Show Notes
On his return as a lieutenant in a fancy military jacket laced with silver as well as possessing a St. George’s Cross for bravery, Nicholas is treated magnificently. Nicholas gets used to it and develops an ego that leaves him open to being taken advantage of. The finances of his aristocratic family are brought out, noting how his affable father, Ilya, was bestowing a trove on his Prodigal son, as well as other celebratory events after remortgaging his estates. Illya purchased his son a fine horse that could enter races and also the most fashionable outfits.
With his new look and demeanor, Nicholas would be seen at the elite social events. He also visited a woman on the boulevard…a fairly clear reference to a prostitute. He relished being home as a young man aware of the world. He left behind childish things, such as once feeling disconcerted about sneaking around his mansion kissing Sonya. He also visited the historical English Club – a social institution started by English merchants around 1770 that gathered at various stately houses. Men used the Club to socialize, drink, gamble and make connections. Tolstoy, Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol were members. Gogol is a writer with Ukrainian roots, from a Cossack family, which both Ukraine & Russia claim as theirs.
Like much of Moscow, Rostov’s passion for the Czar cooled but he still expressed that there was something in his feelings for Alexandr that could not be understood by others. Rostov drifted even away further from Sonya, as Tolstoy expertly catches the nature of a young man who must have his freedom. He knew there were more women to know and Love would come later.
It was now early March, and Ilya is arranging a dinner in honor of General Bagration at the aforementioned English Club. Ilya is presented as a long-time member.
This celebration for actually happened and it is important to recognize why. The reason was that Bagration was viewed as the saving grace of the recent war. Tolsoty reveals how the news of Austerlitz traveled. High Society had generally been accustomed to victories, especially from era of Catherine the Great & General Suvorov, where the triumphs were common over the Ottomans and Poles. On receiving news of the absolute defeat at Austerlitz – much of Moscow did not believe it or chose not to. However, the truth could not be contained. When it spread, it had to be dealt with.
Blame was cast on many, including Kutuzov. Many felt it was the general’s age, health, and lack of ingenuity that led to defeat. More quietly blame was cast the Czar, by way of his youth, inexperience and trust in worthless advisors. Still, a good portion considered Alexandr as the “angel incarnate.” Most vocally, the Austrians were blamed.
The public felt compelled to throw their support behind the army. Some were singled out for having performed miracles of valor. The chief hero of was General Bagration, hailed for his effort at Schön Grabern and command of the rear-guard. It also helped that Moscow’s new hero was a stranger to the City. Tolstoy has the fictional diplomat, Shinshin, parody the master of satire, Voltaire by voicing, “Had there been no Bagration, it would have been necessary to invent him.” The original quote was “Had there been no God, it would have been necessary to invent him.” The Frenchman reached something profound in few words.
Tales of valor of numerous men were embellished and spread and characters like Rostov, Boris and Berg symbolized that wave. One may have saved a standard, another had reportedly killed five Frenchmen, while another was said to fight valiantly with an injury.
There is a reference that nobody spoke of Andrei. Reports were that he was killed, leaving a pregnant wife with his eccentric father. Tolstoy references Andrei to symbolize the many, with such promise, who were wasted.
This chapter plays up the elaborateness of the preparation for the event at the English Club, going through the choice of cook, food and entertain
More from War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide
As War & Peace delves into to fiction to a much greater degree than the previous section, exploring the Rostov family dynamic throughout 1806, there is a great deal that historically transpired which Tolstoy does not bring you through. In this stretch, Bonaparte was a continental Behemoth, who sets his sights on Prussia, then an industrial power with a highly organized military. The centers that made up the Prussian Kingdom were: Berlin, Potsdam, Königsberg and Danzig. You should recall that based on the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon replaced the Habsburg Family as the principal authority in Central Europe. Austria never again reached such heights of power. Over the next 70 years Austria would lose influence over the dozens of German states while Prussia gained in this regard. It was Prussia, under Otto Von Bismarck, who in 1871 established the nation we know as Germany. In the start of 1806, France remained in a state of war against Russia, England and even Sweden. It was a busy and productive year for "the man of destiny." In February, Napoleon sent General André Messéna to Naples to overthrow the Bourbon King, Ferdinand IV, and install his brother, Joseph. Messéna was successful though fighting continued for months. In the Summer, Napoleon consolidated control of Holland and placed a crown on another brother, Louis. By mid-July, Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine of mostly southern German states, where he compelled alliances. The expanded territory gave the French 60,000 more troops. Napoleon was reshaping Central Europe to assure French influence and limit that of Austria, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain. Napoleon’s desire was to marginalize Britain economically after the Brtis won control of the seas at the Battle of Trafalgar, which preceded Austerlitz by a month. Just off the Southwest coast of France, the French Navy was decimated. The English controlled the water, but Napoleon was dominant on land and wanted to implement the Continental Commerce System. He had success in spreading French administrative, legal and social reforms—including the Napoleonic Code. When possible and practical, he moved to end the remnants of feudalism. The Code abolished a plethora feudal privileges, dismantled manorial courts and freed some peasants, granting basic civil rights and a semblance of equality before the law. To continue to foster his ambitions, Napoleon set his sights on Prussia, which included former Polish territory. Poland was a former Kingdom cut up (partitioned) by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, where many Polish nobles committed allegiance to the Czar or King of Prussia. While the Czar worked with much of the nobility of Poland, the peasants filled the ranks and endured. Czar Alexander was 27 in 1806. Despite the historic loss at Austerlitz, Alexander, would rule for nearly two more decades. He was fortunate that his population was forgiving. Alexander did not enter into serious peace negotiations nor publicly concede the loss. Many among the Russian nobility blamed the result on the Austrians. There are memoirs from Phillip Vigel, then a 20 year-old Russian diplomat, who detailed his observations of the mood in Moscow and Petersburg. The Muscovites were more vocal in castigating the Czar. Some would even laud Napoleon. There, Bonaparte earned nickname befitting a Russian Conqueror, Napoleoskha. In Petersburg, the population shared the humiliation. They would explain the result as a turn of luck. Vigel expressed that Petersburg society felt the desire to get themselves off the floor and prove themselves. He sensed a general optimism of youth. He also notes how the English desired Russia as allies against the French and Czar was their lifeline from French domination. Consequently, Russia spent the summer of 1806 preparing for a new war -- reorganizing and refilling their ranks. General Kutuzov fades into obscurity for a time. Just prior to Austerlitz, in the Fall of 1805, Alexander made a notable a
We now get taken from March of 1806, through the warmer months and then to the end of the year. Quite the fast-forward!
We have reached the pivotal chapter involving the death of the Little Princess and birth of the Andrei’s son.
We move further into March of 1806 and return to Bald Hills, the estate of Andrei’s father. Despite letters and official inquiries, Andrei’s body had not been found nor was he on the list of prisoners.
This episode examines some likely influences in Tolstoy’s writing of the Duel between Pierre & Dolokhov.