Vasíli very intrusively attempts to get Pierre to take Hélène back, but Pierre sends him away.
Summary:
The next day Pierre is at home reading a Masonic book and joyfully planning a new life for himself. He’s heard maybe he should leave town since the Emperor found out about the duel. Pierre thinks of going to his estates in the south to focus on doing good for the serfs. Just then, Prince Vasíli suddenly enters the room uninvited. Vasíli immediately begins to try to cajole and pressure Pierre into reconciling with his daughter Hélène. This intrusion naturally makes Pierre very angry. He tries to speak, but Vasíli keeps cutting him off. Also, Pierre hesitates to show anger since the Masonic statutes say to be kindly and courteous, to everyone. Finally, Pierre simply tells Vasíli to leave. Vasíli protests, but Pierre is firm, and so Vasíli has no choice but to leave as Pierre is requesting.
quote from the chapter:
Pierre tried several times to speak, but, on one hand, Prince Vasíli did not let him and, on the other, Pierre himself feared to begin to speak in the tone of decided refusal and disagreement in which he had firmly resolved to answer his father-in-law. Moreover, the words of the Masonic statutes, be kindly and courteous, recurred to him. He blinked, went red, got up and sat down again, struggling with himself to do what was for him the most difficult thing in life-to say an unpleasant thing to a man’s face, to say what the other, whoever he might be, did not expect. He was so used to submitting to Prince Vasíli’s tone of careless self-assurance that he felt he would be unable to withstand it now, but he also felt that on what he said now his future depended-whether he would follow the same old road, or that new path so attractively shown him by the Masons, on which he firmly believed he would be reborn to a new life.
Book 5, Chapter 5
Vasíli very intrusively attempts to get Pierre to take Hélène back, but Pierre sends him away.
Summary:
The next day Pierre is at home reading a Masonic book and joyfully planning a new life for himself. He’s heard maybe he should leave town since the Emperor found out about the duel. Pierre thinks of going to his estates in the south to focus on doing good for the serfs. Just then, Prince Vasíli suddenly enters the room uninvited. Vasíli immediately begins to try to cajole and pressure Pierre into reconciling with his daughter Hélène. This intrusion naturally makes Pierre very angry. He tries to speak, but Vasíli keeps cutting him off. Also, Pierre hesitates to show anger since the Masonic statutes say to be kindly and courteous, to everyone. Finally, Pierre simply tells Vasíli to leave. Vasíli protests, but Pierre is firm, and so Vasíli has no choice but to leave as Pierre is requesting.
quote from the chapter:
Pierre tried several times to speak, but, on one hand, Prince Vasíli did not let him and, on the other, Pierre himself feared to begin to speak in the tone of decided refusal and disagreement in which he had firmly resolved to answer his father-in-law. Moreover, the words of the Masonic statutes, be kindly and courteous, recurred to him. He blinked, went red, got up and sat down again, struggling with himself to do what was for him the most difficult thing in life-to say an unpleasant thing to a man’s face, to say what the other, whoever he might be, did not expect. He was so used to submitting to Prince Vasíli’s tone of careless self-assurance that he felt he would be unable to withstand it now, but he also felt that on what he said now his future depended-whether he would follow the same old road, or that new path so attractively shown him by the Masons, on which he firmly believed he would be reborn to a new life.
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