L.O.V.E

I would not dare to say that love is one of the most important themes of War and Peace, but I do believe that it is essential to pay attention at the description of how this feeling develops in each of the characters. Beside the moonlight, the night and the comets, how is this portrayed?  When I read War and peace I feel that most descriptions of love are not straightforward, that characters fall in love suddenly and abruptly and, as a consequence, their love does not last as long as it should. Pierre acknowledges that his love for Natasha has started a long time ago, but we had no previous hints of his love having been such a profound and deep feeling that developed over the years. Is it that Pierre realizes the fact that he has always loved Natasha while he is talking to the French soldier, or rather he knew it all along but it is the first time he allows himself to think about it and to speak it? Is this love as pure as the one Prince Andrew experiences as he is approaching death? 

Prince Andrew, the character in perpetual evolution, claims that he has " experienced that feeling of love which is the very essence of the soul and does not require an object". Also, another quote that drew my attention is: " When loving with human love one may pass from love to hatred, but divine love cannot change. No, neither death nor anything else can destroy it. It is the very essence of the soul."(p.817). What is this love that one experiences only at the closeness of death? What does Prince Andrew know that us, as part of the ignorant humanity do not know? Did Tolstoy actually know how this kind of love feels or is this just a philosophical idea he just wanted to bring into the attention of his readers? 

What is love in Tolstoy's view? Is it innocent as Natasha is when she falls in love with Andrew? Is it the fruit of a comparison with bad past experiences and a desire of renewal and of a new life as it is for Pierre and Andrew? Is it selfish love as it is in Helene's case? Is it caring and worrying about your family, as it is in the Rostov family? And if we admit that love is each of the above and more, does this combination of the types of love presented in War and Peace result in the divine love Prince Andrew experiences?

What is Tolstoy telling us about love?