- During the party Marya sits in the corner, stressing about her dad being mad at her.
- Boris tries to chat her up a little bit, but she’s not listening, so he quits trying.
- Pierre comes up and jokingly tells her that Boris is out to snag a rich bride – probably Julie Karagin. Apparently it’s all the rage for guys to be all emo, so he’s been playing that to the hilt.
- Marya can’t handle the banter and breaks down in tears. She almost tells her whole sad story to Pierre, but only manages to get across a general sense of misery before she shuts down and won’t say another word.
- Instead, she asks about Natasha. She wants to know what kind of woman she is.
- Pierre immediately realizes that Marya already hates Natasha and is asking about her future sister-in-law to confirm her negative opinion. Pierre tells her that Natasha is enchanting and that she’ll come to meet the Bolkonsky family soon. Oh, yes – that’s bound to go well.