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FLAKES_OF_GENIUS

                                          January 27, 2006

  Considering

      WAR_AND_PEACE


  Prince Bagration is recognized by
  all (including Napoleon. And
  Prince Andrei himself) as one of
  the best Russian generals

  It's widely understood that he's
  not really that bright, but              Prince Andrei on
  he is however patient, determined;       "military genius":
  he's someone who gets the job done.
                                               KUTUZOV

       Compare his character to
       Natasha.  Despite being
       young and pretty, a
       talented singer and dancer,      Her mother worries
       she is not innundated            she is heading
       with suitors.                    toward unhappiness
                                        because of an
          She proves to be              excess of *something*.
          constitutionally
          incapable of waiting          Boris looks askance
          through a whole year          at the idea of
          of engagement in              chasing Natasha.
          in isolation --
          at the last moment                Prince Andrei, on the
          she chokes, and is                other hand is unafraid
          ready to start an                 of this surfeit; he is
          affair with an                    attracted by it, by this
          obviously worthless               girl who can't bear to
          character.                        go off to sleep because
                                            the moonlight is too
                                            beautiful.
                       This whole
       But perhaps     business is
       that's the      not handled
       point:          in a very
                       convincing
    How could          way, a          It's not implausible,
    such a             problem         but not terribly
    bright,            reminiscent     believeable.
    intelligent        of the affair
    young woman        in "Anna
    make such          Karenina".
    an absurdly                                  Natasha shows very
    stupid                     I think           little of the sort
    mistake?                   Tolstoy may       of fears and
                               have had some     rationalizations
       The answer is           problems with     I would expect in
       that she really         comprehending     a young woman in
       does have the           this sort of      her situation.
       fire, and the           thing...
       fire always                                  How about:
       dances and
       burns in                                     I bet Andrei is
       unpredictable                                keeping himself
       ways.                                        'entertained'
                                                    over in Europe.
           Which brings us
           to Napoleon's                            He's been married
           behavior in                              once already,
           Moscow...                                am I really supposed
                                                    to go through life
           Tolstoy carefully                        knowing only one
           describes Napoleon's                     man?
           options, and makes
           the point that this                      If he really loved
           great military genius                    me he wouldn't have
           somehow managed to                       stayed away for
           do precisely the                         so long.
           wrong thing.
                                                    He's such a
              The thesis that                       sophisticated man,
              Tolstoy hammers                       I bet he wouldn't
              away at is "the                       even mind as long
              impossiblity of                       as I'm discrete.
              genius"...

                      WARRING_PIECES

              But out of the parade of
              characters of different
              inclinations and abilities
              it's not hard to percieve
              a theme of "flawed genius".

                     Every character of
                     any intelligence or
                     sensibility has some
                     contrary impulses,
                     some lack that           Except
                     sabotages them.          Prince
                                              Andrei.

                                                      Unless you count
                                                      his decision to
                                                      go off to war
                                                      in the first place...

                                         MOTIVATION

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