After his falling out with Hélène, Pierre leaves Moscow. On the way, he meets an old man named Bazdeev, who convinces Pierre to believe in God and seek self-improvement through Masonic mystical practices. After initiation, Pierre tries to live out h…
After his falling out with Hélène, Pierre leaves Moscow. On the way, he meets an old man named Bazdeev, who convinces Pierre to believe in God and seek self-improvement through Masonic mystical practices. After initiation, Pierre tries to live out his new beliefs by liberating his peasants, but he totally lacks the practical wisdom to follow through. In contrast to Pierre’s idealism, his close friend Prince Andrei emerges from the war and his wife’s death thoroughly disillusioned and determined to live only for himself.
Meanwhile, Napoleon has invaded Prussia, and the Russian army is fighting the French in Poland. In 1807, after witnessing horrible conditions in a field hospital, Nikolai Rostov sees Napoleon and Emperor Alexander signing peace treaties at Tilsit and feels disillusioned by the stark contrast between soldiers’ sufferings and imperial pomp.
In 1809, Prince Andrei visits the Rostovs’ country estate, Otradnoe, where he meets Nikolai’s enchanting sister Natasha for the first time, finding renewed hope in life. He moves to Petersburg and takes a government position, revising Russia’s civil code. The Rostovs also move to Petersburg, and after dancing with Natasha at a ball, Prince Andrei proposes. Prince Nikolai, disapproving, sends his son abroad for a year. Andrei promises Natasha that if her feelings change while he’s gone, he’ll release her from the engagement. Meanwhile, despite disillusionment with Freemasonry, Pierre rededicates himself to his own marriage.
In 1810, Nikolai Rostov reluctantly leaves his regiment and returns to Otradnoe to help settle his father’s messy finances. At Christmas, Nikolai and his cousin Sonya’s romance rekindles, but Countess Rostov angrily objects because Sonya is poor. That winter Count Rostov and the girls visit Moscow. During a night at the opera, Natasha falls for Anatole Kuragin and agrees to elope with him (unaware that he’s secretly married to someone else). After their plan is foiled at the last minute, Natasha, sick with despair over her betrayal of Prince Andrei, confides in Pierre, who admits that he loves her.
In June, 1812, Napoleon’s army invades Russia. Prince Andrei rejoins the army and hopes at first to find a pretext for a duel with Anatole, but he soon falls comfortably into the day-to-day rhythms of military life. He refuses the opportunity to serve at headquarters because he believes the best, bravest men are…
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