War and Peace: Volume 2, Part 4: Chapters 7–13 Summary & Analysis

The hunt has taken Nikolai so far from home that he agrees to stop by his uncle’s house in a nearby village. Natasha and Petya join them. When the uncle’s servants see a lady on horseback, they unabashedly surround her and make awed comments about her sidesaddle riding, “like a Tartar woman.” Nikolai’s uncle leads the guests into his small, shabby house. Natasha and Nikolai sit on a sofa, along with the muddy dog, and laugh merrily for no particular reason. Their uncle’s housekeeper, a plump, graceful woman of 40 named Anisya Fyodorovna, brings in generously laden trays of food.

Natasha thinks she’s never eaten more delightful food, and she listens happily as Nikolai and the uncle talk about hunting and dogs. Nikolai has always heard good things about this relative, a trustworthy eccentric who refuses government service, preferring his fields and garden. Down the hall, the uncle’s coachman, Mitya, begins skillfully playing the balalaika. Natasha goes into the hall to hear better. Mitya plays the popular song “Barinya” over and over, but his listeners don’t tire of it.

Natasha asks the uncle if he can play, and Anisya happily brings a dusty guitar. The uncle begins to play a familiar song, his face taking on a merry expression. When the song ends, Natasha hugs him and begs for more. When he begins the song for the third time, Natasha stands in front of him and begins to dance with instinctive Russian movements. Everyone wonders how a girl brought up by an émigré Frenchwoman could know how to dance like this, but her natural grace makes even Anisya weep with recognition.

When the uncle praises Natasha’s dancing, he remarks that all she needs is a fine young husband. Nikolai says that a husband has already been chosen. Natasha wonders about her brother’s choice of words—does he imply that Andrei wouldn’t understand the kind of joy they’re sharing here? She dismisses the thought from her mind and turns back to the singing, even trying out her uncle’s guitar. When the siblings climb into the Rostovs’ droshky to go home, the uncle bids Natasha goodbye with special tenderness. During the ride, Natasha tells her brother that she’ll never feel as happy and peaceful as she does right now.

Count Rostov resigns from his post as marshal of the nobility due to the expenses involved. His own finances haven’t improved. Life at Otradnoe is a little quieter, yet their way of life remains mostly unchanged, because it’s all the Rostovs know. Nikolai maintains a huge stable of horses, the family has lavish name-day celebrations, and Count Rostov loses generous amounts at card tables. Count Rostov is aware that he’s financially trapped, yet he lacks the will to disentangle himself. Countess Rostov believes the family’s only hope is for Nikolai to marry a rich bride. She decides this bride should be Julie Karagin, who’s now a wealthy heiress because of her brother’s death.

Countess Rostov encourages Nikolai to visit the Karagins in Moscow. Nikolai balks at the idea of marrying for money instead of love. For her part, Countess Rostov dislikes the idea of Nikolai having to sacrifice for her. Yet when she sees Nikolai’s growing devotion to Sonya, she feels angry. She feels even angrier because Sonya is so kind, selfless, and devoted to her benefactors. Around this time, Natasha receives another letter from Prince Andrei; a setback with his war wound prevents him from traveling home. Natasha still loves him, but she feels she is wasting away in his absence. The Rostov home has a gloomy atmosphere.

One day, over Christmas, at a dull and dreary time of day, Natasha is practically in tears over Andrei’s absence and the fear that nothing in her life will change. The countess persuades Natasha to sing for them, but as she listens, she feels that there is “too much of something” in Natasha which will keep her from being happy.

Soon Petya runs in announcing that the mummers have come. Costumed servants fill the reception room with songs, dances, and games. The young people dress up in their own costumes and decide to pay a visit to a neighbor, Mrs. Melyukov. Sonya, in a Circassian outfit with a painted mustache and eyebrows, looks especially striking, and her timid persona grows bolder while she’s in costume. They crowd into several troikas, the sleighs’ runners squeaking over the snow. Racing one another and laughing in the frosty night, they all have a magical feeling.

Pelageya Danilovna Melyukov, a bespectacled widow, has been trying to keep her daughters entertained when the mummers arrive. Everyone is delighted with the costumes, dancing, and games. The Rostovs stay for supper, and Pelageya Danilovna tells the young people a method of fortune-telling: if a girl hears banging in a barn, it’s a bad sign, but if she hears the sound of pouring grain, it’s a good sign. Boldly, Sonya says she would try this.

Something about the costumes and merriment has made Sonya glow more than usual, and Nikolai notices. When Sonya puts on her coat to walk to the barn, Nikolai runs outside, thinking he’s been a fool and now determined to intercept her. He waits by the barn, and she notices him when she’s just a few steps away, running to him at once. He’s costumed in a woman’s dress. Nikolai embraces Sonya, and they kiss in the moonlight, murmuring each other’s names.

As they head home, Natasha picks up on something between Nikolai and Sonya and insists that they share a sleigh. Nikolai drives home more slowly, gazing at Sonya and remembering their kiss. At one point, he gives the reins to the coachman and jumps onto the runners of Natasha’s sleigh to tell her what happened. She heartily approves. He jumps back into his own sleigh and sits with the smiling, mustached Circassian who will become his wife.

At home, Dunyasha has set up mirrors in Natasha’s room. Natasha and Sonya peer into the mirrors for signs of their future. After a few minutes, Sonya moves away, covering her eyes. She didn’t see anything, but pressed by Natasha, she haltingly claims to have seen Andrei with a cheerful face. As she talks about it, Sonya begins to think she did see Andrei in the mirror. Feeling frightened that she’ll never see Andrei again, Natasha goes to bed and lies awake for a long time.

After Christmas, Nikolai tells his mother that he loves Sonya and intends to marry her. Though Countess Rostov has been expecting this, she tells Nikolai that she and the Count cannot bless this marriage. The Count tries to dissuade Nikolai, too, but he’s aware that the situation is his fault—if his affairs were in order, he couldn’t possibly object to Sonya as Nikolai’s bride.

A few days later, Countess Rostov speaks to Sonya with unexpected cruelty. She accuses Sonya of luring Nikolai and being ungrateful. Sonya feels ashamed and doesn’t know what to do—she loves the Rostovs and feels indebted to them, but she knows Nikolai’s happiness depends on her love for him. Nikolai speaks to his mother again, warning that he’ll elope with Sonya. The Countess replies that if he does so, she won’t acknowledge “this intriguer” as her daughter-in-law. Nikolai is furious, but Natasha, who’s been eavesdropping, interrupts the argument before Nikolai can say anything he’ll regret. She negotiates a truce whereby Nikolai agrees not to marry in secret, and the Countess agrees not to give Sonya a hard time.

In January, Nikolai returns to his regiment, planning to put his affairs in order so that he can resign from the service and marry Sonya. Meanwhile, the Countess falls ill from the emotional strain. The Count needs to sell his Moscow estate in order to rectify his finances, but the Countess’s ill health prevents this. Sonya feels distraught about it all. Natasha, meanwhile, feels more tormented than ever by Andrei’s absence. From his letters, it seems he’s living an exciting life abroad while she languishes in the country. She sends him dull, dutiful letters in return. Finally, at the end of January, the Count takes Natasha and Sonya to Moscow with him, leaving the Countess at Otradnoe to recover.