War and Peace: Volume 3, Part 1: Chapters 19–23 Summary & Analysis

Ever since Pierre left the Rostovs’ house and saw the comet in the sky, his old tormenting questions seem to have left him. His despair about earthly vanity has been replaced by the image of Natasha’s face. Pierre is still drawn into his wasteful, idle social life, and as Natasha’s health improves, and he hears rumors of war, he begins to feel anxious again. He fears some impending catastrophe.

A fellow Mason shows Pierre a verse in the Book of Revelation, explaining that it’s a prophecy of Napoleon. He derives this prophecy by assigning numerical values to the French letters of this verse. When one writes “l’empereur Napoléon” in the numerical alphabet and adds up the values of the letters, the result is 666, showing that Napoleon is the prophesied beast. The same code, applied to an earlier verse, suggests that Napoleon will reach the height of his power in 1812.

By experimenting with this alphanumeric code and variant spellings of his name, Pierre figures out that “L’russe Besuhof” adds up to 666, suggesting to him that, in some mysterious way, he’s bound up in the events surrounding Napoleon. He feels that all these events—his love for Natasha, the comet, the war—will somehow connect in such a way that he’ll be liberated from his worthless Moscow life.

Pierre has promised to visit the Rostovs with war news. When he stops at Count Rastopchin’s to pick up the relevant documents, an army courier gives him a letter from Nikolai to pass along. Pierre feels excited by all the war news and wishes he could join the military himself. However, the Masons are bound by oath to peace. More than that, however, his numerological study convinces him that, somehow, he’s predestined to interfere in Napoleon’s invasion. He just has to wait for events to unfold.

When Pierre arrives at the Rostovs’ that evening, he finds Natasha practicing her scales, the first time she’s sung since her illness. She seems happier than before, but she stops Pierre and asks him if it’s wrong for her to sing—she trusts him implicitly and doesn’t want to do anything he wouldn’t approve of. Pierre blushes, so moved that he almost declares his love to her again, but then 15-year-old Petya runs into the room. He secretly wants to join the hussars and hopes Pierre can help him.

The rest of the family comes in and wants to see the manifesto Pierre has brought—a war appeal from the Emperor. The manifesto tells of the threat to Russia, the sovereign’s faith in the people of Moscow, and his commitment to stand among them. Afterward, Count Rostov is teary-eyed. Blushing, Petya goes up to his father and says he wants to join the military. Countess Rostov is horrified, and the Count says it's nonsense—Petya must go to university instead. Suddenly Natasha’s stare is too much for Pierre, and he makes an excuse to leave, deciding he must no longer visit the Rostovs.

After Pierre’s visit, Petya goes to his room and cries. The next day, he dresses carefully. The Emperor is due in town, and Petya plans to make a speech to one of Alexander’s gentlemen-in-waiting conveying his readiness to defend the fatherland. But when he reaches the Kremlin, he has to elbow through the crowd just like everybody else who’s gathered to see the sovereign’s arrival. Suddenly the crowd surges forward, cheering, and Petya is nearly crushed in the stampede; he briefly loses consciousness. A clergyman leads Petya away from the crowd, somebody unbuttons his coat, and he sits down to rest on a monument.

As Petya’s pain subsides, he relishes his favored vantage point. While the emperor attends a prayer service in the cathedral, hawkers sell snacks, and the crowd lapses into ordinary conversation. When the emperor’s entourage emerges from the cathedral, Petya tearfully shouts “Hurrah!,” not knowing which figure is the emperor but hardly caring—he just knows he must enlist in the military, whatever it takes.

During the Emperor’s supper in the palace, the people remain gathered beneath his balcony. When he steps out to greet them, many people, including Petya, begin to cry. When the sovereign accidentally drops a piece of the biscuit he’s holding, it falls to the ground, and a cabby pounces on it. The crowd, in turn, rushes the cabby. Then the Emperor calls for a plate of biscuits and begins throwing these at the crowd. Heedless of the mob, Petya pushes forward to grab a biscuit, knocking a little old lady aside. When he gets home, he repeats his firm intention to join the army. Though he doesn’t say yes, Count Rostov starts searching for a way that Petya can be sent to a less dangerous area of the warfront.

A few days later, carriages crowd outside the Slobodsky palace. The palace’s halls are filled with nobles and merchants, milling around and talking. Pierre is there, excited about the mix of classes and the fact that the sovereign said he was coming to Moscow “for consultations” with the people—it all makes him think of the French revolution. Various people make speeches in support of various roles for the nobility in the war, one man arguing that nobles should enlist to fight.

Pierre interrupts an elderly senator in overly correct Russian with French sprinkled in. He argues that the sovereign wants counsel, not just cannon fodder. Most people walk away, but several people jump in to argue with Pierre. One impassioned fellow declares that Russians must spill their last drop of blood in the tsar’s defense. Pierre wants to defend himself by saying that he’s happy to support the emperor, but that it’s important to understand the state of affairs first. However, he’s drowned out and pushed to the margins, as people want a clear rallying cry and a clear villain.

Then Count Rastopchin comes in and says that the Emperor will arrive soon. He supposes there won’t be much to discuss, and that it’s the nobility’s job to raise a militia. There’s a quiet murmur of agreement. The secretary is ordered to write down what the Muscovite nobility will contribute to the war effort.

Pierre now feels ashamed of the “constitutional tendency” he’s just shown, and to make up for it, he pledges a thousand men and their maintenance to the war effort. Count Rostov goes home and tearfully tells his wife about the affecting scene; he also signs Petya up for service, his misgivings vanished. After the sovereign leaves Moscow, the noblemen return to their normal routines, giving their stewards orders to deal with the militia.