War and Peace

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1867

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Book 3, Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-11 Summary

The narrator explains the difficulty of trying to apply a scientific analysis to history. People may try to understand history by examining the small constituent details, just as they understand a scientific theory by studying formulae, numbers, and data. However, the individual components people examine when studying history are almost always incorrect. The great men, the big events, and the most potent crises are actually the result of much smaller, harder to distinguish causes. People’s individual decisions combine to have a profound effect on history. The narrator believes that history must be understood through the lives of individual people rather than the singular figures that are the most visible.

Napoleon’s failed invasion of Russia would have been hard to predict. Napoleon’s huge army, assembled from a union of 12 different countries, pursues the Russians into Russia. Napoleon sets his sights on Moscow, and his army destroys everything in its path, leaving hundreds of miles of countryside ruined and the local people starving. The Russians retreat toward Moscow, each mile making them hate their enemy even more, falling back until they stand their ground at Borodino. The French advance toward Moscow and occupy the city for five weeks while the Russians fall back even further. However, the French eventually give up Moscow. They flee back through the ruined landscape and, as they do so, their army disintegrates—there are no resources to sustain them in the newly barren landscape. The harsh conditions decimate the French.

Kutuzov studies the French collapse. The narrator believes that the general could never have predicted such an outcome, even though historians criticize Kutuzov. Kutuzov realizes that his men are exhausted. He decides that, to protect Russia, he needs to save the army. To save the army, he must sacrifice Moscow. The generals listen to Kutuzov’s plan. Their mood is dour, as though they are at a funeral. Kutuzov admits to himself that he did not foresee the current events, but he loudly insists that he will defeat Napoleon. He smashes his fist on the table, full of belief that he is destined to be Russia’s savior.

After the battle at Borodino, the rich people in Moscow realize that they must flee the city. The poor people follow them, burning and destroying everything that they have to leave behind. The narrator believes that the people feel a sense of unexplainable patriotism and that this feeling tells them to evacuate. Even though abandoning Moscow seems like a retreat, it is instrumental in the eventual Russian victory. The city governor does not take such a view. He tries to organize what little defense he can, even though he knows his actions are doomed. The narrator compares the governor to a child, desperate for attention and unable to see the reality of events.

Helene finds herself in a difficult position. Two men she loves arrive in the city at the same time. She issues an ultimatum to both men: If they wish to claim her, they must marry her. Helene believes that her marriage to Pierre will be invalidated if she converts to Catholicism, as a Russian Orthodox marriage would be considered the product of a false religion. Helene selects one of the men to be her husband and writes to Pierre, demanding a divorce.

Pierre eats with the soldiers as the sun sets over Borodino. He feels delighted by his company. That night, he dreams of Iosif Alexeevich Bazdeev, who tells Pierre that he must suffer to better understand humanity. Pierre feels as though the dream answers questions that have been bothering him for a long time.

The next day, Pierre travels to Moscow. He learns that Anatole and Andrei are dead. The governor wants to see Pierre. The governor has recently exercised his violent streak with anyone who circulates declarations of Napoleon’s victory. The governor accuses Pierre of helping these so-called traitors and of associating with a suspicious group of Freemasons. He advises Pierre to leave the city, but Pierre goes to his home. He reads Helene’s letter and tries to process the ridiculous nature of recent events. Pierre falls asleep in his house but is gone the next day.

Chapters 12-25 Summary

With the French army just one day away from Moscow, the Rostovs prepare to leave. Civilians evacuate while wounded soldiers are carried into the city. Natasha offers to help, even though she should be packing. She invites the wounded officers into the house. Her father announces that the police have left the city, and her terrified mother drives the servants to pack faster. Natasha sets about her task with renewed energy. As a housekeeper stays up late to finish packing, yet another wounded officer is carried into the yard. The housekeeper shrieks with surprise, recognizing Andrei. The doctors do not think he has long to live.

The next day, the Rostovs finish loading their 30 carriages. Natasha asks her father to unpack some of their carriages to help save the wounded men. Her request restores her father’s appreciation for humanity. The count orders the carriages to be repacked, leaving only four laden with the Rostovs’ possessions. The rest evacuate the wounded. Sonya recognizes Andrei and agrees to keep him hidden from Natasha. As the carriages pass through the streets, Natasha spots Pierre and they exchange a few words. Pierre is acting strangely.

Pierre has spent several days at the home of Iosif Alexeevich Bazdeev, secretly sorting through the papers and the books of his dead mentor. The only other people in the house are Bazdeev’s butler and his half-mad brother. Pierre studies alone, wondering whether he might be able to assassinate Napoleon when the French emperor enters Moscow. Pierre is out buying a pistol when the Rostovs spot him.

Napoleon examines Moscow from atop a nearby hill. He feels that victory is within his grasp. His plan is to convince the local nobles to surrender to him. In return, he will reward them. He waits for his men to summon the nobles. However, the men are too ashamed to report that Moscow is almost entirely empty, save for the crowds of drunken people lingering in the streets. Napoleon enters Moscow himself and realizes that the city is entirely evacuated.

The narrator blames the Moscow governor for the drunken looting that takes place, suggesting that the man tried to interfere with the course of history. The governor’s refusal to abandon the city in time leads to the loss of important supplies and equipment, harming the Russian war effort. The governor musters a flimsy mob to repel the French army, but this is a mistake. Rather than admit that he was wrong, he throws a prisoner to the crowd, accusing him of being a French spy. The governor tells the drunken crowd to beat the young man to death. He insists that he acted for the good of the country, but the memory will haunt him forever.

Chapters 26-34 Summary

The French army marches warily into Moscow. The narrator describes the chaos the French soldiers witness as the citizens drink alcohol and turn on one another in the largely abandoned streets. As they realize the true emptiness of the city, the French loot houses, set fires, and light pipes. The narrator suggests that a big fire is inevitable—that neither the former residents nor the invaders set fire to Moscow on purpose. Instead, the fire was a foreseeable accident in a depopulated, chaotic city full of empty wooden houses.

Pierre plots to kill Napoleon. However, Bazdeev’s half-mad brother steals his pistol. The butler struggles to reclaim the gun, but when a group of French officers arrives, the brother aims the gun at them. Pierre intervenes just in time. The French officer thanks Pierre for saving his life; he believes that Pierre must be French, but Pierre corrects him. The officer introduces himself as Ramballe. He and Pierre spend the evening drinking wine and talking about their various adventures. Later, they walk through the streets. Pierre spots the comet in the sky again. He feels overcome with emotion, still certain that he can kill Napoleon. He leans against a fence for support, suddenly struck by the gravity of the idea that he will kill the French emperor the next day.

The roads out of Moscow are crowded. The Rostovs’ carriages struggle to get far. They stop in a village for the night and see Moscow in the distance, realizing that the entire city is about to go up in flames. Andrei feels the impact of his wounds. As he struggles to process his delirious thoughts, he remembers receiving treatment for his wound in a field hospital while nearby, Anatole’s leg was amputated. Andrei was moved to tears by sympathy for the man he once swore to kill—he felt love for a man he hates. The emotion of the moment and his closeness to death made Andrei understand the true nature of God’s love, a form of love that never changes. In that moment, Andrei was capable of universal love for every person in the world. The memory makes Andrei realize that he still loves Natasha Rostov. He wishes that he could declare his love for her. His realization accompanies the arrival of a strange white shape. As Andrei’s vision comes into focus, he realizes that the white shape is Natasha. He smiles, holds her hand, and she kneels beside him. Natasha refuses to leave Andrei’s side. The doctors believe that her unwavering love helps to heal Andrei.

Pierre walks across Moscow. He carries a dagger that he plans to use on Napoleon. As he passes through the empty city, he sees a burning building with a child trapped inside. Pierre rescues the child, then saves a woman from the unwanted advances of a French soldier. The fight between Pierre and the Frenchmen attracts the attention of a group of Polish soldiers who are part of Napoleon’s army. The Poles find Pierre’s weapon, arrest him, and put him under close guard.

Book 3, Part 3 Analysis

The narrator praises General Kutuzov as one of the only men who understands the true nature of history. When the French army technically wins the battle of Borodino, the Russian populace criticizes Kutuzov. However, Kutuzov understands that true victory is about morale and psychology. He is the only man who recognizes how the more abstract forces of history operate. The Russian army fights with patriotic passion before retreating—the same passion and patriotism that will eventually win the war.

During the evacuation of Moscow, Pierre unwittingly becomes a hero. He tasks himself with assassinating Napoleon but instead ends up rescuing a little girl from a burning building and saving a woman from rape. Pierre’s actions in this moment are more heroic than anything that takes place on a battlefield in the novel. Willing to sacrifice his life for an innocent child, Pierre does not pause to consider every moral implication of his actions—he acts entirely on instinct. The rescue has the potential to provide the moral justification and sense of purpose that Pierre has craved his entire life. The difference between Pierre in this moment and Pierre at all other points in his life is the lack of reflection. Pierre views himself as a philosopher, but his greatest act is, ironically, a moment of pure action.

The evacuation and burning of Moscow is an important symbolic moment in the story. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are the two most important cities in Russia and, together they operate as the cultural heart of the nation. Moscow is an old city that has grown over many centuries. The city contains stark differences between the lives of the rich and the poor, from the giant palaces like the Kremlin to the rundown wooden slums where the peasants and serfs live. However, before the French arrive, the city’s population unites and flees, leaving behind a hollow symbol of their nation. The French army accidentally burns down the empty city—a symbolic event representing the destruction of the old order and the forced modernization of Russia. The death and devastation of Napoleon’s failed invasion will change the city and country forever. The looting and the theft of the old mansions is one of the largest acts of wealth redistribution in the country’s history. Old families lose everything, while poor families build new businesses and dynasties when they return to the burned-out city. The destruction of Moscow sets the scene for a renewed and revitalized Russia.