Pierre gives Countess Rostov her gifts from Petersburg. Everyone wants to hear the current political news from Pierre. However, since the old Countess’ social understanding is in decline, the group can only make small talk on other subjects the Countess will find agreeable.
First Epilogue, Chapter 13
Pierre gives Countess Rostov her gifts from Petersburg. Everyone wants to hear the current political news from Pierre. However, since the old Countess’ social understanding is in decline, the group can only make small talk on other subjects the Countess will find agreeable.
Summary:
Pierre and Natasha go into the drawing room to give Countess Rostov her gifts from Petersburg. Since losing her son and husband, the old Countess’ social skills have slipped quite a bit, and she isn’t quite able to properly show her appreciation for the gifts and in seeing Pierre. Later the whole household has tea, with Sonya presiding beside the samovar. While in Petersburg, Pierre has learned a lot about the current political situation there. Pierre, Natasha, Nicholas, Countess Mary, and Denisov had a lot to hear about, but these were things they could not discuss with the old countess. She would have had difficulty keeping up with a conversation on current events. So, instead, their conversation is limited to uninteresting small talk about subjects the old Countess will find agreeable. Pierre and the others enjoy the childrens’ presence.
quote from the chapter:
Though Pierre, Natasha, Nicholas, Countess Mary, and Denisov had much to talk about that they could not discuss before the old countess- not that anything was hidden from her, but because she had dropped so far behindhand in many things that had they begun to converse in her presence they would have had to answer inopportune questions and to repeat what they had already told her many times: that so-and-so was dead and so-and-so was married, which she would again be unable to remember- yet they sat at tea round the samovar in the drawing room from habit, and Pierre answered the countess’ questions as to whether Prince Vasili had aged and whether Countess Mary Alexeevna had sent greetings and still thought of them, and other matters that interested no one and to which she herself was indifferent.
Conversation of this kind, interesting to no one yet unavoidable, continued all through teatime. All the grown-up members of the family were assembled near the round tea table at which Sonya presided beside the samovar. The children with their tutors and governesses had had tea and their voices were audible from the next room.
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