Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy popularly known as Leo Tolstoy is regarded as one of the topmost authors of all time. He was a Russian author famously known for his two grand novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Tolstoy was popular for his realist style of jotting. His experimental chops and conversion of that observation into jotting were amazing. His capability to claw into mortal sub-conscious minds and understand their deepest study was extraordinary and give him the title of master of realist jotting
Birth and Early Life and death
Leo was born in Russia to a rich aristocratic family in Moscow on September 9, 1828-. They possessed a huge estate in Russia. His Father’s name was Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy and his mama’s name was Countess Maria Tolstoya. He was the fourth child out of five siblings. His Parents failed when he was small and he and his siblings were substantially brought up by cousins.
He was home tutored during his early days and latterly on he was enrolled in the University of Kazan to study the oriental language. But due to his poor performance in academics, he was forced to choose a less demanding and easy subject- Law. During this period, he got interested in workshops on literature and ethics. He was told by the workshop of Charles Mephistopheles and Jean Jacques Rousseau. But in those ages, he majorly lived a life of debauchery. He spent the utmost of his time gambling, drinking, and chasing women. Due to his loose life, he wasn’t suitable to complete his degree and latterly on returned to his estate to manage its affairs, but he continued to lead loose life. Leo was veritably close to his eldest family and on his asseveration, he joined the army and also served during the Crimean war. He didn’t like the military service due to the horrible war and terrible scenes he witnessed, and after the Crimean war, he abnegated from the military service.
He got married in his thirties to Sophia Andreevna Behrs who was 16 younger than him and was the son of his nonage friend. She belonged to a rich aristocratic family. They had thirteen children together of which only ten of them survived immaturity. Originally their marriage was veritably happy and joyful but with the passage of time resentment grew between them. It was substantially due to changing station of Leo. As he come more humanitarian and his beliefs grew stronger and when he decided to give away the utmost of his wealth issue started to rise between the couple. Similar discontent rose to a breaking point that he decided to run down from the house. And in the medial night in chilly cold downtime, he intimately slips down from house but due to his declining health, he can not survive and collapsed due to pneumonia and failed on 20 November 1910.
Literary Career and style of writing
Notorious work of Leo Tolstoy includes novels like Anna Karenina, which is grounded on plot of affair of a lugubriously wedded rich woman with a cavalry officer, and War and peace( 1869) which deals with Leo’s idea of war history family complications and romantic engross and about 1825 December rebellion. Nonage( 1852) Boyhood( 1854) Youth( 1856) trio grounded on his early life and can be said as semiautobiographical novels. His other novels and short stories include-” Sevastopol Sketches”( 1855 – 1856), The Cossacks( 1863), A Confession( 1879) Church and State( 1882), What I Believe( 1884) What Is to Be Done? ( 1886), The Death of Ivan Ilyich( 1886), On Life The Love of God and of One’s Neighbour( 1889), The Kreutzer Sonata( 1889). The Kingdom of God Is Within You( 1893), Christianity and Patriotism( 1894), The Deception of the Church( 1896), Rejuvenation( 1899), What Is Religion and What’s its Essence? ( 1902), The Law of Love and the Law of Violence( 1908).
As we see the timeline of Leo Tolstoy’s work we will find a gradational shift in jotting of his work. He moves towards a further realistic and realist style of jotting and contains some substance of morality but after part of his life, he shifted towards jotting of further radical and pacificist view and supported the idea of non-violence in his book The Kingdom of God Is Within You which latterly told mahatma Gandhi to peaceful kick. He roughly criticized Russian society and its way of living and orthodox religious training which can find presence in his notorious work Rejuvenation.
Before the workshop, Tolstoy was completely grounded on literalism, but it depicted the world that he saw in reality but in after part of his life he developed a philosophical style of jotting which was substantially concerned with religious, moral, and political training. His narrative style changed from fabrication to nonfiction and latterly on substantially in form of essays and was substantially pedagogical.
Leo Tolstoy was a veritably notorious author. His jottings weren’t just for entertainment purposes but contains important life assignments and moral values and intrigue us with fascinating questions about life. His jottings continue to be important in contemporary times too.
By: SPRIHA MRIDU
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