Summary
The aftermath of Prince Andrew's departure creates a toxic atmosphere at Bald Hills. The old prince blames Princess Mary for the family quarrel, punishing her with a week of isolation and cruel accusations. When he emerges from his self-imposed exile, he's clearly deteriorating—sleeping in different rooms each night, showing signs of confusion about the war's progress, and displaying alarming memory lapses. Princess Mary watches helplessly as her father insists the French will never advance beyond distant rivers, even as Prince Andrew's letter warns they're already dangerously close to their estate. The prince's denial runs so deep he can't even remember what his son wrote in the letter he just read aloud. This chapter reveals how crisis exposes our deepest vulnerabilities. The old prince, once sharp and commanding, now clings to outdated military knowledge from previous wars, unable to process the reality that this conflict is different. His cruel treatment of Princess Mary shows how fear and helplessness can make us lash out at those closest to us. Meanwhile, Princess Mary finds herself caught between loyalty to her confused father and growing awareness that something is seriously wrong. The war isn't just approaching their doorstep—it's already fracturing their family from within. Tolstoy masterfully shows how external threats often reveal internal weaknesses, and how those who seem strongest can become the most fragile when their worldview crumbles.
Coming Up in Chapter 193
As the French army draws closer to Bald Hills, the family will be forced to confront the reality the old prince refuses to see. Princess Mary must make difficult decisions about her father's safety and her own future.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The day after his son had left, Prince Nicholas sent for Princess Mary to come to his study. “Well? Are you satisfied now?” said he. “You’ve made me quarrel with my son! Satisfied, are you? That’s all you wanted! Satisfied?... It hurts me, it hurts. I’m old and weak and this is what you wanted. Well then, gloat over it! Gloat over it!” After that Princess Mary did not see her father for a whole week. He was ill and did not leave his study. Princess Mary noticed to her surprise that during this illness the old prince not only excluded her from his room, but did not admit Mademoiselle Bourienne either. Tíkhon alone attended him. At the end of the week the prince reappeared and resumed his former way of life, devoting himself with special activity to building operations and the arrangement of the gardens and completely breaking off his relations with Mademoiselle Bourienne. His looks and cold tone to his daughter seemed to say: “There, you see? You plotted against me, you lied to Prince Andrew about my relations with that Frenchwoman and made me quarrel with him, but you see I need neither her nor you!” Princess Mary spent half of every day with little Nicholas, watching his lessons, teaching him Russian and music herself, and talking to Dessalles; the rest of the day she spent over her books, with her old nurse, or with “God’s folk” who sometimes came by the back door to see her. Of the war Princess Mary thought as women do think about wars. She feared for her brother who was in it, was horrified by and amazed at the strange cruelty that impels men to kill one another, but she did not understand the significance of this war, which seemed to her like all previous wars. She did not realize the significance of this war, though Dessalles with whom she constantly conversed was passionately interested in its progress and tried to explain his own conception of it to her, and though the “God’s folk” who came to see her reported, in their own way, the rumors current among the people of an invasion by Antichrist, and though Julie (now Princess Drubetskáya), who had resumed correspondence with her, wrote patriotic letters from Moscow. “I write you in Russian, my good friend,” wrote Julie in her Frenchified Russian, “because I have a detestation for all the French, and the same for their language which I cannot support to hear spoken.... We in Moscow are elated by enthusiasm for our adored Emperor. “My poor husband is enduring pains and hunger in Jewish taverns, but the news which I have inspires me yet more. “You heard probably of the heroic exploit of Raévski, embracing his two sons and saying: ‘I will perish with them but we will not be shaken!’ And truly though the enemy was twice stronger than we, we were unshakable. We pass the time as we can, but in war as in...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Cognitive Collapse - When Authority Crumbles Under Pressure
Those in power often become cruel and confused when reality threatens their worldview, lashing out at safe targets while their competence visibly deteriorates.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when someone in power is mentally deteriorating under pressure and becoming dangerous to those around them.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when supervisors or family leaders start forgetting recent conversations while becoming increasingly hostile - that's cognitive collapse, not character flaws in their targets.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Scapegoating
Blaming one person for problems they didn't cause, usually to avoid facing the real issue. The old prince blames Princess Mary for his fight with Andrew, when really he's scared about the war and losing control.
Modern Usage:
When your boss blames you for a project failure that was really caused by poor planning from above.
Cognitive decline
When someone's mental abilities start failing - memory, judgment, understanding new information. The prince can't remember what he just read and clings to outdated military knowledge from past wars.
Modern Usage:
Like when an older relative insists on driving when they clearly shouldn't, or can't adapt to new technology.
Isolation as punishment
Withdrawing affection and attention to hurt someone emotionally. The prince locks himself away, then gives Princess Mary the cold shoulder to make her feel guilty and powerless.
Modern Usage:
The silent treatment - when someone stops talking to you to make you suffer and come crawling back.
Denial
Refusing to accept reality when it's too scary or painful. The prince insists the French can't possibly reach them, even when his son's letter proves they're already close.
Modern Usage:
Like ignoring medical symptoms, pretending your relationship is fine when it's clearly over, or refusing to look at your credit card bills.
Caregiver burden
The emotional and physical exhaustion of caring for someone who's declining, especially when they're hostile or ungrateful. Princess Mary watches her father deteriorate while he blames her for everything.
Modern Usage:
Adult children caring for aging parents who become difficult, demanding, or verbally abusive due to illness or dementia.
Displaced anger
Taking out your frustration on someone safe instead of addressing the real source of your anger. The prince can't fight Napoleon, so he attacks his daughter instead.
Modern Usage:
Coming home from a bad day at work and snapping at your family, or being rude to customer service when you're really mad at your ex.
Characters in This Chapter
Prince Nicholas
Declining patriarch
Shows severe signs of mental deterioration and paranoia. Blames Princess Mary for his son's departure and punishes her with cruelty and isolation while refusing to face reality about the approaching war.
Modern Equivalent:
The aging parent who becomes increasingly difficult and blames their adult children for everything going wrong
Princess Mary
Suffering caregiver
Endures her father's blame and punishment while trying to maintain household stability. She's caught between loyalty to her deteriorating father and growing awareness that he's losing touch with reality.
Modern Equivalent:
The adult child stuck caring for a difficult aging parent who takes out all their fears and frustrations on them
Mademoiselle Bourienne
Banished companion
The French governess is suddenly excluded from the prince's presence along with Princess Mary, showing how his paranoia and need for control extends to everyone around him.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend or employee who gets frozen out when someone is having a breakdown and lashing out at everyone
Tíkhon
Loyal servant
The only person the prince allows near him during his week of isolation, representing the last thread of trust in his shrinking world.
Modern Equivalent:
The one employee or family member who can still handle someone who's become impossible for everyone else to deal with
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Well? Are you satisfied now? You've made me quarrel with my son! Satisfied, are you? That's all you wanted!"
Context: The prince immediately blames Princess Mary for his fight with Prince Andrew
This shows classic scapegoating behavior - he can't face that his own actions caused the conflict, so he makes his daughter the villain. The repetition of 'satisfied' shows how he's building a false narrative where she plotted against him.
In Today's Words:
Look what you made me do! This is all your fault! Are you happy now that you've ruined everything?
"There, you see? You plotted against me, you lied to Prince Andrew about my relations with that Frenchwoman and made me quarrel with him, but you see I need neither her nor you!"
Context: His unspoken message to Princess Mary when he emerges from isolation
He's created a complete fantasy where Princess Mary is the mastermind behind all his problems. This paranoid thinking shows his mental decline - he genuinely believes she orchestrated everything to hurt him.
In Today's Words:
I know what you did - you turned my son against me on purpose, but I don't need any of you anyway!
"The French will never advance beyond the Niemen, and they'll never cross the Dnieper either"
Context: Insisting the French can't possibly reach them despite evidence to the contrary
This shows dangerous denial based on outdated knowledge. He's applying old military logic to a completely different war, unable to process new information that threatens his sense of security.
In Today's Words:
That could never happen here - things like that don't happen to people like us.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
The old prince uses his authority to punish Princess Mary for his own failures, isolating her for a week while denying obvious military realities
Development
Power has shifted from protective to destructive as external pressures mount
In Your Life:
You might see this when a boss becomes increasingly unreasonable as their department struggles, blaming staff instead of adapting
Denial
In This Chapter
The prince cannot process his son's letter warning of French advancement, insisting they'll never cross distant rivers while forgetting what he just read
Development
Denial has escalated from social pretenses to dangerous delusion about immediate threats
In Your Life:
You might see this in family members who refuse medical advice or safety concerns, becoming hostile when pressed
Family
In This Chapter
Princess Mary suffers for her father's breakdown, blamed for problems she didn't create while watching his mental deterioration helplessly
Development
Family bonds are fracturing under external pressure, with the vulnerable bearing consequences for the powerful's failures
In Your Life:
You might experience this when family crises reveal who gets blamed and who gets protected, often unfairly
Identity
In This Chapter
The old prince's identity as military expert crumbles when his knowledge proves obsolete, triggering psychological and physical breakdown
Development
Identity crisis deepens as characters face obsolescence of their core competencies
In Your Life:
You might feel this when your job skills or life experience suddenly seem irrelevant to current challenges
Isolation
In This Chapter
Both father and daughter become isolated—he in his delusions, she in punishment—while real danger approaches unaddressed
Development
Isolation now appears as both weapon and consequence, fracturing the family when unity is most needed
In Your Life:
You might see this when family conflicts leave everyone alone with their problems just when cooperation is most crucial
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
How does the old prince react to Prince Andrew's departure, and what specific behaviors show his mental state is deteriorating?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does the old prince blame Princess Mary for the family quarrel instead of taking responsibility for his own actions?
analysis • medium - 3
When have you seen someone in authority become more cruel or unreasonable when their expertise was challenged or proven outdated?
application • medium - 4
If you were Princess Mary, how would you protect yourself while still caring for a deteriorating parent who's become unpredictable and hostile?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how people handle information that threatens their sense of identity and control?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Authority Crisis Pattern
Think of someone you know who holds authority (boss, parent, community leader, etc.) and is struggling to adapt to change. Draw or describe the cycle: What threatens their identity? How do they deny reality? Who becomes their scapegoat? What are the warning signs that their grip on reality is slipping?
Consider:
- •Look for patterns of blame-shifting rather than problem-solving
- •Notice if they're clinging to outdated knowledge or methods
- •Observe who they target when they feel threatened - it's usually the safest person, not the actual source of the problem
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you had to navigate someone's authority crisis. What did you do to protect yourself? What would you do differently now that you can name this pattern?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 193: A Restless Night of Memory
What lies ahead teaches us aging brings both physical decline and emotional vulnerability, and shows us unfinished business haunts us most when we're alone. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.