Sevastopol, or Sketches of Sevastopol, is a set of three short tales set during the siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855). During the Crimean War Sevastopol was an important strategic port held by the Russians. It was besieged by the French (and allies) until it eventually surrendered after a notoriously bloody and horrific siege. Tolstoy visited Sevastopol during the siege and his ‘sketches’ came from what he witnessed.
Sevastopol
The first sketch is told in the second person, placing you, the reader, in the scene receiving a tour (probably the same tour Tolstoy himself got when visiting) this sets the scene for the two real tales and places the reader in the town as an observer. The second and third parts are both short snippets in the life of an officer during the siege. The style is quite simple and personal; you experience the emotions of the key characters, their fears, paranoias and courage. Tolstoy, as I have already written about (here), was a devout pacifist and it is easy to see this come through in these tales. You know to expect the worst for the characters, you know the bleak pointlessness of war will be represented in their demise; death or dismemberment, the only question by the end is how will it occur. It is obvious that the meaning of Tolstoy’s sketches are to show in bleak, simple and personal terms the pointlessness, futility and wastefulness of war. The characters strive for glory, advancement and medals. They bolster their courage through camaraderie, bravado or religion. Underneath this, however, the characters all show their fear and hopelessness, inevitably moving towards death or disability. Their hope turns towards death with glory, honour; but even this you know will be dashed and they are left to die in a field hospital, anonymous upon the battlefield or tossed over the rampart because transporting the bodies away is too difficult.
Pacifism
The pacifism and clear repulsion at the horrors of the war, however, does not damn the soldiers. The soldiers show courage (although Tolstoy leaves you questioning what courage is), they do their duty and are not shown to be evil or cruel. The higher up the chain of command an officer is though the more he seems to be shown to be callous and detached from the horror. The officers in town are arrogant, haughty and treat the battle as some kind of game and are in contrast to the soldiers in the batteries who are suffering (and dying). The absurdity is highlighted during the scenes of truce where the soldiers clear up bodies and officers on opposing sides chat and discuss acquaintances.
It is clear that Tolstoy’s experiences witnessing some of the horrors of the Siege of Sevastopol informed his pacifism and these opinions shine through the narratives. Similar to my opinions of Ivan the Fool (here) the meanings of Tolstoy’s tales are not at all subtle but the writing still has great power in persuading one towards his point of view and achieving a simple but poignant view of war in all its absurdity.
How next to continue my Tolstoy journey?
Darren Ellis is a teacher, creative and owner of Rotten Poetry. He reads classic literature, fantasy, sci-fi, literary fiction and history.