“You are good to everyone, but you have some kind of pride in thought, and this is a great sin” (based on the novel “War and Peace.” Reflection on the spiritual quest of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky). Moral searches of Andrey Bolkonsky The decision to live for yourself and your loved ones

Topic: "Life and death through the eyes of Andrei Bolkonsky"

Moscow 2011

Bolkonsky is one of the most significant and unsolved characters in the epic novel War and Peace. He is one of the fictional heroes, which allows the author to invest in him his thoughts about the world, to make him a deep, versatile, contradictory person, containing the most opposite and mysterious qualities, without committing himself to history. At the same time, Prince Andrei is not divorced from the real world and the historical events of his era, he lives in real Russia at that time, serves the real Emperor Alexander and even participates in real battles: Shengrabensky, Austerlitsky and Borodinsky. This connection of a fictional character with real life and history, his unique and unambiguous views on which he continuously communicates to the reader, allows you to deeply immerse yourself in the understanding and misunderstanding of the world by the author, people of that time and yourself to think about the unsolvable mysteries of the eternal and transitory.

Andrei Bolkonsky, in addition, belongs to the heroes seeking the meaning of life. Like Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha Rostova, he is constantly in search of himself and the truth, he makes mistakes, the inner develops. It cannot be said about Prince Andrei that he is ready to disinterestedly love the people around him, that he is open to the world and lives with compassion, self-sacrifice, like Princess Marya and Platon Karataev. It cannot be said about him that fame, position in society and personal gain have become for him the goal of life forever, like with Berg or Boris Drubetskoy. Andrei Bolkonsky changes surprisingly radically throughout the novel. Prince Andrew is faced with two of the most contradictory aspects of life, like war and peace - life and death. Nobody's life was so filled with searches, nobody's death caused such different reactions.

The life of Prince Andrei changes dramatically when he has to reconsider values, change his views. Events such as the death of his wife, the birth of a son, war, battles at Schöngraben, Austerlitz and Borodin, love for Natasha, conversations with Pierre and even a "meeting" with an old oak tree strongly influence him. Prince Andrew spoke quite differently about life and death at the beginning of the novel, before he had to really fight for his life for the first time after being wounded at Austerlitz. Prior to this injury, the goal of his life was fame, his face was spoiled by a grimace, his gaze was tired and bored, the people around him were not interested in him: “Apparently, all those who were in the living room were not only familiar, but he was so tired of looking at them and listening to them was very boring for him. " The thoughts of Andrei Bolkonsky during this period, reflecting his inner state, are frightening: “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, I'm not afraid of anything. And no matter how dear and dear to me many people - father, sister, wife - are the most dear to me people - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a minute of glory, triumph over people ... " ... But, observing what is happening on the battlefield, he sees that true heroes, like Tushin, for whom Prince Andrey stands up, do not find recognition; undeserved fame goes to cunning, crafty people such as Zherkov and Berg. Having been wounded in the head, he looks at the sky and at this moment realizes something eternal, significant, after which he realizes the insignificance of his past idol and everything else, earthly in comparison with this sky: “Yes, everything is empty, everything is deception, except for this endless sky. " At this moment, life and death seem to him equally insignificant: “Looking into Napoleon's eyes, Prince Andrew thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain of the living. "

Prince Andrew believed that, seeking glory, he lived for others and thus ruined his life. But is it?

Andrei Bolkonsky does not believe in God, he finds the faith of his sister and the wanderers visiting her ridiculous. But he agrees that virtue has meaning only if there is a god and eternal life. After talking with Pierre on the ferry, he sees the sky for the first time since the Battle of Austerlitz. After he meets Natasha and finally sees an oak tree in luscious dark greenery. From that moment on, Andrei Bolkonsky is again ready to live and seek the meaning of life. Now he believes in the ability to influence the future, is fond of Speransky's activities. But this is not for long.

The culmination in every sense - the war of 1812 - marked the beginning of the end of the life of Prince Andrew. Now war is not a way to achieve glory, now he talks about war: “War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and one must understand this and not play war. This terrible necessity must be taken strictly and seriously. This is all: throw away the lie, and the war is so war, not a toy. " Now death has crept very close to Prince Andrey, he sees it at once, looking at the splinter of a grenade: "Is it really death? ... I can't, I don't want to die, I love life." Now comes the real struggle between life and death, and not reasoning about them, now they are no longer insignificant. Prince Andrey understands that he loves life and wants to live, understands everything that he was trying to understand all this time, too late he realizes what he could not comprehend for many years. And the Christian love for the people of Princess Mary, and the forgiveness of the enemy. From this moment on, a long, incomprehensible, mysterious struggle begins in the mind of Andrei Bolkonsky. But he knew from the very beginning that death would prevail in her.

Everyone took the death of Prince Andrey in their own way, which once again characterizes this character in a special way: Nikolushka cried from the suffering bewilderment that was tearing his heart. The Countess and Sonya cried out of pity for Natasha and that he was no longer there. The old count cried that soon, he felt, and he had to take the same terrible step. Natasha and Princess Marya were crying now, too, but they were not crying out of their own personal grief; they cried from the reverent affection that gripped from the soul before the realization of the simple and solemn sacrament of death that took place before them. " Nobody's death in the novel is described in such detail, with the eyes and thoughts of the people around, with such a deep study of the dying mind's clouded consciousness. In the end, after a long, tiresome absorption of Prince Andrey by death, he turns everything upside down. After his last dream, Prince Andrew realizes that for him death is an awakening from life. “Yes, it was death. I died - I woke up. Yes, death is awakening! "

The internal monologues of Andrei Bolkonsky, his actions, relations with others and his perception of life and death largely help to understand the perception of the author of the novel. His ambiguous life, contradictory thoughts, simple, but also mysterious, long path to death - all this is a reflection of the inner world of many people who are looking for the meaning of life and the key to unraveling the mysteries of the human mind as it sees it.

Bibliography:

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L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is multi-problematic. One of the leading problems will be the problem of the spiritual quests of the main characters, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov.

The first acquaintance with Prince Andrey occurs during that period of his life when he makes a decision:

“I am now going to war, to the greatest war ...,” he admits in a conversation with Pierre. “I am going because this life that I am leading here, this life is not for me! ... Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is the vicious circle from which I cannot get out. " But to try to get out of that "vicious circle", Prince Andrey will need his whole life.

From the very first meeting you notice something in him that makes you think: where is it from him? Why is he so internally rude and ignoble in relation to his wife Lisa? “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bore him the most (and she's his chosen one, expecting a child from him). And in a conversation with Pierre about his wife, he admits: "This is one of those rare women with whom you can be deceased for your honor, but, my God, what would I not give now so as not to be married." And a little later, in a conversation with Princess Marya, she will say “... Do you want to know if I am happy? No! Why is this? Do not know". Why such confusion of thought? Why is there such an internal discord?

And the fact is that Prince Andrew is not at all concerned with the questions of everyday happiness, his mind is occupied with more significant thoughts. Prince Andrew is trying to find an answer to his main question: what is the highest meaning of life, what is he in the world, and what is the world for him? Such thoughts, of course, could only arise in the head of a thinking, progressive person, such as Andrei Bolkonsky. Pierre, for example, was always amazed at his extraordinary memory, erudition (“he read everything, knew everything, had an idea about everything”).

And looking at Andrei Bolkonsky, you can see that he himself is aware that in his mind he is superior to the guests of the Scherer salon. That is why he has a tired, bored look, a quiet measured step and a certain arrogance.

Once, in a conversation with her brother, Princess Marya will tell Prince Andrei: "You are good to everyone, but you have some kind of pride in thought, and this is a great sin." And it becomes clear why Andrei Bolkonsky did not happen to be happy with Natasha. With her, it turned out, you cannot be deceased for your honor. And Natasha's principle, “if you want to be happy, be it - he could neither understand nor accept”.

But happiness did not happen to that “rare woman” either, because the pride of thought and the sin of pride inspired him that the most important thing in life is to be free, and “... tie yourself to a woman - and, like a shackled convict, you lose all freedom” ...

The tragedy of the fate of Andrei Bolkonsky, a man endowed with the pride of thought, is a moral lesson that can serve for all time. What can the pride of thought lead to? It leads to a reassessment of moral values, turns life, like a spiral, so complex, confusing, contradictory. The sin of pride is fraught with arrogance, ambition, and selfishness in a person. The pride of thought dominates the mind of a person, cripples his soul, turns life into a "vicious circle", from which a person is powerless to get out.

Where does this "very handsome young man" have such pride in his thoughts? It can be explained in a short phrase: he lived, behaved like the son of Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky. "If they kill you, me, the old man, it will hurt ... And if I find out that I did not behave like the son of Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be ... ashamed." He brought up his children, using the rules of only three words: it is necessary, it is necessary, it is necessary, - instilling in them that the main thing in a person is honor, male and human dignity. All this is in Prince Andrei: the same paternal pride, the same pride of thought.

Andrei Bolkonsky always, no matter what he did, did, pursuing one desire - the desire to be useful. With this desire, he decides to go "to the greatest war that has ever been." But he also had his own, purely - secret desire, personal. A proud sin inspires him that he, like Napoleon, whom he chose as his idol, with his mind is able to influence the course of history, that he also has his own Toulons. “I want fame, I want to be known to people, I want to be loved by them ...” - this is what he thinks about before Austerlitz. Andrei Bolkonsky did not want any awards - fame. There is a logic: "Not for the sake of glory - for the sake of life on earth." But there is another; elected by Prince Andrew. This is already the logic of vanity, egoism.

What Prince Andrew is thinking, dreaming about. Only about himself, beloved. Just a few episodes ... Here he is, in a conversation with his father, as a great strategist, outlining the "operational plan of the proposed campaign." What are his thoughts busy with? Dreaming of what impression he would make on the general (he was sure that he would be introduced to the emperor.) He chose the words with which he would address him. But in reality everything will turn out to be exactly the opposite. Prince Andrew was introduced only to the Minister of War, who generally did not pay attention to the newcomer for the first two minutes. Ambition is piqued.

And at the same instant “the joyful feeling of Prince Andrey weakened considerably, turned into a feeling of insult and even contempt. The mindset is changing dramatically: victory in a battle seems to him to be a distant memory. But does this mean that emotional experiences have prevailed over the sense of reason "? Not at all. As before, the pride of thought inspires about its exclusivity, its special purpose. And, having learned about the breakthrough of the French, he decides to return to the army, without undue modesty, he will say: "I am going to save the army." And on the eve of the Shengraben battle, Prince Andrey still thinks about his own, especially intimate: “But where? How will my Toulon put it? " And on the eve of Austerlitz, Prince Andrew first of all thinks about how he will look in his own eyes. “There I will be sent with a brigade or a division, and there, with a banner in my hand, I will go forward and break everything in front of me.”

All will be. But not in the way that the proud thought of Prince Andrew suggested and represented. He will see the fleeing, retreating soldiers, the wounded Kutuzov. Hear his words: "The wound is not here, but where!" - while pointing at the fleeing soldiers. No, Andrey will not save, and although he will not have that firm confidence in him, but, on the contrary, feeling tears of shame and anger, he will scream a childishly piercing cry. The voice of conscience will call him forward. And he will run towards the French, trying to stop the retreating soldiers.
And no longer the thought of how he will look in his own eyes, but the voice of conscience, a high understanding of military duty will force him to behave as the son of Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky should have behaved.

Prince Andrew did not see how the struggle between the French and the gunners ended, the guns were taken or saved. " What is it? Am I falling? ”He thought and fell on his back. “Above him there was nothing but the sky - the high sky ... How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all the way I ran, how we ran ... How could I not have seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. And most importantly, it became quiet and solemn in himself.

And a little later, Prince Andrew will meet with his "idol". "But at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person ... He seemed so insignificant at that moment all the interests that occupied Napoleon, so petty seemed to him his heroes, with this petty vanity and joy of victory ..."

And a new stage of his life will begin for Prince Andrey, a new life will begin in his inner world. And the impetus for the revival will be the dispute with Pierre about what life is. The night spent in Otradnoye breathed life into the soul of Andrei Bolkonsky, young Natasha is a girl excited by the beauty of the night.

It was then that such an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes, which contradicted his whole life, suddenly arose in his soul. " And, perhaps, not a meeting with an oak, but earthly life heals Prince Andrew. Having received the estate in Bogucharovo from his father, he is engaged in the affairs of the estate. One estate of three hundred souls of peasants is listed as free farmers, in another - corvée is replaced by quitrent. In Bogucharovo, a learned grandmother was discharged to help the mothers, the priest taught the children to read and write. The convictions of Prince Andrei are gradually changing: not proud thoughts about fame, about transforming the world, but friendly participation, female beauty and love can change life.

But did this mean that now the soul of Andrei Bolkonsky triumphed over reason? Far from it,
everything will go in a new circle. And again the sin of pride inspires him with the idea of ​​his ability to influence this life. As before, he will again strive for the ideal and will again create an idol for himself. This time, Napoleon will be replaced by Speransky. And Andrei Bolkonsky goes to St. Petersburg. "He now felt in Petersburg a feeling similar to what he experienced on the eve of the battle, when he was irresistibly drawn to the higher spheres, to where the future was being prepared, on which the fate of millions depended."

But realizing that Speransky's liberal reforms are at odds with life, that the activities of his idol do not contribute to the solution of his global issues in any way, Prince Andrei breaks ties with him.

And once again the pride of thought leads Andrei Bolkonsky to disappointment.

Then - the ball. Meeting with Natasha and a subsequent visit to the Rostovs' house. And for a moment, a thought, which was not peculiar to him, flashes in his mind for a moment: "As long as he is alive, one must live and be happy." And in a conversation with Pierre, he confesses: "I would not believe whoever told me that I can love so much?"

But was this love with all your soul and with all your heart? True love is capable of forgiveness. Natasha
moved the heart of Prince Andrew. But nothing more. He could not understand Natasha, a sixteen-year-old girl who is not at all tormented by the difficult questions of life, she just lives. Prince Andrew cannot forgive Natasha's betrayal with Anatoly Kuragin. The pride of thought whispers to him that to forgive is to wish that the other one who offended, insulted, stood up and had the right to stand. To forgive a fallen woman - yes, but not him and not that.

It took death to forgive Andrei Bolkonsky.

A new stage in the life of Prince Andrew will begin with the Patriotic War of 1812. He returns to the army. Coming closer to the mass of soldiers. The soldiers call Prince Andrei no other than "our prince." He was caring, affectionate with them.

Patriotic War of 1812, Borodino field will be the last attempt to break out of the "vicious circle". Fate predetermined Prince Andrei such a path, when his pride of thought, always fluctuating between good and evil, made the final choice only a moment before his death. Mortally wounded, Prince Andrey meets Natasha. And only in his dying delirium, Andrei Bolkonsky's soul triumphed over reason. “You can love a dear person with human love; but only the enemy can be loved with divine love. It is Natasha who is the enemy to love with “divine” love. Life could not convince Prince Andrew. It fell to the lot of death.

“Looking at Natasha, Prince Andrey imagined her soul for the first time. And he understood her feeling, her suffering, shame, remorse. For the first time he understood the cruelty of his refusal, saw the cruelty of his break with her. " Just before his death, his thoughts were directed to her, the one to whom he now wanted to say ... (of course: “forgive me.”) And only at this hour of death did a short but happy moment of life come to Prince Andrey "Love for one woman crept imperceptibly into his heart."

To the question War and Peace. What has changed in Bolkonsky's perception of life? What thought does Bolkonsky come to before his death? given by the author Aria mclair the best answer is If you closely follow the fate of the main characters, you can say: each of them has experienced a significant evolution of their views on life. One example is the absolute change in the worldview of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. For the first time we meet him at a reception with Anna Pavlovna Shersr. There, all the conversations revolve around the personality of Napoleon. Prince Andrey is afraid of his genius, who may "prove to be stronger than all the courage of the Russian troops," and at the same time fears "shame for his hero." Bolkonsky rushes in pursuit of the ideal associated with Napoleon's career. As soon as Prince Andrei learns that the Russian army is in distress, he decides that it is he who is destined to save it and that "here he is, that Toulon, which will open the first path to glory for him."
However, fate decreed otherwise. She gave him the opportunity to see her idol, but at the same time showed all the insignificance of his search for earthly glory. Looking at the high Austerlitz sky, the wounded Prince Andrei says to himself: "Yes, I didn’t know anything, I didn’t know anything until now." And when Napoleon approaches him, who, mistaking him for a murdered man, utters a pompous phrase: "Here is a wonderful death!", For Bolkonsky this praise is like the buzzing of a fly. Napoleon seems to him small and insignificant in comparison with what was revealed to his consciousness in those minutes.
Overcoming the "Napoleonic" ideal is one of the stages in the evolution of Andrei Bolkonsky's personality. However, when a person loses old ideals and does not acquire new ones, an emptiness forms in his soul. So Prince Andrew, after the overthrow of Napoleon from the pedestal and abandoning his previous dreams of glory, began a painful search for the meaning of life. Prince Andrew no longer wants to serve in the army.
The prince tries to live for himself. But such a philosophy only fills his soul with confusion. On the way to Otradnoye, he sees a huge old oak tree. This oak "did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun." Bolkonsky tries to ascribe to the oak the thoughts that overwhelm him: "Spring, love and happiness! .. And how can you not get tired of the same stupid, senseless deception!" But fate again presents him with a surprise that radically changes his whole life. This is the first meeting with Natasha Rostova in Ogradnoye. Just an overheard conversation between her and her friend. This contributed to the fact that "in his soul suddenly arose ... an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes." Returning home the next day, Prince Andrew again saw an oak tree. Bolkonsky did not immediately recognize him: "The old oak, all transformed, stretched out like a tent of luscious, dark greenery, melted, swaying slightly in the rays of the evening sun." Prince Andrey realized that life was not over and that it was necessary to make sure that it did not flow for him alone, but that it reflected on everyone. This was followed by the fascination of Prince Andrei with the personality of Speransky. It was a kind of "double" of Napoleon. However, the recollection of Austerlitz did not allow Prince Andrey to create another idol for himself.
When the war of 1812 began, Bolkonsky went to war, this time not in search of glory, but with the only desire to share the fate of his people. He changed his attitude towards the peasants, and they paid him with love and trust, calling him "our prince." At that moment, he remembered Natasha at the ball in 1810, since it was at that time that he first felt in himself with extraordinary clarity the power of "natural" life. And now his love for Natasha made him color everything around him with this lively feeling and forgive Anatoly Kuragin. Death for Prince Andrey in his new state is devoid of horror and tragedy, since the transition "there" is as natural as the arrival of a person from nothingness into the world. Before his death, Prince Andrei comes to the Karataevian worldview. The only difference is that this understanding of life and death was not given to Prince Andrey by nature, but was the result of intense work of thought.

“Reason and feelings are two forces that equally need each other” (VG Belinsky).

The hero of the comedy A.S. Griboedova Alexander Andchreevich Chatsky at some point exclaims: "The mind and the heart are out of tune." From this comes a misunderstanding of the obvious, disappointment, mental trauma. But how to ensure that the mind and heart are in harmony, because, according to Belinsky, they equally need each other? How to learn to live so that the mind does not deprive a person of feelings, emotions? At the same time, feelings should not subjugate reason, should not deprive people of the ability to think, reason, analyze. Of course, not everyone succeeds in being in harmony with their mind and feelings.

Most often, we see that feelings overwhelm a person, which often leads to tragedy. For example, the hero of the novel by I.S. Turgenev Evgeny Bazarov, a nihilist who denies everything in the world, a strong personality capable of leading others, cannot cope with his feelings when he unrequitedly fell in love. He denied romanticism, love, poetry, and suddenly, having fallen in love, he felt the romance in himself. An attempt to get rid of the feeling that prevents him from living and working leads to his untimely death. Without a doubt, the reasons for Bazarov's tragedy are not only in unrequited love, the novel is deeper and more philosophical, it cannot be reduced exclusively to a love story. But at that very moment, when the hero was captured by feeling, he lost faith in his ideas, because before his death he says: “Russia needs me. No, apparently not needed. "

Turgenev's idea that a person should not suppress his emotions, feelings, that one cannot live only with ideas and complete indifference to the world of human experiences, is consonant with the thoughts of another great writer, namely L.N. Tolstoy.

In the novel War and Peace, Andrei Bolkonsky, an almost ideal hero, lives more with his mind than with his feelings. He is related to Bazarov by strength of character, will, deep mind, ability to suppress emotions. His fearlessness on the battlefields can only be admired. When, during the Battle of Shengraben, he arrives at Captain Tushin's battery to give him the order to retreat, he feels a sense of fear, because enemy shells are bursting around him. But Bolkonsky says to himself: “I cannot be afraid”, he remains on the battery, helps to remove the guns, which earns the respect of all soldiers. But Prince Andrey has his own shortcomings, he is overwhelmed by pride, he does not know how to forgive, he is not able to understand the feelings of another person. His reason prevails over feelings, and for this he is punished. Having fallen in love with Natasha Rostova, Prince Andrei, at the request of his father, postpones the wedding for a year, not understanding what this means for Natasha. She cannot stop living, she is too cheerful, full of emotions, experiences, from this comes her fascination with the scoundrel Anatol Kuragin. Prince Andrew cannot forgive her, cannot understand that this event happened through his fault too. Does he understand what a tragedy this is for Natasha, because she almost died? The ability to understand and forgive comes to Prince Andrew only after being wounded, as a result of which he dies.

Thus, Russian writers, like Belinsky, believe that reason and feelings are not opposed to each other, but should be in balance, harmony, because they are the basis of a single whole - the human personality.

Bolkonsky is one of the main characters of the novel. In character, he is very similar to his father. Prince Andrew is a strong, energetic, persistent nature, with a clear mind and a strong will. At the beginning of the novel, he is presented as a person with certain convictions, but life breaks these convictions, and then he loses his former balance, begins to seek the meaning of life and only before death finds peace.

The main feature of Bolkonsky's mental makeup is a sense of personality. His thought is constantly directed at himself, busy with the analysis of his feelings and impressions. This sense of personality should not be confused with selfishness, which is imbued with other faces of the novel, for example, Berg or Boris Drubetskoy, who cares only about his own material well-being. The individualism of Prince Andrey is based on the consciousness of his mental and moral superiority over the surrounding society. The rationalistic worldview, formed partly under the influence of his father, a skeptic Voltairian, fills Bolkonsky's soul with coldness, disbelief and
contempt for people. Human life seems to him clear, simple and at the same time boring. None of those around him understands his mood, so he is always alone and even proud of his loneliness.

The bright mind of Andrei Bolkonsky is revealed in his understanding of people and the phenomena of life around him. Pierre, who was educated abroad, is amazed at the extraordinary erudition of Prince Andrei, his memory and ability to work and study. Thanks to his realistic mindset, Bolkonsky had the ability to practice. He perfectly suits the life of his peasants, is an efficient commander of his regiment, shows himself to be an active assistant to Speransky in drafting a constitution. But Andrey is not a one-sided person. In him, feeling is no less strong than reason - only he always keeps him in power. Only in some difficult moments of his life the power of will weakens in him, and then his
a healthy, strong feeling breaks free.

Bolkonsky's iron will never turns into stubbornness or petty tyranny, her bright mind and kind heart do not allow this. Willpower is found in the ability to control oneself, constantly control oneself and subordinate one's mental movements to mental control. This character trait was especially pronounced at a time when Prince Andrei heard about Natasha's betrayal: despite the complete death of his hopes for happiness, Prince Andrei retains complete composure and surprises Pierre with his outward calmness. Bolkonsky's willpower was also manifested in the ability to subjugate people and achieve the intended goals.

The harmonious combination of mind and will makes Prince Andrew a wonderful person, and he himself is aware of his dignity and is proud of them. Hence - the contemptuous attitude towards people, hence the thirst for fame and personal elevation. Therefore, at first he is fond of Napoleon, as he appreciates a strong personality in him, forcing everyone to bow before him. Submitting to his ambitious desires, Bolkonsky went to the war of 1805 and looked forward to his "Toulon", that is, such an opportunity that would help him achieve fame. But the course of the war convinced Prince Andrei that the success of the business did not depend on individuals, but on the general spirit of the army. Being wounded at Austerlitz, Bolkonsky realized that all his dreams of glory were insignificant in the face of eternity that looked into his eyes. Returning to Russia, Prince Andrew leaves the service and settles in the estate in order to lead a closed, solitary life.
Life seemed to him meaningless, happiness impossible; the only blessing available to a person seemed to him a calm conscience and the absence of suffering. “To live for oneself is all my wisdom now,” he says when meeting with Pierre. He even felt some
then bitterness and bitterness towards their men. ".... You want to free the peasants," he says to Pierre. - It is very good; but not for you, and even less for the peasants. If they are beaten, flogged, sent to Siberia, then I think they are no worse off from this. In Siberia, he leads the same beastly life, and the scars on his body will heal, and he is just as happy as he was before. And this [emancipation of the peasants] is needed for those people who die morally and become rude because they have the opportunity to execute - right and not right ”[that is, for the slave-owners-landowners].

Not finding satisfaction for his vanity in military service, Andrei Bolkonsky decided to serve under Speransky's command. During this period, he starts an affair with Natasha. His heart softens, but he lacks the energy to go against his father, who demands a postponement of the wedding for a year. Natasha at this time was carried away by Anatoly, which deeply offended Bolkonsky's pride. To Princess Marya's admonitions that it is necessary to forgive Anatole and generally forgive people, he replies: “If I were a woman, I would do it, Marie. This is a woman's virtue. But a man should not and cannot forget and forgive. "