Did anyone else notice a missing character?

What would happen if the beloved leader of a nation being invaded disappeared at the most important part of the war? One might guess there would be uproar and fear, right? Well, apparently not. As of page 915 of War and Peace, the last time we heard about the sovereign’s actions was when he appointed Kutuzov commander in chief. Even then, we hear about this through the lens of Prince Vassily and Anna Pavlovna. Thirty-five pages later we are told that the sovereign left Moscow. We have not been told about him since. Odd, no?

Throughout the book, the sovereign Alexander has always been somewhat of a mystery. Tolstoy throws him in here and there, always for the same reason: to arouse the troops and instill a certain sense of patriotism in the soldiers and in the nobles. In the span of 5 pages, we see this happen twice. First, on page 675 we observe Petya in a crowd of people fighting over biscuits the sovereign is throwing down from his balcony. Everyone in the crowd is absolutely elated to be in the presence of their leader; they yell “Angel! Father! Hurrah! Dearest!” (675) at the very sight of him. Just a few pages later we see Pierre among the nobility, waiting to greet the sovereign. Once Alexander enters the room he immediately instills in the nobles a sense of nationalism so great that they are willing to donate their men and fortunes in service of the country. We are told that “Pierre had no other feelings at the moment except the desire to show that it was all nothing to him, and he was ready to sacrifice everything” (681). However, it is interesting that among the nobles, this general feeling of unwavering service to the nation disappears once the sovereign leaves; after they get home they groan and are “astonished at what they had done” (681). This is the first indication that the sovereign is not necessarily beloved in all aspects of life. From this point on, the character of Alexander seems to go downhill. We are told that “Alexander refused all negotiations because he felt himself personally offended” (682), then when he stays with the army during the war “his presence… destroys the first army’s energy for action” (684). Finally, the sovereign leaves the army and we lose sight of him. In these final chapters before Alexander’s departure, Tolstoy strangely adds a new side to the emperor that we haven’t fully seen before. We see weakness in his leadership and in his character. Yet, just as we begin to see his complexities, Tolstoy strips him from the story for at least 200 pages. The war continues, Moscow is lost, we hear from Napolean, Kutuzov, and Rastopchin, but no one bothers to mention Alexander. Why did Tolstoy do this and when will we see the sovereign again?