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The enduring questions of Tolstoy's âWar and Peaceâ
Leo Tolstoyâs War and Peace may be regarded as one of the greatest novels in world literature, but not everyone is a fan.
The book checks in at more than 580,000 words, spanning from 1,200 to 1,400 pages depending on the edition, and 365 chaptersâone for each day of the year. Some readers complain about having to keep track of its numerous characters, many of whom they consider unlikeable, uninteresting, andâsince most are part of elite Russian societyâunrelatable; others are annoyed by Tolstoyâs digressions into theories on history and philosophy. Critics say the novelâs reputation as a literary masterpiece can make readers feel compelled to appreciate it, and frustrated when theyâre unable to do so.
So, in an era when the college-age generation is reading less, what professor in their right mind would want to include War and Peace in a course? Ìę
But șÚÁÏčÙÍű College faculty members Nicole Eaton and Thomas Epstein have made Tolstoyâs tome the focus of a paired set of courses being taught this semester through the University Core Curriculumâs Enduring Questions sequence.
Eaton, an associate professor of history, and Epsteinâa professor of the practice in the Classical Studies Departmentâteach War and Peace: History and Literary Truths from their respective disciplines; this semester marks their third such collaboration. The classes are held back-to-back on the same days, with the same students in each. Eaton and Epstein also gather with the students four times during the semester for reflection sessions to integrate the coursesâ contents with their lived experiences.
Despite its Napoleonic Wars-era setting, the two faculty members explain, War and Peace raises timeless, fundamental, and relevant questions about human existence: How should I live and what is worth dying for? Is war a necessary evil, or something greater, or different? What role do individuals play in the grand structures of human history? How do we live morally? Do we have free will to shape our destinies?
Beyond such historical, classical, and intellectual elements is another dimension to the paired classes: The very task of reading and assessing War and Peace, say Eaton and Epstein, is valuable in and of itself. Ìę
âWar and Peace offers the chance to sustain oneâs attention for a lengthy text that presumed a very different reading audience in a very different time,â Eaton explained. âRight up front, we talk about the challenge the book presents, that we want them to read the printed version, rather than scrolling it on their phones or computerâand that they should find a quiet place to read.â
âWar and Peace simply defies description: Referring to it as a â19th-century novelâ is so inadequate,â said Epstein. âIt was a groundbreaking poly-stylistic work that went well beyond the standards of 19th-century literature. Therefore, the book is especially useful in exploring how closely related the disciplines of history and literature are, and how they each transform our experiences into stories.â
The very task of reading and assessing 'War and Peace' is valuable in and of itself, say Associate Professor of History Nicole Eaton and Thomas Epstein, a professor of the practice in the Classical Studies Department. (Matthew Healey)
Epstein and Eaton utilize traditional class lectures and reading assignments, including other texts covering similar moral and philosophical ground (such as Stephen Craneâs Red Badge of Courage), but they donât want students to passively absorb information. Small-group discussions exploring specific scenes help them form and articulate views on the material, which they share with the larger class. Students are each assigned a character from War and Peace and keep a handwritten diary in the characterâs voiceâEaton provides the class with journalsâbased on his or her experiences as they are related in the book; these are graded for creativity, detail, insight into the characterâs mindset, and accurate page numbers and scenes references. Viewings of film or television adaptations of the book also help spark discussion. Ìę Ìę
Despite the bookâs early-19th-century setting, War and Peace touches on numerous subjects that resonate with students, according to Eaton and Epstein, such as societal changes and corresponding shifts in attitudes regarding marriage; the possibility of pacifism in the contemporary world; the limits of human freedom; and which qualities are considered âmasculineâ and âfeminine.â
âTolstoy wrote War and Peace as a coming-of-age story for many of the characters, as they see their vision of the world being torn apart,â said Eaton. âOur students have certainly been experiencing and witnessing considerable upheaval themselves, so itâs something they can relate to.â
Students formerly or currently in the War and Peace classes had varying degrees of familiarity with the book and its reputation but have relished the experience of reading and analyzing it. Ìę
Yizhe Shi â28, a philosophy and English major, points to the bookâs very title as the reason for its enduring place in the imagination.
âItâs âWarâ and âPeace,ââ he explained. âTo a degree, the two notions exist in relation to each other. We only live to treasure and understand peace if we grasp the dehumanizing horror of any kind of war. Similarly, we have a deeper understanding of the war when we learn what peace entails. Seeing the conflicts going on throughout the world, I think there is some obligation for us as part of a Jesuit institution to initiate some changes. War and Peace deals with the question of what it means to be a human. We see questions being raised in the book during battles that took countless lives; we also see Tolstoy probing such questions with the charactersâ journeys and changing ways of living.
âOne can say itâs a book about us, too.â
For Samantha Raia â28, a Management & Leadership and marketing major with an English minor, War and Peace had always been âone of the classic novels that people say they should read, but rarely actually do.â Early on, she wondered if sheâd bit off more than she could chewâespecially when she was carrying around a 10-lb. bookâbut found the class discussions and projects invaluable. Ìę
âThe project we did on societal expectations helped me see the characters in a different way, especially how many of their decisions are shaped by the roles society expects them to play. Looking at characters like Prince Andrei, Natasha, and Pierre through that lens made the story feel much deeper, because their struggles were not just personal but also connected to the pressures of the society they lived in. It made me realize that many of the novelâs conflicts come from the tension between what the characters truly want and what they feel they are supposed to do.â
âUnlike a novel where a character faces one problem and overcomes it by the end, War and Peace is more like an epic where the reader observes many characters change in countless ways over a long stretch of time,â said biochemistry major John Mack â29. âFor me, this makes it a purer reflection of our own lives, where personal growth is not achieved through overcoming one specific challenge but is instead a journey of prolonged and varied ups and downs. The novelty of the story makes these changes compelling, and that focus entices us to ponder our own lives in return.â
Elena Florentinos, a sophomore from Cresskill, NJ, who is a double major in English and accounting for finance and consulting, found much to appreciate about the opportunity to delve into the novel.
âIt has interesting commentary on human nature and the philosophy of history, especially the âGreat Manâ theory,â said Florentinos, referring to Thomas Carlyleâs concept of history being shaped by extraordinary individuals with innate, superior qualities. âI think these ideas are still very relevant today.
âAnd,â she added, âwho doesnât like the achievement of having read War and Peac±đâ?Ìę
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