Prince Vasíli takes his son Anatole to visit Prince Bolkónski, hoping to arrange the marriage of Anatole and Princess Mary.
Summary:
Prince Vasíli and his son Anatole plan to pay a visit to the Old Prince Bolkónski, obviously for the purpose of seeing if Anatole and the wealthy heiress Princess Mary might wish to become engaged. The Old Prince did not like Vasíli and resented the visit, but permitted it. Vasíli arrived with his handsome son. Prince Vasíli hoped Anatole could marry someone with money, as Anatole was a financial burden to his father. Anatole came in with a very entitled and condescending attitude. He allows he might marry an ugly heiress if she had enough money. Mary, for her part, found the whole situation very stressful. She felt unable to behave correctly in situations like this. Her French companion and sister-in-law tried to make her look more attractive, but actually only made her look worse, and she became upset to the point of tears. But she prayed about it for a few minutes, and found consolation in her religious beliefs, to trust everything to God and to be unselfish. Having calmed herself in this way, she went in to meet Prince Vasíli and his son.
quote from the chapter:
Could the joy of love, of earthly love for a man, be for her? In her thoughts of marriage Princess Mary dreamed of happiness and of children, but her strongest, most deeply hidden longing was for earthly love. The more she tried to hide this feeling from others and even from herself, the stronger it grew. O God, she said, how am I to stifle in my heart these temptations of the devil? How am I to renounce forever these vile fancies, so as peacefully to fulfill Thy will? And scarcely had she put that question than God gave her the answer in her own heart. Desire nothing for thyself, seek nothing, be not anxious or envious. Man’s future and thy own fate must remain hidden from thee, but live so that thou mayest be ready for anything. If it be God’s will to prove thee in the duties of marriage, be ready to fulfill His will. With this consoling thought (but yet with a hope for the fulfillment of her forbidden earthly longing) Princess Mary sighed, and having crossed herself went down, thinking neither of her gown and coiffure nor of how she would go in nor of what she would say.
Book 3, Chapter 3
Prince Vasíli takes his son Anatole to visit Prince Bolkónski, hoping to arrange the marriage of Anatole and Princess Mary.
Summary:
Prince Vasíli and his son Anatole plan to pay a visit to the Old Prince Bolkónski, obviously for the purpose of seeing if Anatole and the wealthy heiress Princess Mary might wish to become engaged. The Old Prince did not like Vasíli and resented the visit, but permitted it. Vasíli arrived with his handsome son. Prince Vasíli hoped Anatole could marry someone with money, as Anatole was a financial burden to his father. Anatole came in with a very entitled and condescending attitude. He allows he might marry an ugly heiress if she had enough money. Mary, for her part, found the whole situation very stressful. She felt unable to behave correctly in situations like this. Her French companion and sister-in-law tried to make her look more attractive, but actually only made her look worse, and she became upset to the point of tears. But she prayed about it for a few minutes, and found consolation in her religious beliefs, to trust everything to God and to be unselfish. Having calmed herself in this way, she went in to meet Prince Vasíli and his son.
quote from the chapter:
Could the joy of love, of earthly love for a man, be for her? In her thoughts of marriage Princess Mary dreamed of happiness and of children, but her strongest, most deeply hidden longing was for earthly love. The more she tried to hide this feeling from others and even from herself, the stronger it grew. O God, she said, how am I to stifle in my heart these temptations of the devil? How am I to renounce forever these vile fancies, so as peacefully to fulfill Thy will? And scarcely had she put that question than God gave her the answer in her own heart. Desire nothing for thyself, seek nothing, be not anxious or envious. Man’s future and thy own fate must remain hidden from thee, but live so that thou mayest be ready for anything. If it be God’s will to prove thee in the duties of marriage, be ready to fulfill His will. With this consoling thought (but yet with a hope for the fulfillment of her forbidden earthly longing) Princess Mary sighed, and having crossed herself went down, thinking neither of her gown and coiffure nor of how she would go in nor of what she would say.
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