The guests at Anna Pavlovna's event are leaving. The horse carriages and coats are readied by the footmen. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov enjoy briefly interacting with one another. They are two of the great characters of literature and throughout the novel they are not together all that often, so these are moments they are together are special.
Tolstoy provides a description of Pierre. He uncommonly tall, stout and has large reddish hands. Whenever entering or leaving a room, he does so clumsily. At the soirée, instead of his own hat, he grabs the three-cornered hat of a General. He has a massive heart to go along with his frame. A level of favor seems to follow him, like many a Bible character with a pure essence. It is important to remember that Tolstoy was heavily influenced by Scripture.
Prince Andrei has no interest in conversing with the society crowd - but he has a warm affinity towards Pierre and looks forward to conversing with him after the party.
The scene shifts to Andrei's study, where Pierre picks out Julius Caesar's Commentaries. This is likely a subtle reference to the novel's anti-hero, Napoleon, being among regarded as one of the all-time great generals. Tolstoy condemns war with uncanny ability but Napoleon's reputation puts him among the legends.
Pierre relays he is undecided on his path in life - his father has given him two choices, to enter the Army (Calvary Division) or the Diplomatic Service. Neither are appealing. We receive background information that Pierre was sent away at around age 10 with a tutor to experience the great cities of Europe. At around 20 he returned to Moscow (the ages aren't precise) and his father sent him to St. Petersburg.
Pierre knows one thing above all - he has no inclination to join the governments of England, Austria and Russia against "the Greatest Man in the World" (Napoleon). He then turns the conversation around and asks Andrei: with such a good life in St. Petersburg, why is Andrei is venturing to war? Andrei responds that his current life is not the one he was looking for. Andrei strives for something more.
