All that is left for Tolstoy to tell is the"happy ending" of his surviving protagonists, and this he leaves for the First Epilogue. Having satisfied the nihilism of Prince Andrey with death, the author discusses the affirmative life-seeking resolutions of Pierre with his newborn soul. Natasha's referring to this baptism when she speaks of Pierre's"moral bath" shows her recognition of a future liberated from the memories of the past. She and Pierre are ready for a new life together, a life founded on the acceptance and understanding of death.
Tolstoy thus defines maturity in these favorite protagonists. Maturity, he seems to say, is an internalization of death as part of the life process. His system of growth is based on the unity of the forces of life with death, of the experiences of the past that are part of the chain toward the future, of the universality of human souls, both living and dead. Andrey's spirit has contributed to the depth of that of Natasha, while the spirit of Platon lives within Pierre.
