War and Peace Check-In: March

It's that time again! Happy Easter and also let's enjoy some War and Peace discussion!

This month was a bit more evenly divided between the battlefield and life at home and interesting! Since I read this and am writing on a time crunch, just a few observations:

*Pierre makes me laugh so much. I thought it was funny how he just assumes everyone will love him, and yet is completely incapable of actually proposing himself. That whole proposal scene was so deliciously awkward and funny. Poor Prince Vassily! I think I'm supposed to find Pierre a bit obnoxious, but at the moment he just makes me laugh.

*On the other hand poor Marya! :( Her acceptance of this fate she doesn't really want for spiritual reasons sort of reminded me Karenin actually, from Anna Karenina. He forgave his wife and was all ~selfless and stuff at great cost to himself for spiritual reasons. But it was also kind of sad how they dressed her all up and then kept talking about how plain and ugly she was. :(

Also Tolstoy what is this paragraph all about?

"As always happens with lonely women who have long lived without the society of men, on Anatole's appearance all three women in Prince Nikolai Andreevich's house felt equally that their life had not been life until that moment. The power of thought, feeling, observation instantly increased ten-fold in them, as if their life, going on in darkness till then, was suddenly lit up by a new light filled with meaning."

Never mind their friendships with each other, they had no meaning without men.

I have to admit once I hit the battle part my reading slowed considerably, but I did find the part where Rostov exaggerated his story because the actual true story was boring to be amusing. The character details are interesting and well done.

I didn't get too much from the rest of it except that the Russians are still doing terribly and Prince Andrei was injured.

Sorry for a short update this month, but I do hope to hear your feelings on the section! You can drop a link in the Mr. Linky or discuss in comments!