Abstract

This dissertation is the first study devoted exclusively to the issues related to the endings of Tolstoy's novels. Tolstoy scholars remain divided over the way he concluded his novels with some finding these endings complete and convincing while others consider them ambiguous and problematic. Recent criticism emphasizes the writer's use of an incomplete ending as a means to achieve the effect of irresolution and "open-endedness." Pursuing these arguments, this study discusses the endings of Tolstoy's three major novels War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Resurrection with an emphasis on those issues overlooked by previous scholarship. ;Tolstoy's critics and the writer himself attribute the singularities of his novels to their "distinctly Russian" character. This study clarifies that his novels became synonymous with national identity during the period when Russia was intensively debating its future destiny. As the Great Reforms introduced the country to Western economic and social models and institutions, Russian writers and philosophers embarked on the process of defining their own culture in contrast to these models. ;For many, Russia's destiny became linked with the millions of peasants who joined the nation after the Emancipation. As they pondered their cultural identity, Russian writers often resorted to metaphors from the exact and natural sciences. This study explores Tolstoy's use of scientific metaphors as he employed them in his endings to reflect on the issues of national identity