Pierre, lacking self-direction and easily manipulated, is steered almost against his will into marrying Hélène.
Summary:
Pierre is manipulated into marrying Vasíli’s daughter Hélène by social pressure. In his heart, Pierre did not really admire Hélène. But Vasíli and others cause Pierre to spend a lot of time with Hélène. Pierre is rudderless and easily manipulated. Due to constant subtle hints, Pierre begins to think about marrying Hélène. He does not really know in his own mind whether he wants to marry her or not. He spends a lot of time with her, and realizes people consider them a couple, but Pierre does not propose to her. Fed up with waiting for Pierre to propose, Vasíli uses a silly trick to make the clueless Pierre believe he has proposed to her. One evening Vasíli suddenly congratulates Pierre on his engagement, (which in reality had never happened). The clueless Pierre falls for this silly trick and does not deny that he is engaged to Hélène. On the contrary, Pierre behaves as if he had actually proposed to her, which he had not. Pierre marries Hélène shortly thereafter.
quote from the chapter:
Six weeks after Anna Pávlovna’s At Home and after the sleepless night when he had decided that to marry Hélène would be a calamity and that he ought to avoid her and go away, Pierre, despite that decision, had not left Prince Vasíli’s and felt with terror that in people’s eyes he was every day more and more connected with her, that it was impossible for him to return to his former conception of her, that he could not break away from her, and that though it would be a terrible thing he would have to unite his fate with hers. He might perhaps have been able to free himself but that Prince Vasíli (who had rarely before given receptions) now hardly let a day go by without having an evening party at which Pierre had to be present unless he wished to spoil the general pleasure and disappoint everyone’s expectation.
Book 3, Chapter 2
Pierre, lacking self-direction and easily manipulated, is steered almost against his will into marrying Hélène.
Summary:
Pierre is manipulated into marrying Vasíli’s daughter Hélène by social pressure. In his heart, Pierre did not really admire Hélène. But Vasíli and others cause Pierre to spend a lot of time with Hélène. Pierre is rudderless and easily manipulated. Due to constant subtle hints, Pierre begins to think about marrying Hélène. He does not really know in his own mind whether he wants to marry her or not. He spends a lot of time with her, and realizes people consider them a couple, but Pierre does not propose to her. Fed up with waiting for Pierre to propose, Vasíli uses a silly trick to make the clueless Pierre believe he has proposed to her. One evening Vasíli suddenly congratulates Pierre on his engagement, (which in reality had never happened). The clueless Pierre falls for this silly trick and does not deny that he is engaged to Hélène. On the contrary, Pierre behaves as if he had actually proposed to her, which he had not. Pierre marries Hélène shortly thereafter.
quote from the chapter:
Six weeks after Anna Pávlovna’s At Home and after the sleepless night when he had decided that to marry Hélène would be a calamity and that he ought to avoid her and go away, Pierre, despite that decision, had not left Prince Vasíli’s and felt with terror that in people’s eyes he was every day more and more connected with her, that it was impossible for him to return to his former conception of her, that he could not break away from her, and that though it would be a terrible thing he would have to unite his fate with hers. He might perhaps have been able to free himself but that Prince Vasíli (who had rarely before given receptions) now hardly let a day go by without having an evening party at which Pierre had to be present unless he wished to spoil the general pleasure and disappoint everyone’s expectation.
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