Book 3 Part 1 Chapter 17 (Chapter 181 overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: Natasha's mental condition. Improvement. Her affection for Petya. Relations to Pierre. Agrafena Ivanovna Bielova (i.e. White), Natasha's devotions. Their effect. The doctor's mistake.
Maude: Natasha and Pierre. She prepares for communion with Belova. The church service. Her health improves
Briggs: Natasha and Pierre. She takes Communion. A slight improvement.
Pevear and Volokhonsky: Natasha and Pierre. She prepares for communion. The Peter and Paul feast.

Translation:

XVII.

Natasha was calmer, yet not more fun. She not only avoided all the external conditions of joy: balls, skating, concerts, theatre; but she not once laughed so that from behind her laughter were not heard tears. She could not sing. Only as she began to laugh or tried only with herself to sing, tears choked her: tears of remorse, tears of memories about that irrevocable, pure time; tears of annoyance, how for nothing, she ruined her young life, which could be so happy. Laughing and singing especially seemed to her blasphemy above her grief. About coquetry she did not think; she did not account for even abstaining. She said and felt that at this time all men were for her completely the same as that jester Nastasya Ivanovna. The inner guard firmly forbade her all joy. And it was not in all her former interests of life from these girlish, carefree, full hopes, way of life. More often and more painfully she only remembered the autumn months, the hunt, Uncle and Christmastide, carried out with Nicolas in Otradnoe. What would she give, so that to return though one day of this time! Yet really this forever was over. The premonition did not deceive her then that this state of freedom and openness for all joys never returned more. Yet to live it was needed.

To her it was gratifying to think that she was not better, as she thought before, but worse and much worse than all, all, who alone was in the world. Yet this was little. She knew this and asked herself: "What is farther?" But farther nothing was. There were not any joys in life, but life passed. Natasha apparently tried only not to be a burden to anyone and not interfere with anyone, but for herself nothing was needed. She was removed from all the home, and only with her brother Petya was easy. With him she loved to visit more than with others: and sometimes, when she had been with him with eye to eye, laughed. She almost did not leave from home and of coming to it was happy by only one person — Pierre. It could not be to be tenderer, be more careful and together with that more serious in handling, than approached with her Count Bezuhov. Natasha unconsciously felt this tenderness of treatment and because of it found great pleasure in his society. Yet she was not even grateful for his tenderness. Nothing good with the parties of Pierre seemed to her as effort. Pierre, it seemed, was so naturally kind to all, that there was not any merits in his kindness. Sometimes Natasha noticed the embarrassment and awkwardness of Pierre in her presence, in particular when he was afraid that something in the conversation brought Natasha into heavy memories. She noticed this and attributed this to his general kindness and shyness, which, by her concepts, such the same as with her, should be to all. After those unintentional words about that should he be free, he on a knee would request her hand and love, said in a moment of such strong excitement for her, Pierre never spoke anything about his feelings to Natasha; and for her it was obvious that those words, then so consoling to her, were said, as are said all sorts of senseless words, for the consolation of a crying child. Not because of how Pierre was a married person, but because of how Natasha felt between herself and him in the higher extent of that force of moral barriers — the absence of which she felt with Kuragin — to her it never in her head came, for her relationship with Pierre to exit not only in love with her or still less with his parties, but even that kind tender, recognizing herself, poetic friendship between a man and woman, which she knew a few examples.

At the end of the Petrovsky post Agrafena Ivanovna Belova, Otradnoe neighbor of Rostovs, arrived in Moscow to bow down to Moscow pleasers. She proposed to Natasha to fast, and Natasha with joy grabbed for this idea. Despite the prohibition of doctors to exit early in the morning, Natasha insisted so that to fast, and to fast not so as fasted in the house of the Rostovs usually, that is to listen in the home to three services, but so that to fast so as fasted Agrafena Ivanovna, that is all week, not skipping one vespers, mass or matins.

The countess liked this zeal of Natasha; she in her soul, after the unsuccessful medical treatment, hoped that prayer would help her more than drugs, and although with fear and hiding from the doctor, agreed to the wish of Natasha and instructed her to Belova. Agrafena Ivanovna at three at night came to wake up Natasha and for the most part found her now not sleeping. Natasha was afraid of oversleeping the time of matins. Hastily washing her face and with humility dressed in her worst dress and old mantilla, trembling from freshness, Natasha exited into the deserted streets, transparently lighted by the morning dawn. By the advice of Agrafena Ivanovna, Natasha fasted not in her parish, but in the church, in which, by the words of the devout Belova, was a priest that was quite strict and high in life. In the church there always were little people; Natasha with Belova became in the habitual place before an icon of the Godly mother, embedded in the backside of the left choir, and the new for Natasha feeling of humility before the great and incomprehensible, covered her, when she at this unusual hour of the morning, looking at the black face of the Godly mother, the illuminated candles burning before it, and the light of morning falling from the window, listening to the sounds of the service, behind which she tried to follow and understand it. When she did understand it, her personal feeling with her own shades joined to her prayer; when she did not understand, it was still sweeter to think that the wish to understand all is pride, that to understand only cannot be, that the need was to only believe and to give back to God, whom in these minutes — she felt — governed her soul. She crossed, bowed and, when not understanding, that alone, horrified before its abomination, requested God to forgive her for all, for all, and pardon. The prayers, which she mostly only gave back, were prayers of remorse. Returning home in an early hour of the morning, when meeting only masons, marching to work, wipers, sweeping the street, and at the house still all were sleeping, Natasha tested a new for her feeling of opportunity for reforming herself from her vices and the opportunity of a new, clean life and happiness.

In the continuation throughout the weeks, in which she led this life, this feeling grew up with every afternoon. And the happiness to join or to inform, as happily played this word said to her by Agrafena Ivanovna, presented her as so great that to her it seemed that she would not survive to this blessed Sunday.

Yet the happy day advanced, and when Natasha on this memorable for her Sunday, in a white muslin dress, returned from communion, she for the first time after many months felt herself calm and did not feel burdened by life, which was waiting for her.

The coming on this day doctor examined Natasha and told to continue those last powders that he ordered two weeks to that backwards.

— Indispensable to continue morning and night, — he said, apparently himself in good faith satisfied by his success. — Only, please, be more accurate. Be calm, countess, — said the playful doctor, in a fleshy hand cleverly picking up the gold, — soon again she will sing and frolic. Extremely, extremely she is in favor of the latter medicine. She is extremely freshened up.

The countess looked at her nails and spat, about a fun face returned to the living room.

Time: St. Peter's fast, Sunday
Mentioned: Christmas holidays, one week, three o'clock at night, morning and evening

Locations: Moscow, the Rostofs' home, church
Mentioned: Otradnoe

Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Natasha is still unhappy and does not allow herself to enjoy life like she once did. Just like Nikolai, she has nostalgic memories of the last autumn, with the hunt, the uncle, and then that Christmas. She only connects with Petya and Pierre.

“It seemed so natural for Pierre to be kind to everyone, that there was no merit in his kindness.”

Natasha gets caught up in religious ritual and zeal to replace her emptiness. As the note says, the services are in a different language, and Natasha struggles to comprehend it (it isn’t hard to see a parallel to the opera as
well). This service makes her feel happy and have a possibility of having something good happen to her.

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 *):

Natasha

Nastasya Ivanovna

Little uncle

Nikolai

Petya

Count Pierre Bezukhoi

Anatole (“Kuragin”)

Agrafena Ivanovna Bielova (The first time we see her first two names. Weiner and Briggs agree with Dole. Bell uses “Agrippina…”.)

Countess Rostova (“countess”)

(the doctor is also referenced, but it is unclear which one. Also a priest)

Abridged Versions: No break in Bell.
Gibian: Chapter 17.

Fuller: Entire chapter is cut

Komroff: Some details, like the buffoon Nastasya Ivanovna reference is removed. After the difference between Anatole and Pierre, a line break cuts off the rest of the chapter, which is Natasha’s religious actions.

Kropotkin: The beginning of the chapter is removed, cutting almost directly to her relationship with Pierre. The chapter ends after this, jettisoning the Natasha’s religious actions.

Bromfield: Chapter 13: Natasha continues to go to church, and decides at the end of the chapter “we won’t begrudge anyone - let Petya go to the army, since he wants to - and we will all be humble and good, and no
enemy will be able to harm us, but if we all wait for help, if we argue and quarrel like Shinshin and Bezukhov did yesterday, then we will be destroyed...Only Bezukhov won’t understand. He’s so strange. I can’t
understand him at all. He’s better than anyone else, but he’s strange.”
Simmons: Chapter 17: some of Natasha's reminisces are removed, as is some of the detail about her church going, and the end of the chapter with the doctor and the countess.

Additional Notes:

Letters (Christian): Page 455: “The more I look at people’s lives the more convinced I am that the main obstacle to getting things done, or rather a delaying factor, is the various superstitions which have grown

on to the true teaching from different sides, and are preventing it from getting through to people’s souls. Superstitions are the spoonful of tar that ruins the barrel of honey,, and it’s impossible not to hate them

or at least not to make fun of them. I recently visited the Optina Monastery and saw people there burning with true love for God and mankind, and at the same time considering it necessary to stand for

several hours a day in church, take communion, and give and receive blessings, thereby paralyzing the active power of life in themselves.”

Spitting for luck is used in Jewish, Greek, and Russian (among others) cultures.

What is Religion and of What does it Consist?: Page 97 “Faith is neither hope nor trust, but a particular spiritual state. Faith is man’s awareness that his position in the world obliges him to perform certain

actions. A person acts according to his faith, not as the catechism says because he believes in things unseen as in things seen, nor because he wishes to achieve things hoped for, but simply because

having defined his position in the world it is natural for him to act according to it.”