War and Peace Volume 2 Book 7 Chapter 8

In which the Rostóv family, once accustomed to a life of generosity and social prominence, faces financial strain that shadows their daily existence and compels the countess to seek a wealthy match for her son Nicholas, despite the tender complications of the heart. Observing her anxious endeavours and Nicholas’s quiet resistance, one discerns the slow unfolding of familial hopes and doubts beneath the surface of their genteel yet troubled household.