On page 182 of the Pevear/Volokhonsky edition, the narrator is describing a battle scene, and Pierre's response to one of the commanders. "Prince Andrei listened carefully to Prince Bagration's exchanges with the commanders and to the orders he gave, and noticed, to his surprise, that no orders were given, and that Prince Bagration only tried to pretend that all that was done by necessity, chance or the will of a particular commander, that it was all done, if not on his orders, then in accord with his intentions." I am no Tolstoy scholar, but I wonder if this is his view of history? of cause and effect? Is it all just random? That reminds me of our college graduation. Lulu, Lynn and I all graduated the same year. One of my aunts attended, and she asked Lulu, "so, after 4 years of college as a history major, what is your theory of history?". We still laugh about that to this day. -- Lola
Lynn Waskelis
page 147-148 of original book
made 4/16/60
collage, acrylic paint
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