Daily Archives: March 22, 2016

75% done with War and Peace

277of364

“Where has he gone? Where is he now?…” the line is not attributed to anyone, either Maria or Natasha. I assume it’s Natasha, but I think it’s a question the author is asking us to explore. All of us will, like the old Count, soon make that final step and so being able to answer that question to our satisfaction is something we should all try to discover.

75% done with War and Peace

276of364

Andrei’s situation raises an issue I’ve been grappling with throughout the novel: it’s an issue of Tolstoy’s beliefs. If we were to live only for the next life, then what point is it to live now? There would be no joy in living, no love while alive. And if we don’t care about life now, what value has it, for us or for others? Don’t we have to sin to be good? Shouldn’t we be more like Pierre and Natasha?