War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide

This episode examines some likely influences in Tolstoy’s writing of the Duel between Pierre & Dolokhov.Dueling is a romanticized part of aristocratic life that stemmed from Western Europe, where the precursor were the jousts and mêlées of medieval knights.  With the later development of militaries, there were where occasions were tribunals & commanders could order disputing officers to fight it out in organized affairs.In Moscow of the early 19th century, engaging in a duel was a mark of sovereignty among the nobility.  Just like in Western Europe and America, the practice was carried out with secrecy, explaining why Pierre’s duel was held around 8 a.m in the outskirts of a forest.  Some of the Decembrists, who rebelled against the Czar in 1825 and were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, built a reputation for dueling. The affairs themselves could be quite full of pageantry and tension. Only on the rare occasion would duels result in permanent injury or death.  Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s national poe