That evening the Rostóvs went to the Opera. Natásha did not want to go. She only went because their hostess Márya Dmítrievna had been so kind as to obtain the tickets. She wishes Andrew were there, realizing its only him she cares about. What the old Prince and Mary think of her is no matter. When they enter their box at the opera hall, many looked at Sónya and Natásha and noticed how pretty they looked. During the interval before the opera began, the Rostóv’s, too, looked around the hall and saw many people they knew. For example, they saw Borís with Julie and his mother, Dólokhov, and Hélène. When the music begins everyone turns their attention to the stage.
quote from the chapter:
The two remarkably pretty girls, Natásha and Sónya, with Count Rostóv who had not been seen in Moscow for a long time, attracted general attention. Moreover, everybody knew vaguely of Natásha’s engagement to Prince Andrew, and knew that the Rostóvs had lived in the country ever since, and all looked with curiosity at a fiancée who was making one of the best matches in Russia. Natásha’s looks, as everyone told her, had improved in the country, and that evening thanks to her agitation she was particularly pretty. She struck those who saw her by her fullness of life and beauty, combined with her indifference to everything about her.
Book 8, Chapter 8
That evening, the Rostóv’s go to the Opera.
Summary:
That evening the Rostóvs went to the Opera. Natásha did not want to go. She only went because their hostess Márya Dmítrievna had been so kind as to obtain the tickets. She wishes Andrew were there, realizing its only him she cares about. What the old Prince and Mary think of her is no matter. When they enter their box at the opera hall, many looked at Sónya and Natásha and noticed how pretty they looked. During the interval before the opera began, the Rostóv’s, too, looked around the hall and saw many people they knew. For example, they saw Borís with Julie and his mother, Dólokhov, and Hélène. When the music begins everyone turns their attention to the stage.
quote from the chapter:
The two remarkably pretty girls, Natásha and Sónya, with Count Rostóv who had not been seen in Moscow for a long time, attracted general attention. Moreover, everybody knew vaguely of Natásha’s engagement to Prince Andrew, and knew that the Rostóvs had lived in the country ever since, and all looked with curiosity at a fiancée who was making one of the best matches in Russia. Natásha’s looks, as everyone told her, had improved in the country, and that evening thanks to her agitation she was particularly pretty. She struck those who saw her by her fullness of life and beauty, combined with her indifference to everything about her.
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