War and Peace

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1867

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Book 3, Part 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-14 Summary

The narrator does not believe that Napoleon’s invasion of Russia has planning or strategy. The French attack Russia at the wrong time of the year, and the bad weather demonstrates Napoleon’s lack of forethought. The French soldiers have no idea that they are marching to their doom. Though eventually the Russians will save their country by allowing the French to overstretch themselves, at first they want to defend every town and village. The two armies fight a decisive battle at Smolensk. The local people, furious that the French might try to plunder supplies, burn their crops and supplies rather than allow the invading army to support themselves. This act of defiance foreshadows the burning of Moscow.

The narrator uses these events to illustrate that the forces of history are blind and unpredictable. The overall success of either army depends on tiny, unnoticed moments, such as a self-interested general or Nikolai Rostov being unable to resist “a gallop across a level field” (732). The Russian army’s successful tactics, for example, come about entirely by accident, as the result of seemingly insignificant actions and events. The lingering effects of every decision are all part of the unstoppable flow of history.

Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky becomes even more ill. He avoids everyone and is ashamed of his acrimonious parting from his son Andrei. The old prince refuses to acknowledge the turbulent present and lives almost entirely in pleasant memories of the past. One day, Andrei writes to him an apology that stirs the prince’s emotions. He replies to his son with an affectionate letter. Andrei warns his father than the French invasion may come worryingly close to Bald Hills, though his father refuses to entertain such an idea. Marya sends a servant to Smolensk to discover whether Bald Hills is in danger, but the man arrives in the midst of battle. Andrei sends Marya a message: Flee as soon as possible. A few days later, Andrei returns to Bald Hills to learn that the family has already left. He takes a final look at the home where he grew up.

During the war, Saint Petersburg’s social scene remains much the same. Helene hosts parties where the guests discuss the recent battles. They ridicule Kutuzov, whom they believe to be old and incapable. They are horrified to discover that Kutuzov has been placed in charge of all the Russian military. Kutuzov’s only condition of acceptance is that the tsar should not be near the army. Napoleon continues his drive to Moscow. He has his eyes set on capturing the city, which he believes will give him a glorious victory. However, his attempts to engage the Russians in battle are not successful. Every time he nearly encounters the enemy army, the Russians retreat into the vast, empty plains. Finally, the two armies meet at Borodino, 70 miles outside of Moscow.

Marya Bolkonsky heeds her brother’s warning to flee Bald Hills, but her father refuses. When Marya sends her young nephew to Moscow, her father is so incensed that he suffers a stroke. With his dying breath, he begs her for forgiveness. Marya buries her father, then reconciles with Mademoiselle Bourienne. Before leaving Bald Hills, Marya gives away all the grain stores to the peasants and invites them to flee alongside her. However, the rebellious peasants ignore her and refuse to help her escape. Nikolai Rostov, who visits the area in the hopes of resupplying his men, finds the peasants drunk and holding Marya hostage. Nikolai rescues Marya and allows her to depart for Moscow. The memory of the brave young soldier stays in Marya’s thoughts. Marya falls in love with Nikolai while he covets her fortune and wonders whether she might make a suitable wife. However, he worries about breaking his promise to marry Sonya.

Chapters 15-25 Summary

Andrei Bolkonsky meets with Kutuzov. Denisov explains a battle plan, but the suggestions do not excite the elderly general. Other men present other plans, but Andrei can tell that Kutuzov is bored. Andrei believes that Kutuzov inherently understands that the plans and strategies are ultimately irrelevant in the face of the unforeseeable randomness of events. In private, Andrei asks to serve as part of Kutuzov’s regiment. Kutuzov lectures Andrei on the importance of time and patience, swearing that he will defeat the French and force them to eat their own horses before the war is over. Kutuzov’s approach reassures Andrei, who dedicates himself to his newfound philosophy.

The social scene in Moscow continues unabated. Boris Drubetskoy and his wife throw a party before they leave the city. Pierre attends. The guests gossip about Nikolai rescuing Marya. Pierre blushes as he hears the guests talk about him saving Natasha Rostov from her descent into depression. Aside from the Rostovs, few people remain in Moscow. Pierre decides to visit the army. As he travels, he notices the huge number of troops advancing toward the city. Pierre is happy to be around so many soldiers and questions his own comfortable life. He wonders whether he needs to sacrifice something for his country.

The Russian and French armies fight at Borodino. The battle is senseless, in the narrator’s opinion: The French are weak from their relentless march through the Russian winter, and the Russians are fearful that Moscow will soon be seized or destroyed. The battlefield itself is poor terrain, and a doctor warns Pierre that the Russians could suffer 20,000 casualties (and in fact they lose half their troops). Pierre ponders the fact that so many healthy young men will be hurt. On a hilltop overlooking Borodino, he sees a procession of religious people traveling through the region. Kutuzov and the generals watch the procession with respect. Boris spots Pierre and offers to give him a tour of the army’s camp. Pierre wonders how Boris can be so excited about the battle. He believes that Boris views the battle as he views everything else: as a chance to achieve personal success. Pierre compares this with the plight of the common soldiers, whose faces show that they are scared by their possible deaths. Pierre spots Dolokhov, who begs him for forgiveness. Dolokhov wants to reconcile, as they may not live beyond the battle. Pierre forgives Dolokhov and embraces him with tears in his eyes.

Pierre accompanies the generals as they inspect the troops. Kutuzov makes a blunder, and the younger Bennigsen corrects him and issues his own orders without consulting the commander-in-chief. Bennigsen’s presumptive behavior ruins an ambush that Kutuzov had laid for the French troops.

Andrei reflects on the imminent battle. He feels both excited and nervous. The possibility of death makes him think about his past, and he worries that he has been a vain man. Andrei’s reflective mood highlights that abstract ideas like glory, love, and patriotism seem meaningless in the face of battle. Pierre interrupts Andrei’s reflections, but Andrei seems indifferent to the warm greeting of his old friend—the sight of Pierre reminds him “of all the painful moments of his last visit to Moscow” (826). Instead, he refuses to meet with Pierre in private and insists that they take their tea with the other officers. They discuss the random, horrific nature of war. Pierre leaves, sad that his desire to engage an old friend in a stimulating conversation was rebuffed. He worries that he may never see Andrei again. That night, Andrei is unable to sleep. As he revisits his pleasant memories of Natasha, he remembers that Anatole is still alive and feels renewed anger.

Chapters 26-39 Summary

Napoleon prepares for the battle. He believes that the Russians will destroy themselves, so he issues an order telling his men to take no prisoners. He dresses himself and considers a portrait of his son. Then, his mind turns to military matters. He issues a set of orders that the narrator deems more than sensible. However, none of the orders are carried out. Some of the orders are impossible to achieve, and others simply will not work due to unforeseen circumstances. The idea of Napoleon as a detail-oriented battle commander does not relate to reality, the narrator explains, because such a comprehensive approach to military strategy is impossible in the heat of the moment. Napoleon inspects his army one final time and declares that the battle will begin the next day.

The sound of cannon fire wakes Pierre. He wants to be in the middle of the action, so he eagerly charges into the midst of the battle on his horse. The expressions of Kutuzov and his men, imbued with a sense of patriotism and their own mortality, show Pierre the seriousness of the situation. As the battle rages on, Pierre notices that the burning sense of patriotism in the men increases. He senses a similar feeling stir within him, even as soldiers are shot and killed around him. A big explosion knocks Pierre to the ground. He panics and runs to safety, only to find that the soldiers have vanished and the guns have fallen silent. Pierre looks around and sees only corpses. He assumes that the battle will have to stop; no person could look at such horror and not immediately lay down their weapons, he thinks. However, the “roar of cannon and musketry” (857) continues in the distance.

At midday, Napoleon studies the unreliable reports from the battle. Each report tells him the same story: The Russians are weak but they stand firm, whereas the French soldiers panic and run away. The generals plead with Napoleon for reinforcements. He suddenly feels caught in a nightmare. Typically, he revels in his success during a battle, but the Russians defy him. Napoleon’s thoughts fill with the possibility of defeat. He looks into the distance, studying the battlefield, and realizes that he is looking at a massacre. Slowly, he admits defeat and turns away.

Kutuzov remains unmoved. He has stayed in the same spot since the battle’s opening barrages. As before, he listens to his generals and issues approval or disapproval of their proposals. Kutuzov is an old man and, Pierre believes, his experience has told him that commanders do not win wars. Instead, victory depends on abstract ideas like spirit and leadership. However, when a general approaches with the news that the battle seems lost, Kutuzov launches into a rage. He sends out an immediate order declaring that the Russian army will launch a fresh attack the next day. The troops are inspired by his proactive, positive attitude.

Andrei is under heavy fire and receives an order to stand by. The pause allows his troops to carry away their wounded. Then they reassemble into their ranks and prepare for what seems like certain death. Andrei leads by example. Even when a grenade falls nearby, he stoically refuses to react. He stares at the grenade only a few feet away from him, and his thoughts fill with beautiful images of nature. The grenade explodes, and Andrei is thrown into the air. He lands heavily on the ground, covered in his own blood. His men carry him to the field hospital on a stretcher. On the table next to him, Anatole Kuragin has his leg amputated.

Napoleon studies the battlefield. The sight of the dead and wounded affects him, and he is overcome with a sense of humanity as he imagines the pain and suffering of the men who have died. They suffered for him, he realizes, and he struggles to take personal responsibility for his role in their pain. To do so would be to admit that the entire invasion of Russia is an exercise in vanity. The weight of these thoughts forces Napoleon to retreat into his fantasy world. He reminds himself that for every dead French soldier, there are five times as many dead Russians. Napoleon remains adamant that he is fighting for his country, his men, and the destiny of Europe.

The Borodino battlefield is soaked in blood. Thousands of men lie dead or dying. Though the Russians have not won a physical victory due to the sheer number of casualties, they have won the moral battle. They have stood up to the French army and demonstrated their strength and bravery. The French army is greater in number and has more experience, but the Russians possess an indomitable spirit. The narrator believes that the failures of the French are due to exhaustion in the face of the Russians’ refusal to back down. Borodino, the narrator suggests, shows that France’s defeat in Russia is inevitable.

Book 3, Part 2 Analysis

The novel refuses to align along simple lines of generational conflict. Although there are figures like Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky—old men who are a lingering vestige—there are also men like General Kutuzov, who use their age and experience to temper the unhelpful impulses of the young. Prince Bolkonsky’s views and opinions have not evolved in decades, and his tyrannical demand that everyone adhere to his schedule is a metaphor for a version of Russia that has failed to modernize. However, though some around Kutuzov dismiss him because of his age, the narrator makes it clear that this old commander’s instincts about the randomness of war and the importance of morale are what save Russia from Napoleon.

As the French invasion approaches Bald Hills and the serfs become rebellious, the narrator briefly switches the focus to the working classes. The novel’s serfs are conniving, disobedient, and in need of a leader. They would rather get drunk than help Marya, their landowner, even refusing her offers of grain and supplies. As much as War and Peace criticizes the out-of-touch aristocrats who run their estates into the ground, the novel does not propose doing away with the feudal system entirely. Instead, the novel argues, the uneducated, anti-intellectual peasants can only function properly when guided by the hand of a benevolent landowner who exercises patrician care for his charges. Andrei and Nikolai take on this mantle, providing discipline and authority. Russian serfs were emancipated in 1861, four years before Tolstoy began serially publishing his novel, but the historical setting at the turn of the century allows the aristocratic author to argue that the estate system is the best arrangement.

Playing on the theme of war’s randomness, Andrei and Anatole are both wounded during the battle. For Andrei, seeing Anatole’s leg amputated feels like justice—after all, he’d been intent on dueling with Anatole over Natasha. However, framing the amputated leg as punishment only complicates the portrayal of morality in war. Andrei may view Anatole’s pain as retribution, but that would suggest that Andrei’s wounds are also deserved. Instead, the field hospital emphasizes the chaotic viciousness of war. Pain and suffering do not reflect morals or past actions.

Many real-life historical figures—most prominently, Napoleon, Kutuzov, and Tsar Alexander—appear in War and Peace as characters. In other words, they don’t simply exist as background in the world—instead, the narrator gives them thoughts and motivations, describing their inner lives as he does those of the fictional characters. However, because the destinies of these figures are established, they cannot grow and evolve over the course of the novel. The Kutuzov at the end of the novel is the same Kutuzov who oversaw Napoleon’s invasions of Austria and Russia. Napoleon’s defeat in Moscow does not lead to emotional growth but to a quick exit from the narrative. Even within the plot, the historical figures remain at a distance, while fictional characters exist on the front line. For instance, at Borodino, Napoleon and Kutuzov are far from the action, while Pierre, Andrei, and others are in the thick of battle. Rather than having the undue influence as great men of history, the historical figures remain in the rear, unable to really manipulate events that happen through random chance.