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Tolstoy's War & Peace - Lecture One (Vol. I, Part I) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-07 20:15:54
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

'Well, Prince, Genoa and Lucca are now nothing more than estates taken over by the Buonaparte family.'

Today we are discussing the first part of volume one of War and Peace. We are going to meet these wonderful characters together and immerse ourselves in the vivid world Tolstoy gifts us.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the conditions of war and peace
  • 3:21 the opening of War and Peace
  • 6:29 Tolstoy’s ironic commentary
  • 10:00 the battlefield of high society
  • 15:00 on the balance of power
  • 18:50 meeting our central protagonists
  • 20:00 two kinds of matchmaking
  • 21:37 meeting Pierre & Andrei
  • 29:00 what are they fighting for?
  • 33:00 do we have free-will?
  • 36:00 Tolstoy’s sense of humour
  • 38:00 meeting Nikolai & Boris
  • 42:00 Pierre & Natasha
  • 45:00 Count Bezukhov’s deathbed
  • 49:00 Marya & Andrei
  • 54:35 on understanding anger
  • 56:30 how the first part ends
  • 58:15 questions for you

Musical Appreciation

  • Symphony No. 3, 'Eroica': Beethoven originally dedicated this symphony to Napoleon, believing him to embody the ideals of the French Revolution. He withdrew it when he crowned himself Emperor. Treat yourself to a listen to the Karajan version with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra here. 

Documentary Recommendation:

  • The Rise of Napoleon: This documentary from Timeline is superb for swiftly providing historical context when it comes to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Supplementary Books:

Thank you to book club readers who have contributed some wonderful recommendations in our discussion threads for supplementary reading material. So I would like to draw your attention to:

Questions to Consider:

1) What are you impressions of War and Peace thus far? 

2) Who is your favourite character so far? 

3) Where can meaning be found?

If this is your first reading of War and Peace, I would love to know how the story is meeting your expectations. If this is a reread for you, what is it like returning to the story? And please do share with us your favourite passage from the first part of volume one.

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Tolstoy's War & Peace - Lecture One (Vol. I, Part I)

0:00 the conditions of war and peace 3:21 the opening of War and Peace 6:29 Tolstoy’s ironic commentary 10:00 the battlefield of high society 15:00 on the balance of power 18:50 meeting our central protagonists 20:00 two kinds of matchmaking 21:37 meeting Pierre & Andrei 29:00 what are they fighting for? 33:00 do we have free-will? 36:00 Tolstoy’s sense of humour 38:00 meeting Nikolai & Boris 42:00 Pierre & Natasha 45:00 Count Bezukhov’s deathbed 49:00 Marya & Andrei 54:35 on understanding anger 56:30 how the first part ends 58:15 questions for you

Comments

Brock Eldon

This is my second time through "War and Peace": I am even more dazzled than I was the first! - and perhaps even more so, as, for instance, with the scenes like Anna Pavlovna's soiree, seemingly random characters and utterances on first reading take on a deepened meaning with continued engagement after so many years. I'm surprised by how many of the characters I remembered so well (I remember finding the opening 50-100 pages of "War and Peace" rather incomprehensible on first reading, with so much going on!). I would also highlight, of course, how wonderful it is to return to these characters and this early, historical nineteenth-century Russia of Tolstoy's . . . Every page, every paragraph, every sentence, almost, brings to mind some vast, magisterial oil painting. I am astonished to return to this work so immediately immersed. Pierre is my favourite character because I feel that I share the most in common with his thought processes. I am also, however, much more engaged by the character of Prince Andrei - AND Natasha with this reading . . . Natasha's story is given such wonderful treatment in the Soviet film by Sergei Bondarchuk. Tolstoy's ensemble makes for so many spinning plates - so much action unfolding at once as we weave in and out from the lives of these characters, that my early impressions on this second reading already attest to me how inexhaustible this work truly is. Where can meaning be found outside the battlefield - reckless adventures and fantasies of war, or tense drawing room discussions about the future of one's domestic life. I see it emerge in Volumes I-II in friendship - specifically the friendship between Pierre and Andrei, and then in the revelation, slightly later on, in the aftermath of Pierre's duel with Dolokhov, where we learn of Dolokhov's care and for his mother . . . As Eliot reminds us in "Middlemarch," meaning can be found in the seemingly low maintenance of the everyday. When I refer to "friendship" in Tolstoy's novel, I refer to it in the Aristotelean sense of confidence and care in the ones immediately around an individual, authentic interaction. We see the opposite of this in Pierre's uncomfortable union with Helene.

Anonymous

I'm catching up with this reading, but brilliant to have everyone's thoughts already on these posts! 1) What are you impressions of War and Peace thus far? Thoroughly enjoying. As many have said, the language is far easier and straight forward than i was expecting (Briggs translation). And we're straight in to the action brilliantly with the Anna Pavlovna soiree - a great opportunity to meet all our characters. I re-read a few of these chapters to make sure I got the characters firmly in my head. Also, I love the short chapters! I find they really help break the reading down and are far less intimidating. 2) Who is your favourite character so far? Pierre. I love his spirit and forthrightness in his speech standing up for what he believes with the passion of youth. I like how his career options are either war or peace ("Are you going to be a cavalryman or a diplomat?" chapter 5). 3) Where can meaning be found? I loved your analysis in your lecture Benjamin. Really perceptive and caught a lot of things I missed. I think the main meaning of this part is showing how war and peace aren't so different from each other, and how they are in constant tension in various aspects of life, and not just in a military setting. This is echoed in the personalities of Pierre (more confrontational and symbolising war) and Andrey (more reserved and symbolising peace), yet they get on well together and theirs seems to be the only genuine friendship amongst the high-society that we've met! And in while I've been typing this out, I can see a theme emerging of how characters can represent war and peace, particularly Pierre and Andrey. Pierre looks to be going down the 'peace' route in life (I can't see him joining the military), yet his personality often causes disruption. And yet by the end of the part he is victorious through inheriting this fortune! Andrey is literally going to war, yet is trying to keep the peace through a lot of his actions in these chapters. And at the end of the part leaves Bald Hills a little defeated after an awkward moment with his dad, and leaving behind an upset pregnant wife.