The Emperor is Missing—Tolstoy’s Hollowness

MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
Type 4
Most of us have read the ancient fable of the emperor wearing no clothes and would probably scorn at the peasants for failing to admit the truth—yet in the context of real life, truth often escapes us. We are deluded by the intricate designs of reality, falling for superficiality as it’s the “easy way out” and we are afraid of burning in the ugly truth.


Today I’m not here to discuss the philosophical implications of the emperor with no clothes. I’m here to question: What if it’s the other way round? What if the “truth” is that, instead of the emperor being naked, he is actually invisible behind the layers of elaborate clothing?


In a book I once read on wise philosophers of their time, the author described a haunting dream Tolstoy once had. Snow-covered grounds, icy winds and footsteps trampling—only to realize, in dawning horror, that the boots are empty, treading the snow on its own without supporting a body’s weight. Such is a picturesque reference of the “clothes with no emperor”, illustrating the truths gone unseen. Imagine a plastic crown on your head without diamonds, its body not even made of metal, as light as a feather, as unreal as a dream. The emperor was never real—he was only an echo of power and sovereignty—and the clothes themselves represent the emperor, for the idea of authority replaces the need of a body. The “hollow authority” embodies the trappings of wisdom with no sovereign mind behind them, like a cover with no book wrapped within, or an empty book with no words inside it.


Tolstoy’s philosophy and his advocating for “positive changes” in the social hierarchy system proves my point. He inspires and empowers young minds to weaponize their strength, yet he makes no effort to contribute to the revolutions, instead living as a landlord in a mansion full of servants and indulging in aristocratic comfort. His words are empty shells that contain no content—no real-life references—and he makes no effort to inhabit his ideals. He romanticizes the idea of “the working people” but despises those who are closest to him, perpetually tuned to faraway cities and people while neglecting the truth staring him in the face.


Indeed, his wisdom is beautiful—but only on the surface. Have you ever looked up at the star-spangled sky and marveled at how pretty it was? Look again. It’s swallowing us whole. The stars aren’t shining—they’re burning like cracked porcelains spilling silver blood. Perfection is only an illusion—scratch its surface and it bleeds. Or rather, in Tolstoy’s case, the nothingness seeps out, revealing the ugliness of truth.


Overall, Tolstoy is a remarkable thinker of his era, yet the beauty and intricacy of his philosophies pale in comparison to the life struggles he’s faced in his quest for truth—and his ultimate failure. However, his futile attempts highlight humankind’s pathway to truth, serving as a testament to the hardships that must be conquered before the truth can be brought to light. The Emperor’s Clothes isn’t just a metaphor—it’s a dichotomy between truth and illusion. Indeed, the jewels are pretty and the golden fabric is smooth, but what good is it if the emperor doesn’t exist? And how, in the context of real life, do we unveil its mask and dive into the oceans of “the ghost inside the machine”—the emperor’s mind and existence?
 
A metaphor between a king and his clothes used to demonstrate the dichotomization of truth and illusion. I like the way you illustrated it with your words and enjoyed reading what you said. Thank you for sharing.
 
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Insightful. Truths, like the stars, glow beautifully in the distance, but the closer we get, the closer we get the greater its intensity and its raw power. The emperor wants to contain the sun, but no one can. It will incinerate the clothes and melt the jewels, as well as the flesh. One can only live said truths when this happens, but transformation is required for this to happen. Transformation is the process. In this sense, the emperor has no clothes, but there would also be no emperor.
 
Thanks for your replies—most people in real life get bored from philosophy easily so it’s rare to find like-minded souls. Do you think I was ultimately too harsh on Tolstoy, or was his depth merely an illusion? The closer we get to truth, the more we burn from its intensity. But would you rather stick around for an answer—or get bored to death by the mundanity of reality? The choice is all yours.
 
Nah, I think they are criticisms. I was inspired by Tolstoy just after college…. many years ago, but he did live a very privileged life despite his philosophies.

I don’t know how people cannot be into philosophy. It is behind so much of our knowledge and human understanding. People are way more philosophical than they even realize.
 
When you touch the Sun, for a brief moment you become the Sun, and all that which it presides over.
Realizing you are everything, and yet still asking what more is there, you quickly turn to the opposite side of understanding- you are also nothing.

When you wear the crown, you also realize all of the illusions it contains.
You are not kingly any more than the next one.

We're all here to do what we're all here to do, and nothing more.
I imagine Tolstoy knew this and in some sense it paralyzed him.

Philosophy isn't living, but it gives good road maps.
 
@AngelineIsTyping - The beauty of that which is INFJ often comes from their awkwardness and exclusion from social interactions. This exclusion is both forced upon them and desired by the excluded yet it provides them with a rare perspective that few people can comprehend. I personally believe that this perspective applies to both those that come from a meager existence and those that have had a more comfortable and privileged life. Exclusion cuts the same regardless of the environment and the level of pain can’t be debated as greater or lesser within each existence - because pain is experienced differently by the individual and cannot be compared.

I think that if Tolstoy and Anderson were in the same room and you read your words, both might be rolling their eyes out of discomfort, but they might also laugh because of the method you use to describe an author based on the literature of another author. In a way it has turned the craft of the author on the author(s) and in that irony you employ a tool that might be used on both a large and small scale by these writers. There’s a beauty in the way this was crafted even if it does seem more like the perspective of a critic (yet every person is one).

Personally, I liked how your words were drafted because it gave an interwoven enigmatic feel to many disciplines within the metaphors. It could even be argued that Tolstoy was a metaphor even if the tone suggests otherwise.
 
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Was Tolstoy even real :thonking:
 
I'll always be more real than Tolstoy and Deadpool as long as I keep running from this black hole's event horizon.
This is a complicated joke, you'd have to be me to fully appreciate it.
At least the gif is cool.
Running Away Black Hole GIF by PERFECTL00P
 
Reminds me of something a friend of mine in the mental health industry would often say.

“My pain is greater than your pain, because it’s happening to me.”

That always made me laugh, but then I thought, maybe her pain was more because she had to listen to everyone else’s pain every day and that had to be really painful.
 
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Life is pain.
What a pain.
A real big shame.
At least there's cupcakes.

Birthday Animated Gif GIF by Marianna
 
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Life is pain.
What a pain.
At least there's cupcakes.

Birthday Animated Gif GIF by Marianna
the godhead: “you shall live a life on earth.”

faeriespirit: “yay!” <makes googly eyes>

the godhead: “you shall have a nervous system!”

faeriespirit: <whimpering noises>

Ugh,
Ian
 
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