When the guests talk of the assassination of the Duc d'Enghien, Anna Pavlovna's worst fears are realized. Pierre shocks everyone by his earnest defense of Bonaparte, who, he says, saved France from anarchy. Prince Andrey joins in, defending Napoleon's action. The tension subsides when Ippolit, Prince Vassily's dull-witted son, tells a pointless story. The mystified guests do not know whether to regard Ippolit as a clown or a wag.
After the party, Pierre and Andrey spend the evening together. Bezuhov must choose a career, but he refuses to join the army to help fight against"the greatest man in the world." Bolkonsky admits he is going to war merely to escape his wearisome life at home. Liza joins them now and makes a scene because her husband is so changed to her and treats her as if she were a child, she tearfully says. While they dine alone, Bolkonsky offers Pierre some advice. First off, he says, never marry, or you will be forever imprisoned in the enchanted circle of soirées, balls, gossip. Society women like Liza cannot live without this silliness and vanity, and through them everything becomes trivial. Second, Andrey goes on, Pierre should no longer associate with Anatole Kuragin and his dissipated set of bachelor friends. Bezuhov readily agrees but cannot resist the drinking party Kuragin invited him to that night. The drunken evening ends in scandal when Pierre and his friends tie a police officer to a live bear and toss both into the river.
