War and Peace, Chapter 10 summary

What happens

1. Prince Vasíli secures Borís a transfer to the Guards, but Anna Mikháylovna fails to obtain a place for him on Kutúzov’s staff.
2. The Rostóvs receive congratulations for the mother’s and youngest daughter’s shared name day, while the count supervises preparations for eighty diners.
3. Márya Lvóvna Karágina arrives with her daughter, and conversation turns to Count Bezúkhov’s illness and Pierre’s reported expulsion from Petersburg.
4. The visitors describe a bear prank involving Pierre, Dólokhov, and Anatole Kurágin, along with their different punishments.
5. Anna Mikháylovna discusses the uncertain inheritance and claims Prince Vasíli’s visit to Moscow concerns the sick count.
6. Count Rostóv keeps laughing at the policeman’s predicament and renews his invitation to dinner.

In this chapter

What to notice

Márya Lvóvna Karágina’s wish turns gossip into a threat of social exclusion. It also links the guests’ judgment of Pierre with their interest in his supposed wealth.

Quick check