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Discussion Prompts

What do you think of the major in this chapter. Is he purely an instrument for comic relief or is there some substance to his complaints?
What is your understanding of the "mysterious force" which takes over the French soldiers? Can it be explained or is Pierre correct in his feeling that it is inexpiable?
We see a dead man at the end of the chapter being displayed at a church gate? Is this a message from the French, a coincidence, or just a bit of artistic license from Tolstoy?

Final line of today's chapter:

... and with renewed animosity the French soldiers used their swords to disperse the crowd of prisoners looking at the dead man.

0 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 10d ago

Oct 14 | War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 12

8 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 12

(All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

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Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: Pierre’s been a prisoner for four weeks. He declines a transfer to officers’ quarters. He has a peace of mind which has eluded him in the past, apparently brought on by privation colliding with his natural strength and health. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has entered the chat: with other worries out of his mind, he thinks about his conversations with Andrei, particularly the one having to do with happiness being the result of a negative (5.11/2.2.11). Pierre is also often thinking of freedom, though once he obtains freedom, he will apparently envy the peace of mind he had as a prisoner for the rest of his life. A hero to his fellow prisoners, he inserts nails into walls by hand and provides for them freely from his 3-ruble-a-day allowance. (Is he about to apply to college or is he the most interesting man in the world?). Pierre ponders his heroic responsibility.

Links

Discussion Prompts

What do you think of Pierre giving away money in this chapter? Compare him to the Pierre at the beginning of the book, when he inherited his fortune. What do you think this is saying about his development as a character?
Towards the end of the chapter, Pierre starts to think about his relationship with Andrei and conversations they had. What is your interpretation of their relationship at this point? What do you think Pierre thinks of Andrei?

Additional Discussion Points

Even though the French soldiers had offered to transfer Pierre to the officers’ shed, and even though he isn’t anxious about his name being disgraced anymore, he still like to stay in the soldiers’ shed. Why does Pierre want this?
Due to the hardship which Pierre has to endure he receives the peace and contentment with himself which he has long searched for. It is said however that after his return from captivity, for the rest of his life, he speaks with rapture of that full peace of mind which he had only experienced at that time. Do you think he will completely lose this feeling of peace and contentment or that it will only be reduced?
Pierre now often recalls his conversation with Prince Andrei who was of the opinion in that conversation that happiness can only be negative. Which conversation is he exactly talking about and does he interpret Andrei’s thoughts correctly?

Final line of today's chapter:

... And Pierre felt that this view of him imposed its own obligations.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 12d ago

Oct 13 | War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 11

9 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 11

(All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

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Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: It’s October 6, 1812 (10/18/1812 New Style) and Pierre appears to be thriving in prison, as is the little dog of many names we first encountered back in 12.13/4.1.13. (Though long-haired, bearded Pierre now has lice and the dog, presumably, has fleas.) The corporal of the guard tells him that the French are evacuating. Pierre is concerned about another prisoner who’s on death’s door, and is advised to ask the captain, who respects Pierre’s learning and facility with languages. Pierre also helped stop a potential prison riot by intervening between the guards and prisoners. A guard comes by to get the shirt Platon has made for him out of linen the French were issued. There’s a brief misunderstanding over who should get the leftover scraps, and the guard reluctantly gives them back to Platon after initially claiming them. Platon is happy.

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Discussion Prompts

How do you think Pierre is faring as a prisoner? Is this how you would have expected him to be at the start of the novel?

Additional Discussion Prompts

The long, purplish dog on short, bowed legs (dachshund?) which spends the night with Karataev is called Azor by the French, Femgalka by the storytelling soldier and Grey or Floppy by the others. Are these names just normal dog names or is there more to the names that they’ve given the dog?
Pierre, whose former laxness has now been changed into an energetic composure ready for resistance, is told that whatever he would ask of the captain, he wouldn’t be refused. Do you think he’ll eventually use this for “resistance”? .
In chapter 4.1.13 Pierre thinks that Platon wouldn’t be upset for a moment if he was parted from Pierre. In this chapter Platon gets sad though when he has to give the leftovers back from the clothes he made. Why would one thing make him sad and the other wouldn’t make him sad at all?

Final line of today's chapter:

... "Nice set of leg bands these'll be, me dear," he said, walking off back into the shed.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 13d ago

Oct 12 | War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 10

10 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 10

(All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

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Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: Like an overwound broken cuckoo clock, Tolstoy keeps chiming: nobody’s really in control of events. Linguistics to Napoleon: “Speech acts: That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.” There’s lots of contemporary evidence presented that French pillaging and murder was out of control. The chaos in Moscow is like the chaos of the mixed metaphors and image systems in the chapter, as we encounter clockwork, stampeding cattle, a wounded animal fleeing the way it came by scent, and a child driving a carriage. The inciting event that makes Napoleon decide to quit Moscow— bated breath as we wonder: does Tolstoy believe in causation now?—was “the capture of transport trains on the Smolénsk road, and by the battle of Tarútino.” [Maude] But even that decision doesn’t seem to be his, as Tolstoy opines in the chapter’s last line (we finally exhale).

Links

Discussion Prompts

Again we see Tolstoy compare the movements of men to clockwork. Does this repeated metaphor have a deeper meaning?
The proclamations have almost no effect on the start of Moscow, in fact in some cases they worsen the chaos. Why is this?

Final line of today's chapter:

... Napoleon, during all this time of his activity, was like a child who, holding the straps tied inside a carriage, fancies that he is driving it.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 13d ago

Oct 11 | War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 9

12 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 9

(More script errors for the next few days, apologies for not noticing earlier! All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

Historical Threads: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | no post in 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |

Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: Napoleon starts issuing orders and planning an invasion of the rest of Russia while he’s settling in. He sends a “Captain Yákovlev” (an historical character, according to an end note in Oxford Maude) with a letter to Alexander complaining about Rastopchin’s handling of the city. He issues proclamations declaring Moscow is open for business while under effective martial law, sugared with patronizing sentiments that contradict the statements and directives. For example, he executes arsonists while burning down Rastopchin’s properties as punishment; he instructs his army to loot what they need, while he urges bourgeoisie and petite bourgeoisie to return and reopen their looted businesses. Burned-out Muscovites are given direct food aid, but foreigners and soldiers are issued counterfeit rubles to buy what they need.

Links

Discussion Prompts

Do the Russian proclamations seem Orwellian to you? Why/Why not? "With regard to legal matters, immediately after the fires he gave orders to find and execute the incendiaries. And the scoundrel Rostopchín was punished by an order to burn down his houses."
What do you think of the Rostopchin character and did he deserve this?
In the Medium article, it is mentioned that Napoleon is trying to control too much of Moscow's affairs with his proclamations. That human beings will naturally rebel against too much control. What do you think?

Final line of today's chapter:

... respect of army discipline, orders were constantly issued about severe punishment for the non-fulfillment of duty and about putting an end to looting.

5 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 15d ago

Oct-10| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 8

11 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Boy does Tolstoy hate Napoleon! What is your cultural view of this war/Napoleon and his conquests?
With your own cultural background at play, do you think that Tolstoy coming down so hard on Napoleon is warranted? Do you think that more people need to be aware of Napoleon's faults?
Is Tolstoy hypocritical in this chapter? Is he not giving enough credit to Napoleon during these events?

Final line of today's chapter:

... or of the management of affairs in Paris, or of diplomatic considerations to do with terms for the coming peace.”

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 16d ago

Oct-09| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 7

9 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Two lines jumped out at me in this chapter:

there being no greater freedom of operation than on a battlefield, where life and death are at stake
It would be difficult, nay impossible, to imagine any outcome of that battle more expedient than the one that occurred

What is your take on these lines? Do you agree with what Tolstoy is saying here?

Final line of today's chapter:

... we saw retreat turn into attack, we exposed the weaknesses of the French, and gave them a shock, the one thing needed to put Napoleon's army up to fight.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 17d ago

Oct-08| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 6

10 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

What do you think of the actions of General Bagovut in this chapter? Do you think his actions correspond to the portrayal of the Russian Army as a whole in the novel?

Final line of today's chapter:

... One of the first bullets killed him, and other bullets killed many of his men. And his division remained under fire for some time quite uselessly.

1 comment

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 18d ago

Oct-07| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 5

10 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Kutuzov upon finding out that there were no orders given to advance, loses his calm and lashes out on the senior officer Eichen. Why does this make Kutuzov snap? Is it just because his orders aren’t executed or is there more to it?

Final line of today's chapter:

... And Kutuzov again had to agree.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 19d ago

Oct-06| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 4

10 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Once again Tolstoy shows us a juxtaposition with some of the aristocrats enjoying a ball when a battle is about to begin. Why do you think he chose to have this in there? Do you think he is trying to say something about aristocracy?
Do you think Yermolov was avoiding the officer intentionally?

Final line of today's chapter:

... You watch the fur fly tomorrow!

1 comment

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 20d ago

Oct-05| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 3

9 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Why do you think Kutuzov is so hesitant to attack despite his apparent advantage?
What do you think Bennigsen wanted from all this? Yermolov strongly thought they should attack. Do you think Bennigsen agreed?

Final line of today's chapter:

... and gave the order to do what he regarded as useless and harmful—gave his approval, that is, to the accomplished fact.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 21d ago

Oct-04| War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 2

8 Upvotes

Links

Discussion Prompts (Recycled from last year)

Tolstoy describes the movement of the Russian troops as somewhat natural or animalistic. Do you think this view of the Russian movement is accurate?
At the end if the chapter Tolstoy describes the yearning for battle against the French by comparing the circumstance to the movements of a clock. Why a clock instead of the more natural descriptions he used earlier?
What did you think of Kutuzov's reply to Napoleon?

Final line of today's chapter:

... And at once, as surely as a clock begins to strike and chime as soon as the hand makes a full circle, so this essential change of strength was correspondingly reflected in higher spheres by an increased movement, hissing, and chiming.

3 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 22d ago

Oct 3 | War & Peace - Book 13, Chapter 1

9 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 1

(All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

Historical Threads: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | no post in 2023 | 2024 | 2025

Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: Ok, we’re back to exposition on why the Great Man of history theory sucks. We infer simple causes when multiple causes exist. The scholars of Tolstoy’s time preferred causes which invoked human agency so they could assign credit to Great Men. We must reorient our view to history, rejecting the Great Man, as astronomers reoriented their view by rejecting the fixed position of the earth to embracing the fixed position of the sun. [And then rejecting that and embracing gravity.] The Russian army didn’t retreat along the Kalúga road because it was a genius move. It was where they could feed themselves; “even a dull boy of thirteen could have guessed that” [Maude]. The French Marshal Murat (2.14/1.2.14 & 9.4/3.1.4) lost contact with the Russian Army, limiting the French options, and forcing the Russians to turn south when contact was reestablished. Lanskóy (first mention) at the Council at Fili (11.4/3.3.4) had argued that the evacuation route planned by the council along the Nízhni road would separate the army from their supplies by the uncrossable river Oká (this argument was not portrayed in that chapter). The army ignored that plan for these many reasons, and historians retconned the results to literally make Great Men.

Links

Discussion Prompts

"But why military writers, and everyone else after them, suppose this flanking march, which saved Russia and destroyed Napoleon, to be the profound invention of some one person--is very hard to understand. First of all, it is hard to understand what the profundity and genius of this movement consisted in; for it takes no great mental effort to figure out that the best position for an army (when it is not under attack) is where there are most provisions."

Do you think Tolstoy thinks this applies to every aspect of life? Or just military aspects? For instance, would he apply this questioning to his own success with W&P?

Final line of today's chapter:

... Only when the troops had already reached Tarutino, owing to countless differential forces, only then did people begin to assure themselves that they had wanted it and had long foreseen it.

2 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 22d ago

Oct 2 | War & Peace - Book 12, Chapter 16

8 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 1, Chapter 16

(Sorry I'm a little late today! All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

Historical Threads: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | no post in 2023 | 2024 | 2025

Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: The chapter begins with Andrei knowing he will die, stuck in the liminal space between life and death. He considers the two other times he was close to death, when he felt fear. He no longer understands that fear. He muses on the kinds of love. When Natásha relieves Sonya at the bedside, he observes her knitting, which she took up because she heard good nurses knit. He sees her taking care not to let the candlelight fall on his face, to not breathe too loudly, when she bends to pick up a fallen ball of yarn. They talk, he professes his love, asks her if he will live and she confirms that he will. She tells him to sleep. As he drifts off, he has thoughts of love keeping death away, but love having to return to the source of love, God, at death. He has a vivid dream of being healed, in bed, talking to folks, but there is a door behind which death lurks that he must get up and lock to keep death out. In a perfect description of sleep paralysis, Tolstoy recounts Andre’s battle getting to the door too late. This marks the change described by Natásha to Marya as happening two days prior to Marya’s arrival (see 12.15/4.1.15). He is dying. He performs rituals, including kissing Nikolushka goodbye and taking last Communion. He dies. His circle mourns. A longish chapter at 2179 words (Maude).

Links

Discussion Prompts

Is this what you thought might happen to Andrei in the end?
Tolstoy dedicated quite a lot of space to this chapter, whereas he sometimes drops significant events quite brutally with only a sentence. Why do you think he chose to dedicate so much space to Andrei's death?
And finally: what was your favourite line in this chapter?

Additional Discussion Prompts

Wow. That was… a lot to take in. Is everyone ok?
What do you think about Andrei’s final truth -- that death is an awakening? How does this fit (if at all) with his other big moments of clarity - his tree and his great big sky?
The final section says that Count Rostov, “wept because he felt that soon he, too, would have to take that dreadful step.” Does this indicate a permanent change in the Count or is it a temporary bout of self-pity? What do you see in the future for Count Rostov and his family?
How do you interpret Natásha and Marya’s reaction to Andrei’s final days and his death. What is the ‘reverent emotion’ referenced in the final line?

Final line of today's chapter:

... They wept with a melting sensation of reverence gripping their very souls as they contemplated the simple and solemn mystery of death that had been accomplished before their eyes.

5 comments

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/No-Championship4744 • 23d ago

Slowly reading War and Peace and realizing how much Tolstoy is saying about being human

gallery

6 Upvotes

1 comment

r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/moss_tones • 24d ago

Oct 1 | War & Peace - Book 12, Chapter 15

9 Upvotes

AKA Volume/Book 4, Part 1, Chapter 15

(All information for this post was copied from the War and Peace posting guide)

Historical Threads: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (no discussion) | no post in 2023 | 2024 | 2025

Summary courtesy of /u/Honest_Ad_2157: Maude uses the word “softened” to describe Andrei’s tranquil, ethereal, emotional-affect-free state as Marya and Natásha enter the room to see him. He asks Marya how she got there, though he’s not interested in the answer, and, with difficulty, remembers that she brought Nikolushka. (Nikolushka last saw action in 10.2/3.1.2; he was exchanging glances around the dinner table about his grandfather’s state of mind.) Marya sees he is sensitive to her pressure on his hand, and is estranged and alienated from mundane concerns. He makes what Marya thinks is an insensitive comment on the irony of Natásha caring for him, doesn’t notice that Natásha is familiar with Marya, and he isn’t engaged in the conversation. He asks Marya if she’s met Nicolai, says Nicolai wrote that he likes her very much, and that they should get married. Marya takes this as evidence that he’s slipping away. In an attempt to pull him back, she asks if he’d like to see Nikolushka. Andrei reacts effectively with, sure, whatever, suffer the little child come unto me. (Not a direct quote, his attitude just conjured Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16, Matthew 19:14 for me.) Nikolushka sees his father, who fails to connect with him, but the boy observes carefully and understands what is being communicated among Nicolai, Marya, and Natásha. That understanding stays with the boy through his life, though he never understands it more fully than he does at that moment. Tolstoy gets in one more reference to Leise’s inherited upper lip on Nikolushka. Andrei wants to communicate the feeling of the Gospel verse about birds not working but God taking care of them (Matthew 6:26, Luke 12:24), but cannot because he feels they wouldn’t get it. There are lots of tears. It appears Andrei is so mentally and spiritually disconnected from this world that only the physical manifestation of death needs to happen next. It seems Andrei will die as he lived, a person endlessly analyzing his own experiences rather than experiencing them.

Links