Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 8

Characters Present:

Pierre Bezukhov

Location:

Borodíno

It is the end of the Battle of Borodíno, and Pierre feels that he has seen all he needed to, and is exhausted by the battle.  He walks away, and meets three soldiers on the road, who ask his name, as a condition of sharing their food with him.

Pierre wishes to conceal his nobility, and tells them that his name is Peter Kirílych, and that he is a militia officer, and that he has lost his men.

They begin to accompany him to Mozháysk, and passing by the inn that he was staying in, Pierre is recognised by some of his men, which is slightly awkward, as they call him "Your Excellency". He considers giving a coin to the soldiers, but decides against it, then goes for a lay-down in his carriage.  

A Christmas Treat

Here is a great reading of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, as read by a giant squid.

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 7

Characters Present:

Countess Hélène Berzúkhova
Marya Dmítrievna Akhrosimova
Prince Vasilí
Bilíbin
Princess Kurágina (Hélène's mother) 

Location:

Petersburg

Hélène wants to distract society gossip from the fact that she already has a husband, so puts emphasis on the problem of having to choose between two suitors.

Marya tells her at a social function that the same (having two affairs, plus a husband) is already done in brothels, but Marya does not carry much social influence in Petersburg, so nobody pays much attention.

Prince Vasilí says that she should make up her own mind, and Bilíbin, Hélèn's friend, suggests that she marry the old count first, so that when he dies, she will get his money, and then she can marry the young Spanish prince.

Hélèn's mother worries that she won't be able to get a divorce, because of the bible.

Hèléne writes a letter to Pierre at his home, even though he is still at Borodíno, asking for a divorce. 

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 6

Characters Present:

Countess Hélène Berzúkhova

Location:

Petersburg


Hélène has been having an affair with two men, a young Spanish prince, and an older French gentleman.

She is put in an awkward position when she discovers that they are both in Petersburg, but rather than try to conceal that they both exist to one another, she admits it, and convinces the younger one to marry her.  The prince notes that she is still technically married to Pierre, and she says that he was never a husband to her.

While he is off getting advice from the a church, she goes to her country house, and sees her other lover, Monsieur de Jobert who convinces her to convert to Catholicism, which goes nicely with her plans. 

An abbot is brought to Hélène, and after she confesses, she starts to get around wearing virginal white, though it still sounds like she is showing her bosom off a bit. 

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 5

Characters Present:

Count Rostopchín

Location:

Moscow


People are beginning to leave Moscow, as to not be ruled by the French.  The rich are leaving with their belongings, and the poor are staying behind to burn things down, to make sure the French don't get any use out of it.

Count Rostopchín keeps calling the people that are leaving Moscow cowards in his broadsheet publication.

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 4

Characters Present:

Bennigsen

Kutúzov

Ermólov

Kaysárov
Andrew Savostyánov
Malásha (Savostyánov's 6 year old grand daughter)
Toll
Dokhtúrov

Location:

A Council of War in Andrew Savostyánov's hut.


Malásha watches the council with shy delight, and is happy when she sees Kutúzhov, who she in her mind, calls Granddad, even though her actual grandfather is Andrew.

They debate on whether to retreat from Moscow.  Kutúzov eventually decides to issue the command to retreat to beyond Moscow.

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 3

Characters Present:

Bennigsen

Kutúzov

Ermólov

Count Rostopchín

Location:

Poklómy Hill


Ermólov returns from inspecting the lines, and tells Kutúzov that the army will need to retreat to beyond Moscow. 

Kutúzov goes to Poklómy Hill, where he gets out of his carriage and sits on a bench. He is instantly surrounded by officers, and they have a serious discussion about whether or not to enact the retreat.

Kutúzov cannot bring himself to give the order, and decides that he must only trust his own judgement. 

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 2

Characters Present:

Russian Army
French Army


Location:

Russia

The French forced the Russian army back 80 miles, past Moscow.  

Then, the French sat in Moscow, not doing anything in particular for five weeks.  After five weeks, without warning,  they went away, to beyond Vilna.

Volume 3: Book 11 - Chapter 1

Characters Present:


Location:

Tolstoy discusses the interconnectedness of all things.

Volume 2: Book 10 - Chapter 39

Characters Present:

French Army
Russian Army

Location:

Borodíno

Troops are laying dead or wounded as the battle goes on.  It begins to rain, washing away blood and dirt, and each of the men start to question for whom they are killing.

They battle on though - the Russian army continue to block the road to Moscow, and the French half-heartedly continue to attack.  If their morale hadn't been so low, they probably could have won the battle, as the Russians had lost half of their army, and the French, only quarter. 

END OF BOOK 10

&

END OF VOLUME 2

Volume 2: Book 10 - Chapter 38

Characters Present:

Napoleon Bonaparte

Location:

Shevárdino Redoubt


Napoleon feels terrible because of his cold, but also, because of a flicker of remaining humanity, which tells him that he is to blame for all of the death on the battlefield.

Volume 2: Book 10 - Chapter 37

Characters Present:

Prince Andrew Bolkónski

Location:

In a medical tent in Borodíno


Andrew finds himself in a make-shift theatre with three operating tables. There are two other men being operated on, and Andrew thinks he recognises the one having his leg amputated.

A doctor comes and orders Andrew to be undressed. Andrew passes out from the pain in his abdomin but awakes with his leg bandaged.  He looks closely at the man that he recognised, who is sobbing and frightened, and begging to be allowed to look at his leg. 

Andrew realises it is Anatole Kurágin, who he had despised for so long, but feels sudden empathy, love and forgiveness in the aftermath of his near-death experience.

Volume 2: Book 10 - Chapter 36

Characters Present:

Prince Andrew Bolkónski

Location:

Between the Knoll Battery and Semënovsk


For a time, Andrew's regiment is kept in reserve, behind Semënovsk, and then moved up to be in between the Knoll Battery and Semënovsk.

After several hours of pacing with nervous energy, he asks his adjutant to get the men to fall back into a close formation, and before anything can be done, they come under fire. The adjutant tells Andrew to lie down, but he doesn't, and gets wounded in the stomach.

As Andrew is lying on the grass, he suddenly feels a rush of passion for the meadow, the grass, the times he had fallen in love, and life in general.  He wonders about this when he is waiting to be seen by a doctor at the hospital tent, and he decides that there is something about life that he doesn't understand.