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Hélène Kuragin Bezukhov
Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov was a historical figure whom Tolstoy adapts for the novel. During the war of 1805, he is the commander in chief of the Russians fighting in Austria. He is noted (and vilified by some) for resisting the younger generals’ insistence on offensive war against Napoleon. Resigned to the younger generation’s victory and to the inevitability of fate, he tends to fall asleep at key moments. Despite Emperor Alexander’s personal dislike of Kutuzov, he is appointed commander in chief of the Russian army in the summer of 1812, replacing Barclay de Tolly. Though he is much criticized after the War of 1812 for abandoning Moscow and not destroying the retreating French army, he is unfailingly faithful to his goal of simply defeating the French and driving them out of Russia, dying not long after he achieves this. He has a deep, unflagging faith in the Russian people, and he doesn’t care about the broader picture of Europe’s fate.
General Kutuzov Quotes in War and Peace
The War and Peace quotes below are all either spoken by General Kutuzov or refer to General Kutuzov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Volume 4, Part 4: Chapters 4–9
Quotes
For Russian historians— strange and terrible to say— Napoleon, that most insignificant instrument of history, who never and nowhere, even in exile, displayed any human dignity— Napoleon is the object of admiration and enthusiasm; he is grand. While Kutuzov, a man who, from the beginning to the end of his activity in 1812, from Borodino to Vilno, while always being true to himself in all his acts and words, shows an example uncommon in history of self-denial and awareness in the present of the future significance of the event— Kutuzov seems to them something indefinite and pathetic, and when they speak of Kutuzov and the year twelve, it is as if they are always slightly embarrassed.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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General Kutuzov Quotes in War and Peace
The War and Peace quotes below are all either spoken by General Kutuzov or refer to General Kutuzov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Volume 4, Part 4: Chapters 4–9
Quotes
For Russian historians— strange and terrible to say— Napoleon, that most insignificant instrument of history, who never and nowhere, even in exile, displayed any human dignity— Napoleon is the object of admiration and enthusiasm; he is grand. While Kutuzov, a man who, from the beginning to the end of his activity in 1812, from Borodino to Vilno, while always being true to himself in all his acts and words, shows an example uncommon in history of self-denial and awareness in the present of the future significance of the event— Kutuzov seems to them something indefinite and pathetic, and when they speak of Kutuzov and the year twelve, it is as if they are always slightly embarrassed.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
