The Story “The Cossacks” and the Struggle Between Romantic and Anti-Romantic Tendencies in the Worldview of L. N. Tolstoy in the 1850s–1860s

Abstract

This article demonstrates that Romanticism, understood as a philosophical worldview that emphasizes the human personality and its spiritual richness, was the main tendency of 19th-century Russian culture and determined the creative and ideological development of Leo Tolstoy in the 1850s. This worldview is evident in the story “Albert,” where the brilliant violinist serves as a typical example of a Romantic supreme personality, rising above all others thanks to his spiritual development. At the same time, an opposite, anti-Romantic tendency develops in Tolstoy’s war stories, which finally comes to the fore in the story “The Cossacks.” In the story’s protagonist, Tolstoy portrays a personality directly opposed to the Romantic model. In an attempt to approach the Cossacks, Olenin downplays his spiritual impulses, striving to approach the level of semi-animal existence characteristic of the Cossacks. This model of man, influenced by the ideas of J.-J. Rousseau, later defined the main tendency of Tolstoy’s philosophy of history in “War and Peace.” However, in 1869, Tolstoy became fascinated by the philosophy of A. Schopenhauer, which led to his return to the Romantic worldview and the concept of supreme personalities.