Tag Archives: Leo Tolstoy

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Anna Karenina, families, husbands and wifes, War and Peace | Comments closed

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Company We Keep, D. H. Lawrence, ethics of fiction, Jane Austen, Mikhail Lermontov, Wayne Booth, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged church attendance, Prayer, ritual, sickness, War and Peace | Comments closed

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Gulliver's Travels, Hillary Clinton, Jonathan Swift, Marco Rubio, politicians, politics, War and Peace | Comments closed

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Benghazi, Benghazi investigation, Congress, GOP, politics, War and Peace | Comments closed

Tolstoy Calls Us to Aid Syrian Refugees

By Robin Bates | Published: October 4, 2015

During the evacuation of Moscow in “War and Peace,” the Rostov family gives up their worldly goods to help soldiers in distress. This is much more than many in the U.S. are willing to do for Syrian refugees.