Consider the Doll

Day 8 of A Year of War and Peace

Yesterday we met the older Rostovs and today we meet the younger. Don’t be deceived by the brevity and ostensible triviality of this chapter. It’s an essential one: We’re introduced to two of the most important characters in the novel.

The first of these characters darts into the room in a fit of jubilant laughter as she chases after a doll she has lost. She is brimming with youthful energy, unable to compose even a simple coherent sentence of explanation as to why she has entered the room in such a fashion. This is Natasha, a thirteen-year-old whose name-day the Rostovs are celebrating.

The second of these important characters follows Natasha into the room but makes a notably less energetic entrance. In fact, he is so unsure of himself, so paralyzed by incertitude, that he is unable to summon even a single word of introduction. He blushes instead. This is Nikolai, Natasha’s brother.

This chapter is Tolstoy at his best. The simplicity of the scene cloaks its substance. Our initial impression is that not much has…