What is it about?
The Influence of Schopenhauer's philosophy on Tolstoy is well know, but it is widely thought to have begun only after the bulk of "War and Peace" had been written. I try to show that the novel, as a whole, bears clear evidence of Schopenhauer's ideas, and that this provides a way to understand the work that is somewhat different from the accepted understanding of it as a fundamentally "optimistic" work.
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Why is it important?
"War and Peace" is widely regarded as one of the finest novels ever written, and has continued to be an accepted part of the canon of Western Literature. This essay provides a key to the understanding of certain, hitherto neglected, elements of the work, which can deepen our appreciation of its greatness.
Perspectives
I first read "War and Peace" as an adolescent, and it inspired in me a lifelong love of Literature and Philosophy. It is my hope that this essay may motivate some of those who have perhaps avoided the novel because of its intimidating length, to take the plunge, and to open themselves to a profoundly enriching experience.
Adjunct Professor David Jonathan Becker
St. John's University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Tolstoy and Schopenhauer and War and Peace: Influence and Ambivalence, Canadian-American Slavic Studies, January 2014, Brill Deutschland GmbH,
DOI: 10.1163/22102396-04804002.
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