Chapter 3
We're now following Kutuzov, who is meeting with the Austrian General, having received a letter from Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. This is not the Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose shooting was the tipping point for the start of WWI. He won't be born until 1863. Nor is it his father, who was called Archduke Karl Ludwig. As far as I can tell, this character is fictitious, but may or may not be based on Karl Ludwig. Who knows. Prince Andrew walks in while Kutuzov is talking about how very sorry he is that he has not been ordered to join his troops with the Austrian army.
Andrew is being referred to in the text as 'Bolkonsky' a lot more now; perhaps the use of different names illustrates relationships and roles? I'm going to stick with Andrew anyway. Apparently, Prince Andrew now has a purpose in life and his face reflects that, instead of his previous spoilt-bratness. Good for him. He tells off a friend of his for joking about the war, considering the number of deaths so far. In French though, so he's still a bit of an aristo-wanker.
I read over the spark notes, and apparently the characters speaking French highlights the irony of Russia going to war with France while still considering aristocracy and French to be aligned. Also, apparently Dolokhov is one of Pierre's friends. That rings a bell. Presumably, he was drinking with the bear.
Edit: I found Dolokhov. He's a famous 'rake and scapegrace' along with Anatole. He is poor but tends to win at cards, so it doesn't matter. He's the one who bet he could drink an entire bottle while standing outside on the window ledge. With the bear. I still don't understand why they even had a bear.
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