When she realizes Pierre wants to marry her, life and love seem to come back into Natasha’s life. Natasha was happy again. She lost her fear of the future. Princess Mary is happy for her friend too, although she can’t help but notice how quickly Natasha seems to have forgotten her brother.
Book 15, Chapter 20
When she realizes Pierre wants to marry her, life and love seem to come back into Natasha’s life. Natasha was happy again. She lost her fear of the future. Princess Mary is happy for her friend too, although she can’t help but notice how quickly Natasha seems to have forgotten her brother.
Summary:
After Pierre’s departure that first evening, something hidden and unknown to herself, but irrepressible, awoke in Natásha’s soul. Everything: her face, walk, look, and voice, was suddenly altered. To her own surprise a power of life and hope of happiness rose to the surface and demanded satisfaction. From that evening she seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened to her. She no longer complained of her position, did not say a word about the past, and no longer feared to make optimistic plans for the future. And, whenever Princess Mary mentioned Pierre, Natasha smiled and a light came into her eyes. The change at first surprised Princess Mary; but when she understood its meaning it bothered her a little. “Can she have loved my brother so little as to be able to forget him so soon?” she thought. But Mary understood. Mary could see that Natásha had given herself over to this new feeling and that she couldn’t conceal the fact that she was happy.
quote from the chapter:
When Princess Mary returned to her room after her nocturnal talk with Pierre, Natásha met her on the threshold.
“He has spoken? Yes? He has spoken?” she repeated.
And a joyful yet pathetic expression which seemed to beg forgiveness for her joy settled on Natásha’s face.
“I wanted to listen at the door, but I knew you would tell me.”
Understandable and touching as the look with which Natásha gazed at her seemed to Princess Mary, and sorry as she was to see her agitation, these words pained her for a moment. She remembered her brother and his love.
“But what’s to be done? She can’t help it,” thought the princess.
And with a sad and rather stern look she told Natásha all that Pierre had said.
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