Chapter 2 Chapter two

In November 1805, Prince Vasili was going to inspect four provinces.He had set himself the task to drop by and see his decaying domain.He took his son Anatole (who was stationed in his regiment) and went with him to see Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, with the intention of marrying his son to this rich The old man's daughter.But before setting off to attend to these new matters, Prince Vasily must attend to some matters for Pierre.Pierre had lately been spending the whole day at home, that is, at the house of Prince Vasily, where he lived, and wasting time.In Helen's presence he had looked absurd, agitated, and foolish (as is the case with a man in love), but he had not yet proposed.

"Toutcaestleeletbon, maisilfautqueca Jinisse," murmured Prince Vasily one morning with a sad sigh, realizing that Pierre was thanking him for his kindness (may Christ bless him!) and that he had done nothing. Get this done. "Youth... rashness... well, God bless you." Prince Vasili thought for a moment, pleased with his kindness. "Maisilfautquecafinisse, ②The day after tomorrow is Helen's name day. I have to treat him. If he doesn't know how to deal with it, it is my responsibility. Yes, I am responsible. I am the father!" -------- ①French: All this is wonderful, but everything must have an end.

②French: must, must end this matter. After Anna Pavlovna's party, Pierre passed a sleepless night of emotional excitement, during which he concluded that it would be a misfortune to marry Helen, and that he would avoid her and go away, Pierre. One and a half months had passed since he made this decision, but he did not move out from Prince Vasily's house. He was terrified to feel that in people's eyes, his relationship with Helen was becoming more and more ambiguous, and he could not do it anyway. To restore his previous view of her, he couldn't leave her, how terrible he felt, but he should connect his fate with her.Perhaps, he could have restrained himself, but there is not a day without a party in Prince Vasily's house (receptions were rarely held in his house before), and he had to attend the party if he did not want to disappoint everyone and those who were waiting for him. .When Prince Vasily was at home, he would occasionally pass Pierre, take his hand, press it down, absently offer him his clean-shaven, wrinkled cheek, and kiss it. Say, "See you tomorrow," or, "Come to lunch, or I won't see you," or, "I stayed home just for you," or whatever.Although Prince Vasily stayed at home for Pierre's sake (as he said), he could not speak to him.Pierre felt that he could not live up to his expectations.He said the same thing to himself every day: "Got to get to know her, figure it out, what kind of person is she? Did I make a mistake before, or am I making a mistake now? No, she's not stupid, no, she's a top dog." Nice girl!" he said sometimes to himself. "She never made a mistake, she never said anything stupid. He was less talkative, but she always said it short. She wasn't stupid. She was never coy, and she won't be. She She’s really not a bad woman!” He often encounters opportunities to talk to her, and every time she answers his words, she either says a short word casually to show that she’s not interested; or she responds with a silent smile and eyes, which are extremely obvious. to show Pierre her superiority.She thought all talk was nonsense compared with her smile, and she was right.

She always gave him a cheerful and trusting smile, a smile in his presence alone, and a deeper meaning than the simple smile she usually wore for beauty.Pierre knew that what everyone was waiting for was that he would utter a word and cross the known boundary line, and he also knew that sooner or later he would cross this boundary line.But as soon as he thought of the dreadful step, an unimaginable terror seized him.During this month and a half Pierre felt himself being drawn further and further into the abyss which terrified him.A thousand times he had said to himself: "What is it all about? Be determined! Haven't I resolved?"

He wanted to make up his mind, but he felt with horror that, on this occasion, he lacked the resolution he thought he had, and did have.He was among those who are powerful only when they feel themselves perfectly pure.The feeling of longing he felt when he bent over Anna Pavlovna for the snuffbox took hold of him, and from that day on this longing had produced in him an unconscious feeling of regret, paralyzed. broke his determination. On the day of Helen's name day, several of Prince Vasili's closest relatives - as the Duchess said, several relatives and friends had dinner at the home of Prince Vasily.All these relatives and friends understood that this day should decide the fate of the girl whose name day was celebrated.The guests are having dinner.The tall, formerly handsome, but still dignified Princess Kuragina sat at the host's table.The distinguished guests—the old general and his wife, Anna Pavlovna, and Scherer sat on both sides of the hostess; the younger guests sat at the end of the table, and the family also sat there for company. Al and Helen sat side by side.Prince Vasili didn't eat supper, he paced around the table, sat down now with one guest and now with another, with a good mood.He casually said nice words to everyone except Pierre and Hélène, who did not seem to be aware of their presence at the dinner party.Prince Vasili animated everyone.The candles were bright, and the silver and crystal glass, the women's clothing, and the gold and silver epaulets of the generals shone with brilliance.Servants in red gowns shuttled back and forth.The clink of knives, wine glasses, and plates could be heard, and several groups of people were talking lively around the table.An old baroness could be heard laughing at one end of the table as an old court chamberlain insisted that he sincerely loved her.At the other end, someone was telling the story of a certain Maria Viktorovna's setback.Near the middle of the table, Prince Vasili gathered the audience around him.With a wry smile on his lips, he narrates the latest (Wednesday) State Council meeting at which the new Governor-General of Petersburg, Sergei Kuzmich Vyazimidinov, received Alexander Pavlo Emperor Vichy issued from the army and delivered to him the famous decree of the time, he read the decree, in which the emperor informed Sergey Kuzmich: he received from all directions the declaration of the people's allegiance to the emperor, the declaration of Petersburg made him very happy.He is proud that he is honored to be the head of such a country, and he will do his best to make himself worthy of the country.The decree begins: "Sergey Kuzmich! According to various reports..." etc.

"Say 'Sergei Kuzmich,' and really stop reading?" asked a woman. "Yes, yes, not a word," replied Prince Vasili, laughing. 'Sergei Kuzmich...according to various rumors.According to various rumors.Sergey Kuzmich...' Poor Vyazimidinov couldn't read any more.Several times in succession he started from scratch.But as soon as he read Sergei... he choked up... Ku... Zmi... Chi, and tears flowed... According to various reports, his voice was drowned out by crying, and he could not continue reading.And wiped his tears with a handkerchief, and said 'Sergey Kuzmich, according to all sources,' and cried again... and asked someone else to finish it. "

"Kuzmic...according to various rumors...the tears flowed down again..." Someone repeated this sentence with a smile. "Don't be vicious," said Anna Pavlovna, holding out a threatening finger from the other end of the table, "C'estunsibraveetex BcellenthommenotrebonViasmitinoff..." -------- ①French: Our good-natured Vyazimidilov, he is a very nice man. There was a roar of laughter.The people seated at the VIP table looked very happy under the influence of various emotions, except Pierre and Helene who were silent, sitting side by side almost at the end of the table, and the two barely restrained themselves, There was no beaming smile that had nothing to do with Sergey Kuzmich, a smile that felt ashamed of its own feelings.No matter what people talk about, how much they laugh, no matter how much they drink Rhine grapes, eat soft fried meat, eat ice cream, eat vegetables with sauce, no matter how people look away from the lovers, as if they are indifferent to them They paid attention, but for some reason, judging by the frequent glances they were given, the guests felt that whether Sergei Kuzmich was joking, laughing, or devouring food—it was all a show, and the people of this group All attention is on Pierre and Helene, the lovers.Prince Vasily, imitating Sergei Kuzmich's sobs, glanced at his daughter, and when he laughed, his facial expression seemed to say: "Yes, yes, everything is going well, Everything will be settled today." Anna Pavlovna, complaining about the good-natured Vyazimidinov, made a threatening gesture towards him, while she looked at the skin with shining eyes. El, Prince Vasili saw in her eyes that it was a congratulation on the happiness of his future son-in-law and daughter.The old Duchess glanced angrily at her daughter, and with a sad sigh, toasted the lady next door, as if to say: "Yes, my dear, now I have only a drink with you. Here's a glass of rum; now is the happy hour of these young men's daring provocations." Looking at the happy faces of the lovers, the diplomat thought to himself: "What I'm saying is stupid, as if it would make me very angry." As if interested. Look, this is happiness!"

In the artificial interest that unites this group of people one by one, there is inserted the simple affection of a pair of handsome and healthy young men and women who fall in love with each other.This human emotion prevails over all and governs their false prattle.The laughter sounds depressing, the news seems dull, and the lively scene turns out to be a disguise.Not only them, but even the servants who served the table seemed to feel the same way.They were so fascinated by the beauty Helene and her radiant face, and at Pierre's red, plump, happy and restless face, that they forgot to serve their guests.The candlelight seems to be concentrated only on these two happy faces.

Pierre felt himself the center of everything, a position which pleased him and made him ashamed at the same time.He was in that state, as if someone were engaged in a business.He could see nothing clearly, understand nothing, hear nothing clearly.Fragments of thoughts and impressions of reality flashed through his mind now and then unexpectedly. "Is this all over!" thought he, "and how did it all come about? How quickly! I know now that it is not for her alone, nor for me alone, but for all , this thing will come true. They expect it will happen, and believe that it will come true, so I can't disappoint them. But how will this thing come true? I don't know, but it must It will come true!" thought Pierre, looking at her shiny, smooth shoulders that showed by his eyes.

Sometimes he felt suddenly ashamed for no apparent reason.What he feels uncomfortable is that he attracts everyone's attention by himself, he is a lucky person in the eyes of others, and his appearance is ugly, but he becomes Paris who possesses Helen. "Surely this has always happened and should be done," he consoled himself, "but what did I do for it? When did it begin? I set out from Moscow with Prince Vasily. .Nothing happened at the time. Why didn’t I live in his house later? Later I played cards with her, picked up a lady’s handbag for her, and rode in a carriage with her. When did it start? When did it all come true? You see that he is now a fiancé sitting beside her, hearing, seeing, and feeling her closeness, her breathing, her every move, and her beauty. Sometimes he suddenly felt that it was not her But he himself was so handsome that people looked at him like this, and he was so happy because he caused everyone's amazement, he puffed up his chest and head, and rejoiced in his happiness. Suddenly he heard a There was a voice, a familiar voice, and what it was saying to him. But Pierre was so fascinated that he could not understand what was being said to him.

"I ask you when you received Bolkonsky's letter," repeated Prince Vasily for the third time, "how careless you are, my dear." Prince Vasily was smiling, and Pierre saw that everyone was smiling at him and Helene. "Since you all know, it's all right," Pierre said to himself, "so what if it's true?" He smiled meekly and childishly, and Helen smiled too. "When exactly did you receive it? Did it come from Olmitz?" repeated Prince Vasily, as if he wanted to know this in order to settle the dispute. "Is it not possible to think and talk about such trifles?" thought Pierre. "Yes, the letter is from Olmitz," he replied with a sigh. After supper, Pierre, accompanied by his companion, entered the drawing-room with the other guests.The guests began to disperse, and some of them drove away without saying goodbye to Helen.Some people stayed with her for a while, and then hurried away, not letting Helen see them off, as if they didn't want to interrupt her serious business.The diplomat came out of the living room in a sad silence.It occurred to him that his rise in diplomacy was nothing compared to Pierre's happiness.When the old general's wife asked about the general's leg problem, he complained angrily to her. "Oh, you old fool," he thought for a moment, "you see Yelena Vassilyevna (that is, Helen) is still a beauty at fifty." "I seem to be able to congratulate you," Anna Pavlovna whispered to the princess, kissing her vigorously. "If it wasn't for the migraines, I would have stayed." The Duchess answered nothing, tormented by her jealousy of her daughter's happiness. When seeing off the guests, Pierre and Helen stayed in the small living room where they were sitting for a long time.Before this time, in the past one and a half months, he often accompanied Helen by himself, but he never confessed his love to her.At this moment he felt that he must do it.But he couldn't make up his mind to take the last step no matter what.He was ashamed, as if he had taken someone else's place beside Helen. "This happiness is not mine," an inner voice told him, "this happiness is for those who lack what you have." But something should be said, and he spoke.He asked her if she was satisfied with today's party.She still answered simply as usual. For her, today's name day is a very pleasant one. Some of the next of kin have not left.They are sitting in the big living room.Prince Vasily approached Pierre with languid steps.Pierre got up and said that it was getting late.Prince Vasili looked at him gravely and incredulously, as if what he was saying was so strange that he could hardly hear him.But then the solemn expression changed, and Prince Vasily took LaPierre's hand, pressed it down, made him sit down, and smiled kindly. "Ah, Liao Liya (Helen's pet name), what's the matter?" He immediately turned his face to his daughter, and said in the gentle and casual tone that parents used to love their children since childhood, But Prince Vasili had learned this tone only from imitating other parents. He turned his face to Pierre again, and said: "Sergey Kuzmich, by all accounts," he said, fastening the top button of his vest. Pierre smiled, but it was clear from his smile that he understood that at that moment Prince Vasili was not interested in Sergei Kuzmitch's joke, and Prince Vasily understood it, and Pierre understood it. .Prince Vasily muttered suddenly, and went out.It seemed to Pierre that even Prince Vasili was perplexed.Pierre was moved by the embarrassment of this old gentleman; he glanced at Helene, as if she too had been frightened, and her eyes said: "It's nothing, you are at fault." "It must be crossed, but I can't, I can't," thought Pierre, and then he started talking about the others, about Sergey Kuzmitch, and asked what kind of joke it was: Because he didn't listen.Helen replied with a slight smile, saying that she didn't know either. While Prince Vasili was walking towards the drawing room, the princess whispered something about Pierre to an elderly lady. "Of course, C'estun partitres brillant, maisle boenheur, machere..." "Lesmariagesse font dans lescieux," replied the old lady. Prince Vasily did not seem to be listening to the ladies, but walked to a far corner of the room and sat down on a sofa.He closed his eyes as if dozing off.His head dropped to his chest, but then he woke up. "Aline," he said to his wife, "Allezvoircequ'ilsfont."② -------- ① French: "Of course, this is a very good spouse, my dear, but happiness..." "Every marriage is a match made in heaven." ②French: Alina, go and see what they are doing. The Duchess came to the door, passed it with an air of significant indifference, and glanced into the drawing room.Pierre and Helen were still sitting there chatting. "Still the same," she replied to her husband. Prince Vasily frowned, turned his mouth aside, his face was wrinkled, his cheeks quivered with the repulsive bruteness that was inherent in him.Pulling himself together, he stood up, and walked with firm steps from the ladies to the little drawing room.He walked up to Pierre happily and quickly.There was such an expression of great emotion on the prince's face that Pierre, startled at the sight of him, rose to his feet. "Thank God!" he said, "the wife told me everything!" He put Pierre in one arm and his daughter with the other. "Liao Liya, my dear! I am very, very happy." His voice trembled. "I love your father...she will be a wonderful wife for you...May God bless you! ..." He embraced his daughter, then Pierre, and kissed him with his old man's mouth.His tears really wet Pierre's cheeks. "My Duchess, come here," he cried. The Duchess came out, also crying.The old lady also wiped her tears with a handkerchief.They all kissed Pierre, and he also kissed the hand of the pretty Hélène several times.After a while, let them stay together again. "All this must be one way, it cannot be another way," thought Pierre, and therefore there was no question whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.Fortunately, the matter has been decided, and the doubts that tormented him before disappeared.Pierre silently held his fiancée's hand and gazed at the beautiful heaving and falling of her breast. "Helen!" he said loudly, and then stopped. "What special things do people say on these occasions," he thought, but he couldn't remember what exactly they said on these occasions.He looked at her face.She was getting closer to him.A blush came to her face. "Hey, take this off... that's it..." She pointed at his glasses. Pierre took off his spectacles, and his eyes, in addition to having the grotesque look that people take off spectacles, looked around in panic and doubt.He wanted to bend down to her hand and kiss her hand, but she moved her head forward quickly and roughly, and caught his lips to meet her own.Her face changed, and Pierre was rather surprised by the unpleasant, disturbed expression. "It's too late now, it's all over; but I love her," thought Pierre. "Jevousaime!" he said, remembering what to say on these occasions; but the words sounded so poor that he was ashamed of himself. -------- ①French: I love you! A month and a half later he married, everyone said he was a lucky man with a beautiful wife and millions, and he took up residence in Petersburg in a renovated Count Bezukhov's mansion.