Prince Andrei Bolkonsky Character Analysis (War and Peace)

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky: War and Peace's Most Heartbreaking Hero. I just love this character - Prince Andrei in "War and Peace".

Pierre is cowardly, Rostov is frivolous, Boris is cunning, Dolokhov is rough, and the rest of the characters are stupid and vulgar in their own way. 

Andre is the only manly character with both thought and perseverance, ambition and compassion.

'Andrew Bolkonsky' Character Analysis in War and Peace

Andrea is Maria's older brother and the only son of the family. He detests the corrupt and degenerate lifestyle of the aristocracy and longs to make meritorious service in the army to realize the value of life. 

He has a resolute, rigorous, and rational character, is diligent and pragmatic in his work, and is courageous and resourceful in battle.

The war made him see the cruelty of human beings killing each other, realize the hypocrisy and cowardice of the court nobles, and give up the illusion of the noble class. From the blind worship of heroes to deeper thinking, to reflect on the meaning of war.

The baptism of war and the threat of death made him seriously think about the meaning of life, and before he died, he realized the true meaning of life: one must live, one must love, and one must believe..., love is a power beyond matter, unaffected by external matter Happiness, purely spiritual happiness, the happiness of love!

The life course of Andre shown in the book can be roughly divided into three stages.

One

In the first stage, he appears as a dignified and ambitious aristocrat. As the representative of the Bolkonski family, the old prince's only son, his nobility afforded him the best life possible.

His initial image can be glimpsed from the evaluation of others:

Pierre regarded Prince Andrew as the model of all virtues because in him he was most perfectly combined with those qualities which were lacking in Pierre and which can best be summed up by the term "persistence." Pierre had always admired Prince Andrei's unhurried manner in dealing with all kinds of people, his extraordinary memory, his erudition, and above all his ability to work and study. Even Pierre, who was often surprised by Prince Andrei's lack of philosophical imagination, considered this not a defect, but a strength.

But at that time, Andre had a different view of his life. The day-to-day social dances and boring interpersonal networks in the upper class made him feel bored, and even his wife, after the joy of the initial marriage faded, also made him feel intolerable. 

There is another kind of desire in his heart, to break free from the barriers left by his parents, to choose another life that is more thrilling, and to personally join the battlefield to establish great achievements——

"You mention Bonaparte, but Bonaparte, when he goes about his work, step by step toward his goal, is free, has nothing in mind but his own goal, and so he achieves Aim. But chain yourself to a woman, like a prisoner in chains, and you lose all freedom. All your hope and strength can only weigh you down and fill you with remorse. Parlors, gossip, balls, Vanity, petty things—that's the maze I can't get out of. . . . It's a pity you don't know what decent women and all-women are! My father was right. Selfishness, vanity, ignorance Ignorant, worthless—that's what happens when women show their true colors. . . . Don't marry, my dear, don't marry."

It's a pity that Pierre didn't listen to his words. Later, he was bewildered by Helen's beauty and got married, with one green hat after another.

At this time, Andre criticized his environment and his wife for being extreme. However, he went to the battlefield and experienced bloody wars. He also charged forward, set a benchmark, and made meritorious deeds.

One of the famous scenes is the part where Prince Andrei falls while holding the flagpole on Mount Platz. In the evening, he stopped moaning and fell into a state of delirious coma. 

At this time, Napoleon and his subordinates went on a tour and took a special look at him. 

At this time, when he was unconscious, he was lying on the ground looking at his long-awaited idol, but he had another thought in his heart——

His head was on fire, he felt his blood drain, and he saw the distant, high, eternal sky above him. He knew it was Napoleon—his hero, but at the moment Napoleon seemed so small, so insignificant, compared with all that was going on between his soul and that high, boundless sky and clouds.

Andre was lucky enough, his injuries were serious but not fatal, and he was rescued by the local medical team. 

During his fever, he began to talk nonsense, thinking of his former happiness:

The peaceful life in Tongshan and the comfortable family happiness appeared in his imagination. While he was admiring this bliss, suddenly a little Napoleon appeared... Towards morning, all hallucinations were mixed together into a state of chaos and insensible darkness.

"He's a nervous and choleric fellow," said Dr. Raleigh.

This was an important turning point in his life experience as well as in his thinking, from the blind worship of heroes by ordinary young people to a more thoughtful state, reflecting on the meaning of war.

Two

When he escaped from the war and trekked back home, it happened that his wife died of dystocia. 

She left him a baby boy, and Andrei regretted facing her body, and then he moved to the Bogucharovo estate to recuperate. This is the second stage of his life.

There is a passage that I like very much, the dialogue between him and Pierre on the reform of the farm, and the debate on the good and evil of human nature. 

Two people with very different temperaments come together because they are thoughtful and compassionate. 

However, Pierre's fantasy is too much, his character is too weak, and he has no decisive judgment than Andre.

Prince Andrei expressed his opinion so clearly and precisely that it appeared that he had considered this question more than once. 

Moreover, his tone is very pessimistic, which is based on his insight into human nature. He is a severe social critic and a real thinker.

With such a pessimistic thinker's mood, he rested on the farm for two years, until by chance, on the way to visit Rostov's house, he saw Natasha playing with her girlfriends in the flower field, his second love just started.

Sixteen-year-old Natasha, smart and playful, has developed a pure heart under the gentle care of the old Rostov couple. She is good at singing and dancing, and she is full of vitality and looks natural. 

This innocent girly charm can easily make people around her fall in love with her, and this innocent narcissism can also attract the admiration of many men. 

That night when Andrei stayed at Rostov's house, he heard her talking with her girlfriend on the window sill upstairs and heard her sweet voice singing a song, that hope suddenly rushed into Andre. 

In Lie's heart, saves him from long-term depression and awakens the idea of ​​starting a new life.

Afterward, they danced together at the ball, and Andrei began to visit the Rostovs' house frequently and forged a close friendship with the family.

"Since life and all the joys of life are already in front of me, why should I struggle and be busy in this narrow and closed frame?" He said to himself. "Pierre was right when he said that in order to be happy one must believe that happiness is possible, and I believe him now. Let the dead bury their dead, and as long as I live I must live, and live happily."

During that period of time, he was indeed happy, forgetting the shadow of war, the death of his wife, and being busy with the court law seemed to be unimportant, and the idea of ​​happiness for a new life flooded into his heart. This happiness was evoked by Natasha. 

Later he confessed to her that the two were engaged, but the old prince objected, but his determination was still there. However, due to his injury, Andre had to go to other places to recuperate for a year. 

So he made a prudent decision and asked Natasha to wait for him for a year. During this year's separation, they could test their determination and patience in love. A year later he came back and married her.

It was the postponement of this year that dragged down the affairs of the two of them.

In the early days of the separation, Natasha missed him wholeheartedly, and she exchanged misses in letters, and she waited wholeheartedly. Later, the Rostov family came to Petersburg to attend a ball hosted by Pierre's wife, Countess Bezukhova, and the famous courtesan Helen. 

As mentioned before, Helen was famous for being a dissolute and romantic woman. At this time, Pierre had been separated from her for a long time. And her younger brother, Anatole, also inherited the inherent cunning and frivolity of the Kuragin family. 

He had suffered from Prince Andrew's sister, Miss Maria, before Old Kuragin valued Bolkonsky With the power and money of his family, he encouraged his son to seduce Princess Maria. 

However, the old prince had a vicious eye and saw through the father and son's plan at a glance, and finally, his wishful thinking fell through.

Anatole is romantic and is attracted by Natasha's pure beauty, so she seduces her through her sister's introduction—Natasha fails to withstand the fierce courtship offensive and falls in two or three days—After all, she was an unworldly and stupid girl, who was fascinated by sweet words, and her sudden passion destroyed her reason, she tore up the agreement with Prince Andrei, and she wanted to elope with Anatole desperately. 

This childish elopement plan got out and was stopped by Pavlovna, but word got out and Natasha's reputation was ruined.

When I first saw this scene, I felt very angry in my heart. I hated Natasha's betrayal and felt sorry for Andrei's broken heart after being betrayed. 

His hopes of a new life, his renewed thirst for happiness -- ruined in the end. He chose to throw himself into battle again.

Three

This is the third stage of Andre's life, and it is also the road of no return that leads directly to death. 

With a broken love and a recast hard reason, he threw himself into the battlefield and finally got his wish: dedicating himself to the Great Patriotic War.

Many readers who read this part were angry at Natasha's betrayal, and their love for this character turned into loathing. 

However, Toon's portrayal of the character is not rigid and unchanging. He grasps the heart of the person to deduce his actions. Such a pure and inexperienced girl was suddenly pushed into the center of the bustling ball, and all kinds of scrutinizing eyes were projected over her. 

The inevitable vanity caused by beauty, she was fascinated by Anatole's beautiful appearance, but she didn't know what was going on. Sinister by nature, she makes the mistakes everyone makes. 

In the final analysis, Natasha is a pure and kind girl. After her mind cleared up, the psychological punishment for her guilt and the endless guilt for Andre made her restless, and she changed from the carefree life she used to be. 

In the joy of worrying, Natasha stopped singing but covered her beauty with black clothes, and went to church to pray every day to atone for her sins.

"A power beyond matter, a bliss unaffected by external matter, a bliss of pure spirit, the bliss of love! Everyone can understand it, but only God can know it and enact it... What I have experienced That love, that love which is always the essence of the soul, needs no object, so experience this bliss now... Human love may turn into hate, but God's love never changes. Nothing, not even death It is the nature of the soul to destroy this love. I have hated so many people in my life, and of all, there is not one who loved and hated as much as she did." And he I thought of Natasha vividly, but not, as before, of her delightful charms; but for the first time thought of her soul. Then he understood her feelings, her pain, her shame, and her regret. He understood now for the first time the cruelty of his refusal, the ruthlessness of his break with her.

"I love you more than ever, and know how to love you better," said Prince Andrew, taking her face in his hands and looking into her eyes.

This is a great love that broke away from the mundane and sublimated into divinity. 

He forgave all her faults, because the mercy of God existed in his heart, and he loved the whole world full of errors, not a single individual—his Life is short, and Tolstoy is unwilling to let this character die hastily, so he repeatedly prolongs and prolongs the process before his death. 

Through Andre's eyes, Tolstoy glimpses the soul traveling through the world and The overlapping realm of the underworld.

"Yes, this is death. I died, so I woke up. Yes, death is waking up," his heart suddenly brightened, and the veil that had covered the unknown world so far was lifted in front of his soul's vision. He felt as if the forces that had restrained him before had been released, and that strange lightness never left him again.

From that day on, Prince Andrew woke up from human life as well as from sleep. He feels that the awakening of life is no longer than waking up to a person's life.

Four

At the end of the story, Toon's simple values ​​are gradually revealed. He questioned the meaning of war, doubted the general laws of history, affirmed the simple and tenacious mind of the bottom people, and sought answers and relief from religion. 

All problems finally come down to "people's happiness" - war is meaningless, Napoleon is not worthy of worship, history is mostly made by chance, no one can fully control his own destiny, all people are fighting and killing each other, and The simplest feelings are often found in the humblest little people—Platon, the old man Pierre met in prison, an old farmer who shared potatoes with him to feed himself, he thought he had the greatest heart— Simple compassion.

Many people can empathize with Pierre, a good old man with a soft heart and full of imagination because he lacks a strong will, he often struggles with his desires, he is fooled by others because of his kindness, and he always wants to do something but doesn't know what to do. 

Can't make it - a man who is both unlucky and lucky, in whom one can see one's own flaws and weaknesses.

Thon poured a lot of effort into these two roles. He gave Pierre a happy ending and Andre the glory of tragedy.

I like Pierre, but I love Andre even more—love his strong heart and tortured soul, love his melancholy and lonely years thinking hard about the meaning of life, love him because of the determination of a strong man to cut off his wrist after love is shattered. 

Because I can't enjoy ordinary happiness in this world, and I can't tolerate a mediocre life, I would rather fly to the fire and pursue a higher level of life value.

Did Andre realize his deathbed? I think so because he has learned the highest truths: compassion and love.