Minor characters war and peace. Brief description of the main characters of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

In his novel, Tolstoy portrayed a number of heroes. It is not for nothing that the author presents detailed descriptions of the characters. "War and Peace" is a novel in which entire noble families represent to the reader a reflection of the people who lived during the war with Napoleon. In "War and Peace" we see the Russian spirit, the features of historical events characteristic of the period of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. The greatness of the Russian soul is shown against the background of these events.

If you make a list of characters ("War and Peace"), you will only get about 550-600 heroes. However, they are not all equally important to the narrative. "War and Peace" is a novel whose characters can be divided into three main groups: main characters, secondary characters, and those simply mentioned in the text. Among them there are both fictional and historical figures, as well as heroes who have prototypes among the writer’s circle. This article will introduce the main characters. "War and Peace" is a work in which the Rostov family is described in detail. So let's start with it.

Ilya Andreevich Rostov

This is a count who had four children: Petya, Nikolai, Vera and Natasha. Ilya Andreevich is a very generous and kind-hearted person who loved life. As a result, his excessive generosity led to wastefulness. Rostov is a loving father and husband. He is a good organizer of receptions and balls. But living in grand style, as well as selfless assistance to wounded soldiers and the departure of Russians from Moscow dealt fatal blows to his condition. Ilya Andreevich’s conscience constantly tormented him because of the approaching poverty of his relatives, but he could not help himself. After the death of Petya, his youngest son, the count was broken, but perked up as he prepared the wedding of Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha. Count Rostov dies a few months after these characters get married. “War and Peace” (Tolstoy) is a work in which the prototype of this hero is Ilya Andreevich, Tolstoy’s grandfather.

Natalya Rostova (wife of Ilya Andreevich)

This 45-year-old woman, the wife of Rostov and the mother of four children, had some oriental. Those around her regarded the focus of sedateness and slowness in her as solidity, as well as her high significance for the family. However, the real reason for these manners lies in the weak and exhausted physical condition due to childbirth and the energy devoted to raising children. Natalya loves her family and children very much, so she was almost driven crazy by the news of Petya’s death. Countess Rostova, like Ilya Andreevich, loved luxury and demanded that everyone follow her orders. In her you can find the features of Tolstoy’s grandmother, Pelageya Nikolaevna.

Nikolay Rostov

This hero is the son of Ilya Andreevich. He is a loving son and brother, respects his family, but at the same time faithfully serves in the army, which is a very important and significant feature in his characterization. He often saw even his fellow soldiers as a second family. Although Nikolai was in love for a long time with Sonya, his cousin, he still marries Marya Bolkonskaya at the end of the novel. Nikolai Rostov is a very energetic man, with open and curly hair. His love for the Russian emperor and patriotism never dried up. Having gone through the hardships of the war, Nikolai becomes a brave and courageous hussar. He retires after the death of Ilya Andreevich in order to improve financial situation of the family, pay off debts and finally become a good husband for his wife. Tolstoy sees this hero as a prototype of his own father. As you have probably already noticed, the presence of prototypes in many heroes characterizes the character system. "War and Peace" - a work in which the morals of the nobility are presented through the characteristics of the family of Tolstoy, who was a count.

Natasha Rostova

This is the Rostovs' daughter. A very emotional and energetic girl who was considered ugly, but attractive and lively. Natasha is not very smart, but at the same time she is intuitive, as she could “guess people” well, their character traits and mood. This heroine is very impetuous and prone to self-sacrifice. She dances and sings beautifully, which was an important characteristic of a girl belonging to secular society at that time. Leo Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes Natasha's main quality - closeness to the Russian people. It absorbed nations and Russian culture. Natasha lives in an atmosphere of love, happiness and kindness, but after a while the girl is faced with a harsh reality. Blows of fate, as well as heartfelt experiences, make this heroine an adult and ultimately give her true love for her husband, Pierre Bezukhov. The story of the rebirth of Natasha’s soul deserves special respect. She began attending church after becoming the victim of a deceitful seducer. Natasha is a collective image, the prototype of which was Tolstoy’s daughter-in-law, Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya, as well as her sister (the author’s wife) Sofya Andreevna.

Vera Rostova

This heroine is the daughter of the Rostovs ("War and Peace"). The character portraits created by the author are distinguished by their diversity of characters. Vera, for example, was famous for her strict disposition, as well as for the inappropriate, although fair, remarks she made in society. Her mother, for some unknown reason, did not love her very much, and Vera felt this acutely, and therefore often went against everyone. This girl later became the wife of Boris Drubetsky. The prototype of the heroine is Lev Nikolaevich (Elizabeth Bers).

Peter Rostov

The Rostovs' son, still just a boy. Petya, growing up, was eager to go to war as a young man, and his parents could not stop him. He escaped from their tutelage and joined Denisov’s regiment. In the very first battle, Petya dies before he has even had time to fight. The death of their beloved son greatly devastated the family.

Sonya

With this heroine we finish the description of the characters ("War and Peace") belonging to the Rostov family. Sonya, a nice miniature girl, was Ilya Andreevich’s own niece and lived her whole life under his roof. Love for Nikolai became fatal for her, since she failed to marry him. Natalya Rostova, the old countess, was against this marriage, since the lovers were cousins. Sonya acted nobly, refusing Dolokhov and deciding to love only Nikolai all her life, freeing him from the promise given to her. She spends the rest of her life in the care of Nikolai Rostov, under the old countess.

The prototype of this heroine is Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya, the writer’s second cousin.

Not only the Rostovs in the work are the main characters. "War and Peace" is a novel in which the Bolkonsky family also plays a large role.

Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky

This is the father of Andrei Bolkonsky, a general-in-chief in the past, and in the present a prince who has earned the nickname “Prussian king” in Russian secular society. He is socially active, strict like a father, pedantic, and a wise owner of the estate. Outwardly, he is a thin old man with thick eyebrows that hang over intelligent and penetrating eyes, wearing a powdered white wig. Nikolai Andreevich does not like to show his feelings even to his beloved daughter and son. He torments Marya with constant nagging. Prince Nicholas, sitting on his estate, follows the events taking place in the country, and only before his death he loses the idea of ​​the scale of the Russian war with Napoleon. Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, the writer’s grandfather, was the prototype of this prince.

Andrey Bolkonsky

This is the son of Nikolai Andreevich. He is ambitious, like his father, and is restrained in expressing his feelings, but he loves his sister and father very much. Andrei is married to Lisa, the “little princess.” He had a successful military career. Andrey philosophizes a lot about the meaning of life, the state of his spirit. He is in constant search. In Natasha Rostova, after the death of his wife, he found hope for himself, because he saw a real girl, and not a fake one, as in secular society, and that’s why he fell in love with her. Having proposed to this heroine, he was forced to go abroad for treatment, which became a test of their feelings. The wedding ended up being cancelled. Andrei went to war with Napoleon, where he was seriously wounded and died as a result. Until the end of his days, Natasha devotedly looked after him.

Marya Bolkonskaya

This is Andrei's sister, daughter of Prince Nikolai. She is very meek, ugly, but kind-hearted and also very rich. Her devotion to religion serves as an example of meekness and kindness to many. Marya unforgettably loves her father, who often pesters her with his reproaches and ridicule. This girl also loves her brother. She did not immediately accept Natasha as her future daughter-in-law, since she seemed too frivolous for Andrei. After all the hardships, Marya marries Nikolai Rostov.

Its prototype is Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, Tolstoy’s mother.

Pierre Bezukhov (Peter Kirillovich)

The main characters of the novel "War and Peace" would not be fully listed if Pierre Bezukhov were not mentioned. This hero plays one of the most important roles in the work. He has experienced a lot of pain and mental trauma, and has a noble and kind disposition. Lev Nikolaevich himself loves Pierre very much. Bezukhov, as a friend of Andrei Bolkonsky, is very responsive and devoted. Despite the intrigues weaving under his nose, Pierre did not lose trust in people and did not become embittered. By marrying Natasha, he finally found the happiness and grace that he lacked with his first wife, Helen. At the end of the work, his desire to change the political foundations in Russia is noticeable; one can even guess from afar Pierre’s Decembrist sentiments.

These are the main characters. "War and Peace" is a novel in which a large role is given to such historical figures as Kutuzov and Napoleon, as well as some other commanders-in-chief. Other social groups besides the nobility are also represented (merchants, burghers, peasantry, army). The list of characters ("War and Peace") is quite impressive. However, our task is to consider only the main characters.

M. M. Blinkina

AGE OF CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL "WAR AND PEACE"

(Izvestia AN. Series of literature and language. - T. 57. - No. 1. - M., 1998. - P. 18-27)

1. INTRODUCTION

The main goal of this work is the mathematical modeling of certain aspects of plot development and the establishment of relationships between real and novel time, or more precisely, between the real and novel ages of the characters (and, in this case, the connection will be predictable and linear).

The very concept of “age” certainly has several aspects. Firstly, the age of a literary character is determined by novel time, which often does not coincide with real time. Secondly, numerals in the designation of age, in addition to their main (actually numerical) meaning, often have a number of additional meanings, that is, they carry an independent semantic load. They can, for example, contain a positive or negative assessment of the hero, reflect his individual characteristics, or introduce an ironic shade into the story.

Sections 2-6 describe how Leo Tolstoy changes the age characteristics of the characters in War and Peace depending on their function in the novel, how young they are, what gender they are, and also on some other individual characteristics.

Section 7 proposes a mathematical model that reflects the features of the “aging” of Tolstoy’s heroes.

2. AGE PARADOXES: TEXT ANALYSIS

Reading Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace", one cannot help but pay attention to some strange inconsistencies in the age characteristics of his characters. Consider, for example, the Rostov family. It's August 1805 - and we meet Natasha for the first time:... ran into the room thirteen year old girl, wrapping something in her muslin skirt...

In the same August 1805, we meet all the other children from this family, in particular, the older sister Vera: The countess's eldest daughter was four years older than my sister and behaved like a big girl.

Thus, in August 1805 Vere seventeen years. Now fast forward to December 1806: There was faith twenty years old beautiful girl... Natasha is half young lady, half girl...

We see that over the past year and four months Vera has managed to grow by three years. She was seventeen, and now she is neither eighteen nor nineteen; she's twenty at once. Natasha’s age in this fragment is given metaphorically, and not by number, which, as it turns out, is also not without reason.

Exactly three more years will pass before we receive the last message about the ages of these two sisters:

Natasha was sixteen years, and it was 1809, the same year that she and Boris counted on her fingers four years ago, after she kissed him.

So, over these four years, Natasha has grown by three, as, indeed, was expected. Instead of seventeen or even eighteen, she is now sixteen. And there won't be any more. This is the last mention of her age. Meanwhile, what happens to her unfortunate older sister?

I had faith twenty four years old, she went everywhere, and, despite the fact that she was undoubtedly good and sensible, until now no one had ever proposed to her.

As we can see, over the past three years, Vera has grown by four. If we count from the very beginning, that is, from August 1805, it turns out that in just over four years Vera grew by seven years. During this time period, the age difference between Natasha and Vera doubled. Vera is now not four, but eight years older than her sister.

This was an example of how the ages of two characters change relative to each other. Now let's look at a hero who at some point in time has different ages for different characters. This hero is Boris Drubetskoy. His age is never stated directly, so we will try to calculate it indirectly. On the one hand, we know that Boris is the same age as Nikolai Rostov: Two young men, a student and an officer, friends since childhood, were one year old ...

Nicholas was nineteen or twenty years old in January 1806:

How strange it was for the countess that her son, who was barely noticeable with his tiny limbs, was moving inside her twenty years ago, now a courageous warrior...

It follows that in August 1805 Boris was nineteen or twenty years old. Now let’s estimate his age from Pierre’s perspective. At the beginning of the novel, Pierre is twenty years old: Pierre from the age of ten was sent abroad with the tutor-abbot, where he stayed up to twenty years of age .

On the other hand, we know that Pierre left Boris fourteen year old boy and definitely didn’t remember him.

Thus, Boris is four years older than Pierre and at the beginning of the novel he is twenty-four years old, that is, he is twenty-four years old for Pierre, while for Nikolai he is still only twenty.

And finally, another, completely funny example: the age of Nikolenka Bolkonsky. In July 1805, his future mother appears before us: ... little princess Volkonskaya, who got married last winter and now did not go out into the big world because of her pregnancy... waddled around the table with small, quick steps....

From universal human considerations, it is clear that Nikolenka should be born in the fall of 1805: but, contrary to everyday logic, this does not happen, he is born March 19, 1806 It is clear that such a character will have problems with age until the end of his novel life. So in 1811 he will be six years old, and in 1820 - fifteen.

How can such discrepancies be explained? Maybe the exact age of his characters is not important for Tolstoy? On the contrary, Tolstoy has a passion for numbers and, with amazing accuracy, sets the ages of even the most insignificant heroes. So Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova exclaims: Fifty eight years old lived in the world...: No, life is not over at thirty-one, - says Prince Andrey.

Tolstoy has numbers everywhere, and exact, fractional numbers. Age in War and Peace is undoubtedly functional. No wonder Dolokhov, beating Nikolai at cards, I decided to continue the game until this entry increased to forty-three thousand. He chose this number because forty-three was the sum of his years added up with Sonya's years .

Thus, all the age discrepancies described above, and there are about thirty of them in the novel, are intentional. What are they due to?

Before starting to answer this question, I note that on average, over the course of the novel’s time, Tolstoy makes each of his characters a year older than they should be (this is shown by calculations that will be discussed later). Usually, the hero of a classic novel will always be twenty-one years old instead of twenty-one years and eleven months, and on average, therefore, such a hero turns out to be six months younger than his years.

However, even from the above examples it is already clear, firstly, that the author “ages” and “youngens” his heroes unequally, and secondly, that this does not happen randomly, but in a systemic, programmed way. How exactly?

From the very beginning, it becomes obvious that positive and negative characters age differently and disproportionately. (“Positive and negative” is, of course, a relative concept, but in Tolstoy, in most cases, the polarity of a character is defined almost unambiguously. The author of “War and Peace” is surprisingly frank in his likes and dislikes). As shown above, Natasha matures more slowly than expected, while Vera, on the contrary, grows up faster. Boris, as Nikolai's friend and friend of the Rostov family, appears to be twenty years old; In the role of Pierre's social acquaintance and Julie Karagina's future husband, he simultaneously turns out to be much older. The ages of the heroes seem to have been given a certain loose order, or rather, an anti-order. There is a feeling that the heroes are being “fined” by increasing their age. Tolstoy seems to punish his heroes with disproportionate aging.

There are, however, characters in the novel who grow older strictly in accordance with the years they have lived. Sonya, for example, being, in fact, neither a positive nor a negative heroine, but completely neutral and colorless, Sonya, who always studied well and remembered everything, grows up exceptionally neatly. The whole confusion of ages that takes place in the Rostov family does not affect her at all. In 1805 she fifteen year old girl , and in 1806 - sixteen year old girl in all the beauty of a newly bloomed flower. It is her age that the calculating Dolokhov wins against Rostov at cards, adding to his own. But Sonya is rather an exception.

In general, characters of “different polarities” grow up in different ways. Moreover, the extremely saturated space of age is divided between positive and negative heroes. Natasha and Sonya are mentioned under the age of sixteen. After the age of sixteen - Vera and Julie Karagina. Pierre, Nikolai and Petya Rostov, Nikolenka Bolkonsky are no more than twenty. Boris, Dolokhov, and the “ambiguous” Prince Andrei are strictly over twenty.

The question is not how old the hero is, the question is what age is recorded in the novel. Natasha is not supposed to be over sixteen; Marya is unacceptably old for a positive heroine, so not a word is said about her age; Helen, on the other hand, is defiantly young for a negative heroine, therefore we do not know how old she is.

The novel sets a boundary after which only negative heroes exist; a boundary, having crossed which, an obviously positive hero simply ceases to exist in the space of age. In a completely symmetrical manner, the negative hero walks through the novel without age until he passes this border. Natasha loses age, reaching sixteen years old. Julie Karagina, on the contrary, is gaining age, being no longer in her first youth:

Julie was twenty seven years old. After the death of her brothers, she became very rich. She was now completely ugly; but I thought that she was not only just as good, but even much more attractive now than she was before... A man who ten years ago would have been afraid to go every day to the house where she was seventeen year old lady, in order not to compromise her and not to tie himself down, now he boldly went to her every day and communicated with her not as a young lady-bride, but as an acquaintance who does not have a gender.

The problem, however, is that Julie was never seventeen in this novel. In 1805, when this chubby young lady guest appears in the Rostovs' house, nothing is said about her age, for if Tolstoy had honestly given her seventeen years old, then now, in 1811, she would not have been twenty-seven, but only twenty-three, which is also, of course, is no longer the age for a positive heroine, but still not yet the time for the final transition to asexual beings. In general, negative heroes, as a rule, are not entitled to childhood and adolescence. This leads to funny misunderstandings:

Well, what, Lelya? - Prince Vasily turned to his daughter with that careless tone of habitual tenderness, which is acquired by parents who caress their children from childhood, but which Prince Violence only guessed through imitation of other parents.

Or maybe Prince Vasily is not to blame? Perhaps his purely negative children had no childhood at all. And it’s not for nothing that Pierre, before proposing to Helene, convinces himself that he knew her as a child. Was she even a child?

If we move from the lyrics to numbers, it turns out that in the novel there are positive characters aged 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 16, 20, as well as 40, 45, 50, 58. Negative characters are 17, 20, 24, 25, 27. That is, positive heroes from early youth immediately end up in venerable old age. Negative heroes also, of course, experience senility, but the fraction of their age in their old age is less than that of positive ones. So, positive Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova says: Fifty eight years old lived in the world... The negative Prince Vasily evaluates himself with less accuracy: To me sixth decade, My friend...

In general, accurate calculations show that the aging coefficient in the “positive-negative” space is equal to -2.247, i.e. all other things being equal, the positive hero will be two years and three months younger than the negative one.

Let's now talk about two heroines who are emphatically ageless. These heroines are Helen and Princess Marya, which in itself is not accidental.

Helen symbolizes eternal beauty and youth in the novel. Her rightness, her strength in this inexhaustible youth. Time seems to have no power over her: Elena Vasilievna, that’s how it is at fifty years old she will be a beauty. Pierre, persuading himself to marry Helen, also cites her age as her main advantage. He remembers knowing her as a child. He says to himself: No, she's beautiful young woman! She's not bad woman!

Helen is the eternal bride. With a living husband, she chooses a new groom with charming spontaneity, one of the applicants being young and the other old. Helen dies under mysterious circumstances, preferring an old admirer to a young one, that is: as if she herself chooses old age and death, giving up her privilege of eternal youth, and dissolves into oblivion.

Princess Marya also has no age, and it is not possible to calculate it from the final version of the novel. In fact, in 1811, she old dry princess, envies Natasha's beauty and youth. In the finale, in 1820, Marya is a happy young mother, she is expecting her fourth child, and her life, one might say, is just beginning, although at that moment she is no less than thirty-five years old, an age not very suitable for a lyrical heroine; That’s why she lives without age in this novel, thoroughly saturated with numbers.

It is curious that in the first edition of War and Peace, which differs from the final version in its extreme specificity and “ultimate directness,” the uncertainty in the images of Helen and Marya is partly removed. There in 1805 Marya was twenty years old: the old prince himself was engaged in raising his daughter and, in order to develop both main virtues in her, up to twenty years gave her lessons in algebra and geometry and distributed her whole life in continuous studies.

And Helen, too, dies there, not from excess of youth...

4. FIRST COMPLETED VERSION OF THE NOVEL

The first version of War and Peace helps solve many of the mysteries posed in the final version of the novel. What is very vaguely read in the final version appears in the early version with a clarity that is amazing for a novel narrative. The space of age here is not yet imbued with the romantic understatement that the modern reader encounters. Deliberate precision borders on banality. It is not surprising that in the final edition of the novel Tolstoy refuses such meticulousness. Mentions of age become one and a half times less. There are a lot of interesting details behind the scenes that are worth mentioning here.

Princess Marya, as already noted, at the beginning of the novel twenty years. Age Helen is not specified, but it is obviously limited from above by the age of her older brother. Moreover, in 1811 Anatoly was 28 years. He was in full splendor of his strength and beauty.

Thus, at the beginning of the novel, Anatole is twenty-two years old, his friend Dolokhov is twenty-five, and Pierre is twenty. Helen no more than twenty-one. Moreover, she probably no more than nineteen, because according to the unwritten laws of that time, she should not be older than Pierre. (The fact, for example, that Julie is older than Boris is especially emphasized.)

So, the scene in which socialite Helen tries to lead young Natasha Rostova astray looks completely comical, considering that Natasha at this moment is twenty years old, and Helen is twenty-four, that is, they, in fact, belong to the same age categories.

The early version also clarifies the age Boris: Hélène called him mon hage and treated him like a child... Sometimes in rare moments Pierre thought that this patronizing friendship was for an imaginary child who was 23 years old there was something unnatural.

These considerations relate to the autumn of 1809, that is, at the beginning of the novel Boris is nineteen years old, and his future bride Julie - twenty-one years old, if you count her age back from the moment of their wedding. Initially, Julie, apparently, was assigned the role of a more sympathetic heroine in the novel: A tall, plump, proud-looking lady with pretty daughter, rustling with dresses, entered the living room.

This pretty daughter is Julie Karagina, who was initially thought to be younger and more attractive. However, in 1811, Julie Akhrosimova (that’s her original name) will already be the “asexual” creature that we know her in the final version.

In the first version of the novel, Dolokhov wins from Nikolai not forty-three, but only forty-two thousand.

The ages of Natasha and Sonya are given several times. So, at the beginning of 1806 Natasha says: To me fifteenth year, my grandmother got married in my time.

In the summer of 1807, Natasha's age is mentioned twice: Natasha has passed 15 years and she has become very prettier this summer.

“And you sing,” said Prince Andrei. He said these simple words, looking directly into the beautiful eyes of this 15 year old girls.

This number of age entries allows us to establish that Natasha was born in the fall of 1791. Thus, at her first ball she shines at eighteen, and not at all at sixteen.

To make Natasha younger, Tolstoy also changes Sonya’s age. So, at the end of 1810 Sonya was already twentieth year. She had already stopped getting prettier, she didn’t promise anything more than what was in her, but that was enough.

In fact, Natasha is twenty years old at this moment, and Sonya is at least a year and a half older.

Unlike many other heroes, Prince Andrei does not have an exact age in the first version of the novel. Instead of the textbook thirty-one years old, he about thirty years old.

Of course, the accuracy and directness of the early version of the novel cannot serve as an “official clue” to age shifts, since we have no right to assume that Natasha and Pierre in the first edition are the same characters as Natasha and Pierre in the final version of the novel. By changing the age characteristics of the hero, the author partly changes the hero himself. However, the early version of the novel allows us to check the accuracy of the calculations made on the final text and ensure that these calculations are correct.

5. AGE AS A FUNCTION OF AGE (AGE STEREOTYPES)

There's only so long left to live -

I'm already sixteen years old!

Yu. Ryashentsev

The tradition of aging older characters compared to younger ones goes back centuries. In this sense, Tolstoy did not invent anything new. Calculations show that the coefficient of “aging with age” in the novel is 0.097, which, translated into human language, means a year of novel aging by ten years lived, that is, a ten-year-old hero may turn out to be eleven years old, a twenty-year-old hero twenty-two, and a fifty-year-old fifty-five. The result is not surprising. It is much more interesting how Tolstoy presents the ages of his heroes, how he evaluates them on the “young - old” scale. Let's start from the very beginning.

5.1. Up to ten years

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy loved children very much.

Sometimes they would bring him a full room. Step by step

There’s nowhere to step, but he keeps shouting: More! More!

D. Kharms

Kharms is certainly right. There are many characters of infancy in the novel. What they have in common, perhaps, is that they do not seem to be independent units, endowed with their own problems and experiences. The age of up to ten years is a signal that the hero will, in fact, be a small mouthpiece for the author. The children in the novel see the world surprisingly subtly and correctly; they engage in systematic “defamiliarization” of their surroundings. They, not spoiled by the burden of civilization, are more successful than adults in solving their moral problems and at the same time seem to be completely devoid of reason. Therefore, such young characters, the number of which will grow to incredible limits by the end, look very artificial:

Five minutes later the little black-eyed three year old Natasha, her father’s favorite, having learned from her brother that daddy was sleeping in the small sofa room, unnoticed by her mother, ran to her father... Nikolai turned around with a tender smile on his face.

- Natasha, Natasha! - the frightened whisper of Countess Marya was heard from the door, - daddy wants to sleep.

“No, mom, he doesn’t want to sleep,” little Natasha answered convincingly, “he’s laughing.”

Such an edifying little character. But the next one is a little older:

Only Andrei’s granddaughter, Malasha, six year old girl, to whom His Serene Highness, having caressed her, gave her a piece of sugar for tea, remained on the stove in the large hut... Malasha... understood the meaning of this advice differently. It seemed to her that it was only a matter of personal struggle between “grandfather” and “long-haired,” as she called Beningsen.

Amazing insight!

The last character in age to show signs of the same “childish-unconscious” behavior as all of Tolstoy’s juvenile characters is the eternally sixteen-year-old Natasha Rostova:

In the middle of the stage sat girls in red bodices and white skirts. They were all singing something. When they finished their song, the girl in white approached the prompter's booth, and a man in tight-fitting silk trousers on thick legs, with a feather and a dagger, approached her and began to sing and spread his arms...

After the village and in the serious mood in which Natasha was, all this was wild and surprising to her.

So, Natasha sees the world in the same childish, unreasonable way. It’s not because of their age that adult children look like young old people. Striving for globality, the author of “War and Peace” loses the little things, the individuality of babies, for example, Lev Nikolaevich’s children do not come individually, but as a set: At the table were her mother, the old woman Belova who lived with her, her wife, three children, governess, tutor, nephew with his tutor, Sonya, Denisov, Natasha, her three children, their governess and the old man Mikhail Ivanovich, the prince’s architect, who lived in Bald Mountains in retirement.

Individuality in this enumeration is due to everyone, even old lady Belova, whom we meet for the first and last time. Even the tutor, and the governess, and also the tutor do not merge into the general concept of “tutors”. And only children, sexless and faceless, go en masse. Kharms had something to parody.

All characters can be divided into the following groups:

• Bolkonsky family;
• Rostov family;
• Bezukhov family;
• Drubetsky family;
• Kuragin family;
• Historical figures;
• Heroes 2 plans;
• Other heroes.

Characteristics of the Bolkonskys

• The first “camp” was headed by Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky. His opinion was shared by Mademoiselle Bourien and Mikhail Ivanovich, the prince's architect.
• The second group included: the prince’s daughter Marya, Andrei Bolkonsky’s son Nikolai and all the nannies and maids.

Characteristics of Andrei Bolkonsky

Characteristics of Marya Bolkonskaya

Characteristics of Lisa Bolkonskaya

Characteristics of Nikolai Bolkonsky

Characteristics of the Rostov family

Characteristics of Count Ilya Rostov

Characteristics of Countess Natalia Rostova

Characteristics of Natasha Rostova

Important! Natasha is good at understanding people, but when it comes to love relationships, she gets lost (like falling in love with Kuragin).

Characteristics of Sonya Rostova

Characteristics of Pierre Bezukhov

Characteristics of the Kuragin family

Characteristics of Vasily Kuragin

Characteristics of Anatoly Kuragin

Characteristics of Ellen Kuragina

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, with his pure Russian pen, gave life to a whole world of characters in the novel “War and Peace.” His fictional characters, who are intertwined into entire noble families or family ties between families, show the modern reader a real reflection of those people who lived in the times described by the author. One of the greatest books of world significance, “War and Peace,” with the confidence of a professional historian, but at the same time, as if in a mirror, presents to the whole world that Russian spirit, those characters of secular society, those historical events that were invariably present at the end of the 18th century. the beginning of the 19th centuries.
And against the backdrop of these events, the greatness of the Russian soul is shown, in all its power and diversity.

L.N. Tolstoy and the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” experience the events of the past nineteenth century, but Lev Nikolaevich begins to describe the events of 1805. The coming war with the French, the decisively approaching the whole world and the growing greatness of Napoleon, the turmoil in Moscow secular circles and the apparent calm in St. Petersburg secular society - all this can be called a kind of background against which, like a brilliant artist, the author drew his characters. There are quite a lot of heroes - about 550 or 600. There are main and central figures, and there are others or just mentioned ones. In total, the heroes of War and Peace can be divided into three groups: central, secondary and mentioned characters. Among all of them, there are both fictional characters, prototypes of people who surrounded the writer at that time, and real historical figures. Let's consider the main characters of the novel.

Quotes from the novel “War and Peace”

- ... I often think how unfairly the happiness of life is sometimes distributed.

A person cannot own anything while he is afraid of death. And whoever is not afraid of her, everything belongs to him.

Until now, thank God, I have been a friend of my children and enjoy their complete trust,” said the countess, repeating the misconception of many parents who believe that their children have no secrets from them.

Everything, from napkins to silver, earthenware and crystal, bore that special imprint of novelty that happens in the household of young spouses.

If everyone fought only according to their convictions, there would be no war.

Being an enthusiast became her social position, and sometimes, when she didn’t even want to, she, in order not to deceive the expectations of people who knew her, became an enthusiast.

Everything, to love everyone, to always sacrifice oneself for love, meant not loving anyone, meant not living this earthly life.

Never, never marry, my friend; Here's my advice to you: don't get married until you tell yourself that you did everything you could, and until you stop loving the woman you chose, until you see her clearly; otherwise you will make a cruel and irreparable mistake. Marry an old man who is worthless...

The central figures of the novel "War and Peace"

Rostov - counts and countesses

Rostov Ilya Andreevich

Count, father of four children: Natasha, Vera, Nikolai and Petya. A very kind and generous person who loved life very much. His exorbitant generosity ultimately led him to wastefulness. Loving husband and father. A very good organizer of various balls and receptions. However, his life on a grand scale, and selfless assistance to the wounded during the war with the French and the departure of the Russians from Moscow, dealt fatal blows to his condition. His conscience constantly tormented him because of the impending poverty of his family, but he could not help himself. After the death of his youngest son Petya, the count was broken, but nevertheless revived during the preparations for the wedding of Natasha and Pierre Bezukhov. Literally a few months pass after the Bezukhovs’ wedding when Count Rostov dies.

Rostova Natalya (wife of Ilya Andreevich Rostov)

The wife of Count Rostov and the mother of four children, this woman, aged forty-five, had oriental features. The concentration of slowness and sedateness in her was regarded by those around her as solidity and the high importance of her personality for the family. But the real reason for her mannerisms probably lies in her exhausted and weak physical condition from giving birth and raising four children. She loves her family and children very much, so the news of the death of her youngest son Petya almost drove her crazy. Just like Ilya Andreevich, Countess Rostova was very fond of luxury and the fulfillment of any of her orders.

Leo Tolstoy and the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” in Countess Rostova helped reveal the prototype of the author’s grandmother, Pelageya Nikolaevna Tolstoy.

Rostov Nikolay

Son of Count Rostov Ilya Andreevich. A loving brother and son who honors his family, at the same time he loves to serve in the Russian army, which is very significant and important for his dignity. Even in his fellow soldiers, he often saw his second family. Although he was in love with his cousin Sonya for a long time, at the end of the novel he marries Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. A very energetic young man, with curly hair and an “open expression.” His patriotism and love for the Emperor of Russia never dried up. Having gone through many hardships of war, he becomes a brave and courageous hussar. After the death of Father Ilya Andreevich, Nikolai retires in order to improve the family’s financial affairs, pay off debts and, finally, become a good husband for Marya Bolkonskaya.

Introduced to Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich as a prototype of his father.

Rostova Natasha

Daughter of Count and Countess Rostov. A very energetic and emotional girl, considered ugly, but lively and attractive, she is not very smart, but intuitive, because she knew how to perfectly “guess people,” their mood and some character traits. Very impulsive towards nobility and self-sacrifice. She sings and dances very beautifully, which at that time was an important characteristic for a girl from secular society. Natasha’s most important quality, which Leo Tolstoy, like his heroes, repeatedly emphasize in the novel “War and Peace” is her closeness to the ordinary Russian people. And she herself completely absorbed the Russianness of culture and the strength of the spirit of the nation. However, this girl lives in her illusion of goodness, happiness and love, which, after some time, brings Natasha into reality. It is these blows of fate and her heartfelt experiences that make Natasha Rostova an adult and ultimately give her a mature, true love for Pierre Bezukhov. The story of the rebirth of her soul deserves special respect, how Natasha began to attend church after succumbing to the temptation of a deceitful seducer. If you are interested in Tolstoy's works, which take a deeper look at the Christian heritage of our people, then you need to read a book about Father Sergius and how he fought temptation.

A collective prototype of the writer’s daughter-in-law Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya, as well as her sister, Lev Nikolaevich’s wife, Sofia Andreevna.

Rostova Vera

Daughter of Count and Countess Rostov. She was famous for her strict disposition and inappropriate, albeit fair, remarks in society. It is unknown why, but her mother did not really love her and Vera felt this acutely, apparently, which is why she often went against everyone around her. Later she became the wife of Boris Drubetsky.

She is the prototype of Tolstoy’s sister Sophia, the wife of Lev Nikolaevich, whose name was Elizaveta Bers.

Rostov Peter

Just a boy, the son of Count and Countess Rostov. Growing up, Petya, as a young man, was eager to go to war, and in such a way that his parents could not restrain him at all. Having finally escaped from parental care and joined Denisov’s hussar regiment. Petya dies in the first battle, without having had time to fight. His death greatly affected his family.

Sonya

The miniature, nice girl Sonya was the niece of Count Rostov and lived all her life under his roof. Her long-term love for Nikolai Rostov became fatal for her, because she never managed to unite with him in marriage. In addition, the old count Natalya Rostova was very against their marriage, because they were cousins. Sonya acts nobly, refusing Dolokhov and agreeing to love only Nikolai for the rest of her life, while freeing him from his promise to marry her. She lives the rest of her life under the old countess in the care of Nikolai Rostov.

The prototype of this seemingly insignificant character was Lev Nikolaevich’s second cousin, Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya.

Bolkonsky - princes and princesses

Bolkonsky Nikolai Andreevich

The father of the main character, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. In the past, the current general-in-chief, in the present, a prince who earned himself the nickname “Prussian king” in Russian secular society. Socially active, strict like a father, tough, pedantic, but wise master of his estate. Outwardly, he was a thin old man in a powdered white wig, thick eyebrows hanging over penetrating and intelligent eyes. He doesn’t like to show feelings even to his beloved son and daughter. He constantly torments his daughter Marya with nagging and sharp words. Sitting on his estate, Prince Nikolai is constantly on the alert for events taking place in Russia, and only before his death does he lose a full understanding of the scale of the tragedy of the Russian war with Napoleon.

The prototype of Prince Nikolai Andreevich was the writer’s grandfather Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky.

Bolkonsky Andrey

Prince, son of Nikolai Andreevich. He is ambitious, just like his father, restrained in the manifestation of sensual impulses, but loves his father and sister very much. Married to the “little princess” Lisa. He had a good military career. He philosophizes a lot about life, meaning and the state of his spirit. From which it is clear that he is in some kind of constant search. After the death of his wife, in Natasha Rostova he saw hope for himself, a real girl, and not a fake one as in secular society, and some light of future happiness, so he was in love with her. Having proposed to Natasha, he was forced to go abroad for treatment, which served as a real test for both of their feelings. As a result, their wedding fell through. Prince Andrey went to war with Napoleon and was seriously wounded, after which he did not survive and died from a serious wound. Natasha devotedly looked after him until the end of his death.

Bolkonskaya Marya

Daughter of Prince Nikolai and sister of Andrei Bolkonsky. A very meek girl, not beautiful, but kind-hearted and very rich, like a bride. Her inspiration and devotion to religion serves as an example of good morals and meekness to many. She unforgettably loves her father, who often mocked her with his ridicule, reproaches and injections. And he also loves his brother, Prince Andrei. She did not immediately accept Natasha Rostova as her future daughter-in-law, because she seemed too frivolous for her brother Andrei. After all the hardships she has experienced, she marries Nikolai Rostov.

The prototype of Marya is the mother of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya.

Bezukhovs - counts and countesses

Bezukhov Pierre (Peter Kirillovich)

One of the main characters who deserves close attention and the most positive assessment. This character has experienced a lot of emotional trauma and pain, possessing a kind and highly noble disposition. Tolstoy and the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” very often express their love and acceptance of Pierre Bezukhov as a man of very high morals, complacent and a man of a philosophical mind. Lev Nikolaevich loves his hero, Pierre, very much. As a friend of Andrei Bolkonsky, the young Count Pierre Bezukhov is very loyal and responsive. Despite the various intrigues weaving under his nose, Pierre did not become embittered and did not lose his good nature towards people. And having married Natalya Rostova, he finally found the grace and happiness that he so lacked in his first wife, Helen. At the end of the novel, his desire to change the political foundations in Russia can be traced, and from afar one can even guess his Decembrist sentiments.

Character prototypes
Most of the heroes of such a complex novel in their structure always reflect some people who one way or another met on the path of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

The writer successfully created a whole panorama of the epic history of the events of that time and the private lives of secular people. In addition, the author managed to very vividly color the psychological traits and characters of his characters so that modern people can learn worldly wisdom from them.

Tolstoy’s favorite characters in the novel “War and Peace” are Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. They are united by the quality that the writer himself most valued in people. In his opinion, to be a real person, you need to “tear, struggle, get confused, make mistakes, start and quit” all your life, and “calmness is spiritual meanness.” That is, a person should not calm down and stop, he should search for meaning all his life and strive to find an application for his strengths, talents, and mind.

In this article we will look at the characteristics of the main characters of the novel “War and Peace” by Tolstoy. Pay attention to why Tolstoy endowed these heroes with such traits and what he wanted to tell his readers by this.

Pierre Bezukhov in the novel "War and Peace"

As we have already noted, speaking about the main characters of Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” it is definitely worth discussing the image of Pierre Bezukhov. The reader first sees Pierre in the aristocratic St. Petersburg salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. The hostess treats him somewhat condescendingly, because he is just the illegitimate son of a rich nobleman of Catherine’s times, who has just returned from abroad, where he received an education.

Pierre Bezukhov differs from other guests in his spontaneity and sincerity. Drawing a psychological portrait of his main character, Tolstoy points out that Pierre was a fat, absent-minded person, but all this was redeemed by “an expression of good nature, simplicity and modesty.” The owner of the salon was afraid that Pierre would say something wrong, and indeed, Bezukhov passionately expresses his opinion, argues with the viscount and does not know how to follow etiquette rules. At the same time, he is good-natured and smart. The qualities of Pierre, shown in the first chapters of the novel, will be inherent in him throughout the entire narrative, although the hero himself will go through a difficult path of spiritual evolution. Why can Pierre Bezukhov be safely considered one of the main characters of Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”? Consideration of the image of Pierre Bezukhov helps to understand this.

Pierre Bezukhov is so loved by Tolstoy because this main character of the novel tirelessly searches for the meaning of life, asks himself painful questions: “What is bad? What well? What should you love, what should you hate? Why live, and what am I? What is life, what is death? What force controls everything?

Pierre Bezukhov goes through a difficult path of spiritual quest. He is not satisfied with the St. Petersburg revelries of the golden youth. Having received an inheritance and becoming one of the richest people in Russia, the hero marries Helen, but he blames himself for the failures of family life and even his wife’s infidelities, since he proposed without experiencing love.

For a while he finds meaning in Freemasonry. He is close to the idea of ​​his spiritual brothers about the need to live for the sake of others, to give as much as possible to others. Pierre Bezukhov is trying to change and improve the situation of his peasants. But soon disappointment sets in: the main character of Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” understands that most of the Masons are trying to make acquaintances with influential people in this way. Further, the image and characteristics of Pierre Bezukhov are revealed in an interesting aspect.

The most important stage on the path of spiritual formation of Pierre Bezukhov is the War of 1812 and captivity. On the Borodino field, he understands that the truth is in the universal unity of people. In captivity, the peasant philosopher Platon Karataev reveals to the main character how important it is to “live with people” and stoically accept everything that fate presents.

Pierre Bezukhov has an inquisitive mind, thoughtful and often ruthless introspection. He is a decent person, kind and a little naive. He asks himself and the world philosophical questions about the meaning of life, God, the purpose of existence, without finding an answer, he does not brush aside painful thoughts, but tries to find the right path.

In the epilogue, Pierre is happy with Natasha Rostova, but personal happiness is not enough for him. He becomes a member of a secret society preparing transformations in Russia. So, discussing who the main characters are in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” we focused on the image of Pierre Bezukhov and his characteristics. Let's move on to the next key character of the novel - Andrei Bolkonsky.

Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace"

The Bolkonsky family is united by common generic traits: a sharp analytical mind, nobility, the highest sense of honor, an understanding of their duty in serving the Fatherland. It is no coincidence that, seeing off his son to war, the father, admonishing him, says: “Remember one thing, Prince Andrei: if they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man... And if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will ... ashamed!" Undoubtedly, Andrei Bolkonsky is a bright character and one of the main characters in the novel “War and Peace” by Tolstoy.

During military service, Bolkonsky is guided by considerations of the common good, and not his own career. He heroically rushes forward with a banner in his hands, because it pains him to see the flight of the Russian army on the Field of Austerlitz.

Andrei, like Pierre, faces a difficult path of searching for the meaning of life and disappointments. At first he dreams of the glory of Napoleon. But after the Austerlitz sky, in which the prince saw something infinitely lofty, beautiful and calm, the former idol seems to him small, insignificant with his vain aspirations.

The main character of the novel “War and Peace” Tolstoy experiences disappointment in love (Natasha betrays him, deciding to run away with the fool Anatoly Kuragin), in life for the sake of his family (he understands that this is not enough), in public service (Speransky’s activities turn out to be meaningless vanity, not bringing true benefit).