War and Peace · Chapter
XXXVIII explained
The chapter focuses on Napoleon's psychological state in the aftermath of the Battle of Borodino.
What happens
The chapter focuses on Napoleon's psychological state in the aftermath of the Battle of Borodino. Overwhelmed by the horrific sight of the battlefield and the weight of casualties, he experiences a rare moment of human feeling and a desire for peace, but quickly retreats back into his constructed role of greatness. The narrative then shifts to his later self-justifications written on St. Helena, where he rationalizes the war and its carnage, revealing his profound self-deception and detachment from truth and humanity.
Themes in this chapter
War and History
The chapter dissects the reality of war through the lens of its commander, showing the immediate horror of the battlefield and the subsequent historical distortion used to justify it.
Corruption and Morality
Napoleon's self-deception and moral blindness are central. He justifies immense suffering with cold calculations and later rewrites history to cast himself as a benefactor, repudiating truth and humanity.
Personal vs. Public Life
The tension between Napoleon's brief, private moment of human weakness and his public, predestined role as emperor and military leader is starkly portrayed. He feels compelled to perform the part expected of him.
Search for Meaning
Napoleon's entire rationale for the war and his life's work is presented as a constructed, artificial 'phantasm' meant to give meaning to actions fundamentally contrary to goodness and truth.
Key passages
“A personal, human feeling for a brief moment got the better of the artificial phantasm of life he had served so long.”
For a fleeting instant, genuine human emotion overcame the false, constructed persona Napoleon had lived by.
Highlights the conflict between his humanity and his self-made legend.
“He could not disavow his actions, belauded as they were by half the world, and so he had to repudiate truth, goodness, and all humanity.”
Because his actions were praised globally, he was forced to reject the very concepts of truth and goodness to avoid confronting their inhumanity.
Explains the psychological necessity of his moral corruption.
“Napoleon, predestined by Providence for the gloomy role of executioner of the peoples, assured himself that the aim of his actions had been the peoples’ welfare...”
Destined to be a mass executioner, Napoleon convinced himself his wars were for the public good.
The narrator's direct condemnation of Napoleon's self-delusion and its tragic scale.