War and Peace · Character
Pfuel
- Minor
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 175
Pfuel gives the impression of a mind armored in theories and a manner that leaves little room for anyone else. His severe, deeply lined face and oddly unruly hair make him seem both formidable and faintly absurd, as though certainty itself were his uniform.
- Gender
- male
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 175
- Books
- 1
Pfuel arrives as the chief author of a campaign plan, confident in abstract principles and contemptuous of those who question his system. His certainty meets the stubborn complexity of war, exposing the distance between a theory neatly arranged on paper and events as people actually live them. Tolstoy presents him as a memorable embodiment of the limits of treating history as something one mind can command.
Description
Pfuel is short and very thin yet broad-boned, with a coarse, robust frame, broad hips, and prominent shoulder blades. His deeply wrinkled face is set with deep eyes; his hair is hurriedly smoothed at the temples but rises behind in quaint little tufts. He wears a Russian general’s uniform that fits badly, giving it the air of a costume, and handles his sword awkwardly. His rigid, self-assured posture and contemptuous expression make him seem at once severe and incongruous.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
Prince Andrew Bolkónskimutual observers at headquarters
Pfuel dismisses Andrew with a sarcastic remark about the Turkish campaign. Andrew, while finding him ridiculous and unpleasant, respects his sincere devotion to his theory and pities his impending fall.
- W
Wolzogenmilitary theorist and interpreter
Wolzogen serves as the bridge between Pfuel and court, translating and explaining Pfuel’s ideas. Pfuel nevertheless snaps angrily at him during the council.
- AM
Abbé Morioopponents in the Drissa strategy dispute
Pfuel defends the Drissa camp as the sound application of his theory, while Paulucci condemns the camp and argues for an attack. Their disagreement becomes heated at headquarters.
- CT
Count Tollcompeting military planners
Toll presents a campaign scheme different from Pfuel’s, contributing to the competing plans debated at headquarters.
Story so far
BOOK 1War and Peace
Appearances
Meet Pfuel in Bookworm
Meet Pfuel in your EPUB — spoiler-safe to the book you're on.