War and Peace

After reporting to the regiment, Rostov rides to Tilsit with Denisov’s letter for the sovereign. On June 13th, Napoleon and Emperor Alexander are meeting at Tilsit. Boris Drubetskoy is also stationed there. Boris witnesses the two emperors greeting one another on a raft in the middle of the river Niemen and then disappearing inside a pavilion. Boris observes the proceedings closely, including the precise length of the emperors’ meeting, and writes down all the details. Boris believes that his presence at this important meeting assures his position in the “higher world.”

During the stay in Tilsit, Boris rooms with a Polish adjutant named Zhilinsky who loves French culture. Boris and Zhilinsky host frequent gatherings for French officers. One of these dinners includes Napoleon’s adjutant and page; that same night, Rostov arrives and visits Boris’s apartment in civilian clothes. Rostov is startled by the friendly atmosphere—he’s used to thinking of French soldiers as enemies and of Napoleon as a criminal. Nikolai asks for Boris’s help on Denisov’s behalf, refusing to stay for the French party.

Rostov’s timing is poor. The two emperors are signing a preliminary peace agreement and then attending a celebratory banquet. Rostov decides that if he can’t trust Boris, he’ll take matters into his own hands. He lingers outside Emperor Alexander’s quarters and, surprised at his own resolve, walks straight inside. He believes Alexander can be trusted to side with justice. An officer scolds Rostov for his presumption, but just as he’s about to slink from the house in shame, he runs into a sympathetic former commander who accepts Denisov’s letter.

As Rostov leaves, he hears the emperor approaching, and he can’t resist crowding close along with some townsfolk. Seeing Alexander, Rostov’s love for the sovereign is rekindled; he feels the emperor’s gaze lights up everything it touches. He watches the two sovereigns shake hands and bestow honors on soldiers in the town square; he can’t help noticing that Napoleon’s smile looks fake and that he’s a poor horseman.

During the ensuing banquet, Boris notices the stormy expression on Rostov’s face. Rostov agrees to visit with Boris, but he stands there pensively silent, thinking about the suffering amputees in the hospital, Denisov’s trouble, and the two emperors. He goes to a bustling inn and, while downing two whole bottles of wine, listens to Russian soldiers criticizing the peace treaty. Suddenly, Rostov has an outburst. Soldiers have no right to criticize the sovereign, he insists; it’s their job to do their duty and die—not to think. If they keep questioning everything, he continues while banging the table, what will remain sacred? He calls for another bottle.