Natasha Rostova, The Heart Of War And Peace

Natasha's Journey And How It Captures The Essence Of Tolstoy's Epic

Natasha Rostova by Elisabeth Bohm

Well, hi again!!!

It’s been three months since I finished War and Peace, and in less than a month, I’m going to start it again as I participate in the read-along organised by

Simon Haisell

. I also just watched the four part movie adaptation by Sergei Bondarchuk. So, lately I’ve been thinking about War and Peace a lot. And when I do, the one figure that stands in front of me is Natasha Rostova. I think War and Peace, I think Natasha.

But while I was reading the book, for the most of it, she wasn’t even my favourite character, it was only around volume three that she became so. So I was wondering, how did Natasha end up becoming the heart of War and Peace to me?

I think it’s because she is, in a sense, the heart of War and Peace. I’ll explain. But there will be spoilers, so if you hate spoilers and haven’t read the book yet, you might want to skip this one.

War and Peace, at its core, is a story that depicts life. Life with its ups and downs, as they play out on a spectrum between war and peace. And Natasha, as she goes from a 13 year old young girl playing with dolls to a 28 year old married woman fussing about her children, not only experiences both these ups and downs, she also does it while sitting in the middle, at an equal distance from both the war end and the peace end of the spectrum.

It is true that Natasha physically only ever remains on the peace side, but she has close connection to the war side as well. Through Nikolai, or Andrei, or Petya, and arguably even Boris. She experiences both worlds, experiences their joys and sorrows, hopes and despairs, gains and losses, fortunes and misfortunes, glories and horrors.

One truth about life is that despite the situation, life finds a way. And in War and Peace, no-one represents this spirit of life better than Natasha. She gives courage to others when life seems unbearable, whether it’s Nikolai after losing money to Dolokhov, or the Countess after the loss of Petya. And of course, she herself at one point is ready to give up on life, concluding there’s nothing left for her to live for, which turns out to be far from true. Natasha embodies the force of life that sustains itself and struggles hard to do so no matter what impediments it experiences.

Natasha as played by Ludmila Savelyeva

Natasha is one of the three main characters of the book, along with Andrei, and Pierre. Andrei is linked heavily with the war end of the story while Pierre, with the peace end. Andrei experiences more downs than ups in the book while Pierre, more ups than downs. And Natasha is positioned in the middle, between the two, as a romantic interest to both.

She also has other strong connections. Like Nikolai, who remains mostly on the war side and has more fortunes than misfortunes, or Sonya, who remains mostly on the peace side but has more misfortunes than fortunes.

Thus, in her interactions with the world around her, Natasha captures a wide scope of emotions, struggles, and experiences, offering a glimpse of the vast range of the human condition as portrayed in the book. By doing so, she embodies the spirit of War and Peace and remains at the heart of this epic tale.

What about you? Have you read War and Peace? What do you think of Natasha? Don’t forget to let me know.

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