Chapter 7
Nearly 2 years before, in 1808, Pierre accidentally found himself in a leading position amongst St Petersburg Freemasons. He does a lot of organising and money-giving, including single-handedly funding a poorhouse, but mostly his life carries on as it did before, only he feels like a hypocrite now. He also feels trapped in Freemasonry, not least because most of the St Petersburg members are men he knows socially, and not the perfect brotherhood he dreamed of. He knows they can afford to give much more to the freemasons, so he begins to doubt how seriously they take it.
Pierre identifies four classes of Freemasons; the first, those interested in the mystical side, like most of the elders; the second, the category Pierre is in, are brothers seeking a straight and comprehensible path, who have not yet found it; the third are those who enjoy the ceremonies but don't worry about their meaning; and the fourth are social climbers. Pierre doesn't doubt freemasonry itself, but he is beginning to doubt how it's being done here. He goes abroad to learn more secrets of the order and returns to St Petersburg in 1809. Everyone comes to see him, hoping to make friends with him. There is a meeting held, where Pierre can tell them all what he's learned, and it's basically that they should become more virtuous and raise up others by, for example, educating the young. Most of the order takes this as Illuminati propaganda (they want to replace the republic with a monarchy) and reject it. Others accept it, and Pierre is struck by the "endless variety of men's minds, which prevents a truth from every presenting itself identically to two persons."
I don't think I've mentioned - I really like this book. I can see why it's a classic. I enjoy the character studies. I didn't expect Freemasons and Illuminati to show up, but I'm on board.
Anyway, the meeting ends with Pierre's proposal being rejected.
Chapter 8
Pierre spends the next three days slumped in depression, until he receives a letter from his wife, begging him to see her and saying she wishes to devote her whole life to him.
Shortly afterwards, one of the Masonic brothers that Pierre doesn't even like forces his way in and, completely coincidentally, insists that Pierre is being unfair to his wife and should forgive her.
Then, his mother-in-law begs him to come over to discuss an important matter. Pierre realises a conspiracy to unite him and Helene is afoot.
Our big dumb kitten is getting smarter! However, he's so depressed that he doesn't actually care enough to keep being angry with Helene. He's also too depressed to go through with the reuniting, so that's a plus. Instead, he goes to Moscow to see Joseph Alexeevich, that Freemason who got him into the gang in the first place. He's shocked to find that Joseph has been ill with a disease of the bladder for three years, and is not doing well. Pierre unburdens himself to Joseph (about the Freemason stuff, not the Helene stuff), and Joseph reminds him that the first goals of freemasonry are to perfect oneself, but too many people - include Pierre - get distracted by improving other people and forget that part. Pierre starts keeping a diary, to better observe himself. By the 23rd November he is, again, living with his wife, because his mother-in-law begged. He reflected on Joseph's advice, and decided it would be right to forgive Helene, but only to have a spiritual union with her.
Chapter 9
Now reunited with her husband, Helene is taking a prominent place at the balls and dances of the season. She was at the meeting of the Emperors, and particularly impressed Napoleon, who called her "a superb animal". Pierre isn't surprised that she's gained a reputation as a beautiful woman, but is surprised that she is now considered 'witty'. Secretaries of the embassy and even some ambassadors confide secrets to her, so she's considered a power. Pierre knows she's stupid, but her reputation grows so much that people consider her emptiest remarks to be full of hidden meaning. Pierre, as an "absent-minded crank" serves as a very good backdrop for Helene. Bory has become a close friend of hers, and she calls him "mon page". Pierre is sometimes uncomfortable with how she smiles at him, and the deference Bory shows to her. However, he doesn't allow his suspicions to take hold, since that didn't end well last time. Plus, he's going through his own internal process, which reveals "many spiritual doubts and joys".
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