Kanishka Chauhan

Professor Rogers

English 102

17 February 2019

The Bear and the Nightingale

One’s loyalty and duty to their family seems to play a big role in the relationships among

the characters. These roles that the characters portray are initially taught when they were

children. Families develop their own roles and duties through experience, religion, and culture

which can vary from one family to another. In the novel, ​The Bear and the Nightingale, ​the

characters define their roles in order to demonstrate their loyalty towards their family and culture

by following the norms and values provided by other family members.

Pyotr Vladimirovich, Lord of Lesnaya Zemlya, experiences struggles with his role as a

man in the family that faces pressure from his relatives into marrying a woman. On page 30,

Pyotr’s eldest son states, “‘You mean to marry this time,’ said Sasha. Pyotr nodded curtly,

feeling the weight of his family’s stare. There were women enough in the provinces, but a

Muscovite lady would bring alliances and money. Ivan’s indulgence for the husband of his dead

sister would not last forever. And, for his small daughter’s sake, he needed a new wife” (Arden).

The conflict presented in chapter 3 is, Pyotr heads to Moscow in search of a wife that will serve

as a mother figure to his youngest daughter, Vasilisa. Despite his own desires, he seeks a wife
anyway in order to serve his duty to his family. Furthermore, he lost his wife during childbirth

and he makes an effort to fill the void of his daughter for not having a mother.

Anna Ivanovna, daughter of Grand Prince, is ordered by her father to marry Pyotr

Vladimirovich. On page 48, Anna’s father demands for her to marry Pyotr by stating, “You are

to be married...You will like having sons, and Pyotr Vladimirovich is a good man” (Arden).

Anna then begins to beg her father by stating, “No Father! I don’t want to marry”, while her

father continues to refuse to hear her word (Arden 48). According to Anna’s father, he believes

that his daughter must fulfill her role as a wife and mother. Anna has no desire to be married, she

wishes to join a convent. However, in order to prove her loyalty to her family's culture she is to

marry Pyotr to satisfy her father. Although she agrees to marry Pyotr, Anna still feels as though

her role in her family is not fulfilling her desires and wants. With that being said, Anna’s role

and loyalty towards her family is represented by sacrificing her own personal values for the sake

of her father and culture.

In the novel, women are taught at a young age about what their roles should be

specifically to a man. On page 74, Dunya states to Olga, “my Olya, fairy tales are for children,

but you are a women, and soon you will be a wife. To wed a decent man and be safe in his

house, to worship god and bear strong sons--that is real and right. It is time to put aside

dreaming. Fairy tales are sweet on winter nights, nothing more” (Arden). As a child, Olga is

being taught to dream of marriage, to bear children, and to worship God. For example on page

14, it states that the role of women is, “to bear children” (Arden). According to most of the
elderly characters in the novel, the primary role of women is to wed a man. In addition, the

expectation of women having children and becoming wives to men also supports the idea of

what a woman’s role is portrayed as in the novel.

In conclusion, throughout the novel many characters show their loyalty by ignoring their

own desires for the sake of their families value. Family values are constantly outlined throughout

the story so far. In the novel, the characters struggle with their own desires and senses of loyalty

and duty by putting their families’ values first, despite having desires of their own. Pyotr has no

desire in remarrying, however, he wishes to find a mother for his daughter so he goes ahead in

search of a woman to marry. Anna also has no desire in marrying, but does so anyway, simply to

please her father. At a young age, Olga is told that she must get married, in addition to fulfilling

her other duties as a woman. All of these situations explain and demonstrate the risks and

sacrifices family members make in order to sustain their relationships and loyalty towards their

own family.
 Works Cited

Arden, Katherine. ​The Bear and The Nightingale.​ Del Rey, 2017.