War and Peace 1071of Tolstoy’s characters, ranging from romantic to
familial to spiritual love. All of these types of love
are important to the development of the novel;
however, this essay will focus on the development of
romantic love in this work. The author scrutinizes
romantic love through his development of his char-
acters’ lives, from that first passionate love, which so
many times can become confused with lust, to that
friendly, comfortable, deep love found among hap-
pily married couples.
Following the course of Natasha Rostov’s story
line, the reader sees Natasha fall in and out of love
as frequently as any young girl of our own day
might. Her relationships are rich fodder for discuss-
ing how Tolstoy characterizes that first passionate,
engulfing love. In describing her feelings for Prince
Andrey Bolkonsky to her mother, Natasha declares,
“But anything like this, like this . . . I have never
felt before!” However, these feelings are unable to
withstand the difficulties of a year spent apart and
Anatole Kuragin’s attempt to seduce Natasha away
from her fiancé and family. That first exciting flush
of romance brings with it an adrenaline rush of new
feelings: extreme happiness and fear of rejection or
loss.
In contrast to the roller coaster that is Natasha’s
love life, Tolstoy develops the romance between
Nikolay Rostov and his cousin Sonya. In the begin-
ning of the work, Tolstoy introduces the reader to
the Rostov family on Natasha’s name day and sets up
the dynamics of the relationship between Sonya and
Nikolay, which will follow a similar path throughout
the course of the work. Nikolay is attracted to his
cousin and does care for her. But her attraction to
him is greater and more consistent than is his for
her, as seen in his flirtations with Julie Karagin.
These flirtations and abandonments of Sonya on
Nikolay’s part foreshadow his inevitable departure
from his young love for Sonya in favor of a more
mature love for Princess Marya Bolkonsky. This
development is gradual, but it can be seen even in
his early dealings with the princess: “As far as he
was personally concerned, Nikolay could have asked
nothing better than to have Princess Marya for his
wife. . . . But Sonya? And his promise?” Over the
course of the novel, Nikolay struggles with his old
feelings and promise to Sonya, his obligations to his
family, society’s conception of the romance with the
princess, and his true love for Marya. And in the end
his struggles are resolved as he chooses to give in to
his love and marry her.
Tolstoy uses his epilogue to finish their love sto-
ries. Here, one sees the inner workings of the mar-
riages between the two couples: Pierre and Natasha
and Nikolay and Marya. The insecurities and fear
may still exist, as shown in Natasha’s jealousies and
Marya’s anxieties about her appearance, especially in
her pregnant state. In their husbands’ responses to
these insecurities, the reader sees demonstrated the
nature of happy, comfortable love. Nikolay assures
his wife, “It’s not those who are handsome we love,
but those we love who are handsome.” And Pierre
receives a certain satisfaction and joy from his wife’s
demands for his time and presence. These insecuri-
ties are also overshadowed by the connection that
exists between the two individuals in each couple,
a connection fed by the understanding that one’s
partner is an extension and a complement of one-
self. This connection is made clear by the author in
his description of the interaction of the two sets of
spouses. Nikolay’s love for his wife is in part founded
on her deep and moving spirituality, which he
does not himself possess. Natasha and Pierre are
at that stage in their relationship where they know
each other so intimately that they are able to finish
each other’s sentences, to divine where the thought
started and where it will end. Both couples have
achieved the comfortable synergy that is the result of
a healthy marriage.
War and Peace, while following the development
and conclusion of Russia’s war with Napoleon, is
centrally about human relationships, and one type
of relationship is that of romantic love. Through his
characters’ interactions and thoughts, Leo Tolstoy
describes the realities of love. From the first rush
of passionate love to the comfortable assurance of
happily married or partnered love, Tolstoy gives his
readers the whole spectrum of emotion that is asso-
ciated with the theme of love.
Melody MarlowparentHood in War and Peace
Childbirth: To today’s reader, this word typically
signals joy and hope. However, to the readers of