“When the Count was just seven, he was defeated so soundly by a neighbouring boy in a game of draughts that, apparently, a tear was shed, a curse was uttered, and the game pieces were scattered across the floor. This lack of sportsmanship led to a stiff reprimand from the count’s father and a trip to bed without supper. But as the young Count was gripping his blanket in misery, he was visited by his grandmother. Taking a seat at the foot of the bed, the Countess expressed a measure of sympathy: “There is nothing pleasant to be said about losing…and the Obolensky boy is a pill. But, Sasha, my dear, why on earth would you give him the satisfaction.”
Sasha’s grandmother and father enlighten him that a competitive sportsman should be willing to acknowledge defeat. This lesson is important in modeling Sasha’s ideology about competitions and losing in life. He learns that farther defeat one should not be despondent; he should strive to be normal lest the competitor get the chance to humiliate him. Moreover a single defeat does not doom one’s future chances of success.
" “ By Diverse Means We Arrive at the same End.” In this opening essay - in which examples were expertly drawn from the annals of history - the author provided a most convincing argument that when one is at another’s mercy one should plead for one’s life. Or remain proud and unbent. At any rate, having firmly established that either approach might be the right one.”
Here, the Count is enlightened by Montaigne’s essay about the essence of having multiple options. Rigidity is not recommended for it reduces the chances of attaining a desired end. Accordingly, some circumstances may compel a person to embrace humility, no matter how mortifying as long as it helps in realizing a particular goal.
