Besides violence on the battlefield there is also violence on the home front. These chapters of Pierre's"war" within himself complement the previous description of the Austerlitz campaign and illustrate, once more, Tolstoy's handling of his theme on two levels, the individual and the collective. Pierre projects against Dolohov all his anger toward himself and his wife. With one pistol shot he concludes this loathsome, animal-passion marriage and sets off on another route of his life's journey. With this scene of violence, Tolstoy makes a powerful transition from the battlefield of nations to the battlefield within individual souls.
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