War and Peace, end of Book Two
OH NATASHA NO. I have been screaming this at Natasha Rostova for the last fifteen chapters or so, but did she listen? Noooooo, she went ahead and got infatuated with that cad Anatol, and planned an elopement with him - he didn't bother to tell her he was already married - and probably would have managed it if it were not for the interference of her
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NATASHA :(
One thing Tolstoy does over and over again, and does really well (at least it gets me every time) is portraying how easy it is for well-meaning characters to be misled by the UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE of someone unscrupulous. It happens with Pierre and his father-in-law, and it happens with Natasha here.
Natasha knows that something is wrong with Anatol's instant display of intimacy, but he doesn't seem to be embarrassed, and maybe this is just how things are done among important people, among real grown-ups -- and once you've hesitated to take offense, you can't take delayed offense, can you?? It would be wrong if there weren't something between you that was more important than anything else, and if you weren't in love with him, you would be angry, wouldn't you? But he isn't embarrassed and you aren't stopping him so IT MUST BE LOVE OH NO WHAT NOW ( ... )
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And then everyone is mad at her! And I think of someone, anyone, was kind and understanding, it would help her so much to figure things out, but no one even tries it till Pierre at the end of the chapter, and of course he muddles it all up with his declaration of love.
I hope Natasha finds comfort in it anyway. At very least it will give her an example of love to contrast with Anatol's behavior - one that won't hurt as much as contemplating Prince Andrei's love would, now that it's lost to her.
I also hope that Pierre does not decide to settle down and pine hopelessly for Natasha, but knowing Pierre that's exactly what he's going to do, at least until the French march on Moscow.
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And Ellen is so elegant, and everyone admires her!
Oh, Rostov Sr.. :| Like so many of Tolstoy's characters, I'm glad he's fictional so I don't have to be angry.
I wish she could have talked it over, too. But it's too late for that almost as soon as she has anything to talk over, as far as Natasha can see. If it's wrong, to admit it would be to expose herself to their disapproval, and if it's right, she has to protect it from them! either way they'll turn her beautiful agony to ashes and mud.
:( :( :(
if someone, anyone, was kind and understanding, it would help her so much to figure things out
:(
:(
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