- The next day Andrei leaves early in the morning, without seeing Natasha.
- Driving home through the same woods as before, he sees the oak tree. This time it looks different, all covered in leaves and seeming to be enjoying forest life.
- Andrei realizes that maybe 31 is a little too early to be giving up on life.
- He starts getting restless at home and decides to go to Petersburg.
- Now when he looks at the portrait of his wife, she doesn’t seem to be yelling at him anymore, but just looking at him calmly with interest. Seems like his psychic wounds are healing.
- Andrei gets more and more frustrated with the domestic life, snapping at his sister and generally being unpleasant.
- When Marya tells him that it’s too cold for the baby to go out, he sarcastically explains that there are these things called warm clothes that were especially invented for cold weather.