It looks like the folks who do analysis are lumping Books 4-5 together, & here’s what they have to say about these sections. Please let me know if this doesn’t line up with what we’re reading. Since I’m not there yet, I’m not sure if it makes sense.
Analysis: Books Four–Five
Just as Books Two and Three explore disillusionment with ideals of war and leadership, Book Four explores disillusionment with marriage. In the previous section, Andrew enters battle with a lofty ideal of glory and greatness; here, Pierre enters marriage with some optimism about his future life with Helene. Just as Andrew’s idealistic notions are quickly debunked, Pierre’s illusions of marital sanctity and respect fade when it appears that Helene has been unfaithful, and is only too happy to separate from him—provided he share his wealth. Pierre’s disillusionment, like Andrew’s, haunts him for many years.
The depressed Pierre initially searches for solace in religion, recalling Tolstoy’s own intense religious fundamentalism later in life. Indeed, this religious or spiritual exploration, an important element of War and Peace, is perhaps most notable in Pierre’s sudden conversion to Freemasonry through his encounter with the mysterious stranger in the Torzhok station. Tolstoy’s portrait of the old Mason is otherworldly and even spooky, a great contrast to the author’s normally highly realistic portrayals of his characters. The stranger, with his curious ring and his servant who seems never to need to shave, stands out as an almost supernatural element. Pierre’s initiation ritual, in which he is undressed and blindfolded, is an equally surreal addition to the novel’s realistic tone. The strangeness of these passages reinforces exactly what the alienated Pierre is seeking—an alternative to the reality of his despised everyday life, a leap into a different and better world. In a life full of confusions and minor immoralities, the appeal of the Masons’ faith in a simple struggle between good and evil is powerful to Pierre and also to Andrew, who feels swayed by his friend’s discussion of Freemasonry despite his initial skepticism.
Tolstoy’s religious exploration also finds expression in Princess Mary’s profound Christian devotion to her father. Mary cares for her father to the extent of sacrificing her own wishes for his well being, as she has renounced hopes of marriage. Living at Bald Hills, solving geometry problems far from society, Mary is like a nun in a cloister. Whenever her father is harsh and irritable toward her, she turns the other cheek meekly. As we have seen in Book One, Mary’s letters to Julie recommend spirituality as the only defense against the cruel whims of fate. Here, we see that Mary’s favorite entertainment is receiving the holy pilgrims who wander the countryside in chains, seeking mortification of the flesh in order to better understand God. Mary is so moved by the pilgrims that she even feels guilty at her love for her family, a love that she fears should be more rightly directed toward heaven.
The pervasive disillusionment that we have seen thus far in War and Peace suggests, though, that both Pierre’s and Mary’s religious feelings may ultimately prove to be misdirected. Indeed, as we see soon in Book Five, Pierre’s well-meaning efforts to liberate and educate his serfs actually leave the serfs worse off, and leave Pierre self-deceived. Later, Pierre realizes the limitations of Freemasonry, growing impatient with its mysticism and passivity. His discontentment turns to open rebellion when he delivers a speech at the Masonic lodge, after which his religious faith fizzles away almost completely. Mary’s faith does not disappear, but it seems equally misdirected: her father’s mistreatment grows increasingly tyrannical, and Mary’s nun-like isolation from the world makes her more and more irritable, even affecting her relations with her beloved nephew. As with Pierre’s Freemasonry, Mary’s Christianity begins to seem less like a source of strength in life, and more like a liability. Tolstoy does not critique the whole idea of faith, but only shows the limitations of two particular versions of it, inviting us to anticipate better alternatives that appear later in the novel.
