Humanity has a long and storied history of being idle, the narrator suggests. Since humans feel guilt when they are not working, one of the best solutions is military service, as it allows a person to be both idle and dutiful at the same time. In 1810, Nikolai Rostov serves in an inactive army unit. Denisov has not returned to command, and Nikolai receives upsetting letters from his family. His mother pressures him to return home to help deal with the financial crisis that threatens to overwhelm the Rostovs. At first, Nikolai tries to ignore his duty to his family. When he hears that the family may need to auction off their properties, however, he returns home.

Nikolai returns to find that Natasha is essentially unchanged and that Sonya is a beautiful as she will ever be. Nikolai makes a serious examination of his family’s financial situation. The complicated nature of the family’s debts and obligations makes this nearly impossible. Nikolai struggles to deal with the situation. He takes out his anger on the steward, whom he accuses of theft and embezzlement; then he ignores the pressing nature of the debts to enjoy grand hunting expeditions on his father’s estates.