Natural Phenomena in «Wuthering
Heights» and «War and Peace» as a Reflection of the State of Heroes’ Mind
Introduction
We all know that nature
plays an important role in literary works. It helps to better understand the
experiences of the characters, their state of mind, and the overall atmosphere
of the work.
So, in the work of Emilia
Bronte "Wuthering Heights" we better understand the state of mind of
the characters is due to the description of natural phenomena.
Also, thanks to the
natural phenomena in the work of Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace", you can
predict the further development of the plot, nature in its own way helps the
characters of the work to deal with their problems and internal experiences.
The purpose
of this work is to identify the influence of natural phenomena on the behavior
of characters in both works.
Despite the fact that
these literary works were written quite a long time ago, they are still
relevant today, as they raise important topics of society, so the work is relevant.
Main
part
Nature in
the novel "Wuthering heights "
"Wuthering
heights" is a very dark work in its atmosphere. Thanks to the skillfully
described natural phenomena, we can fully experience the situation that takes
place in the novel.
Let's start with the name
"Wuthering heights". The epithet "thunderstorm" refers to
those atmospheric phenomena, from the fury of which the house, standing on the
Jura, is not at all protected in bad weather.
«This time, I remembered
I was lying in the oak closet, and I heard distinctly the gusty wind, and the
driving of the snow; I heard, also, the fir-bough repeat its teasing sound, and
ascribed it to the right cause: but it annoyed me so much, that I resolved to
silence it, if possible; and, I thought, I rose and endeavoured to unhasp the
casement. »
This passage describes
the dream of the narrator Mr. Lockwood, when he stayed the night at Wuthering
heights, because there was a strong storm , and in such a Blizzard you could
not even look out the door. That night, he had nightmares. This is a
description of the second one. The narrator was visited by the Ghost of the
late Catherine Linton, who persistently begged to be let in, as he has been
wandering for 20 years. Thanks to the transmission of the weather, it is as if
we are next to the narrator and can feel the atmosphere and hear the creaking
of a fir branch on the glass.
«That Friday made the
last of our fine days for a month. In the evening, the weather broke: the wind
shifted from south to north-east, and brought rain first, and then sleet and
snow. On the morrow one could hardly imagine that there had been three weeks of
summer: the primroses and crocuses were hidden under wintry drifts; the larks
were silent, the young leaves of the early trees smitten and blackened. And
dreary, and chill, and dismal, that morrow did creep over!»
This is a description of
the weather after Catherine Linton's death. Nature seems to have changed so
abruptly on purpose to show the inner torment of Heathcliff after the departure
of his beloved to another world.
«Yesterday evening I sat
in my nook reading some old books till late on towards twelve. It seemed so
dismal to go upstairs, with the wild snow blowing outside, and my thoughts
continually reverting to the kirkyard and the new-made grave! I dared hardly
lift my eyes from the page before me, that melancholy scene so instantly
usurped its place. »
This is an excerpt from a
conversation between Isabella Heathcliff and Ellen Dean. She shared her experiences
after escaping Wuthering heights a few days after Katherine's death.
Nature in the novel
"War and peace»
Leo Tolstoy's novel War
and peace is an epic work that covers many aspects of human life. Man is a
child of nature, he cannot exist without it, all natural phenomena not only
affect the physical state of a person, but also affect his emotional and mental
balance. The descriptions of nature in Tolstoy's War and peace are not just
lyrical digressions that add color and life to the work. Nature seems to
participate in the events that take place in the novel, becoming a backdrop
against which the action unfolds. The sky, clouds, trees, fog, comet-all this
complements and enhances the impression of the events that the author writes
about.
For example, at the
beginning of the description of the battle of Austerlitz, Tolstoy draws a
picture before the reader: Russian troops are leaving in a thick fog. This fog
covers all the surrounding area so that nothing is visible and it is not clear
what is happening, where the soldiers are going, where the enemy is, and where
their own: "The fog became so heavy that, despite the fact that it was
dawn, you could not see ten paces in front of you. The bushes looked like huge
trees, the flat places like precipices and slopes. Everywhere, from all sides,
you could encounter an invisible enemy ten paces away."
Before the battle of Austerlitz, a Council of war was held, at which the Austrian General Weyrother explained
his plan of attack at length and tediously. And the fog that settled on the
ground in the morning seems to represent the vagueness and ill-thought of
Weyrother's plan. Sending troops to attack the French, the General did not
bother to read Kutuzov's opinion, moreover, Weyroter convinced the sovereign Alexander
that it was at this moment that Napoleon should be attacked. And so the
soldiers go into a thick fog, not knowing where the enemy is and when to expect
it. "The columns moved without knowing where they were going and without
seeing from the surrounding people, from the smoke and from the increasing fog,
either the area from which they were leaving or the one they were
entering."
On the contrary, in
describing how Napoleon sees the same picture, Tolstoy seems to emphasize that
Bonaparte clearly understands what is really happening and correctly assesses
the situation between the armies. "The fog was a solid sea spread out
below, but at the village of Shlapanitsa, at the height where Napoleon stood,
surrounded by his marshals, it was completely light. Above it was a clear blue
sky, and a huge ball of the sun, like a huge hollow purple float, swayed on the
surface of a milky sea of fog."
So, including contrasting
descriptions of natural phenomena occurring in the same area, Tolstoy seems to
emphasize how vague and vague the position of the Austrian-Russian army is, and
how clearly and clearly Napoleon's strategy was thought out and built.
Man and nature in War and
peace
Tolstoy interweaves a
description of natural phenomena when he talks about some key situations in
which the character finds himself. Nature seems to sympathize with the
characters of the novel, causing them to have certain States of mind and
thoughts that affect the further development of events.
Man and nature in
Tolstoy's War and peace are one. If the character is sad or dissatisfied with
life, as for example, Prince Bolkonsky, when driving past an old oak tree,
immersed in sad thoughts, then nature seems to agree with him. Prince Andrew
sees confirmation of his state of mind in the old oak tree, which does not want
to open its leaves, unlike other trees.
"Spring, and love,
and happiness!» "and how can you not get tired of the same stupid and
senseless deception? It's all the same, and it's all a hoax! There is no
spring, no sun, no happiness. Look, there are dead fir trees crushed down,
always the same, and there I spread my broken, torn fingers, wherever they grew
— from the back, from the sides; as they grew, so I stand, and do not believe
your hopes and deceptions." "Yes, he is right, this oak tree is a
thousand times right," thought Prince Andrew, " let other young
people fall for this deception again, but we know life — our life is over!»
And when Bolkonsky,
disturbed by Natasha's nocturnal conversation and her charming youth, returns,
the sight of the same oak tree leads Prince Andrew to completely different
thoughts. He goes home, enjoying and rejoicing in the coming summer, with
surprise noticing the beauty of nature, listening to the singing of
nightingales and seeing a blooming tree, suddenly realizes that " ... life
is not over at 31 years old."
He relives all his best
moments, recalls the sky that turned his soul when he lay wounded on the
battlefield near Austerlitz. Natasha, admiring the beauty of the night, and the
moonlight streaming in through his window. All this causes excitement and
joyful expectation of something good. And the old oak tree, which has changed
beyond recognition, again confirms Prince Andrew's thoughts about life:
"The old oak tree, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark
green, was swaying slightly in the rays of the evening sun. Neither clumsy
fingers, nor sores, nor the old distrust and sorrow, — could not see anything.
Through the tough, hundred-year-old bark, juicy, young leaves broke through
without knots, so that it was impossible to believe that this old man produced
them."
Depending on the
circumstances, nature in the novel "War and peace" performs a variety
of functions. For example, for everyone, the comet of 1812 foreshadowed "
all sorts of horrors and the end of the world." For Pierre, who suddenly
realized and almost confessed his love for Natasha Rostova, the same comet was
"a bright star ... with a long radiant tail", which "fully
corresponded to what was in his blooming to a new life, softened and emboldened
soul".
With a description of
nature, Tolstoy emphasizes the misery of war for everyone. Abandoned dry fields
with emaciated cattle that have nothing to eat in these fields. Soldiers
bathing in a muddy pond, an abandoned garden in The Bolkonskys ' family
estate-all this conveys much more clearly the burden that fell on the shoulders
of the Russian people during the war.
At the same time, when
the author wants to tell about something bright and romantic, the description
of nature seems to draw in the reader's imagination the feelings that the
characters experience at such moments. For example, the very night when Natasha
dreamed of flying into the starry sky, and Prince Andrew, who accidentally
overheard her conversation, seemed to Wake up from a heavy dream of despair.
Conclusion
In my work on the theme
"Nature in the novels" War and peace and "Wuthering heights
"" I would like to draw attention to the talent of Leo Tolstoy once
again, who seems to draw descriptions of nature in his novel with a brush.
Thanks to the bright and clear details, the reader imagines a beautiful moonlit
night and a young girl sitting on the windowsill, or a bright sun in the blue
sky, spread out over the milky fog, into which the Russian soldiers are
leaving. And these details make Tolstoy's work alive and natural.
And also Emily Bronte
perfectly conveys all the gloom and mystery of her work thanks to the
description of nature, which fully conveys the whole picture of the work:
whether it is a howling wind that pierces you to the bone, a noisy downpour
that brings sadness or a bright sun that gives hope for a bright future.
Natural phenomena in
these two works truly play a huge role.
