In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 7, Chapters 4, 5, and 6

Chapter 4

This chapter is basically all about the hunt.  All of the Rostovs, apart from the Countess and Vera are hunting, including a few distant relatives we've not yet met and their servants.  One hunter is a man who goes by a woman's name, Nastasya Ivanovna.  He's referred to as a cross-dressing old buffoon, but otherwise not commented on.  I found an article on cross-dressing in war and peace - apparently, it comes up again, and I also missed the significance of how Maria's pilgrims were dressed - but I'm going to stop reading it because I already came across a few spoilers.

Chapter 5

This chapter appears to be about what Nikolai is doing at the hunt.  I am really not all that interested.  Nothing terribly important seems to be happening to anyone (except the wolf).  Rostov is feeling unlucky, and sorry for himself, and he's hoping that hunting this poor wolf can be the one thing he's good at.  They tie up the poor wolf - after killing the dogs have killed 5 of her cubs - and drag her back to the group to be shown off.  Poor little wolf.  I feel worse for her than for Andrew, when he lay dying.  I bet she thinks of her children.

Chapter 6

Count Ilya goes home, but it's still early, so the hunt continues, with Natasha and Petya a part of it.  I don't like part 7.  I'm glad it's only 13 chapters.  Now they've got the wolf, they're going after a fox.  A rival hunting party catches it.  It's Illagin's hunting party, who I don't think we've met before, but is apparently a long-standing rival of the Rostovs, and he's infringed on their land on purpose.  However, when Nikolai goes to confront him, he's very sorry about it, and also very flattering to Nikolai.  He also compares Natasha to the goddess Diana, and invites them all to join his hunt.  Now they're going after hares.  Nikolai admires Illagin's dog, which he got by trading three families of house serfs.  You know, most of this book just drives home how little people change, even over centuries, but we're definitely seeing some cultural differences now.  Illagin and Rostov's dogs race for a hare, and honestly, I do not give a fuck.  Apparently a great deal of pride rests on which one wins the race.  Natasha quite enjoys the rivalry - she literally screams at the end of it, when Uncle's dog wins.  'Uncle' is literally just a random Rostov relative that they call Uncle.  Are we done with hunting now?