War and Peace Ch. 5: When Politics Divides the

Leo Tolstoy

When Politics Divides the Room

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Summary

Talk turns to Napoleon's Milan coronation and the comedy of Genoa and Lucca petitioning a throne. Andrew quotes the dare: God gave it, beware who touches it. The vicomte mourns Bourbon betrayal and ambassadors sent to compliment the usurper. Hippolyte traces the Conde coat of arms on the table for Lise. Anna Pavlovna recites Alexander's line that the French people will choose their own government and throw themselves into the arms of their rightful king. Andrew doubts a return to the old regime. Pierre blushes out that almost all the aristocracy has gone over to Bonaparte; the vicomte will not look at him.

Then Pierre detonates the room. The Duc d'Enghien's execution was political necessity; Napoleon showed greatness of soul by taking the responsibility; the Bourbons fled and left the people to anarchy; Napoleon quelled the Revolution and kept equality of citizenship and freedom of the press; the Revolution was a grand thing. Anna whispers Dieu, Mon Dieu. Lise asks if assassination shows greatness of soul. Hippolyte slaps his knee and says capital in English. Anna tries to move Pierre to another table; he shouts on about the rights of man. The vicomte, Lise, and Hippolyte pile on Brumaire, the prisoners in Africa, and the word low fellow. Pierre smiles a childlike, asking-forgiveness smile.

Andrew offers escape hatches: judge the man, the general, and the emperor separately; Napoleon was great on the bridge at Arcola and in the hospital at Jaffa. Then he signals his wife that it is time to go. Hippolyte saves the host with a broken Moscow anecdote about a stingy lady's maid in livery, told in the Russian of a Frenchman after one year in Russia. He laughs before the point arrives. Conversation breaks into balls and theaters. Consensus is restored. Pierre is still outside it.

In this chapter:Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Reading Group Boundaries

Tables often punish nuance before they test it. Pierre calls the Enghien execution political necessity and praises the Revolution while Anna Pavlovna tries to move him; Hippolyte's joke restores small talk.

Before you introduce an unpopular view at a hosted dinner, ask whether the room wants analysis or affirmation, and choose the venue accordingly.

This chapter

Inside the Mind: Pierre

He calls the Enghien killing a political necessity and the Revolution a grand thing, then a childlike look that asks forgiveness arrives on the same face. He needs the room to be a lecture and a family at once. Hippolyte's joke saves the host; Pierre's smile is the wish to be right without being left outside.

Continue this thoughtPierre Collects Systems Because a Morning Has No Script

Coming Up in Chapter 6

The guests thank Anna Pavlovna and begin to take their leave. Pierre, stout and ungainly, picks up the general's three-cornered hat instead of his own and pulls at the plume till the owner asks him to restore it. Anna Pavlovna turns toward him and hopes he changes his opinions.

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Original text

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Chapter 05

When Politics Divides the Room

“And what do you think of this latest comedy, the coronation at Milan?” asked Anna Pávlovna, “and of the comedy of the people of Genoa and Lucca laying their petitions before Monsieur Buonaparte, and Monsieur Buonaparte sitting on a throne and granting the petitions of the nations? Adorable! It is enough to make one’s head whirl! It is as if the whole world had gone crazy.” Prince Andrew looked Anna Pávlovna straight in the face with a sarcastic smile. “‘Dieu me la donne, gare à qui la touche!’’ * They say he was very fine when he said that,” he…

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When Politics Divides the Room

Summary

Why This Matters