“In military schools the main purpose of camp life was evidently military drill, which we all disliked very much, but the dullness of which was occasionally relieved by making us take part in manoeuvres. One night, as we were going to bed, Alexander II aroused the whole camp by having the alert sounded. In a few minutes all the camp was alive, — several thousand boys gathering round their colors, and the guns of the artillery school booming in the stillness of the night. All military Peterhof came galloping to the camp, but owing to some misunderstanding the Emperor remained on foot. Orderlies hurried in all directions to get a horse for him, but there was none, and not being a good rider, he would not ride any horse but one of his own. He was very angry, and freely gave vent to his anger. “Imbecile (durák), have I only one horse?” I heard him shout to an orderly who reported that his horse was in another camp.”
Kropotkin asserts his involvement in the military training which requires him to nurture a combatant’s mind-set. The drills are contributory in amplifying their prowess in fighting. The trainees are programmed to be alert based on the liveliness which ensues after the alert which is a call to be active. Besides, the Emperor is solely conditioned to his horse, thus would find it problematic to handle an unfamiliar horse. Horses are emblematic of muscle for they are valuable during combats.
“That I should not enter a regiment of the Guard, and give my life to parades and court balls, I had settled long ago. My dream was to enter the university, — to study, to live the student’s life. That meant, of course, to break entirely with my father, whose ambitions were quite different, and to rely for my living upon what I might earn by means of lessons. Thousands of Russian students live in that way, and such a life did not frighten me in the least. But how should I get over the first steps in that life? In a few weeks I should have to leave the school, to don my own clothes, to have my own lodging, and I saw no possibility of providing even the little money which would be required for the most modest start. Then, failing the university, I had been often thinking of late that I could enter the artillery academy. That would free me for two years from the drudgery of military service, and, besides the military sciences, I could study mathematics and physics. But the wind of reaction was blowing, and the officers in the academies had been treated during the previous winter as if they were schoolboys; in two academies they had revolted, and in one of them they had left in a body.”
Kropotkin’s longings are in conflict with his father’s vision for him. He is not unequivocally captivated by the military life which his father endorses. Kropotkin’s noncompliant goals portray him as an activist who is not set to trail the path which his father has delineated for him. His father is representative of parents who impose career selections on their children without considering the children’s partialities. Kropotkin’s intent of enrolling at ‘the artillery academy’ should he fail at the university affirms that his not fascinated military vocation ; hence, he strives to avoid it. Kropotkin recognizes the exertion that is inherent in military engagement; hence, he calculatedly strives to circumvent it.
“The five years that I spent in Siberia were for me a genuine education in life and human character. I was brought into contact with men of all descriptions: the best and the worst; those who stood at the top of society and those who vegetated at the very bottom, — the tramps and the so-called incorrigible criminals. I had ample opportunities to watch the ways and habits of the peasants in their daily life and still more opportunities to appreciate how little the state administration could give to them, even if it was animated by the very best intentions. Finally, my extensive journeys, during which I traveled over fifty thousand miles in carts, on board steamers, in boats, but chiefly on horseback, had a wonderful effect in strengthening my health. They also taught me how little man really needs as soon as he comes out of the enchanted circle of conventional civilization.”
Siberia offers the best ambiance to learn about existence, dissimilar civilizations and the diversity of human beings. Kropotkin educates himself by intermingling with divergent classes of people. Kropotkin’s observant disposition permits him to study the people profoundly, after which he makes deductions about their partialities. Additionally, Kropotkin’s health benefits owing to his exploration of Siberia. The education which he accumulates from Siberia is expansive and eye-opening for it is exclusively based on first-hand involvement.
“Marriage without love, and familiarity without friendship, were equally repudiated. The nihilist girl, compelled by her parents to be a doll in a Doll’s House, and to marry for property’s sake, preferred to abandon her house and her silk dresses. She put on a black woolen dress of the plainest description, cut off her hair, and went to a high school, in order to win there her personal independence. The woman who saw that her marriage was no longer a marriage, that neither love nor friendship connected those who were legally considered husband and wife, preferred to break a bond which retained none of its essential features. Accordingly she often went with her children to face poverty, preferring loneliness and misery to a life which, under conventional conditions, would have given a perpetual lie to her best self.”
Nihilism undermines superficial marriages which are founded on class and wealth. Females who advocate the nihilist spirit contravene the societal requirements which are unfavourable to their pleasure. Moreover, nihilism emboldens individuals to cut bonds which are detrimental to their contentment. Instead of play-acting cheerfulness, nihilists are sanctioned to express their spot-on outlooks. The creed of nihilism discourages individuals from indulging in self-deception.
