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What Makes Tolstoy's Characters Psychologically Complex? (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-12 09:45:20
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

“What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?” - Henry James, ‘The Art of Fiction’, (1884)

“If a Sparrow come before my Window I take part in its existence and pick about the Gravel.” - Keats, letter to Benjamin Bailey (1817)

"Our social personalities are a creation of the thoughts of other people." - Marcel Proust, In Remembrance of Things Past, (1913)

Questions to deepen your reading journey:

1) What is character? Is it believability? Morality?

2) Which characters are you most drawn to? Which characters bore you? Abhor you?

3) What events in your life were "character building" for you?

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What Makes Tolstoy's Characters Psychologically Complex?

Comments

Laura Hewitson

I will certainly be pondering the definition of character as I read. I have always believed it to be the collection of traits that makes each of us who we are, for better or worse. I'm sure Anna will help me dig below the surface into some of these more complex questions of character. I've heard a lot of talk about 'flat' vs '3D' characters in writing - I remember studying Pygmalion and the comparison of Eliza as a 3D character and Freddy as flat, so they have been my benchmarks for considering other characters in the literary canon. At this point, even though he's a cad, I find Stiva to be very approachable, and I enjoy my time with him. I see a lot of my own neurodiversity in Levin - I did have a giggle to myself when I read the line at the Shcherbatskys' when he's trying to enter the conversation and constantly says to himself 'go now!' I'm autistic and this is a daily refrain for me haha! As I commented above, I enjoy Prince Shcherbatsky's wisdom and trustworthiness. And I have a feeling Dolly will turn out to be someone of great strength as I go on. But we shall see! In reflecting on my own growth, a moment in time that stands out as a character-defining moment for me happened nearly 3 years ago. I got a call one afternoon from a paramedic saying that they had my husband (we'd been married just over a year) and were taking him to the southern hemisphere's largest trauma hospital as he had crashed his bicycle, had passed out, and had potentially injured his spine. I was understandably frightened, but immediately went into autopilot mode, got myself to the hospital, and took charge of his care for the next several weeks. His spine was fine, thank God, but he did have to have some facial surgery to repair broken bones. As a 25-year-old newlywed, I proved to myself that I had a much deeper well of strength to draw on than I had previously believed, that I could remain calm under intense stress, and that, when a crisis occurs, I am more than capable of stepping up to take care of my family. Thanks for the deep questions, Ben! I'm enjoying pondering them as I read.

Anonymous

Benjamin, what translation of Plato's Republic you recommend?

Sam Phillips
>>81652236

In the schedule for 2022, he wrote: Plato, The Republic (c.375 BC) - I personally favour the Oxford World's Classics paperback, with Robin Waterfield at the helm as translator.