We now get taken from March of 1806, through the warmer months and then to the end of the year. Quite the fast-forward!

This chapter provides insight into the surprise loser of the duel, Feydor Dolokhov, through the Book’s closest examination of his psychology. We also get rare insight into his poor mother, Mary Ivánovna.

There is a note that the Duel remained matter of scandal. If Dolokhov would have won, he likely would have faced the wrath of the Czar. Since the new Count won, there is a wisdom in the authorities ignoring the aftermath. Rostov’s participation was swept under the rug by efforts from his wealthy father. He avoided demotion and was appointed as adjutant to the governor general of Moscow, which kept him in the city for the duration of that Summer.

As Dolokhov convalescences at this mother’s home in Moscow, Rostov visited often and the two developed a close friendship. Mary Ivánovna grew fond of Rostov and reveals her feelings to him: “My Fedya is too noble and pure-souled for our depraved world.” She holds great animosity toward Pierre and is convinced he acted without Honor. She notes how Pierre, along with her son and group of friends, tied a policemen to a bear and threw them into the Moyka River. While Pierre was just told to leave town, her son stoically bore the burden and suffered demotion in the ranks.

There is legitimacy to Ivánovna’s perspective. She laments how is not honorable to make such a challenge and shoot to kill. The challenger of such an affair would be expected to do something like fire up into the air. She speaks in a timeless way over the possible marital affair, saying: “Who doesn’t have intrigues nowadays?” She feels Pierre is responsible for letting his jealousy go on for months. She believes Pierre challenged her son because he owed Pierre and his wife money, and therefore counted on Fedya not even fighting. She finds Pierre evil and mean-spirited.

Dolokhov also opens up to Nicholas. “I know people consider me an evil man! Let them! I don’t care about anyone -- but those I love. And those I love….. I love such that I would give my life for them. The others……. I would just kill them if they stood in my way.”

He notes having a priceless mother and a few friends—Nicholas among them. As for the rest, he only cares about them in so far as they are useful or harmful. He speaks of women, who he finds toxic. He complains of never being able to find a pure soul worth devoting himself to. He aims to possess a divine creature who will elevate him.

Then Tolsoty moves to late 1806. The start to the Winter becomes one of the happiest times for the Rostovs. Denisov also stayed with the family around this Christmas season. Tolstoy notes how there prevailed a romantic ambiance where every young man who came to the house was thrilled to be around the young Rostov women, who shared a readiness to fall in love and expectation of happiness. The household atmosphere included bursts music and friendly prattle of girls.

Nicholas invites many friends to his estate, including Dolokhov, who brings this newfound attitude and develops an affection for Sonya. All in the house took an immediate liking to Dolokhov except Natasha. She recognized the darkness that lurks within. She feels Dolokhov is “wicked and heartless.” She favors Denisov, who she finds more honest and good-natured. Nicholas defends his new friend as having an incomparable heart and soul, noting how he helps his poor mother and crippled sister. That is when Natasha reveals how Dolokhov has fallen for Sonya. Sonya was a bit embarrassed by the attention – but not altogether repulsed. Nicholas does not think much of it, at first feeling Sonya and his sister are always (and temporarily) in love with something. Yet the more his new friend pursued Sonya, the less at ease Nicholas became.

We move to the historically important part of this chapter. Tolstoy describes that in the autumn of 1806, the nobles once again started fervently talking of another war with Napoleon. From Czar Alexander and his circle, orders emanated to raise recruits. Bonaparte was the Anti-Christ in Society’s eyes but had this dark appeal. He was a power that would never again be underestimated. It was felt through better planning, a different military result in could be obtained. Perhaps with help from the Prussians.

Nicholas was excited and eager to return to his regiment after Christmas. With such a return to confrontation on the horizon, a special zest was given to every remaining moment at home.

We have reached the pivotal chapter involving the death of the Little Princess and birth of the Andrei’s son.

Andrei was the one thought lost. Yet Tolstoy has him return home as his wife endures child labor. Her suffering is a subject personal to Tolstoy as his own mother succumbed five months after the birth of his sister, when Tolstoy was nearly two years old.

This loss can be viewed as a punishment for Andrei’s vanity even though Andrei acknowledged and is trying to overcome his impiety. A lesson may be: there is no sin without consequence.

The Bolkonsky household had been overwhelmed with despair by Andrei’s status –– he is a symbolic good man, who was thought lost in a vain war.

When Andrei has the brief opportunity to see his wife, they dramatically take one another in. Lise is ailing. She is in need of the Lord’s grace and a medical miracle. To her, Andrei must appear out of a vision. Andrei, who has rarely been affectionate to Lise, recognizes what he should have valued is right before him.

He is finally there for her – at her final moment. He addresses her as Ma chérie (My Darling). He tries to comfort her by referencing the “mercy of God.” When the birth pangs resumed, Andrei was asked to exit. The German doctor hoped he could get Lise through the ordeal but the medical situation worsened. There came a point where the Lise sounded like a piteous and moaning animal.

Andrei tried to get back to her, but the room was locked. Soon, his wife’s screaming ceased and there was a terrible shriek of another woman. This was a reaction to Lise succumbing. Thereafter, arose heard the wail of an infant. Andrei was filled wonder and bewilderment. He realizes he is a father and breaks down.

The doctor came out and walked by Andrei without a word. Andrei went to see his wife, but she was no longer. She lied there with fixed open eyes and a staid expression. Her charming countenance revealed: “I love you all and have done no harm to anyone; and what have you done to me?” She is presented as taking on the sins of those around her.

Three days later the Little Princess was buried and Andrei knew in all of his soul that he was guilty of something he could neither remedy nor forget. This included pursuing military glory when he could have remained closer to her. Another five days passed and then the baby, the young Prince Nicholas Andréevich (which means son of Andrei) was baptized.

As referenced, Tolstoy never knew his own mother, Marya Volkonskya. His mother died roughly five months after the birth of his sister, Marya Nikolaevna Tolstaya, due to complications from the birth. You can see how the name of his mother and sister made its way into what you are reading. Tolstoy appears to be putting all this pathos from his family history into this moment. One could envision the author imagining how his mother looked in death.

Many scholars assert that Tolsoty placed an idealized view of his mother upon the character of Andrei’s sister -- Marya. There is substance to that. Nevertheless, some of this historical influence also likely made it into this final scene with Lise. It is understood that Tolstoy heard family stories and develop affection for his mother. In this chapter, the author saints his mother, in some respect, in having a character who shared his mother's fate take on the sins of her time while bringing forth new life who will have the chance to make the world better.

Lastly, Tolstoy’s mother was from the wealthier side of his family, with a surname that will look familiar to you – Volkonsky. It was Tolstoy's mother who was the heiress to the vast country estate of Yasnaya Polyana, a land which has been compared to the estate of the fictional Bolkonsky family estate of Bald Hills.

We move further into March of 1806 and return to Bald Hills, the estate of Andrei’s father. Despite letters and official inquiries, Andrei’s body had not been found nor was he on the list of prisoners.

The newspapers had reported the defeat at Austerlitz in brief and vague terms -- after months of detailing a series of optimistic and brilliant engagements. Nikolai was able to read between the lines and intuited the extent of the defeat. Eventually came a correspondence from Kutuzov: “Your son fell before my eyes, a standard in his hand and at the head of a regiment—he fell as a hero, worthy of his father and his fatherland.” However, no body was recovered.

The elder Bolkonsky became grim and withdrawn and revealed what he learned to his daughter. He focuses on the likelihood that Andrei is dead. Marya embraced her father with great love and empathy. She wished to mourn together, but her father exhorts disgust about the use and fate of the Army. “Scoundrels! Destroying the army and men! And why?" He instructs Marya to convey what is known to Andrei’s wife. The princess sank into an armchair and wept. She visualized her brother as he had been when he left -- when he was tender and amused as she placed the little icon on him. She wondered if he grasped a faith of The Almighty and repented of any unbelief. She deliberated whether he was now in the realm of "eternal peace and blessedness." Nikolai focuses on his belief that Andrei was likely killed as so much of the Glory of the Country.

Marya tries to speak to her sister-in-law. At first, Lise was caught up thinking and speaking about the wonder of baby she was about to have, how beautiful it felt within her and how much she would love it.

Marya thinks it best to break the news in small doses –– and first conveys, through tears, how worried she has been over her husband. Before dinner, Nikolai, whom Lise was always afraid of, made an awkward attempt to visit his ailing daughter-in-law. Lise, lost in a world of thought only seen in pregnant women, began to cry and asked if there was word about Andrei. Neither Father or Daughter could pull up the curtain and Marya eventually relayed it was “too soon for news.” It would be better to wait until after the baby arrived, who was expected in a few days.

Marya and her father carried and hid their grief in their own way. The old general would not cherish any hope. In one sense, he made up his mind that his son had been killed, but nevertheless sent an official to Austria to seek for any traces of his son. He would tell his acquaintances that his son had been killed and ordered a monument to his memory. He tried not to change his routine but his strength failed him. He walked, ate, and slept less. He became weaker. Marya still held out hope.

The mood of the household became one of general sorrow. The Little Princess absorbed the mood and started to look sickly and pale. She became overwhelmed by the inevitable pain to come. The midwife, was sent for – as well as a German physician from Moscow. The midwife springs into action and preparations were made for the birth – such as furniture being arranged.

Marya prayed. An old Nurse, a household serf, was keeping Marya company. She light candles for the Saints. An unspoken anxiety kept everyone awake and alert.

It was determined that the Labor had begun. Tolstoy describes that “the most solemn mystery in the world continued its course.” Night came, which was a harsh March night with winter unleashing on of her last storms with desperate fury. No one slept. This was not an easy Labor.

Men were sent in the storm to try to meet the doctor who was expected. Marya sat silent, her luminous eyes fixed on her nurse’s wrinkled face. The Nurse tried to assure Mary: “God is merciful, doctors are never needed.”

Soon there was an arrival making his way to the provincial. It was thought to be the doctor. Marya dressed to meet him and started to go out. However, this was not the doctor. There was a familiar voice asking of the family while speaking to the House Steward. Marya recognized that it was none other than her brother! She felt it could not be! Yet there he was, in a fur cloak, covered with snow. Home! Andrei was pale, thin, with a changed and strangely softened but agitated expression. He came up the stairs and embraced his sister. He had sent a letter, but it never made it. Soon, the German doctor arrived…and got to his work.

This episode examines some likely influences in Tolstoy’s writing of the Duel between Pierre & Dolokhov.

Dueling is a romanticized part of aristocratic life that stemmed from Western Europe, where the precursor were the jousts and mêlées of medieval knights. With the later development of militaries, there were where occasions were tribunals & commanders could order disputing officers to fight it out in organized affairs.

In Moscow of the early 19th century, engaging in a duel was a mark of sovereignty among the nobility. Just like in Western Europe and America, the practice was carried out with secrecy, explaining why Pierre’s duel was held around 8 a.m in the outskirts of a forest.

Some of the Decembrists, who rebelled against the Czar in 1825 and were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, built a reputation for dueling. The affairs themselves could be quite full of pageantry and tension. Only on the rare occasion would duels result in permanent injury or death. Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s national poet, was in 20+ duels yet never killed anyone. He ultimately lost his life in his final duel, in 1837, with George D’Anthès, over the French officer’s pursuit of Pushkin’s wife. Pushkin was shot in the stomach and died two days later. Like America’s Alexander Hamilton, great sympathy lied with the loser.

It also appears that one of Tolstoy’s uncles , Fyodor Tolstoy, contributed to the characterization of Pierre’s adversary, Fyodor Dolokhov. The uncle was this wild man and adventurer of the 19th century, who died in 1848. He was born to a so-called poorer branch of the family and made the most of the opportunities his military service presented. A Polish friend, Faddey Bulgarin, once said: “Count Tolstoy was reckless to the point of frenzy.”

Fyodor holds a reputation as a successful duelist. Though there is little proof of victims, there are reports Fyodor defeated over 10 adversaries, either wounding or killing them – or at least claiming credit for same. Leo Tolstoy relayed that when a close friend of his uncle was challenged, his uncle eagerly stepped up to take his friend's place. There are accounts that Fyodor came close to dueling the aforementioned Alexander Pushkin, after the writer accused Fyodor of cheating at cards. This matter was resolved amicably and the two became close friends.

Fyodor really lived against the grain for a nobleman. Notably, he was bailed out of a massive gambling debt by a gypsy singer. He felt indebted and married her. From his travels, he even acquired a number of tattoos, which were exotic for one of his status. He would display these designs (reportedly of a gaudy bird, snakes and various patterns) to ladies and men in awe. He held the nickname, The American or Amerikanets, which appears to be based on his tales of traveling to Alaska, ventures which have been questioned by scholars.

Part of early fun of W&P was Dolokhov leading his friends, including Pierre, in a night out in Petersburg, which led to tying a hapless police officer to a small bear and throwing them both into a River. The real Fyodor is reported to have done something similar. Fyodor let either a small bear or monkey loose in the Captain’s quarters of a military vessel. For that he was exiled at the next stop.

Tolstoy's uncle was also a notorious gambler, which further influenced the character of Dolokhov. The uncle would take any occasion to gain an angle or cheat and Leo Tolstoy knows his relative to have said something like: “only fools rely on luck.”

Leo Tolstoy likely crafted his famous duel involving Pierre, in part, through his own experience in with a fellow nobleman and writer. The only notable instance of any such Demand of Satisfaction is his well-known affair with Ivan Turganev, who was ten years Tolstoy's senior. The challenge came around May of 1861 when Tolstoy was working on W&P. His rage over what was a fairly silly dispute likely helped frame Pierre’s mindset.

The quarrel was over a comment about childrearing within a years-long relationship that often involved debate. Turgenev relayed how proud he was that his only daughter was doing a salt-of-the-earth chore, mending clothes that the peasants could use. Tolstoy labeled the act "theatrical." Turgenev was insulted and threatened to slap Tolstoy. The two then sent caustic letters to one another, which resulted in Tolstoy issuing a challenge to Duel with rifles. They didn’t speak for 17 years but reconciled after some friendly missives and would meet at each other’s estates until Turgenev died in 1883.

Pierre wins the Duel and thereafter cannot stand to be in the presence of his wife. The night after the conflict he avoids the marital bedroom in preference of his late father’s room. Pierre desires to fall asleep and forget all. Yet a storm of emotions prevents any rest.

Pierre relives his rash decision to marry, which he now realizes would inevitably lead to dreadful consequences. He acknowledges that even when he first expressed love for Hélène, it was not a genuine.

Tolstoy brings you into Pierre’s soul. Pierre recognizes his own sinful pride in his wife’s majestic beauty and appreciation of how she glides through Society. She is so out-of-reach that he could not resist. Yet at her core, he knows her to be depraved. He recalls how her corrupt brother, Anatole, would come to borrow money and take un-natural liberties, like kissing her naked shoulders. He notes how she would assent to the affection. He then relives the time he asked if she felt any symptoms of pregnancy. She belittled him, laughing contemptuously, and voiced she was not the type of fool to want to have children and especially not with Pierre.

Pierre digested these moral sufferings while his adversary faced physical wounds. He agonizes: Why did I say “I love you” (Je vous aime).

His minds wonder to both philosophy and history – including the notion of causation and justification, a topic which Tolstoy pours over in his Second Epilogue. Pierre considers how Louis XVI was executed during the French Revolution when those who gained power labeled him dishonorable and a criminal. From a certain point, the King’s enemies were right. Yet so were those who canonized Louis. Everyone is right depending on their perspective. Pierre is paraphrasing a theme of the Biblical Book of Judges – where there was no King and every man did what was right in his own eyes.

Pierre concludes that it is not worth tormenting oneself over life’s endless complexity when one has only a moment of life in comparison with eternity. He senses: if you are alive— one must live! Tolstoy is such a reader of the Biblical Wisdom literature that he is infusing his character with some of notions from the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes, namely: that our lives are but a shadow in the face of the vast heavens; that we will never understand the nature of the world; and that there is much more beyond cause and effect. For Pierre, he will never be able to fully grasp how his marriage led to such anguish.

Pierre then references Moliére, the 17th Century French playwright. The famous quote goes through his mind – “But what the devil was he doing in that galley?” This phrase was a popular way of voicing frustration when someone gets tangled up in a mess of their own making. It is taken from 'The Imposture of Scapin,' 1671, where the cunning main character tricks an older man into believing his son was lured onto a Turkish ship and would be sold into slavery unless the father pays a ransom. As the father is tricked, he can only replay the quote in his mind. Pierre sees himself as someone caught in such a web of deceit.

This frustration led Pierre to instruct his valet to pack as he would be leaving for Petersburg. He could not be around Hélène another moment. She does not let him leave without giving him a piece of her mind. She confronts him and lectures, “So it seems you’re a hero?, What was this duel about?” He doesn’t answer and she continues: “You believe everything you’re told….including that Dolokhov was my lover. Well, what have you proved? That you’re a fool,(que vous êtes un sot). But everybody knew that! And what will be the result? That I shall be a laughingstock…that everyone will say that you, drunk… challenged a man you are jealous of -- a man who’s a better man than you in every way!”

She denies any affair while announcing that she should have taken a lover and concedes preferring Dolokhov’s company. Pierre begs her to stop, while violent feelings stir within. Pierre keeps composure at first and suggests they separate. Hélène demands a fortune for said privilege. Pierre then leaps up from the sofa and rushes at Hélène and threatens to kills her as he seized the marble top of a table with a strength he never felt. Her face expressed a base fear and she screamed. Some of Pierre’s father’s nature showed itself. Pierre felt the delight of frenzy. He flung down the slab, smashing it and swooped toward Hélène and shouted, “Get out!” Hélène retreated.

A week later Pierre gave his wife what she asked for -- full power to control much of his land. He gave her control on one of the vastest estates in the land and left for Petersburg.

This chapter involves Tolstoy’s craftsmanship of one of the most famous duels in fiction.

It starts with Captain Denísov announcing the formalities and giving a vigorous countdown. On the count of three, each can advance and fire their one shot before reaching sabres that marked ten paces from the other.

Dolokhov walked calmly without raising his pistol. He donned a wry smile and looked intently as he traveled though a fairly clear path. Pierre, however, ambulated clumsily and found himself encumbered by snow. Pierre held the pistol in a way that made little sense, with his right hand fully extended from his body. He was afraid of shooting himself. Pierre visualized Dolokhov through the mist then bent his finger. He had fired his only shot. Pierre shuddered at the sound and then stood still

The smoke from the gun mixed with the mist, making it difficult for anyone to see. There was no return fire! Eventually, Pierre saw and heard Dolokhov coming toward him through the smoke. Dolokhov’s face was pale and he was pressing a hand to his left side, where he had been hit. The hand was visibly bloody by reason a wound to the body. The other hand now clutched a drooping pistol.

Rostov ran toward Dolokhov and tried to ascertain his condition but Dolohov repelled him saying “No! It’s not over.” After a few staggering steps up to the sabre, Dolokhov sank in the snow.

Pierre was about to cry and began running toward his adversary, with the result being that this big man was making himself a bigger target. He was ready to cross the space between the barriers, when Dolokhov cried out: “To your barrier!”

Pierre stopped and only ten paces divided them. Dolokhov, though severely weakened, had every intention of returning fire. He sat up, with his breathing consisting of sucking in and swallowing the cold air. His eyes found their target and with effort and exasperation he raised the pistol. Both Nesvitski and Denisov cried out for Pierre, who did not know the customs of dueling, to make himself a smaller target.

Nevertheless, Pierre was overcome with remorse and become that gentle soul consistent with his nature. Each duelist is brought back to their essence. Dolokhov is trying take Pierre with him and Pierre, wearing a gentle smile of pity and remorse, involuntarily holds his arms and legs helplessly spread with his broad chest facing Dolokhov.

Denísov, Rostov and Nesvítski closed their eyes…….and heard the return fire. What followed was Dolokhov’s angry cry of “Missed!” The experienced soldier and duelist was then reduced to a helpless mess, lying face down on the snow.

Pierre clutched his temples and stumbled around muttering incoherently: “Folly! Vanity! Death! Lies!” Nesvitski soon took Pierre home while Rostov and Denisov carried Dolokhov to a sleigh.

Dolokhov felt he was dying and became focused on what would be the reaction of his poor and elderly mother. This shocked Denisov and Rostov and is meant to surprise you – that this rogue and gambler who been through worst of war, was from a small family were he adored and cared for an elderly mother and crippled sister in Moscow. Dolokhov held Rostov’s hand and cried: “Mamma, my angel, my adored angelic mother.” He implored Nicholas to go on ahead and prepare her for the worst

After Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in late 2024 for the heavyweight championship, the Ukrainian boxer held up a sabre that once belonged to the 17th Century Ukrainian Cossack Hetman, Ivan Mapeza, who this episode is dedicated to.

Usyk’s fortitude spoke to Ukraine’s resilience against a larger foe who initiated the type of vainglorious War Tolstoy condemns, with all of his soul, in W&P.

Showcasing the weapon was a transcendent moment of Usyk bringing history to Life. This ability is something Tolstoy shares given who often he reaches into the past to make literary points. In W&P, for example, Tolstoy cites the Classical world and more recent influences. He skillfully adapts the famous quote from Voltaire: "If god did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." The Frenchman also had a well-known correspondence with Catherine II, who some of W&P’s characters look to as illustrative of an idealized past. Yet part of her reputation involves keeping so many under serfdom. Voltaire urged her to release her serfs.

Quite forgotten is how Voltaire contributed to Mazepa becoming an icon of the Romantic age. Victor Hugo, Lord Byron & Franz List, also elevated Mazepa to a status Tolstoy himself briefly references in his 1857 work “Youth.” Tolstoy wrote that if he reaches the age of 70, he envisions that a lovely young woman could love him as easily as she could love….a Mazeppa.

Mazepa was born to a noble Cossack family near Kyiv. His father was a town otaman (leader) and his mother instilled in her son a deep devotion to God and Cossack culture. Mazepa received a European education and served at the Polish royal court. While quite young, he is said to have fallen in love with the wife of a Polish nobleman and to have been punished through being tied to a wild horse and carried back to the Land of the Cossacks, where he was adopted by one of their communities and rose to leader. He was Hetman from 1687 – 1709.

Mazepa remains a key figure in Ukrainian-Russian relations given he decided to turn his allegiance to Sweden over the Czar during the Great Northern War. This conflict was fought between Sweden and an anti-Swedish coalition led by Moscow. This intermittent affair lasted about 20 years and involved control over Northern Europe and the Baltics. Sweden initially did well causing Peter to move his troops inward and draw Charles to invade.

The conflict made its way to Mazepa’s Cossacks, whose status and allegiance greatly changed over the previous generation. Since 1654, many were uneasy allies with the Czar after withdrawing support for Poland. They now felt subject to excessive demands for troops to be used in projects like building canals and fortresses, where they could be worked to sickness and death and used as proverbial “cannon fodder”

Thus, in 1708, Mazepa aligned with Charles, giving him 5,000 Cossacks. Mazepa felt he was choosing the lesser of two evils. Later that year, there was a race of belligerents to Mazepa’s home city of Baturyn. 20,000 Russian soldiers commanded by Alexander Menshikov overwhelmed this military arsenal and food store. When the city fell, there was this infamous slaughter of the civilian population. A number were tied to makeshift crosses or boards and floated down the local river.

The next summer, on June 27, 1709, the armies faced off near Poltava, where Peter & Charles were on-hand directing troops. The Czar prevailed and this turn in history explains why Sweden never became a great power. This battle also had a major role in propelling Russia to their status. Yet that fire in the hearts of Ukrainians for independence was not extinguished over the next few centuries. Today, a Ukrainian state exists which exacts quite the toll on Russian aggression. Ukrainians revere Mazepa for making the best choice he could.

Mazepa was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church and Czar Peter also ordered all portraits of the man destroyed. Similarly, Tolstoy, was separated from the Orthodox Church in 1901 through a Church Proclamation. Tolstoy’s writing on religion led to the church to declare him as a “false teacher” imbued with “intellectual pride.” This leads me to the second reference to I have found from Tolstoy on Mazppa, which is the book “Life of Tolstoy” by Tolstoy’s long-time English friend and translator, Alymer Maude. Maude describes how Tolstoy studied the life of Mazepa upon a friendly wager as a law student.