The four weeks he spent in the prison camp greatly improved Pierre’s outlook on life.
Summary:
During the weeks in the prison camp, Pierre was able to achieve a new inner peace and harmony, a state of inner tranquility and ease of mind he had formerly striven in vain to reach. Before, he had been looking for joy in the wrong places, such as in philanthropy, in Freemasonry, in the dissipations of town life, and so on – but all of these past quests had failed him. But in the prison camp he learned to endure privation joyfully. Those dreadful moments at the executions had forever washed away the agitating thoughts that had formerly seemed so important. Pierre ceased to worry about things outside of his control, like Russia, or the war, or politics, or Napoleon. It was plain to him that all these things were no business of his, and that he was not called on to judge concerning them and therefore could not do so. His anger with his wife and anxiety that his name should not be smirched now seemed not merely trivial but even amusing. His intention of killing Napoleon now seemed to him meaningless and even ridiculous. Being a useful member of the prison community also helped improve his outlook, as was the influence of his friend Platón Karatáev. His wealth, with all its attendant options, had also been a source of anxiety in the past. Subsequently, and for the rest of his life, he thought and spoke with enthusiasm of that month of captivity in the prison, of those irrecoverable, strong, joyful sensations, and chiefly of the complete peace of mind and inner freedom which he experienced only during those weeks.
quote from the chapter:
Here and now for the first time he fully appreciated the enjoyment of eating when he wanted to eat, drinking when he wanted to drink, sleeping when he wanted to sleep, of warmth when he was cold, of talking to a fellow man when he wished to talk and to hear a human voice. The satisfaction of one’s needs-good food, cleanliness, and freedom-now that he was deprived of all this, seemed to Pierre to constitute perfect happiness; and the choice of occupation, that is, of his way of life-now that that was so restricted-seemed to him such an easy matter that he forgot that a superfluity of the comforts of life destroys all joy in satisfying one’s needs, while great freedom in the choice of occupation-such freedom as his wealth, his education, and his social position had given him in his own life-is just what makes the choice of occupation insolubly difficult and destroys the desire and possibility of having an occupation.
Book 13, Chapter 12
The four weeks he spent in the prison camp greatly improved Pierre’s outlook on life.
Summary:
During the weeks in the prison camp, Pierre was able to achieve a new inner peace and harmony, a state of inner tranquility and ease of mind he had formerly striven in vain to reach. Before, he had been looking for joy in the wrong places, such as in philanthropy, in Freemasonry, in the dissipations of town life, and so on – but all of these past quests had failed him. But in the prison camp he learned to endure privation joyfully. Those dreadful moments at the executions had forever washed away the agitating thoughts that had formerly seemed so important. Pierre ceased to worry about things outside of his control, like Russia, or the war, or politics, or Napoleon. It was plain to him that all these things were no business of his, and that he was not called on to judge concerning them and therefore could not do so. His anger with his wife and anxiety that his name should not be smirched now seemed not merely trivial but even amusing. His intention of killing Napoleon now seemed to him meaningless and even ridiculous. Being a useful member of the prison community also helped improve his outlook, as was the influence of his friend Platón Karatáev. His wealth, with all its attendant options, had also been a source of anxiety in the past. Subsequently, and for the rest of his life, he thought and spoke with enthusiasm of that month of captivity in the prison, of those irrecoverable, strong, joyful sensations, and chiefly of the complete peace of mind and inner freedom which he experienced only during those weeks.
quote from the chapter:
Here and now for the first time he fully appreciated the enjoyment of eating when he wanted to eat, drinking when he wanted to drink, sleeping when he wanted to sleep, of warmth when he was cold, of talking to a fellow man when he wished to talk and to hear a human voice. The satisfaction of one’s needs-good food, cleanliness, and freedom-now that he was deprived of all this, seemed to Pierre to constitute perfect happiness; and the choice of occupation, that is, of his way of life-now that that was so restricted-seemed to him such an easy matter that he forgot that a superfluity of the comforts of life destroys all joy in satisfying one’s needs, while great freedom in the choice of occupation-such freedom as his wealth, his education, and his social position had given him in his own life-is just what makes the choice of occupation insolubly difficult and destroys the desire and possibility of having an occupation.
Click here to read full text of this chapter.
Please help improve this shared document by posting your suggested corrections, clarifications, and changes below. Thank you!