Briggs: Pierre returns, in trouble for staying too long in Petersburg.
Translation:
XI.
Two months to that backwards Pierre, now a guest at the Rostovs, received a letter from Prince Fedor, calling him to Petersburg for discussions on important issues occupied in Petersburg by members of one society which Pierre was one of the head founders.
Reading this letter, as she read all the letters of her husband, Natasha, despite all the heaviness for her to be in lack of a husband, herself proposed to him to go to Petersburg. All that was the mental, distracted business of her husband, she attributed, not understanding it, huge importance and constantly was found out in fear to be a hindrance in these activities of her husband. In the timid interrogative look of Pierre after reading the letter, she answered the request for him to ride, yet only would she define the right time of his return. And vacation was given for four weeks.
From this time, as went out the term of holiday of Pierre, two weeks to that backwards, Natasha was found out in an unceasing condition of fear, sadness and irritation.
Denisov, retired, displeased by the hereby general position, arrived in these last two weeks, with surprise and sadness, as at an unlike portrait of someone’s favorite human, watched Natasha. The dull, bored look, the answers out of place and the conversations about children, was all that he saw and heard from the previous sorceress.
Natasha was all this time sad and annoyed, in particular so when, consoling her, her mother, brother, Sonya or Countess Marya tried to excuse Pierre and figure out the causes of his slow down.
— All nonsense, all nonsense, — said Natasha, — all his reflections that for why not leads, and all this stupid society, — she said about those very deeds in the great importance of which she firmly believed. And she went away to the children's room to feed their only boy Petya.
No one could say anything to her so many soothing, reasonable things as much as this three months old small being, when it lay at her breast, and she felt him move his mouth and snivel his nose. This being said: "you are angry, you are jealous, you would want to avenge him, you are afraid, but I am here, but I am here..." And there was nothing to respond. This was more than real.
Natasha in these two weeks of anxiety so often came running to her child for calming, so fiddling around above him that she overfed him and he got sick. She was horrified by his disease, but together with that she needed this. Caring for him, she easily carried over the anxiety about husband.
She fed, when rustled in the entrance the carriage of Pierre and the nurse, who knew what pleased the lady, could not be heard, but fast, with a shining face, entered in the door.
— Have arrived? — in a quick whisper asked Natasha, fearing to move so that to not wake up the falling asleep child.
— Have arrived, mother, — whispered the nurse.
Blood threw on the face of Natasha, and her legs unwittingly made a move; but to jump and run could not be. The child again opened his eyes, looking. "You are here," he as if said and again lazily smacked his lips.
Slowly taking away her chest, Natasha shook him, delivered him to the nanny and went by fast steps to the door. But at the door she stopped, as would be feeling a reproach of conscience for how she was gladdened to too soon leave the child, and looked around. The nurse, holding up the elbows, carried over the child behind the railing of the crib.
— Yes, really go, go, mother, be calm, go, — smilingly whispered the nurse, with the familiarity emerging between the nanny and lady.
And Natasha with light steps ran in the hall.
Denisov, with a pipe, exited in the hall from the office, here for the first time found out Natasha. Vivid, brilliant, joyous light poured streams from her transformed face.
— Have arrived! — she spoke of him in a run, and Denisov felt that he was in delight from how had arrived Pierre, whom he very little loved. Running in the hall, Natasha saw a high figure in a fur coat, waving a scarf.
"He! He! Really! Here he is!" she spoke with herself, and, hitting on him, hugged, pressed him to herself, his head to her breast, and then, removing, looked at the frosty, rosy and happy face of Pierre. —"Yes, this is he; happy, satisfied..."
And suddenly she remembered all those tortures of expectations that she felt in the last two weeks: the radiant on her face joy was hidden; she frowned, and streams of reproach and evil words poured out to Pierre.
— Yes, you are okay, you are very glad, you are having fun... but what am I? Though would you have pitied the children. I feed, my milk is spoiled... Petya was at death. But you are very funny. Yes, you are funny...
Pierre knew that he was not to blame, because of how he could not come earlier; he knew that this explosion with her parties was indecent and knew that in two minutes this would pass; he knew the main thing was that he was the most funny and happy. He would want to smile, but did not dare to think about this. He made a miserable, scared face and bent.
— I could not, by God! Yet what is Petya?
— Now nothing, go. How are you not ashamed! If you could see how I am without you, how I am tormented...
— Are you healthy?
— Go, go, — she said, not releasing his hand. And they went to their room.
When Nikolay with his wife came to look for Pierre, he was at the children and held with his great, right palms the awakened son to his breast. On his wide face with an uncovered toothless mouth stopped his hilarious smile. The storm now for a long time poured out, and the bright, joyful sun shone on the face of Natasha, tenderly watching on her husband and son.
— And all talked okay with Prince Fedor? — said Natasha.
— Yes, fine.
— You see, hold (the head, understood Natasha). — Well, how he is scared of me.
— But you saw the princess? Is it really that she fell in love to this?..
— Yes, you can represent to yourself...
In this time entered Nikolay with Countess Marya. Pierre, not lowering from his hands his son, bending over kissed them and responded to interrogations. Yet obviously, despite much interest in how it was needed to talk, the child in the cap, with the swinging head, devoured all the attention of Pierre.
— How dear! — said Countess Marya, looking at the child and the play with him. — Here this I do not understand, Nicolas, — she turned to her husband, — how you do not understand the beauty of these miracle charms.
— I cannot understand, I cannot, — said Nikolay coldly looking at the child. — A piece of meat. Go, Pierre.
— Because the main thing, he is such a gentle father, — said Countess Marya, justifying her husband; — but only when they are already a year or that way...
— No, Pierre is fine as their nurse, — said Natasha; — He speaks that his hands as by time was made for the backside of a child. Look.
— Well, not only for this, — suddenly laughing said Pierre, intercepting the child and delivering him to the nanny.
Mentioned: two months before, four weeks, two weeks, three-months-old
Locations: the Rostovs'
Mentioned: St. Petersburg
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Denisov ("discontented with the current state of affairs") sees the change in Natasha as sad. Natasha is worried that Pierre has been gone for two weeks later than they agreed he would be gone, overfeeds her son (Petya) and makes him sick, which occupies her time.
When Pierre gets back, Nikolai remarks that babies are like "a piece of meat" and is revealed to only be a good father when the babies are at least a year old. There is a surprising sex joke at the end of the chapter, with Pierre saying his hands are not only fit to hold a baby's bottom.
Characters (characters who do not appear, but are mentioned are placed in italics. First appearances are in Bold. First mentions are underlined. Final appearance denoted by *):
Pierre (Also "husband")
Prince Feodor (see chapter 69 for variations on "Feodor". Bell cuts the name.)
Natasha (also "matushka")
Denisof
Countess Rostova ("mother")
Nikolai (also "brother", "husband", and "Nicolas")
Sonya
Countess Mariya (also "wife")
little Petya (also "little son" and "baby")
nyanya (whether or not this is the same one from chapter 118 is unclear. Also "nurse".)
Abridged Versions: Chapter 343 is inserted here after the intro of chapter 345. Much of the information in this chapter appears to be cut or moved. Followed by a line break.
Gibian: Line break instead of chapter break.
Komroff: Chapter basically preserved and followed by a line break.
Kropotkin: Chapter 6: Chapter is preserved.
Simmons: The mention of the baby getting sick is removed. The description of Pierre holding the baby is removed. Line break instead of chapter break.
Additional Notes:
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