- Napoleon is in the lap of luxury, and Balashov is kind of taken aback by it. The way it’s described, Napoleon is basically rolling around on top of a giant heap of money.
- Balashov can immediately tell that Napoleon couldn’t care less about him and is just going to make a big speech about what he wants to do without giving too much thought to Alexander's letter.
- Napoleon starts talking and begins to rant and generally lose it. His main points are:
- 1. Alexander is the one who provoked him into war.
- 2. There are too many demands being made on him before they can start any peace talks.
- 3. Why should he have to make peace when his army is three times the size of Alexander’s?
- 4. Alexander betrayed him by allying with England even though Napoleon was prepared to let Alexander rule over a huge empire.
- By the end of this, Napoleon is throwing a full-on tantrum. Balashov is embarrassed to be in the same room as him.