L. N. Tolstoy. "War and Peace". “Family Thought” in the novel. The Rostov and Bolkonsky, Berg and Kuragin families. Vera and Berg

Why did he take sword in left hand when he was wounded in the right, and went forward? Berg resembles Molchalin: he has two qualities - moderation and accuracy,” this, in turn, “having received a company during the campaign, managed to earn the trust of his superiors with his diligence and accuracy.” Indeed, Molchaliv and Berg are officials of the same kind. But they are different people, and maybe Berg is more complicated. We are not yet familiar with him when we hear his name for the first time - Natasha, “getting excited,” says to Vera: “Everyone has their own secrets. We won’t touch you and Berg... You flirt with Berg as much as you want...” Just the fact that Vera flirts with Berg - beautiful, cold, calm Vera, always saying unpleasant things, so unlike the rest of the Rostovs - that alone alarming. But here he himself - “fresh, pink... impeccably washed, buttoned up and combed” - sits in the office of old Count Rostov and with “pink lips” releases smoke “from his beautiful mouth.”

Berg is unpleasant we immediately recognize how unpleasant Tolstoy is, and he will not change; from the first pages to the last he will remain the same neat, reasonable, clean-washed pink officer; only its ranks will change.

  • “Berg always spoke very precisely, calmly and courteously. His conversation always concerned him alone; he always remained calmly silent when they talked about something that had no direct relation to him... But as soon as the conversation concerned him personally, he began to speak at length and with visible pleasure.”

All his stories- this is reasoning out loud about one’s own benefit: “If I were in the cavalry, I would receive no more than two hundred rubles a third, even with the rank of lieutenant; and now I get two hundred and thirty...”, “You know, Count, without boasting, I can say that I know the regiment’s orders by heart... Therefore, Count, there are no omissions in my company. So my conscience is calm.” It is beneficial for Berg not only to receive two hundred and thirty rubles, but also to be honest. He cares not only about promotion, but also about a calm conscience. He is a patriot in his own way: having met Rostov during the war, “he put on a clean frock coat, without a stain or speck, fluffed his temples up in front of the mirror, as Alexander Pavlovich wore, and... left the room with a pleasant smile.” His patriotism lies in imitation and devotion to the king. He also has his own moral ideal: “In our race, the von Bergs, Count, were all knights...” According to this moral ideal, he accomplished a “feat” at Austerlitz: he took the sword in his left hand and went forward. He was scared, but he overcame his fear. He had the right to leave the battlefield, but he didn’t leave, he stayed...

But only later he will squeeze everything possible out of his “knightly” behavior.

This is not a rough calculation, no. This is such self-confident egoism that one would be surprised at it if it were rare in people. But, unfortunately, it is not so rare.

Berg is not just calculating, selfish, stingy - he is firmly convinced that it is impossible to live otherwise; therefore, he is not ashamed to talk about how, by transferring to the guard, he has already won a rank in front of his comrades in the corps, how in wartime a company commander can be killed and he, remaining senior in the company, can very easily become a company commander...” This no longer reminds Molchalin, but Skalozub: “I am quite happy in my comrades; vacancies are just open: then the older ones will turn off the others; some, you see, were killed..." But Skalozub is a stupid, semi-literate martinet, and Berg is sweet, polite, neat...

For the Countess Vera Rostova Berg is not at all a brilliant match. Several years ago, his proposal would undoubtedly have been rejected, and he himself, having shown Vera to his friend four years ago and said: “She will be my wife,” was in no hurry to propose. He was an unknown nobleman from the Russified Germans; she is a girl from a rich and noble family. But Berg was patient - he waited four years, and during this time a lot changed: “the Rostovs’ affairs were very upset... and most importantly, Vera was twenty-four years old, she went everywhere, and, despite the fact that she was undoubtedly good and reasonable, no one has ever proposed to her yet.”

Count Ilya Andreevich explains to Verina that she is different from her entire family by the fact that “the countess was wise” with eldest daughter. It is unlikely that a loving mother could “make so much sense.” The Rostovs, who lived openly, in the old-fashioned way, without thinking, simply did not notice how their eldest girl became colder and more selfish as new children appeared and demanded their share of maternal care. Of course, she was spoiled, just as Nikolai, Natasha, and Petya were spoiled, but those three loved each other, learned from their father to be kind and think not only about themselves. Sonya and Boris grew up next to them, in need of spiritual warmth... Vera realized from childhood that the other children were bothering her, that they were superfluous; No wonder she reprimands Nikolai for taking the inkwell from her; No wonder she is indignant at the “secrets” of Natasha and Sonis; they all irritate her; She has one concern - about herself.

Berg is correct chose his wife and correctly calculated the time when to propose. By 1809, he was no longer the unknown officer who sat in his office
href="http://www.school-essays.info/">Count Rostov
in 1805.

“It was not for nothing that Berg showed everyone his wounded woman in the Battle of Austerlitz right hand and held a completely unnecessary sword in his left. He told everyone this concealment so stubbornly and with such significance that everyone believed in the expediency and dignity of this act - and Berg received two awards for Austerlitz.” He received two more awards for his Finnish War“I picked up a fragment of a grenade, which killed the adjutant next to the commander-in-chief, and presented this fragment to the commander.” The most striking thing is that, persistently repeating stories about these exploits, Berg does not think about his career at all: he loves himself and is convinced that his every action is significant and important to other people, that everyone is interested in knowing how he distinguished himself. As a result, in “1809 he was a captain of the guard with orders and occupied some special advantageous places in St. Petersburg.”

And got married it is not at all calculated. Vera had long made an impression on him. Back in 1805, he “spoke with Vera with a tender smile that love is not an earthly, but a heavenly feeling,” and believed what he said. Vera is the kind of wife he needs, “a beautiful, respectable girl... Her other sister has the same last name, but a completely different one, and an unpleasant character, and no intelligence, and such, you know?.. Unpleasant...” Berg married for love, as he understands love, “but the wife must bring hers, and the husband his,” so he bargains with the old count in the most natural way: “Berg, smiling pleasantly, explained that if he does not know correctly , what will be given for Faith, and does not receive in advance at least part of what is assigned to her, then he will be forced to refuse. he is lost, he is ashamed of something, and he wants to quickly end the calculations. It's hard to imagine such different people, like Ilya Andreevich Rostov and Berg. The old count went bankrupt, treating the whole of Moscow to lunch and dinner, and Berg even wanted to say to his comrade: “You’ll come to us for dinner,” but he said: “Drink tea.” But the wasteful Count Rostov left his children without money, and his wife, having become a widow, will get by only thanks to her son’s self-denial; and Berg arranged rent for his parents, and will leave a decent fortune for his children.

What's bad? neat, diligent, very firmly abiding by his idea of ​​\u200b\u200bduty and honor Berg? This will be revealed with all clarity much later, when Napoleonic’s army approaches Moscow, and the Russians, who only yesterday sold their hay at exorbitant prices, will today burn it so that the enemy does not get it; Natasha will begin to throw the whole family’s belongings out of the carts in order to take the wounded with her; the whole people - that is, every person! - will think not only about himself. But people like Berg will remain themselves - and he himself, as clean as always, will be preoccupied with buying wardrobe glasses for his beloved wife.

I won't assure you that Berg will someday pay for living so petty and complacently. No. He will feel happy all his life and will raise children like him; he will never repent of anything. Chatsky was right in his own way when he said: “Silent people are blissful in the world.” They are blissful because their happiness is easily achievable. Yes, Berg is happy. But it’s not difficult to achieve his ideal of happiness. Here he sits, already a colonel, in a “clean uniform, with temples oiled in front, sovereign Alexander Pavlovich”, in his “new, bright office, decorated with busts, and pictures, and new furniture”, next to his beautiful wife in a new lace cape , which Princess Yusupova wore... Guests come to them, and Berg is happy because “it was like every other evening... everything was like everyone else,” and in a silver basket there were exactly the same cookies, “which the Panins had at the evening, everything was exactly the same as the others.”

This ideal of life hostile
href="http://www.school-essays.info/about/">Tolstoy
First of all, the flow that people should not be the same. The desire to be like everyone else gives birth to a philistine, and philistinism may be the most serious disease of society. Where citizens have turned into philistines, the spiritual development of people and the country stops, progress is impossible. Berg's neat and harmless psychology at first glance brings with it the death of morality. Do not rush to laugh at Berg - he is not funny, but scary. And especially because his ideal of happiness has not died, it still exists today; a beautiful wife, brand new clothes, an apartment - everything is like others, like everyone else... Look around you - don’t you see people falling silent as soon as the conversation does not concern them personally, passionately convinced that the main thing in life is their well-being and career advancement. Look into your soul - are you sure that Berg is not hiding there?

German, first the groom, and then the husband of Vera Rostova. This is "a fresh, pink guards officer, immaculately washed, buttoned and combed." At the beginning of the work, Berg is a lieutenant, and at the end of the work he becomes a colonel, from which one can see that Berg has made a good career. He is precise, calm, courteous, but very selfish and stingy. He loves and can only talk about himself and his successes. Those around him laugh at him; he is a stranger in the Rostov house. They do not understand his prudence and stinginess. Berg proposes to Vera and demands the promised dowry from the old count, despite the difficult financial situation of the Rostovs. This hero is clearly unpleasant and alien to Tolstoy himself.

    L. N. Tolstoy’s epic “War and Peace” has become one of the most significant works of world literature, affecting moral problems and providing answers to such important historical and philosophical questions that relate to the meaning of an individual’s life...

    “War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which reflected the character of a great people at the moment when its historical destinies were being decided. Tolstoy, trying to cover everything that he knew and felt at that time, gave in the novel a set of life, morals,...

    Without knowing Tolstoy, one cannot consider oneself to know the country, one cannot consider oneself a cultured person. A.M. Bitter. The last page of the novel by L.N. has been turned. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”... Whenever you close a book you have just read, you are left with a feeling...

    L. N. Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” is a work that is grandiose not only in terms of the monumentality of the characters described in it historical events, deeply researched by the author and artistically processed into a single logical whole, but also in the diversity of created...

    Napoleon and popular feeling are opposed in the novel by Napoleon. Tolstoy debunks this commander and outstanding historical figure. Drawing the appearance of Napoleon, the author of the novel says that it was “ small man"with an 'unpleasantly feigned smile'...

On the pages of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” there appear two minor hero, which are called upon to play their assigned role in the work. This is Berg and Vera. Such a couple is not too built on boundless love for each other. Let's start with each family member in order.

Berg himself is a simple officer, whose origin is not particularly considered noble in the existing world. In life, the character seeks benefits for his loved one. Sitting calmly in the headquarters, not knowing stress and overwork, Berg tries to appear where it really suits him. To build a successful career, he makes acquaintances that are very beneficial for achieving his own goals. He likes to talk about himself in society only in a bright light, forgetting and keeping silent about a certain amount of the truth. He always talks about his participation in the Battle of Austerlitz, where he himself was wounded, for which he eventually received two, deserved or swindled, awards. He constantly stands out to the readers because of his dark thoughts and immoral behavior.

According to Lev Nikolaevich, Berg belongs to the type of “little Napoleons” who live only by envy, hypocrisy and greed. The author does not provide the hero with honor and success. No, because the character has absolutely no patriotic qualities and real love to his homeland. Warmth to own edges Berg has no soul... This is proven by an incident during Patriotic War, when most people didn't know where to go. During such a period, it was scary to go out and leave children unattended. Constant separations, unfortunate deaths, only bloody hostilities... At this time, when the world needed help, Berg was purchasing furniture products at a low cost...

Vera Rostova... She is the first daughter in the family. The heroine at that time was considered the only child whom her parents dared to send to be raised by other representatives according to the then existing principles. Namely, to French teachers, who differ in the way of life of Russian people... That is why the child grew up withdrawn and uncheerful... Her presence in the house was striking, because the girl does not fit into the loving and friendly Rostov family, who are easy to communicate with, They are hungry for guests and new meetings.

Vera is significantly different from her own family... She is an outcast... Even despite her charming and attractive beauty, Vera’s presence in the same room with her family made everyone feel completely awkward and wild... And the long-awaited proposal to her, which helped change the mood in to the Rostov family, Berg did it only when the heroine was 24 years old... Everyone around understood that it might not be easy to marry Vera to another person. That's why they agreed to get married.

As a result, a new family. The Berg family. Greedy and selfish. Any visit to them by a high-ranking official was considered an incredible merit of one of the spouses. But every time there were quarrels due to the fact that no one wanted to give in to the other... There was no special love, there couldn’t even be... In this family, one considers the other a weak person, unable to stand up for himself. There is no harmony in such a family, no sincere feelings... There is nothing... Scary!

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JI. N. Tolstoy. "War and Peace". “Family Thought” in the novel.

The Rostov and Bolkonsky, Berg and Kuragin families

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Target:

based on the novel JI. N. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” to reveal the theme “Family Thought”, using elements of analysis of the means of creating images of heroes;

through a comparative description of families, to identify the author’s view on the topic of family;

improve students' research skills:

Ability to analyze, highlight the main points, compare, pose and solve problems;

to form students’ own family ideal.

Equipment: textbook, text of the novel “War and Peace”, handouts, tables.

Lesson type: a lesson in mastering new knowledge and developing skills.

Projected

results: Students explore the topic “Family Thought” using the material from the novel JI. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”, using elements of analysis of the means of creating images of heroes; through comparative characteristics families reveal the author's view on the topic of family; perform analytical work in groups; participate in a conversation or mini-discussion.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Organizational stage

II. Updating of reference knowledge

Conversation

♦ How is the system of images grouped in an epic novel?

♦ How to portrait characteristics J.I. N. Tolstoy reveals

the psychology of the hero and his inner world?

Teacher's word

In the novel "War and Peace" the theme of family occupies one of the key positions. For Tolstoy, the family is the soil for the formation human soul. The atmosphere of the house, the family nest, according to the writer, determines the psychology, views and even the fate of the heroes. The author tries to explain many of the features and patterns in the lives of his characters by their belonging to one or another family. Only in the family does a person receive everything that subsequently determines his character, habits, worldview and attitude.

That is why in the system of all the main images of the novel JI. N. Tolstoy identifies several families, in the example of which it is clearly expressed author's attitude to the ideal of home - these are the Bolkonskys, who preserve aristocratic traditions; and representatives of the Moscow nobility Rostov; the Kuragin family, deprived of mutual respect, sincerity and connections; the Berg family, which begins its existence by laying the “material foundation”. And in the epilogue of the novel JI. N. Tolstoy presents to the readers two new families - Pierre and Natasha, Nikolai and Marya, families based on sincere and deep feelings.

IV. Working on the lesson topic

1. Analytical work (in groups, based on the text of the novel)

1st group. The Berg family - ideals, the “foundation” of the family, the models that the Bergs follow, characteristics of Berg, Vera.

Which of the episodes indicate the prudence of Berg and Vera?

2nd group. The Kuragin family - the style of relations between family members. How do the Kuragins’ relationships develop outside their family? What kind of family members do they have in life? Characteristics of Prince Vasily, Anatoly, Helen.

What ethical principles are the members of the Kuragin family guided by?

Are there such concepts as honor, nobility, conscience, sacrifice in their value system?

3rd group. The Rostov family - the style of relationships in the family, the main feature of all Rostovs, unanimity in the family is the key to the happiness of all its members.

Which version of family, clan connections is acceptable for JI. N. Tolstoy?

What type of family do the Rostovs belong to?

What does parental home mean to them?

In what situations do we meet the Rostov family?

Pay attention to the ethics of this relationship. What will family mean in the life of Natasha the mother?

4th group. The Bolkonsky family - ideals, the foundation of the family, the style of relations between family members, the characteristics of the old Prince Bolkonsky, Andrei, Marya.

What are the relationships between members of the Bolkonsky family?

Do they form a breed like the Rostovs? What do they have in common?

What is hidden behind the external severity of old man Bolkonsky?

What are the most striking details, in your opinion, in the depiction of the internal and external appearance of the Bolkonskys?

How will Princess Marya embody her father’s ideal of a family?

How are the Bolkonskys’ house and the Rostovs’ house similar?

Indicative answers

The Berg family. Berg himself has much in common with Griboyedov’s Molchalin (moderation, diligence and accuracy). According to Tolstoy, Berg is not only a philistine, but also a part of the universal philistinism (acquisitive mania takes over in any situation, drowning out the manifestation of normal feelings - the episode with the purchase of furniture during the evacuation of most residents from Moscow). Berg exploits the war of 1812 and squeezes maximum benefit out of it for himself. The Bergs are trying with all their might to resemble the accepted models in society: the evening that the Bergs throw is an exact copy of many other evenings with candles and tea. Vera (although she belongs to the Rostovs by birth and even as a girl, despite her pleasant appearance and development, good manners and correct judgments, repels people with indifference to others and extreme selfishness.

Such a family, according to Tolstoy, cannot become the basis of society, because the foundation laid on its basis is material acquisitions, which are more likely to devastate the soul and contribute to the destruction of human relationships, rather than unification.

Kuragin family: Prince Vasily, Ippolit, Anatole, Helen. Family members are connected only by external relations. Prince Vasily does not have a fatherly feeling for children, all Kuragins are disunited. And in independent life the children of Prince Vasily are doomed to loneliness: Helen and Pierre have no family, despite official marriage; Anatole, being married to a Polish woman, enters into new relationships and is looking for a rich wife. Kuragins organically fit into the society of the regulars of Anna Pavlovna Scherer’s salon with its falseness and artificiality! false patriotism, intrigue. The true face of Prince Vasily is revealed in the episode of dividing the inheritance of Kirila Bezukhov, which he does not intend to refuse under any circumstances. He actually sells his daughter, marrying her to Pierre. The animal immoral principle inherent in Anatota Kuragin is especially clearly manifested when his father brings him to the Volkovsky house to marry Princess Marya to him (episode with Mademoiselle Burien). And his attitude towards Natasha Rostova is so low and immoral that it does not need any comments. Helene completes the family gallery with dignity - she is a predatory woman, ready to marry for convenience for the sake of money and position in society, and then treat her husband cruelly. The lack of connections, spiritual closeness makes this family formal, that is, people living in it are related only by blood, but there is no spiritual kinship, human closeness in this house, and therefore it can be assumed that such a family can raise moral attitude to life.

Bolkonsky family. The head of the family, old Prince Bolkonsky, established a meaningful life in Bald Mountains. He is a true aristocrat and carefully preserves all the traditions of the aristocracy.

The old prince's awareness of modern events surprises even his son. An ironic attitude towards religion and sentimentality brings father and son closer together. The death of the prince, according to Tolstoy, is retribution for his despotism. Bolkonsky lives by his mind; an intellectual atmosphere reigns in the house. The old prince himself teaches even his daughter precise and historical sciences. But despite whole line Despite the prince's eccentricities, his children - Prince Andrey and Princess Marya - love and respect their father, forgiving him some tactlessness and harshness. Perhaps this is the phenomenon of the Bolkonsky family - unconditional respect and acceptance of all senior family members, unaccountable, sincere, in some ways even sacrificial love of family members for each other (Princess Marya decided for herself that she would not think about personal happiness , so as not to leave the father alone).

The relationships that have developed in this family, according to Tolstoy, contribute to the education of such feelings as respect, devotion, human dignity, and patriotism.

Rostov family . Using the example of the Rostov family, Tolstoy presents his ideal of family life, good relations between all family members. The Rostovs live the “life of the heart”, without demanding special intelligence from each other, treating life’s troubles with ease and ease. They are characterized by a truly Russian desire for breadth and scope. All members of the Rostov family are characterized by liveliness and spontaneity. The turning point in the life of the family was the departure from Moscow in 1812, the decision to give the carts intended for the removal of property to transport the wounded, which in fact was the ruin of the Rostovs. Dying, old Rostov feels not only guilt for the ruin of his children, but is also proud of his patriotic duty. Children in the Rostov family inherit from their parents sincerity, openness, selflessness, and the desire to love the whole world, all of humanity.

2. Teacher's summary

- “Epilogue” is the apotheosis of family happiness and harmony. There are no signs of trouble here dramatic conflicts. Everything is simple and reliable in the young families of the Rostovs and Bezukhovs: an established way of life, the deep affection of the spouses for each other, love for children, understanding, participation.

Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya. The love of these people arises at a time of trouble looming over the fatherland. Nikolai and Marya are characterized by a commonality in the perception of people. This is a union in which husband and wife mutually enrich themselves spiritually. Nikolai makes Marya happy, and she brings kindness and tenderness into the family.

Natasha Rostova and Pierre Bezukhov. The purpose of their love is marriage, family and children. Here Tolstoy describes an idyll - an intuitive understanding loved one. The charm of Natasha the girl is clear to everyone, the charm of Natasha the woman is clear only to her husband. Each of them finds in love and family exactly what he has been striving for all his life, the meaning of his life, which, according to Tolstoy, for a woman consists of motherhood, and for a man - in realizing oneself as a support for more weak person, your need.

To summarize the discussion, it should be noted that the theme of family, its significance in the development of a person’s character for Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace” is one of the most important. The author tries to explain many of the features and patterns in the lives of his characters by their belonging to one or another family. At the same time, he emphasizes great importance family in the formation of both a young person and his character, and an adult. Only in the family does a person receive everything that subsequently determines his character, habits, worldview and attitude.

And with its ending, “War and Peace” resembles an open book: last words narratives are the dreams of a child, plans for the life that lies ahead. The fate of the heroes of the novel is only a link in the endless experience of humanity, of all people, both past and future, and among them that person who today, in beginning of XXI c., reads “War and Peace” with the hope of finding answers to “eternal” questions in it. And now “the young man, clenching his mouth, redefines: for what does he live, for what does he suffer? What is love? Where does conscience live? And everything - not to the eye, but to the eyebrow, to the very soul, that is,” says A. Yashin.

Our time is special, many values ​​have been lost, often the material, rather than the spiritual, comes first (remember the union of Pierre and Helen), but can such a union be called a family? I think we have come to unanimous opinion that a happy family is a family based on those moral principles that we have defined today, and I hope that as you create your family, you will remember today’s lesson.

Every family is big complex world, which has its own traditions, relationships and habits, even its own view of raising children. They say that children are an echo of their parents. However, in order for this echo to sound not only due to natural affection, but also, mainly, due to conviction, it is necessary that in the home, in the family circle, customs, orders, and rules of life are strengthened, which cannot be crossed not out of fear of punishment, but out of respect for the foundations of the family, for its traditions. Do everything to ensure that your children’s childhood and future are wonderful, that the family is strong and friendly, that family traditions are preserved and passed on from generation to generation. I wish you happiness in your family, in the one in which you live today, which you yourself will create in the future. May mutual assistance and understanding always reign under the roof of your home, may your life be rich both spiritually and materially!

V. Reflection. Summing up the lesson

“Learning to debate”: mini-discussion

Which upbringing is closer to you: upbringing in the Rostov family or upbringing in the Bolkonsky family? Why?

What kind of family is the ideal for Tolstoy? family life does he consider it “real”?

VI. Homework

2. Leading tasks

1- Prepare brief retelling episode “View in Braunau” (vol. 1, part 2, chapter 1. 2, 3) and an expressive reading of an excerpt from volume 1, part 2, chapter. 2 from the words “As they said, Kutuzov is crooked...” and to “That’s what is clear, that you are a fool, you listen more...”.

2- Prepare a brief retelling of the episode “On the Bridge over the Danube” (vol. 1, part 2, chapters 7-8), paying attention to how the colonel assessed the losses and to whom he attributed the honor of setting the bridge on fire.

One morning, Colonel Adolf Berg, whom Pierre knew, as he knew everyone in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in a spick-and-span uniform, with his temples smeared in front, as Emperor Alexander Pavlovich wore, came to see him. “I was just now with the Countess, your wife, and was so unhappy that my request could not be fulfilled; I hope that with you, Count, I will be happier,” he said, smiling. -What do you want, Colonel? I am at your service. “Now, Count, I’m completely settled in.” new apartment“,” said Berg, obviously knowing that it could not but be pleasant to hear this, “and therefore he wanted to make it so, a small evening for my and my wife’s acquaintances. (He smiled even more pleasantly.) I wanted to ask the Countess and you to do me the honor of inviting us to a cup of tea and... dinner. Only Countess Elena Vasilyevna, considering the company of some Bergs humiliating for herself, could have the cruelty to refuse such an invitation. Berg explained so clearly why he wants to gather a small and good society, and why it will be pleasant for him, and why he spares money for cards and for something bad, but for a good society he is ready to incur expenses that Pierre could not refuse and promised to be. “But it’s not too late, Count, if I dare to ask; so at ten minutes to eight, I dare you to ask. We will form a party, our general will be. He is very kind to me. Let's have dinner, Count. So do me a favor. Contrary to his habit of being late, Pierre that day, instead of eight minutes to ten minutes, arrived at the Bergs at eight hours to a quarter. The Bergs, having stocked up what they needed for the evening, were already ready to receive guests. In a new, clean, bright office, decorated with busts, pictures, and new furniture, Berg sat with his wife. Berg, in a brand new buttoned-up uniform, sat next to his wife, explaining to her that it is always possible and should have acquaintances with people who are higher than oneself, because only then can there be a pleasure from making acquaintances. - If you take something, you can ask for something. Look how I lived from the first ranks (Berg considered his life not as years, but as the highest awards). My comrades are now nothing yet, and I am in the vacancy of a regimental commander, I have the happiness of being your husband (he stood up and kissed Vera’s hand, but on the way to her he turned back the corner of the rolled-up carpet). And how did I acquire all this? The main thing is to know how to choose your acquaintances. It goes without saying that one must be virtuous and careful... Berg smiled with the consciousness of his superiority over the weak woman and fell silent, thinking that after all, this sweet wife was his weak woman, which cannot comprehend all that constitutes the dignity of a man - ein Mann zu sein. Vera at the same time also smiled with the consciousness of her superiority over the virtuous, good husband, but who still erroneously, like all men, according to the concept of Faith, understood life. Berg, judging by his wife, considered all women weak and stupid. Vera, judging by her husband alone and extending this remark to everyone, believed that all men attribute intelligence only to themselves, and at the same time they do not understand anything, are proud and selfish. Berg stood up and, hugging his wife, carefully so as not to wrinkle the lace cape for which he had paid dearly, kissed her in the middle of her lips. “The only thing is that we don’t have children so soon,” he said, out of an unconscious filiation of ideas. “Yes,” answered Vera, “I don’t want that at all.” We must live for society. “This is exactly what Princess Yusupova was wearing,” Berg said with a happy and kind smile, pointing to the cape. At this time, the arrival of Count Bezukhov was reported. Both spouses looked at each other with a smug smile, each taking credit for the honor of this visit. “This is what it means to know how to make acquaintances,” thought Berg, “this is what it means to know how to behave!” “Just please, when I am entertaining guests,” said Vera, “don’t interrupt me, because I know what to do with everyone and in what society what needs to be said.” Berg smiled too. “You can’t: sometimes you have to have a man’s conversation with men,” he said. Pierre was received in a brand new living room, in which it was impossible to sit anywhere without violating the symmetry, cleanliness and order, and therefore it was quite understandable and not strange that Berg generously offered to destroy the symmetry of an armchair or sofa for a dear guest and, apparently, being in In this regard, in painful indecision, he proposed a solution to this issue to the choice of the guest. Pierre upset the symmetry by pulling up a chair for himself, and immediately Berg and Vera began the evening, interrupting each other and keeping the guest busy. Vera, having decided in her mind that Pierre should be occupied with a conversation about the French embassy, ​​immediately began this conversation. Berg, deciding that a man's conversation was also necessary, interrupted his wife's speech, touching on the question of the war with Austria, and involuntarily jumped from the general conversation into personal considerations about the proposals that were made to him to participate in the Austrian campaign, and about the reasons why he did not accept them. Despite the fact that the conversation was very awkward and that Vera was angry for the interference of the male element, both spouses felt with pleasure that, despite the fact that there was only one guest, the evening had started very well and that the evening was like two peas in a pod for any other evening with conversations, tea and lighted candles. Soon Boris, Berg's old friend, arrived. He treated Berg and Vera with a certain shade of superiority and patronage. The lady and the colonel came for Boris, then the general himself, then the Rostovs, and the evening undoubtedly became like all evenings. Berg and Vera could not hold back a joyful smile at the sight of this movement around the living room, at the sound of this incoherent talking, the rustling of dresses and bows. Everything was like everyone else, the general was especially similar, praising the apartment, patting Berg on the shoulder and, with paternal arbitrariness, ordering the setting up of the Boston table. The general sat down next to Count Ilya Andreich, as if he were the most distinguished of the guests after himself. Old people with old people, young people with young people, the hostess at the tea table, on which there were exactly the same cookies in a silver basket that the Panins had at the evening, everything was exactly the same as the others.