An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1115 words)
ierre, as one of the principal guests, had to sit down to boston
with Count Rostóv, the general, and the colonel. At the card table he
happened to be directly facing Natásha, and was struck by a curious
change that had come over her since the ball. She was silent, and not
only less pretty than at the ball, but only redeemed from plainness by
her look of gentle indifference to everything around.
“What’s the matter with her?” thought Pierre, glancing at her.
She was sitting by her sister at the tea table, and reluctantly, without
looking at him, made some reply to Borís who sat down beside her. After
playing out a whole suit and to his partner’s delight taking five
tricks, Pierre, hearing greetings and the steps of someone who had
entered the room while he was picking up his tricks, glanced again at
Natásha.
“What has happened to her?” he asked himself with still greater
surprise.
Prince Andrew was standing before her, saying something to her with a
look of tender solicitude. She, having raised her head, was looking up
at him, flushed and evidently trying to master her rapid breathing. And
the bright glow of some inner fire that had been suppressed was again
alight in her. She was completely transformed and from a plain girl had
again become what she had been at the ball.
Prince Andrew went up to Pierre, and the latter noticed a new and
youthful expression in his friend’s face.
Pierre changed places several times during the game, sitting now with
his back to Natásha and now facing her, but during the whole of the six
rubbers he watched her and his friend.
“Something very important is happening between them,” thought
Pierre, and a feeling that was both joyful and painful agitated him and
made him neglect the game.
After six rubbers the general got up, saying that it was no use playing
like that, and Pierre was released. Natásha on one side was talking
with Sónya and Borís, and Véra with a subtle smile was saying
something to Prince Andrew. Pierre went up to his friend and, asking
whether they were talking secrets, sat down beside them. Véra, having
noticed Prince Andrew’s attentions to Natásha, decided that at a
party, a real evening party, subtle allusions to the tender passion were
absolutely necessary and, seizing a moment when Prince Andrew was alone,
began a conversation with him about feelings in general and about her
sister. With so intellectual a guest as she considered Prince Andrew to
be, she felt that she had to employ her diplomatic tact.
When Pierre went up to them he noticed that Véra was being carried away
by her self-satisfied talk, but that Prince Andrew seemed embarrassed, a
thing that rarely happened with him.
“What do you think?” Véra was saying with an arch smile. “You are
so discerning, Prince, and understand people’s characters so well at
a glance. What do you think of Natalie? Could she be constant in her
attachments? Could she, like other women” (Véra meant herself),
“love a man once for all and remain true to him forever? That is what
I consider true love. What do you think, Prince?”
“I know your sister too little,” replied Prince Andrew, with a
sarcastic smile under which he wished to hide his embarrassment, “to
be able to solve so delicate a question, and then I have noticed that
the less attractive a woman is the more constant she is likely to be,”
he added, and looked up at Pierre who was just approaching them.
“Yes, that is true, Prince. In our days,” continued
Véra—mentioning “our days” as people of limited intelligence are
fond of doing, imagining that they have discovered and appraised the
peculiarities of “our days” and that human characteristics change
with the times—“in our days a girl has so much freedom that the
pleasure of being courted often stifles real feeling in her. And it must
be confessed that Natalie is very susceptible.” This return to
the subject of Natalie caused Prince Andrew to knit his brows with
discomfort: he was about to rise, but Véra continued with a still more
subtle smile:
“I think no one has been more courted than she,” she went on, “but
till quite lately she never cared seriously for anyone. Now you know,
Count,” she said to Pierre, “even our dear cousin Borís, who,
between ourselves, was very far gone in the land of tenderness...”
(alluding to a map of love much in vogue at that time).
Prince Andrew frowned and remained silent.
“You are friendly with Borís, aren’t you?” asked Véra.
“Yes, I know him....”
“I expect he has told you of his childish love for Natásha?”
“Oh, there was childish love?” suddenly asked Prince Andrew,
blushing unexpectedly.
“Yes, you know between cousins intimacy often leads to love. Le
cousinage est un dangereux voisinage. * Don’t you think so?”
* “Cousinhood is a dangerous neighborhood.”
“Oh, undoubtedly!” said Prince Andrew, and with sudden and unnatural
liveliness he began chaffing Pierre about the need to be very careful
with his fifty-year-old Moscow cousins, and in the midst of these
jesting remarks he rose, taking Pierre by the arm, and drew him aside.
“Well?” asked Pierre, seeing his friend’s strange animation with
surprise, and noticing the glance he turned on Natásha as he rose.
“I must... I must have a talk with you,” said Prince Andrew. “You
know that pair of women’s gloves?” (He referred to the Masonic
gloves given to a newly initiated Brother to present to the woman he
loved.) “I... but no, I will talk to you later on,” and with a
strange light in his eyes and restlessness in his movements, Prince
Andrew approached Natásha and sat down beside her. Pierre saw how
Prince Andrew asked her something and how she flushed as she replied.
But at that moment Berg came to Pierre and began insisting that he
should take part in an argument between the general and the colonel on
the affairs in Spain.
Berg was satisfied and happy. The smile of pleasure never left his face.
The party was very successful and quite like other parties he had
seen. Everything was similar: the ladies’ subtle talk, the cards, the
general raising his voice at the card table, and the samovar and the tea
cakes; only one thing was lacking that he had always seen at the evening
parties he wished to imitate. They had not yet had a loud conversation
among the men and a dispute about something important and clever. Now
the general had begun such a discussion and so Berg drew Pierre to it.
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
The Transformation Effect - How Context Changes Everything
People become different versions of themselves depending on their audience, accessing their best or worst qualities based on who's present.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between genuine attraction and performance by watching for unconscious transformation in someone's presence.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when people around you suddenly become more animated, confident, or radiant—that reveals who they're really drawn to, not who they claim to like.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"What's the matter with her?"
Context: Pierre notices Natasha looks plain and disinterested, completely different from the ball
This shows how dramatically our appearance changes based on our emotional state. Pierre's confusion highlights how love affects us physically - we literally look different when we're happy versus sad.
In Today's Words:
Why does she look so different? What's going on with her?
"She was completely transformed and from a plain girl had again become what she had been at the ball."
Context: The moment Prince Andrew speaks to Natasha, she becomes radiant again
This captures the magical transformation that happens when we're around someone we're attracted to. It's not just internal - others can see the change in our entire presence and energy.
In Today's Words:
She went from looking ordinary to absolutely glowing, just like that night when she was the center of attention.
"The bright glow of some inner fire that had been suppressed was again alight in her."
Context: Describing Natasha's transformation when Prince Andrew arrives
Tolstoy shows how love awakens something powerful within us. The 'inner fire' suggests passion and life force that can be dampened by circumstances but ignites when we connect with the right person.
In Today's Words:
That spark in her eyes came back - you could see she was alive again.
Thematic Threads
Identity
In This Chapter
Natasha literally becomes a different person when Andrew enters—from plain to radiant in moments
Development
Builds on earlier themes of how social context shapes who we become
In Your Life:
You probably act differently around your boss than your family, and both versions are authentically you
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Vera tries to orchestrate romantic revelations through clumsy social maneuvering and pointed questions
Development
Continues exploring how society tries to control and direct personal relationships
In Your Life:
That relative who keeps asking 'When are you getting married?' thinks they're helping but creates pressure instead
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
The electric connection between Andrew and Natasha communicates more through glances than words
Development
Deepens the exploration of how real connection transcends social games
In Your Life:
The best relationships often develop through small moments and unspoken understanding rather than grand gestures
Class
In This Chapter
The card party setting reveals how romantic connections must navigate social observation and approval
Development
Shows how class boundaries complicate even genuine emotional connections
In Your Life:
Dating someone from a different background means dealing with family expectations and social assumptions
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Pierre develops deeper emotional intelligence by observing and understanding the dynamics around him
Development
Continues Pierre's journey from passive observer to someone who truly sees human nature
In Your Life:
Learning to read people and situations accurately is a skill that improves with practice and attention
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What physical and emotional changes happen to Natasha when Prince Andrew enters the room?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Andrew lose his usual cool composure around Natasha, and what does this reveal about how attraction affects us?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about your own life - who brings out your best self just by being present? What changes in you when they're around?
application • medium - 4
How could you use this 'meaningful audience' principle to help someone else shine in a difficult situation?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter teach us about the difference between our 'default self' and our 'activated self'?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Transformation Triggers
Create a personal map of who brings out different versions of yourself. Draw yourself in the center, then around the edges write the names of people who make you feel more confident, creative, funny, serious, or nervous. For each person, note what specific quality they activate in you and why you think this happens.
Consider:
- •Notice patterns - do certain types of people consistently bring out your best or worst?
- •Consider both positive and negative transformations - who makes you shrink or become defensive?
- •Think about what this reveals about your core values and insecurities
Journaling Prompt
Write about a specific moment when someone's presence completely changed how you showed up. What was different about you in that moment, and how can you access that version of yourself more often?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 128: Love Declared and Witnessed
Prince Andrew needs to have an urgent private conversation with Pierre about something involving Masonic gloves and the woman he loves. The evening party continues, but the real drama is just beginning to unfold.
