War and Peace

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1867

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Book 4, Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-8 Summary

The “calm luxurious life” (1005) of high society in Saint Petersburg continues despite the French invasion. Balls, parties, and dinners carry the same gossipy, self-interested energy. Party guests celebrate the victory at Borodino, discuss the eventualities of the war, and gossip about Helene Bezukhova’s health problems. Days later, the guests mourn her death. When news reaches Saint Petersburg that Moscow has burned to the ground, the tsar declares that he will save Russia from the French. He claims that he will sacrifice everything to win the war and will lead an army of peasants himself, if he must.

People continue with their personal lives even as the war rages on. The narrator explains that people’s daily activities are more important than public affairs: People who focus on trying to understand the overall arc of human history will play a less useful role in society than those who carry on their day-to-day business. Self-sacrifice and heroism are irrelevant, as only unselfconscious activity has any tangible long-term benefit. People in remote parts of Russia and Saint Petersburg high society loudly declare that they are worried about the country’s future, but the men in the army say nothing. The soldiers carry on with their lives, thinking about their wages or their orders. These men implicitly understand their important role in history and their duty to their country.

Nikolai is ordered to purchase horses for his unit. He sets out a few days before the battle at Borodino to select and pay for the horses. With time to spare, he decides to attend a ball. That night, he tells a friend about his love for Marya Bolkonsky but admits that he has promised to marry Sonya. The friend listens to Nikolai and agrees to explain the situation to Marya, who is still in mourning following her father’s death.

Nikolai and Marya meet two days later. Marya realizes at once that she really does love Nikolai. This realization transforms her previously dour appearance; she becomes instantly glamorous and beautiful, reflecting the love she feels in her heart. Nikolai regrets his promise to Sonya. A short time later, he receives a letter from Sonya, in which she tells him that he does not need to keep his word. Nikolai’s mother also writes, informing him that Andrei has been found. Andrei is traveling with the Rostov family, and Natasha is nursing him back to health. Nikolai tells Marya about Andrei. She loves him even more, delighted to hear of her brother’s survival. Sonya’s decision to release Nikolai from his vows is not easy, but she decides to sacrifice her happiness for the survival of the Rostov family. She views the decision as a way to give back to the family that adopted and raised her. As Andrei recuperates, Sonya remembers the strange image she once saw in a mirror: The Andrei she saw then is the Andrei who now lies in a hospital bed.

Chapters 9-13 Summary

French soldiers guard Pierre. He worries that he will be executed. After a week in jail, he still refuses to reveal his identity to his captors. The French send him to see the particularly cruel General Davout (a real historical figure), who subjects Pierre to further interrogation. Pierre finally reveals his name and insists that he is not a spy. Pierre and Davout develop a mutual understanding during the interrogation; a long stare between the two men suggests that they have come to terms with their common humanity. Nevertheless, guards lead Pierre away and take him and five other men to face a firing squad. He watches as the other prisoners are shot, one by one. When Pierre’s turn arrives, however, his sentence is commuted. Despite this salvation, Pierre does not feel happy. His faith in humanity has been destroyed. He is haunted by the memory of the innocent men shot by the army.

Pierre discovers that he has received an official pardon, though he still feels numb and isolated. The singsong voice of a fellow prisoner named Platon Karataev punctures his moroseness. Platon tells Pierre not to waste his life on grief. Pierre will eventually forget all the other prisoners, but his memory of the round, optimistic old man stays with him for the rest of his life. He rekindles his faith in humanity and rebuilds his idea of a world that deserves to be saved.

Karataev and Pierre spend four weeks together in the prison shed. The other prisoners also appreciate Karataev’s presence, his faithful dog, and his nightly prayers. The old man’s innocence and optimism are genuine, and his regular idioms and peasant wisdom delight Pierre. Karataev’s positive view of the world and his wild stories are an inspiration.

Chapters 14-16 Summary

Marya worries that her brother Andrei will die soon. She travels for two weeks to see him, possibly for the last time. Her newfound love for Nikolai gives her strength. The Rostovs greet Marya with tenderness and affection. Marya meets Natasha again. This time, they embrace with their past friction forgotten. Natasha notices a sudden change in Andrei’s condition, as though he is losing his hold on life. Andrei greets Marya with unexpected coldness. His impersonal, distant conversation suggests that his mind is elsewhere. He seems consumed by the thoughts of those who are close to death. Furthermore, he shows no interest in his seven-year-old son.

The sudden change in character, noticed by Natasha, reflects Andrei’s inner transformation: He has chosen to embrace death and reject life and love. Being close to death has taught him about the nature of God and the universe. He closes his eyes, fully believing that he is about to die, then wakes up again understanding that death is an awakening. This realization removes heavy, depressive thoughts from his mind. He has learned to let go of his pain. Natasha understands that this release means that Andrei will die soon. She stays beside his bed with Marya. Finally, Andrei passes away. The women cannot weep, overcome by the moment as well as the mysterious, awesome nature of death.

Book 4, Part 1 Analysis

Pierre’s cold and distant wife Helene is his moral opposite. The novel condemns her bad behavior, primarily concerned with the ways she flouts conventions about female sexuality. Our first introduction to her taints how we see her character going forward: The narrator gossips that Helene and Anatole might have an incestuous relationship. This shocking accusation is never substantiated in the novel; however, Helene does take an interest in her brother’s sex life. She convinces the naive Natasha to break her engagement to Andrei and pursue Anatole fully knowing that Anatole only wants to have sex with Natasha. The novel presents Helene as monstrous because she follows her sexual appetite; for instance, she ends the novel choosing between two lovers. However, in her character, we see the 19th century’s double standard for women—she is choosing a lover to marry, but the narrator dismisses her desire to divorce the clearly ill-suited Pierre. Readers are meant to feel scorn for this woman, though Pierre gets little opprobrium for completely abandoning her.

When Nikolai rescues Marya Bolkonsky from a gang of rebellious serfs and helps her escape the invading French army, Nikolai becomes the conquering hero he dreamed of being when he joined the army. Still, even as he lives out childhood fantasies, Nikolai confronts his own responsibilities: Marrying Marya could help with the Rostovs’ debts. Marya is not the prettiest or the most charming character in the novel—and Nikolai still feels betrothed to Sonya—however, Marya’s sincere love massages his broken ego.

Platon Karataev is the latest in a long line of Pierre’s father-figure mentors. The old peasant soldier is the most sympathetic portrayal of a working-class person in the novel. Karataev is replete with traditional Russian idioms and wisdom, but his most important characteristic is his ability to charm everyone around him—Pierre, the other prisoners, and the French guards. Happy even in the bleakest of circumstances, Karataev shows Pierre that there is another way to live, one entirely removed from books and philosophy. Pierre might not replicate Karataev’s life, but the old peasant’s influence lingers for a long time. In the future, the kindly peasant’s love of family will guide Pierre toward a family of his own.

Andrei dies a near-nihilist, viewing life as a meaningless exercise. While this viewpoint permits him to abandon the bitterness and regrets that define his existence, it is also an insular, selfish ending—Andrei might forgive Natasha, but he rejects his sister and completely and guiltlessly abandons his son. In a novel deeply interested in the relationships between the generations, and whose protagonist suffers from paternal abandonment, Andrei’s unwillingness to parent or otherwise engage with his son is damning.