Chapter 12
At the meeting, Weyrother - who came up with the agreed-upon plan of attack - is excited. Kutuzov is not. Prince Bagration skips it entirely. Prince Andrew comes to tell them and remains in the room, based on Kutuzov's previous implied invitation. Kutuzov doesn't care - he falls asleep. Weyrother's plan is so long and boring and complicated that the narration wraps it up with "and so on". It takes an hour. Langeron, a Count from Southern France - who is a Russian general - points out the problems in the plan, but Weyrother is confident that Napoleon is just waiting around to be crushed even though, as Langeron points out, that would be stupid. Kutuzov briefly wakes up, but realises they're still talking about the battle plan and goes back to sleep. Prince Andrew is also waiting to express doubts, but only because he's convinced his plan will be better. He's not able to, because Kutuzov wakes up, points out that it's now after midnight and too late to change the plan the emperors have agreed to. Prince Andrew is concerned that the learned Generals have so many problems with the plan, and yet he and the other soldiers are still being asked to risk their lives on it. He finally thinks of his father and wife as he realises he may actually die tomorrow. He distracts himself with a nice daydream in which he saves the regiment single-handedly and is put in charge. He realises that he's more afraid of not being a glorious hero than he is of dying trying, which are indeed the two options he's been given.
No comments:
Post a Comment