Out of the entire novel, one peculiar scene continues to stand out. The passage occurs about half-way through the story (Volume II, Part Four, X to be precise) and is what I would consider the peak of the novel before everything starts to spiral downwards. Though the Rostov's financial situation continues to worsen, Natasha is happily engaged to Prince Andrei (he was my favorite) and the whole family is home together for the Christmas holidays.
In the scheme of the novel, the mumming scene does not hold incredible plot importance. The Rostovs dress up as mummers and then go to a woman's home to spread holiday cheer.
Mumming, or "the action of disguising oneself, esp. for festivities," was often a part of Christmas celebrations in old Russia (OED). Individuals would dress up, often as animals or in clothing of the opposite gender, and then go out in the streets to visit and entertain their neighbors with dancing and merry making.
Brief note: I am using the word "gender" rather than "sex" because gender refers to the cultural, social and behavioral characteristic differences between male and female, while sex refers to biological differences.
"Half an hour later an old lady in a farthingale appeared in the room among the other mummers--this was Nikolai. The Turkish woman was Petya. A clown--this was Dimmler; the hussar was Natasha, and the Circassian was Sonya, with mustache and eyebrows drawn with burnt cork." pg 523
The compelling part of this holiday scene is how Sonya and Nikolai are affected by the mumming. They are both dressed as the opposite gender and this allows Nikolai to see Sonya in a completely new light.
"Sonya's outfit was the best of all. Her mustache and eyebrows were remarkably becoming. Everyone told here that she was very beautiful, and she was in an animatedly energetic mood unusual for her. Some inner voice told her that her fate was to be decided that night or never, and in a man's clothes she seemed a completely different person." pg. 523
Dressing as a man allows Sonya to finally shine a little. She's spent the entire first half of the novel as the dowry-less, orphan cousin who loves Nikolai. No one that important. But here, drawn-on facial hair and male clothing give her a new confidence.
"'How clear it is, Nicolas!' Sonya's voice said. Nikolai turned to look at Sonya and bent down to see her face more closely. A totally new, dear face with black eyebrows and mustache, both near and distant in the moonlight, peeked from the sable fur.
'That used to be Sonya,' thought Nikolai. He looked at her more closely and smiled." pg. 524
Nikolai notices as well. He sees her as a new Sonya and finally realizes his complete love for her. Though they had sworn eternal love for each other at the beginning of the novel, Nikolai was hesitant about marrying her after coming back from the war. Now he exclaims, "Fool, fool that I am! What have I been waiting for all this time?"
"Sonya walked wrapped in her fur coat. She was two steps away before she saw him; she also saw him not as she had known him and had always been a little afraid of him. He was in a woman's dress, with tousled hair and a happy smile that was new for Sonya. Sonya quickly ran to him.
'Quite different and yet the same,' thought Nikolai, looking at her face all lit up by the moonlight. He slipped his hands under the coat that covered her head, embraced her, pressed her to him, and kissed her on the lips, which had a mustache on them and smelled of burnt cork. Sonya kissed him right in the middle of the lips and, freeing her small hands, put them to his cheeks." pg. 529.
Tolstoy continues to bring up Sonya's eyebrows and mustache. He reiterates over and over again that they are both in clothing of the opposite gender. I think that this is important. It's as if they need to experience each other as the opposite gender in order to fully love. It's a fascinating portrayal, and perhaps commentary, on relationships and gender.
After this scene, Nikolai resolves to never be parted from Sonya. But this is only 530 pages into the 1215 page novel... and well, you know how these things end up.
No comments:
Post a Comment