"War and Peace" discussions: LET'S CONTINUE

[olichka]

Hello,everyone! Why is everything so quiet on the "War and Peace" front ? Are you all run out of ideas ? Would like some input on my latest postings !

I've noticed that a lot of people have been visiting the thread on Tolstoy, but no new posts have been made. Why is that ?

Sincerely, olichka. :lol:

[bazarov]

What do you wanna know, Olichka??? From what name is your nick made?

[olichka]

What do you wanna know, Olichka???

Have you noticed that thread " Nikolay in War and Peace " and the question whether he and Sonya would have made a good marriage ? I posted an answer, and it would be great to know someone else's opinion on that subject.

Likewise, I read your response on " Best lines about love ", referring to Dolokhov. Do you think that Sonya would have made a good marriage with Dolokhov ? You know, I just adore " War and Peace " and can't stop discussing it !


From what name is your nick made?

Olichka is a diminutive of Ol'ga which is, you guessed it, my real name.

What about you ? Did you choose your name after a character in " Fathers and Sons ? "

[bazarov]

Bazarov - if not the greatest, than the most ''like me'' individual in Russian literature!
I see you like Sonya very much also:) I couldn't find your post referring on Nikolay, but I think, if there weren't those financial problems for Rostov's, caused by Nikolay's black jack game; Nikolay would marry Sonya and they would live happily ever after...I think he would never marry Maria; I think he didn't like her that much, he did that just to solve all his financial problems. She was also like a family to him...I never liked that guy too much...
Dolohov? Well, he was really some strange man, I think nobody could have happiness with him...I really liked Sonya, and felling sorry for her in the end. That Tolstoy just couldn't let two happy couples in the end!:)

[Fairy Wilbury]

May I join you?.. )

I already answered in another thread, that was made with the same question, so there is my opinion on their possible marriage.

But I just can't pass by this thread too, 'cause of:


Dolohov? Well, he was really some strange man, I think nobody could have happiness with him...

As I've already said in the second thread, Dolokhov is my favorite character here, in this book... So I can't agree with you ;)
He is a strong, decisive, person who likes risk. And he's gonna fight till the end if he started to, as it was on duel and in the battlefield, when he was still there with a wound in his head... And at the same time, he loves his sister and mother.. he loves only the closest people to him.

[bazarov]

Dolokhov himself during his convalescence spoke to Rostov in a way no one would have expected of him.

"I know people consider me a bad man!" he said. "Let them! I don't care a straw about anyone but those I love; but those I love, I love so that I would give my life for them, and the others I'd throttle if they stood in my way. I have an adored, a priceless mother, and two or three friends- you among them- and as for the rest I only care about them in so far as they are harmful or useful. And most of them are harmful, especially the women. Yes, dear boy," he continued, "I have met loving, noble, high-minded men, but I have not yet met any women- countesses or cooks- who were not venal. I have not yet met that divine purity and devotion I look for in women. If I found such a one I'd give my life for her! But those!... and he made a gesture of contempt. "And believe me, if I still value my life it is only because I still hope to meet such a divine creature, who will regenerate, purify, and elevate me. But you don't understand it."

"Oh, yes, I quite understand, "answered Rostov, who was under his new friend's influence.

Yes, Dolohov said his point of view and I've liked it a lot, but I don't understand how could he do that to Nikolai?
He seems to me like a very strong individual and I think he wouldn't find in Sonya wath he actually need.

[olichka]

Dolokhov himself during his convalescence spoke to Rostov in a way no one would have expected of him.

"I know people consider me a bad man!" he said. "Let them! I don't care a straw about anyone but those I love; but those I love, I love so that I would give my life for them, and the others I'd throttle if they stood in my way. I have an adored, a priceless mother, and two or three friends- you among them- and as for the rest I only care about them in so far as they are harmful or useful. And most of them are harmful, especially the women. Yes, dear boy," he continued, "I have met loving, noble, high-minded men, but I have not yet met any women- countesses or cooks- who were not venal. I have not yet met that divine purity and devotion I look for in women. If I found such a one I'd give my life for her! But those!... and he made a gesture of contempt. "And believe me, if I still value my life it is only because I still hope to meet such a [I]divine creature, who will regenerate, purify, and elevate me. "


I'm answering in the wrong thread, but here are Dolohov's words, Bazarov, that prove that Sonya would be the right woman for him. Dolokhov is unhappy with himself and is sincerely aspiring to a moral regeneration and purification. More significantly, he is looking for a loyal, decent, pure woman who will help him reach that state. Sonya fits that model perfectly : she is a loyal, pure ( chaste/ sexually restrained ), prudent and patient woman who could help him attain that ideal by helping him overcome his gambling, womanizing and meanness to others.

Whether she could love him is certainly a serious point for debate and that would certainly be a factor that would determine his happiness with her.

With regard to Dolokhov's true regard for her, I truly believe that he is in love with her ( there is proof of strong attraction, see other thread ) and that he would go out of his way to make her happy---after all, he is a most tender son and brother, and he would respect her for her rare moral qualities. It's the "venal" women that he hates. There's nothing in Sonya's make-up that, knowing what he values in a woman, would make him become disappointed in her.

[Lillifen]

Well said! I like Sonya. Her life isn't over at the end of the book though! She's still fairly young, exciting things could still happen to her...