Show Notes
Tolstoy hardly ends the novel with the revelation imparted to Andrei. Instead, it continues for another 1000 pages, in substantial part, exploring the triviality so paramount to those without such vision.
The story moves back to earth to focus on the historic disgrace for Alexandr and Francis. It is entirely the opposite for Napoleon, who came out on top of The Battle of Three Emperors. Yet the bravado with which men enter a fight for those like Bonaparte, has lost some of the luster.
So many of us can be brought to both planes by the right presentation – either recognizing the responsibility of answering a call to arms; or appreciating the Sublime. Tolstoy is presenting this contrast as one of the great humanists, who wrote his masterpiece 60 years after Austerlitz.
The segue of Nicholas taking on his futile mission with such fervor after Andrei takes in the infinite sky, highlights how vulnerable we are to mindsets of emperor worship and patriotic devotion – more so at younger ages without the experience of war.
Just before the battle, Andrei was imagining, ”this will be the battle that makes me.” He is thinking of how the Battle of Toulon, in 1793, was a springboard for Napoleon. Tolstoy is showing how common it is for decent men to reach the point they will sacrifice their lives for military glory.
The point of this episode is to appreciate how easy a man can pulled into that mindset; and it is one of the great lessons of War & Peace.
This episode brings you through a few examples of such calls, in fiction and history.
What often comes to mind for the American audience is the speech in Braveheart – iconic fiction based on the historic Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297), written by Randall Wallace & Mel Gibson and naturally delivered by Mel.
Napoleon assuredly had the knack of attracting men to risk their lives for his vision and also referenced is one of his inspirational appeals that came shortly after the Battle of Lodi in 1796:
“To you, soldiers, will belong the immortal honor of redeeming the fairest portion of Europe. The French people, free and respected by the whole world, shall give to Europe a glorious peace, which shall indemnify it for all the sacrifices which it has borne the last six years. Then, by your own firesides you shall repose and your fellow citizens, when they point out any one of you, shall say: ‘He belonged to the army of Italy that fought in the Italian campaign!’”
The last reference is to a speech attributed to St. Bernard, an abbot from Clairvaux, France, in the 1100s, where he motivated the Knights of the Second Crusade in a Palm Sunday speech:
“Christian warriors, He who gave His life for you, today demands yours in return. These are struggles worthy of you, combats in which it is glorious to conquer and advantageous to die. Illustrious knights, generous defenders of the Cross, remember your fathers, who conquered Jerusalem, and whose names are inscribed in Heaven. Abandon the things that perish, to gather unfading palms and conquer a Kingdom that has no end.”
These are appeals to a sense of manhood and patriotism, and once again it is the spirit Andrei relinquishes. He is now is given a more ideal, godly and transcendent point of view.
More from War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide
As War & Peace delves into to fiction to a much greater degree than the previous section, exploring the Rostov family dynamic throughout 1806, there is a great deal that historically transpired which Tolstoy does not bring you through. In this stretch, Bonaparte was a continental Behemoth, who sets his sights on Prussia, then an industrial power with a highly organized military. The centers that made up the Prussian Kingdom were: Berlin, Potsdam, Königsberg and Danzig. You should recall that based on the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon replaced the Habsburg Family as the principal authority in Central Europe. Austria never again reached such heights of power. Over the next 70 years Austria would lose influence over the dozens of German states while Prussia gained in this regard. It was Prussia, under Otto Von Bismarck, who in 1871 established the nation we know as Germany. In the start of 1806, France remained in a state of war against Russia, England and even Sweden. It was a busy and productive year for "the man of destiny." In February, Napoleon sent General André Messéna to Naples to overthrow the Bourbon King, Ferdinand IV, and install his brother, Joseph. Messéna was successful though fighting continued for months. In the Summer, Napoleon consolidated control of Holland and placed a crown on another brother, Louis. By mid-July, Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine of mostly southern German states, where he compelled alliances. The expanded territory gave the French 60,000 more troops. Napoleon was reshaping Central Europe to assure French influence and limit that of Austria, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain. Napoleon’s desire was to marginalize Britain economically after the Brtis won control of the seas at the Battle of Trafalgar, which preceded Austerlitz by a month. Just off the Southwest coast of France, the French Navy was decimated. The English controlled the water, but Napoleon was dominant on land and wanted to implement the Continental Commerce System. He had success in spreading French administrative, legal and social reforms—including the Napoleonic Code. When possible and practical, he moved to end the remnants of feudalism. The Code abolished a plethora feudal privileges, dismantled manorial courts and freed some peasants, granting basic civil rights and a semblance of equality before the law. To continue to foster his ambitions, Napoleon set his sights on Prussia, which included former Polish territory. Poland was a former Kingdom cut up (partitioned) by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, where many Polish nobles committed allegiance to the Czar or King of Prussia. While the Czar worked with much of the nobility of Poland, the peasants filled the ranks and endured. Czar Alexander was 27 in 1806. Despite the historic loss at Austerlitz, Alexander, would rule for nearly two more decades. He was fortunate that his population was forgiving. Alexander did not enter into serious peace negotiations nor publicly concede the loss. Many among the Russian nobility blamed the result on the Austrians. There are memoirs from Phillip Vigel, then a 20 year-old Russian diplomat, who detailed his observations of the mood in Moscow and Petersburg. The Muscovites were more vocal in castigating the Czar. Some would even laud Napoleon. There, Bonaparte earned nickname befitting a Russian Conqueror, Napoleoskha. In Petersburg, the population shared the humiliation. They would explain the result as a turn of luck. Vigel expressed that Petersburg society felt the desire to get themselves off the floor and prove themselves. He sensed a general optimism of youth. He also notes how the English desired Russia as allies against the French and Czar was their lifeline from French domination. Consequently, Russia spent the summer of 1806 preparing for a new war -- reorganizing and refilling their ranks. General Kutuzov fades into obscurity for a time. Just prior to Austerlitz, in the Fall of 1805, Alexander made a notable a
We now get taken from March of 1806, through the warmer months and then to the end of the year. Quite the fast-forward!
We have reached the pivotal chapter involving the death of the Little Princess and birth of the Andrei’s son.
We move further into March of 1806 and return to Bald Hills, the estate of Andrei’s father. Despite letters and official inquiries, Andrei’s body had not been found nor was he on the list of prisoners.
This episode examines some likely influences in Tolstoy’s writing of the Duel between Pierre & Dolokhov.