Briggs: Little Prince Nikolay is taken to see his dying father.
Translation:
XV.
When Natasha with habitual movement opened his door, skipping forward of the princess herself, Princess Marya felt already in her throat ready to sob. How much she prepared, or tried to calm down, she knew that it was not in her forces to without tears see him.
Princess Marya understood that what Natasha understood by the words: with him this happened two days to that backwards. She understood that this meant that he suddenly softened, and that the mitigation and this affection were signs of death. She, coming up to the door, now saw in her imagination that face of Andryusha, which she knew in childhood, tender, meek, touched, which so seldom happened to him and because of it so strongly always acted on her. She knew that he will say to her quiet, gentle words as those which her father said before death, and that she will not carry out this and burst into tears above him. Whether early, whether late, this must be, and she entered in the room. The sobbing all nearer and nearer approached to her throat, in that time as she with her own myopic eyes more clearer and clearer distinguished his uniform and looked for his features, and here she saw his face and met with his look.
He lied on the couch, overlaid with pillows, in a fur, squirrel smock. He was thin and pale. One thin, transparently white hand held his handkerchief, the other he, with quiet movements of fingers, touched his subtle regrown mustache. His eyes looked at the entered.
Seeing his face and meeting with his look, Princess Marya suddenly moderated the speed of her step and felt that her tears suddenly dried up and the sobbing stopped. To detect the expression of his face and sight, she suddenly became frightened and felt herself guilty.
"And in what again am I to blame?" she asked herself. — "In that you live and think about living, but I!".. was the response of his cold and strict look.
Deeply, not from herself, but in herself watched the glance was almost hostile, when he slowly looked around his sister and Natasha.
He kissed with his sister, hand in hand, by their habit.
— Hello, Marie, how did you get this? — he said in a voice so the same, even alien, as was his look. Should he would have screeched in desperate screaming, then this shout would have less terrified Princess Marya than the sound of this voice.
— And Nikolushka was brought? — he said also smoothly and slowly and with obvious effort of memory.
— How is your health now? — said Princess Marya, herself wondering what she said.
— This, my friend, you need to ask the doctor, — he said and, apparently still making an effort, so that to be affectionate, he said by one mouth (it was seen that he did not quite think of what he spoke):
— Thank you, dear friend, that you arrived.937
Princess Marya shook his hand. He a little bit noticeably grimaced from shaking her hand. He kept silent, and she did not know what he spoke. She understood that what happened with him two days back. In his words, in his tone, in particular in this glance, — a cold, almost hostile glance — felt terrible for the living human aloofness of the only mundane. He apparently with labor understood all the living; but together with that felt that he did not understand the living not because of how he was deprived of the forces of understanding, but because of how he understood something other, such what was not understood and could not understand the living and what absorbed only him.
— Yes, here how weird fate brought us! — he said, interrupting the silence and pointing at Natasha. — She all goes for me.
Princess Marya listened and did not understand what he spoke. He, the sensitive, gentle Prince Andrey, how he could speak this to whom he loved and who loved him! If he would have thought to live, then in not such a cold and offensive tone would he have said this. If he would not have known that he would die, then as already his pity would not be to her, as he could speak this! The only explanation could be that this is that what was all cared for, and all cared from how something other, the most important, was open to him.
The conversation was cold, incoherent and interrupted at every moment.
— Marie drove through Ryazan, — said Natasha. Prince Andrey did not see that she called his sister Marie. But Natasha, to him calling her so, for the first time herself noticed this.
— Well what again? — he said.
— She told that Moscow is all burned, completely, as if it would...
Natasha stopped: it could not be to speak. He obviously made efforts so that to listen, and all the same could not.
— Yes, burned, they say, — he said. — This is extremely pitiful, — and he began to look forward, his fingers absent-mindedly spreading his mustache.
— Ah you met, Marie, with Count Nikolay? — said suddenly Prince Andrey, apparently wishing to make them pleasant. — He writes here that you are very caught in love with him, — he continued simply, calmly, apparently not in his forces to understand only difficult meanings, which had in his words for alive people. — If you would fall in love too, that would be very okay... so that you married, — he added somewhat soon, as would be delighted in the words that he long sought and found finally. Princess Marya heard his words, but they had for her no other meanings besides that they proved how fearfully far away he was now from the only living.
— What about me do you speak! — she said calmly and looked at Natasha. Natasha, feeling in herself her look, not watching her. Again all was silent.
— André, you wan... — suddenly said Princess Marya in a shuddered voice, — you want to see Nikolushka? He all the time remembered about you.
Prince Andrey a little bit noticeably smiled for the first time, but Princess Marya, so who knew his face, with horror understood what this was a smile of not joy, not tenderness to his son, but quiet, meek ridicule above that how Princess Marya used by her opinion the last means for the casting for him feeling.
— Yes, I am very glad for Nikolushka. Is he healthy?
—————
When was brought to Prince Andrey Nikolushka, scaredly watching his father, but not crying, because of how no one cried, Prince Andrey kissed him and obviously did not know what to speak with him.
When Nikolushka was taken away, Princess Marya came up another time to her brother, kissed him and, not in her forces to hold on more, cried.
He intently looked at her.
— You about Nikolushka? — he asked.
Princess Marya, crying, affirmatively bent her head.
— Marie, you know the Gos... — but he suddenly fell silent.
— What did you speak?
— Nothing. No need to cry here, — he said, by that same cold look looking at her.
—————
When Princess Marya cried, he got that she cried about how Nikolushka will remain without her father. With a big effort above herself, he tried to return backwards to life and carried over to their point of view.
"Yes, to them this must seem a pity!" he thought. "But how this is simple!
"The birds of heaven neither sow or reap, but your father nourishes them," he said to himself and wanted to say that same to the princess; "but no, they understand this by him, they do not understand! This they may not understand how all this feeling, which they cherish, all this thought that seem to us so important, that they are — not needed. We cannot understand each other!" and he fell silent.
—————
The little son of Prince Andrey was seven years-old. He was barely able to read, he knew nothing. He had much to survive after this day, acquired knowledge, observation, and experience; but if he would be controlled then by all these acquired afterward abilities, he could not better, more deeply understand all the matters of that scene which he saw between his father, Princess Marya and Natasha than he got now. He all got it and, not crying, got out of the room, silently came up to Natasha, released behind her, shyly looked at her brooding beautiful eyes; raising his ruddy top trembling lip, he leaned to her head and cried.
From this day he avoided Desala, avoided caressing the countess and or sat alone, or timidly approaching to Princess Marya and Natasha, who he, it seemed, loved still more than his aunt, quietly and shyly caressed her.
Princess Marya, coming from Prince Andrey, understood quite all that what was said to her by the face of Natasha. She did not say more with Natasha about hope for the salvation of his life. She alternated with her at his couch and did not cry more, but incessantly prayed, turning her soul to the Eternal, Incomprehensible, whose presence so tangibly was now above the dying man.
937 Merci, chère amie, d’être venue. (Thank you, dear friend, for coming.)
Mentioned: two days before
Locations: see previous chapter
Mentioned: Ryazan, Moscow
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Marya understands that Andrei has softened and this means he will die soon. She makes clear parallels with her father's death. Andrei tells Marya that she should marry Nikolai.
Line break after "Is he well?"
Andrei's son is brought to him and they have no idea what to say to each other. Andrei starts to ask Marya about the Gospel, but then cuts off. Line break after "her with the same cold gaze."
Andrei quotes the Sermon on the Mount about God taking care of the birds, but only to himself. Andrei finds it difficult to connect with those around him because his understanding is different. Line break after "And he kept silent."
We switch to the perspective of Andrei's son. His inability to read or know anything makes his understanding of the scene that much clearer.
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
Princess Mariya (also "Marie", "aunt", and "sister".)
Prince Andrei (also "Andriusha", "father", and "Andre".)
Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky ("father")
Nikolushka (also "son")
Count Nikolai
Dessalles
Countess Rostova ("the countess")
Abridged Versions: Line break after "is he well" in Dole. Line break in the same place in Dunnigan, Mandelker, Garnett, Edmonds, and Maude.
Line break after "the same cold look" in Dole. Line break in the same place in Wiener, Maude, Briggs, Garnett, Edmonds, and Dunnigan.
Line break after "he held his peace" in Dole. Line break in the same place in Bell, Briggs, Mandelker, Edmonds, and Wiener.
No break at the end of the chapter for Bell.
Gibian: line break after "same cold expression". line break after "and he remained silent". Line break instead of chapter break at the end.
Fuller: Line break after "Is he quite well?" and another one after "same cold eyes." Chapter is preserved and followed by a line break.
Komroff: Entire chapter is cut.
Kropotkin: We cut off the chapter early, with "absorbing him entirely", ending chapter 9. This removes the Andrei conversation about the "strange fate" of Natasha and Andrei being brought together, as well as their other conversations and the bringing of Nikolushka and his perspective.
Simmons: the conversation about Ryazan and Moscow is removed. Line break after "same cold expression". Little Nicholas's perspective is removed. Line break instead of chapter break at the end.
Edmundson: Act 4 Scene 12: Natasha knits for Andrei and at his request, sings for him.
Act 4 Scene 13: Pierre asks Platon if he loves everyone and tells him of his love for Natasha. Platon shows signs of sickness.
Additional Notes:
Additional Notes:
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