A Year of War and Peace+ Day 3

In which an uneasy Bolkónski family reunion occurs and we consider the inutility of complaint in response to difficulty

Welcome! New readers may find an introduction to A Year of War and Peace+ and a table of contents here. Please consider following me on Medium. I publish weekly essays on diverse topics, but mostly on books and film. Finally, feel free to share with your friends.

War and Peace — Book One, Part One

Chapter Three

Anna Pávlovna’s reception was in full swing. The spindles hummed steadily and ceaselessly on all sides. With the exception of the aunt, beside whom sat only one elderly lady, who with her thin careworn face was rather out of place in this brilliant society, the whole company had settled into three groups. One, chiefly masculine, had formed round the abbé. Another, of young people, was grouped round the beautiful Princess Hélène, Prince Vasíli’s daughter, and the little Princess Bolkónskaya, very pretty and rosy, though rather too plump for her age. The third group was gathered round Mortemart and Anna Pávlovna.