Show Notes
Though always in their hearts, it had been months since the Rostovs received news of Nicholas. When Count Ilya finally received a letter from his son, he ran his study with it. Anna Drubetskaya, Boris’ mother, was living with the family and aimed to be useful. She found Ilya sobbing and laughing. His darling boy suffered a small wound but was promoted. He found this reason to thank God. Still, he wonders how to tell his wife of the injury. Anna therefore took the rest of the day preparing the Countess.
Young Natasha convinced Anna to reveal the nature of the letter and promised to keep it secret. She broke her word right away, telling Sonya (who is devoted to Nicholas) as well as her little brother, Petya. Sonya cried and Natasha comforted her -- noting it was just “a little wound.” Petya takes the missive with resolve and adds how he would have “killed many Frenchmen.”
Natasha asks Sonya, “Do you remember Nicholas?” She means in the sense of holding the same feelings. Sonya reveals, “I am in love with your brother and whatever may happen, shall never cease to love him.” Natasha no longer feels the same about Boris. Her childlike love has faded. Natasha knew there was such love as Sonya was describing, but never experienced it. They discuss whether it would be proper for Sonya to write Nicholas and reference his commitment. Sonya decides that if she is mentioned in the letter, she will write. Natasha does not have any compulsion to write Boris as she feels it would just come out awkward. Pétya reveals Natasha has developed affections for the new Count Bezúkhov as well as her Italian singing coach.
After dinner, the Countess was in her room focused on a portrait of Nicholas. Anna arrived with the letter while Ilya listened through a keyhole. There was crying, silence, then voices in happy intonation. Anna opened the door and exhibited a proud expression. Anna embraced her husband and in came Véra, Natasha, Sonya and Pétya. All went over the letter. There was a description of the campaign, battles and the promotion. Nicholas sent his love and asked for his parents’ blessings. He sent a special greeting to “dear Sónya, whom he loved and thought of just the same as ever.” When Sonya heard this, she blushed, cried and ran to the dancing hall, where she whirled around at full speed.
The practical Vera asked, “Why are you crying, Mamma? One should be glad and not cry.” This was true but not wise to express. She was reproached by the family while her mother thought, “and who is it she takes after?”
The letter was read over among tutors, nurses and servants. Each time the Countess did so with fresh pleasure. She contemplated how incredible it was that her son, once a scarcely perceptible motion under her heart, who had learned to say little words, was now away in a foreign land doing warrior’s work as a model officer. It was the universal experience - showing how children imperceptibly grow from the cradle to manhood. Yet it does not exist for a mother. Her boy’s growth, at each stage, seemed as extraordinary to her as if it never existed in others. She thought, “What style! and “what a heart and soul!” She noticed how Nicholas barely wrote of his exploits and sufferings, but mentions Denísov and others.
A bountiful response would come from the family, as a new officer needs supplies which are NOT paid for by the army. Preparations were being made, along drafts of letters. 6,000 rubles was collected. There was a question of how to reach Nicholas as he was on the move and the postal system was notoriously ill-managed.
Anna would prove her worth yet again in conveying the material. She had curried favor with authorities (couriers for Grand Duke Constantine Pávlovich, a historic figure and elder brother of Alexander I) to secure a means of communication to reach Boris, who would convey any package to Nicholas.
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.