Ways of searching for the life of andrei Bolkonsky. The life path of Andrei Bolkonsky

Andrey Bolkonsky burdensomeness, hypocrisy and lies that reign in secular society. These low, meaningless goals that it pursues.

Ideal Bolkonsky is Napoleon, Andrew wishes like him, saving others to achieve glory and recognition. This is his desire and there is a secret reason why he went to the war of 1805-1807.

During the battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrew decides that the hour of his glory has come and rushes headlong under the bullets, although not only ambitious intentions, but also shame for his army, which began to run, served as the impetus for this. Bolkonsky was wounded in the head. When he woke up, he began to understand the world around him in a different way, he finally noticed the beauty of nature... He concludes that wars, victories, defeats and glory are nothing, emptiness, vanity of vanities.

After the death of his wife, Prince Andrew is experiencing a strong emotional shock, he decides for himself what will happen live for the closest people, but his lively nature does not want to put up with such a boring and everyday life, and in the end all this leads to deep mental crisis... But meeting a friend and having a sincere conversation help to overcome it in part. Pierre Bezukhov convinces Bolkonsky that life is not over, that it is necessary to fight further, no matter what.

A moonlit night in Otradnoye and a conversation with Natasha, and after a meeting with an old oak, Bolkonsky is brought back to life, he begins to realize that he does not want to be such an “old oak”. Ambition, a thirst for glory and a desire to live and fight again appear in Prince Andrei, and he goes to serve in St. Petersburg. But Bolkonsky, participating in the drafting of laws, understands that this is not what the people need.

Natasha Rostova played a very important role in the spiritual development of Prince Andrew. She showed him the purity of thoughts that must be adhered to: love for the people, the desire to live, to do something good for others. Andrei Bolkonsky passionately and tenderly fell in love with Natalia, but could not forgive the betrayal, because he decided that Natasha's feelings were not as sincere and disinterested as he had previously believed.

Going to the front in 1812, Andrei Bolkonsky does not pursue ambitious intentions, he goes to defend the Motherland, to defend his people. And already being in the army, he does not strive for high ranks, but fights alongside ordinary people: soldiers and officers.

The behavior of Prince Andrey in the Battle of Borodino is a feat, but a feat not in the sense as we usually understand it, but a feat before himself, before his honor, an indicator of a long path of self-improvement.

After mortally wounded Bolkonsky imbued with an all-forgiving religious spirit, changed a lot, revised his views on life in general. He gave forgiveness to Natasha and Kuragin, and died with peace in his heart.

In the novel "War and Peace" you can explore and personally see the life path and spiritual formation of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky from the secular, indifferent and vain To wise, honest and deep spiritually person.

a) Andrei, trying to get out of the secular and family life that has bored him, is going to the war. He dreams of glory similar to Napoleon's, dreams of accomplishing a feat, he realized that the natural life of nature and man is more significant and important than the war and the glory of Napoleon. ( From lectures: Gord, he dreams the same as Raskolnikov - to Austerlitz, then - a spiritual upheaval. A man of enlightened views, he laughed at Marya.) But soon a reassessment of values ​​takes place in his soul. That from which he so diligently fenced off - a simple and quiet family life - now seemed to him a desirable world, full of happiness and harmony. Further events - the birth of a child, the death of his wife - forced Prince Andrei to come to the conclusion that life in its simple manifestations, life for himself, for his family is the only thing left for him. Andrei tried to live a simple, calm life, caring for his son and improving the lives of his serfs: he made 300 people free farmers, the rest replaced corvée with rent. But the state of depression, the feeling of the impossibility of happiness indicated that all the transformations could not fully occupy his mind and heart. ( From lectures: Andrey realized that the essence of life is to love and forgive, but he did not know how to forgive. Therefore, Andrei dies.)

b) The image of Pierre is presented in production in the process of post-development. Throughout the novel, one can observe the train of thoughts of this hero, the slightest fluctuations of his soul. He is looking not just for a position in life, but for the meaning of life in general. At the beginning of the novel, he is a weak-willed young man, but then the "Masonic" period occurs, where he retains many moral concepts. The culmination of the novel was the depiction of the Battle of Borodino. And in the life of Bezukhov, it also became a decisive moment. The hero takes part in the battle, amazed at the soldiers who are going to certain death, are still able to smile, sees how they dig trenches with laughter. Pierre begins to understand that a person cannot own anything while he is afraid of death. The one who is not afraid of her owns everything. The hero realizes that there is nothing terrible in life, he sees that it is these people, ordinary soldiers, who live a true life. An important stage in his life is a meeting with Platon Karataev. An introduction to the people's truth, the people's ability to live, helps Pierre's inner liberation. Pierre was always looking for a solution to the question of the meaning of life. For Pierre, there is truth in moral cleansing. Having learned the truth of Karataev, Pierre in the epilogue of the novel goes beyond this truth, goes his own way. Finish. Pierre achieves harmony in marriage with Natasha Rostova. Thus, Pierre learns the main truth: the ability to combine the personal with the public, his beliefs with the beliefs of other people. His analytical mind, coupled with a vivid emotional perception of the world, lead him to the acquisition of the truth and meaning of life.

(From lectures: Platon Karataev >>>> Pierre's reassessment of values, humility. Plato is an expression of the people's philosophical life, "You must always love life, even when you suffer innocently!" (= Elder Zosima at Dostoevsky). Pierre's dream about the teacher of geography and the world >>>> a person's life has meaning only as a part of the life of other people.)

Pierre

LN Tolstoy is a writer of a huge, worldwide scale, since the subject of his research was man, his soul. For Tolstoy, man is a part of the Universe. He is interested in the way the human soul goes in striving for the lofty, ideal, in the desire to know itself.

Pierre Bezukhov – an honest, highly educated nobleman. This is a spontaneous nature, capable of feel acute, easy to get excited. Pierre has deep thoughts and doubts, search for the meaning of life... His life path is complicated and winding. At first, under the influence of youth and the environment, he makes a lot of mistakes: leads a reckless life of a secular buffoon and a loafer, allows Prince Kuragin to rob himself and marry his daughter Helen. Pierre shoots himself in a duel with Dolokhov, breaks up with his wife, disappointed in life... His hated by all the recognized lies of secular society, and he understands the need to fight.

At this critical moment, Pierre falls into the hands of the freemason Bazdeev. This "preacher" cleverly sets before the trusting count the networks of a religious and mystical society, which called for the moral improvement of people and their unification on the basis of brotherly love. Pierre understood Freemasonry as a doctrine of equality, brotherhood and love... This helped him to direct his forces for the improvement of serfs... He freed the peasants, established hospitals, shelters, schools.

War of 1812 forces Pierre to get down to business again ardently, but his passionate appeal to help the Motherland arouses the general discontent of the Moscow nobility. He fails again. However, seized by a patriotic feeling, Pierre equips a thousand militias with his own money and himself remains in Moscow to kill Napoleon: "Either to perish, or to end the misfortunes of all of Europe, which, according to Pierre, originated from Napoleon alone."

An important stage on the path of Pierre's searches is his visit to the Borodino field at the moment of the famous battle. He realized here that history is created by the most powerful force in the world - the people... Bezukhov approvingly accepts the soldier's wise words: “They want to pile on all the people, one word - Moscow. They want to make one end ”. The sight of lively and sweaty peasants-militias, with loud laughter and talk of working on the field, “had an effect on Pierre more than anything that he had seen and heard so far about the solemnity and significance of the present moment”.

If Pierre's closer rapprochement with ordinary people occurs after meeting with a soldier, a former peasant, Platon Karataev, who, according to Tolstoy, is a particle of the masses... Pierre is typing from Karataev peasant wisdom, in communication with him "he gains that calmness and self-satisfaction, to which he had vainly strived before."

The life path of Pierre Bezukhov is typical for the best part of the noble youth of that time. It was from such people that the iron cohort of the Decembrists was made up. They have much in common with the author of the epic, who was faithful to the oath he had given in his youth: “ In order to live honestly, one has to struggle, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit again, and start again and quit again and always struggle and lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness».

Andrei Bolkonsky, his spiritual quest, personality evolution are described throughout Leo Tolstoy's novel. For the author, changes in the consciousness and attitude of the hero are important, because, in his opinion, this is what speaks about the moral health of the individual. Therefore, all the positive heroes of "War and Peace" go through the path of searching for the meaning of life, the dialectic of the soul, with all the disappointments, loss and finding of happiness. Tolstoy points out the presence of a positive beginning in the character by the fact that, despite the troubles of life, the hero does not lose his dignity. Such are Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov. The general and main thing in their searches is that the heroes come to the idea of ​​unity with the people. Let us consider what the spiritual searches of Prince Andrew led to.

Focus on Napoleon's ideas

Prince Bolkonsky first appears before the reader at the very beginning of the epic, in the salon of Anna Scherer, the maid of honor. Before us is a short man, with somewhat dry features, very handsome in appearance. Everything in his behavior speaks of complete disappointment with life, both spiritual and family. Having married a beautiful selfish woman, Lisa Meinen, Bolkonsky soon gets tired of her and completely changes his attitude towards marriage. Even Pierre Bezukhov's friend, he conjures never to marry.

Prince Bolkonsky longs for something new, for him constant appearances, family life is a vicious circle from which a young man strives to escape. How? Going to the front. This is the uniqueness of the novel "War and Peace": Andrei Bolkonsky, as well as other characters, their dialectic of the soul, are shown within a certain historical setting.

At the beginning of Tolstoy's epic, Andrei Bolkonsky is an ardent Bonapartist, admiring Napoleon's military talent, an adherent of his idea of ​​gaining power through military exploit. Bolkonsky wants to get "his Toulon".

Service and Austerlitz

With the arrival in the army, a new milestone in the search for the young prince is read. The life path of Andrei Bolkonsky made a decisive turn in the direction of bold, courageous deeds. The prince shows exceptional talent in the officer corps, he shows courage, valor and courage.

Even in the smallest details, Tolstoy emphasizes that Bolkonsky made the right choice: his face has become different, has ceased to express weariness from everything, feigned gestures and manners have disappeared. The young man did not have time to think about how to behave correctly, he became real.

Kutuzov himself makes a note of what Andrei Bolkonsky is a talented adjutant: the great commander writes a letter to the young man's father, where he notes that the prince is making exceptional progress. Andrey takes all victories and defeats to heart: he sincerely rejoices and experiences pain in his soul. He sees in Bonaparte the enemy, but at the same time continues to admire the genius of the commander. He still dreams of "his Toulon". Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace" expresses the author's attitude to outstanding personalities, it is from his lips that the reader learns about the most important battles.

The center of this stage in the life of the prince is the one who showed high heroism, seriously wounded, he lies on the battlefield and sees the bottomless sky. Then Andrey comes to the realization that he must reconsider his life priorities, turn to his wife, whom he despised and humiliated by his behavior. Yes, and once an idol, Napoleon, he sees as an insignificant human being. Bonaparte appreciated the feat of the young officer, only Bolkonsky did not care. He dreams only of quiet happiness and an impeccable family life. Andrey decides to end his military career and return home, to his wife, in

The decision to live for yourself and your loved ones

Fate prepares Bolkonsky with another heavy blow. His wife, Lisa, dies in childbirth. She leaves Andrei a son. The prince did not have time to ask for forgiveness, because he arrived too late, he is tormented by a sense of guilt. The life path of Andrei Bolkonsky further is taking care of his loved ones.

Raising his son, building an estate, helping his father in forming the ranks of the militia - these are his life priorities at this stage. Andrei Bolkonsky lives in seclusion, which allows him to focus on his spiritual world and the search for the meaning of life.

The progressive views of the young prince are manifested: he improves the life of his serfs (replaces corvee with quitrent), gives three hundred people a status Yet he is still far from accepting a sense of unity with the common people: every now and then in his speech thoughts of disdain for the peasantry and ordinary soldiers slip through ...

Fateful conversation with Pierre

The life path of Andrei Bolkonsky turns into another plane during the visit of Pierre Bezukhov. The reader immediately notes the kinship of the souls of young people. Pierre, in a state of elation due to the reforms carried out on his estates, infects Andrei with enthusiasm.

Young people discuss for a long time the principles and meaning of changes in the life of the peasantry. Andrei disagrees with something; he does not accept Pierre's most liberal views on serfs at all. However, practice has shown that, unlike Bezukhov, Bolkonsky was able to really make the life of his peasants easier. All thanks to his active nature and practical view of the serf system.

Nevertheless, the meeting with Pierre helped Prince Andrei to penetrate well into his inner world, to start moving towards transformations of the soul.

Rebirth to a new life

A breath of fresh air, a change in outlook on life produced a meeting with Natasha Rostova - the main character of the novel "War and Peace". Andrei Bolkonsky visits the Rostovs' estate in Otradnoye on business of acquiring land. There he notices the calm, cozy atmosphere in the family. Natasha is so pure, spontaneous, real ... She met him on a starry night during the first ball in her life and immediately captured the heart of the young prince.

Andrei is, as it were, being born again: he understands what Pierre once told him: you need to live not only for yourself and your family, you need to be useful to the whole society. That is why Bolkonsky goes to St. Petersburg to submit his proposals to the military regulations.

Awareness of the meaninglessness of "state activity"

Unfortunately, Andrei did not succeed in meeting the emperor; he was directed to Arakcheev, an unprincipled and stupid man. Of course, he did not accept the young prince's ideas. However, there was another meeting that influenced Bolkonsky's worldview. We are talking about Speransky. He saw in the young man a good potential for public service. As a result, Bolkonsky was appointed to a position related to drafting In addition, Andrei heads the commission for drafting martial law laws.

But soon Bolkonsky was disappointed with his service: a formal approach to work did not satisfy Andrei. He feels that here he is doing unnecessary work, he will not provide real help to anyone. Increasingly, Bolkonsky recalls life in the countryside, where he was really useful.

Having initially admired Speransky, Andrei now saw pretense and unnaturalness. Increasingly, Bolkonsky is haunted by thoughts about the idleness of Petersburg life and the absence of any meaning in his service to the country.

Break with Natasha

Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky were a very beautiful couple, but they were not destined to get married. The girl gave him the desire to live, to create something for the good of the country, to dream of a happy future. She became Andrey's muse. Natasha favorably differed from other girls in Petersburg society: she was pure, sincere, her actions came from the heart, they were devoid of any calculation. The girl sincerely loved Bolkonsky, and did not just see him as a profitable party.

Bolkonsky makes a fatal mistake by postponing the wedding with Natasha for a whole year: this provoked her enthusiasm for Anatoly Kuragin. The young prince could not forgive the girl. Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky break off their engagement. The blame for everything is the prince's excessive pride, unwillingness to hear and understand Natasha. He is again as egocentric as the reader observed Andrei at the beginning of the novel.

The final turning point in consciousness - Borodino

It was with such a heavy heart that Bolkonsky entered 1812, a turning point for the Fatherland. Initially, he wants revenge: he dreams of meeting Anatol Kuragin among the military and avenging his failed marriage, challenging him to a duel. But gradually the life path of Andrei Bolkonsky is once again changing: the impetus for this was the vision of the tragedy of the people.

Kutuzov trusts the young officer in command of the regiment. The prince is completely devoted to his service - now it is his life's work, he is so close to the soldiers that they call him "our prince."

Finally, the day of the apotheosis of the Patriotic War and the search for Andrei Bolkonsky comes - the Battle of Borodino. It is noteworthy that L. Tolstoy puts his vision of this great historical event and the absurdity of wars into the mouth of Prince Andrew. He reflects on the pointlessness of so many sacrifices for the sake of victory.

The reader sees here Bolkonsky, who went through a difficult life path: disappointment, death of loved ones, betrayal, rapprochement with the common people. He feels that he understands and realizes too much now, one might say, heralds his death: “I see that I have begun to understand too much. And it is not good for a man to eat of the tree of good and evil. "

Indeed, Bolkonsky is mortally wounded and, among other soldiers, is taken into the care of the Rostovs' house.

The prince feels the approach of death, he thinks about Natasha for a long time, understands her, "sees the soul", dreams of meeting his beloved, asking for forgiveness. He confesses his love to the girl and dies.

The image of Andrei Bolkonsky is an example of high honor, loyalty to the duty of the Motherland and people.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy created the novel War and Peace from 1863 to 1869. Initially, it was conceived as a novel about the return of the Decembrist from exile in 1856, and the main character was to be Pyotr Ivanovich Lobadov. In the image of Lobadov, Tolstoy wanted to show the tragedy of the hero of the Decembrist uprising, whose era remained in the past and who would no longer be able to find himself in a changed society. But for that. in order to reliably recreate the events of 1825, Tolstoy had to return to the history of the Patriotic War (as one of the Decembrists wrote in his diary: “... we all got out of the war of 1812 ...”). The first chapters of the novel were originally called "1805" and talked about the origins of the war and about the people who participated in it. This is how the main characters of the work appeared, including one of the favorite by the author - Andrei Bolkonsky.

It is important to note that Tolstoy's positive characters are always characterized by a difficult life path, full of wrong actions, mistakes, painful searches for their purpose in life.

We will try to trace the fate of Andrei Bolkonsky and the paths of his moral searches in the novel.

So, for the first time we meet Prince Andrei, a man with a "tired, bored look", in the secular salon of Anna Pavlovna Sherer, where all the best representatives of the highest Petersburg society gather, people with whom the fate of the hero will subsequently intersect: "the beautiful Helen" Kuragin and her brother Anatole, the "chief boozer" of Petersburg, Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, and others. Some appear here to show themselves in the light, others - to make a career for themselves, to get promoted. Having performed the ceremony of greeting “an unknown ... and unnecessary aunt”, the guests gather to start a casual small talk, and the owner of the salon “presents” to her guests Abbot Morio and Viscount Mortemar, “like roast beef on a hot dish”. Prince Andrew is indifferent to this society, he is tired of it, “having got into a vicious circle” from which one cannot escape, he decides to find his mission in the military field, and, leaving his wife, whom he does not love (“... Never marry. .. - he says to Pierre, - do not marry until ... until you stop loving the woman you have chosen ... ”), goes to the war of 1805, hoping to find“ your Toulon ”. It is very important to note here that, on the one hand, being the enemy of Napoleon, Bolkonsky is at the same time captured by the ideas of Napoleonism: before the battle he admits to himself that he is ready to sacrifice his father, sister, wife, he is ready to shed the blood of other people for the sake of his personal victory, so that take the place of Kutuzov, and then - “it doesn't matter what happens next ...”.

When the battle begins, Bolkonsky grabs the banner and, “dragging it along the ground,” runs ahead of the soldier to become famous, but gets wounded “as if with a stick on the head”. Opening his eyes, Andrei sees “a high, endless sky”, except for which “there is nothing, nothing and ... everything is empty, everything is deception ...”, and Napoleon seems just a small, insignificant person compared to eternity. From this moment, liberation from Napoleonic ideas begins in Bolkonsky's soul.

Returning home, Prince Andrei dreams of starting a new life no longer with a “little princess” with a “squirrel look” on her face, but with a woman with whom he finally hopes to create a single family, but does not have time - his wife dies in childbirth, and the reproach that Andrei read on her face: "... what have you done to me?" - will always haunt him, making him feel guilty in front of her.

After the death of Princess Liza, Bolkonsky lives on his estate in Bogucharovo, engaged in the organization of the economy and became disillusioned with life. Having met Pierre, full of new ideas and aspirations, who joined the Masonic society and wants to show that he is “a different, better Pierre than he was before,” Prince Andrew treats his friend with irony, believing that “he must live out his life. .. without worrying and not wanting anything ”. He feels himself to be a person lost for life.

Having gone to Otradnoye to see Count Rostov on business, Bolkonsky drove through a green forest, saw an oak tree, which, spreading out branches, seemed to say: “Everything is the same, and everything is deception! There is no spring, no sun, no happiness ... "

Having agreed to spend the night in Otradnoye, Bolkonsky, going up to the window at night, heard the voice of Natasha Rostova, who, admiring the beauty of the night, wanted to “fly up” to the sky.

Returning back and driving through the forest, Prince Andrey looked for an oak tree and did not find it. The oak blossomed, covered with greenery and seemed to admire itself. And at that moment, Andrei decided that at 31, life was not only not over, but, on the contrary, was just beginning. And the desire to make sure that both the girl who wanted to fly into the sky, and Pierre, and everyone, everyone would know about him and “so that they would not live so independently of his life, so that it would be reflected on everyone ...”, seized him. Returning to St. Petersburg, Andrei entered the bureaucratic service and took up the creation of bills, became friends with Speransky, but soon refused this service, realizing with horror for himself that here, too, when dealing with state issues, people are guided exclusively by their own personal interests.

Bolkonsky's love for Natasha Rostova, whom he met at a ball on the occasion of the 1811 offensive, helped Bolkonsky to revive his life again. Having not received his father's permission to marry, Prince Andrew went abroad.

The year 1812 came, the war began. Disappointed in Natasha's love after her betrayal with Kuragin, Bolkonsky went to war, despite his oath never to serve again. Unlike the war of 1805, now he was not looking for glory for himself, but wanted to take revenge on the French, “his enemies,” for the death of his father, for the mutilated fates of many people. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Bolkonsky did not doubt his victory and believed in the spiritual strength of the Russian people, who rose to defend the Fatherland and Moscow. Now Andrei did not have the individualism that was before, he felt that he was a part of the people. After the mortal wound he received on the battlefield, Andrei Bolkonsky finally found, in Tolstoy's opinion, that higher truth to which every person should come - he came to a Christian worldview, understood the meaning of the fundamental laws of life, which he could not comprehend before, and forgave his enemy: "Compassion, love for brothers, for those who love, love for those who hate us, love for enemies, yes, that love that God preached on earth ... and which I did not understand."

So, having comprehended the laws of the highest, Christian love, Andrei Bolkonsky dies. He is dying because he saw the possibility of eternal love, eternal life, and “to love everyone, to always sacrifice oneself for love meant not to love anyone, it meant not to live this earthly life ...”.

The more Prince Andrew moved away from women, “the more the barrier between life and death was destroyed,” and the way was opened for him to a new, eternal life. It seems to me that in the image of Andrei Bolkonsky, a contradictory person, capable of making mistakes and correcting his mistakes, Tolstoy embodied his main idea about the meaning of moral searches in the life of any person: “To live honestly, you need to break, get confused, fight, make mistakes ... but the main thing is to fight. And calmness is a meanness of the soul ”.

Throughout Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, we meet with different characters. Some just appear and immediately leave, while others pass a whole life before our eyes. And together with them we rejoice for their successes, worry about failures, worry and think about what to do next. It is no coincidence that Leo Tolstoy shows us in his novel "War and Peace" the path of Andrei Bolkonsky's searches. We see a certain rebirth of man, a rethinking of the values ​​of life, a moral ascent to human ideals of life.

Andrei Bolkonsky is one of the most beloved heroes of Leo Tolstoy. We can see his entire life path in the novel "War and Peace", the path of personality formation, the path of the soul's quest.

Andrey's ideals

Andrei Bolkonsky, whom we meet at the beginning of the novel, differs from Andrei Bolkonsky, with whom we part at the beginning of the fourth volume of the work. We see him at a secular evening in the salon of Anna Scherer, proud, arrogant, unwilling to participate in the life of society, considering it unworthy for himself. His ideals include the image of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. In Bald Hills, in a conversation with his father, Bolkonsky says: “... how can you judge Bonaparte like that? Laugh as you like, but Bonaparte is still a great commander!

He treated his wife Liza unkindly, with apparent superiority. Leaving for war, leaving his pregnant wife in the care of the old prince, he asked his father: "If they kill me and if I have a son, do not let him go ... so that he grows up with you ... please." Andrey considers his wife incapable of raising a worthy son.

Bolkonsky has sincere feelings of friendship and love for Pierre Bezukhov, his only devoted friend. “You are dear to me, especially because you are one living person among all our world,” he told him.

The military life of Bolkonsky is very eventful. He becomes an adjutant to Kutuzov, helps to decide the outcome of the Battle of Shengraben, defends Timokhin, goes to see Emperor Franz with the good news of the victory of the Russians (so it seems to him), participates in the Battle of Austerlitz. Then he makes a significant break in the military campaign - at this time, a rethinking of his life takes place. Then return to military service, passion for Speransky, Borodino field, injury and death.

Bolkonsky's disappointments

The first disappointment came to Bolkonsky when he lay under the Austerlitz sky and thought about death. Seeing his idol, Napoleon, who was standing next to him, Bolkonsky for some reason did not experience from his presence the greatness that he had previously considered possible. “At that moment, all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him, his hero himself seemed so petty, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood” - that's what now occupied Bolkonsky.

Returning home after being wounded, Bolkonsky finds his wife Lisa in childbirth. After her death, he realizes that he is partly to blame for what happened, in his attitude towards Lisa. He was too proud, too arrogant, too far from her, and it brings him suffering.

After all, Bolkonsky vows not to fight anymore. Bezukhov tries to revive him to life, talks about Freemasonry, talks about saving the soul in serving people, but Bolkonsky answers all this: “I know only two real misfortunes in life: remorse and illness. And happiness is only the absence of these two evils. "

Preparing for the Battle of Borodino, Prince Andrei painfully went through all the events of his life that happened to him. Tolstoy describes the state of his hero: “Three main griefs of his life, in particular, stopped his attention. His love for a woman, the death of his father and the French invasion that captured half of Russia. " Bolkonsky calls "false" images the fame that once so worried him, the love that he once did not take seriously, the fatherland, which was now under threat. Previously, it seemed to him that all this is great, divine, unattainable, filled with deep meaning. And now it turned out to be so "simple, pale and rude."

Love for Natasha Rostova

A true epiphany to life came to Bolkonsky after meeting with Natasha Rostova. By the nature of his work, Andrei needed to meet with the district leader, which was Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov. On the way to the Rostovs, Andrey saw a huge old oak tree with broken branches. Everything around was fragrant and enjoying the breath of spring, only this oak, apparently, did not want to obey the laws of nature. The oak seemed gloomy and gloomy to Bolkonsky: "Yes, he is right, this oak is right a thousand times, let others, young, again succumb to this deception, but we know life, - our life is over!" This is exactly what Prince Andrew thought.

But upon returning home, Bolkonsky noticed with surprise that "the old oak tree, all transformed ... No gnarled fingers, no sores, no old grief and mistrust - nothing was visible ..." stood in the same place. “No, life is not over at thirty-one,” decided Bolkonsky. The impression Natasha made on him was so strong that he himself did not yet understand what had actually happened. Rostova awakened in him all the old desires and joys of life, the joy of spring, from loved ones, from tender feelings, from love, from life.

Death of Bolkonsky

Many readers wonder why L. Tolstoy prepared such a fate for his beloved hero? Some consider the death of Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace" as a feature of the plot. Yes, Leo Tolstoy loved his hero very much. Bolkonsky's life was not easy. He passed the difficult path of moral quest until he found the eternal truth. The search for peace of mind, spiritual purity, true love - these are now the ideals of Bolkonsky. Andrey lived a worthy life and accepted a worthy death. Dying in the arms of his beloved woman, next to his own sister and son, having comprehended all the charm of life, he knew that he would soon die, he felt the breath of death, but the desire to live in him was great. “Natasha, I love you too much. More than anything, ”he said to Rostova, and a smile shone on his face at that time. He died a happy man.

Having written an essay on the theme “The way of searching for Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel“ War and Peace ”, I saw how a person changes under the influence of life's drinking, events, circumstances, the fate of other people. Everyone can find the truth of life by going through a difficult path, as the hero of Tolstoy did.

Product test

Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky are internally close to each other and alien to the world of the Kuragin and Scherer. They meet at different stages of life: at the time of Prince Andrey's happy love for Natasha, and during the break with her, and on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. And each time they turn out to be the closest people to each other, although each of them goes to goodness and truth in his own way.

Prince Andrew first appears in the same place as Pierre - at a social evening with Anna Pavlovna Scherer. But if Bezukhov is shown as young, energetic, having his own point of view on everything and ready to defend it with fervor, then Prince Andrei looks like a tired, bored, satiated man. He was tired of social life with all its endless balls and parties. He is also unhappy in family life, which lacks understanding.

Andrei Bolkonsky dreams of glory, similar to Napoleonic, he wants to quickly break out of the familiar world for military service. He is waiting in the wings when there will be a chance to make all his dreams come true: “And he imagined a battle, his loss, the concentration of the battle on one point and the confusion of all the leaders. And now that happy moment, that Toulon, which he had been waiting for so long, finally appears to him. He firmly and clearly speaks his opinion to Kutuzov and Weyrother, and to the emperors. Everyone is amazed at the fidelity of his reasoning, but no one undertakes to fulfill it, and so he takes a regiment, a division, articulates a condition so that no one interferes in his orders, and leads his division to the decisive point and one wins. And death and suffering? says another voice. But Prince Andrey does not answer this voice and continues his successes. The disposition of the next battle is made by him alone. He carries the title of duty officer in the army under Kutuzov, but he does everything alone. The next battle is won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed ... Well, and then? another voice speaks again, and then, if you have not been wounded, killed or deceived ten times before; well, and then what? ... I will never tell anyone this, but my God! what am I to do if I love nothing but glory, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear and dear to me many people - father, sister, wife, are the people most dear to me - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a minute of glory, triumph over people, for love of to myself people whom I do not know, and I will not know, for the love of these people. "

From my point of view and that of Tolstoy, such thoughts are unacceptable. Human glory is a changeable phenomenon. Suffice it to recall the French Revolution - the next day the heads of yesterday's idols are chopped off to give way to new idols, who will soon also end their lives under the knife of the guillotine. But in the mind of Prince Andrei there is still a place for an inner voice warning him about the insidiousness of human glory and about the terrible path through death and suffering that he will have to go through.

And now, at the Battle of Austerlitz, such a chance appears. At the decisive moment Bolkonsky takes up the banner and shouts "Hurray!" leads a soldier - forward, to heroism and glory. But by the will of fate, one stray bullet does not allow Prince Andrey to complete his triumphal march. He falls to the ground and sees the sky - in a way that probably no one will ever see again. “How then have I not seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, reassurance. And thank God!.."

At this moment, Prince Andrew realizes how empty, soulless his dreams of glory were. He decides to find happiness in a quiet family life, devoting himself only to a narrow circle of people and concerns.

Returning to Lysye Gory, the estate of his father, Prince Andrey finds the moment of the birth of his son and the death of his wife. Dreams of family happiness crumbled to dust, a deep mental crisis began.

Only a meeting with his old friend Bezukhov, albeit in part, brought Prince Andrei back to life. Pierre's words “one must live, one must love, one must believe” make Bolkonsky again think about the meaning of life, again direct his consciousness to the path of seeking. As Tolstoy wrote, "the meeting with Pierre was an era for Prince Andrei, from which, although in appearance and the same, but in the inner world, his new life began."

But while Prince Andrey continues to live in the village, he still does not see any goals and opportunities in front of him. This is confirmed by his thoughts at the sight of an old, dry oak, with all its appearance speaking, in the consciousness of Bolkonsky, that there can be no spring, no love, no happiness: “Yes, he is right, this oak is right a thousand times,” thought Prince Andrei. - let others, young, again succumb to this deception, but we know life - our life is over! "

Bolkonsky is carrying out in his estates those reforms that Pierre planned to carry out in himself and which he, in the absence of “practical tenacity,” did not complete. Prince Andrey succeeds in everything, he transfers his peasants to free farmers, actually freeing them.

Arriving on business to Count Ilya Andreyevich Rostov, Prince Andrey for the first time sees Natasha running past him in a crowd of peasant girls. And it hurts him because she is young, happy, and she does not care about his existence.

And, finally, the final stage of Bolkonsky's return to life was a second meeting with an oak tree. This tree, previously symbolizing for him hopelessness, the end of his life, has now blossomed and harmoniously merged into that world of love, spring and happiness, which was previously the antonym in the minds of Prince Andrew. “No, life is not over at the age of 31,” Prince Andrei suddenly decided finally, invariably. - Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows it ... it is necessary that everyone knows me, so that my life does not go on for me alone, so that they do not live so independently of my life, so that it was reflected on everyone and so that they all live with me! "

Bolkonsky's active personality could not, of course, remain without some occupation. Prince Andrey enters the civil service and works with Speransky on various bills. But all the innovative ideas proposed by him did not come to life, as they were too bold for that time. Not finding support in promoting his reforms, Bolkonsky ceases his state activities.

At the same time, an important period in the life of Prince Andrei begins - an affair with Natasha Rostova. Bolkonsky, meeting Rostov for the first time at a ball, was immediately fascinated by her charm. The love of Prince Andrey was mutual, and he proposes to Natasha and receives consent. But Bolkonsky's father set a condition - the wedding could take place in at least a year. And this year, Prince Andrew decides to spend abroad, in particular, to improve his health.

However, Natasha Rostova's feeling over this year cooled so much that she fell in love with Anatol Kuragin and decided to flee with him from Russia. But the escape did not take place.

And again, the dreams of Prince Andrei about a happy family life do not come true. As if an inexorable fate haunts him, forcing him to come back to the path of seeking through the pain of loss.

Returning from abroad on the eve of World War II, Bolkonsky again enlists in the army and seeks Anatol there to demand satisfaction. Prince Andrey was wounded at the Borodino field. At the dressing station, the truth of eternal love is revealed to him: “Yes, love,” he thought again with perfect clarity, “but not that love that loves for something, for something, or for some reason, but that love that I I experienced the first time, when, dying, I saw my enemy and still fell in love with him. I experienced that feeling of love, which is the very essence of the soul and for which an object is not needed. I still feel this blissful feeling. Love your neighbors, love your enemies. To love everything is to love God in all manifestations. You can love a dear person with human love; but only the enemy can be loved with divine love. "

Prince Andrew completes his life quest by discovering this amazing, all-embracing and truly divine feeling in himself. But he also completes his life path, "he was too good to live." Tolstoy gave his hero the opportunity to understand the basis of the universe - love, the opportunity to become, albeit for a short time, but a perfect person, and in return he took life.

The last truth revealed to him - "Death is awakening!" - erased in Bolkonsky's soul the fear of the unknown on the other side of life. "And Prince Andrew died."