The Meaning of Denisov’s Inability to Pronounce the “r” in Tolstoy’s Novel War and Peace
In Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace , the inability of the character Vasili Denisov to pronounce the letter “r,” while seemingly a characteristic detail on the surface, is directly related to the novel’s deeper structure, its understanding of language, corporeality, and the historical subject. This article aims to examine Denisov’s speech defect within the context of Tolstoy’s anti-hero narrative, philosophy of history, and critique of power. The discussion is supported by Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia and Erich Auerbach’s analyses of realism.
1. Introduction: The Ontological Function of Detail in Tolstoy
In Tolstoy’s novelistic aesthetic, detail serves an ontological rather than a decorative function. In War and Peace , the characters’ physical characteristics, speech patterns, and flaws are layers of meaning that determine their position within the historical process (Auerbach, 2003). Denisov’s inability to pronounce the “r” sound is not, in this context, a coincidental character trait, but a micro-level representation of Tolstoy’s understanding of the historical subject.
2. Denisov’s Speech Impediment and Body Language
Denisov’s lisp is deliberately rendered phonetically in the text by Tolstoy . This choice, while making the character’s language “imperfect,” distances him from abstract ideological language. Denisov:
- It does not produce grand strategic discourse.
- It does not use command language in a mechanical way.
- Speech is dependent on the body, emotion, and instinct.
This situation is consistent with Foucault’s observations on the relationship between power and language: normative power language aims to suppress bodily defects; Denisov, however, is positioned outside this norm (Foucault, 1975).
3. Linguistic Deficiencies and an Anti-Napoleonic Understanding of History
In War and Peace , Tolstoy portrays Napoleon as a flawless, rhetorically smooth, but historically ineffective figure. Unlike Denisov, Napoleon’s language is fluent; however, according to Tolstoy, this fluentness is an illusion that does not come into contact with historical reality (Tolstoy, 1869/2007).
In this context, Denisov’s inability to pronounce the “r” produces the following paradox:
| Napoleon | Denisov |
|---|---|
| Flawless discourse | Flawed discourse |
| The language of central authority | Marginal body language |
| The subject who thinks he controls history | A person swept along by history |
From Tolstoy’s perspective in his philosophy of history , imperfect language is closer to the truth because history progresses not through planned discourses, but through disorderly human actions (Berlin, 1978).
4. Bakhtin and Heteroglossia: Denisov’s Voice
Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia (multilingualism) is functional in making sense of Denisov’s speech impediment. Denisov’s language deviates from proper Russian influenced by aristocratic French; thus, a monocentric language regime is broken in the novel (Bakhtin, 1981).
Denisov’s voice:
- It disrupts official military discourse.
- It prevents the novel from turning into a monological structure.
- It incorporates a lower-class and physical reality into the text.
In this respect, Denisov can be read as one of the suppressed voices of history in Tolstoy’s novel .
5. Physical Imperfection and Ethical Superiority
In Tolstoy, ethical value is revealed not in rhetorical mastery, but in bodily vulnerability. Denisov’s speech impediment is combined with his emotional honesty. His loyalty to Rostov, his protective attitude towards his soldiers, and his sudden outbursts of anger create a profile of a flawed but ethically authentic character.
This aligns with Auerbach’s statement regarding Tolstoy’s realism: “In Tolstoy, sublimity lies not in perfection, but in the moral intensity found within ordinariness” (Auerbach, 2003, p. 482).
In summary
Denisov’s inability to pronounce the letter “r” is more than just a linguistic detail in War and Peace ; it’s a pivotal point where Tolstoy’s understanding of history, power, and humanity intensifies. Flawed language, flawed bodies, and flawed subjects are, in Tolstoy’s view, the true carriers of history. In this context, Denisov should be considered one of the figures who remain outside the grand narratives but are closest to historical truth.
Source
- Auerbach, E. (2003). Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature . (Trans. A. Yardımlı). Istanbul: Say Yayınları.
- Bakhtin, M. (1981). The Dialogic Imagination . Austin: University of Texas Press.
- Berlin, I. (1978). The Hedgehog and the Fox . New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and Punish . New York: Vintage.
- Tolstoy, L. (2007). War and Peace . (Trans. A. Ataç). Istanbul: İş Bankası Cultural Publications. (Original work 1869)