29
votes
Accepted
How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?
Tolstoy was born into the Russian aristocracy and thus had the benefit of paid tuition as a young man. He was interested in languages and so, given the opportunity to learn them, he did. In fact he ...
- 20.9k
12
votes
How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?
In his critique of Shakespeare, Tolstoy wrote:
For a long time I could not believe in myself, and during fifty years, in order to test myself, I several times recommenced reading Shakespeare in every ...
- 3,181
7
votes
Accepted
Why does Pierre think a priest giving a deserter the cross to kiss is hypocrisy?
To begin with, Pierre is describing a particularly brutal method of execution. Being "knouted to death" means being whipped until your body literally cannot take any more. Hanging would be ...
- 878
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Russian corpses rot in "War and Peace", but not French?
These uneducated soldiers ascribe supernatural unhuman qualities to the invaders. A little further they suspect that the French military commander Napoleon possesses shape-shifting and undead ...
- 1,511
5
votes
Accepted
What does "gentleman of the bedchamber" mean in "War and Peace"?
Original text is:
Пьер был у него под рукою в Москве, и князь Василий устроил для него назначение в камер-юнкеры, что тогда равнялось чину статского советника, и настоял на том, чтобы молодой человек ...
- 4,477
5
votes
Accepted
What was the original meaning of "rolling their eyes"?
Seems to be a mistranslation.
Rolling one’s eyes is a gesture “used to disagree or dismiss or express contempt”. The Russian phrase for it is «закатывая глаза». The novel says «выкатывая глаза» (...
- 1,511
3
votes
Accepted
War and Peace: Russian troop movements in part 2, chapters 7 and 8
My understanding of the events. Nesvitski is sent with the order to “tell the hussars that they are to cross last and to fire the bridge […]; and the inflammable material on the bridge must be ...
- 1,511
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