Summary
Nicholas Rostóv returns home from military service to Moscow, accompanied by his friend Denísov. The moment he arrives, his family erupts in joy - his siblings Natásha and Pétya, his parents, and cousin Sónya all rush to embrace him. The reunion is pure emotional chaos, filled with tears, kisses, and overwhelming love. Yet Nicholas feels something strange: despite all this affection, he keeps expecting 'something more.' The next morning brings intimate conversations with his sister Natásha, who has grown into a spirited fifteen-year-old dreaming of becoming a dancer rather than marrying. She also reveals that Sónya, who loves Nicholas deeply, has released him from any romantic obligations so he can feel truly free to choose. When Nicholas encounters Sónya, their interaction is awkward yet tender - they speak formally but their eyes communicate deep affection. This chapter captures the bittersweet reality of growing up: home feels both exactly the same and completely different. Nicholas discovers that love, even the purest family love, can feel simultaneously overwhelming and not quite enough. Tolstoy shows us how military experience has changed Nicholas, creating a gap between his new adult self and his childhood world, even as that world embraces him completely.
Coming Up in Chapter 70
The Rostóv household settles into new rhythms with Nicholas home, but underlying tensions about money, marriage, and the future begin to surface beneath the joyful reunion.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
arly in the year 1806 Nicholas Rostóv returned home on leave. Denísov was going home to Vorónezh and Rostóv persuaded him to travel with him as far as Moscow and to stay with him there. Meeting a comrade at the last post station but one before Moscow, Denísov had drunk three bottles of wine with him and, despite the jolting ruts across the snow-covered road, did not once wake up on the way to Moscow, but lay at the bottom of the sleigh beside Rostóv, who grew more and more impatient the nearer they got to Moscow. “How much longer? How much longer? Oh, these insufferable streets, shops, bakers’ signboards, street lamps, and sleighs!” thought Rostóv, when their leave permits had been passed at the town gate and they had entered Moscow. “Denísov! We’re here! He’s asleep,” he added, leaning forward with his whole body as if in that position he hoped to hasten the speed of the sleigh. Denísov gave no answer. “There’s the corner at the crossroads, where the cabman, Zakhár, has his stand, and there’s Zakhár himself and still the same horse! And here’s the little shop where we used to buy gingerbread! Can’t you hurry up? Now then!” “Which house is it?” asked the driver. “Why, that one, right at the end, the big one. Don’t you see? That’s our house,” said Rostóv. “Of course, it’s our house! Denísov, Denísov! We’re almost there!” Denísov raised his head, coughed, and made no answer. “Dmítri,” said Rostóv to his valet on the box, “those lights are in our house, aren’t they?” “Yes, sir, and there’s a light in your father’s study.” “Then they’ve not gone to bed yet? What do you think? Mind now, don’t forget to put out my new coat,” added Rostóv, fingering his new mustache. “Now then, get on,” he shouted to the driver. “Do wake up, Váska!” he went on, turning to Denísov, whose head was again nodding. “Come, get on! You shall have three rubles for vodka—get on!” Rostóv shouted, when the sleigh was only three houses from his door. It seemed to him the horses were not moving at all. At last the sleigh bore to the right, drew up at an entrance, and Rostóv saw overhead the old familiar cornice with a bit of plaster broken off, the porch, and the post by the side of the pavement. He sprang out before the sleigh stopped, and ran into the hall. The house stood cold and silent, as if quite regardless of who had come to it. There was no one in the hall. “Oh God! Is everyone all right?” he thought, stopping for a moment with a sinking heart, and then immediately starting to run along the hall and up the warped steps of the familiar staircase. The well-known old door handle, which always angered the countess when it was not properly cleaned, turned as loosely as ever. A solitary tallow candle burned in the anteroom. Old Michael was asleep on...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outgrowing Home
The painful distance that develops between who we were and who we've become, creating loneliness even in the midst of love.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how major life victories can paradoxically create emotional distance and emptiness, even when surrounded by love and celebration.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone who 'has it all' seems strangely unhappy—they might be experiencing the gap between external success and internal purpose.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Leave permit
Official military document allowing soldiers temporary time away from duty to visit home. In Tolstoy's time, these were strictly controlled and precious. Soldiers might get only one or two leaves per year.
Modern Usage:
Like getting approved vacation time from a demanding job, or when military families today wait months for a soldier's leave to come home.
Post station
Stopping points along Russian roads where travelers could change horses, rest, and get supplies. Essential for long-distance travel before trains. Like truck stops for horse-drawn carriages.
Modern Usage:
Similar to highway rest stops or gas stations on long road trips - places to refuel and take a break.
Coming of age disillusionment
The strange feeling when you return home after growing up and everything looks smaller or different than you remembered. Your family treats you the same, but you've changed inside.
Modern Usage:
Like visiting your childhood bedroom after college, or coming home from military service and feeling like you don't quite fit anymore.
Emotional overwhelm vs. emptiness
The paradox Nicholas experiences - surrounded by love and attention but still feeling like something's missing. Common when external joy doesn't match internal emotional state.
Modern Usage:
Like feeling lonely at a party, or being surrounded by family at holidays but still feeling disconnected.
Formal courtship release
When Sonya releases Nicholas from romantic obligations, she's following social customs that allowed people to free each other from informal engagements or expectations without shame.
Modern Usage:
Like having 'the talk' where you mutually agree to see other people, or when someone says 'I want you to be happy' during a breakup.
Sibling intimacy
The special closeness between brothers and sisters who can share secrets and dreams they wouldn't tell anyone else. Natasha confides her dancing dreams to Nicholas.
Modern Usage:
Like having that one family member you can text at 2am, or the sibling who knows all your real dreams, not just what you tell your parents.
Characters in This Chapter
Nicholas Rostóv
Protagonist returning home
A young soldier coming home on leave who feels the strange disconnect of having grown up while away. He's eager to see family but discovers that love and homecoming don't automatically fix the changes inside him.
Modern Equivalent:
The college kid home for winter break who realizes they've outgrown their hometown
Denísov
Military friend and companion
Nicholas's fellow officer who accompanies him to Moscow. He's drunk and sleepy during the journey, representing the carefree military camaraderie that contrasts with family responsibilities.
Modern Equivalent:
The work buddy who parties too hard on the company trip
Natásha
Beloved younger sister
Now fifteen and full of dreams about becoming a dancer rather than settling into marriage. She shares intimate conversations with Nicholas and represents the family's unchanged love and energy.
Modern Equivalent:
The little sister who's suddenly not so little anymore and has big dreams that worry the family
Sónya
Cousin and romantic interest
Nicholas's cousin who loves him deeply but has formally released him from any romantic obligations so he can choose freely. Their interaction is tender but awkward, showing how relationships change.
Modern Equivalent:
The high school girlfriend who gracefully steps back when you both go to different colleges
Pétya
Younger brother
Part of the enthusiastic family welcome, representing the unchanged joy and innocence of home that Nicholas both craves and feels distanced from.
Modern Equivalent:
The little brother who still thinks you're the coolest person alive
Key Quotes & Analysis
"How much longer? How much longer? Oh, these insufferable streets, shops, bakers' signboards, street lamps, and sleighs!"
Context: As they approach Moscow, Nicholas grows impatient to reach home
Shows Nicholas's eagerness but also his irritation with the familiar city sights. He's desperate to get home but already finding the ordinary world annoying - a sign of his internal changes.
In Today's Words:
Are we there yet? God, I forgot how much I hate all this traffic and strip malls and everyday stuff.
"Of course, it's our house! Denísov, Denísov! We're almost there!"
Context: When he finally spots his family home
Pure excitement and recognition - this is the moment of homecoming he's been dreaming about. His enthusiasm shows how much family means to him despite his internal conflicts.
In Today's Words:
There it is! Dude, wake up - we're here! That's my house!
"He kept expecting something more"
Context: Describing Nicholas's feelings despite the joyful family reunion
The key insight of the chapter - even surrounded by love and celebration, Nicholas feels incomplete. This captures the universal experience of outgrowing your old life while still needing it.
In Today's Words:
Even with everyone so happy to see him, something still felt missing.
Thematic Threads
Identity
In This Chapter
Nicholas struggles between his military self and his family role, feeling like neither fits completely
Development
Building on earlier themes of characters finding themselves through conflict and challenge
In Your Life:
You might feel this tension when visiting childhood friends after major life changes or career growth.
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Military experience has fundamentally changed Nicholas, creating a gap between his inner reality and family expectations
Development
Continues Tolstoy's exploration of how experience shapes character, seen earlier with Pierre and Andrei
In Your Life:
You might recognize this after surviving a health crisis, job loss, or other major challenge that others didn't experience.
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
The awkward tenderness between Nicholas and Sonya shows how love persists even when people have grown apart
Development
Deepens the novel's examination of how relationships must adapt to personal change
In Your Life:
You might see this in relationships with siblings or old friends where affection remains but understanding has gaps.
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
The family expects Nicholas to simply resume his old role, not recognizing his fundamental changes
Development
Continues exploring how society pressures individuals to remain static despite personal evolution
In Your Life:
You might face this when family or community expects you to stay in roles you've outgrown.
Class
In This Chapter
Nicholas's military service has exposed him to different social realities, changing his perspective on his privileged home life
Development
Builds on the novel's ongoing exploration of how different class experiences shape worldview
In Your Life:
You might experience this when education or work exposes you to different economic realities than your family knows.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Nicholas feel like 'something more' is missing despite his family's overwhelming love and joy at his return?
analysis • surface - 2
How has military service changed Nicholas in ways that create distance from his family, even though they love him deeply?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this same pattern today - people returning from intense experiences to loved ones who still see their 'old self'?
application • medium - 4
When you've grown through difficult experiences, how do you bridge the gap between who you were and who you've become without hurting those who love the 'old you'?
application • deep - 5
What does Nicholas's experience teach us about the loneliness that can come with personal growth, even in the midst of love?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Growth Gap
Think of a time when you returned to family or old friends after a significant experience that changed you - a new job, major challenge, or life transition. Draw two columns: 'How they still see me' and 'Who I've become.' Fill in specific examples of the differences. Then identify one small way you could help bridge that gap without losing your growth.
Consider:
- •Growth often happens gradually to us but appears sudden to others
- •Family and friends may resist change because they fear losing the person they love
- •Some distance after growth is normal and doesn't mean relationships are failing
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt misunderstood by people who love you after you'd grown or changed. How did you handle the loneliness of being seen as your old self when you knew you were different inside?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 70: Coming Home Changed
The Rostóv household settles into new rhythms with Nicholas home, but underlying tensions about money, marriage, and the future begin to surface beneath the joyful reunion.
