War and Peace 1073Andrey Bolkonsky voices his feelings of regret to
Pierre: “Never, never marry, my dear fellow; that’s
my advice to you; don’t marry till you have faced
the fact that you have done all you’re capable of
doing, and till you cease to love the woman you
have chosen, till you see her plainly, or else you will
make a cruel mistake that can never be set right.”
Prince Andrey loves his wife, Lise, yet feels that he
has married too young and is dissatisfied with his
domestic situation. He harbors a desire to join the
Russian army in the fight against Napoleon and
to accomplish great things, but he feels that his
marriage and his love for his wife are hampering
him from achieving these things. He does join the
army, and despite Lise’s protests, he sends her to the
country to be with his family during her pregnancy,
while he is off fighting the French.
Because the prince is a responsible and sensible
young man, he does not take his marriage lightly,
and that is why he so irritated with his situation
when the novel opens. If he took his marriage lightly,
then he would not be regretting it at this point. He
regrets marrying young, because he now feels guilty
for leaving his marriage to fulfill his ambitious
dreams. He also regrets his love for his wife as this
adds another layer to his guilty suffering. If he did
not love her, he would not care about leaving her,
especially when she is to be a new mother. If he did
not love her, her words of reproach to him would
bounce off, and he could leave her behind without
any feelings of self-reproach or remorse.
Unfortunately for Prince Andrey, regret is a two-
sided sword. If he leaves his wife and unborn infant
to fight in the army, he will feel regret for marrying
too young and for loving too much since both con-
tribute to his feelings of guilt for his actions. But if
he were to stay with his wife in the city and continue
their day-to-day routine, he would regret never hav-
ing acted when the opportunity presented to prove
himself. So the prince has made a choice between
the two and has chosen to go to war and to regret
his marriage: “My wife . . . is an excellent woman.
She is one of those rare women with whom one
can feel quite secure of one’s honour; but, my God!
what wouldn’t I give now not to be married!” Pierre,
however, does not take the advice of his friend and
does marry unwisely, although he regrets his own
marriage for completely different reasons than does
Prince Andrey.
Even from the beginning of his courtship with
Ellen Kuragin, Pierre senses that to marry her
would be a mistake. When he first realizes that she
is appealing to him as a woman, Pierre agonizes that
the marriage would be impossible, “that there would
be something nasty, unnatural, . . . and dishonour-
able in this marriage.” His feelings are based entirely
on lust; Pierre feels that she is stupid and worthless,
and yet he cannot disengage himself from her physi-
cal beauty. In the end, though, he makes two errors
in judgment that result in his mismatched marriage.
First, Pierre convinces himself that perhaps he has
misjudged her, or if not, then maybe she can be
changed: “[H]e was at the same time meditating on
her worthlessness, and dreaming of how she would
be his wife, how she might love him, how she might
become quite different, and how all he had thought
and heard about her might be untrue.” The second
mistake that Pierre makes is to let events unfold and
to work on his situation instead of acting himself.
This inability to act is one of Pierre’s handicaps
throughout the course of the novel. But it is most
crucial during his courtship of Ellen. Six weeks after
he first realizes his attraction for her, Pierre resolves
to leave the city and Ellen to avoid the danger of
being linked with her in society. However, despite
his resolution, he is never able to make himself leave
the city and yet cannot bring himself to ask for
her hand, either. He visits with her and her family,
sees her out in society, and yet cannot overcome his
scruples against the marriage to propose. In the end,
Prince Vassily, Ellen’s father, tired of waiting for
Pierre to act, takes matters into his own hands and
comes to Pierre, saying, “Thank God! . . . My wife
has told me all about it. . . . My dear boy! Ellen! I
am very, very glad.” Even though no understanding
was ever reached, no proposal ever uttered, Pierre
and Ellen are now engaged.
Shortly after the wedding, Pierre begins to see
that he was correct in his vision of their marriage.
Ellen has married him for his money and not for
any love she feels for him. She does not hold the
same ideals and is not a companion with whom he
can exercise his intellect. She compromises herself,
leading Pierre to challenge a duel for her honor.