Chapter 6
We're back to Mary now. After meeting Nikolai, she'd gone to Moscow to pick up her nephew and follow Andrew's directions to reach her aunt Malvintseva in Voronezh. That was a month ago, and now she's done sorting out the practical arrangements, she has time to mourn her father and worry about her brother being in a war zone. She's also feeling peaceful, having stifled her feelings towards Nikolai.
The governor's wife comes to visit Malvintseva right after the party of the last chapter, to talk about getting Mary and Nikolai together, to "get to know one another", and Mary, rather than feeling happy, feelings doubtful and self-reproaching, but also desirous and hopeful, none of which is comfortable. She spends the two days before Nikolai arrives planning how she's going to act. This immediately goes out of the window when he does arrive and Mary suddenly turns into a beautiful and confident woman, to everyone's surprise, including her own. Nikolai is besotted. He is persuaded to declare his intentions towards her a few days later, and while he says he couldn't possibly, he agrees to go. He knows Mary is better than anyone he ever knows, better even than himself, but he can't imagine what being married to her would be like, as he'd pictured with every other woman, and he's afraid.
Chapter 7
Meanwhile, before Mary and Nikolai meet again, news comes of the battle of Borodino and the loss of Moscow. Mary has heard that her brother has been wounded and resolves to set out in search of him. Nikolai feels ashamed of himself, for being hear having fun and buying horses instead of being in the battle and becomes quite irritated at all the delays. Before he leaves, he attends church where he sees Mary, and hurries over to tell her that, if Andrew were dead, the Gazette would definitely have reported that, because he's a colonel. The type of wound Andrew has received is, in his experience, either fatal or slight, so there is a good chance Andrew is fine.
Nikolai admires Mary's spirituality, even though that's exactly what he despises in Andrew, and compares her, favourably, to Sonya. He tries again to imagine how he would propose to Mary and what being married to her would be like, and he fails because "he did not understand her but simply loved her". I'm so glad pious little Mary is getting this great love, considering how she'd been treated in the novel before now. He tries to emulate Mary's faith and prays to be released from Sonya, but is interrupted by the arrival of two letters. The first, from Sonya, frees him from their engagement. The countess has repeatedly expressed her wish for him to marry Mary - because she's rich, not because he loves her, because the countess doesn't know about that - and Sonya has decided to release him because she knows what the money will mean to his family. The second letter, from Nikolai's mother, the countess, describes the fire and the destruction of their property, and mentions that Andrew is travelling with them. The next day, Nikolai takes the second letter to Mary, feeling as if they are as intimate as family because he can bring her news of his brother. The day after that, Mary leaves for Yaroslavl. A few days later, Nikolai leaves to rejoin his regiment.
Chapter 8
We're now with Sonya. The countess has not only been going on and on about how Nikolai marrying an heiress would solve all their problems and making snide remarks about Sonya - especially after receiving Nikolai's letter about meeting Mary in Bogucharovo - but has begged Sonya to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of the family. Sonya is used to being self-sacrificing, since it's her only value in this family, but, before now, Nikolai and her own self-esteem were the reward for the sacrifice. She decides to wait until she sees him, with the intention of binding him to her for forever. Andrew turning up amongst the wounded is a sign, to her, because if he and Natasha are engaged, Nikola and Mary won't be able to marry because it will considered incest. I guess that makes some sense - if people are allowed to marry cousins, you want to make sure those cousins are as genetically dissimilar as cousins. Or maybe incest wasn't really understood, but they knew close family marrying was bad and gone a bit overboard in protectiveness.
The Rostov's journey is broken - for a day - when they reach the Troitsa monastery. Natasha spends the day with Andrew. Sonya creeps up to the room, intending to listen to their conversation, but Natasha comes out and Sonya comforts her instead. They both want Andrew to live, if for slightly different reasons. I'm not convinced Natasha wants to marry him, I suspect she'd just feel absolutely awful if he died and never got over her and found happiness elsewhere. They peek in at Andrew and Sonya is horrorstruck, convinced that the way Andrew is lying is exactly the way she saw him (the narration makes it clear that she is remembering incorrectly) when she played at fortune-telling for Natasha, back in the Christmas interlude. Natasha goes back in to Andrew and Sonya remains thinking about what it means, that her vision has come true. The countess asks her to write to Nikolai and Sonya agrees, believing, because of the vision, that it won't matter since Natasha will marry Andrew. I think Sonya assumes that Nikolai loves her enough to at least argue with the letter, and/or that he will realise that Natasha might marry Andrew and avoid preventing that, because, if not, there's always a chance that he'll marry Mary before Natasha has the chance to marry Andrew.
Chapter 9
Now we're looking in on Pierre, who has been arrested. He was treated with a little fearful respect on the first day, because his captors weren't sure if he was important, but, once the guard changes, he's just Russian prisoner number 17. He's taken out of his seperate room and put in with the rest of the captured Russians, who are all lower class and avoid him, especially because he speaks French. They all make fun of him, and he feels very sad about this. It's not his fault he was raised in Paris.
When Pierre is finally taken to court, he is asked only specific questions designed to lead to a conviction, rather than any questions which might lead to actual understanding of what happened (as, Tolstoy implies, is usual for judges). Pierre knows the whole court is only for the look of the thing anyway. He's been captured by force by an invading army.
More fires happen and Pierre and 13 other prisoners are moved to another location. It's only as Pierre looks out over the streets during this movement that he understands the significance of the burning of Moscow. The second trial is due to take place on the 8th of September, and Pierre has to wait in the location until then.
Chapter 10
It's the 8th of September and time for the second trial, examination, whatever they want to call it. Pierre has still refused to give his name. Moscow is even more burned, but the Kremlin still stands.
Pierre and the other prisoners are examined by the Davout, the Duke of Eckmuhl, who I'm pretty sure is a real person. Pierre remains silent because he doesn't want to reveal his rank and position, and because he knows Davout as a man notorious for his cruelty (though, according to wikipedia, he was a surprisingly loyal and loving husband and father for the time and circumstances, so he had that going for him). Davout decides that Pierre must be a Russian spy, and Pierre corrects him, finally giving his name as Bezukhov, which is accurate but not totally truthful. Davout points out that Pierre can't prove he isn't lying, and, as Pierre pleads his case, they make eye contact. This eye contact allows them to understand that they are both humans and brothers in some sense, and Davout doesn't have Pierre executed. Then they are interrupted and Davout orders Pierre to be lead away. Pierre is pretty sure he's heading for execution, though he doesn't know who's sentenced him. He decides it is the System, in which he is a small cog. I'm pretty sure that was the message of Battle Royale. The book anyway, the movie creates more personal motivations.
Saturday 14 December 2019
Thursday 12 December 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 12 Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Chapter 3
The Tsar receives Kutuzov's letter explaining that he had chosen to sacrifice Moscow to win the war and eventually gain Moscow back, rather than defending it, losing the war, and then losing Moscow anyway. The Tsar is dramatic about this.
Chapter 4
This is another of Tolstoy's historical essay-style chapters. He explains that, while it might seem to a modern audience that people living through historic events were probably thinking about it the whole time, very few of them actually were. They were mostly concerned with their own business. Those who tried to think of the big picture and be self-sacrificing and so on tended not to have a large effect on events, while those who just carried on with the task in front of them sometimes ended up playing large roles. The regiment Pierre raised ends up looting and barely playing a part in the war, while Nikolai Rostov, who is just minding his own business, hoping to be promoted someday, and leaving the bigger concerns to the Tsar and generals is playing a larger role in the scheme of things. Shortly before the battle of Borodino, he was sent to Voronezh to buy remounts for his regiments. It's not that he wants to leave the army, but he does quite enjoy seeing normal people going about their daily business while not in an active warzone. While buying horses, he meets with the Governor of Voronezh, who is a friend of his mother's. He invites Nikolai to visit with them later in the evening. The towns have become livelier this year, because that's where all the people from the cities went. They are all very pleased to see a nice, clean-shaven Nikolai in his dress uniform, and he quite enjoys parading around. Many of the older guests determine that they're going to get him married. Nikolai decides, instead, to flirt with the wife of one of the men there, who doesn't enjoy it as much as Nikolai expects.
Chapter 5
We're still at the party with Nikolai. He's still flirting with the blonde wife, but gets called away to see Mary Bolkonskaya's aunt, Anna Ignatyevna Malvintseva. Aunt Anna has heard all about Nikolai rescuing Mary. They talk a little, and it's clear that Aunt Anna doesn't think much of old Count Nick Bolkonski or of Andrew. The governor's wife offers to set Nikolai up to marry Mary, but he objects on two counts. Firstly, that he has never liked the idea of marrying for money, and secondly, Sonya. He says he would also object because of Natasha's engagement to Andrew, but that's over now. Still, he allows himself to be persuaded.
The Tsar receives Kutuzov's letter explaining that he had chosen to sacrifice Moscow to win the war and eventually gain Moscow back, rather than defending it, losing the war, and then losing Moscow anyway. The Tsar is dramatic about this.
Chapter 4
This is another of Tolstoy's historical essay-style chapters. He explains that, while it might seem to a modern audience that people living through historic events were probably thinking about it the whole time, very few of them actually were. They were mostly concerned with their own business. Those who tried to think of the big picture and be self-sacrificing and so on tended not to have a large effect on events, while those who just carried on with the task in front of them sometimes ended up playing large roles. The regiment Pierre raised ends up looting and barely playing a part in the war, while Nikolai Rostov, who is just minding his own business, hoping to be promoted someday, and leaving the bigger concerns to the Tsar and generals is playing a larger role in the scheme of things. Shortly before the battle of Borodino, he was sent to Voronezh to buy remounts for his regiments. It's not that he wants to leave the army, but he does quite enjoy seeing normal people going about their daily business while not in an active warzone. While buying horses, he meets with the Governor of Voronezh, who is a friend of his mother's. He invites Nikolai to visit with them later in the evening. The towns have become livelier this year, because that's where all the people from the cities went. They are all very pleased to see a nice, clean-shaven Nikolai in his dress uniform, and he quite enjoys parading around. Many of the older guests determine that they're going to get him married. Nikolai decides, instead, to flirt with the wife of one of the men there, who doesn't enjoy it as much as Nikolai expects.
Chapter 5
We're still at the party with Nikolai. He's still flirting with the blonde wife, but gets called away to see Mary Bolkonskaya's aunt, Anna Ignatyevna Malvintseva. Aunt Anna has heard all about Nikolai rescuing Mary. They talk a little, and it's clear that Aunt Anna doesn't think much of old Count Nick Bolkonski or of Andrew. The governor's wife offers to set Nikolai up to marry Mary, but he objects on two counts. Firstly, that he has never liked the idea of marrying for money, and secondly, Sonya. He says he would also object because of Natasha's engagement to Andrew, but that's over now. Still, he allows himself to be persuaded.
Saturday 7 December 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 12 Chapters 1 and 2
I took a month's break, not intentionally, because my master's project work picked up.
Chapter 1
St Petersburg are failing to take the war seriously because, basically, nothing has changed for them. Helena is ill and everyone's pretty sure it's due to her bigamy, but no one wants to say. The doctor says it's actually angina pectoris, which surprises me because I didn't know she actually had a heart. The war is discussed at only a few parties, including Anna Pavlovna's. It's the 26th of August - the day of the battle of Borodino - and she feels optimistic about it.
Chapter 2
Kutuzov has sent a letter stating that the Russians didn't retreat, the French losses were heavy, and, generally, the battle was won, so Anna Pavlovna feels nicely vindicated. The people of St Petersburg still don't really understand the war, but the ones who care about it are pretty sure Russia's won the whole thing and are happy to have learned this on the Tsar's birthday. They're unhappy that Kutaysov, a young favourite, has died, but that's really the only downside.
The next day, no more news is received and people begin to feel anxious and blame Kutuzov about it. Helena also dies, and it's rumoured that she commited suicide because her wretched, profligate husband, Pierre, refused to reply to her letters.
On the third day, news of Moscow's surrender arrives, and people are shocked.
They decry Kutuzov as a traitor and the Emperor sends him a note.
Chapter 1
St Petersburg are failing to take the war seriously because, basically, nothing has changed for them. Helena is ill and everyone's pretty sure it's due to her bigamy, but no one wants to say. The doctor says it's actually angina pectoris, which surprises me because I didn't know she actually had a heart. The war is discussed at only a few parties, including Anna Pavlovna's. It's the 26th of August - the day of the battle of Borodino - and she feels optimistic about it.
Chapter 2
Kutuzov has sent a letter stating that the Russians didn't retreat, the French losses were heavy, and, generally, the battle was won, so Anna Pavlovna feels nicely vindicated. The people of St Petersburg still don't really understand the war, but the ones who care about it are pretty sure Russia's won the whole thing and are happy to have learned this on the Tsar's birthday. They're unhappy that Kutaysov, a young favourite, has died, but that's really the only downside.
The next day, no more news is received and people begin to feel anxious and blame Kutuzov about it. Helena also dies, and it's rumoured that she commited suicide because her wretched, profligate husband, Pierre, refused to reply to her letters.
On the third day, news of Moscow's surrender arrives, and people are shocked.
They decry Kutuzov as a traitor and the Emperor sends him a note.
Friday 8 November 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Pierre wakes up determined to assassinate Napoleon and ashamed of getting distracted by his pleasant conversation with a French officer the previous day. He picks up a dagger, since his pistol has been fired, despite the fact that he'd previously decided that the last assassination effort failed because the culprit tried to use a dagger. He's also not taken into account the fact that Napoleon has left Moscow, likely because he doesn't know.
On the way, Pierre is distracted by the need to rescue a child from a house set on fire and currently being looted by the French.
Chapter 34
Pierre has saved the little girl and is attempting to reunite her with her family when he is distracted, by an Armenian family being bothered by the French. He asks some of the crowd that has built up to return the child to her family while he protects the family, which includes an 'Oriental beauty'. Pierre does this by beating up the Frenchman, which gathers quite a lot of cheers. It does not go well for him when the other French soldiers turn up. He is taken away to be court-martialled. I'm not sure how they can do that when he's not a member of their army, but perhaps it's a translational or cultural issue. He's basically being taken in because they're pretty sure he's an 'incendiary'.
...and that's the end of Part 11! The remaining 6 books are much shorter, at 20 chapters max, and the average chapter length is shorter too.
Pierre wakes up determined to assassinate Napoleon and ashamed of getting distracted by his pleasant conversation with a French officer the previous day. He picks up a dagger, since his pistol has been fired, despite the fact that he'd previously decided that the last assassination effort failed because the culprit tried to use a dagger. He's also not taken into account the fact that Napoleon has left Moscow, likely because he doesn't know.
On the way, Pierre is distracted by the need to rescue a child from a house set on fire and currently being looted by the French.
Chapter 34
Pierre has saved the little girl and is attempting to reunite her with her family when he is distracted, by an Armenian family being bothered by the French. He asks some of the crowd that has built up to return the child to her family while he protects the family, which includes an 'Oriental beauty'. Pierre does this by beating up the Frenchman, which gathers quite a lot of cheers. It does not go well for him when the other French soldiers turn up. He is taken away to be court-martialled. I'm not sure how they can do that when he's not a member of their army, but perhaps it's a translational or cultural issue. He's basically being taken in because they're pretty sure he's an 'incendiary'.
...and that's the end of Part 11! The remaining 6 books are much shorter, at 20 chapters max, and the average chapter length is shorter too.
Wednesday 6 November 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 32
Chapter 32
It's been a week since Andrew was wounded at Borodino, and he's been delirious for most of it. He's become a little obsessed with getting ahold of a copy of the gospels and with Natasha, so he's quite pleased that she's come to see him once he understands that she's really there. The doctor has been convinced that Andrew will die within the week, and is sad to see him recover since that normally means he'll die in more pain later, so Andrew dying may still be on the table. Natasha spends the next few days nursing him through the nights, and while her mother hopes that they will renew their engagement, they don't speak of it at all.
It's been a week since Andrew was wounded at Borodino, and he's been delirious for most of it. He's become a little obsessed with getting ahold of a copy of the gospels and with Natasha, so he's quite pleased that she's come to see him once he understands that she's really there. The doctor has been convinced that Andrew will die within the week, and is sad to see him recover since that normally means he'll die in more pain later, so Andrew dying may still be on the table. Natasha spends the next few days nursing him through the nights, and while her mother hopes that they will renew their engagement, they don't speak of it at all.
Tuesday 5 November 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapters 30 and 31
Chapter 30
We're back with the Rostovs, who have made almost no progress in leaving Moscow, since they set off so half-cocked in the first place and then were beset by further delays. This means that they're in a prime position to watch the first fire start in Moscow on the second of September.
Chapter 31
Natasha is told about the fire but doesn't care because Sonya has told her about Andrew, specifically the fact that he's wounded and with them. Natasha has vowed to see him, despite being terrified because she knows he's injured and is having horrible visions about what that might mean. Her mother spends the day distracting her, but she finally manages to get into his room that evening. The chapter ends with him reaching out a hand to her.
We're back with the Rostovs, who have made almost no progress in leaving Moscow, since they set off so half-cocked in the first place and then were beset by further delays. This means that they're in a prime position to watch the first fire start in Moscow on the second of September.
Chapter 31
Natasha is told about the fire but doesn't care because Sonya has told her about Andrew, specifically the fact that he's wounded and with them. Natasha has vowed to see him, despite being terrified because she knows he's injured and is having horrible visions about what that might mean. Her mother spends the day distracting her, but she finally manages to get into his room that evening. The chapter ends with him reaching out a hand to her.
Monday 4 November 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Pierre spends the evening drinking with the French officer, even translating some German for him when another officer arrives. When he finally gets a minute to himself, he has a bit of a break-down because he's realised that he can't assassinate Napoleon. He tries to leave immediately, but finds he cannot, and stays as the French officer tells him of noble deeds and love stories. This makes him think of Natasha, whom he has, at some point, realised he feels romantic love for. He confesses who he really is - which greatly impresses the French officer - and says that he felt he couldn't confess his love to Natasha when he had nothing. As we know, when he became rich, things became very complicated. Pierre feels weirdly good about the world, except when he remembers that Russia is at war and that he must kill Napoleon. The chapter ends with him sleeping off the wine.
Pierre spends the evening drinking with the French officer, even translating some German for him when another officer arrives. When he finally gets a minute to himself, he has a bit of a break-down because he's realised that he can't assassinate Napoleon. He tries to leave immediately, but finds he cannot, and stays as the French officer tells him of noble deeds and love stories. This makes him think of Natasha, whom he has, at some point, realised he feels romantic love for. He confesses who he really is - which greatly impresses the French officer - and says that he felt he couldn't confess his love to Natasha when he had nothing. As we know, when he became rich, things became very complicated. Pierre feels weirdly good about the world, except when he remembers that Russia is at war and that he must kill Napoleon. The chapter ends with him sleeping off the wine.
Sunday 27 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 28
My Masters project started and I began applying for PhDs, both of which knocked me for a loop, hence the delays. I've gotten things a little more under control now, so we'll see how this goes.
Chapter 28
Pierre has decided to disguise his identity and pretend he doesn't speak French, at least until he gets a chance to kill Napoleon. He'd intended to hide from the French knocking at the door entirely, but he's too curious. The French officer comes in, compliments the decour (in French) and complains about the Russians not speaking any French.
Chapter 28
Pierre has decided to disguise his identity and pretend he doesn't speak French, at least until he gets a chance to kill Napoleon. He'd intended to hide from the French knocking at the door entirely, but he's too curious. The French officer comes in, compliments the decour (in French) and complains about the Russians not speaking any French.
Makar Alexeevich tries to shoot him, but is stopped by Pierre. In all the excitement, Pierre forgets not to speak French, because he's a big dumb kitten who is absolutely terrible at all this.
(The joke there is that Josh Groban plays Pierre in Great Comet). Pierre pleads with the Officer not to punish Makar because he's a drunk who doesn't know what he's doing. The officer concludes that Pierre must be French because, from his point of view, only the French can perform noble deeds.
Pierre tries to convince him otherwise, but the officer just winks at him and says they can tell that to others. He hails Pierre as a brother, and Pierre gives up on convincing him otherwise. To be fair, Pierre was raised in France and has a French name, so he can't really go around objecting when people assume he's French. The soldiers move in comfortably and start preparing their lunch.
Friday 11 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Pierre is still in Moscow, and the French invasion manages to reach him by the 2nd of September. It's spiralling outwards in a relaxed manner. Pierre has also managed to gather something of a relaxed manner, by sorting through Joseph Alexeevich's study. He's having a bit of a crisis and has decided to remain in Moscow so he can either assassinate Napoleon or die himself - he doesn't seem terribly concerned as to which. I presume he succeeds in neither, since I'm under this impression this is not an alternate-universe telling of the history of the French invasion, and I've heard some spoilers about future plot elements which I'm trying not to think about, but which imply that Pierre lives a little longer. Pierre is feeling truly Russian, and as driven as he was to get to Borodino (before he learned what a battlefield is really like). He also can't back down, because he's told the Rostov's he's remaining and he feels like he would lose face if he didn't. He's pretty sure he's going to die, but he's okay with the romance of that. The servants are subduing a drunken rampage by Makar Alexeevich - Joseph's brother, who is also trying to kill Napoleon, but is too drunk to know who or what Napoleon is - when the French knock at the door.
Pierre is still in Moscow, and the French invasion manages to reach him by the 2nd of September. It's spiralling outwards in a relaxed manner. Pierre has also managed to gather something of a relaxed manner, by sorting through Joseph Alexeevich's study. He's having a bit of a crisis and has decided to remain in Moscow so he can either assassinate Napoleon or die himself - he doesn't seem terribly concerned as to which. I presume he succeeds in neither, since I'm under this impression this is not an alternate-universe telling of the history of the French invasion, and I've heard some spoilers about future plot elements which I'm trying not to think about, but which imply that Pierre lives a little longer. Pierre is feeling truly Russian, and as driven as he was to get to Borodino (before he learned what a battlefield is really like). He also can't back down, because he's told the Rostov's he's remaining and he feels like he would lose face if he didn't. He's pretty sure he's going to die, but he's okay with the romance of that. The servants are subduing a drunken rampage by Makar Alexeevich - Joseph's brother, who is also trying to kill Napoleon, but is too drunk to know who or what Napoleon is - when the French knock at the door.
Thursday 10 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The French enter Moscow - with a translator, to ask where the army is - and cease being an army and become marauders. Even after leaving Moscow, they are never an army again, after looting Moscow. Tolstoy theories that Moscow is different from other occupied cities because it was abandoned by the inhabitants first, rather than welcoming the invaders, and so it burnt because it was in a position in which a city must burn.
The French enter Moscow - with a translator, to ask where the army is - and cease being an army and become marauders. Even after leaving Moscow, they are never an army again, after looting Moscow. Tolstoy theories that Moscow is different from other occupied cities because it was abandoned by the inhabitants first, rather than welcoming the invaders, and so it burnt because it was in a position in which a city must burn.
Wednesday 9 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 25
Chapter 25
We're still with Rostopchin. By 9am, no one is coming to him for instructions and he can longer tell himself that he's the leader of his people, as he did when things were peaceful. He is feeling very powerless and exasperated when the superintendent of police comes to tell him that an immense crowd has gathered in the courtyard. Rostopchin decides the crowd must be looking for a victim to blame, because he is and he's projecting. He tells the crowd he's going to fetch the villain then stalks back into his room. Apparently, he was referring to Vereshchagin, the artist and political prisoner he sent for at the end of the last chapter. When Vereshchagin arrives, Rostopchin publically denounces him as a traitor and hands him over to the crowd. They pause, despite Rostopchin demanding that they beat the traitor. It's basically that scene in The Handmaid's Tale where the handmaids have to murder the doctor. Vereshchagin points out that there is one god above them all, but he's interrupted when a soldier, after much prompting, hits him on the head with the blunt end of his saber. This sparks the crowd into madness, and they beat Vereshchagin and trample him and anyone who gets underfoot. After he's dead, they're suddenly struck with guilt and horror.
Oh, wait, I looked it up and while Vereshchagin is the name of a Russian war artist, he was born in 1842 and is no relation to this Vereshchagin, who is an invented merchant and suspected Napoleonic spy, here to demonstrate Rostopchin's poor leadership skills. Anyway, Rostopchin starts to panic at having gotten exactly what he called for, and climbs into his coach to head to his country house, away from Moscow. He comforts himself with the idea that he's working "for the greater good".
...typing that sentence sent me on a binge for Harry Potter memes. Anyway. Rostopchin also comforts himself by telling himself that Rostopchin was sentenced to death anyway, which he wasn't, he was sentenced to hard labour. It kind-of works - Rostopchin is distracted as he shouts orders at his country house, and as he leaves, right up until some injured men ask for help on the road and he has a little flashback and demands his coach driver drive faster.
Rostopchin ends up with Kutuzov, and tells him everything is his fault for abandoning Moscow, but doesn't quite specify what 'everything' is. Kutuzov says he won't be giving up Moscow without a fight, but Tolstoy doesn't seem to be sure of what he's thinking at this point.
We're still with Rostopchin. By 9am, no one is coming to him for instructions and he can longer tell himself that he's the leader of his people, as he did when things were peaceful. He is feeling very powerless and exasperated when the superintendent of police comes to tell him that an immense crowd has gathered in the courtyard. Rostopchin decides the crowd must be looking for a victim to blame, because he is and he's projecting. He tells the crowd he's going to fetch the villain then stalks back into his room. Apparently, he was referring to Vereshchagin, the artist and political prisoner he sent for at the end of the last chapter. When Vereshchagin arrives, Rostopchin publically denounces him as a traitor and hands him over to the crowd. They pause, despite Rostopchin demanding that they beat the traitor. It's basically that scene in The Handmaid's Tale where the handmaids have to murder the doctor. Vereshchagin points out that there is one god above them all, but he's interrupted when a soldier, after much prompting, hits him on the head with the blunt end of his saber. This sparks the crowd into madness, and they beat Vereshchagin and trample him and anyone who gets underfoot. After he's dead, they're suddenly struck with guilt and horror.
Oh, wait, I looked it up and while Vereshchagin is the name of a Russian war artist, he was born in 1842 and is no relation to this Vereshchagin, who is an invented merchant and suspected Napoleonic spy, here to demonstrate Rostopchin's poor leadership skills. Anyway, Rostopchin starts to panic at having gotten exactly what he called for, and climbs into his coach to head to his country house, away from Moscow. He comforts himself with the idea that he's working "for the greater good".
...typing that sentence sent me on a binge for Harry Potter memes. Anyway. Rostopchin also comforts himself by telling himself that Rostopchin was sentenced to death anyway, which he wasn't, he was sentenced to hard labour. It kind-of works - Rostopchin is distracted as he shouts orders at his country house, and as he leaves, right up until some injured men ask for help on the road and he has a little flashback and demands his coach driver drive faster.
Rostopchin ends up with Kutuzov, and tells him everything is his fault for abandoning Moscow, but doesn't quite specify what 'everything' is. Kutuzov says he won't be giving up Moscow without a fight, but Tolstoy doesn't seem to be sure of what he's thinking at this point.
Tuesday 8 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 24
Chapter 24
This chapter is about Count Rostopchin. I can't remember who he is. I looked it up, and apparently he is a real person and the mayor of Moscow. He's offended that he's not been asked to be part of the council of war and because Kutuzov wasn't interested in his plan to defend Moscow. No one seems interested in patriotism at all, being more interested in not-dying, and no one wants to fight another battle, leaving Rostopchin very confused. Rostopchin has just been woken from his beauty sleep with orders from Kutuzov regarding the abandonment of Moscow. Tolstoy now refers to Rostopchin's later memoirs regarding what he was thinking. Apparently, his goals were to "maintain tranquility in Moscow and expedite the departure of the inhabitants". Tolstoy does not believe him, and also claims that Rostopchin "had no understanding at all of the people he supposed himself to be guiding". Basically, he's been putting on the equivalent of a Cockney accent, saying "apples and pears" and then being really pleased with himself for communicating so well with the commoners. Tolstoy posits that Rostopchin didn't want to lose that feeling of power when Moscow was emptied, since his whole position - and the one he's been pushing on the city - is about standing up to the French. In sulking over this, he's failed to do his actual job, which is to remove state property from Moscow, and now he's mad at Kutuzov about that. He's shouting out the few orders he can be bothered to give, including that all the prisoners should immediately be freed from the prisons, except Vereshchagin, who should be brought to him, since he's not been hanged yet. Vereshchagin is also a real person.
This chapter is about Count Rostopchin. I can't remember who he is. I looked it up, and apparently he is a real person and the mayor of Moscow. He's offended that he's not been asked to be part of the council of war and because Kutuzov wasn't interested in his plan to defend Moscow. No one seems interested in patriotism at all, being more interested in not-dying, and no one wants to fight another battle, leaving Rostopchin very confused. Rostopchin has just been woken from his beauty sleep with orders from Kutuzov regarding the abandonment of Moscow. Tolstoy now refers to Rostopchin's later memoirs regarding what he was thinking. Apparently, his goals were to "maintain tranquility in Moscow and expedite the departure of the inhabitants". Tolstoy does not believe him, and also claims that Rostopchin "had no understanding at all of the people he supposed himself to be guiding". Basically, he's been putting on the equivalent of a Cockney accent, saying "apples and pears" and then being really pleased with himself for communicating so well with the commoners. Tolstoy posits that Rostopchin didn't want to lose that feeling of power when Moscow was emptied, since his whole position - and the one he's been pushing on the city - is about standing up to the French. In sulking over this, he's failed to do his actual job, which is to remove state property from Moscow, and now he's mad at Kutuzov about that. He's shouting out the few orders he can be bothered to give, including that all the prisoners should immediately be freed from the prisons, except Vereshchagin, who should be brought to him, since he's not been hanged yet. Vereshchagin is also a real person.
Monday 7 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 23
Chapter 23
This chapter begins with a fight on the street which quickly grows into rumours and riots, because everyone is tense. They're also all very confused over whether Moscow is being evacuated or not and the broadsheet isn't helping. They end up pursuing the chief of police, who also refuses to give a straight answer. The people of Moscow are not happy.
This chapter begins with a fight on the street which quickly grows into rumours and riots, because everyone is tense. They're also all very confused over whether Moscow is being evacuated or not and the broadsheet isn't helping. They end up pursuing the chief of police, who also refuses to give a straight answer. The people of Moscow are not happy.
Sunday 6 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapters 21 and 22
Chapter 21
We're now back with the Russian troops evacuating Moscow. Some of them begin looting on the way out. The shopkeepers ask the officers for help - some of them pointing out that there's no point defending their goods from the Russians when the French will be along in a minute - but everything's chaotic.
Chapter 22
Apart from all that, the city is deserted. The Rostov's house is entirely empty except for the yard poter, Ignat, and the page boy, Mishka, who's playing with the harpsichord in the drawing room. They've remained with some of the other servants. A strange officer turns up with "familiar Rostov features" and asks for Count Ilya. The housekeeper, Mavra Kuzminicha, has to tell him that he's missed the family, but gives him some money to be getting on with, I have no idea who he can be - Mavra would recognise Nikolai or Petya, and I don't think we've been introduced to other young Rostovs.
We're now back with the Russian troops evacuating Moscow. Some of them begin looting on the way out. The shopkeepers ask the officers for help - some of them pointing out that there's no point defending their goods from the Russians when the French will be along in a minute - but everything's chaotic.
Chapter 22
Apart from all that, the city is deserted. The Rostov's house is entirely empty except for the yard poter, Ignat, and the page boy, Mishka, who's playing with the harpsichord in the drawing room. They've remained with some of the other servants. A strange officer turns up with "familiar Rostov features" and asks for Count Ilya. The housekeeper, Mavra Kuzminicha, has to tell him that he's missed the family, but gives him some money to be getting on with, I have no idea who he can be - Mavra would recognise Nikolai or Petya, and I don't think we've been introduced to other young Rostovs.
Thursday 3 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Moscow is empty like the "dying queenless hive" I'm supposed to be researching for my master's degree. From a distance, not much has changed, but when examined closely, it's clear that something is different. This metaphor goes on for three pages. Napoleon turns up and is disappointed that his "coup de theatre" has not come off.
Moscow is empty like the "dying queenless hive" I'm supposed to be researching for my master's degree. From a distance, not much has changed, but when examined closely, it's clear that something is different. This metaphor goes on for three pages. Napoleon turns up and is disappointed that his "coup de theatre" has not come off.
Wednesday 2 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 19
Chapter 19
We're back to a broad view of the war. Kutuzov orders the army to retreat through Moscow on the 1st of September, and they leave immediately. By 10am, the majority of the army has passed through, and, at that same moment, Napoleon is standing on a hill gazing out over Moscow, which has been having some lovely autumn weather.
From a distance, Napoleon feels the Moscow-vibe that every Russian experiences as his or her mother, but every foreigner experiences as a 'feminine character'. Napoleon thinks of her as a maiden and calls for a map to be brought so he can plan his ravishing. He also refers to Moscow as 'asiatic' or 'oriental', which calls to mind a long-running annoyance of mine. Namely, that, in the US, 'Asian' is colloquially used to refer only to east Asia, which is not accurate, and isn't even how it's used formally in the US. It has lead to some Americans - several over multiple years - to insist that I am not Asian, despite having ancestry (grandparents) from Asia, specifically India. This annoys me. It is rude, stupid, and inaccurate. The specific bit I'm recalling, however, is one person who claimed "you wouldn't call Russian Asian, would you?". I'm quite pleased to have discovered that some people do.
Napoleon is happily planning to himself about how magnanimous he'll be when he is King of Russia when he's suddenly struck by doubts that this could really be happening. This cycle repeats a few times. I suspect it's to show us just how big a deal the capture of Moscow is to Napoleon, and also how pompous he is. Finally, the news comes that Moscow has been abandoned. Napoleon's agents are reluctant to tell him this because he'll be so disappointed not to have the battle he appears to be planning for, since he's been doing his daydreaming in front of the giant map of Moscow. Eventually, they tell him and the French begin to move into Moscow.
We're back to a broad view of the war. Kutuzov orders the army to retreat through Moscow on the 1st of September, and they leave immediately. By 10am, the majority of the army has passed through, and, at that same moment, Napoleon is standing on a hill gazing out over Moscow, which has been having some lovely autumn weather.
From a distance, Napoleon feels the Moscow-vibe that every Russian experiences as his or her mother, but every foreigner experiences as a 'feminine character'. Napoleon thinks of her as a maiden and calls for a map to be brought so he can plan his ravishing. He also refers to Moscow as 'asiatic' or 'oriental', which calls to mind a long-running annoyance of mine. Namely, that, in the US, 'Asian' is colloquially used to refer only to east Asia, which is not accurate, and isn't even how it's used formally in the US. It has lead to some Americans - several over multiple years - to insist that I am not Asian, despite having ancestry (grandparents) from Asia, specifically India. This annoys me. It is rude, stupid, and inaccurate. The specific bit I'm recalling, however, is one person who claimed "you wouldn't call Russian Asian, would you?". I'm quite pleased to have discovered that some people do.
Tuesday 1 October 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Sonya finally learns that Prince Andrew is amongst the wounded men, and tells Natasha's mother so they can both worry about what Natasha will say. They manage to hide the news from her, but, when they do finally set off, Natasha is fascinated by Andrew's caleche driving ahead of them, even though she doesn't know it's his. A caleche is "a light low-wheeled carriage with a removable folding hood", so basically a convertible.
As they're driving, Natasha spots Pierre, walking by in disguise at a distance (she recognises his gait). It takes them a while to stop because they're in something which is basically the opposite of a traffic jam, but Natasha is eventually able to grab him. He says he's staying in Moscow and Natasha insists that she will too if her mother gives her permission. Her mother ignores her and asks Pierre about the battle, but he doesn't have time to say much because they all need to be getting on.
Chapter 18
Pierre has spent the last few days in a fog of confusion and despair. The final straw was the arrival of Helene's letter, even though he didn't read it, which sent him off to sort through Joseph Bazdeev's papers. If I recall correctly, Bazdeev was the one who introduced him to the Freemasons. He asks Bazdeev's servant to supply him with peasant clothes and a pistol. He was wearing the peasant clothes and on his way to buy the pistol when he ran into Natasha. Also, Bazdeev's insane half-brother Makar Alexeevich is in the house, but he's mostly just glaring at Pierre right now.
Sonya finally learns that Prince Andrew is amongst the wounded men, and tells Natasha's mother so they can both worry about what Natasha will say. They manage to hide the news from her, but, when they do finally set off, Natasha is fascinated by Andrew's caleche driving ahead of them, even though she doesn't know it's his. A caleche is "a light low-wheeled carriage with a removable folding hood", so basically a convertible.
As they're driving, Natasha spots Pierre, walking by in disguise at a distance (she recognises his gait). It takes them a while to stop because they're in something which is basically the opposite of a traffic jam, but Natasha is eventually able to grab him. He says he's staying in Moscow and Natasha insists that she will too if her mother gives her permission. Her mother ignores her and asks Pierre about the battle, but he doesn't have time to say much because they all need to be getting on.
Chapter 18
Pierre has spent the last few days in a fog of confusion and despair. The final straw was the arrival of Helene's letter, even though he didn't read it, which sent him off to sort through Joseph Bazdeev's papers. If I recall correctly, Bazdeev was the one who introduced him to the Freemasons. He asks Bazdeev's servant to supply him with peasant clothes and a pistol. He was wearing the peasant clothes and on his way to buy the pistol when he ran into Natasha. Also, Bazdeev's insane half-brother Makar Alexeevich is in the house, but he's mostly just glaring at Pierre right now.
Friday 27 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 16
Chapter 16
I'd forgotten that Berg is married to Natasha's sister, Vera. Anyway, he is. He says he can't predict the outcome of the war, but he is in awe of how the army fought at the battle of Borodino. The countess is distracted because she's still worried about packing. Natasha takes over - after some shouting - because she's ashamed of her mother for wanting to leave the wounded men behind in favour of carrying more furniture. Natasha spends the day fitting as many men into the carriages as possible, while Sonya makes a list of everything left behind and tries to bring as many of the countesses items as possible.
I'd forgotten that Berg is married to Natasha's sister, Vera. Anyway, he is. He says he can't predict the outcome of the war, but he is in awe of how the army fought at the battle of Borodino. The countess is distracted because she's still worried about packing. Natasha takes over - after some shouting - because she's ashamed of her mother for wanting to leave the wounded men behind in favour of carrying more furniture. Natasha spends the day fitting as many men into the carriages as possible, while Sonya makes a list of everything left behind and tries to bring as many of the countesses items as possible.
Thursday 26 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapters 14 and 15
Chapter 14
Everything has now become so panicked that even Natasha is helping to pack, even though it takes a while for anyone to take her seriously. That same evening a wounded man arrives, which turns out to be Prince Andrew.
Chapter 15
It is the "last day" of Moscow and the Rostovs are almost ready to leave. They've even been able to make some money selling off horses and carts. There's a bit of a row because the count has ordered that the wounded soldiers they took in should be taken with them, which means there isn't enough room for all the luggage the countess wants to take with them. Natasha comes to ask what the shouting is about, and happens to look out of the window and see that Berg is arriving. Honestly, I feel like Tolstoy is fucking with us a bit right now, having all these chapters in which not-much happens when, firstly, Andrew and Natasha are in the same house again, and, secondly, we know Moscow is about to be sacked.
Everything has now become so panicked that even Natasha is helping to pack, even though it takes a while for anyone to take her seriously. That same evening a wounded man arrives, which turns out to be Prince Andrew.
Chapter 15
It is the "last day" of Moscow and the Rostovs are almost ready to leave. They've even been able to make some money selling off horses and carts. There's a bit of a row because the count has ordered that the wounded soldiers they took in should be taken with them, which means there isn't enough room for all the luggage the countess wants to take with them. Natasha comes to ask what the shouting is about, and happens to look out of the window and see that Berg is arriving. Honestly, I feel like Tolstoy is fucking with us a bit right now, having all these chapters in which not-much happens when, firstly, Andrew and Natasha are in the same house again, and, secondly, we know Moscow is about to be sacked.
Tuesday 24 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 13
Chapter 13
We're still with the Rostovs and it's the 31st of August. Everything is chaos. The Count is out, the countess is lying down with a headache, Petya has gone to try to get himself transferred into the active army, Sonya's overseeing the packing of glass and china and Natasha is trying to pack her dresses but actually just looking at the one she wore to her first Petersburg ball, where she met Andrew (who isn't her). She's distracted by the maids talking, which is in response to a group arriving, looking for homes for wounded soldiers. Natasha invites them all in and then goes to ask her mother's permission. The countess is confused, which Natasha wrangles into agreement. The count arrives home as she's leaving her mother, and she turns his confusion into agreement too. He's concerned over the fact that they've stayed in Moscow too long. Petya arrives home at dinner and announces that he expects to be in a battle tomorrow, which horrifies the countess. Rather than tell Petya directly not to go - because he would just respond with something masculine and 15 -, she persuades the count that they must leave immediately, that night.
We're still with the Rostovs and it's the 31st of August. Everything is chaos. The Count is out, the countess is lying down with a headache, Petya has gone to try to get himself transferred into the active army, Sonya's overseeing the packing of glass and china and Natasha is trying to pack her dresses but actually just looking at the one she wore to her first Petersburg ball, where she met Andrew (who isn't her). She's distracted by the maids talking, which is in response to a group arriving, looking for homes for wounded soldiers. Natasha invites them all in and then goes to ask her mother's permission. The countess is confused, which Natasha wrangles into agreement. The count arrives home as she's leaving her mother, and she turns his confusion into agreement too. He's concerned over the fact that they've stayed in Moscow too long. Petya arrives home at dinner and announces that he expects to be in a battle tomorrow, which horrifies the countess. Rather than tell Petya directly not to go - because he would just respond with something masculine and 15 -, she persuades the count that they must leave immediately, that night.
Monday 23 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 12
We're checking in on the Rostovs now. The Countess is very unhappy about the fact that both Petya and Nikolai are at war. She tried to get one of them sent back or at least get them sent to the same place, but neither is possible. The last letter she received from Nikolai was about his meeting with Mary. Finally, the Count has managed to get Petya - the younger son - transferred to Pierre's regiment, which is positioned near Moscow so at least he'll be close to his mother. The Countess hopes she'll be able has Petya kept away from battlezones for the rest of the war. Petya doesn't arrive at Moscow until the 28th of August, and the Countess is insufferable the whole time, refusing to let the rest of her family leave Moscow while the rest of the city evacuates. The Rostovs finally prepare to leave, but it takes them a while to get organised and, meanwhile, Moscow is riddled with chaos and rumours and the entire family is distracted. Count Ilya is trying to figure out the truth from the rumours and organise their departure, the Countess is overseeing the packing and trying to hunt down her youngest son to s/mother him, Petya is avoiding his mother to try to spend time with Natasha, and Sonya is sad because she realised - from Nikolai's letter - that he might be in love with Mary, and that this would actually be a good thing because having Nikolai marry a Bolkonski would restore the family fortunes (especially after Natasha screwed up her chance with Andrew). Sonya ends up doing most of the packing as a distraction. Petya and Natasha are actually quite happy - they're together, they adore one another, Natasha is getting over her heartbreak (not yet knowing that Andrew and Anatole are dead) and Petya is sure he is a great war hero.
We're checking in on the Rostovs now. The Countess is very unhappy about the fact that both Petya and Nikolai are at war. She tried to get one of them sent back or at least get them sent to the same place, but neither is possible. The last letter she received from Nikolai was about his meeting with Mary. Finally, the Count has managed to get Petya - the younger son - transferred to Pierre's regiment, which is positioned near Moscow so at least he'll be close to his mother. The Countess hopes she'll be able has Petya kept away from battlezones for the rest of the war. Petya doesn't arrive at Moscow until the 28th of August, and the Countess is insufferable the whole time, refusing to let the rest of her family leave Moscow while the rest of the city evacuates. The Rostovs finally prepare to leave, but it takes them a while to get organised and, meanwhile, Moscow is riddled with chaos and rumours and the entire family is distracted. Count Ilya is trying to figure out the truth from the rumours and organise their departure, the Countess is overseeing the packing and trying to hunt down her youngest son to s/mother him, Petya is avoiding his mother to try to spend time with Natasha, and Sonya is sad because she realised - from Nikolai's letter - that he might be in love with Mary, and that this would actually be a good thing because having Nikolai marry a Bolkonski would restore the family fortunes (especially after Natasha screwed up her chance with Andrew). Sonya ends up doing most of the packing as a distraction. Petya and Natasha are actually quite happy - they're together, they adore one another, Natasha is getting over her heartbreak (not yet knowing that Andrew and Anatole are dead) and Petya is sure he is a great war hero.
Sunday 22 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapters 10 and 11
Chapter 10
This chapter starts by saying that Pierre reached Moscow on the 13th of August, but I think they must mean 30th, unless we've gone back in time for a flashback, which doesn't really happen in this book. Pierre is met by Count Rostopchin's adjutant, who insists that Pierre come see Rostopchin immediately. It's very crowded when Pierre arrives because everyone now knows that Moscow cannot be defended, so they've all come to ask Rostopchin how to handle it, so it will be his fault when it goes wrong. In spite of all this, a new broadsheet has been published which claims that the Emperor Alexander will defend Moscow to his last drop of blood. Some of the other men show it to Pierre when he arrives. Confused, Pierre asks why the paper says this when every military man he's spoken to knows that Moscow cannot be defended. The men agree with his confusion, then say they've heard of his family troubles with the countess and ask after her. Pierre, now doubly confused, asks what they've heard, but they backtrack very quickly and move on to other gossip.
Chapter 11
The gossip-sesh is interrupted when Pierre is finally summoned to speak to Count Rostopchin. The Count asks Pierre if he's a Mason and then sorrowfully tells him that all the other Masons have been driven out of Russia and he advises Pierre to immediately cut off contact with them. Pierre heads home when he is bombarded with people wanting him to make decisions he doesn't understand. He finally gets rid of them and opens his wife's letter, learning that Andrew is dead and that Helene is remarrying. He doesn't seem to take it in properly - he just goes straight to bed and falls asleep. When he wakes up, the major-domo informs him that Count Rostopchin had sent a police officer to see if Pierre has left town or not, and there are many more people waiting for Pierre to make decisions he doesn't understand. He slips out the back way and isn't seen in Moscow again.
This chapter starts by saying that Pierre reached Moscow on the 13th of August, but I think they must mean 30th, unless we've gone back in time for a flashback, which doesn't really happen in this book. Pierre is met by Count Rostopchin's adjutant, who insists that Pierre come see Rostopchin immediately. It's very crowded when Pierre arrives because everyone now knows that Moscow cannot be defended, so they've all come to ask Rostopchin how to handle it, so it will be his fault when it goes wrong. In spite of all this, a new broadsheet has been published which claims that the Emperor Alexander will defend Moscow to his last drop of blood. Some of the other men show it to Pierre when he arrives. Confused, Pierre asks why the paper says this when every military man he's spoken to knows that Moscow cannot be defended. The men agree with his confusion, then say they've heard of his family troubles with the countess and ask after her. Pierre, now doubly confused, asks what they've heard, but they backtrack very quickly and move on to other gossip.
Chapter 11
The gossip-sesh is interrupted when Pierre is finally summoned to speak to Count Rostopchin. The Count asks Pierre if he's a Mason and then sorrowfully tells him that all the other Masons have been driven out of Russia and he advises Pierre to immediately cut off contact with them. Pierre heads home when he is bombarded with people wanting him to make decisions he doesn't understand. He finally gets rid of them and opens his wife's letter, learning that Andrew is dead and that Helene is remarrying. He doesn't seem to take it in properly - he just goes straight to bed and falls asleep. When he wakes up, the major-domo informs him that Count Rostopchin had sent a police officer to see if Pierre has left town or not, and there are many more people waiting for Pierre to make decisions he doesn't understand. He slips out the back way and isn't seen in Moscow again.
Saturday 21 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapters 8 and 9
Chapter 8
We're now back to Pierre, at the end of the battle of Borodino. The shine has definitely gone off the battle for him. He wants to go home, to his cosy bed and normal life, so he can make sense of everything he's seen and felt today. He's no longer being shot at, but, as he rides along, it is very clear to him that he is still on the field of battle. Mostly, it's the dead and wounded soldiers that give it away. A few miles along the road, he sits down to stare into the shadows, still constantly expected cannonballs to whiz past him. Three soldiers light a fire near him, but want to know who he is before offering him food, which is fair enough. Pierre doesn't reveal his full social position, but does admit to being a militia officer without his men. He calls himself Peter Kirilych. The soldiers let him ride with them until they run into his groom while passing the inn Pierre is staying at.
Chapter 9
Pierre tries to sleep in his cosy room at the inn, but he keeps having little flashbacks to the battle. He's ashamed that he was so cowardly, especially compared to the soldiers around him. He's envious of all soldiers, believing they have cast out the "superfluous, devilish burden" of their outer man to become cogs in a machine, and wonders how he can possibly do the same himself. He believes he could have if he'd left his father before the death of the old count, or if he'd gone to serve as a soldier after the duel with Dolokhov. Pierre manages to fall asleep and dreams of his old Lodge benefactor. Also, Anatole and Dolokhov are there. He is woken before he can fully understand what is benefactor is saying, which greatly upsets him because he's pretty sure the world would have been a very simple place if he'd only understood a little more. Pierre leaves the town with the army, and offers a lift to Moscow to a wounded general of his acquaintance. The general tells him of the deaths of Anatole and Andrew.
We're now back to Pierre, at the end of the battle of Borodino. The shine has definitely gone off the battle for him. He wants to go home, to his cosy bed and normal life, so he can make sense of everything he's seen and felt today. He's no longer being shot at, but, as he rides along, it is very clear to him that he is still on the field of battle. Mostly, it's the dead and wounded soldiers that give it away. A few miles along the road, he sits down to stare into the shadows, still constantly expected cannonballs to whiz past him. Three soldiers light a fire near him, but want to know who he is before offering him food, which is fair enough. Pierre doesn't reveal his full social position, but does admit to being a militia officer without his men. He calls himself Peter Kirilych. The soldiers let him ride with them until they run into his groom while passing the inn Pierre is staying at.
Chapter 9
Pierre tries to sleep in his cosy room at the inn, but he keeps having little flashbacks to the battle. He's ashamed that he was so cowardly, especially compared to the soldiers around him. He's envious of all soldiers, believing they have cast out the "superfluous, devilish burden" of their outer man to become cogs in a machine, and wonders how he can possibly do the same himself. He believes he could have if he'd left his father before the death of the old count, or if he'd gone to serve as a soldier after the duel with Dolokhov. Pierre manages to fall asleep and dreams of his old Lodge benefactor. Also, Anatole and Dolokhov are there. He is woken before he can fully understand what is benefactor is saying, which greatly upsets him because he's pretty sure the world would have been a very simple place if he'd only understood a little more. Pierre leaves the town with the army, and offers a lift to Moscow to a wounded general of his acquaintance. The general tells him of the deaths of Anatole and Andrew.
Friday 20 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 7
This delay was because the new semester has started and, also, I have fresher's flu from working during welcome week.
Chapter 7
Helene is pretty sure that the church is fine with her preferred outcome, they're just worried about what people are going to think, so she starts making sure society will be on her side. She creates a situation where both suitors have proposed to her, so society stops talking about her divorcing Pierre because they're distracted by which suitor she should marry. A friend of hers, Bilibin, suggests that she could first marry the older suitor then, when he dies, marry the younger one. He also asks what Pierre makes of all this, and Helene replies that he loves her and wants her to be happy because, for some reason, she thinks this is true.
Helene's mother does not approve of her shenanigans, and has consulted with her own priest who has found a text in the Gospel which clearly states that remarriage is not possible while the husband remains alive. Helene says it doesn't count because the Pope is willing to give her a dispension. She explains it in French because it sounds better. This wins her mother to her side, and Helene writes a letter explaining the whole thing to Pierre, still feeling sure that he loves her and will be very happy to grant her a divorce for her own happiness. Pierre receives it on the field of Borodino.
Chapter 7
Helene is pretty sure that the church is fine with her preferred outcome, they're just worried about what people are going to think, so she starts making sure society will be on her side. She creates a situation where both suitors have proposed to her, so society stops talking about her divorcing Pierre because they're distracted by which suitor she should marry. A friend of hers, Bilibin, suggests that she could first marry the older suitor then, when he dies, marry the younger one. He also asks what Pierre makes of all this, and Helene replies that he loves her and wants her to be happy because, for some reason, she thinks this is true.
Helene's mother does not approve of her shenanigans, and has consulted with her own priest who has found a text in the Gospel which clearly states that remarriage is not possible while the husband remains alive. Helene says it doesn't count because the Pope is willing to give her a dispension. She explains it in French because it sounds better. This wins her mother to her side, and Helene writes a letter explaining the whole thing to Pierre, still feeling sure that he loves her and will be very happy to grant her a divorce for her own happiness. Pierre receives it on the field of Borodino.
Tuesday 10 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 11 Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Ooh, we're checking in on Helene now. She's been with the court to Vilna and has now returned to St Petersburg and now has a problem because she was protected by a young foreign prince in the latter and by a magnate in the former, and now both are in the same place. She wins by positing herself as the victim and refusing to accept any iota of guilt. She even gets herself admitted to the Catholic Church and becomes something of an emblem of purity. She knows that this is done so she'll donate to the right causes, so she insists that they help free her from her husband before she hands over a penny. Eventually, they agree that her husband - Pierre - was not of the true faith, so it is not right she should be bound by promises to him, but she did marry him in a church and then commit adultery. Helene points out that, having now found a true religion, she should not be bound by what she was forced to do under a false religion. It seems like she's going to get her own way.
Ooh, we're checking in on Helene now. She's been with the court to Vilna and has now returned to St Petersburg and now has a problem because she was protected by a young foreign prince in the latter and by a magnate in the former, and now both are in the same place. She wins by positing herself as the victim and refusing to accept any iota of guilt. She even gets herself admitted to the Catholic Church and becomes something of an emblem of purity. She knows that this is done so she'll donate to the right causes, so she insists that they help free her from her husband before she hands over a penny. Eventually, they agree that her husband - Pierre - was not of the true faith, so it is not right she should be bound by promises to him, but she did marry him in a church and then commit adultery. Helene points out that, having now found a true religion, she should not be bound by what she was forced to do under a false religion. It seems like she's going to get her own way.
Sunday 8 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War & Peace Part 11, Chapter 5
Chapter 5
We now check-on Rostopchin, who is considered to be the instigator of the evacuation and burning of Moscow. Tolstoy disagrees - he sees that event as being as inevitable as the lack of a battle in defence of Moscow. Tolstoy cites the fact that things proceeded as they had in all the towns and villages since Smolensk, as they had "without the participation of Count Rostopchin and his broadsheets" and claims it was foreshadowed by everyone who'd already left Moscow. He also says that they did this due to the feeling which is in every Russian, despite Rostopchin claiming it was shameful and cowardly in his newspapers. The first people to go were those who knew Rostopchin's stories about what had happened in other countries weren't true, so they couldn't have been swayed by his broadsheets. I find this argument less convincing, living in a society where we all have access to the internet and yet people believe the weirdest, most easily disprovable things. The Russians simply refused to be under French rule, and would accept any alternative, even leaving Moscow to be destroyed, and Tolstoy says that this is what saved Russia, and that Rostopchin did his level best to stop it, like a child wanting to astonish people and so not taking the momentous historical event seriously.
We now check-on Rostopchin, who is considered to be the instigator of the evacuation and burning of Moscow. Tolstoy disagrees - he sees that event as being as inevitable as the lack of a battle in defence of Moscow. Tolstoy cites the fact that things proceeded as they had in all the towns and villages since Smolensk, as they had "without the participation of Count Rostopchin and his broadsheets" and claims it was foreshadowed by everyone who'd already left Moscow. He also says that they did this due to the feeling which is in every Russian, despite Rostopchin claiming it was shameful and cowardly in his newspapers. The first people to go were those who knew Rostopchin's stories about what had happened in other countries weren't true, so they couldn't have been swayed by his broadsheets. I find this argument less convincing, living in a society where we all have access to the internet and yet people believe the weirdest, most easily disprovable things. The Russians simply refused to be under French rule, and would accept any alternative, even leaving Moscow to be destroyed, and Tolstoy says that this is what saved Russia, and that Rostopchin did his level best to stop it, like a child wanting to astonish people and so not taking the momentous historical event seriously.
Saturday 7 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War & Peace Part 11, Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The Council of War is taking place in the hut of a peasant family, the head of which is named Andrew Savostyanov. The whole family has crowded into the backroom, except six-year-old Malasha, who is cute and thinks of Kutuzov as "grandad" (her actual grandfather is Andrew Savostyanov). Barclay de Tolly arrives, looking ill since he's been feverish for days. Count Ostermann-Tolstoy is also here, which must have been odd for Tolstoy to write about. Everyone's waiting for Bennigsen, who said he was inspecting the position but is actually having dinner. They wait from 4pm to 6pm, until Bennigsen arrives and asks the most important question; whether to defend Moscow or not. Kutuzov tells him off, and tells him that the right question is what is the best way to save Russia - should they defend Moscow, or will that risk losing the entire country? Since Bennigsen is heavily invested in presenting the idea of defending Moscow, even though it's dumb, he presents several ways to do that which everyone then argues about. From Malasha's point of view, she sees a personal struggle between "long coat" (Bennigsen) and grandad, and she is very much on grandad's side. Eventually, Kutuzov sighs and orders a retreat, reminding them that his authority is given by the Tsar. Everyone leaves, as if leaving a funeral, and Kutuzov spends a bit more time gloomily glooming over how the abandonment of Moscow became so inevitable.
The Council of War is taking place in the hut of a peasant family, the head of which is named Andrew Savostyanov. The whole family has crowded into the backroom, except six-year-old Malasha, who is cute and thinks of Kutuzov as "grandad" (her actual grandfather is Andrew Savostyanov). Barclay de Tolly arrives, looking ill since he's been feverish for days. Count Ostermann-Tolstoy is also here, which must have been odd for Tolstoy to write about. Everyone's waiting for Bennigsen, who said he was inspecting the position but is actually having dinner. They wait from 4pm to 6pm, until Bennigsen arrives and asks the most important question; whether to defend Moscow or not. Kutuzov tells him off, and tells him that the right question is what is the best way to save Russia - should they defend Moscow, or will that risk losing the entire country? Since Bennigsen is heavily invested in presenting the idea of defending Moscow, even though it's dumb, he presents several ways to do that which everyone then argues about. From Malasha's point of view, she sees a personal struggle between "long coat" (Bennigsen) and grandad, and she is very much on grandad's side. Eventually, Kutuzov sighs and orders a retreat, reminding them that his authority is given by the Tsar. Everyone leaves, as if leaving a funeral, and Kutuzov spends a bit more time gloomily glooming over how the abandonment of Moscow became so inevitable.
Friday 6 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War & Peace Part 11, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
Once again, my goal was way too ambitious and put me off doing anything.
Chapter 1
This one starts very philosophically, by discussing the concept of absolute continuity of motion and why we have so much trouble with it, and how the modern (in the 1860s) branch of mathematics which had achieved the art of dealing with the infinitely small would be able to yield solutions in more complex problems. Tolstoy makes the point that the movement of humanity arises from innumerable arbitrary wills, and so is also continuous. Normally, history is examined by selected and series of events and examining them, when, in reality, this series of events is connected to the whole and cannot be explained in isolation, in the same way that the actions of one man does not fully express the individual wills of the people. It reminds me of that old maxim about how whether a story is happy or sad depends on exactly when you start and finish it.
"The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century in Europe present an extraordinary movement of millions of people". I assume it was similar to the upheaval during and following WWII. Historians present many reasons as to the cause of this, but Tolstay says that it was the sum of human wills which produced the Revolution and Napoleon, not vice versa, and the same sum of wills which "first tolerated and then destroyed them". Basically, the will of the people cause revolutions and wars, which cause leaders and commanders to rise, not vice versa. Tbh, I'm glad we mostly just argue about stuff now (in the UK), because otherwise the Brexit issue would be a second War of the Roses.
Chapter 2
We're still in big-picture mood. Tolstoy describes the French invasion of Russia in broad terms. At this point, they had battled their way across 700 miles of hostile country, and now there are only a few dozen miles separating them from Moscow. After the battle of Borodino, the Russian army retreats immediately, like a ball hit by another with more momentum. The Russians have retreated beyond Moscow and the French have reached it, but there are no battles for five weeks. After that, the French suddenly retreat, with no new cause.
On the evening of the 26th of August, after the battle of Borodino, Kutuzov reports a victory and orders the soldiers to prepare for another battle the next day. However, over that night and the next day, more and more losses are reported and a second battle is impossible. It is impossible for the Russian army not to retreat to beyond Moscow, despite the strong desire they all share to defeat the French. Again, Tolstoy describes how historians have criticised Kutuzov's decisions, but points out that a commander-in-chief is always right in the midst of the action, and probably doesn't have full information or the luxury of considering how one event might affect others, since he's always considering dozens of courses of action and decisions at once, and has many demands on his time and energy, not least answering to his superiors and his political enemies.
Chapter 3
Ermelov - who I do no not believe we have met before - was sent to inspect the position of the army and returns to tell Kutuzov that a second battle is impossible and they must retreat. Kutuzov says he must not be feeling well and should reconsider, since Kutuzov can't imagine the possibility of retreating without a fight. A semi-informal council of war is held, with Kutuzov listening to all the presented opinions. He's disappointed by the answer he sees - that defending Moscow is physically impossible. If he overcame his own doubts, his commanders and their soldiers wouldn't. All of the discussions are on what should be done after they retreat beyond Moscow. Bennigsen is the only one insisting they should defend Moscow, because, if they succeed, he can claim the success, and, if they fail, he can blame it on Kutuzov. Kutuzov is trying to figure out when everything became so wrong and inevitable, and horrified at having to issue the order. He's convinced he is the only person in the world who can encounter Napoleon without fear.
Chapter 1
This one starts very philosophically, by discussing the concept of absolute continuity of motion and why we have so much trouble with it, and how the modern (in the 1860s) branch of mathematics which had achieved the art of dealing with the infinitely small would be able to yield solutions in more complex problems. Tolstoy makes the point that the movement of humanity arises from innumerable arbitrary wills, and so is also continuous. Normally, history is examined by selected and series of events and examining them, when, in reality, this series of events is connected to the whole and cannot be explained in isolation, in the same way that the actions of one man does not fully express the individual wills of the people. It reminds me of that old maxim about how whether a story is happy or sad depends on exactly when you start and finish it.
"The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century in Europe present an extraordinary movement of millions of people". I assume it was similar to the upheaval during and following WWII. Historians present many reasons as to the cause of this, but Tolstay says that it was the sum of human wills which produced the Revolution and Napoleon, not vice versa, and the same sum of wills which "first tolerated and then destroyed them". Basically, the will of the people cause revolutions and wars, which cause leaders and commanders to rise, not vice versa. Tbh, I'm glad we mostly just argue about stuff now (in the UK), because otherwise the Brexit issue would be a second War of the Roses.
Chapter 2
We're still in big-picture mood. Tolstoy describes the French invasion of Russia in broad terms. At this point, they had battled their way across 700 miles of hostile country, and now there are only a few dozen miles separating them from Moscow. After the battle of Borodino, the Russian army retreats immediately, like a ball hit by another with more momentum. The Russians have retreated beyond Moscow and the French have reached it, but there are no battles for five weeks. After that, the French suddenly retreat, with no new cause.
On the evening of the 26th of August, after the battle of Borodino, Kutuzov reports a victory and orders the soldiers to prepare for another battle the next day. However, over that night and the next day, more and more losses are reported and a second battle is impossible. It is impossible for the Russian army not to retreat to beyond Moscow, despite the strong desire they all share to defeat the French. Again, Tolstoy describes how historians have criticised Kutuzov's decisions, but points out that a commander-in-chief is always right in the midst of the action, and probably doesn't have full information or the luxury of considering how one event might affect others, since he's always considering dozens of courses of action and decisions at once, and has many demands on his time and energy, not least answering to his superiors and his political enemies.
Chapter 3
Ermelov - who I do no not believe we have met before - was sent to inspect the position of the army and returns to tell Kutuzov that a second battle is impossible and they must retreat. Kutuzov says he must not be feeling well and should reconsider, since Kutuzov can't imagine the possibility of retreating without a fight. A semi-informal council of war is held, with Kutuzov listening to all the presented opinions. He's disappointed by the answer he sees - that defending Moscow is physically impossible. If he overcame his own doubts, his commanders and their soldiers wouldn't. All of the discussions are on what should be done after they retreat beyond Moscow. Bennigsen is the only one insisting they should defend Moscow, because, if they succeed, he can claim the success, and, if they fail, he can blame it on Kutuzov. Kutuzov is trying to figure out when everything became so wrong and inevitable, and horrified at having to issue the order. He's convinced he is the only person in the world who can encounter Napoleon without fear.
Tuesday 3 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapters 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39
Chapter 33
This chapter describes a broad view of the battle. Again, Tolstoy makes the point that Napoleon could not see a fucking thing and the news he was being brought became out of date as the rider travelled to him. The men on the battlefield do whatever they need to do in the heat of battle and in preservation of their lives, until they reach safety whereupon their superiors gather them back up and lead them back in.
Chapter 34
Napoleon's Generals - Davout, Ney, and Murat - are finding that this battle is not going at all according to the way they normally do. The Russians are not retreating. Murat sends an adjutant to ask Napoleon for reinforcements, which Napoleon finds shocking, and, I am forced to assume, makes a stupid face.
Napoleon denies the reinforcements and distracts himself with something else. Another request for reinforcements arrives, swearing up and down that the Russians will be defeated with just one more division. Napoleon says he's made a mistake and sends him away. Another messenger turns up immediately, requesting reinforcements again. Napoleon finally gives in, but dithers over which one to send, "playing the part of a doctor who hinders by his medicines". Requests for reinforcements keep arriving and Napoleon begins to worry. M. de Beausset turns up to suggest lunch and asking if he can congratulate Napoleon on a victory, because he's not been paying attention, Napoleon nods distractly, which De Beausset takes as a yes on the victory. Napoleon is realising he is losing and is feeling quite depressed about it. He can't figure out why, considering he has won victories with this army and these techniques against this enemy before. He just gave a few orders and then someone turned up to congratulate him. He notices that all the men who understand war are feeling the same way he is and avoiding one another's eyes. Berthier - one of those men - suggests that Napoleon should ride along the line and ascertain exactly what is happening. They go and find a continuous slaughter, with no good to either side. Napoleon has never seen such slaughter. He can't do anything. Another general offers to lead the Old Guard into action, which Ney and Berthier roll their eyes at. Napoleon says he will not have his guard destroyed and leaves.
Chapter 35
Now we look in on Kutuzov, I assume so we can compare him to Napoleon. He doesn't try to give orders, but just agrees or denies the requests brought to him. He understands that one man cannot direct hundreds of thousands of others who are struggling with death, and that the result of the battle will be based on the spirit of the army more than anything. At 11am he learns that the fleches captured by the French have been retaken, but that Bagration is wounded. He asks for more information. He sends the Duke of Wurttemberg out, but gets a message from him - sent before he can possibly have reached his position - requesting more troops. Kutuzov sends Dokhturov to take over and send the Duke back. A little later he receives the information that Murat - one of the French generals - has been taken prisoner. He doesn't want to celebrate too soon but does send the news out to the troops. At 3pm, the French attacks cease. At dinner, General Wolzogen - who said, in front of Andrew, that the battle must be extended - turns up to tell them that the battle is lost, based on Barclay de Tolly seeing wounded men and assuming. Kutuzov tells him - and, by proxy, Barclay de Tolly - to fuck off. I paraphrase, he used more words. He tells Wolzogen to tell Barclay de Tolly that he fully intends to attack again in the morning. Wolzogen goes off, marvelling at how stupid Kutuzov is being. Raevski turns up and gets a much warmer reception, not least because he's been at the most important part of the battle and is reporting a victory. Wolzogen comes back and insists that Barclay de Tolly must have the orders in writing or he won't follow them. Kutuzov gives the order to have them written out, without even looking up. Kutuzov's words - of victory today and attacking again tomorrow - manage to spread from one end of the army to the other, not through his exact words being passed on but more because his words and orders encompass the spirit of the army and of every Russian soul.
Chapter 36
Andrew's regiment was one of the reserves which were held back, under artillery fire, until after 1pm. They'd already lost more than two hundred men before they were able to move forwards into battle and thousands more died before 2pm. The regiment lost another third of its men from cannon fire before being able to fire a single shot. The whole regiment is taciturn and morose, some of them becoming absorbed in simple things like playing with the grass while they wait, amidst silence and cries for stretchers. They've been inactive for eight hours, with constant fear of death and no food. They're all pale and gloomy. Andrew is pacing, thinking of nothing. He'd tried talking to the men at first, to try to buck them up a bit, but it didn't help - they're all trying to mentally escape from what's actually happening. A cannonball hits near him, and he sends out an order to tell the men not to crowd together. A shell drops within two steps of him, near to the battalion commander's horse, terrifying it, which infects the men with fear. The adjutant shouts at Andrew to get down as he himself drops to the ground. Andrew doesn't, caught by the idea that he might literally die, right now, and caught by a passionate rush of love for life. The shell goes off, heavily wounding him in the torso which is...not really compatible with life, in most circumstances on an 1812 battlefield. He's carried away on a stretcher, still conscious, but a little delirious. At least it's cured his ongoing depression - there's "something in this life [he] did not and do[es] not understand".
Chapter 37
We're still at the hospital tent with Andrew. He's seen immediately, which a non-titled soldier complains about. Andrew's having flashbacks to the piles of dead bodies he saw a few weeks ago, brought on by the naked and bleeding bodies around him now. There are three operating tables, two of them already occupied. One holds a Tartar who is being held down by four soldiers while a doctor cuts into his back. The other holds a man who seems oddly familiar to Andrew, who is also being held down, with something painful being done to his leg. A doctor orders Andrew to be undressed, bringing back memories of childhood, and then starts doing something to Andrew's abdomen which causes him to pass out. When he wakes up, the splintered portions of his thighbone have been extracted and the flesh torn away. I'm now confused about where he was injured. Someone's sprinkling water on his face. As soon as he opens his eyes, the doctor kisses him on the lips and hurries away.
Now all the pain has stopped, Andrew is feeling quite blissful, in a way he hasn't felt since his earliest childhood. The man who seemed familiar is demanding to be shown his amputated leg and starts sobbing when he sees it, which, tbh, seems like a very reasonable reaction. It turns out it's Anatole.
(The joke there is that Anatole is a classic Rake). Andrew is still quite delirious and it takes him a minute to figure out that he knows Anatole because of Natasha. He remembers the first time he saw her during that ball in 1810 and his heart overflows with pity and love for Anatole. He starts crying as well, and thinks that he finally understands the word of god that his sister tried to teach him, of love for his brothers.
Chapter 38
We're back to Napoleon, who normally likes to look at the killed and wounded, considering it a test for his strength of mind. Today, it horrifies him and he rides away, feeling dejected and powerless. While he's sitting there, an adjutant informs him that his last order did not succeed in stopping the Russians, despite killing quite a lot of them. He gives the role to continue fire, not because he wants to - all he wants to do is run away and be free of all this - but because he has to, because he's the Emperor. Besides, it's already being done. Tolstoy doesn't seem to like Napoleon at all, which, again, does not seem like a totally unreasonable response. He states that Napoleon had to repudiate truth, goodness, and all humanity because his actions were so far from them and he forces himself to find joy in them. He finds reasons to rejoice that there are five Russians dead for every Frenchman, and that he's looking over a battlefield of fifty-thousand corpses. I'm reminded of another Discworld quote here, specifically one from Jingo.
“It is a long-cherished tradition among a certain type of military thinker that huge casualties are the main thing. If they are on the other side then this is a valuable bonus.”
Tolstoy then quotes a letter Napoleon wrote on the island of St Helena, where he later went to write an account of the great deeds he had done. Apparently, Napoleon felt that the Russian war should have been "the most popular war of modern times". Basically, as Tolstoy summaries, Napoleon "predestined by Providence for the gloomy role of executioner of the peoples, assured himself that the aim of his actions had been the peoples' welfare". Napoleon also does some quite complicated algebra. Basically, since the army he lead into Russia only included about 140,000 people who spoke French, he only actually lost around 50,000 Frenchmen, while 4x as many actual Russians died. Note that here Napoleon has discounted - as Tolstoy and Napoleon listed - Austrians, Prussians, Saxons, Poles, Bavarians, Wurttembergers, Mecklenburgers, Spaniards, Italians, Neapolitans, Dutch, Belgians, men from the borders of the Rhine, Piedmontese, Swiss, Genevese, Tuscans, Romans, men of the Thirty-second military division (the areas of the lower Elbe), of Bremen, of Hamburg, and so on.
Note that Napoleon has not discounted the non-Russian soldiers from the Russian death-toll.
Chapter 39
This chapter is a description of the battlefield. The "grass and earth were soaked with blood for a space of some three acres around". The men are beginning to feel doubtful and whether and why they should continue slaughtering one another, especially since they're all hungry and tired. Still, they carry on. Tolstoy attributes it to an ineffable act of God.
Anyone looking at the battlefield would have assumed that either the French nor the Russians could have won if they'd found it in themselves for one final push, but neither side does. The Russians don't because their goal isn't to attack the French, it's to block the way to Moscow. They've done this, even though they've lost ONE HALF of their army (capitals are Tolstoy's).
According to Tolstoy, some historians believe the French could have won if Napoleon had sent his Old Guards, which were completely intact. Tolstoy feels that this was an impossibility, that Napoleon did not send his Guards not because he didn't want to but because he couldn't - because the flagging spirits of the troops wouldn't permit. Every member of the French army felt the same terrible, sudden, impotence that Napoleon did when they suddenly began losing, when they faced an army they had half killed who still kept coming at them. Their moral force was exhausted. The French lost because they believed it was inevitable once when the Russians didn't stop. In Tolstoy's opinion, the Russians had a morale victory over the French. Tolstoy adds that the French army were able to reach Moscow, but died without further Russian effort because of the wounds received in Borodino. The fall of Napoleonic France hinges directly on the victorious morale of the Russians at Borodino (according to Tolstoy). I feel like this is the thesis statement he wrote the entire book to make.
...and that's the end of part 10! I'm 67% of the way through! I have 7 parts left to finish, split into 136 chapters. At the rate of one chapter per day, I'll be done by the 17th of January next year, so that's my upper limit. Two a day would only take to the 11th of November, three to the 18th of October, and six to the 25th of this month. The next part, 11, consists of 34 chapters and will take me to 76%, more than 3/4 of the way through the book. The chapters should, on average, be slightly shorter than in this section - each one contributes approximately 0.26% of the book, compared to 0.28% for section 10. On average, the longest chapters were back in part 3 - each one contributed an average of 0.37% to the book. All of the other sections are between 12-20 chapters long, and, tbh, it's the large number of chapters that puts me off. Like the French, it's a morale-loss. For that reason, I'm going to try to get through at least 6 chapters per day until I'm done with part 11.
Monday 2 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapters 30, 31, and 32
15 chapters was far too ambitious for today, but I'll do another three and finish this section tomorrow.
Chapter 30
We're now back to Pierre. On returning home on the evening of the 25th, he asked his groom to have the horses ready and to wake him up early, and then immediately fell asleep. Everyone was gone before his groom woke him and the canons had already begun firing. Now it looks like a proper battle, especially with the dawn and the mist rising and the corpses in the golden wheatfields and so on. Kutuzov rides past Pierre, barking orders, and Pierre decides to follow him.
Chapter 31
Pierre loses the general when some soldiers get in his way. In trying to move his horse out of the way and keep from trampling Russian soldiers, he finds his way to the bridge across the Kolocha, which is being attacked by the French, who have, by now, occupied Borodino. He doesn't realise he's in the middle of a battle, despite the guns, and looks about himself with a smile. Btw, throughout this whole chapter, people are yelling at Pierre to get out of the way and stop being a moron, but I'm not going to mention it every time. Pierre runs into one of Raevski's adjutants and starts following him. He starts noticing the dead and wounded men. The adjutant has to point out to Pierre that Pierre's own horse is wounded, congratulating him on his "baptism of fire". The adjutant leaves Pierre on the knoll to wait for the general, while he rides away. Pierre doesn't seem him again and doesn't learn for quite a while that the adjutant will lose an arm in the battle. He also won't learn for a while that the knoll he's on will be the most important point of the battle. He spends a bit of time wandering around the guns and trying not to get away from the soldiers loading them. Since no one here is in immediate danger, it actually starts to feel quite convivial. Pierre is definitely feeling better than everyone else, with one of the soldiers asking how he manages not to be afraid, what with the shells falling not two paces from him. They're a little impressed, what with him being a gentleman and not a soldier. They also seem to be getting giddier with adrenaline, the longer they remain alive and uninjured.
The battle starts to get more serious, with the wounded being carried back, and many of the dead left to lie. People start to get irritated about Pierre being in the way again. The battle suddenly begins to feel real to him when a young man near him is hit. He begins to hear the cannons. They only have eight rounds left, and a colonel calls for someone to bring the reserve ammunition boxes. Pierre volunteers, eager to run away, but he hesitates halfway there. This saves him - they're blown to pieces before he can reach them.
Chapter 32
Pierre now feels genuine terror, and runs back to the battery. When he gets back the colonel has been killed and a prisoner has been taken, but Pierre doesn't really take any of it in. A French soldier is running towards him and, without thinking, Pierre picks him up by the soldier and throat. The French soldier then grabs him by the throat, and they both gaze at one another in confusion for a moment. The Frenchman is giving up - because Pierre is bigger and stronger, and is squeezing tighter without actually intending to - but then a cannonball whistles right over their heads and they both let go and start running again. Pierre gets back to the battery, but no one's left alive. He doesn't recognise all of the dead, but some he does. He's sure that both sides will stop from the sheer horror of it, but it's still early in the day.
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29
All right, let's rock this Asmodeus. I don't like the idea of being stuck in the middle of something long, so I'm just going to try to finish this whole section today. I'm going to aim to write 3 posts; one with chapters 25-29, then 30-34, then 35-39.
Chapter 25
Andrew invites some officers to have tea with them, since he doesn't really want to be alone with Pierre. The officers listen to Pierre expounding on what he knows about the position of the troops, and Andrew interrupts to ask if Pierre understands it (though not as condescendingly as I just made it sound). Pierre says he's not a military man, but he understood the general position, and Andrew says that Pierre knows more about it than anyone else. Pierre had been assuming that he was the only one who didn't understand, so he's a little surprised by this. He asks Andrew's opinion of Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly. Andrew says he's pleased about Kutuzov's appointment, but refers the question of Barclay de Tolly to the other officers. Pierre asks Timokhin "with the condescendingly interrogative smile" with which everyone addresses Timokhin. He answers with vague but optimistic platitudes, mostly that he likes that Barclay lets the troops go marauding over land they're abandoning to the French. Andrew very much does not approve of this and says as much despite himself. He compliments Barclay by saying that he "plans out everything very thoroughly and accurately, as every German has to", but that, when your father is dying, you send away his efficient German valet and tend to him yourself with your unpractised hands. I am sure that this metaphor in no way exposes Andrew's own feelings over his father's death. He feels that, now that Russian is in danger, she needs a true Russian to lead the army. He also criticises the gossips for making Barclay out to be a traitor or a hero, rather than just seeing what's there. He also dismisses the idea of a skillful commander, because war isn't chess and he believes it can't be known and predicted in the moment by a single person. I suspect he's professing Tolstoy's own views here, because Tolstoy seems to be of the opinion that war can't be truly known and defined in hindsight either. Anyway, Andrew ends his rant by theorising that war can only depend on the feeling within each individual soldier. He then expounds on his idea that you have to will yourselves to win a war, which sounds like the sort of thing Terry Pratchett would dismiss with something like “If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy".
He then criticises the way that the men at the top see tomorrow's battle as an opportunity to undermine a rival or win a medal, when for him, tomorrow means "a Russian army of a hundred thousand and a French army of a hundred thousand have met to fight, and the thing is that these two hundred thousand men will fight and the side that fights more fiercely and spares itself least will win". Tomokhin immediately aligns his opinions with Andrew's.
The officers leave, and as Pierre approaches Andrew to speak three horsemen ride by, speaking in German. Andrew understands them, and the footnotes inform me that they are discussing the idea that the war must be extended to weaken the enemy, and individual lives don't really matter in the face of that goal. Andrew does not approve, since his father, son, and sister are all in the "extend widely" that the men want for the war. He is now even more convinced that German soldiers will lose them the war. Andrew is ranting again, so he also expresses his wish to just execute enemy soldiers rather than care for POWs like the 'chivalrous' French. I can see his point - it's probably quite hard to show mercy to a soldier from an army that is trying as hard as they can to murder your family in their beds. He feels that just killing them would be less cruel and also less hypocritical, and thinks its akin to meat-eaters being squeamish about where meat comes from. He saw all the chivalry of 1805 and yet they're still here, fighting the same enemy. He also thinks that, if people disposed of chivalry, then they would only go to war when they were literally prepared to lay their life on the line for their cause and not just because someone offended someone else at a diplomat's dinner party. "Let war be war and not a game". After ranting for a few pages, he tells Pierre goodnight, since he needs to be well-rested and ready to die for his country in the morning. Pierre debates whether to follow Andrew inside and continue their conversation - since he's sure it will be their last meeting - but decides not to. Inside the cabin, Andrew is staring up at the ceiling and remembering Natasha, and how he understood her father better than Anatole, who only saw in her a "pretty and fresh young girl, with whom he did not deign to unite his fate". He's right. Ironically, it's Natasha's own romantic soul and innocence that lead her to betray him, since she was so convinced she could not possibly feel that attraction for anyone she did not love, and a man who did not love her couldn't say those things or act that way (my analysis, not in-text). Andrew gets up and starts pacing.
Chapter 26
We're now catching up with Napoleon, on that same evening. M. de Beausset has arrived from Paris with Colonel Fabvier from Madrid, both to see Napoleon. Napoleon is being washed and perfumed by his valet. The two give up updates on his army and general compliments. De Beausset has also brought a portrait of Napoleon's new son, who is known as "The King of Rome", "for some reason". I did some googling to try to find the portrait. I couldn't, but I did learn that the boy is Napoleon's only legitimate son and that he'll die in 1832, at the age of 21, from TB. He sends out the portrait to enliven the troops, and also sends out a punchy little speech which he is ridiculously proud of. Then he makes De Beausset ride out with him, even though the poor man is tired.
Chapter 27
Tolstoy goes back to his history lesson here. Napoleon spent the whole day riding around and giving orders without explaining his inner logic to anyone. Tolstoy then quotes a gushing historical report of Napoleon's tactics and flatly debunks it. Napoleon's orders were contradictory and could not reasonably be followed as the report claims. The report suggests that perhaps the intention was to give orders during the battle, since actions will have to be made in response to the enemy's movement, but then Tolstoy debunks that as well, since Napoleon was known to be so far away during the battle that he had no clue what was going on and couldn't give orders to anyone.
Chapter 28
This chapter continues the theme of Napoleon being an idiot by first mentioning that some reports claim that the French only lost the battle of Borodino because Napoleon had a cold and was slightly less full of genius than under normal circumstances. Tolstoy then points out that this only works if you see history as being formed by the whims of powerful individuals and therefore totally ignore the autonomy and free will of every single other individual, "contrary to all human reality". Tolstoy is of the opinion that Napoleon did not affect events nearly so much as other sources think he did. Essentially, Tolstoy is debunking the "just following orders" excuse nearly one hundred years before it was used for Nazi war crimes. Napoleon didn't shoot at anyone or kill anyone - his soldiers did. None of Napoleon's orders were followed during the battle, so it was not him who directed its course. Each person had free will. Tolstoy theorises that if Napoleon had tried to stop the war, he would have been executed and the army would have continued on with another leader, because it was inevitable. To use another Pratchett analogy, it's like two large men trying to be polite in a small room, but sooner or later they end up smashing the furniture. It's never really about Franz Ferdinand being shot (to mix wars).
Tolstoy continues that Napoleon's orders weren't any better or worse than any of those he gave in other battles, and the excuse of a cold isn't really any better or worse than any other reason that people gave for his victories or losses. If Napoleon happened to win the battle, historians say his orders were good, and if he lost, they were bad. Really, I guess, we should play a matching game and see if a historian - or military strategist - can quantify his orders as good or bad and then attach them to the correct victory/loss condition.
Anyway, Tolstoy concludes with the idea that Napoleon fulfilled his actual role as well as he ever did, that role being to represent authority and appear to command.
Chapter 29
We're back in story-view, still with Napoleon. He returns from his second inspection, announcing that "the chessmen are set up, the game will begin tomorrow!". He also can't sleep, despite having a far more relaxing evening than Andrew. He feels a little bad that his army has shrunk so much since Smolensk, and checks with his adjutant, Rapp, that they've eaten. He also repeats some themes from previous chapters, when he whinges about his cold and Rapp reminds him of something he said before a previous battle; that the wine, once poured, must be drunk. Napoleon rides out at 5:30am, and hears the first few cannons fire (from a distance). "The game had begun".
Sunday 1 September 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapters 23 and 24
Chapter 23
We get a bit of foreshadowing here, as Pierre follows Bennigsen across the future battlefield. One spot will later be named the Raevski Redoubt or the Knoll Battery, and Pierre has no idea that it would "become more memorable to him than any other spot on the plain of Borodino". A little later, they walk past a bit that was Russian yesterday but French today, and Pierre tries to spot Napoleon. Bennigsen is approached by a general and explains the position of the troops, and Pierre is embarrassed to realise he can't keep up with the plan for the upcoming battle. He lies and tells Bennigsen he finds it all fascinating when asked. They travel a little more - at one point, distracted by a bunny that is disturbed by all the horses and goes bounding down the road - and then Bennigsen gives orders to the troops, orders which Pierre is sure, are of great military importance (he has no capacity for knowing this, he just has a feeling). Bennigsen also criticises the fact that there is a massive hill with no troops on it because all the troops are below it. The generals agree, with one declaring that the troops below the high ground are simply put there to be slaughtered. I assume this is more of the campaign against Kutuzov, who I am very fond of right now. Pierre is very understanding of the general mood and shares their opinions, but he is a bit confused about how someone could have taken the war this far only to make such a stupid mistake. It's actually Bennigsen making a mistake - he assumes the troops are there for defence but they're actually concealed as an ambush. Because he's arrogant, he moves the troops according to his own ideas, without involving Kutuzov.
Incidentally, I've been watching a youtube channel called How to Cook That, and found this video on a wedding cake made by Napoleon's French pastry chef. I'm not sure if War and Peace gets to any French feasts in the last few hundred pages or so, so I'm just embedding the video now.
I also enjoyed the video on making a 200-year-old cheesecake recipe, which begins by literally making cheese.
Chapter 24
It's the same evening, and Prince Andrew is lying around feeling agitated and irritable and contemplating his own demise, the serious possibility of which is only just occuring to him. Many of his previous preoccupations, both good and bad, seem downright silly in the face of this. The text actually says they appear like "magic lantern pictures". A quick google search tells me that a magic lantern is basically a projector, and that they're a lot older than I thought they were. Andrew's three great sorrows are Natasha, his father's death, and the French invasion, so it's handy that he's in the right position to directly deal with at least one of those. He describes - thinking out loud - the fact that he may well die tomorrow, and not even by a French soldier but through friendly fire, and then the French will just throw him into a hole, and, after the battle, life might be totally different and he will know nothing about it. He decides to go out for a walk. When he gets back, he settle sa disagreement and then hears Pierre outside. Andrew is not happy to see Pierre, since Pierre reminds him of all the painful moments of his last visit to Moscow. Pierre awkwardly explains that he wants to see a battle and Andrew sarcastically asks how to Masonic brothers would stop it. He doesn't leave a gap for Pierre to reply before asking about 'his people', presumably his son and sister. Pierre tells him that he's heard from Julie Drubetskaya that Mary and little Nikolai are at Andrew's estate near Moscow.
Saturday 31 August 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Pierre runs into darling Bory. I have never liked him, not since he first showed up on these pages. I am not sure whether I spelled that out before or if I just implied it. He's elegantly dressed with a whip slung across his shoulder, like Kutuzov.
I assume it is not an awesome dragon whip like Golbez, but I'll pretend it is anyway. Meanwhile, Kutuzov has set up in the shade of the nearest house, and has been brought a bench to sit on. The narrative doesn't explicitly say that any of the throng surrounding him have fans, so I am forced to assume that they do.
Pierre tells Bory that he wishes to see the position of the battle, and Bory tells him that the spot where Coutn Bennigsen will be is the best. Bory will also be there, so he suggests Pierre just come with him now to sort it out. Pierre is more interested in the right flank though, and Bory is heading to the left flank. Bory says he can see that later, and he will point out Andrew's regiment along the way. He also confides that the left flank is not in the shape anyone wished, but something went wrong. At this point they're interrupted by Kaysarov, Kutuzov's lackey. Bory congratulates him on the strength of the left flank and how wise Kutuzov was to have intuited the French movements and strengthened it accordingly, because he is a two-faced little weasel. That's how he's become so respected amongst the higher command. More specifically, the higher command is currently split into Kutuzov's party and Bennigsen's party, and Bory is firmly on the side of Bennigsen, while showing servile respect to Kutuzov in such a way that he makes him look like an idiot. Honestly, I've been binge watching the last few seasons of Glee and the high-school drama of it all is very similar. I understand why Pierre feels that there must be something truly important, if he could only find it amongst all this mess. Anyway, darling Bory is happy because either Kutuzov will be destroyed and Bennigsen will be all powerful, or Kutuzov will win the battle but everyone will attribute it to Bennigsen anyway.
Now that people have spotted Pierre, he is showered with questions of Moscow and news, so he barely has time to respond. Pierre's attention is caught by the faces which appear to be preoccupied with universal questions of life and death over personal politics. He's summoned to Kutuzov, but Dolokhov manages to get there first, and Pierre hears a whisper of gossip that Dolokhov has been downgraded but is trying to rise up again through proposing brave guerilla schemes. Dolokhov's begging Kutuzov for a chance to give his life for mother Russia when Pierre reaches them. He greets Pierre by loudly announcing that "the militia have put on clean white shirts to be ready to die". Kutuzov hears this - as intended - and questions him about it. Presumably, darling Bory is implying that Kutuzov is responsible for these men expecting to die in war rather than achieving a glorious victory or something. Kutuzov moves onto Pierre, telling him that he, Kutuzov, is one of Helene's admirers, which I would not consider a compliment though Kutuzov probably does intend as one.
After Pierre leaves Kutuzov - we don't hear any more of their conversation, so it's probably not important - Dolokhov tells him that he "regret[s] the misunderstanding that have occurred between [them]", and asks Pierre for his forgiveness. Pierre doesn't know what to say, so Dolokhov embraces him and kisses him. Meanwhile, darling Bory has spoken to Bennigsen, who suggests that Pierre ride with him along the line. They set out half an hour later, as Kutuzov leaves for Tatarinova.
Saturday 24 August 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Pierre climbs up a hill to see the entire battlefield, but is disappointed because it looks nothing like the battlefields in his head. It's just full of fields, meadows, troops, woods, campfires, villages, and so on - no identifiable military positions or anything.
He watches as an icon is brought and an impromptu religious service begins. Kutuzov arrives halfway through.
Wednesday 21 August 2019
In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 10, Chapter 20
Chapter 20
We're back to Pierre, on the morning of the 25th, the day inbetween two battles. He's getting a lot of stares in his white hat and green swallow-tail coat, which I can only assume looked like this.
I'd fucking stare, too. I hope all the television serials are accurate to this costume. Anyway, Pierre is leaving Mozhaysk, and is stopped by a wounded solder who asks if they'll be left there or taken on to Moscow. Pierre is too deep in thought to hear him. He's looking at all the other wounded and listening to their song. He eventually answers the poor man then goes on, looking for familiar faces. After nearly three miles, he runs into a doctor of his acquaintance, and tells him that he, Pierre, wants to take part in a battle. The doctor recommends that he speak to Kutuzov. Pierre asks exactly what the armies position is at the moment, but the doctor doesn't know, except that there'll be a battle tomorrow and there isn't nearly enough medical supplies ready. Pierre is amazed to think that of all the men he's seen today - most of whom were staring at his hat - approximately 20,000 of them are predicted to die. He passes the house where Kutuzov is staying, but everyone's gone to church, so he carries on to Gorki. He sees the peasant militia for the first time, and the sight of them all, and the fact that they're clearly not trained soldiers, impresses him with the solemnity and importance of the moment.
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