Tolstoy and Schopenhauer and War and Peace: Influence and Ambivalence

This essay is an analysis of the influence that Schopenhauer’s philosophy had upon Tolstoy during his writing of the novel War and Peace. It is generally conceded that Schopenhauer’s ideas had a deep impact upon Tolstoy during the writing of Anna Karenina, however, the case of War and Peace is more complex and contested. Some have maintained that War and Peace possesses an essentially “optimistic” perspective on life, and that Tolstoy shifted his ground dramatically when he embarked upon the latter novel. Others have seen a greater degree of continuity between the two works. This essay makes the case that War and Peace is in fact a work that is deeply influenced by Tolstoy’s affinity for Schopenhauer’s view of the world. However, at the same time, it argues that Tolstoy was ambivalent about Schopenhauer’s deep pessimism, and that this ambivalence is manifested throughout the novel. Nevertheless, the essay proposes that War and Peace is a far darker and more “pessimistic” work than is often understood, and that this element of the novel is an indication of the author’s sympathy with the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer.