The prevailing spirit in these chapters is intensity, and Tolstoy withholds his more characteristic tone of morality to emphasize this quality. The scenes of love and life-affirmation in the Rostov household not only complement the previous scene of death and birth at Bleak Hills but advance its spirit. Intensity, Tolstoy seems to say, is a quality equally important with moral awareness, for without intense feelings — be they negative or positive — one has no feeling of life. Dolohov's vengeful cat-and-mouse game with Nikolay is the way Tolstoy expresses the"law of intense life" which Dolohov maintains and which he states to Nikolay during their talks. Nikolay sums up this"law": One can be a criminal and be happy because the ability to feel and to be is more important than empty commitment to moral principles. Tolstoy's symbol of feeling and pure being is contained in Natasha's singing, therefore in Natasha herself. This is the quality that enchants Denisov. As the creature-embodiment of growth and naturalness, Natasha radiates love as naturally as she pours out her song. At this point, however, she is unready for a mature love affair.
"Intensity" is thus the keynote of the entire Book IV. Each main character — Pierre, Andrey, Natasha, Nikolay — has been brought to a state of fruition and definition and each has a unique destiny to be worked out in future events.
