Book 6 Chapter 9

AT THAT TIME, as always indeed, the exalted society that met at court and at the great balls was split up into several circles, each of which had its special tone. The largest among them was the French circle—supporting the Napoleonic alliance—the circle of Count Rumyantsev and Caulaincourt. In this circle Ellen took a leading position, as soon as she had established herself in her husband's house in Petersburg. She received the members of the French embassy, and a great number of people, noted for their wit and their politeness, and belonging to that political section.

Ellen had been at Erfurt at the time of the famous meeting of the Emperors; and had there formed close ties with all the notable figures in Europe belonging to the Napoleonic circle. In Erfurt she had been brilliantly successful. Napoleon himself, seeing her at the theatre, had asked who she was, and admired her beauty. Her triumphs in the character of a beautiful and elegant woman did not surprise Pierre, for with years she had become even more beautiful than before. But what did surprise him was that during the last two years his wife had succeeded in gaining a reputation as “a charming woman, as witty as she is beautiful,” as was said of her. The distinguished Prince de Ligne wrote her letters of eight pages. Bilibin treasured up his mots to utter them for the first time before Countess Bezuhov. To be received in Countess Bezuhov's salon was looked upon as a certificate of intellect. Young men read up subjects before one of Ellen's soirées, so as to be able to talk of something in her salon, and secretaries of the embassy, and even ambassadors, confided diplomatic secrets to her, so that Ellen was in a way a power. It was with a strange feeling of perplexity and alarm that Pierre, who knew she was very stupid, sometimes at her dinners and soirées, listened to conversation about politics, poetry, and philosophy. At these soirées he experienced a sensation such as a conjuror must feel who expects every moment that his trick will be discovered. But either because stupidity was just what was needed for the successful management of such a salon, or because those who were deceived took pleasure in the deception, the cheat was not discovered, and the reputation of “a charming woman” clung so persistently to Elena Vassilyevna Bezuhov, that she could utter the vulgarest and stupidest speeches, and every one was just as enthusiastic over every word, and eagerly found in it a profound meaning of which she did not dream herself.

Pierre was exactly the husband needed by this brilliant society woman. He was that absent-minded, eccentric, grand seigneur of a husband, who got in nobody's way and far from spoiling the general impression of the highest tone in her drawing-room, formed by his contrast with his wife's elegance and tact an advantageous foil to her. Pierre's continual concentration on immaterial interests during the last two years, and his genuine contempt for everything else, gave him in his wife's circle, which did not interest him, that tone of unconcern, indifference, and benevolence towards all alike, which cannot be acquired artificially, and for that reason commands involuntary respect. He entered his wife's drawing-room as though it were a theatre, was acquainted with every one, equally affable to all, and to all equally indifferent. Sometimes he took part in conversation on some subject that interested him, and then, without any consideration whether the “gentlemen of the embassy” were present or not, he mumbled out his opinions, which were by no means always in harmony with the received catch-words of the time. But the public estimate of the eccentric husband of “the most distinguished woman in Petersburg” was now so well established that no one took his sallies seriously.

Among the numerous young men, who were daily to be seen in Ellen's house, Boris Drubetskoy, who had by now achieved marked success in the service, was, after Ellen's return from Erfurt, the most intimate friend of the Bezuhov household. Ellen used to call him “mon page,” and treated him like a child. Her smile for him was the same smile she bestowed on all, but it was sometimes distasteful to Pierre to see that smile. Boris behaved to Pierre with a marked, dignified, and mournful respectfulness. This shade of respectfulness too disturbed Pierre. He had suffered so much three years before from the mortification caused him by his wife, that now he secured himself from all possibility of similar mortification; in the first place, by being his wife's husband only in name, and secondly, by not allowing himself to suspect anything. “No, now she has become a blue-stocking, she has renounced for ever her former errors,” he said to himself. “There has never been an instance of a blue-stocking giving way to tender passions,” he repeated to himself; a maxim he had picked up somewhere and implicitly believed. But, strange to say, the presence of Boris in his wife's drawing-room (and he was almost always there) had a physical effect on Pierre; it seemed to make all his limbs contract, and destroyed the unconsciousness and freedom of his movement.

“Such a strange antipathy,” thought Pierre; “and at one time I really liked him very much.”

In the eyes of the world, Pierre was a great lord, the rather blind and absurd husband of a distinguished wife; a clever eccentric, who did nothing but who was no trouble to any one, a good-natured, capital fellow. In Pierre's soul all this while a complex and laborious process of inner development was going on that revealed much to him and led him to many spiritual doubts and joys.

像平常一样，当时的上层社会人士在朝廷和在大型舞会上联合起来，分成几个小团体，这些小团体都有各自的特色。法国人的小团体，即是由鲁缅采夫伯爵和科兰库尔①领导的拿破仑同盟，这是其中一个人数众多的小团体。一当海伦和丈夫在彼得堡定居，海伦就在这个小团体中占有至为显著的地位。法国使馆的先生和以智慧及礼貌著称于世并属于这一派系的人士，都常到海伦家里来串门。

适值闻名于世的两国皇帝的会晤期间，海伦在埃尔富特，她在那里就和欧洲所有亲拿破仑的著名人物建立了人际关系，从那里带来了一份交情。她在埃尔富特大受欢迎。拿破仑本人在剧院里发现她之后，便问她是谁，并且对她的美貌给予高度评价。她这个姿色优美而文雅的妇女取得的成功不会使皮埃尔感到惊奇，因为随着时间的推移，她比从前变得更美丽了。但是使他感到惊奇的是，在这两年之内她的妻子已享有名声“d'une　femme　charmante，aussi　spirituelle　que　belle”②。大名鼎鼎的prince　de　ligne③用八页纸给她写长信。比利宾正在搜集mots④，目的是要在别祖霍夫伯爵夫人露面时头一次把它说出来。在别祖霍夫伯爵夫人客厅中受到招待，被认为是聪明的证明；在海伦举办晚会前，一些年轻人阅读一本本的书，目的是要在她的客厅中有话可谈；大使馆的秘书们，甚至公使们都把外交上的秘密告诉她，因此海伦在某种程度上是个颇有势力的女人。皮埃尔知道，她非常愚昧，他有时怀有困惑和恐惧的古怪感觉去出席她的晚会和宴会，人们在那里经常谈论政治、诗歌和哲学。在这些晚会上他常常怀有那样的感觉，就像魔术家每次登台总会预料他的骗术眼看要被人揭穿时他理应体会到的那种感觉。然而，是否是因为主持这种客厅活动正需要愚昧无知，或是因为被欺骗的人们自己要在这种骗术中寻找乐趣，欺骗是不会被人揭穿的，海伦·瓦西里耶夫娜·别祖霍娃这个d'une　femme　charmante　et　spirituelle⑤的名声不可动摇地确立起来了，以致她可以说些最庸俗而愚蠢的话，大家还是会赞赏她的每句话，并且从中找到连她自己也意料不到的深刻的涵义。

①科兰库尔（1773～1827），法国贵族，侯爵，拿破仑的追随者，1807～1811年间，驻彼得堡公使。

②法语：多么聪明，多么迷人的可爱的女人。

③法语：德利涅公爵。

④法语：俏皮话。

⑤法语：既可爱而又聪明的女人。

皮埃尔正是这个杰出的交际界的妇女所需要的丈夫。他是个心不在焉的古怪人，是身为grand　seigneur①般的丈夫，他不妨碍任何人，非但不损坏人们对高贵客厅的一般印象，而且因为他和妻子的优雅与委婉态度有所不同，反而构成了对她有利的衬景。皮埃尔在这两年以来因为经常一味地满足精神上的需求，公然蔑视其他一切，在他感到乏味的妻子的交际场所养成了一种漠不关心、疏忽大意和对一切人表示赞许的态度，这种态度并非装腔作势，因此不禁会引起人们的尊敬。他走进妻子的客厅，就像走进戏院似的，他认识所有的人，他看见所有的人时心里同样地高兴，又对所有的人同样地漠不关心。有时他参加他很感兴趣的谈话，那时候他不考虑les　messieurs　de　l'ambassade②是不是都在这里，他口齿不清地说出自己的意见，有时候这些意见完全不符合当时谈话的调子。但是，对这个de　la　femme　la　plus　disAtinguee　de　Pétersbourg③的古怪的丈夫的看法已经固定下来，以致谁也不能au　sérieux④对待他的狂妄的论调。

①法语：贵族大老爷。

②法语：大使馆的先生们。

③法语：彼得堡的至为杰出的妇女。

④法语：认真地。

在天天都到海伦家里来串门的许多青年中，鲍里斯·德鲁别茨科伊在事业上已经有很大的成就，海伦从埃尔富特回来后，他是别祖霍夫家中的一个最亲近的人。海伦称他为mon　page①，像对待儿童一样对待他。她对他就像对大家一样，还是流露着同样的微笑，但是有时候皮埃尔看见这种笑容就不高兴，鲍里斯于是露出特别庄重的、忧愁而且尊敬的表情，和皮埃尔打起交道来。这种尊敬的意味也使皮埃尔感到焦灼。三年前皮埃尔的妻子使他遭受到凌辱，他觉得十分痛苦，而今他得以使他自己不再遭受类似的屈辱，首先是因为他不是他妻子的丈夫，其次是因为他不容许他自己的狐疑。

“不，她现在已经变成了ba　bleu②，永远抛弃了从前的风流韵事，”他自言自语地说，“女学究醉心于风流韵事，尚无前例。”他自言自语地重复一条不知从哪里摘出的，使他坚信不疑的行为准则。但是，真奇怪，鲍里斯在他妻子客厅中的露面（他几乎经常在那儿露面）对皮埃尔的身体产生了一种影响，他的四肢仿佛被捆绑起来，他的动作被阻碍，变得不自然，也不灵活。

①法语：我的少年侍从官。

②法语：我的少年女学究。

“多么古怪的反感，”皮埃尔想道，“可是从前我甚至非常喜欢他。”

在上流社会人士的心目中，皮埃尔是个大老爷，是遐迩闻名的妻子的略嫌盲目而且可笑的丈夫，聪颖的怪人，又是个无所事事，但不伤害任何人的大好人。在这段时间里皮埃尔的内心经历着一个复杂而艰苦的智力发展过程，这使他获得许多启示，并且使他产生许多疑惑和快感。