At the men’s end of the table the talk grows more and more animated. The colonel remarks that the declaration of war had already appeared in Petersburg and has been forwarded to the commander in chief. Hearing this, Shinshin asks “And why the deuce are we going to fight Bonaparte? He has stopped Austria’s cackle and I fear it will be our turn next. This antiwar remark at once evokes spirited opposition, particularly from a Russian colonel, who was an ethnic German, seated nearby. Nicholas also weighs in on the correctness of the war and in support of the Emperor’s decision to oppose Napoleon. As if in counterpoint, at the other end of the table Natásha flippantly asks what is for dessert, an intentional breach of etiquette by the charming young Natásha. Natásha only desisted when she had been told that there would be pineapple ice. Before the ices, champagne was served round. The count and countess kissed, and the guests, leaving their seats, went up to congratulate the countess. After dessert, toasts begin and the Rostóv’s splendid dinner winds to an end.
quote from the chapter:
I am quite of your opinion, replied Nicholas, flaming up, turning his plate round and moving his wineglasses about with as much decision and desperation as though he were at that moment facing some great danger. I am convinced that we Russians must die or conquer, he concluded, conscious-as were others-after the words were uttered that his remarks were too enthusiastic and emphatic for the occasion and were therefore awkward.
The colonel (not general) is an ethnic German but a Russian subject. Parts of the Russian Empire that are now Latvia and Estonia had mostly ethnic German nobility.
Thank you for the correction! I changed the previous text of “pro-Russian German general” to now read “Russian colonel, who was an ethnic German,” to correct my error.
Book 1, Chapter 19
The Rostóv’s name day dinner party continues.
Summary:
At the men’s end of the table the talk grows more and more animated. The colonel remarks that the declaration of war had already appeared in Petersburg and has been forwarded to the commander in chief. Hearing this, Shinshin asks “And why the deuce are we going to fight Bonaparte? He has stopped Austria’s cackle and I fear it will be our turn next. This antiwar remark at once evokes spirited opposition, particularly from a Russian colonel, who was an ethnic German, seated nearby. Nicholas also weighs in on the correctness of the war and in support of the Emperor’s decision to oppose Napoleon. As if in counterpoint, at the other end of the table Natásha flippantly asks what is for dessert, an intentional breach of etiquette by the charming young Natásha. Natásha only desisted when she had been told that there would be pineapple ice. Before the ices, champagne was served round. The count and countess kissed, and the guests, leaving their seats, went up to congratulate the countess. After dessert, toasts begin and the Rostóv’s splendid dinner winds to an end.
quote from the chapter:
I am quite of your opinion, replied Nicholas, flaming up, turning his plate round and moving his wineglasses about with as much decision and desperation as though he were at that moment facing some great danger. I am convinced that we Russians must die or conquer, he concluded, conscious-as were others-after the words were uttered that his remarks were too enthusiastic and emphatic for the occasion and were therefore awkward.
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The colonel (not general) is an ethnic German but a Russian subject. Parts of the Russian Empire that are now Latvia and Estonia had mostly ethnic German nobility.
Thank you for the correction! I changed the previous text of “pro-Russian German general” to now read “Russian colonel, who was an ethnic German,” to correct my error.