War and Peace: Volume I, Part III
Leo Tolstoy's Masterpiece on Russian Society in the Time of Napoleon
Pierre and Marya are entangled in Prince Vassily's plot to marry his children for money; meanwhile, Prince Andrei and Nicholas Rostov fight in the Battle of Austerlitz
Vassily Plots Marriage for Money
Book III begins by bringing the reader back to the social world of Moscow, where Pierre’s status has been transformed by his recent inheritance. Prince Vassily befriends Pierre and enlists the help of Anna Pavlovna Scherer to convince Pierre that a marriage to Vassily’s daughter, Helene, is inevitable. Pierre fools himself into thinking that he is in love with Helene but cannot bring himself to propose. Finally, Vassily announces falsely that he has heard of their engagement, and the two marry without ever initiating their engagement.
Vassily next attempts to arrange a marriage between his self-involved son, Anatole, and Princess Marya. It is Marya’s first and perhaps only opportunity for marriage and, despite her Christian selflessness, she is taken up with the idea of marriage’s worldly joys. Anatole sees that Marya is ugly but thinks he might marry her for old Prince Bolkonsky’s money. Meanwhile, he overtly flirts with Mademoiselle Bourienne, Marya’s beautiful servant and companion. Old Prince Bolkonsky selfishly wants Marya to stay with him for life, but lets her make her own decision. When Princess Marya sees Anatole and Mademoiselle Bourienne kiss, she announces that she will never marry and never leave her father’s side.
Nicholas Rostov on the Front
Meanwhile, Nicholas is still caught up with his glorious idea of war. He is free with his money and idealistic didacticism. He receives money and letters from his family and Sonya and writes back, but not much. Despite his lack of care in letter-writing, the Rostovs glorify Nicholas.
Nicholas looks down on Boris, who views the war as a networking opportunity to establish a military career rather than a chance to give his life to his country. Meanwhile, Nicholas sees the tsar and is overcome with the desire to die for the Sovereign. Others joke that, because there are no women in the military, Nicholas has fallen in love with the tsar.
The Battle of Austerlitz
Despite the reluctance of Kutuzov, the Russian leaders plan to engage in battle at Austerlitz because they believe that Napoleon is afraid of a big battle. The French pepper the night with shots to scare the Russians, and the Russian troops begin to march through a thick fog towards the French, though they are disoriented and do not know the French army’s exact location.
The French troops emerge from the fog sooner than expected, and the Russians flee in disarray. Prince Andrei, who felt that his ideas were overlooked in the strategic planning, has been dreaming of his moment of glory. He grabs a flag and yells “hurrah!”, leading a pack of men uphill towards a canon. Before accomplishing anything, Andrei is wounded and finds himself flat on his back, gazing up at the sky. He suddenly sees the world around him, and also his quest for glory, as empty and meaningless when compared to the vast, unfathomable meaning of the sky.
Meanwhile, Bagration stalls his detachment’s entry into the battle but finally charges, with many casulties. Bagration sends Nicholas Rostov to send a message to Kutuzov or the tsar. Nicholas searches through the villages for the tsar, who some think has been wounded. When Nicholas finally sees the tsar, alone and despairing, he is too overwhelmed to approach him.
The battle ends as a horrific loss for the Russians. Napoleon’s troops bring Andrei with the other wounded to recover. Napoleon praises Prince Andrei for his bravery, but Andrei dismisses Napoleon as tiny and meaningless when compared to the vast universe he recently felt himself in touch with.
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Tolstoy, Leo, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. War and Peace. New York: Knopf, 2007. ISBN 978-0-307-26693-4.
