, according to the writer, presuppose complete freedom of the individual, while the requirements of reason consider any manifestation of freedom (in other words, will) of a person in his complex relationships With surrounding reality according to the laws of time, space and causality, the organic connection of which constitutes necessity.
In draft versions of War and Peace, Tolstoy examines a number of the greatest moral "paradoxes" of history - from the times crusades, Charles IX and Bartholomew night before french revolution, - which, according to the writer, did not receive an explanation in any of the historical and philosophical concepts known to him, and sets himself the task of finding new laws of human history, which he defines as "the science of people's self-knowledge".
Tolstoy's concept is based on the idea of "continuous movement of personality in time". A large-scale comparison is carried out: “As in the question of astronomy, and in the question of humaniores of the present time, the whole difference of view is based on the recognition or non-recognition of an absolute fixed unit that serves as a measure of the change of phenomena.
In astronomy it was the immobility of the earth; in humaniores it was the immobility of the personality, the human soul.<...>But in astronomy, truth took its toll. So precisely in our time the truth of the mobility of personality must take its toll. The “mobility of the personality” at the same time correlates with the mobility of the soul, which has already been established since the story “Childhood” as an integral sign of a person “understanding”.
In relation to history, the question of freedom and necessity is decided by Tolstoy in favor of necessity. Necessity is defined by him as "the law of motion of the masses in time". At the same time, the writer emphasizes that in his personal life every person is free at the moment of committing one or another act. He calls this moment “an infinitesimal moment of freedom in the present”, during which the “soul” of a person “lives”.
However, each this moment time inevitably becomes the past and becomes a fact of history. Its uniqueness and irreversibility predetermine, according to Tolstoy, the impossibility of recognizing free will in relation to the past and the past.
Hence - the denial of the leading role of arbitrary actions of the individual in history and at the same time the affirmation of the moral responsibility of man for any act at every infinitesimal moment of freedom in the present. This act can be an act of good, "connecting people", or an act of evil (arbitrariness), "separating people".
Repeatedly reminding that human freedom is "chained by time", Tolstoy at the same time speaks of an infinitely great sum of "moments of freedom", i.e., the life of a person as a whole. Since at each such moment there is a “soul in life”, the idea of “mobility of the personality” forms the basis of the law of the necessity of the movement of the masses in time.
Approved by the writer in "War and Peace" the paramount importance of "every infinitesimal moment" as in life individual person, and in the world movement of history, it predetermined the method of historical analysis and determined the nature of the “pairing” of the epic scale with the detailed psychological analysis that distinguishes “War and Peace” from all forms of artistic and historical narrative and remains unique to this day both in Russian and and in world literature.
"War and Peace" is a book of searches. In Tolstoy's attempt to find the laws of motion of human history, the very process of searching and the system of evidence that deepen the insight of the reader's judgment are important. Some logical incompleteness and inconsistency of the general philosophical synthesis of these searches was felt by Tolstoy himself.
He foresaw accusations of fatalism. And therefore, developing the idea of historical necessity and the specific form of its expression - the law of the spontaneous movement of the masses towards an unknown goal - the writer persistently and repeatedly emphasized the moral responsibility of a person for any decision or action at any given moment.
"The Will of Providence" in the Philosophical and Artistic Interpretation by Tolstoy life process- by no means a paralyzing intervention " higher power that eliminates the activity of evil. Both in general and in privacy people evil effectively. "Indifferent force" is blind, cruel and effective. With the concept of "fatalism", used by Tolstoy himself to explain phenomena that are not subject to "reasonable knowledge", "knowledge of the heart" is connected in the artistic fabric of the novel.
The “path of thought” is contrasted with the “path of sensation”, the “dialectic of the mind” is opposed to the “dialectic of the soul”. “Knowledge of the heart” takes on the name of “faith” in Pierre’s mind. This knowledge is nothing but a moral feeling, invested by nature in every person, which, according to Tolstoy, is “supra-historical” and carries in itself that energy of life that fatally resists the forces of arbitrariness. Tolstoy's skepticism encroaches on the "omnipotence" of reason. The heart is put forward as the source of spiritual self-creation.
The rough drafts for "War and Peace" reflect a seven-year process of search and doubt, culminating in the philosophical and historical synthesis of the 2nd part of the epilogue.
The description of a series of events in the movement of peoples from west to east and from east to west, the ultimate goal of which, according to Tolstoy, remained inaccessible to the human mind, begins with a study of the era of “failures and defeats” of the Russian people (the nation as a whole) and covers the period from 1805 to August 1812 is the eve of the Battle of Borodino, and June-August 1812 (Napoleon's invasion of Russia and his movement towards Moscow) and the seven and a half years preceding this time are qualitatively heterogeneous.
From the moment the French troops entered Russian territory, the “failures and defeats” of the Russian army were accompanied by an unusually rapid awakening of national self-consciousness, which predetermined the outcome of the Battle of Borodino and the subsequent catastrophe of Napoleon.
History of Russian literature: in 4 volumes / Edited by N.I. Prutskov and others - L., 1980-1983
idea to create epic work arose long before Leo Tolstoy wrote its first lines. Having started work on another story in 1956, the author began to form the image of the protagonist. A courageous gray-haired man returns to Russia, he once had to flee abroad as a member of the Decembrist uprising of 1825. What was this old man like in his youth, what did he have to go through? the writer asked himself. I had to involuntarily plunge into the events of 1812, the history of the creation of the novel "War and Peace" began its development.
Why did the writer shorten the work
Tolstoy's bibliographers have 5,200 sheets of the author's rough work, far exceeding the volume of four published volumes. Lev Nikolaevich planned to tell about the fate of his people for half a century, from early XIX century to its middle. The author included in the content the turbulent events associated with the Decembrist Uprising, with the life of Tsar Nicholas I.Tolstoy called the epic "Three Pores", dividing it initially into three parts. It was decided to squeeze the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 into the first part. The second part, according to the original plan, was main theme novel. Here the heroes of the Decembrists were displayed, their selfless idea to overthrow serfdom and difficult fate exiled to hard labor.
The author tentatively called the last part "The Third Time". Events included Crimean War at the final stage, the coming to the throne of Alexander II and the return from exile of the surviving Decembrists. In the third part, the writer was going to focus on the experiences and aspirations of the advanced strata of society. Good changes were expected from the new emperor.
As soon as Tolstoy began working on the beginning of the story, he realized that he had stumbled upon a deep philosophical layer of questions related to the essence of the people and its heroic displays at critical fateful moments. Lev Nikolaevich wanted to reveal in detail the nature of the unity and patriotism of the simple masses of people.
In letters, the author told his friends that he was experiencing the strain of all his creative forces. The work he did did not fit into the usual format of books published by his contemporaries. The storytelling style is different works of art that time.
How the work progressed
Critics know 15 options for the beginning of the novel. Tolstoy in many letters says that he lost hope of expressing his opinion about the people, and then that he gained the strength to resume writing the epic novel. The author had to study for months the available historical materials about the Battle of Borodino, about the Partisan movement.The writer studied biographical data to the smallest detail historical figures Kutuzov, Alexander I and Napoleon. He himself wrote in the article that he likes to recreate the smallest details of the actual situations displayed in the documents found. Over the years of work on the novel, a full-fledged library of books dedicated to the period of the Patriotic War of 1812 was formed in the Tolstoy family.
The idea of the novel was the liberation movement of the Russian people. Therefore, the author did not use orders, letters, documents and books telling about the war as a battle between two emperors. The author used memoirs with an objective assessment of the events of those times. These were the recordings of Zhikharev, Petrovsky, Yermolov. Tolstoy worked with newspapers and magazines published in 1812.
Description of the Battle of Borodino
Tolstoy wanted to depict the Borodino field in detail, with knowledge of every hillock mentioned by the generals in reports and dispatches. The writer personally went to historical place, spent a lot of time there to plunge into the atmosphere of the battle. Then he wrote a letter to his wife, where he spoke of the inspiration that captured his imagination. In the letter, the author promised to create such a large-scale description of the battle, which no one had created before him.Among the writer's manuscripts, bibliographers found technical notes that he sketched while on the Borodino field. Tolstoy pointed out that the horizon is visible for 25 miles. At the bottom of the note is a drawing of the horizon. On the same sheet, dots are drawn indicating the located villages, which the author mentioned in the plot of the novel.
All day long Tolstoy watched exactly how the sun moved around the plain. At what time the sun's rays play on the hills, how the shadow falls. As it rises dawn where the evening glow comes from.
6 years Leo Tolstoy worked on the creation of his offspring until 1869. Many times the plot was redrawn and changed. 8 times the author rewrote the entire novel, while working with a pen and ink. The writer remade some episodes more than 20 times.
One of the most fundamental and highly artistic prose works in the history of Russian literature is the epic novel “War and Peace”. The high ideological and compositional perfection of the work is the fruit of many years of work. The history of the creation of Tolstoy's War and Peace reflects the hard work on the novel from 1863 to 1870.
Interest in the themes of the Decembrists
The work is based on the Patriotic War of 1812, its reflection on the fate of people, the awakening of moral and patriotic feelings, the spiritual unity of the Russian people. However, before starting to create a story about the Patriotic War, the author changed his plans many times. For many years he was worried about the topic of the Decembrists, their role in the development of the state and the outcome of the uprising.
Tolstoy decided to write a work reflecting the story of the Decembrist, who returned in 1856 after a 30-year exile. The beginning of the story, according to Tolstoy's plan, was to begin in 1856. Later, the author decides to start his story from 1825 in order to show what reasons led the hero to exile. But having plunged into the abyss of historical events, the author felt the need to depict not only the fate of one hero, but the very Decembrist uprising, its origins.
original intent
The work was conceived as a story, and later the novel "The Decembrists", on which he worked in 1860-1861. Over time, the author is not satisfied only with the events of 1825 and comes to the understanding that it is necessary to reveal in the work the earlier historical events that formed the wave of the patriotic movement and the awakening of civil consciousness in Russia. But the author did not stop there either, realizing the inseparable connection between the events of 1812 and their origins, which date back to 1805. Thus, the idea of creative recreation of artistic and historical reality is planned by the author into a half-century large-scale picture, reflecting the events from 1805 to the 1850s.
"Three pores" in the history of Russia
The author called this idea of recreating historical reality “Three pores”. The first of them was supposed to reflect the historical realities of the 19th century, which personified the conditions for the formation of young Decembrists. The next time is the 1820s - the moment of the formation of civic activity and the moral position of the Decembrists. The culmination of this historical period, according to Tolstoy, was a direct description of the Decembrist uprising, its defeat and consequences. The third period was conceived by the author as a recreation of the reality of the 50s, marked by the return of the Decembrists from exile under an amnesty in connection with the death of Nicholas I. The third part was to become the personification of the time of the long-awaited changes in the political atmosphere of Russia.
Such a global intention of the author, which consists in depicting a very wide time period filled with numerous and significant historical events, required great effort and artistic strength from the writer. The work, in the final of which it was planned to return Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha Rostova from exile, did not fit into the framework of not only a traditional historical story, but even a novel. Understanding this and realizing the importance of a detailed reconstruction of the pictures of the war of 1812 and its starting points, Lev Nikolayevich decides to narrow the historical scope of the planned work.
final art plan
In the final idea of the author, the extreme time point is the 20s of the 19th century, which the reader learns about only in the prologue, while the main events of the work coincide with historical reality from 1805 to 1812. Despite the fact that the author decided to convey the essence of the historical era more briefly, the book could not correspond to any of the traditional historical genres. The work, which combines detailed descriptions of all aspects of wartime and peacetime, resulted in a four-volume epic novel,
Work on a novel
Despite the fact that the author established himself with the final version of the artistic concept, the work on the work was not easy. During the seven-year period of its creation, the author repeatedly abandoned work on the novel and returned to it again. Numerous manuscripts of the work, kept in the writer's archive, numbering more than five thousand pages, testify to the features of the work. According to them, the history of the creation of the novel "War and Peace" can be traced.
There were 15 draft versions of the novel in the archive, which testifies to the author's ultimate responsibility for working on the work, a high degree of introspection and criticism. Realizing the importance of the topic, Tolstoy wanted to be as close as possible to the true historical facts, the philosophical and moral views of society, and the civic moods of the first quarter of the 19th century. To write the novel "War and Peace", the writer had to study a lot of memoirs of eyewitnesses of the war, historical documents and scientific works, personal letters. “When I write history, I like to be true to reality to the smallest detail,” Tolstoy said. As a result, it turned out that the writer unwittingly collected a whole collection of books dedicated to the events of 1812.
In addition to working on historical sources, for a reliable depiction of the events of the war, the author visited the places of military battles. It was these trips that formed the basis of the unique landscape sketches that turn the novel from a historical chronicle into a highly artistic work of literature.
The title of the work chosen by the author embodies the main idea. Peace, which lies in spiritual harmony and in the absence of hostilities in one's native land, can make a person truly happy. L. N. Tolstoy, who at the time of creating the work wrote: “The goal of the artist is not to undeniably resolve the issue, but to make you love life in countless, never exhausted all its manifestations,” undoubtedly managed to realize his ideological intent.
(No ratings yet)
