War and Peace, Book 15: 1812–13, Chapter 8 summary
Book 15: 1812–13, Chapter 8 of 365 · 6 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 8, Russian soldiers gather around a bright campfire, joking and telling stories despite freezing weather, damaged boots, and dwindling strength. Their talk mixes pity for French prisoners with rumors about the dead and their enemy’s powers, before news of two Frenchmen draws several men to another company.
What happens
- The narrator explains the army’s cheerfulness by noting that its weaker men no longer remain with it.
- Soldiers gather at the Eighth Company’s fire, bring wood, and joke as a young dancer repairs his footwear.
- Discussion turns to missing men, and Jackdaw asks for hospital care because he cannot keep marching.
- The men discuss French prisoners and repeat a peasant’s account of differences between Russian and French corpses.
- Kiselëv tells a fantastic story about Plátov capturing an enemy who escapes by becoming a bird.
- As the men settle to sleep, laughter and news of two Frenchmen draw several toward the Fifth Company.
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Why does Jackdaw ask to go to hospital?
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