Book 2 Part 3 Chapter 9 (Chapter 112 Overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: Petersburg cliques. Ellen's salon. Her reputation as a clever woman. Her character. Boris Drubetskoi. Society's view of Pierre.
Briggs: Helene, a successful society hostess, now receives Boris regularly.
Maude: Helene's social success. Her salon and relations with Boris
Pevear and Volkhonsky: Helene's salon in Petersburg. Her relations with Boris.

IX.

As always then, higher society was united together in a court in a large ball, subdivided in a few circles, having every shade. In the number of the most extensive was the club of the French, Napoleonic union — Count Rumyantsev and Kolenkour.490 In this circle one of the most prominent places was occupied by Elen only as she with her husband settled in Petersburg. At hers were gentlemen of the French embassies and a great number of people, famous for their minds and courtesies, owing to this direction.

Elen was in Erfurt in the time of the significant meeting of the emperors, and from there brought this communication with all the Napoleonic sights of Europe. In Erfurt she had brilliant success. Napoleon himself noticed her in the theater, asked about her and appreciated her beauty. Her success in having the quality of a beautiful and elegant woman did not amaze Pierre, because of how with the years she was made still more beautiful than before. Yet he was amazed that for these two years his wife managed to get herself the reputation of a lovely woman, as smart as she was beautiful.491 The known Prince de-Lin492 wrote her letters in eight pages. Bilibin saved his catchwords,493 so that for the first time to say them to Countess Bezuhova. To be adopted in the salon of Countess Bezuhova was counted as a diploma of the mind; young people read books before a night at Elen’s, so that to speak about them at her salon, and secretaries of embassies, and even envoys, believed her diplomatic secrets so that Elen was in power of some kind. Pierre, who knew that she was very stupid, with a strange feeling of perplexity and fear sometimes presented at her evenings and dinners, where he spoke about politics, poetry and philosophy. In these evenings he felt the sense that of which should test a magician, expecting any time that the cheating here will be opened. Yet whether because of how for a reference of such a salon it was needed to be stupid, or because of how the deceived themselves found pleasure in this deceit, the cheating was not opened, and the reputation of the woman lovely and smart494 was so unwaveringly approved for Elena Vasilievna Bezuhova that she could speak the largest vulgarity and nonsense, and all the same all delighted in her every word and were looking in it for a deep meaning, which she herself did not suspect.

Pierre was that very husband which was needed for this brilliant, worldly woman. He was that absent-minded eccentric, noble-senior495 husband not hindering anyone and not only did not spoil the common impressions of high tone in the living room, but, his opposite of grace and tact of his wife, served profitably for her background. Pierre, for these two years, owing to his permanent focused lessons of immaterial interests and sincere contempt to all the rest, learned in himself an uninterest in the society of his wife with that tone of indifference, negligence and favor to all, which was not acquired artificially and because of that inspired involuntary respect. He entered into the living room of his wife as in theater, with all he was familiar, to all he was equally glad and to all was equally indifferent. Sometimes he marched into a conversation that interested him, and then without considerations about whether there were gentlemen of the embassies496 here or not, mumblingly spoke his opinions which sometimes were completely not in tone with the present minutes. Yet the opinion about the eccentric husband of the most wonderful woman of Petersburg497 was already so installed that no one not took his antics seriously.498

In the number of the many young people daily visiting at the house of Elen, Boris Drubetskoy, now quite having time in the service, was, after the return of Elen from Erfurt, a very close man in the house of the Bezuhovs. Elen called him my page499 and turned with him as with a kid. Her smile regarding him was the same as to all, but sometimes to Pierre it was unpleasant to see this smile. Boris approached Pierre with an especially worthy and sad deference. This shade of respectfulness also bothered Pierre. Pierre had so suffered pain three years to that backwards from insults, inflicted from his wife that now he saved himself from the opportunity of insults like that first by how he was not a husband to his wife, and secondly by how he did not allow himself to suspect.

"No, now made a blue stocking,500 she has forever refused from her former hobbies, — he spoke to himself. — No there was not an example, so that a bas bleu (blue stocking) had heart hobbies," — he repeated to himself the unknown from where extracted rule, which he undoubtedly believed. Yet, the strange business, the presence of Boris in the living room of his wife (and he was almost constant), physically acted on Pierre: it connected all of his members, destroyed the unconsciousness and freedom of his movements.

"Such a strange antipathy, — thought Pierre, — but before he even extremely liked me."

In the eyes of the world Pierre was a big baron, some blind and funny husband in the nobility of his wife, a smart eccentric, doing nothing, yet and harmful to no one, nice and a little kind. In the soul of the same Pierre happened for all this time a complex and difficult work of internal development, which opened him very much and led him to many spiritual doubts and joys.

490 Caulaincourt’a (Caulaincourt's)

491 "d’une femme charmante, aussi spirituelle, que belle". ("of a charming woman, as spiritual as she is beautiful".)

492 prince de Ligne (the prince of Ligne)

493 mots, (words,)

494 d’une femme charmante et spirituelle (of a charming and spiritual woman)

495 grand seigneur, (great lord,)

496  les messieurs de l’ambassade, (the gentlemen of the embassy,)

497 de la femme la plus distinguée de Pétersbourg (of the most distinguished woman in Petersburg)

498 au sérieux (seriously)

499 mon page (my page)

500 bas bleu, (blue stockings,)

Time: undefined (just those days. that time in Maude, Dunnigan, and Briggs. Then in Pevear and Volkhonsky.)

Mentioned: two years

Locations: St. Petersburg (Petersbourg in the French), the house of Helene (also house of the Bezukhis)
Mentioned: French, Erfurt, Europe, theatre

Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes:

The division of the court circles. The French circle, which includes Helene, who had been in Erfurt and noticed by Napoleon. She has become almost parodically more desirable.

"either because stupidity was precisely necessary for keeping such a salon, or because those who were tricked found pleasure in the trick itself, the trick was not exposed".

Boris pops back up into the narrative to make Pierre feel awkward, lose all his former affection for him, and become jealous again.

"In the eyes of the world, Pierre was a great lord, the somewhat blind and ridiculous husband of a famous wife, an intelligent eccentric, a do-nothing, but one who harmed nobody, a nice and kind fellow. Yet in Pierre's soul all
that time a complex and difficult work of inner development was taking place, which revealed much to him and led him to many spiritual doubts and joys."

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 *):

Napoleon

Count Rumyantsof

Caulaincourt

Ellen (also "Countess Bezukhaya" and "Elena Vasilyevna Bezukhaya")

Pierre

Prince de Ligne ("Prince de Ligny" in Bell in an alternate reading.)

Bilibin

Boris Drubetskoi

Abridged Versions: Bell seems to have no break.
Gibian: Chapter 4

Fuller: The chapter is preserved until "no one took his sallies seriously." It then breaks off with a line break, cutting to the 31st of December ball, cutting the Boris section of the chapter.

Komroff: detail and supporting sentences are removed but the content of the chapter is preserved and followed by a line break.

Kropotkin: Chapter is preserved. End of chapter 2.
Simmons: Chapter 4: some of the information about Helene, such as Napoleon's view of her and the letters she gets from Prince de Ligne are removed. The reflections on Boris are shorter.

Additional Notes: Mandelker: "Caulaincourt: Louis, Marquis de Caulaincourt, a French general and diplomist (1772-1827), was sent to Petersburg in 1801 to negotiate an understanding between Russia and France. In 1807
he became ambassador at Petersburg. In 1808 he was created Duc de Vicenza, and in 1812, after failing to dissuade Napoleon from the enterprise, accompanied him on the invasion of Russia. After the Restoration in
France Caulaincourt's name was placed on the proscription list, but was struck off following Alexander's personal intervention."

"The distinguished Prince de Ligne: Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne (1735-1814), soldier, writer, and diplomatist, whose works were published in thirty-four volumes, was born at Brussels. He took part in the Seven Years
War, and became a lieutenant field-marshal and a friend of the Emperor Joseph II. He spent some years in Russia, accompanying Catherine the Great on her journey to the Crimea. He subsequently visited Russia repeatedly,
not officially but as a man of culture and distinction belonging the best society."

Garnett: "'now she has become a blue-stocking" (Pierre says this about his wife): The term "blue stocking" was generally applied to women who pronounced intellectual interests that were deemed to render them "masculine."

Mandelker introduction to Anna Karenina: xxv: "In the early drafts of the novel....Anna acquires the stereotypical features of the Russian woman intellectual or emancipated bluestocking, intelligentka (a member of the

intelligensia) or a nigilistka (nihilist): She smokes, takes opium, voraciously reads heavy nonfiction, sponsors young women protegees of no means, and even takes up the profession of writing."

Rey: Page 162: "Back in St. Petersburg the court was split. Several of the Anglophiles close to the tsar were proving patriotic and bellicose, including some of the central administrators and diplomats in post across

Europe: Vorontsov in London, Razumovsky in Vienna, Tatishchev in Naples, and Italinski in Constantinople...On the other hand, others--out of Francophilia (as with Count Rostopchin) or else the desire to preserve

Russia's diplomatic and military independence (the argument of ministers such as those for trade (Rumyantsev), education (Zavadovski), and justice (Lopukhin)--were hostile to the involvement...

Page 202: "By mid-April, the Austro-French war was at its height; Napoleon demanded via Caulaincourt the military support from Russia that had been promised at Erfurt. but he would not get it. While Alexander

did mass along the border with Austria some 70,000 men under the command of Prince Golitsyn, he knowingly delayed their movement."