Beyond the Napoleonic principle: Two modes of language use as bilingualism in Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'

This dissertation analyzes the bilingual character of War and Peace in the context of Tolstoy's philosophy of language, Austin's Speech Act Theory, and Derrida's concept of Performativity. I argue that War and Peace presents an ideal view of language as a form of equal communication and mutual understanding. This ideal, however, is developed with the awareness that language is part of the power structure of society. The French language in the novel calls the reader's attention to the form of characters' speech in Russian or French and emphasizes the opposition of the two cultures. The superficial juxtaposition of the two languages is replaced by the search for a way of communication that allows mutual understanding.;My discussion centers around the use of foreign language in War and Peace, which is particularly revelatory of the different modes of language use: vertically, to wield power in a performative way, or horizontally to empower and communicate in a transformative way. Close analysis of the direct speech of four of the major characters, Napoleon, Kutuzov, Prince Andrei, and Pierre Bezukhov, reveals how they use language for different purposes: Napoleon's power-oriented and mainly performative language serves as the negative foil for the other characters; Kutuzov's use of language is not performative but empowering, and is always oriented towards his interlocutor. Prince Andrei and Pierre both emulate Napoleon's performative discourse in the beginning but then find their own forms of transformative language comparable to Kutuzov's. Prince Andrei builds on his great listening and intellectual skills to achieve true understanding of others as independent selves, while Pierre learns to use his sensitivity to facilitate understanding for others. This analysis shows how the understanding of language in the novel is informed by and reflects Tolstoy's philosophy of religion and society.;This ideal of language anticipates the approach to language Tolstoy later develops in his Gospel translation, when he renders logos not as word but as comprehension of life, emphasizing the character of language as transcendental and interpretative. With this innovative translation, he contradicts the traditional Christian understanding of The Word as the force of creation and divine intervention. Drawing on Austin's concept of the performative (a speech act that actually "does things with words," such as issuing orders or declaring war), I call this Tolstoyan understanding of language transformative.