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War & Peace Podnotes, A Study GuideAuthor: Sean Roman Language: en-us Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Bk. 2, Pt. 1. Ch. 9: Death & Life
Episode 10
Sunday, 13 September, 2026
We have reached the pivotal chapter involving the death of the Little Princess and birth of the Andrei’s son.Andrei was the one thought lost. Yet Tolstoy has him return home as his wife endures child labor. Her suffering is a subject personal to Tolstoy as his own mother succumbed five months after the birth of his sister, when Tolstoy was nearly two years old. This loss can be viewed as a punishment for Andrei’s vanity even though Andrei acknowledged and is trying to overcome his impiety. A lesson may be: there is no sin without consequence.The Bolkonsky household had been overwhelmed with despair by Andrei’s status –– he is a symbolic good man, who was thought lost in a vain war. When Andrei has the brief opportunity to see his wife, they dramatically take one another in. Lise is ailing. She is in need of the Lord’s grace and a medical miracle. To her, Andrei must appear out of a vision. Andrei, who has rarely been affectionate to Lise, recognizes what he should have valued is right before him.He is finally there for her – at her final moment. He addresses her as Ma chérie (My Darling). He tries to comfort her by referencing the “mercy of God.” When the birth pangs resumed, Andrei was asked to exit. The German doctor hoped he could get Lise through the ordeal but the medical situation worsened. There came a point where the Lise sounded like a piteous and moaning animal.Andrei tried to get back to her, but the room was locked. Soon, his wife’s screaming ceased and there was a terrible shriek of another woman. This was a reaction to Lise succumbing. Thereafter, arose heard the wail of an infant. Andrei was filled wonder and bewilderment. He realizes he is a father and breaks down. The doctor came out and walked by Andrei without a word. Andrei went to see his wife, but she was no longer. She lied there with fixed open eyes and a staid expression. Her charming countenance revealed: “I love you all and have done no harm to anyone; and what have you done to me?” She is presented as taking on the sins of those around her.Three days later the Little Princess was buried and Andrei knew in all of his soul that he was guilty of something he could neither remedy nor forget. This included pursuing military glory when he could have remained closer to her. Another five days passed and then the baby, the young Prince Nicholas Andréevich (which means son of Andrei) was baptized.As referenced, Tolstoy never knew his own mother, Marya Volkonskya. His mother died roughly five months after the birth of his sister, Marya Nikolaevna Tolstaya, due to complications from the birth. You can see how the name of his mother and sister made its way into what you are reading. Tolstoy appears to be putting all this pathos from his family history into this moment. One could envision the author imagining how his mother looked in death. Many scholars assert that Tolsoty placed an idealized view of his mother upon the character of Andrei’s sister -- Marya. There is substance to that. Nevertheless, some of this historical influence also likely made it into this final scene with Lise. It is understood that Tolstoy heard family stories and develop affection for his mother. In this chapter, the author saints his mother, in some respect, in having a character who shared his mother's fate take on the sins of her time while bringing forth new life who will have the chance to make the world better.Lastly, Tolstoy’s mother was from the wealthier side of his family, with a surname that will look familiar to you – Volkonsky. It was Tolstoy's mother who was the heiress to the vast country estate of Yasnaya Polyana, a land which has been compared to the estate of the fictional Bolkonsky family estate of Bald Hills.
