Collage 313

This page sums up the whole book for me -- friend vs. foe. Here we find Nickolay lost in the zen of the hunt -- this time with a wolf then a fox. He completely loses himself in the adrenaline of hunting his enemy. We recall the same Nickolay lost in that same adrenaline charging at the French soldiers on horseback. Suddenly Nickolay encounters trespassers hunting on his property. He ends up befriending the enemy hunter, who is actually his new neighbor, Ilyagin. Just like at war against the French soldiers, Nickolay realizes that these hunters on his land are not his enemies, but upstanding men just like him.

Whether it is back in the world of the 19th century aristocracy or in our own society today, good vs. evil still reigns. That is why Tolstoy's War and Peace is timeless. -- Chris

Christiane Carney Johnson
from page 633-634 of original text
collage, acrylic paint
made 1/27/11
page 503-505 Pevear/Volokhonsky translation