Simplicity in The Cossacks

To put things simply, “simplicity” in The Cossacks is anything but simple. Olenin desires to escape his past in the city for the “simplicity” of the more rural life. Rousseau and Tolstoy would be proud of his efforts to live as a natural man, although his philosophy does, of course, become muddled by his desire to practice self-sacrifice when he should be promoting the survival of the fittest. Here lies one complication.
Furthermore, Lukashka describes simplicity as “simplicty in the sense of not grudging him a drink,” (145) indicating that Olenin has impressed him. This view of simplicity in life as the ability to let go of one’s worldly concerns and give to others in order to bring them happiness seems accurate and false when inspected through different lenses. The Cossack way of not begrudging one’s neighbor material amenities seems simple enough, but viewed through the lens of the natural man, this claim is perposterous. The most simple way to live according to Rousseau and Tolstoy’s nature lover would be to fend for oneself and reserve one’s emotion in order to ensure survival. Either lens is valid in its own right, one from a moral standpoint and the other from a realistic standpoint. Although Lukashka admires Olenin’s generosity of drink at first, when the newcomer gives him a horse for practically no reason, the Cossack becomes mistrusting and confused. Apparently simplicity can complicate a situation.
Tolstoy’s inner struggle to find the single, simple answer for life’s happiess, death’s peace, and religion’s validity appears just as complicated as the characters’ conflicting ideas of simplicity in The Cossacks.

Tags: Literature, Marijke DeVos, Russian, Simplicity, The Cossacks, Tolstoy, van de Stadt, Williams College