Now that Pierre is rich, everyone wants some of his money. Prince Vasíli and Anna Pávlovna are the worst. They especially want Pierre to marry Vasíli’s daughter.
Now that Pierre is rich, everyone wants some of his money. Prince Vasíli and Anna Pávlovna are the worst. They especially want Pierre to marry Vasíli’s daughter.
Book 3, Chapter 1
Now that Pierre is rich, everyone wants some of his money. Prince Vasíli and Anna Pávlovna are the worst. They especially want Pierre to marry Vasíli’s daughter.
Summary:
Everyone around Pierre has begun consciously or unconsciously trying to get at his money. His architect, for example, convinces Pierre he needs to remodel his Moscow house. Vasíli, without being asked, starts acting like Pierre’s financial manager. He diverts to himself some rent money due to Pierre, and also causes Pierre to pay a large deed for his cousin, something Pierre didn’t actually owe her. Vasíli and Anna both go to work on trying to get Pierre to marry Vasíli’s daughter Hélène. They insist that Pierre remain a guest at Vasíli’s house, and then constantly manipulate Pierre so he spends a lot of social time with Hélène. Pierre is so easily manipulated by Anna and Vasíli that he actually begins to think of marrying Hélène, despite never having admired her much at all in the past.
quote from the chapter:
He was conscious of the warmth of her body, the scent of perfume, and the creaking of her corset as she moved. He did not see her marble beauty forming a complete whole with her dress, but all the charm of her body only covered by her garments. And having once seen this he could not help being aware of it, just as we cannot renew an illusion we have once seen through.
So you have never noticed before how beautiful I am? Hélène seemed to say. You had not noticed that I am a woman? Yes, I am a woman who may belong to anyone-to you too, said her glance. And at that moment Pierre felt that Hélène not only could, but must, be his wife, and that it could not be otherwise.
He knew this at that moment as surely as if he had been standing at the altar with her. How and when this would be he did not know, he did not even know if it would be a good thing (he even felt, he knew not why, that it would be a bad thing), but he knew it would happen.
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half-sister -> cousin
Thank you! I have changed half-sister to cousin in the summary as you suggested.