Spiritual quest of Pierre Bezukhov in the novel “War and Peace. The spiritual quest of Pierre Bezukhov in the novel "War and Peace Did Pierre have his own Austerlitz"

Pierre Bezukhov

In the monumental epic novel "War and Peace" L.N. Tolstoy reflected many big and small problems from the life of Russian society early XIX century. The search for the meaning of life, true and false heroism, love and hate, life and death are just the most important of the problems facing the main characters of the novel. And everyone solves them in their own way. We treat the characters in the novel differently. But at the climax of the work of the war of 1812, almost everyone inspires us with deep respect, since the entire Russian people rose in a single patriotic impulse. The war affected the fate of all the characters in the book.

One of my favorite characters is Pierre Bezukhov. He appears on the very first pages of "War and Peace" in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. A young man, absurd and unattractive, "fat, taller than usual, broad, with huge red hands." Big and clumsy, he does not fit in with the elegant interior of the cabin, confuses and shocks others. But he also inspires fear. Anna Pavlovna is frightened by the look of a young man: smart, timid, observant, natural. Such is Pierre, the illegitimate son of a Russian nobleman. In the Scherer salon, he is accepted only just in case, and suddenly Count Kirill officially recognizes his son. Much at first seems strange to us in Pierre: he was brought up in Paris and does not know how to behave in society. And only later we will understand that spontaneity, sincerity, ardor are the essential features of Pierre. Nothing will ever force him to change himself, to live according to a general, average form, to conduct meaningless conversations. The image of Pierre is central throughout figurative system novel. And, above all, because he was at the center of the plot of the original plan of the book about the Decembrist, who returned from exile. The novel "War and Peace" is built in the form of a family chronicle. The history of the people is perceived through the prism of family history. Pierre is unique in this background. There is no one behind him alone, officially recognized and loved by his father, he will never recognize his parent, he will not be able to learn anything from him. Pierre is initially deprived of a family, he begins with himself. This is the essence of the personality of this hero, reflects not the features of his family, but the general features of his character.

Like other heroes of Tolstoy, Pierre will go his way "from Napoleon to Kutuzov." This path is marked by no less mistakes and delusions than the path of Prince Andrei.

Pierre's first tragic mistake was marriage to Helen. The author tells in detail how the depraved Helen and Prince Vasily lured the naive Pierre, how they ran in time with the icon to bless them. And having described all this, Tolstoy peers intently at the unfortunate Pierre. Who does he blame for his ridiculous marriage? And Pierre wins his first victory, he blames himself. Pierre's spiritual attitude is initially based on the principle of true morality: first of all, judge yourself.

The second serious test will be an unexpected duel for Pierre. Insulted by Dolokhov, he challenges and finds himself again involved in someone else's and alien game. It would seem that the outcome of the duel is the triumph of justice: for the first time, picking up a gun, Pierre falls into his offender. But after all this, his whole life seems meaningless to the count. Pierre is going through a deep spiritual crisis. This crisis and strong dissatisfaction with yourself, and the desire to change your life.

Torzhok became for Pierre his Austerlitz. At this post station, he renounced his early moral Bonapartism and chose a new path. This path was shown to him by the freemason Bazdeev, who becomes his mentor. Pierre's appeal to the Freemasons is understandable. Bazdeev invites him to start life from scratch, to be reborn in a new, purified state. But it is also historically justified. It is known that almost all the Decembrists went through Freemasonry, and they were looking for the same thing in Freemasonry as Pierre did for moral purification. Leo Tolstoy builds the fate of Pierre with a chain of illogical regularities, historical regularities. Not being a military man, he goes to the Borodino field, because historically victory requires the participation of all those who value the fatherland. And Tolstoy made us see this battle through the eyes of Pierre, since it is he who sees the moral basis of this event. Pierre will stay in Moscow to kill Napoleon and save the girl. And, finally, in captivity, he will find the way to inner freedom, join the people's truth and people's morality. Meeting with Platon Karataev, the bearer of the people's truth, an era in the life of Pierre. Like Bazdeev, Karataev will enter his life as a spiritual teacher. But all the inner energy of Pierre's personality, the whole structure of his soul, is such that, happily accepting the experience of his teachers, he does not submit to them, but, enriched, goes further on his own path. And this path, according to Tolstoy, is the only one possible for a truly moral person.

Pierre Bezukhov

In the monumental epic novel "War and Peace" L.N. Tolstoy reflected many big and small problems from the life of Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century. The search for the meaning of life, true and false heroism, love and hate, life and death - these are just the most important of the problems facing the main characters of the novel. And everyone solves them in their own way. We treat the characters in the novel differently. But at the climax of the work - the war of 1812 - almost everyone inspires us with deep respect, since the entire Russian people rose in a single patriotic impulse. The war affected the fate of all the characters in the book.

One of my favorite characters is Pierre Bezukhov. He appears on the very first pages of "War and Peace" in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Sherer. A young man, absurd and unattractive, "fat, taller than usual, broad, with huge red hands." Big and clumsy, he does not fit in with the elegant interior of the cabin, confuses and shocks others. But he also inspires fear. Anna Pavlovna is frightened by the look of a young man: smart, timid, observant, natural. Such is Pierre, the illegitimate son of a Russian nobleman. In the Scherer salon, he is accepted only just in case, and suddenly Count Kirill officially recognizes his son. Much at first seems strange to us in Pierre: he was brought up in Paris and does not know how to behave in society. And only later we will understand that spontaneity, sincerity, ardor are the essential features of Pierre. Nothing will ever force him to change himself, to live according to a general, average form, to conduct meaningless conversations. The image of Pierre is central to the entire figurative system of the novel. And, above all, because he was at the center of the plot of the original plan of the book about the Decembrist, who returned from exile. The novel "War and Peace" is built in the form of a family chronicle. The history of the people is perceived through the prism of family history. Pierre is unique in this background. There is no one behind him alone, officially recognized and loved by his father, he will never recognize his parent, he will not be able to learn anything from him. Pierre is initially deprived of a family, he begins with himself. This is the essence of the personality of this hero, reflects not the features of his family, but the general features of his character.

Like other heroes of Tolstoy, Pierre will go his way "from Napoleon to Kutuzov." This path is marked by no less mistakes and delusions than the path of Prince Andrei.

Pierre's first tragic mistake was marriage to Helen. The author tells in detail how the depraved Helen and Prince Vasily lured the naive Pierre, how they ran in time with the icon to bless them. And having described all this, Tolstoy peers intently at the unfortunate Pierre. Who does he blame for his ridiculous marriage? And Pierre wins his first victory - he blames himself. Pierre's spiritual attitude is initially based on the principle of true morality: first of all, judge yourself.

The second serious test will be an unexpected duel for Pierre. Insulted by Dolokhov, he challenges and finds himself again involved in someone else's and alien game. It would seem that the outcome of the duel is the triumph of justice: for the first time, picking up a pistol, Pierre falls into his offender. But after all this, his whole life seems meaningless to the count. Pierre is going through a deep mental crisis. This crisis is both a strong dissatisfaction with oneself and a desire to change one's life.

Torzhok became for Pierre his Austerlitz. At this post station, he renounced his early moral Bonapartism and chose a new path. This path was shown to him by the freemason Bazdeev, who becomes his mentor. Pierre's appeal to the Freemasons is understandable. Bazdeev invites him to start life from scratch, to be reborn in a new, purified state. But it is also historically justified. It is known that almost all the Decembrists went through Freemasonry, and they were looking for the same thing in Freemasonry as Pierre - moral purification. Leo Tolstoy builds the fate of Pierre with a chain of illogical regularities, historical regularities. Not being a military man, he goes to the Borodino field, because historically victory requires the participation of all those who value the fatherland. And Tolstoy made us see this battle through the eyes of Pierre, since it is he who sees the moral basis of this event. Pierre will stay in Moscow to kill Napoleon and save the girl. And, finally, in captivity, he will find the way to inner freedom, join the people's truth and people's morality. The meeting with Platon Karataev, the bearer of the people's truth, is an era in Pierre's life. Like Bazdeev, Karataev will enter his life as a spiritual teacher. But all the inner energy of Pierre's personality, the whole structure of his soul, is such that, happily accepting the experience of his teachers, he does not submit to them, but, enriched, goes further on his own path. And this path, according to Tolstoy, is the only one possible for a truly moral person.

Pierre Bezukhov

Like other heroes of Tolstoy, Pierre will go his way "from Napoleon to Kutuzov." This path is marked by no less mistakes and delusions than the path of Prince Andrei.

Pierre's first tragic mistake was marriage to Helen. The author tells in detail how the depraved Helen and Prince Vasily lured the naive Pierre, how they ran in time with the icon to bless them. And having described all this, Tolstoy peers intently at the unfortunate Pierre. Who does he blame for his ridiculous marriage? And Pierre wins his first victory - he blames himself. Pierre's spiritual attitude is initially based on the principle of true morality: first of all, judge yourself.

The second serious test will be an unexpected duel for Pierre. Insulted by Dolokhov, he challenges and finds himself again involved in someone else's and alien game. It would seem that the outcome of the duel is the triumph of justice: for the first time, picking up a pistol, Pierre falls into his offender. But after all this, his whole life seems meaningless to the count. Pierre is going through a deep mental crisis. This crisis is both a strong dissatisfaction with oneself and a desire to change one's life.

Torzhok became for Pierre his Austerlitz. At this post station, he renounced his early moral Bonapartism and chose a new path. This path was shown to him by the freemason Bazdeev, who becomes his mentor. Pierre's appeal to the Freemasons is understandable. Bazdeev invites him to start life from scratch, to be reborn in a new, purified state. But it is also historically justified. It is known that almost all the Decembrists went through Freemasonry, and they were looking for the same thing in Freemasonry as Pierre - moral purification. Leo Tolstoy builds the fate of Pierre with a chain of illogical regularities, historical regularities. Not being a military man, he goes to the Borodino field, because historically victory requires the participation of all those who value the fatherland. And Tolstoy made us see this battle through the eyes of Pierre, since it is he who sees the moral basis of this event. Pierre will stay in Moscow to kill Napoleon and save the girl. And, finally, in captivity, he will find the way to inner freedom, join the people's truth and people's morality. The meeting with Platon Karataev, the bearer of the people's truth, is an era in Pierre's life. Like Bazdeev, Karataev will enter his life as a spiritual teacher. But all the inner energy of Pierre's personality, the whole structure of his soul, is such that, happily accepting the experience of his teachers, he does not submit to them, but, enriched, goes further on his own path. And this path, according to Tolstoy, is the only one possible for a truly moral person.

“And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!”
Pierre Bezukhov (L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace")

The novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" is a work in which one can trace how historical events. But this novel is not only about history. In it we see the formation of a human personality, the development of certain moral qualities of heroes, the creation of family relationships. Heroes do not stand still, they move, grow spiritually, choose better ways looking for the right solutions to important problems. Andrey Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov go through a long and difficult path. And the main issue of my essay will be the spiritual quest of Pierre Bezukhov in the novel "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. It is no coincidence that the writer chooses Pierre, a kind, gentle, weak person. Difficulties harden the soul, and Bezukhov becomes a different person, he is reborn.

Portrait of Pierre Bezukhov

“... a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, wearing glasses, light trousers in the then fashion, with a high frill and in a brown tailcoat,” this is how we meet Pierre on the pages of the novel. He is very distracted, does not know how to behave in society, as his representatives expect from him, does not know how to sit down, get up, leave when necessary, say when asked. He behaves directly, which greatly irritates the owner of the salon, Anna Pavlovna Sherer. Pierre came to St. Petersburg as the illegitimate son of the wealthy Count Bezukhov. Prince Vasily Kuragin reacted with displeasure to this news, since he himself had views of the legacy of the old count. After the death of his father, Pierre began to own all his fortune, and he took it for granted. “He, as elsewhere, was surrounded by the atmosphere of people who bowed before his wealth, and he treated them with the habit of kingship and absent-minded contempt,” emphasizes Tolstoy.

Pierre's ideals and disappointments

Throughout the novel War and Peace, Pierre Bezukhov's searches are given by Tolstoy through the knowledge of the world, its philosophical understanding. Arriving in St. Petersburg, Pierre was convinced that "Napoleon was great because he rose above the revolution, suppressed its abuses, retaining all that was good - both the equality of citizens, and freedom of speech and the press - and only because of this did he acquire power." For him, Napoleonic ideas were understandable and justified.

After marrying Helen Kuragina, disappointed in love and kindness of thoughts, Pierre admits: “Yes, I never loved her. I knew that she depraved woman but didn't dare to admit it. The duel with Dolokhov brings only rejection of what happened, misunderstanding of the meaning of life. But Pierre never looked for someone to whom he could tell everything, he "processed his grief alone in himself."

Having accidentally met an old freemason, he is carried away by this movement and finds new ideals of life: “He wanted to believe with all his heart, and believed, and experienced a joyful feeling of calm, renewal and return to life.” When asked what he considers the main vice in his life, Pierre did not know what exactly was bad for him: “Wine? Overeating? Idleness? Laziness? Hotness? Malice? Women? - he went over his vices, mentally weighing them and not knowing which one to give priority to. Having established himself in his thoughts, Pierre knew that of all the "rules" of Freemasonry, he "... had love for his neighbor and especially generosity." But soon disappointment came.

In conversation with Andrew Bolkonsky Pierre says: “We must live, we must love, we must believe that we do not live now only on this piece of land, but we have lived and will live forever there, in everything (he pointed to the sky). Seeing that Russian Freemasonry is going the wrong way, Bezukhov leaves this circle and goes to Moscow.

War opened to his eyes, as an action, completely unpredictable and cruel. He sees the militia men who put on white shirts, because they are always ready for death. He hears the roar of guns, pities the wounded. The thought comes to him: “How easy, how little effort it takes to do so much good, and how little we care about it!”. The war presents him with undisguised truths that he did not notice before. Now he decides that he must fix the whole situation, stop this war, save all of Europe. It is he, and no one else. “Yes, one for all, I must commit or perish!” Pierre says to himself and prepares to kill Napoleon, as the only culprit of all the troubles of Russia. Fortunately, his idea was not successful. Pierre is captured.

Pierre and Platon Karataev

Four months of captivity give Pierre a good life lesson. He meets there a simple peasant - Platon Karataev, who, with his philosophical reasoning, leads Pierre to other truths. Now Bezukhov understands that the main thing is not wealth and success, recognition in society, position, the main thing is where to sleep, what to wear, what to eat. And this is human happiness - just to live, without any conventions and prejudices, dependence on money and nobility. Live in goodness, in harmony with yourself. “Platon Karataev remained forever in Pierre’s soul the strongest and dearest memory of everything Russian, kind and round,” writes Tolstoy, emphasizing Pierre’s attitude to the Russian people, his knowledge of patriotic feelings.

Pierre Natasha Rostova

Pierre Bezukhov knew real happiness with Natasha Rostova. He fell in love at first sight, but kept this love in his soul. Pierre sincerely wished happiness to his friend Andrei Bolkonsky when he proposed to Rostova. Pierre's love was real. Neither the betrayal of Helen, nor the insincerity of Anatole and Dolokhov, nor the war, nor captivity broke her. Pierre carried this pure feeling through all the trials. And happiness fell into his hands when Natasha Rostova became his wife. True human happiness now for Pierre was at home, every day in his wife, in his children, in his quiet family comfort, in his love. Moral quest Pierre Bezukhov came to an inextinguishable truth: "... Pierre felt a joyful, firm consciousness that he was not a bad person, and he felt this because he saw himself reflected in his wife."

In my essay on the topic “The Spiritual Quest of Pierre Bezukhov”, one can trace the entire path of the formation of the personality of our hero. His doubts, joys, disappointments, new ideals. Tolstoy shows how Pierre is changing. Who do we meet him at the beginning of the novel, and who do we part with at the end.

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