In Which We Discuss War & Peace - Chapters V, VI, and VII

Chapter V

Anna is very sick of Napoleon and thinks it's ridiculous that he gets to be in charge of things.  The vicomte thinks that "good" French society will be destroyed forever.  Pierre shows his raised-by-wolves-ness by describing Napoleon as having a "great soul".  Le gasp.  Cue ladies fainting and so on.  Well, what do you expect from someone educated abroad?  He thinks that when you set out to do something, you should commit to it, and that Napoleon did that to the point of assassination, keeping the positive parts of the revolution while destroying the negative.  Prince Andrew has decided to support Pierre - which one was Prince Andrew again? - because he dislikes the vicomte.

Okay, I googled, and Prince Andrew is Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky and he is married to the pregnant Princess, whom I can't recall if I've mentioned before or not.  She wasn't doing much anyway.  Prince Hippolyte tells a silly story to change the subject.

Chapter VI

Pierre is an ungracious lout who does not know how to leave a party, but he is also sweet and naive, so Anna forgives him.  He was raised by wolves, after all.  Prince Hippolyte may or may not have tried to feel up Prince Andrew's wife.

Pierre is in Russia in order to choose a career, and appears to be staying with the Bolkonskys.  His dad has given him some money and told him to pick one and get on with it.  He's been doing that for three months.

Chapter VII

Pierre is very blunt, but Lise - Princess Bolkonsky - agrees with him, that war is unnecessary and she can't see why men like it so much.  She also calls her husband Andre.  So he might be called Andre, Andrew, or Prince Bolkonsky.  You see why I found this book confusing and decided to keep notes.

Anyway, Lise is trying to set her husband up as an Aide-de-camp -personal assistant - to the emperor.  Prince Andrew seems less enthused about it.  Apparently, he has taken Lise to live with his father and sister and leaving her there while he goes off to war.  He appears to love Lise much less than she loves him, which perhaps they should have figured out before marrying and conceiving a child.  Possibly not an option for royalty.