Briggs: She addresses the suspicious peasants, who refuse to leave Bogucharovo.
Maude: She addresses the peasants. They distrust her and refuse to leave Bogucharovo
Translation:
XI.
In an hour after this Dunyasha came to the princess with the news that Dron came and all the men by the order of the princess gathered in the barn, wishing to talk with the madam.
— Yes I never called them, — said Princess Marya; — I only told Dronushkoy so that to distribute to them bread.
— Only happy to God, princess mother, to order them to drive away and not go by him. All is cheating alone, — said Dunyasha, — but Yakov Alpatych came to ride... but you please do not...
— What again cheating? — surprised, asked the princess.
— Yes really I know, only listen to me, for God. Here and ask the nanny. They say, do not agree to leave by your order.
— You do not say that to anyone. And I never ordered to leave... — said Princess Marya. — Call Dronushkoy.
The coming Dron confirmed the words of Dunyasha: the men came by the order of the princess.
— Yes I never called them, — said the princess. — You have rightly not delivered them. I only said so that you will give them bread.
Dron not answering, sighed.
— If you order — they will leave, — he said.
— No, no, I will go to them, — said Princess Marya.
Despite the excuses of Dunyasha and the nanny, Princess Marya exited to the porch. Dronushkoy, Dunyasha, the nurse and Mihail Ivanych went behind her.
"They probably think that I offer them bread so that they will stay in their places and myself will leave, throwing them to the arbitrariness of the French," thought Princess Marya. "I will promise them a month in the Moscow region, in apartments; I am sure that André would do still more in my location," she thought, coming up in the twilight to the crowd, standing in the pasture at the barn.
The bunching crowd stirred, and quickly took off hats. Princess Marya, lowering her eyes and getting confused feet in her dress, closely came up to him. So many diverse old and young eyes were aspired in her and there were so many different persons that Princess Marya did not see one face and, feeling miserable to speak suddenly with all, not knowing how to be. Yet again the consciousness of how she — the representative of her father and brother, gave her forces and she boldly began her speech.
— I am very happy that you came, — began Princess Marya, not raising her eyes and feeling how fast and strong her heart knocked. — Dronushkoy told me how the war ravaged you. This is our common grief, and I pity nothing, so that to help you. I gave the food myself because of how dangerous it is here... and the enemy is close... because of that... I give you back all, my friends, and beg you to take all, all our bread, so that in you are not in need. But if to you it has been said that I give you back the bread so that you stay here, then this is not true. I oppositely beg you to leave with all your property to ours near Moscow, and there I take on yourself and promise you that you will not be in need. We will give you houses and bread. — the princess stopped. In the crowd was only heard sighs.
— I not from myself make this, — continued the princess, — I make this by the name of my deceased father, which was your good baron, and for my brother, and for his son.
She again stopped. Nothing interrupted her silence.
— Our common grief will be shared all in half. All that is mine is yours, — she said, looking around the faces standing before her.
All eyes looked at her, with an equal expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether this was curiosity, loyalty, gratitude or fright and disbelief, the expression on all faces were equal.
— We are much satisfied by your graces, only we do not have to take the lordly bread, — said a voice in the back.
— And from what again? — said the princess. No one replied, and Princess Marya, looking back by the crowd, noticed that now all eyes, with which she met, immediately again lowered.
— And from what again do you not want to? — she asked again. No one responded.
Princess Marya became heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone’s look.
— From what do you not speak? — turned the princess to an old man, whom, leaning on a stick, stood before her. — Say should you think that something more is needed. I will do all, — she said, to detect his look. Yet he, as if getting angry for this, really lowered his head and spoke:
— What to agree, we do not need bread.
— What are we all to throw to? Do not agree. Do not agree... no to our consent. We pity you, and our consent is not. I will ride myself, alone... — was heard in the crowd from different parties. And again on all faces of this crowd appeared one and that same expression, and now this was now for sure not an expression of curiosity and thanks, but an expression of embittered determination.
— And you do not understand right, — with a sad smile said Princess Marya. — From what do you not want to go? I promise to settle you, to feed you. But here the enemy will ravage you... — but her voice was drowned out by the voice of the crowd.
— Not our consent, let it be ravaged! We will not take your bread, not our consent!
Princess Marya tried to catch again someone’s look from the crowd, but not one look was directed at her; their eyes obviously avoided her. She became weird and awkward.
— You see, taught cleverly, for her to the fortress go! At home ravaged, and in bondage go on. How again? I, they say, will give bread! — was heard a voice in the crowd.
Princess Marya, lowering her head, exited from the circle and went into the house. Repeating to Dron the order so that tomorrow were horses for departure, she left to her room to be left alone with her own thoughts.
Mentioned: next morning
Locations: see previous chapter
Mentioned: French, Moscow, suburban estate
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: The peasants have gathered to talk to Princess Marya as the disconnect and lack of trust between the peasant and noble class is highlighted.
"So many different old and young eyes were directed at her, and there were so many different faces, that Princess Marya did not see any one face, and feeling it necessary to talk to all of them at once, she did not know what to do."
The peasants tell her they don't want the grain and do not want to leave. They clearly think that leaving and giving up their possessions, and accepting the grain, will only place them in further debt and servitude 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 *):
Dunyasha
Princess Mariya (also called "princess-matushka")
Dron (also "Dronushka")
Yakof Alpatuitch
Nurse (old nyanya)
Mikhail Ivanuitch
Prince Andrei ("Andre" and "brother".)
Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky ("barin", "master", and "father".)
Nikolushka ("son")
Abridged Versions:
Gibian: Chapter 11.
Fuller: Entire chapter is cut
Komroff: The conversation Mary has with Dron before talking to the peasants is removed. The rest of the chapter seems to be preserved.
Kropotkin: Chapter 8: Chapter seems preserved.
Bromfield: The peasants, including the old man with the stick and a ginger-haired peasant are differentiated a little more and Tolstoy does not make a point to blend them altogether. The episode plays out about the same though.
Simmons: Chapter 11: entire chapter is cut and replaced with "The peasants reject Princess Mary's offer of grain and accuse her of trying to persuade them to desert their village and follow her into bondage."
Additional Notes:
Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Page 117: “it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.”
Herold: Page 346: “Emelyan Pugachev, an illiterate Cossack, waged against Catherine the Great in 1773-75...At least fifteen hundred of the gentry class were massacred by Pugachev’s bands before Catherine’s soldiers suppressed the uprising with equal brutality. The result of the rebellion was the still further enslavement of the peasants. At the time of Napoleon’s invasion they seemed more submissive, but they had not lost their aspirations for freedom...This loyalty to their sovereign, who represented to them the only hope of finding justice on earth, was paralleled on another plane by their deep religious faith, which promised justice in (348) Heaven.”
Volkov: Page 75 (?): “Gorky--unlike Tolstoy, who idealized the Russian muzhik--always considered the peasantry a dark, uncontrollable force, simultaneously lazy and cruel and permanently anti-intellectual. He felt that Count Tolstoy did not know the real countryside…”
Page 76: “Like the leading Bolsheviks, Gorky disliked and feared the peasants...In a country where at the start of the revolution, the mostly illiterate peasants constituted 82 percent of the population...Many urban intellectuals felt the same way.”
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