War and Peace

The “calm luxurious life” (1005) of high society in Saint Petersburg continues despite the French invasion. Balls, parties, and dinners carry the same gossipy, self-interested energy. Party guests celebrate the victory at Borodino, discuss the eventualities of the war, and gossip about Helene Bezukhova’s health problems. Days later, the guests mourn her death. When news reaches Saint Petersburg that Moscow has burned to the ground, the tsar declares that he will save Russia from the French. He claims that he will sacrifice everything to win the war and will lead an army of peasants himself, if he must.

People continue with their personal lives even as the war rages on. The narrator explains that people’s daily activities are more important than public affairs: People who focus on trying to understand the overall arc of human history will play a less useful role in society than those who carry on their day-to-day business. Self-sacrifice and heroism are irrelevant, as only unselfconscious activity has any tangible long-term benefit. People in remote parts of Russia and Saint Petersburg high society loudly declare that they are worried about the country’s future, but the men in the army say nothing. The soldiers carry on with their lives, thinking about their wages or their orders.