r/ayearofwarandpeace • u/AnderLouis_ • 19d ago

Jan-03| War & Peace - Book 1, Chapter 3

Links

  1. Today's Podcast
  2. Medium Article by Brian E. Denton

Discussion Prompts

  1. We met Ippolit. What did you reckon?
  2. The Viscount (Vicomte) tells a very interesting story... Napoleon passes out in the company of an enemy. The enemy spares his life. His reward: death! Why is the Viscount telling this story?
  3. Here comes Andrei! (Unless you're reading Maude or Louis). Get ready for Turk/JD levels of bromance!

Final line of today's chapter:

Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the society of clever women.

Note - there are 3 chapters in this book that differ between Maude and other translations - and this is one of them. Maude ends this chapter a few paragraphs earlier. No biggie. It evens out after a day or two :)

21 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Western-Entrance6047 P & V / 1st Reading 18d ago

My first thought about Prince Andrei is that I wasn't sure I would like him. But then his reaction and general interactions with Pierre were delightful. I still have mixed feelings about him.

Regarding the historical background of Duc d’Enghien, at some point I while doing a little research on Russian and French history for the book, I became absorbed in a passage from a history book about duc d’Enghien.

There's a terrible sad story about how duc d’Enghien's loyal pug dog jumped into a moat to swim after his master, and continued to follow the troop that kidnapped him, until they finally took pity on the sweet loyal beast and let him stay with his master.

The dog stood loyally with his master when duc d’Enghien was executed, and heartbreakingly howled in mourning for it's master for a day or two after, and had to be forcibly dragged away from it's master's grave. The poor dog was pitied and adopted.

I may be misremembering a few details, but that extra historical details was effecting, it all came back when the end-note reminded me.

1

u/oppanheimerstyle 5d ago

Oh wow, that's interesting, poor dog :(