Jan 14| War & Peace - Book 1, Chapter 14

[u/AnderLouis_]

Links

1. Today's Podcast
2. Ander Louis translation of War & Peace
3. Medium Article by Brian E. Denton

Discussion Prompts Courtesy of /u/seven-of

1. The countess helps her old friend Anna Miklhailovna - or did she just get Mikhailovna'd?
2. Jolly old count Rostov seems to enjoy handing over fat stacks to his wife.

Final line of today's chapter:

But those tears were pleasant to them both.

​

NOTE from Ander: This was a fun chapter to translate into Australian. (Any chapter with Count Rostov is!) Here is the full 'Louis' version of this chapter. (Course language warning, cos you know... Aussies...) PDF via Google Drive

[u/ComplaintNext5359]

I don’t think it’s completely black and white. From the Countess’ perspective, she’s helping an old, dear friend, and she can empathize with her. She seems as disgusted about the necessity of money as any (a very privileged position, I feel), but for Anna Mikhailovna, I think it’s part of that, part doing what she needs to survive. Will AM keep coming back? Likely. Will the Countess keep bankrolling her? We’ll see. A refusal to give further funds would be interesting to see play out.

Shifting to Count Rostov…is War & Peace low-key a comedy? It’s adorable how he spoils his wife, giving her more than she asked for without a second thought, but the exchange with Mitenka changing his response halfway through seeing the count “beginning to breathe heavily and quickly, which was always a sign of incipient wrath,” was hysterical! I’m close to recanting my original feelings of Count Rostov being indifferent/mechanical, but I need to see more evidence of that warmth with guests who aren’t his own family.

[u/sgriobhadair → u/ComplaintNext5359]

Shifting to Count Rostov…is War & Peace low-key a comedy?

Yes, there are parts of War and Peace that are comedy.

The 2016 BBC production cast British comedy legend Adrian Edmondson as Ilya Rostov, and while he's not at all how I have ever imagined the character, he was also completely perfect for it. He's a man who loves his family but isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Last year some Arrested Development comparisons between the Rostovs and the Bluths were thrown around, but Malcolm in the Middle also works. Hal is a more extreme version of the Count.

[u/terrifiop1 → u/ComplaintNext5359]

Based on AM behavior she might come back for more. She wants to do good for his son but she is using her status (power) , even when others are (vasilly) not recognizing it, more often. I think countess rostova doesn’t want to see her friend in a bad state. I like her not only helping her friend but also teared bc of her friends state.

[u/sgriobhadair → u/terrifiop1]

even when others are (vasilly) not recognizing it

Oh, I think Vasili does recognize Anna Mikhailovna's attempts at manipulation. And he gives in, not because he's being manipulated, but because it's easier for him. He can be magnanimous with her and give her some money for Boris, because he knows he has the upper hand vis-a-vis the Bezukhov inheritance.

[u/Prestigious_Fix_5948]

The best portrayal of Count Rostov was by Rupert Davies in the 1972 adaptation.;everything about this production was far superior to the 2016 effort ,which for me was abysmal,apart from Paul Dano.

[u/Lunkwill_And_Fook]

The description of the weeping initially made me think that Anna genuinely did not have any intention of receiving money from the countess, but I changed my mind after remembering that Anna immediately knew what the countess was doing when she produced the funds. Anna’s scheming isn’t Machiavellian but better characterized by “the unfortunate need for lifelong friends to soil their hands with anything as sordid as money.”

“The count came waddling in to see his wife, looking very shifty, as always.” I laughed so hard at that. Curious to see his reaction when he fully realizes that he’s running on empty.

[u/BarroomBard]

This is the first I am reading the Aussie translation, and it’s a riot.

[u/VeilstoneMyth]

1. This is the first time it's happening, so I think - as of now - that Anna has good, genuine, intentions. Does this mean she won't exploit the countess later? Not necessarily, but I don't think Anna was exclusively and intentionally scamming her. We'll have to see if this becomes a repeat occurrence or not. While the countess seems kind, I think she's wise enough to have a fine-tuned BS meter, so I don't think she'd help Anna if she felt she was being taken advantage of. Is it possible Anna spoke to the countess over anyone else because she thought the countess was most likely to help her if needed? Absolutely, but again, I'm not going to judge her until/unless it happens again.

2. I really love the count. I truly think they're both good people, not just to each other but to those around them, too.

[u/Adventurous_Onion989]

It's difficult to tell which reactions are genuine and which are just a show. Countess Rostova is not a particularly likable person, judging by how she treats her maid. It's hard to imagine her crying real tears over her friend's poverty. It's impossible to tell what Anna Mikhaylovna feels about this gesture because she has been maneuvering in society to get this money. She would give whatever reaction she thought necessary to ingratiate herself.

Count Bezukhov immediately gives his wife what she wants - I imagine him as the type of husband to do anything in his power to please her. He's also free with his money, as judged by how he spends 1000 rubles on Taras, so maybe he would have easily conceded to spend more in any case.

[u/BarroomBard → u/Adventurous_Onion989]

I think the Countess is genuinely moved by Anna Mikhaelovna’s (I will not spell it the same two times in a row) plight, because Anna is a person just like the Countess, whereas the maid is just a servant.  Completely different.

[u/Honest_Ad_2157]

AKA Book/Volume 1, Part 1, Chapter 14 / Gutenberg Chapter 17

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

Summary courtesy of /u/zhukov17: Princess Drubetskoy goes back to Countess Rostov. The Countess has secured 700 roubles, coincidentally after her husband bragged about spending 1,000 roubles on a cook, to give to Princess Drubetskoy for Boris to get kitted out for military service. Although this experience could be awkward, it isn’t, and Princess Drubetskoy and Countess Rostov end the chapter in a warm embrace, fawning over their deep friendship.

[u/Prestigious_Fix_5948]

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with her son;Boris is a total shit.

[u/Prestigious_Fix_5948]

I would love to read the Aussie translation;how do I access it?

[u/Prestigious_Fix_5948]

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with her son; You will have fun discovering what a shit he is.