The Idealism of Natasha Rostov

♦ Sadie Barandes ♦

From the rosy maidens in fairytales to the hopeful protagonists of young adult fiction, idealism can be found throughout a wide array of literature. Storytellers from all backgrounds and time periods have employed the trope of the “idealistic character” to develop plotlines and absorb readers. Among the authors who have employed this trope is Leo Tolstoy, a nineteenth-century Russian novelist known for his stories of romance, death, and political conflict. One of his most famous works is the novel War and Peace, published in 1867. 

War and Peace takes place in Moscow and St. Petersburg during the Napoleonic Wars. The plot follows four aristocratic families; the Rostovs, the Bezukhovs, the Karagins, and the Bolkonskys. These families must struggle through the chaos of war, while simultaneously trying to retain their money and reputations. The Rostov family has several children, one of whom is Natasha Rostova. Tolstoy follows Natasha’s life from childhood to motherhood, creating a coming of age story within his historical novel. Natasha is described as energetic, hopeful, and naive, perfectly fitting her into the mold of the “idealistic” character. Throughout the novel, Natasha’s naiveté influences several encounters with romance, which range from successful to disastrous. Tolstoy uses her character to emphasize the theme of love, and the ways in which it impacts our lives.

Natasha’s idealism heavily impacts her love life, for better and for worse. She first encounters love at the age of thirteen, when she begins to fall for her brother’s friend, Boris Drubetskoy. During a dinner party, Natasha tries desperately to win the affections of Boris, who is several years her senior. She eventually brings him to an unoccupied room, where she confesses her love and kisses him. Not only is Boris much older than her, but he has very little money to his name, a stark contrast to the immense wealth of the Rostovs; the prospect of a relationship between them is unlikely and would not be supported by Russian society. After Natasha and Boris share a kiss, he admits that he likes her back, and agrees to marry her. However, this marriage remains hypothetical; Boris insists on waiting several years, due to Natasha’s young age. Additionally, he is about to go off to war and will likely be gone for a long time. If they ever got married, it would not be for a very long time, and there would be countless barriers in the way. Despite this, Natasha unquestioningly believes that her marriage to Boris is a sure thing, demonstrating her blind optimism. 

Boris ultimately leaves for war, and does not return for over a year; during that year, Natasha grows and changes, like most people her age. When Boris comes home from war, he fails to make any mention of his engagement to Natasha, continuing on with his life. His course of action is not surprising, given that the agreement took place when they were both very young, and it was not made public. Natasha, on the other hand, believes there is a possible validity to the engagement; she spends several months wondering whether it should prevent her from pursuing other men. It takes her a while to catch on to the illegitimacy of her engagement, despite the significant factors, such as age and finances, deterring a marriage between her and Boris. Natasha fails to acknowledge those types of setbacks, due to her idealism. As a result, she spends months of her life gravely pondering a baseless romantic relationship.

Later in her adolescent years, Natasha grows close with Prince Andrei, a member of the wealthy Bolkonsky family; they become engaged, with definite plans of a marriage. However, Andrei is called to fight in the military, which delays the wedding. Unlike Boris, Andrei has concrete plans of marrying Natasha after returning; a marriage to Andrei would also be much more beneficial to the Rostovs, due to his significant wealth. During Andrei’s deployment, the Kuragin family’s younger son, Anatole, begins to court Natasha. Returning his affections would put Natasha’s relationship with Andrei on the line, causing devastating impacts on all families involved, but she fails to consider these consequences, and, feeling a physical attraction to Anatole, decides to run away and elope with him. Her overly-optimistic mindset blinds her to the possibility of negative consequences.

After running away with Anatole, Natasha writes a letter to Andrei’s sister, calling off their engagement so she can marry Anatole instead. Unsurprisingly, the entire affair results in disaster: Andrei is heartbroken; the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Kuragins are all horrified and humiliated by the scandal; the Rostovs and Bolkonskys grow contemptuous of each other. Not only does Natasha disregard these consequences, but she also acts with the blind assumption that her relationship with Anatole will work out. Anatole is known for being immature and noncommittal, with a historically reckless love life; additionally, he is already married to another woman. Natasha looks past all of these issues and assumes she will be the exception of his heedlessness. Natasha and Anatole’s engagement ultimately comes to a painful end, largely due to her family’s disapproval of the affair, leaving her devastated and lonely. The entire situation showcases Natasha’s idealism and how it blinds her to reality, causing the destruction of her love life, as well as the lives of her family members.

Natasha’s idealism has major consequences for her love life; however, these consequences are not entirely negative. Pierre, the absent-minded heir to the Bezukhov fortune, is a family friend of the Rostovs, frequently attending their balls and dinner parties. He first meets Natasha at one of these events, the same night that Natasha agrees to marry Boris. During the event, she dances with Pierre, and wonders if she is in love with him; throughout her relationships with Boris, Andrei, and Anatole, she finds herself thinking back to Pierre, and Pierre has similar feelings towards her. However, he marries Anatole’s sister, Helene, early on in the novel, preventing any romance between him and Natasha. He admittedly does not like Helene very much, and she cheats on him with multiple people. Despite this, he tries hard to maintain a happy marriage, demonstrating a blind optimism similar to that of Natasha. Pierre’s naiveté even causes him to stubbornly disbelieve Helene’s infidelity, despite overwhelming evidence.

Several years into their marriage, Helene cheats on Pierre once again, this time with Boris. She becomes pregnant with his child, and dies due to complications, leaving Pierre a widow. Pierre reconnects with Natasha, who has recently ended her engagement with Anatole. She becomes engaged to Pierre, and they go on to get married and have four children. Throughout their relationships with other people, they never give up on their love for each other. This refusal to give up on their feelings showcases the idealistic view of the world that they both harbor in their minds. This mindset ultimately unites them and leads to a happy ending after countless heartbreaks. So, while Natasha’s idealistic nature does cause her pain, it also leads to a happy ending for her character; this also demonstrates the converse impacts that love can have.

The character of Natasha Rostov is a prime example of idealism; she continuously fails to consider negative consequences, and expects life to play out in her favor. By narrating her romantic relationships with Boris, Anatole, Andrei, and Pierre, Tolstoy highlights the ways in which her idealistic nature impacts her love life. These particular plotlines show how a positive outlook can impact our lives, leading to joy and agony alike. These impacts further emphasize the overarching theme of love in Tolstoy’s novel, exploring its ramifications and truly establishing War and Peace as a story of love.

Works Cited

Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. 1867. Penguin Books, 1982.