# Chapter III explained — Hadji Murád

> Chapter companion for Hadji Murád by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

Late at night in the fortress, Prince Vorontsóv and his wife Márya Vasílevna host a card game with officers Poltorátsky and the regimental adjutant. The Princess's presence distracts Poltorátsky, causing him to play poorly. After the game, Vorontsóv is called away by an officer on duty and returns visibly pleased, ordering champagne. He hints at a meeting the next day during a wood-cutting expedition. Later, Márya Vasílevna presses her husband for details and correctly guesses that the visitor was an emissary from Hadji Murád, though Vorontsóv confirms only that Hadji Murád will meet him the next day. The chapter ends with Poltorátsky returning home in an ecstatic mood, while his serf Vovílo reflects bitterly on his own life.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Mistrust

The secretive nature of the negotiations with Hadji Murád is highlighted: Vorontsóv refuses to tell his wife the full truth, and the emissary's visit is kept confidential.

### Individual vs. State Power

Vovílo's internal monologue contrasts his own constrained life as a serf with the relative freedom of the ordnance sergeant, reflecting the power imbalance between individuals and the state or landowner.

### Family and Sacrifice

The Vorontsóvs' domestic life in the fortress, including the presence of their tutor and the Princess's concern for her husband's affairs, shows the personal sacrifices and adaptations required by military service.

## Character check-ins

### Prince Vorontsóv

Hosts the card game, is called away by the officer on duty, returns pleased, orders champagne, and hints at a meeting with Hadji Murád.

### Márya Vasílevna

Sits beside Poltorátsky during the card game, distracts him with her presence, later presses her husband for information and correctly guesses the visitor was an emissary from Hadji Murád.

### Poltorátsky

Plays cards poorly due to distraction by Márya Vasílevna, wins seventeen rubles, returns home in an ecstatic mood, and is assigned to the wood-cutting expedition the next day.

### Vovílo

Poltorátsky's domestic serf, locks the door and falls asleep drunk, reflects bitterly on his life as a serf compared to the ordnance sergeant.

### Tíkhonov

Poltorátsky's comrade and roommate, wakes briefly to ask about the card game and reminds Poltorátsky of the early start.

## Key lines

> Poltorátsky went home in an ecstatic condition only to be understood by people like himself who, having grown up and been educated in society, meet a woman belonging to their own circle after months of isolated military life, and, moreover, a woman like Princess Vorontsóv.

Poltorátsky returned home overjoyed, a feeling that only someone who, after months of lonely military service, encounters a woman from his own social class—especially one as captivating as Princess Vorontsóv—could truly understand.

_Highlights Poltorátsky's emotional state and the social isolation of military life in the Caucasus._

> Vovílo had been taken 'up' when a boy—that is, he had been taken into his owner's household service—and now although he was already over forty he was not married, but lived a campaigning life with his harum-scarum young master.

Vovílo had been taken into his master's household as a boy, and now at over forty he remained unmarried, living a rough campaign life with his reckless young master.

_Reveals Vovílo's background and the limited prospects of a domestic serf._

> 'It was Hadji Murád, wasn't it?' said Márya Vasílevna, who had for some days past heard of the negotiations and thought that Hadji Murád himself had been to see her husband.

Márya Vasílevna, having heard rumors of negotiations for several days, guessed that the visitor was Hadji Murád himself.

_Shows the Princess's awareness of the secret negotiations and her eagerness to learn the truth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hadji_mur_d_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters