War and Peace readalong thread 2022 - thread 3

[VikingNorthUtsire]

Welcome to the third thread. Please see the OP in threads 1 or 2 for the full info.on the readalong, links to different editions and translations, blog posts, etc.

I think most of us are established now so for this post I'll just re-shsre the reading schedule

Different editions name and number their chapters differently - some refer to four books divided into parts (as below), others refer to fifteen books although it's essentially the same structure just with different numbering. Hopefully there's enough info below to keep us all in sync, and always happy to let anyone know via PM what's happening in today's chapter so we can keep together.

Book 1: 1805
Book 1 Part One (25 chapters): 1/1 - 25/1
Book 1 Part Two (21 chapters): 26/1 - 15/2
Book 1 Part Three (19 chapters): 16/2 - 6/3
DAY OFF: 7/3
Book 2: 1806-1812
Book 2 Part One (16 chapters): 8/3 - 23/3
Book 2 Part Two (21 chapters): 24/3 - 13/4
Book 2 Part Three (26 chapters): 14/4 - 9/5
Book 2 Part Four (13 chapters): 10/5 - 22/5
Book 2 Part Five (22 chapters): 23/5 - 13/6
DAY OFF: 14/6
Book 3: 1812
Book Three Part One (23 chapters): 15/6 - 7/7
Book Three Part Two (39 chapters): 8/7 - 15/8
Book Three Part Three (34 chapters): 16/8 - 18/9
DAY OFF: 19/9
Book 4: 1812-13
Book Four Part One (16 chapters): 20/9 - 5/10
Book Four Part Two (19 chapters): 6/10 - 24/10
Book Four Part Three (19 chapters): 25/10 - 12/11
Book Four Part Four (20 chapters): 13/11 - 2/12
DAY OFF: 3/12
Epilogue One 1812-20 (16 chapters): 3/12 - 19/12
Epilogue Two (12 chapters): 20/12 - 31/12

I could imagine you rolling your eyes during those chapters SanFran 🙄😁

Haha 😄 She's running out of book in which to redeem herself as I'd like to like her!

Now I feel like a sentimentalist, but I loved the chapter where Natasha convinces her parents to move out all the aristocratic belongings they have just carefully packed up the tapestries, the china and everything and fill the carts with the wounded instead. Yes, she has that teenage impulsiveness and intensity (how old is she now I wonder?), but sometimes teenagers lack the cynicism of adults and they are right.

It's a dilemma the family is facing as they become refugees (or displaced people anyway), and when the choice comes down to saving possessions or people, they opt for people. I had a lump in my throat reading it.

On a different topic, there is a lot of mourning for Gorbachev at the moment on my facebook and twitter feeds. British Russianists saying they never would have devoted their lives to studying Russia had it not been for Gorbachev's policies of openness, which made more contact between Russia and the West possible. It's very sad that things have moved backward now and that Russia is becoming isolated from the rest of the world again. I hope it's only temporary.

Ignore my ubiquitous strike outs please (headdesk) 🙄

Good point about Sonya though, SanFranBear!

That is very true, cassandre 😌

I was also wondering how they were thinking of taking all their finery with them. They would never have got around to actually leaving! Good for Natasha on prioritising people over possessions. I was also thinking of the displaced people leaving their homes due to the present war. This is a really moving part of the story. The war section was very powerful but this is too. Everyone's lives have been turned upside down.

Exactly Izfuzzy.

I'm sure that the portrait of Natasha is permeated by 19th c sexism though. The main male characters (Andrei and Pierre) both think AND emote, but Natasha seems to spend most of her time emoting.

Sonya is the thoughtful one but she remains very much a secondary character.

I do like the Rostovs, however. They're very rich and privileged and oblivious, but they have an underlying kindness and concern for other people that makes it hard for me to hate them. They're not deep thinkers, but they're good-natured. Apart from Vera perhaps; she's quite shallow and self-centred.

Fundamentally decent people is the term I'm looking for I guess. Even though 'decent' people can also be quite cruel at times.

01/09/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 17

•	Things are ready again. All the Rostovs' carts and carriages stand ready to go.

•	Andrei’s covered wagon is also all set. Sonya asks who is in there, and a maid tells her that it’s Andrei. Sonya is all WHAT? and runs off to tell Countess Rostov. They cry a little bit together and agree not to tell Natasha.

•	After a few false stops and starts, the Rostov caravan is on the move.

•	Driving through the city, Natasha suddenly spots Pierre walking down the street dressed like a peasant.
•	She calls him and he says he’s going to stay in Moscow and fight.

•	He seems kind of crazy and distracted, but the Rostovs don’t notice. He avoids looking at Natasha, even though he can feel her eyes on him.

02/09/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 18

•	What's Pierre been up to, anyway?

•	Ever since leaving his house, he’s been skulking around incognito. First he goes to the house of his dead mentor to try to organize the books and papers there.

•	He sits and reads for a long time, then decides to get a gun.

•	He stays at the house with Gerasim, a servant, and Makar Alexeevich, his mentor’s demented brother.

•	Wow, it’s like he’s James Bond all of a sudden. A giant, slow, lazy James Bond.

Should Pierre have a gun? Has he been practicing since he shot Dolokhov, by a fluke?

Oh dear! The last line of the summary made me laugh. It does sound like Pierre is taking on a new persona.

I'm thinking about your comments yesterday about sexism in the portrayal of women, cassandre. Very interesting.

It seems to me that not all women in the book are portrayed the same. Marya is a deep thinker and she holds her emotions in check. Sonya keeps her head down and keeps her thoughts to herself. Natasha is more volatile in comparison. If she does any deep thinking, it's when she is feeling low and depressed. I'm just waiting now for SanFran to come along and say that she spends that time just thinking* *about herself!

That line made me laugh too, IzFuzzy. Shmoop is fabulous sometimes 😁

And I agree with what you say about the women characters; they're all quite different, it's true.

03/09/22
Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 19

•	Napoleon is checking out the view of Moscow from a nearby hill on the morning of September 2.

•	Good weather, good mood, good times.

•	He’s trying to say something meaningful to his staff about how grand the city looks and how important the moment is. He’s looking his most imperial, because any moment now he’s assuming a delegation from the city will be coming to see him.

•	Already he’s making benevolent plans: no looting or pillaging the city. Instead he’s going to show the Russians how civilized French rule is going to be and how awesome it will be to be part of the huge Napoleonic empire.

•	He continues to fantasize: he appoints a great new governor, the people love him, and he’s going to donate heavily to all the charitable institutions.

•	Meanwhile, though...where is that pesky Russian delegation? Are they coming or what?

•	Well, no, they’re not. Because there isn’t one. All Napoleon's officers know this already; they just don’t know how to break the news.

•	Finally, he shrugs out a “meh” and decides to make his way down to the city gates.

A Gallic shrug 😁

Loved Chapter 20, comparing the emptiness of Moscow to a dying beehive! So beautifully expressed and very very evocative - goodness, Tolstoy can really write (or Briggs can really translate!)

Also loving the fact that there is no pomp and circumstance to Napoleon's 'invasion' and conquest! I know most of the population left to protect themselves but it definitely made a statement!

04/09/22
Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 20

•	Moscow is empty. Well, not totally empty, but you know – only the dregs of the population are left.

•	Tolstoy does an elaborate Homeric simile about how the city is now like a beehive that no longer has a queen. The bees that are left have no purpose, and the hive is pretty obviously dead.

•	Napoleon finally gets the news that the city has been deserted. He’s way P.O.’ed, since this means that his big dramatic entrance has been ruined.

Yes, it's excellent. While this is a short chapter, it's really effective. The desertion of Moscow is such a traumatic event. It's hard to imagine it.

05/09/22
Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 21

•	Moscow’s bridges are crammed with people and soldiers trying to get out. Picture the worst traffic jam you’ve ever seen, but without any rules of the road.

•	Some of Russian soldiers decide to turn back and do some minor looting around town.

•	Officers go to shoo these looters away and get sucked into the looting themselves.

•	At the bridges, there is still no movement.

•	Finally, some general decides to take matters into his own hands, unloads a bunch of cannons from their wagon, and pretends he’s about to start shooting into the crowd. Everyone quickly gets a move on and the road is cleared.

•	We’re thinking the traffic cops could take a tip from these guys, no?

Carnage... but again, a really clever chapter! The reality of a city the size of Moscow emptying in just a few days was captured beautifully here - I hadn't really thought of the experience of the people more like me and I felt awful for the shopkeepers!

Excellent chapter.

"When you're head's cut off, you don't worry about your hairstyle".

Great line.

your

Yes, I liked that line too!

06/09/22
Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 22

•	It's weirdly quiet in the Rostov house. The only people left are the housekeeper, the yard porter, and the porter’s grandson.

•	An officer stops by and begs the housekeeper for money. He says he’s a distant relative of Count Rostov. She knows he’s telling the truth – he looks just like the Count.

•	She quickly gives him 25 rubles from her own savings and sends him on his way.

I was amused by the way the porter and his grandson were fooling about with the stuff left behind.