# The Death of Count Bezukhov explained — War and Peace

> Chapter companion for War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

Pierre attends the final moments of his father, Count Bezukhov, as the last rites are administered. The scene is filled with religious ceremony and the tense, performative grief of the family and hangers-on, particularly Prince Vasili and the princesses. Pierre, awkward and emotionally overwhelmed, is guided through the formalities by Anna Mikháylovna and shares a final, silent, and poignant moment with his dying father.

## Themes in this chapter

### Family and Legacy

The death of the patriarch sets in motion a high-stakes struggle for inheritance. The formal, strained interaction between Pierre and his dying father underscores the complexities of their relationship and the impending transfer of legacy.

### Corruption and Morality

The behavior of Prince Vasili and the princesses reveals their hypocrisy and self-interest, as they perform piety while clearly calculating their next moves regarding the count's vast wealth.

## Character check-ins

### Count Pyotr Kirílych Bezúkhov

Awkwardly attends his father's deathbed, guided by Anna Mikháylovna. He is emotionally overwhelmed by the gravity of the moment and his father's helpless smile.

### Prince Vasíli Sergéevich Kurágin

Performs a show of piety and resignation. He strategically leaves the bedside to confer with the eldest princess, Catiche, hinting at maneuvering around the inheritance.

### Anna Pávlovna

Not present in this chapter. The Anna mentioned is Anna Mikháylovna Drubetskaya, a different character.

## Key lines

> Prince Vasíli... was crossing himself with his right hand, turning his eyes upward each time he touched his forehead. His face wore a calm look of piety and resignation to the will of God. 'If you do not understand these sentiments,' he seemed to be saying, 'so much the worse for you!'

Prince Vasili performs a show of deep, pious grief for public consumption, implicitly judging those who might see through his act.

_Highlights performative morality and social hypocrisy._

> a feeble, piteous smile appeared, quite out of keeping with his features, that seemed to deride his own helplessness. At sight of this smile Pierre felt an unexpected quivering in his breast... and tears dimmed his eyes.

The dying count's smile at his own helplessness pierces Pierre's emotional detachment, provoking a sudden wave of genuine grief and compassion.

_Marks a moment of raw, unmediated human connection amidst the formal ceremony._

> He [Prince Vasili] did not go up to the dying man, but passed by him, joined the eldest princess, and moved with her to the side of the room where stood the high bedstead with its silken hangings.

Instead of attending to the dying count, Vasili slips away to conspire privately with the eldest princess, Catiche.

_Illustrates the covert political maneuvering that begins even before the count has died._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/war_and_peace/chapters/xxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/war_and_peace
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