When I looked at the front cover of Tolstoy A Russian Life
by Rosamund Bartlett, the man did not reflect any famous American male writers I
had come to know on a personal level. An elderly man sits with some black hair
at the top of his head and a long white beard circling his chin and mustache. He
is wearing a white shirt that looks like it could use a good washing. What was
wrong with this picture?
Everything I had come to learn about Russia resembled nothing close
to this man’s picture. When I was a child, the Russian ballet featured talented
men and women who practiced strong work ethics. In college, my husband and I knew
a Russian professor who dressed up every single day she came to campus. When I think
about Rocky preparing to fight against the Russians, the cold rough image
appears. From what I have learned about people from Russian, there is a strong
sense of nobility in their ways. Before the image of Tolstoy, I had never seen
a person from Russia let his or her guard down.
When I see this image of Tolstoy, I can identify with him. Tolstoy was
just a man. He was not any ordinary man. This great man originated from a rich
history of Russian writers, nobility, material wealth, and wisdom. The
addiction of gambling was passed down from generation to generation. This led
to the downfall of having to sell off some of his beloved property at Yasnaya
Polyana.
In the beginning chapters of this biography, we learn the property
of Yasnaya Polyana originated during the sixteenth century as a border filled
with ash trees. In Tolstoy’s sentiment, this was the birth and death place of
both his mother and him. Yasnaya Polyana provided a sense of stability, oneness
with nature, and peace. This autobiography provides a rich history of the
Tolstoys in Russia. When I read the first two chapters yesterday, I was swept
away. Reading this autobiography makes me have a greater appreciation for the Russian
culture and history. I also feel the need to work on some terms to present when
I write over Tolstoy’s life in coming days.
One thing I have come to appreciate from the man of Tolstoy is his
favoritism of peasants. Originating from the high ranks of nobility and wealth,
this favoritism of the lowest class of civilization seems unusual for a person
of Tolstoy’s pedigree. In modern times, London royalty figures Queen Elizabeth,
Prince Charles, William, Henry, or Duchess Kate would never trade their honorable
ranks in the public spotlight to live the simplistic life of a peasant. For
Tolstoy, these peasants seemed to have more inside into the concerns of the
real world than his equal counterparts. Tolstoy felt a sense of connection with
the serfs in his country. These serfs were the oppressed, scorned, and abused
victims of Russian society until the movement to abolish serfism. Tolstoy firmly
believed in the education of serfs and peasants. In Tolstoy’s mind, the
peasants and serfs were going to advance further in this world than the noble
class.
Relating this to American history and the abolition of slavery,
strong men and women fought extremely hard to pass the Fourteenth Amendment,
which recognizes African American have equal citizenship rights. Up until July
8, 1868, African Americans suffered severe beatings and punishments as slaves. Even
though I am not a Russian historian (yet), I am assuming serfs were the same as
the American word “slaves.” In American history, strong advocates like
Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, the Tubmans,
Harriet Jacobs, fought for the rights and education of African Americans. African
Americans were treated terrible in the American society.
From another perspective, what has really changed in the American society
of African Americans? When I took the course Ethics in Criminal Justice, I learned
that racial profiling is alive and active in the police department. Thinking about
the news media, the open gun law in Florida enabled the President of a
Neighborhood Watch to shoot an African American youth to death. Private and
public prisons are filled with the African American race. On “Cops,” the hoods
are always featured. There is never a situation involving a real domestic case
in a rich white section.
I had to turn off the local news last night. The only female African
American reporter on the news station I have grown up on for the last thirty
plus years is always sent on assignments in terrible conditions. Last night,
this brilliant beautiful lady was wearing ear muffs, a heavy coat, and looked
cold. Cold is the term I use to describe the feeling I had when I watched her. When
there is crime in a bad neighborhood or area, this lady is sent out to report. This
is not something I want to watch. My heart cries for this lady’s safety each
time.
One time on the noon show, this lady did get her chance to anchor. This
lady wore a beautiful peach suit with a white chemise underneath. My husband
and I watched this woman shine as she reported on news. That day was one of the
proudest moments of my adult life. One of my prayers had been answered. I strongly
believed this reporter could do much better than only report in bad areas. This
lady has become my favorite news reporter.
Perhaps I am able to understand Tolstoy’s life of peasantry better
reflecting on American history and modernism. Tolstoy’s image on the front
cover now symbolizes every advocate in American history who fought hard for the
abolition of slavery and women’s rights. I am not impressed with the Tolstoy marriage
and his negative views on women, I also must keep in mind to separate the man
from the great writer. There have been several biographies of American male
writers I have not been too fond of. I enjoy the writings but the men could use
upgrades. I did not marry these men. I did marry the literature of our world
but I do not embrace every writer’s life with that warm gooey feeling a child
has when watching chocolate chip cookies rise in the oven.
This is also a form of tolerance, one of the twenty four virtues
outlined by the great philosopher Aristotle. Being tolerant of a writer’s
personal decisions is a virtue a reader must exhibit. I may or may not agree
with some of the personal decisions the writer chooses. For instance, when I read
the biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, I sensed Susan B. Anthony was upset
with her friend because she did not practice what she preached to other women. As
a single woman, Anthony had no responsibilities of being a wife or raising a
large family that way Stanton did. Mark Twain was one of the best American
writers who integrated regional dialect, Romanticism, and humor in his stories.
The man who made Mark Twain – Samuel Clemens – did not notice the reality of
the suffering his wife’s physical disability until a neighbor found him in his
office and told him to go home to take care of her.
Since taking World Religion in June of 2011, another founder of one
of the five main religions has stood out in my mind. The man Mohammad was never
photographed. This has always sparked interest in me. The man Mohammad could
have been a wealthy man like Tolstoy but he chose not to be pictured. There is
no picture of Mohammad, and this does not let people feel a personal connection
to him. Mohammad wanted his followers to worship his religion instead of the
man. This does make sense to me.
In Tolstoy’s biography, I am on page thirty-eight. I am able to
realize the man Tolstoy is not different from the great English poets who wrote
about nature nor is he any different from the male American authors who wrote
on naturalism. In Tolstoy’s case, the peasant’s wealth of wisdom and insight
can be compared to the brotherhood shared at sea in Stephen Crane’s story “The
Open Boat.” Brotherhood provides Tolstoy’s life with a sense of justice, which
is also one of Aristotle’s virtues. Tolstoy’s need to create a place of
education for peasants provided the brotherhood of humanity in Russia. Tolstoy’s
unselfish acts showed he cared about the men of Tula.
Perhaps the man who performed the ultra sounds on my legs to check
for a possible blood clot in September was on to something. When this
technician who graduated from the University of Oklahoma heard I loved
literature, Tolstoy’s literature was his recommendation to me. I have never
read War and Peace or any of his
other works. I have never learned the real history of Russia until now. Where
will this new travel take me?
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