Tag Archives: Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy on Resisting a Narcissist

By Robin Bates | Published: August 17, 2017

If Trump is like Napoleon in Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” can he be defeated by popular resistance, as he is in Tolstoy’s novel?

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Great Pro-War Literature Doesn’t Exist

By Robin Bates | Published: June 22, 2017

In which I argue that great pro-war literature doesn’t exist, including “The iliad” and “War and Peace.” (Both works are magnificent; I just don’t see them as pro-war.)

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Tolstoy and the Forerunners of Twitter

By Robin Bates | Published: February 29, 2016

Before there were people sending tweets about the important developments of the day, there was witty repartee in European salons. We get a taste of such banter from Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.

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Panicked by Trump? Turn to Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: February 28, 2016

As Trump panic starts to set in, pundits are turning to literature to get an understanding of how it has all happened. This past week saw references to “Oedipus,” “Frankenstein,” “War and Peace,” and “Slaughterhouse Five.”

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Happy Families Are All Alike?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 5, 2015

Tolstoy may seem to say that unhappy families are more interesting that happy ones in “Anna Karenina,” but the happy families that conclude “War and Peace” appear to contradict this.

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For a Rich Life, Read Widely and Freely

By Robin Bates | Published: October 27, 2015

Literature impacts our lives but the influence is best if we read a wide variety of works. Limiting ourselves to just a few authors can warp us.

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On Sickness and the Power of Prayer

By Robin Bates | Published: October 17, 2015

In “War and Peace” Tolstoy gives a powerful account of how prayer and church attendance can help in the recovery process.

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Trump, Prince Vasili, and Pure Cynicism

By Robin Bates | Published: October 14, 2015

Prince Vasili in “War and Peace” will say anything to come out on top. He’s a lot like Donald Trump.

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Hillary before Judges Like Tolstoy’s Pierre

By Robin Bates | Published: October 7, 2015

The Congressional Committee to Investigate Benghazi is like the military tribunal in “War and Peace” that questions Pierre. It is interested only in answers to lead to conviction.

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