Chapter Summaries: Dole: Sonya the niece; compared to a kitten. Her jealousy. The Countess Rostova and Mme. Kuragina discuss children's education. Appearance of the Countess Viera.
Briggs (chapter 9): Nikolay has joined the army.
Translation:
IX.
Of the youth, not considering the older daughter of the Countess (who was four years older than her sister and held herself as already big) and the guests of the young ladies, in the living room stayed Nikolay and Sonya, the niece. Sonya was a thin, tiny brunette with soft, shaded long eyelashes and a thick black braid, two times twisted on her head, and yellowish tinted skin on her face and the peculiarities on her naked thin, yet graceful muscular hands and neck. The smoothness of movements, with the softness and flexibility of her small limbs and cunning and restrained manner she reminded one of a beautiful, but a still not mature kitten which will become a lovely cat. She, apparently, counting it decent to show a smile of participation to general conversation; but against this commitment, her eyes out from under long thick eyelashes looked at the leaving for the army cousin127 with a girlish passionate adoration; that smile could not for a moment deceive anybody, and it was seen that the kitty sat down only for this, so still more energetically to jump up and play with her cousin,128 as soon as they were alone again, as Boris with Natasha, and had gotten out of this living room.
— Yes, ma chère (my pretty), — said the old count, turning to his guest and pointing at his Nikolay. — Here his friend Boris promoted to the officers, and he out of friendship doesn’t want to lag behind him; throw in his university and me an old man: is going into military service, ma chère (my pretty). But really his place in the archive was ready and everything. Here is what friendship is. — said the count interrogatively.
— Yes, because war, it’s been said, is declared, — said the guest.
— It’s been spoken about for a long time, — said the count. — more talk and talk. Ma chère (my pretty), here is friendship! — he repeated. — He is going to the hussars.
The guest, not knowing what to say, shook her head.
— Really not from friendship, — was the response of Nikolay, flaring up and discouraged as if hardening from shame. — Really not friendship, but simply the feel of vocation to military service.
He turned back at his cousin and at the young lady guest: both watched him with a smile of endorsement.
— Now at dinner we have Shubert, a colonel of the Pavlograd hussar regiment. He was on leave here and will take him with him. What to do? — said the count, shrugging his shoulders and speaking comicily about a case which, apparently, cost him much grief.
— I already said to you, daddy, — said the son, — that, if you do not want to let me go, I will stay. Yet I know that nowhere will I fit, besides in the military service; I am not a diplomat, not a civil servant, and cannot hide what I feel, — he spoke while glancing with coquetry to the beautiful youth of Sonya and the young lady guest.
The kitty, glaring at his eyes, seemed every second ready to play and to express all of her cat nature.
— Well, well, okay! — said the old count, — everything is getting hot... everything Bonaparte turning all heads around; all thinking that from lieutenants come emperors. What but pleases God, — he added, not noticing the mocking smile of his guests.
The adults began talking about Bonaparte. Juli, the daughter of Karagina, turned to the young Rostov:
— A pity that you were not on Thursday at the Arharovs. I was bored without you, — she said, tenderly smiling at him.
The flattered young person with the flirty smile of youth moved nearer to her and marched with the smiling Juli into a separate conversation, really not noticing that this involuntary smile from him with a knife of jealousy cut the heart of the blushing and feignedly smiling Sonya. In the middle of conversation he turned back to her. Sonya, passionate and embittered, looked at him and, barely holding tears in her eyes, on her lips feigning a smile, and got up and exited from the room. All the revitalization of Nikolay disappeared. He waited for the first break in conversation and with a disturbed face got out of the room to look for Sonya.
— How secrets throughout youth are sewn with white thread! — said Anna Mihaylovna, pointing at the leaving of Nikolay. — Trouble — male cousins and female cousins,129 — she added.
— Yes, — said the countess, after this as a beam from the sun infiltrated the living room together with this young generation disappearing, and as if answering a question, which was not asked, but constantly occupied her. — How much misery, how much anxiety is postponed for that, so that they can rejoice but now there is more fear than joys. All afraid, all afraid! It was that age at which there are so many dangers for girls and boys.
— Everything depends on the upbringing, — said the guest.
— Yes, you’re right, — continued the countess. — I still am, thank God, a friend to my children and use their full trust, — said the countess, repeating the delusion of many parents, believing that their children have no secrets from them. — I know that I always will be the first counselor130 to my daughters, and that Nikolinka, by his ardent character, if he will be naughty (a boy cannot be without this), that all will not be as these Petersburg gentlemen.
— Yes, glorious, glorious guys, — confirmed the count, always allowing what questions that were tangled for him by finding everything glorious. — Here he comes! He wanted in the hussars! Yes here is what you want ma chère (my pretty)!
— What a sweet being is your younger! — said the guest. — gunpowder!
— Yes, gunpowder, — said the count. — she goes after me! And what a voice: though my daughter, but I say the truth, she will be a singer, another Salomoni. We took an Italian to teach her.
— It’s not early? They say, it’s harmful to the voice to learn at this time.
— Oh, no, what early! — said the count. — she is the same age as our mothers exited at twelve-thirteen-years-old to get married.
— Already she has now fallen in love with Boris! What’s this? — said the countess, quietly smiling, looking at the mother of Boris, and, apparently answering the idea always occupying her, continued. — Well, see here, I hold her strictly, I forbid her... God knows what they would do silently (the countess understood that they would be kissing), but now I know her every word. She herself at night comes running and tells me everything. Maybe I pamper her but this is right and seems better. I held the older more strictly.
— Yes, I was really otherwise educated, — said the older, beautiful countess Vera, smiling.
But the smile did not decorate the face of Vera as this usually does; the opposite, her face had become unnatural and unpleasant. The older, Vera, was good, was not stupid, studied perfectly, was brought up well, her voice was agreeable, what she said was fair and appropriate; yet, a strange business, all, including the guest and the countess, looked around at her, as if surprised that she said this, and felt an awkwardness.
— Always with the older children wise, as if you want to do something extraordinary, — said the guest.
— What a sin to conceal, ma chère (my pretty)! The Countess was wiser with Vera, — said the count. — Well, yes all the same! Everything worked out nicely, — he added, approvingly winking at Vera.
The guests got up and left, promising to come to dinner.
— What’s for manners! Really they were sitting and sitting! — said the countess, carrying out the guests.
127. Cousin (cousin)
128. cousin (cousin)
129. Cousinage dangereux voisinage, (Cousins are a dangerous proximity)
130. confidente (confidant)
Time: Same as previous chapter.
Locations: Same as previous chapter.
Mentioned: the university, St. Petersburg, though as with the Italian, mentioned as more as a place where certain people are from.
Pevear and Volkhonsky notes: The eldest daughter already behaves like an adult, a clear contrast from Natasha and Nikolay, who are in that in-between moment.
Briggs (chapter 9): Nikolay has joined the army.
Translation:
IX.
Of the youth, not considering the older daughter of the Countess (who was four years older than her sister and held herself as already big) and the guests of the young ladies, in the living room stayed Nikolay and Sonya, the niece. Sonya was a thin, tiny brunette with soft, shaded long eyelashes and a thick black braid, two times twisted on her head, and yellowish tinted skin on her face and the peculiarities on her naked thin, yet graceful muscular hands and neck. The smoothness of movements, with the softness and flexibility of her small limbs and cunning and restrained manner she reminded one of a beautiful, but a still not mature kitten which will become a lovely cat. She, apparently, counting it decent to show a smile of participation to general conversation; but against this commitment, her eyes out from under long thick eyelashes looked at the leaving for the army cousin127 with a girlish passionate adoration; that smile could not for a moment deceive anybody, and it was seen that the kitty sat down only for this, so still more energetically to jump up and play with her cousin,128 as soon as they were alone again, as Boris with Natasha, and had gotten out of this living room.
— Yes, ma chère (my pretty), — said the old count, turning to his guest and pointing at his Nikolay. — Here his friend Boris promoted to the officers, and he out of friendship doesn’t want to lag behind him; throw in his university and me an old man: is going into military service, ma chère (my pretty). But really his place in the archive was ready and everything. Here is what friendship is. — said the count interrogatively.
— Yes, because war, it’s been said, is declared, — said the guest.
— It’s been spoken about for a long time, — said the count. — more talk and talk. Ma chère (my pretty), here is friendship! — he repeated. — He is going to the hussars.
The guest, not knowing what to say, shook her head.
— Really not from friendship, — was the response of Nikolay, flaring up and discouraged as if hardening from shame. — Really not friendship, but simply the feel of vocation to military service.
He turned back at his cousin and at the young lady guest: both watched him with a smile of endorsement.
— Now at dinner we have Shubert, a colonel of the Pavlograd hussar regiment. He was on leave here and will take him with him. What to do? — said the count, shrugging his shoulders and speaking comicily about a case which, apparently, cost him much grief.
— I already said to you, daddy, — said the son, — that, if you do not want to let me go, I will stay. Yet I know that nowhere will I fit, besides in the military service; I am not a diplomat, not a civil servant, and cannot hide what I feel, — he spoke while glancing with coquetry to the beautiful youth of Sonya and the young lady guest.
The kitty, glaring at his eyes, seemed every second ready to play and to express all of her cat nature.
— Well, well, okay! — said the old count, — everything is getting hot... everything Bonaparte turning all heads around; all thinking that from lieutenants come emperors. What but pleases God, — he added, not noticing the mocking smile of his guests.
The adults began talking about Bonaparte. Juli, the daughter of Karagina, turned to the young Rostov:
— A pity that you were not on Thursday at the Arharovs. I was bored without you, — she said, tenderly smiling at him.
The flattered young person with the flirty smile of youth moved nearer to her and marched with the smiling Juli into a separate conversation, really not noticing that this involuntary smile from him with a knife of jealousy cut the heart of the blushing and feignedly smiling Sonya. In the middle of conversation he turned back to her. Sonya, passionate and embittered, looked at him and, barely holding tears in her eyes, on her lips feigning a smile, and got up and exited from the room. All the revitalization of Nikolay disappeared. He waited for the first break in conversation and with a disturbed face got out of the room to look for Sonya.
— How secrets throughout youth are sewn with white thread! — said Anna Mihaylovna, pointing at the leaving of Nikolay. — Trouble — male cousins and female cousins,129 — she added.
— Yes, — said the countess, after this as a beam from the sun infiltrated the living room together with this young generation disappearing, and as if answering a question, which was not asked, but constantly occupied her. — How much misery, how much anxiety is postponed for that, so that they can rejoice but now there is more fear than joys. All afraid, all afraid! It was that age at which there are so many dangers for girls and boys.
— Everything depends on the upbringing, — said the guest.
— Yes, you’re right, — continued the countess. — I still am, thank God, a friend to my children and use their full trust, — said the countess, repeating the delusion of many parents, believing that their children have no secrets from them. — I know that I always will be the first counselor130 to my daughters, and that Nikolinka, by his ardent character, if he will be naughty (a boy cannot be without this), that all will not be as these Petersburg gentlemen.
— Yes, glorious, glorious guys, — confirmed the count, always allowing what questions that were tangled for him by finding everything glorious. — Here he comes! He wanted in the hussars! Yes here is what you want ma chère (my pretty)!
— What a sweet being is your younger! — said the guest. — gunpowder!
— Yes, gunpowder, — said the count. — she goes after me! And what a voice: though my daughter, but I say the truth, she will be a singer, another Salomoni. We took an Italian to teach her.
— It’s not early? They say, it’s harmful to the voice to learn at this time.
— Oh, no, what early! — said the count. — she is the same age as our mothers exited at twelve-thirteen-years-old to get married.
— Already she has now fallen in love with Boris! What’s this? — said the countess, quietly smiling, looking at the mother of Boris, and, apparently answering the idea always occupying her, continued. — Well, see here, I hold her strictly, I forbid her... God knows what they would do silently (the countess understood that they would be kissing), but now I know her every word. She herself at night comes running and tells me everything. Maybe I pamper her but this is right and seems better. I held the older more strictly.
— Yes, I was really otherwise educated, — said the older, beautiful countess Vera, smiling.
But the smile did not decorate the face of Vera as this usually does; the opposite, her face had become unnatural and unpleasant. The older, Vera, was good, was not stupid, studied perfectly, was brought up well, her voice was agreeable, what she said was fair and appropriate; yet, a strange business, all, including the guest and the countess, looked around at her, as if surprised that she said this, and felt an awkwardness.
— Always with the older children wise, as if you want to do something extraordinary, — said the guest.
— What a sin to conceal, ma chère (my pretty)! The Countess was wiser with Vera, — said the count. — Well, yes all the same! Everything worked out nicely, — he added, approvingly winking at Vera.
The guests got up and left, promising to come to dinner.
— What’s for manners! Really they were sitting and sitting! — said the countess, carrying out the guests.
127. Cousin (cousin)
128. cousin (cousin)
129. Cousinage dangereux voisinage, (Cousins are a dangerous proximity)
130. confidente (confidant)
Time: Same as previous chapter.
Locations: Same as previous chapter.
Mentioned: the university, St. Petersburg, though as with the Italian, mentioned as more as a place where certain people are from.
Pevear and Volkhonsky notes: The eldest daughter already behaves like an adult, a clear contrast from Natasha and Nikolay, who are in that in-between moment.
Sonya description: “she resembled a pretty but not yet fully formed kitten, which would one day be a lovely little cat.” Wants to leave the drawing room to play with Boris, Natasha, and Nikolay. The latter leaving for the army. Tolstoy
establishes home lives to prepare for them to be uprooted by the war. The count downplays the dangers, “they’ll talk and talk and leave it at that.” But, it “obviously cost him much grief” to see his son leaving.
establishes home lives to prepare for them to be uprooted by the war. The count downplays the dangers, “they’ll talk and talk and leave it at that.” But, it “obviously cost him much grief” to see his son leaving.
Nikolay: “I’m not good for anything but military service….I’m unable to hide my feelings.”
The young people are the “ray of sunlight that had penetrated the room”
“There’s really more fear...One is afraid, always afraid!”
The young ones cannot always control what comes across their face and they do not hide their emotions.
The countess is a “friend” to her children, wrongly believes that they are keeping no secrets from her. The contrast of the parent styles, the way she is raising Natasha versus Vera.
The countess is glad when they leave, thinking they were rude to stay for so long.
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 *):
Marya Lvovna Karagin (just “Mrs Karagin”, though Dole uses both Miss and Mrs)
Nikolai Rostov (referred to as “Nikolinka”, as in Dole, “Nicholas” in Maude, “Nikolai” in Edmonds, “Nikolay” in Garnett, Briggs, and Weiner “Nikolenka” in Mandelker, by his mother)
Sonya
Count Ilya Rostov (just “old count” in this chapter, called “papa”, as in Weiner, Dunnigan, and Bell, “papenka” in Dole, by Nikolai)
Boris
Colonel Schubert (part of the “Pavlogradsky”, as in Dole and Garnett, “Pavlograd” in Edmonds, Mandelker, and Briggs, regiment of hussars. Bell calls him a General.)
Napoleon Bonaparte (“Buonaparte” in Maude when Count Rostov mentions him)
Julie Karagina (first mention of her name previously known as “the daughter”)
Arkharof (as in Dole, “Arkharov” in Mandelker, Weiner, and Dunnigan,“Argharow” in Bell, family name of a party)
Anna Mikhailovna
Countess Rostova
Salomoni
Countess Vera Rostova (as in Maude, Edmonds, and Garnett, Viera in Dole)
Natasha Rostova (not mentioned by name, but by “younger daughter” and the like, except in Bell translation, which often inserts names as reminders)
Abridged Versions: Bell does end chapter 5 there.
Gibian: Line break.
Gibian: Line break.
Fuller: Other than a small detail here and there, the chapter is preserved until Nikolai runs out of the room to get to Sonya. The rest of the chapter is cut and the line is broken to go to the next chapter.
Komroff: The conversation about the cousins in love is shortened, the part about Natasha’s music training is removed, and the physical description of Vera is removed.
Kropotkin: removes the detail about Sonya wanting to leave the room as soon as she can. Other than an occasional detail, the chapter is preserved.
Bromfield: Chapter 15: The motivation of Nikolai’s lines in the chapter are more clearly stated. He also is dismissed from the room by his parents rather than talking to Julie and chasing after a crying Sonya (though the adult
reaction is still the same as Sonya runs after him). The count still insists it isn’t too early to train Natasha, but does not give the reasoning that their mothers were getting married at that age. Only real difference in ending is
the count realizes his words have embarrassed Vera and bows out.
Simmons: The Bonaparte mentions are fewer and the discussion of Nikolai's motivation is shortened. Countess Rostova's discussion about having the confidence of her children is removed. The discussion of Natasha's
singing training is also removed. Followed by a line break.
reaction is still the same as Sonya runs after him). The count still insists it isn’t too early to train Natasha, but does not give the reasoning that their mothers were getting married at that age. Only real difference in ending is
the count realizes his words have embarrassed Vera and bows out.
Simmons: The Bonaparte mentions are fewer and the discussion of Nikolai's motivation is shortened. Countess Rostova's discussion about having the confidence of her children is removed. The discussion of Natasha's
singing training is also removed. Followed by a line break.
Additional Notes:
Maude note: Salomoni was the leading singer and actress in the German troupe in Moscow. Born in Russia, her voice was Italian but she spoke Russian. Mandelker note calls her French.
Fremont-Barnes: Page 21: "the origins of Napoleonic Wars - and specifically the campaign which concluded with the Battle of Austerlitz - may be found in the circumstances surrounding the breakdown of the peace of Amiens...The key elements stipulated that all French and Dutch overseas colonies, including the Cape Colony at the southern end of Africa, were to be restored by Britain, whose troops were to evacuate egypt. France was to receive Elba, while Minorca and Malta were to be returned to Spain and the Knights of St John, repsectively. France, for its part, agreed to evacuate the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States."
Fremont-Barnes: Page 21: "the origins of Napoleonic Wars - and specifically the campaign which concluded with the Battle of Austerlitz - may be found in the circumstances surrounding the breakdown of the peace of Amiens...The key elements stipulated that all French and Dutch overseas colonies, including the Cape Colony at the southern end of Africa, were to be restored by Britain, whose troops were to evacuate egypt. France was to receive Elba, while Minorca and Malta were to be returned to Spain and the Knights of St John, repsectively. France, for its part, agreed to evacuate the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States."
Breunig: Page 86: “Historians have speculated on what would have happened to the Napoleonic Empire if it had enjoyed a decade of peace...But could Napoleon Bonaparte have survived a decade of peace?...Napoleon was impelled by an almost compulsive drive toward further military exploits and the expansion of his newly founded empire.”
Bayley: Page 17: "Indeed, it would be true to say that Tolstoy communicates with his readers through this kind of instinctual appeal of “understanding,”and the characters who don’t possess it--Vera Rostov in War and Peace...are described by him from the outside: they are not, as it were, up to the sort of inner intimacy and apparently unconscious revealing of self which we experience with the narrator’s family, with Olenin in The Cossacks, and with Natasha, Nikolai, and Petya in War and Peace..
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