War and Peace is in itself an invocation to the forces of life, and in the novel we see the dramatic development of children becoming adults. Tolstoy clearly shows the moments when this maturation takes place. Natasha's love affair with Anatole, Nikolay's guilt when he almost kills a Frenchman, Andrey's disillusion with the politicians at Brunn, Pierre's liberation during imprisonment, and, finally, Nikolinka's dream provide a few examples,
At the same time that Tolstoy depicts with such palpable details the childhood, youth, and adulthood of his heroes, he endows his depictions with such universality that they correspond, roughly, to the same three stages of the evolution of civilization. The Rostov family, for instance, radiates a spirit of joyful paganism as the children unconsciously express the life-forces within them. In their youth they become aware of the social and environmental limitations they are victims of and follow blindly the social conventions. This is that stage where Nikolay, adoring his tsar, becomes a good soldier. Finally, when Tolstoy develops his heroes into adults, they become self-conscious enough to participate in the making of their own destiny. This is the point when Andrey expresses his nihilism, when Pierre and Natasha marry, and when Pierre discovers the strength of his inner life. Through these characters, Tolstoy arrives at the Christian stage of civilization where individuals must come to terms with their own lives in order to prepare for death.
