We all have read or heard about the novel War and Peace, but not everyone will be able to remember the characters in the novel the first time. The main characters of the novel War and Peace- love, suffer, live life in the imagination of each reader.

Main characters War and Peace

The main characters of the novel War and Peace - Natasha Rostova, Pierre Bezukhov, Andrey Bolkonsky.

It is rather difficult to say which is the main one, since Tolstoy's characters are described as if in parallel.

The main characters are different, they have different views on life, different aspirations, but the trouble is common, the war. And Tolstoy shows in the novel not one, but many destinies. The history of each of them is unique. There is no best, there is no worst. And we understand the best and the worst in comparison.

Natasha Rostova- one of the main characters with her own history and troubles, Bolkonsky also one of the best characters, whose story, alas, had to have an end. He himself has exhausted his life limit.

Bezukhov a little strange, lost, insecure, but his fate bizarrely presented him with Natasha.

The main character is the one closest to you.

Characteristics of heroes War and peace

Akhrosimova Marya Dmitrievna- a Moscow lady, known throughout the city "not for wealth, not for honors, but for her directness of mind and frank simplicity of address." Anecdotal stories were told about her, they quietly laughed at her rudeness, but they were afraid and sincerely respected. A. knew both capitals and even the royal family. The prototype of the heroine is A. D. Ofrosimova, well-known in Moscow, described by S. P. Zhikharev in the Student's Diary.

The heroine's usual way of life consists of doing chores at home, traveling to mass, visiting prisons, receiving petitioners, and traveling to the city on business. Four sons serve in the army, which she is very proud of; he knows how to hide his anxiety for them from outsiders.

A. always speaks in Russian, loudly, she has a “thick voice”, a fat body, she holds high “her fifty-year-old head with gray curls.” A. is close to the Rostov family, loving Natasha more than anyone else. On the name day of Natasha and the old countess, it is she who dances with Count Rostov, enthralling the entire assembled society. She boldly reprimands Pierre for the incident, because of which he was expelled from St. Petersburg in 1805; she gives a rebuke to the old prince Bolkonsky for the impoliteness done to Natasha during the visit; she also frustrates Natasha's plan to run away with Anatole.

Bagration- one of the most famous Russian military leaders, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, prince. In the novel, he acts as a real historical person and a participant in the plot action. B. "short, with an oriental type of hard and motionless face, dry, not yet an old man." In the novel, he participates mainly as the commander of the Shengraben battle. Before the operation, Kutuzov blessed him "for the great feat" of saving the army. The mere presence of the prince on the battlefield changes a lot in his course, although he does not give any visible orders, but at the decisive moment he dismounts and himself goes on the attack ahead of the soldiers. He is loved and respected by everyone, it is known about him that Suvorov himself gave him a sword for his courage in Italy. During the battle of Austerlitz, one B. fought off twice as strong an enemy all day and, during the retreat, led his column undisturbed from the battlefield. That is why Moscow chose him as its hero, in honor of B. a dinner was given in an English club, in his person "due honor was paid to a fighting, simple, without connections and intrigues, Russian soldier ...".

Bezukhov Pierre- one of the main characters of the novel; at first, the hero of the story about the Decembrist, from the idea of ​​which the work arose.

P. - the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, a famous Catherine nobleman, who became the heir to the title and a huge fortune, "a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, wearing glasses", he is distinguished by an intelligent, timid, "observant and natural" look P. was brought up abroad and appeared in Russia shortly before the death of his father and the start of the campaign of 1805. He is intelligent, inclined to philosophical reasoning, soft and kind-hearted, compassionate to others, kind, impractical and prone to passions. His closest friend, Andrei Bolkonsky, characterizes P. as the only "living person" in the whole world.

At the beginning of the novel, P. considers Napoleon the greatest man in the world, but gradually becomes disillusioned, reaching hatred for him and a desire to kill him. Having become a rich heir and falling under the influence of Prince Vasily and Helen, P. marries the latter. Very soon, having understood the character of his wife and realizing her depravity, he breaks with her. In search of the content and meaning of his life, P. is fond of Freemasonry, trying to find answers to his questions in this teaching and get rid of the passions that torment him. Realizing the falsity of the Masons, the hero breaks with them, tries to rebuild the life of his peasants, but fails because of his impracticality and gullibility.

The greatest trials fall on the lot of P. on the eve and during the war, it is not without reason that “his eyes” readers see the famous comet of 1812, which, according to common belief, foreshadowed terrible misfortunes. This sign follows P.'s declaration of love to Natasha Rostova. During the war, the hero, having decided to look at the battle and is not yet very clearly aware of the strength of national unity and the significance of the ongoing event, ends up on the Borodino field. On this day, the last conversation with Prince Andrei, who understood that the truth is where “they”, that is, ordinary soldiers, gives him a lot. Left in burning and deserted Moscow to kill Napoleon, P. tries as best he can to deal with the misfortune that has befallen people, but is captured and experiences terrible moments during the execution of prisoners.

The meeting with Platon Karataev opens up for P. the truth that one must love life, even suffering innocently, seeing the meaning and purpose of each person in being a part and reflection of the whole world. After meeting with Karataev, P. learned to see "the eternal and infinite in everything." At the end of the war, after the death of Andrei Bolkonsky and the rebirth of Natasha to life, P. marries her. In the epilogue, he is a happy husband and father, a man who, in a dispute with Nikolai Rostov, expresses convictions that allow him to be seen as a future Decembrist.

Berg- German, "a fresh, pink guards officer, impeccably washed, buttoned and combed." At the beginning of the novel, a lieutenant, at the end - a colonel who has made a good career and has awards. B. is accurate, calm, courteous, selfish and stingy. The people around him laugh at him. B. could only talk about himself and his interests, the main of which was success. He could talk about this subject for hours, with visible pleasure for himself and at the same time teaching others. During the campaign of 1805, B. was a company commander, proud of the fact that he was diligent, accurate, enjoyed the trust of his superiors, and arranged his financial affairs in a profitable way. When meeting in the army, Nikolai Rostov treats him with slight contempt.

B. first, the alleged and desired fiance of Vera Rostova, and then her husband. The hero makes an offer to his future wife at a time when refusal is impossible for him - B. correctly takes into account the financial difficulties of the Rostovs, which does not prevent him from demanding part of the promised dowry from the old count. Having reached a certain position, income, having married Vera, who meets his requirements, Colonel B. feels contented and happy, even in Moscow, leaving the inhabitants, taking care of acquiring furniture.

Bolkonskaya Lisa- the wife of Prince Andrei, for whom the name of the "little princess" was fixed in the world. “Her pretty, with a slightly blackened mustache, her upper lip was short in teeth, but it opened all the nicer and stretched out even more nicely sometimes and fell on the lower one. As is always the case with quite attractive women, her shortcomings—the shortness of her lips and her half-open mouth—seemed to be her special, her own beauty. It was fun for everyone to look at this full of health and liveliness, pretty future mother, who so easily endured her situation.

The image of L. was formed by Tolstoy in the first edition and remained unchanged. The wife of the second cousin of the writer, Princess L. I. Volkonskaya, nee Truzson, served as the prototype of the little princess, some of whose features were used by Tolstoy. The "Little Princess" enjoyed universal love because of her constant liveliness and courtesy of a secular woman who could not even imagine her life outside the world. In her relationship with her husband, she is distinguished by a complete misunderstanding of his aspirations and character. During disputes with her husband, her face took on a “brutal, squirrel expression” because of her raised lip, but Prince Andrei, repenting of his marriage to L., notes in a conversation with Pierre and his father that this is one of the rare women with whom “you can be calm for your honor.

After Bolkonsky left for the war, L. lives in the Bald Mountains, experiencing constant fear and antipathy for his father-in-law and friendly not with his sister-in-law, but with the empty and frivolous companion of Princess Marya, Mademoiselle Bourrienne. L. dies, as she foresaw, during childbirth, on the day of the return of Prince Andrei, who was considered dead. The expression on her face before and after her death seems to indicate that she loves everyone, does no harm to anyone and cannot understand what she is suffering for. Her death leaves a feeling of irreparable guilt in Prince Andrei and sincere pity in the old prince.

Bolkonskaya Marya- Princess, daughter of the old Prince Bolkonsky, sister of Prince Andrei, later the wife of Nikolai Rostov. M. has “an ugly, weak body and a thin face ... the princess’s eyes, large, deep and radiant (as if rays of warm light sometimes came out of them in sheaves), were so good that very often, despite the ugliness of the whole face, these eyes became more attractive beauty."

M. is very religious, accepts pilgrims and wanderers, enduring ridicule from her father and brother. She has no friends with whom she could share her thoughts. Her life is focused on love for her father, who is often unfair to her, for her brother and his son Nikolenka (after the death of the “little princess”), for whom she, as best she can, replaces her mother, M. is a smart, meek, educated woman, not hoping for personal happiness. Because of the unfair reproaches of her father and the impossibility of enduring it any longer, she even wanted to go on a wandering. Her life changes after meeting with Nikolai Rostov, who managed to guess the wealth of her soul. Having married, the heroine is happy, completely sharing all her husband's views "on duty and oath."

Bolkonsky Andrey- one of the main characters of the novel, the prince, the son of N. A. Bolkonsky, the brother of Princess Mary. "...Small in stature, a very handsome young man with definite and dry features." This is a smart, proud person who is looking for great intellectual and spiritual content in life. The sister notes in him some kind of “pride of thought”, he is restrained, educated, practical and has a strong will.

B. by origin occupies one of the most enviable places in society, but is unhappy in family life and is not satisfied with the emptiness of the world. At the beginning of the novel, his hero is Napoleon. Wanting to imitate Napoleon, dreaming of "his Toulon", he leaves for the army, where he shows courage, composure, heightened sense of honor, duty, and justice. Participates in the Battle of Shengraben. Seriously wounded in the battle of Austerlitz, B. understands the futility of his dreams and the insignificance of his idol. The hero returns home, where he was considered dead, on the birthday of his son and the death of his wife. These events shock him even more, leaving him feeling guilty about his dead wife. Deciding after Austerlitz to no longer serve, B. lives in Bogucharov-ve, doing housework, raising his son and reading a lot. During Pierre's arrival, he admits that he lives for himself alone, but something wakes up in his soul for a moment when he sees the sky above him for the first time after being wounded. From that time on, while maintaining the same circumstances, “his new life began in the inner world.”

During the two years of his life in the village, B. has been much involved in analyzing the latest military campaigns, which prompts him, under the influence of a trip to Otradnoye and awakened vitality, to go to St. Petersburg, where he works under Speransky, who is in charge of preparing legislative changes.

In St. Petersburg, the second meeting of B. with Natasha takes place, a deep feeling and hope for happiness arise in the soul of the hero. Postponing the wedding for a year under the influence of his father, who did not agree with the decision of his son, B. goes abroad. After the betrayal of the bride, in order to forget about it, to calm the feelings that flooded over him, he again returns to the army under the command of Kutuzov. Participating in the Patriotic War, B. wants to be at the front, and not at the headquarters, draws closer to the soldiers and comprehends the imperious power of the "spirit of the army" fighting for the liberation of their homeland. Before participating in the last battle of Borodino in his life, the hero meets and talks with Pierre. Having received a mortal wound, B., by chance, leaves Moscow in the Rostovs' train, reconciling with Natasha along the way, forgiving her and understanding before death the true meaning of the power of love that unites people.

Bolkonsky Nikolai Andreevich- prince, general-in-chief, retired from service under Paul I and exiled to the village. Father of Princess Marya and Prince Andrei. In the image of the old prince, Tolstoy restored many features of his maternal grandfather, Prince N. S. Volkonsky, "an intelligent, proud and gifted man."

N. A. lives in the countryside, meticulously allocating his time, most of all not enduring idleness, stupidity, superstition and violation of the once established order; he is demanding and harsh with everyone, often harassing his daughter with nit-picking, in the depths of his soul he loves her. The revered prince “walked in the old way, in a caftan and powder”, was short, “in a powdered wig ... with small dry hands and gray drooping eyebrows, sometimes, as he frowned, obscured the brilliance of smart and as if young shining eyes.” He is very proud, smart, restrained in showing feelings; perhaps his main concern is the preservation of family honor and dignity. Until the last days of his life, the old prince retains an interest in political and military events, only before his death he loses real ideas about the scale of the misfortune that happened to Russia. It was he who brought up feelings of pride, duty, patriotism and scrupulous honesty in his son Andrei.

Bolkonsky Nikolenka- the son of Prince Andrei and the "little princess", born on the day of the death of his mother and the return of his father, who was considered dead. He was brought up first in the house of his grandfather, then Princess Mary. Outwardly, he is very much like his dead mother: he has the same upturned lip and curly dark hair. N. grows up as a smart, impressionable and nervous boy. In the epilogue of the novel, he is 15 years old, he becomes a witness to a dispute between Nikolai Rostov and Pierre Bezukhov. Under this impression, N. sees a dream with which Tolstoy completes the events of the novel and in which the hero sees glory, himself, his late father and Uncle Pierre at the head of a large "right" army.

Denisov Vasily Dmitrievich- a combat hussar officer, gambler, gambler, noisy "a little man with a red face, shiny black eyes, black disheveled mustache and hair". D. is the commander and friend of Nikolai Rostov, a man for whom the highest honor in life is the honor of the regiment in which he serves. He is brave, capable of daring and rash acts, as in the case of the seizure of food transport, participates in all campaigns, commanding a partisan detachment in 1812 that freed the prisoners, including Pierre.

The hero of the war of 1812, D. V. Davydov, who is also mentioned in the novel as a historical person, served as the prototype for D. in many respects. Dolokhov Fedor - "Semenov officer, famous player and breter." Dolokhov was a man of medium height, curly-haired and with light, blue eyes. He was twenty-five years old. He did not wear a mustache, like all infantry officers, and his mouth, the most striking feature of his face, was completely visible. The lines of this mouth were remarkably finely curved. In the middle, the upper lip energetically descended onto the strong lower lip in a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles constantly formed in the corners, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent look, made such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face. The prototypes of the image of D. are R. I. Dorokhov, a reveler and a brave man whom Tolstoy knew in the Caucasus; a relative of the writer, known at the beginning of the 19th century. Count F. I. Tolstoy-American, who also served as the prototype for the heroes of A. S. Pushkin, A. S. Griboyedov; partisans during the Patriotic War of 1812 A. S. Figner.

D. is not rich, but he knows how to position himself in society in such a way that everyone respects and even fears him. He is bored in the conditions of ordinary life and gets rid of boredom in a strange, even cruel way, doing incredible things. In 1805, he was expelled from St. Petersburg for tricks with the quarter, demoted to the rank and file, but during the military campaign he regained his officer rank.

D. is smart, brave, cold-blooded, indifferent to death. He carefully hides from. outsiders his tender affection for his mother, confessing to Rostov that everyone considers him an evil person, but in fact he does not want to know anyone except those whom he loves.

Dividing all people into useful and harmful, he sees around him mostly harmful, unloved, whom he is ready to “pass over if they get on the road.” D. is impudent, cruel and cunning. Being Helen's lover, he provokes Pierre to a duel; coolly and dishonestly beats Nikolai Rostov, taking revenge for Sonya's refusal to accept his offer; helps Anatole Kuragin to prepare an escape with Natasha, Drubetskaya Boris - the son of Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya; from childhood he was brought up and lived for a long time in the Rostov family, who, through his mother, is a relative, was in love with Natasha. "A tall fair-haired young man with regular fine features of a calm and handsome face." Prototypes of the hero - A. M. Kuzminsky and M. D. Polivanov.

D. from his youth dreams of a career, is very proud, but accepts his mother's troubles and condones her humiliations if it benefits him. A. M. Drubetskaya, through Prince Vasily, gets her son a place in the guard. Once in the military service, D. dreams of making a brilliant career in this area.

Participating in the campaign of 1805, he acquires many useful contacts and understands his "unwritten subordination", wishing to continue to serve only in accordance with it. In 1806, A.P. Scherer “treats” them, who came from the Prussian army as a courier, to his guests. In the light of D. seeks to make useful contacts and uses the last money to give the impression of a rich and prosperous person. He becomes a close person in Helen's house and her lover. During the meeting of the emperors in Tilsit, D. is in the same place, and since that time his position has been especially firmly established. In 1809, D., seeing Natasha again, is carried away by her and for some time does not know what to prefer, since marriage with Natasha would mean the end of her career. D. is looking for a rich bride, choosing at one time between Princess Mary and Julie Karagina, who eventually became his wife.

Karataev Platon- a soldier of the Apsheron regiment, who met Pierre Bezukhov in captivity. Nicknamed in the service Falcon. This character was not in the first edition of the novel. His appearance is apparently due to the development and finalization of the image of Pierre and the philosophical concept of the novel.

At the first meeting with this small, affectionate and good-natured man, Pierre is struck by the feeling of something round and calm that comes from K. He attracts everyone to him with his calmness, confidence, kindness and smile of his round face. One day, K. tells the story of an innocently convicted merchant, who has resigned himself and suffers “for his own, but for people’s sins.” This story makes an impression among the prisoners as something very important. Weakened from a fever, K. begins to lag behind on transitions; he is shot by French escorts.

After the death of K., thanks to his wisdom and unconsciously expressed in all his behavior, the folk philosophy of life, Pierre comes to understand the meaning of life.

Kuragin Anatole- son of Prince Vasily, brother of Helen and Ippolit, officer. In contrast to the "calm fool" Ippolit, Prince Vasily looks at A. as a "restless fool" who always needs to be rescued from trouble. A. is a tall handsome man with a good-natured and "victorious look", "beautiful big" eyes and blond hair. He is dapper, arrogant, stupid, not resourceful, not eloquent in conversations, depraved, but "on the other hand, he also had the ability of calmness, precious to the world, and unchanging confidence." Being a friend of Dolokhov and a participant in his revels, A. looks at his life as a constant pleasure and amusement that should have been arranged for him by someone, he does not care about his relationships with other people. A. treats women contemptuously and with a consciousness of his superiority, accustomed to being liked and not experiencing serious feelings for anyone.

After infatuation with Natasha Rostova and an attempt to take her away, A. was forced to hide from Moscow, and then from Prince Andrei, who intended to challenge the offender to a duel. Their last meeting will take place in the infirmary after the Battle of Borodino: A. is wounded, his leg is amputated.

Kuragin Vasily- Prince, father of Helen, Anatole and Hippolyte; a well-known and influential person in Petersburg society, holding important court posts.

Prince V. treats everyone around him condescendingly and patronizingly, he speaks quietly, always bending down the hand of his interlocutor. He appears “in a courtly, embroidered uniform, in stockings, shoes, with stars, with a bright expression of a flat face”, with a “perfumed and shining bald head”. When he smiles, there is “something unexpectedly rough and unpleasant” in the wrinkles of his mouth. Prince V. does not wish harm to anyone, does not think over his plans in advance, but, as a secular person, he uses circumstances and connections to carry out plans that spontaneously arise in his mind. He always seeks rapprochement with people who are richer and higher than him in position.

The hero considers himself an exemplary father who has done everything possible to raise children and continues to take care of their future. Learning about Princess Marya, Prince V. takes Anatole to the Bald Mountains, wanting to marry him to a rich heiress. A relative of the old Count Bezukhov, he travels to Moscow and starts an intrigue with Princess Katish before the count's death to prevent Pierre Bezukhov from becoming heir. Having failed in this matter, he starts a new intrigue and marries Pierre and Helen.

Kuragina Helen- the daughter of Prince Vasily, and then the wife of Pierre Bezukhov. A brilliant St. Petersburg beauty with an "unchanging smile", full white shoulders, glossy hair and a beautiful figure. There was no noticeable coquetry in her, as if she was ashamed “for her undoubtedly and too much and win? effective beauty." E. is imperturbable, giving everyone the right to admire herself, which is why she feels, as it were, gloss from a multitude of other people's views. She knows how to be silently worthy in the world, giving the impression of a tactful and intelligent woman, which, combined with beauty, ensures her constant success.

Having married Pierre Bezukhov, the heroine discovers in front of her husband not only a limited mind, coarseness of thought and vulgarity, but also cynical depravity. After breaking up with Pierre and receiving a large part of the fortune from him by proxy, she lives either in St. Petersburg or abroad, then returns to her husband. Despite the family break, the constant change of lovers, including Dol ohov and Drubetskoy, E. continues to be one of the most famous and favored ladies of St. Petersburg. She is making very great progress in the world; living alone, she becomes the mistress of the diplomatic and political salon, gaining a reputation as an intelligent woman. Deciding to convert to Catholicism and considering the possibility of divorce and a new marriage, entangled between two very influential, high-ranking lovers and patrons, E. dies in 1812.

Kutuzov- Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. A participant in real historical events described by Tolstoy, and at the same time the plot of the work. He has a "chubby, wounded face" with an aquiline nose; he is gray-haired, plump, steps heavily. On the pages of the novel, K. first appears in an episode of a review near Braunau, impressing everyone with his knowledge of the matter and attention, hidden behind seeming absent-mindedness. K. knows how to be diplomatic; he is cunning enough and speaks "with elegance of expression and intonation", "with an affectation of deference" of a subservient and unreasoning person, when the matter does not concern the security of the homeland, as before the battle of Austerlitz. Before the Battle of Shengraben, K., crying, blesses Bagration.

In 1812, K., contrary to the opinion of secular circles, received the dignity of a prince and was appointed commander in chief of the Russian army. He is a favorite of soldiers and combat officers. From the beginning of his activity as commander-in-chief, K. believes that to win the campaign "you need patience and time", that not knowledge, not plans, not mind, but "something else, independent of mind and knowledge" can solve the whole thing. . According to Tolstoy's historical and philosophical concept, a person is not able to really influence the course of historical events. K. has the ability to "calmly contemplate the course of events", but he knows how to see everything, listen, remember, do not interfere with anything useful and not allow anything harmful. On the eve and during the battle of Borodino, the commander oversees the preparations for the battle, together with all the soldiers and militias prays before the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, and during the battle he controls the "elusive force" called the "spirit of the army." K. experiences painful feelings when he decides to leave Moscow, but “with his whole Russian being” he knows that the French will be defeated. Having directed all his forces to the liberation of his homeland, K. dies when his role is fulfilled, and the enemy is driven out of the borders of Russia. “This simple, modest, and therefore truly majestic figure could not fit into that deceitful form of a European hero, allegedly controlling people, which history invented.”

Napoleon- French Emperor a real historical person depicted in the novel, a hero whose image is associated with the historical and philosophical concept of L. N. Tolstoy.

At the beginning of the work, N. is the idol of Andrei Bolkonsky, a man whose greatness bows to Pierre Bezukhov, a politician whose actions and personality are discussed in the high society salon of A.P. Scherer. As the protagonist of the novel, he appears in the Battle of Austerlitz, after which the wounded Prince Andrei sees “a radiance of complacency and happiness” on the face of N., admiring the view of the battlefield.

The figure of N. "fat, short ... with broad, thick shoulders and an involuntarily protruding belly and chest, had that representative, portly appearance that people living in their forties have in the hall"; his face is youthful, full, with a protruding chin, short hair, and "his white plump neck protruded sharply from behind the black collar of his uniform." N.'s self-satisfaction and self-confidence are expressed in the conviction that his presence plunges people into delight and self-forgetfulness, that everything in the world depends only on his will. Sometimes he is prone to outbursts of anger.

Even before the order to cross the borders of Russia, the hero’s imagination is haunted by Moscow, and during the war he does not foresee its general course. Giving the Battle of Borodino, N. acts "involuntarily and senselessly", not being able to somehow influence its course, although he does nothing harmful to the cause. For the first time during the Battle of Borodino, he experienced bewilderment and hesitation, and after him the sight of the dead and wounded "overcame that spiritual strength in which he believed his merit and greatness." According to the author, N. was destined for an inhuman role, his mind and conscience were darkened, and his actions were "too opposite to goodness and truth, too far from everything human."

Rostov Ilya Andreevich- Count, father of Natasha, Nikolai, Vera and Petya Rostovs, famous Moscow gentleman, rich man, hospitable. R. knows how and loves to live, is good-natured, generous and motivated. The writer used many character traits and some episodes from the life of his paternal grandfather, Count I. A. Tolstoy, when creating the image of the old Count Rostov, noting in his appearance those features that are known from the portrait of his grandfather: a full body, “sparse gray hair on a bald spot."

R. is known in Moscow not only as a hospitable host and a wonderful family man, but also as a person who knows how to arrange a ball, a reception, a dinner better than others, and if necessary, put his own money for this. He is a member and foreman of the English club from the day of its foundation. It is he who is entrusted with the chores of arranging a dinner in honor of Bagration.

The life of Count R. is burdened only by the constant consciousness of his gradual ruin, which he is unable to stop, allowing the managers to rob themselves, not being able to refuse petitioners, not being able to change the once established order of life. Most of all, he suffers from a consciousness that ruins children, but he becomes more and more confused in business. In order to improve property matters, the Rostivs live in the country for two years, the count leaves the leaders, looks for a place in St. Petersburg, transporting his family there and, with his habits and social circle, giving the impression of a provincial there.

R. is distinguished by tender deep love and cordial kindness towards his wife and children. When leaving Moscow after the battle of Borodino, it was the old count who began to slowly give up carts for the wounded, thus inflicting one of the last blows to his condition. Events of 1812-1813 and the loss of Petya finally broke the mental and physical strength of the hero. The last event, which, out of old habit, he directs, making the same active impression, is the wedding of Natasha and Pierre; in the same year, the count dies "just at the time when things ... got so confused that it was impossible to imagine how it would all end," and leaves a good memory behind.

Rostov Nikolay- son of Count Rostov, brother of Vera, Natasha and Petya, officer, hussar; at the end of the novel, the husband of Princess Marya Volkonskaya. "A short, curly-haired young man with an open expression," in which he saw "swiftness and enthusiasm." N. the writer gave some features of his father, N. I. -Tolstoy, a participant in the war of 1812. The hero differs in many ways in the same traits of openness, cheerfulness, goodwill, self-sacrifice, musicality and emotionality as all Rostovs. Being sure that he is neither an official nor a diplomat, N. at the beginning of the novel leaves the university and enters the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, in which his whole life is concentrated for a long time. He participates in military campaigns and the Patriotic War of 1812. N. takes his first baptism of fire while crossing the Enns, not being able to combine "the fear of death and a stretcher and love for the sun and life." In the battle of Shengraben, he goes on the attack too bravely, but, being wounded in the arm, he gets lost and leaves the battlefield with the thought of the absurdity of the death of the one "whom everyone loves so much." Having passed these tests, N. becomes a brave officer, a real hussar; he retains a sense of adoration for the sovereign and fidelity to his duty. Feeling at home in his own regiment, as in some special world where everything is simple and clear, N. turns out to be not free from solving complex moral problems, as, for example, in the case of officer Telyanin. In the regiment, N. becomes a “quite coarse” kind fellow, but remains sensitive and open to subtle feelings. In civilian life, he behaves like a real hussar.

His long-lasting romance with Sonya ends with the noble decision of N. to marry a dowry even against the will of his mother, but he receives a letter from Sonya with the return of his freedom. In 1812, during one of his trips, N. met Princess Marya and helped her leave Bogucharov. Princess Mary amazes him with her meekness and spirituality. After the death of his father, N. retires, taking on all the obligations and debts of the deceased, taking care of his mother and Sonya. When meeting with Princess Volkonskaya, out of noble motives, he tries to avoid her, one of the richest brides, but their mutual feeling does not weaken and is crowned with a happy marriage.

Rostov Petya- the youngest son of the Rostov counts, brother of Vera, Nikolai, Natasha. At the beginning of the novel, P. is still a little boy, enthusiastically yielding to the general atmosphere of life in the Rostov house. He is musical, like all Rostovs, kind and cheerful. After the entry of Nicholas into the army, P. wants to imitate his brother, and in 1812, carried away by a patriotic impulse and an enthusiastic attitude towards the sovereign, he asks for leave to join the army. “Snub-nosed Petya, with his cheerful black eyes, a fresh blush and a little fluff on his cheeks” becomes after leaving the mother’s main concern, realizing only at that time the full depth of her love for her youngest child. During the war, P. accidentally ends up with an assignment in the Denisov detachment, where he remains, wanting to take part in the present case. He accidentally dies, showing on the eve of his death in relations with his comrades all the best features of the "Rostov breed", inherited by him in his own home.

Rostov- Countess, "a woman with an oriental type of thin face, forty-five years old, apparently exhausted by children ... The slowness of her movements and speech, which came from the weakness of her strength, gave her a significant look that inspires respect." When creating the image of the Countess, R. Tolstoy used the character traits and some circumstances of the life of his paternal grandmother P. N. Tolstoy and mother-in-law L. A. Bers.

R. used to live in luxury, in an atmosphere of love and kindness. She is proud of the friendship and trust of her children, pampers them, worries about their fate. Despite seeming weakness and even lack of will, the Countess makes balanced and reasonable decisions regarding the fate of children. Love for children is also dictated by her desire to marry Nikolai to a rich bride at all costs, nit-picking Sonya. The news of Petya's death almost drives her insane. The only object of displeasure of the countess is the inability of the old count to manage affairs and small quarrels with him because of the waste of the state of the children. At the same time, the heroine cannot understand either the position of her husband, or the position of her son, with whom she remains after the death of the count, demanding the usual luxury and the fulfillment of all her whims and desires.

Rostova Natasha- one of the main characters of the novel, daughter of Count Rostov, sister of Nikolai, Vera and Petya; at the end of the novel, Pierre Bezukhov's wife. N. - "black-eyed, with a big mouth, ugly, but alive ...". As its prototype, Tolstoy was served by his wife and her sister T. A. Bers, married Kuzminskaya. According to the writer, he "took Tanya, reworked with Sonya, and Natasha turned out." The image of the heroine took shape gradually from the very birth of the idea, when the writer, next to his hero, a former Decembrist, introduces himself to his wife.

N. is very emotional and sensitive, she intuitively guesses people, “not deigning” to be smart, sometimes she is selfish in the manifestations of her feelings, but more often she is capable of self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice, as is the case with the removal of the wounded from Moscow or nursing mother after the death of Petya.

One of N.'s defining qualities and virtues is her musicality and rare beauty of her voice. With her singing, she is able to influence the best in a person: it is N.'s singing that saves Nikolai from despair after losing 43 thousand. Old Count Rostov says about N. that she is all in him, “gunpowder”, while Akhrosimova calls her “Cossack” and “potion girl”.

Constantly carried away, N. lives in an atmosphere of love and happiness. A change in her fate occurs after a meeting with Prince Andrei, who became her fiancé. The impatient feeling that overwhelms N., the insult inflicted by the old prince Bolkonsky, pushes her to be infatuated with Anatole Kuragin, to refuse Prince Andrei. Only having experienced and felt a lot, she realizes her guilt before Bolkonsky, reconciling with him and remaining near the dying Prince Andrei until his death. N. feels true love only for Pierre Bezukhov, with whom he finds complete understanding and whose wife he becomes, plunging into the world of family and maternal worries.

Sonya- niece and pupil of the old Count Rostov, who grew up in his family. The storyline of S. is based on the fate of T. A. Ergolskaya, a relative, close friend and teacher of the writer, who lived until the end of her days in Yasnaya Polyana and in many ways prompted Tolstoy to engage in literary work. However, the spiritual appearance of Yergolskaya is quite far from the character and inner world of the heroine. At the beginning of the novel, S. is 15 years old, she is “a thin, miniature brunette with a soft look tinted with long eyelashes, a thick black braid that wraps around her head twice, and a yellowish tint of skin on her face and especially on her naked, thin, but graceful hands and neck . With smoothness of movement, softness and flexibility of small members and a somewhat cunning and restrained manner, she resembles a beautiful, but not yet formed kitten, which will be a lovely cat.

S. fits perfectly into the Rostov family, is unusually close and friendly with Natasha, and has been in love with Nikolai since childhood. She is restrained, silent, judicious, cautious, her ability to self-sacrifice is highly developed. S. attracts attention with her beauty and moral purity, but she does not have that immediacy and inexplicably irresistible charm that Natasha has. S.'s feeling for Nikolai is so constant and deep that she wants to "always love, and let him be free." This feeling makes her refuse the enviable groom in her dependent position - Dolokhov.

The content of the heroine's life depends entirely on her love: she is happy, being connected by a word with Nikolai Rostov, especially after Christmas and his refusal of his mother's request to go to Moscow to marry the rich Julie Karagina. S. finally decides her fate under the influence of biased reproaches and reproaches of the old countess, not wanting to pay ingratitude for everything that was done for her in the Rostov family, and most importantly, wishing Nikolai happiness. She writes him a letter in which she frees him from this word, but secretly hopes that his marriage to Princess Mary will be impossible after the recovery of Prince Andrei. After the death of the old count, he remains with the countess to live in the care of the retired Nikolai Rostov.

Tushin- staff captain, hero of the Shengraben battle, “a small, dirty, thin artillery officer with big, intelligent and kind eyes. There was something "unmilitary, somewhat comical, but extremely attractive" about this man. T. becomes shy when meeting with his superiors, and there is always some kind of his fault. On the eve of the battle, he speaks of the fear of death and the uncertainty of what awaits after it.

In battle, T. completely changes, presenting himself as the hero of a fantastic picture, a hero throwing cannonballs at the enemy, and the enemy guns seem to him to be the same puffing smoking pipes as his own. Battery T. forgotten during the battle, left without cover. During the battle, T. does not have a sense of fear and thoughts about death and injury. He becomes more and more cheerful, the soldiers listen to him like children, but he does everything he can, and thanks to his ingenuity sets fire to the village of Shengraben. From another trouble (cannons left on the battlefield), the hero is rescued by Andrei Bolkonsky, who announces to Bagration that the detachment largely owes its success to this man.

Sherer Anna Pavlovna- the maid of honor and close associate of Empress Maria Feodorovna, the hostess of the fashionable high-society "political" salon in St. Petersburg, describing the evening in which Tolstoy begins his novel. A.P. is 40 years old, she has “obsolete facial features”, every time the Empress is mentioned, she expresses a combination of sadness, devotion and respect. The heroine is dexterous, tactful, influential at court, prone to intrigues. Her attitude to any person or event is always dictated by the latest political, court or secular considerations, she is close to the Kuragin family and friendly with Prince Vasily. A.P. is constantly “full of animation and impulse”, “to be an enthusiast has become her social position”, and in her salon, in addition to discussing the latest court and political news, she always “treats” guests with some novelty or celebrity, and in 1812 Her circle demonstrates salon patriotism in Petersburg light.

Chapped Tikhon- a peasant from Pokrovsky near Gzhatya, who joined Denisov's partisan detachment. He got his nickname because of the lack of one tooth. He is agile, walks on "flat, twisted legs." In the detachment T. is the most necessary person, no one more dexterous than him can lead the "language" and perform any uncomfortable and dirty work. T. goes to the French with pleasure, bringing trophies and bringing prisoners, but after his injury, he begins to kill the French needlessly, laughingly referring to the fact that they were “bad”. For this, he is not loved in the detachment.

Now you know the main characters of War and Peace, as well as their brief description.

Alexander
ARKHANGELSKY

Heroes of War and Peace

We continue to publish chapters from the new textbook on Russian literature for the 10th grade

Character system

Like everything in the epic "War and Peace", it is extremely complex and very simple at the same time.

Complicated - because the composition of the book is multi-figured, dozens of storylines, intertwining, form its dense artistic fabric. Simple - because all heterogeneous heroes belonging to incompatible class, cultural, property circles are clearly divided into several groups. And we find this division at all levels, in all parts of the epic. These are groups of heroes who are equally distant from the life of the people, from the spontaneous movement of history, from the truth - or equally close to them.

Tolstoy's novel epic is permeated with the thought that the unknowable and objective historical process is controlled directly by God; that a person can choose the right path both in private life and in great history not with the help of a proud mind, but with the help of a sensitive heart. The one who guessed right, felt the mysterious course of history and no less mysterious laws of everyday life, he is wise and great, even if he is small in his social position. He who boasts of his power over the nature of things, who egoistically imposes his personal interests on life, is petty, even if he is great in his social position. In accordance with this rigid opposition Tolstoy's heroes are "distributed" into several types, into several groups.

Life players

Oh days - let's call them playboys - busy only with chatting, arranging their personal affairs, serving their petty whims, their egocentric desires. And at any cost, regardless of the fate of other people. This is the lowest of all ranks in the Tolstoyan hierarchy. The characters related to him are always of the same type; the narrator defiantly uses the same detail to characterize them.

The head of the Moscow salon, Anna Pavlovna Sherer, appearing on the pages of War and Peace, each time with an unnatural smile, moves from one circle to another and treats the guests to an interesting visitor. She is sure that she forms public opinion and influences the course of things (although she herself changes her beliefs precisely in the wake of fashion).

The diplomat Bilibin is convinced that it is they, the diplomats, who control the historical process (but in fact he is busy with idle talk: from one scene to another, he collects wrinkles on his forehead and utters a sharp word prepared in advance).

Drubetskoy's mother Anna Mikhailovna, who stubbornly promotes her son, accompanies all her conversations with a mournful smile. In Boris Drubetsky himself, as soon as he appears on the pages of the epic, the narrator always highlights one feature: his indifferent calm of a smart and proud careerist.

As soon as the narrator starts talking about the predatory Helen, he will certainly mention her luxurious shoulders and bust. And with any appearance of the young wife of Andrei Bolkonsky, the little princess, the narrator will pay attention to her raised lip with a mustache.

This monotony of the narrative device testifies not to the poverty of the artistic arsenal, but, on the contrary, to the deliberate goal that the author sets for the narrator. Life players they themselves are monotonous - and unchanged; only their views change, the being remains the same. They don't develop. And the immobility of their images, the resemblance to deathly masks, is precisely emphasized stylistically.

The only character in the epic who belongs to this “lower” group and, for all that, is endowed with a mobile, lively character is Fyodor Dolokhov. “Semyonovsky officer, famous player and breter”, he is endowed with an extraordinary appearance - and this alone makes him stand out from the crowd playboys: “The lines... of the mouth were wonderfully subtly curved. In the middle, the upper lip fell energetically onto the strong lower lip in a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles formed in the corners, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent look, made such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face.

Moreover, Dolokhov languishes, misses in that pool worldly life that sucks the rest burners. That is why he indulges in all serious, gets into scandalous stories (such as the plot with a bear and a quarterman in the first part, for which Dolokhov was demoted to the rank and file). In battle scenes, we become witnesses of Dolokhov's fearlessness, then we see how tenderly he treats his mother... But his fearlessness is aimless, Dolokhov's tenderness is an exception to his own rules. And hatred and contempt for people become the rules.

This is fully manifested in the episode with Pierre (becoming Helen's lover, Dolokhov provokes Bezukhov to a duel), and at the moment when Dolokhov helps Anatole Kuragin prepare the kidnapping of Natasha. And especially - in the scene of the card game: Fedor cruelly and dishonestly beats Nikolai Rostov, vilely taking out on him his anger at Sonya, who refused Dolokhov.

Dolokhovsky rebellion against the world (and this is also “the world”!) playboys turns out in the end that he himself burns his life, lets it into spray. And it is especially offensive to realize the narrator, who singles out Dolokhov from the general series, as if giving him a chance to break out of the terrible circle.

And in the center of this circle, this funnel that sucks in human souls, is the Kuragin family.

The main “generic” quality of the whole family is cold selfishness. He is inherent in his father, Prince Vasily, with his courtly self-awareness. Not without reason, for the first time, the prince appears before the reader precisely “in a court, embroidered uniform, in stockings, in shoes, with stars, with a bright expression of a flat face.” Prince Vasily himself does not calculate anything, does not plan ahead, one can say that instinct acts for him: when he tries to marry his son Anatole to Princess Mary, and when he tries to deprive Pierre of his inheritance, and when, having suffered an involuntary defeat along the way, he imposes on Pierre his daughter Helen.

Helen, whose "unchanging smile" emphasizes the uniqueness, one-dimensionality of this heroine, is not able to change. She seemed to have frozen for years in the same state: static, deathly-sculptural beauty. Kuragina also does not specifically plan anything, she also obeys an almost animal instinct: bringing her husband closer and removing him, making lovers and intending to convert to Catholicism, preparing the ground for divorce and starting two novels at once, one of which (any) should be crowned with marriage.

External beauty replaces Helen's internal content. This characteristic extends to her brother, Anatole Kuragin. A tall handsome man with “beautiful big eyes”, he is not gifted with a mind (although not as stupid as his brother Ippolit), but “on the other hand, he also had the ability of calmness, precious for light, and unchanging confidence.” This confidence is akin to the instinct of profit, which owns the souls of Prince Vasily and Helen. And although Anatole does not pursue personal gain, he hunts for pleasures with the same insatiable passion - and with the same readiness to sacrifice any neighbor. So he does with Natasha Rostova, making her fall in love with him, preparing to take her away - and not thinking about her fate, about the fate of Andrei Bolkonsky, whom Natasha is going to marry ...

Actually, the Kuragins play in the vain, “worldly” dimension of the “world” the very role that Napoleon plays in the “military” dimension: they personify secular indifference to good and evil. At their whim, the Kuragins involve the surrounding life in a terrible whirlpool. This family is like a pool. Approaching him at a dangerous distance, it is easy to die - only a miracle saves both Pierre, and Natasha, and Andrei Bolkonsky (who would certainly have challenged Anatole to a duel, if not for the circumstances of the war).

Chiefs

To the first, lowest category of heroes - playboys- in the Tolstoy epic corresponds to the last, upper category of heroes - leaders . The way they are portrayed is the same: the narrator draws attention to a single trait of character, behavior or appearance of the character. And every time the reader encounters this hero, he stubbornly, almost intrusively, points to this trait.

Life players belong to the "world" in the worst of its meanings, nothing in history depends on them, they revolve in the emptiness of the cabin. Chiefs are inextricably linked with the war (again in the bad sense of the word); they stand at the head of historical collisions, separated from ordinary mortals by an impenetrable veil of their own greatness. But if the Kuragins really involve the surrounding life in the worldly whirlpool, then leaders of the peoples only think that involve mankind in the historical whirlwind. In fact, they are only toys of chance, tools in the invisible hands of Providence.

And here let's stop for a moment to agree on one important rule. And once and for all. In fiction, you have already met and will come across images of real historical figures more than once. In Tolstoy's epic, these are Alexander I, and Napoleon, and Barclay de Tolly, and Russian and French generals, and the Moscow governor-general Rostopchin. But we must not, we have no right to confuse "real" historical figures with their conditional images that act in novels, short stories, poems. And the sovereign emperor, and Napoleon, and Rostopchin, and especially Barclay de Tolly, and other characters of Tolstoy, bred in War and Peace, are the same fictional heroes like Pierre Bezukhov, like Natasha Rostova or Anatole Kuragin.

They look like real historical figures a little more than Fedor Dolokhov looks like his prototype, reveler and daredevil R.I. Dolokhov, and Vasily Denisov - on the partisan poet Denis Vasilyevich Davydov. The external outline of their biographies can be reproduced in a literary work with scrupulous, scientific accuracy, but the internal content is invested in them by the writer, invented in accordance with the picture of life that he creates in his work.

Only having mastered this iron and irrevocable rule, we will be able to move on.

So, discussing the lowest category of the heroes of War and Peace, we came to the conclusion that it has its own “mass” (Anna Pavlovna Sherer or, for example, Berg), its own center (Kuragins) and its own periphery (Dolokhov). According to the same principle, the highest rank is organized and arranged.

Chief of leaders, which means that the most dangerous, most deceitful of them is Napoleon.

In Tolstoy's epic two Napoleonic images. One lives in legend about the great commander, which different characters tell each other and in which he appears either as a powerful genius, or as an equally powerful villain. Not only visitors to Anna Pavlovna Scherer's salon, but also Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov believe in this legend at different stages of their journey. At first we see Napoleon through their eyes, we imagine him in the light of their life ideal.

And another image is a character acting on the pages of the epic and shown through the eyes of the narrator and the heroes who suddenly encounter him on the battlefields. For the first time, Napoleon as a character in "War and Peace" appears in the chapters devoted to the battle of Austerlitz; first, the narrator describes him, then we see him from the point of view of Prince Andrei.

The wounded Bolkonsky, who quite recently idolized leader of the peoples, notices on the face of Napoleon, bending over him, "the radiance of complacency and happiness." Having just experienced a spiritual upheaval, he looks into the eyes of his former idol and thinks "about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning of." And “the hero himself seemed so petty to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, just and kind sky that he saw and understood.”

And the narrator - both in the Austerlitz chapters, and in the Tilsit ones, and in the Borodino chapters - invariably emphasizes the ordinary and comic insignificance of the appearance of a person who is idolized and hated by the whole world. A “fat, short” figure, “with broad, thick shoulders and an involuntarily protruding belly and chest, had that representative, portly appearance that people living in their forties have in the hall.”

IN novelistic there is no trace of the power in the image of Napoleon, which is contained in legendary his image. For Tolstoy, only one thing matters: Napoleon, who imagines himself to be the engine of history, is in fact pathetic and especially insignificant. Impersonal fate (or the unknowable will of Providence) made him an instrument of the historical process, and he imagined himself the creator of his victories. It is to Napoleon that the words from the historiosophical finale of the book refer: “For us, with the measure of good and bad given to us by Christ, there is nothing immeasurable. And there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.”

A reduced and degraded copy of Napoleon, a parody of him, is the Moscow mayor Rostopchin. He fusses, flickers, hangs up posters, quarrels with Kutuzov, thinking that the fate of Muscovites, the fate of Russia, depends on his decisions. But the narrator sternly and steadily explains to the reader that the Moscow residents began to leave the capital not because someone called them to do this, but because they obeyed the will of Providence they guessed. And the fire broke out in Moscow, not because Rostopchin wanted it that way (and even more so not contrary to his orders), but because she could not burn: in the abandoned wooden houses where the invaders have settled, a fire inevitably breaks out, sooner or later.

Rostopchin has the same relation to the departure of the Muscovites and the Moscow fires that Napoleon has to the victory at Austerlitz or to the flight of the valiant French army from Russia. The only thing that is truly in his power (as well as in the power of Napoleon) is to protect the lives of the townspeople and militias entrusted to him, or to scatter them, out of whim or fear.

The key scene in which the narrator's attitude to leaders in general and to the image of Rostopchin in particular - the lynching of the merchant's son Vereshchagin (Volume III, Chapters XXIV-XXV). In it, the ruler is revealed as a cruel and weak person who is mortally afraid of an angry crowd and, in horror before it, is ready to shed blood without trial or investigation. Vereshchagin is described in great detail, with obvious compassion (“jangling with shackles ... pressing the collar of a sheepskin coat ... with a submissive gesture”). But after all, Rostopchin on his future victim do not look- the narrator specifically repeats several times, with pressure: "Rostopchin did not look at him." Chiefs treat people not as living beings, but as instruments of their power. And therefore they are worse than the crowd, more terrible than it.

No wonder even the angry, gloomy crowd in the courtyard of the Rostopchinsky house does not want to rush at Vereshchagin, accused of treason. Rostopchin is forced to repeat several times, setting her against the merchant's son: “Beat him!.. Let the traitor die and not shame the name of the Russian!.. Ruby! I order!" But even after this direct call-order, the crowd “groaned and advanced, but stopped again.” She still sees a man in Vereshchagin and does not dare to rush at him: “A tall fellow, with a petrified expression on his face and with a stopped raised hand, stood in front of Vereshchagin.” Only after, in obedience to the order of the officer, the soldier “with a face distorted with anger hit Vereshchagin on the head with a blunt broadsword” and the merchant’s son in a fox sheepskin coat “shortly and in surprise” cried out, “a barrier of human feeling, stretched to the highest degree, which still held the crowd broke instantly."

The images of Napoleon and Rostopchin stand at opposite poles of this group of heroes in War and Peace. And the bulk leaders form here all sorts of generals, chiefs of all stripes. All of them, as one, do not understand the inscrutable laws of history, they think that the outcome of the battle depends only on them, on their military talents or political abilities. It does not matter which army they serve at the same time - French, Austrian or Russian. And in the epic Barclay de Tolly, a dry “German” in the Russian service, becomes the personification of this whole mass of generals. He does not understand anything in the spirit of the people and, together with other “Germans”, believes in the correct disposition scheme “Die erste Colonne marschiert, die zweite Colonne marschiert” (“The first column advances, the second column advances”).

The real Russian commander Barclay de Tolly, in contrast to the artistic image created by Tolstoy, was not a “German” (he came from a Scottish, moreover, Russified family a long time ago). And in his work he never relied on a scheme. But here lies the line between the historical figure and his way that literature creates. In Tolstoy's picture of the world, "Germans" are not real representatives of a real people, but a symbol foreignness and cold rationalism, which only prevents us from understanding the natural course of things. Therefore, Barclay de Tolly as novel hero turns into a dry “German”, which he was not in reality.

And on the very edge of this group of heroes, on the border that separates the false leaders from wise men(we’ll talk about them a little later), there is an image of the Russian Tsar Alexander I. He is so isolated from the general series that at first it even seems that his image is devoid of boring unambiguity, that it is complex and multi-component. Moreover, the image of Alexander I is invariably presented in a halo of admiration.

But let's ask ourselves a question: whose Is it the admiration of the narrator or the characters? And then everything will immediately fall into place.

Here we see Alexander for the first time during the review of the Austrian and Russian troops (Volume I, Part Three, Chapter VIII). First it neutral describes the narrator: “The handsome, young emperor Alexander ... with his pleasant face and sonorous, quiet voice attracted all the power of attention.” And then we start looking at the king through the eyes in love Nicholas Rostov into it: “Nicholas clearly, to every detail, examined the beautiful, young and happy face of the emperor, he experienced a feeling of tenderness and delight, the like of which he had never experienced. Everything - every feature, every movement - seemed charming to him in the sovereign. The narrator discovers in Alexander ordinary features: beautiful, pleasant. And Nikolai Rostov discovers a completely different quality in them, excellent degree: they seem to him beautiful, “charming”.

But here is chapter XV of the same part, here the narrator and Prince Andrei look at Alexander I in turn, who is by no means in love with the sovereign. This time there is no such internal gap in emotional assessments. The sovereign meets with Kutuzov, whom he clearly does not like (and we still do not know how highly the narrator appreciates Kutuzov).

It would seem that the narrator is again objective and neutral: “An unpleasant impression, only like the remnants of fog in a clear sky, ran across the young and happy face of the emperor and disappeared ... the same charming combination of majesty and meekness was in his beautiful gray eyes, and on thin lips the same possibility of various expressions and the prevailing expression of complacent, innocent youth. Again the “young and happy face”, again the charming appearance... And yet, pay attention: the narrator lifts the veil over his own attitude to all these qualities of the king. He directly says: "on thin lips" there was "the possibility of various expressions." That is, Alexander I always wears masks, behind which his real face is hidden.

What is this face? It is contradictory. It has both kindness, sincerity - and falseness, lies. But the fact of the matter is that Alexander opposes Napoleon; Tolstoy does not want to belittle his image, but he cannot exalt it. Therefore, he resorts to the only possible method: he shows the king first of all through the eyes of heroes, as a rule, devoted to him and worshiping his genius. It is they who, blinded by their love and devotion, pay attention only to the best manifestations of miscellaneous Alexander's faces; it is they who recognize in him the real leader.

In the Chapter XVIII, Rostov again sees the tsar: “The sovereign was pale, his cheeks were sunken and his eyes were sunken; but the more charm, meekness was in his features. This is a typical Rostov look - the look of an honest, but superficial officer in love with his sovereign. However, now Nikolai Rostov meets the tsar away from the nobles, from the thousands of eyes fixed on him; in front of him is a simple suffering mortal, grieving the defeat of the army: “Only something long and fervently spoke to the sovereign,” and he “apparently burst into tears, closed his eyes with his hand and shook hands with Tolya” ... Then we will see the king through the eyes of a helpfully proud Drubetskoy (volume III, part one, chapter III), the enthusiastic Petya Rostov (chapter XX, the same part and volume), Pierre - at the moment when he was captured by the general enthusiasm during the Moscow meeting of the sovereign with the deputations of the nobility and merchants (chapter XXIII )...

The narrator, with his attitude, remains in the shadows for the time being. He only says through his teeth at the beginning of the third volume: “The Tsar is a slave of history,” but he refrains from direct assessments of the personality of Alexander I until the end of the fourth volume, when the Tsar directly confronts Kutuzov (chapters X and XI, part four). Only here, and then only for a short time, does he show his restrained disapproval. After all, we are talking about the resignation of Kutuzov, who had just won a victory over Napoleon together with the entire Russian people!

And the result of the “Alexander” plot line will be summed up only in the epilogue, where the narrator will try his best to maintain justice in relation to the king, bring his image closer to the image of Kutuzov: the latter was necessary for the movement of peoples from west to east, and the first - for the return movement peoples from east to west.

Ordinary people

Both playboys and leaders in the novel are opposed ordinary people led by the truth-lover, Moscow mistress Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova. In their world she plays the same role as world The Kuragins and Bilibins are played by Anna Pavlovna Sherer, a lady from St. Petersburg. They have not risen above the general level of their time, their epoch, they have not come to know the truth of people's life, but instinctively live in conditional agreement with it. Although they sometimes act incorrectly, human weaknesses are fully inherent in them.

This discrepancy, this difference in potentials, the combination of different qualities in one personality, good and not so, favorably distinguishes ordinary people and from playboys, and from leaders. The heroes assigned to this category, as a rule, are shallow people, and yet their portraits are painted in different colors, obviously devoid of unambiguity, uniformity.

Such, on the whole, is the hospitable Moscow Rostov family.

Old Count Ilya Andreevich, father of Natasha, Nikolai, Petya, Vera, is a weak man, allows the managers to rob him, suffers at the thought that he is ruining the children, but he cannot do anything about it. Departure to the village for two years, an attempt to move to St. Petersburg and get a place little change in the general state of affairs.

The count is not too smart, but at the same time he is fully endowed by God with heart gifts - hospitality, cordiality, love for family and children. Two scenes characterize him from this side - and both are permeated with lyricism, ecstasy of delight: a description of a dinner in a Rostov house in honor of Bagration and a description of a dog hunt. (Analyze both of these scenes on your own, show what artistic means the narrator uses to express his attitude to what is happening.) And one more scene is extraordinarily important for understanding the image of the old count: the departure from the burning Moscow. It is he who first gives the reckless (from the point of view of common sense) order to put the wounded on the carts; having removed the acquired property from the cart for the sake of Russian officers and soldiers, the Rostovs inflict the last, irreparable blow to their own condition ... But not only save several lives, but also, unexpectedly for themselves, give Natasha a chance to reconcile with Andrei.

The wife of Ilya Andreevich, Countess Rostova, also does not have a special mind - that abstract scientific mind, to which the narrator treats with obvious distrust. She is hopelessly behind modern life; and when the family is completely ruined, the countess is not even able to understand why they should give up their own carriage and cannot send a carriage for one of her friends. Moreover, we see the injustice, sometimes the cruelty of the countess in relation to Sonya, who is completely innocent in the fact that she is a dowry.

And yet, she also has a special gift of humanity, which separates her from the crowd of playboys, brings her closer to the truth of life. It is a gift of love for one's own children; love instinctively wise, deep and selfless. The decisions she makes about her children are not just dictated by the desire for profit and saving the family from ruin (although this too); they are aimed at arranging the life of the children themselves in the best possible way. And when the countess learns about the death of her beloved youngest son in the war, her life, in essence, ends; barely avoiding insanity, she instantly grows old and loses active interest in what is happening around.

All the best Rostov qualities were passed on to the children - to everyone, except for the dry, prudent and therefore unloved Vera. (Having married Berg, she naturally moved from the category ordinary people in number playboys.) And also - except for the pupil of the Rostovs Sonya, who, despite all her kindness and sacrifice, turns out to be an “empty flower” and gradually, following Vera, rolls down from the rounded world ordinary people into the plane playboys.

Especially touching is the youngest, Petya, who completely absorbed the atmosphere of the Rostov house. Like his father and mother, he is not too smart, but extremely sincere and sincere; this sincerity is expressed in a special way in his musicality. Petya instantly surrenders to the impulse of the heart; therefore, it is from his point of view that we look from the Moscow patriotic crowd at Tsar Alexander I - and share genuine youthful enthusiasm. (Although we feel that the narrator's attitude to the emperor is not as unequivocal as the young character.) Petya's death from an enemy bullet is one of the most poignant and most memorable episodes of Tolstoy's epic.

But how does one have its own center? playboys, y leaders, so he also has ordinary people inhabiting the pages of War and Peace. This center is Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya, whose life lines, divided over the course of three volumes, eventually intersect anyway, obeying the unwritten law of affinity.

“A short curly young man with an open expression”, he is distinguished by “swiftness and enthusiasm”. Nikolai, as usual, is shallow (“he had that common sense of mediocrity, which told him what was supposed to be,” the narrator says bluntly). But on the other hand, he is very emotional, impulsive, cordial, and therefore musical, like all Rostovs.

His life path is traced in the epic in almost as much detail as the paths of the main characters - Pierre, Andrei, Natasha. At the beginning of War and Peace, we see Nikolai as a young university student who drops out of school to join the army. Then we have a young officer of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, who is eager to fight and envious of the seasoned warrior Vaska Denisov.

One of the key episodes of the storyline of Nikolai Rostov is the crossing of the Enns, and then a wound in the hand during the battle of Shengraben. Here the hero first encounters an insoluble contradiction in his soul; he, who considered himself a fearless patriot, suddenly discovers that he is afraid of death and that the very thought of death is absurd - him, whom "everyone loves so much." This experience not only does not reduce the image of the hero, on the contrary: it is at that moment that his spiritual maturation takes place.

And yet, it’s not without reason that Nikolai likes it so much in the army - and it’s so uncomfortable in ordinary life. The regiment is a special world (another world in the middle wars), in which everything is arranged logically, simply, unambiguously. There are subordinates, there is a commander, and there is a commander of commanders - the sovereign emperor, whom it is so natural and so pleasant to adore. And the whole life of civilians consists of endless intricacies, of human sympathies and antipathies, the clash of private interests and the common goals of the class. Arriving home on vacation, Rostov either gets entangled in his relationship with Sonya, or completely loses to Dolokhov, which puts the family on the brink of a financial disaster - and in fact flees from worldly life to the regiment, like a monk to his monastery. (The fact that the same “worldly” rules apply in the army, he does not seem to notice; when in the regiment he has to solve complex moral problems - for example, with officer Telyanin, who stole a wallet - Rostov is completely lost.)

Like any hero who claims to have an independent line in the novel space and an active participation in the development of the main intrigue, Nikolai is “burdened” with a love plot. He is a kind fellow, an honest man, and therefore, having made a youthful promise to marry Sonya, a dowry, he considers himself bound for the rest of his life. And no mother's persuasion, no hints of relatives about the need to search for a rich bride can shake him. Despite the fact that his feeling for Sonya goes through different stages - either completely fading away, then returning again, then again disappearing.

Therefore, the most dramatic moment in the fate of Nikolai comes after the meeting in Bogucharov. Here, during the tragic events of the summer of 1812, he accidentally meets Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, one of the richest brides in Russia, whom they would dream of marrying him; Rostov disinterestedly helps the Bolkonskys get out of Bogucharov - and both of them, Nikolai and Marya, suddenly feel a mutual attraction. But what's in the environment playboys(and most ordinary people too) is considered the norm, for them it turns out to be an obstacle, almost insurmountable: she is rich, he is poor.

Only the power of natural feeling is able to overcome this barrier; having married, Rostov and Princess Marya live in perfect harmony, as Kitty and Levin will later live in Anna Karenina. However, the difference between honest mediocrity and a burst of truth-seeking lies in the fact that the former does not know development, does not recognize doubts. As we have already noted, in the first part of the epilogue between Nikolai Rostov, on the one hand, Pierre Bezukhov and Nikolenka Bolkonsky, on the other, an invisible conflict is brewing, the line of which stretches into the distance, beyond the plot action.

Pierre, at the cost of new moral torments, new mistakes and new quests, is drawn into the next turn of a big story: he becomes a member of the early pre-Decembrist organizations. Nikolenka is completely on his side; it is easy to calculate that by the time of the uprising on Senate Square he will be a young man, most likely an officer, and with such a heightened moral sense, he will be on the side of the rebels. And the sincere, respectable, narrow-minded Nikolai, who once and for all stopped in development, knows in advance that in which case he will shoot at the opponents of the legitimate ruler, his beloved sovereign ...

Truth Seekers

This is the most important of the categories; without heroes truth-seekers there would be no epic "War and Peace" at all. Only two characters, two close friends - Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov have the right to claim this special “title”. They cannot be called unconditionally positive; to create their images, the narrator uses a variety of colors - but it is thanks to ambiguity they seem particularly voluminous and bright.

Both of them, Prince Andrei and Count Pierre, are rich (Bolkonsky - initially, illegitimate Bezukhov - after the sudden death of his father), smart, although in different ways. Bolkonsky's mind is cold and sharp; Bezukhov's mind is naive, but organic. Like many young people of the 1800s, they are crazy about Napoleon; proud dream of a special role in world history, which means the conviction that it is precisely personality manages the course of things, is equally inherent in both Bolkonsky and Bezukhov. From this common point, the narrator draws two very different storylines, which at first diverge very far, and then reconnect, intersecting in the space of truth.

But this is where it turns out that truth seekers they become against their will. Neither one nor the other is going to seek the truth, they do not strive for moral perfection, and at first they are sure that the truth was revealed to them in the image of Napoleon. They are pushed to an intense search for truth by external circumstances, and perhaps by Providence itself. It’s just that the spiritual qualities of Andrei and Pierre are such that each of them is able to respond to the challenge of fate, to respond to her silent question; that is the only reason why they ultimately rise above the general level.

Prince Andrey

Bolkonsky at the beginning of the book is unhappy; he does not love his sweet but empty wife; indifferent to the unborn child, and in the future does not show special paternal feelings. The family "instinct" is as alien to him as the secular "instinct"; he can't fit in ordinary people for the same reasons that it cannot be in the series playboys. Neither the cold emptiness of the great world, nor the warmth of the family nest attracts him. But to break into the number of the elect leaders He not only could, but would very much like to. Napoleon, we repeat again and again, for him - a life example and a guide.

Having learned from Bilibin that the Russian army (it takes place in 1805) was in a hopeless situation, Prince Andrei is almost glad of the tragic news. “It occurred to him that it was precisely for him that he was destined to lead the Russian army out of this situation, that here he was, that Toulon, who would lead him out of the ranks of unknown officers and open the first path to glory for him” (Volume I, Part Two, Chapter XII ). How it ends, you already know, we analyzed the scene with the eternal sky of Austerlitz in detail. The truth is revealed to Prince Andrei herself without any effort on his part; he does not come to the conclusion about the insignificance of all narcissistic "heroes" in the face of eternity - this conclusion is him immediately and in its entirety.

It would seem that Bolkonsky's storyline has been exhausted already at the end of the first volume, and the author has no choice but to declare the hero dead. And here, contrary to ordinary logic, the most important thing begins - truth-seeking. Having accepted the truth immediately and in its entirety, Prince Andrei suddenly loses it - and begins a painful, long search, returning to the feeling that once visited him on the field of Austerlitz.

Returning home, where everyone thought he was dead, Andrei learns about the birth of his son and the death of his wife: the little princess with a short upper lip disappears from his life horizon at the very moment when he is ready to finally open his heart to her! This news shocks the hero and awakens in him a sense of guilt before his dead wife; leaving military service (along with a vain dream of personal greatness), Bolkonsky settles in Bogucharovo, does housework, reads, and brings up his son.

It would seem that he anticipates the path that Nikolai Rostov will follow at the end of the fourth volume - along with Andrei's sister, Princess Marya. (Compare on your own the descriptions of Bolkonsky's household chores in Bogucharov and Rostov in Lysy Gory - and you will be convinced of the non-random similarity, you will find another plot parallel.) But that is the difference between ordinary heroes of "War and Peace" and truth seekers that the former stop where the latter continue their unstoppable movement.

Bolkonsky, who learned the truth of the eternal sky, thinks that it is enough to give up personal pride in order to find peace of mind. But in fact, village life cannot accommodate his unspent energy. And the truth, received as if as a gift, not personally suffered, not acquired as a result of a long search, begins to elude him. Andrei in the village withers, his soul seems to dry out. Pierre, who arrived in Bogucharovo, was struck by a terrible change that had taken place in a friend: “The words were affectionate, the smile was on the lips and face of Prince Andrei, but his gaze was extinct, dead, to which, despite a visible desire, Prince Andrei could not give joyful and cheerful brilliance." Only for a moment does the prince awaken a happy sense of belonging to the truth - when for the first time after being wounded he pays attention to the eternal sky. And then the veil of hopelessness again covers his life horizon.

What happened? Why does the author “doom” his hero to inexplicable torment? First of all, because the hero must independently “ripen” to the truth that was revealed to him by the will of Providence. The soul of Prince Andrei has a difficult job ahead of him, he will have to go through numerous trials before he regains a sense of unshakable truth. And from that moment on, the plot line of Prince Andrei is likened to a spiral: it goes on a new round, repeating the previous stage of his fate at a more complex level. He is destined to fall in love again, again indulge in ambitious thoughts, again be disappointed - both in love and in thoughts. And finally, come back to the truth.

The third part of the second volume opens with a symbolic description of Andrei's trip to the Ryazan estates. Spring is coming; at the entrance to the forest, Andrey notices an old oak tree on the edge of the road.

“Probably ten times older than the birches that made up the forest, it was ten times thicker and twice as tall as each birch. It was a huge, two-girth oak, with boughs broken off long ago, apparently, and with broken bark, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsy, asymmetrically spread, clumsy hands and fingers, he stood between smiling birches like an old, angry and contemptuous freak. Only he did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun.

It is clear that in the image of this oak personified Prince Andrei himself, who does not respond to the eternal joy of renewing life, is dead. But on the affairs of the Ryazan estates, Bolkonsky will have to meet with Ilya Andreevich Rostov - and, having spent the night in the Rostovs' house, the prince again notices a bright, almost starless spring sky. And then he accidentally hears the excited conversation between Sonya and Natasha.

A feeling of love latently awakens in Andrei's heart (although the hero himself does not understand this yet); like a character in a folk tale, he seems to be sprinkled with living water - and on the way back, already in early June, the prince again sees an oak tree, personifying himself.

“The old oak tree, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, shimmered, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun ... Juicy, young leaves made their way through the tough hundred-year-old bark without knots ... All the best moments of his life suddenly in one and the same the time was remembered to him. And Austerlitz with a high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and a girl excited by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon ... "

Returning to St. Petersburg, Bolkonsky is involved in social activities with renewed vigor; he believes that he is now driven not by personal vanity, not pride, not “Napoleonism”, but by a disinterested desire to serve people, to serve the Fatherland. His new hero, leader, idol is the young energetic reformer Speransky. Behind Speransky, who wants to transform Russia, Bolkonsky ready to follow in exactly the same way as before he was ready to imitate Napoleon in everything, who wanted to throw the whole universe at his feet.

But Tolstoy builds the plot in such a way that the reader from the very beginning feels something is not entirely right; Andrei sees a hero in Speransky, and the narrator sees another leader. Here is how Bolkonsky's acquaintance with Speransky is described in chapter V of the third part of the second volume:

“Prince Andrei ... watched all the movements of Speransky, this man, an insignificant seminarian and now in his hands - these plump white hands - who had the fate of Russia, as Bolkonsky thought. Prince Andrei was struck by the extraordinary, contemptuous calmness with which Speransky answered the old man. He seemed to address him with his condescending word from an immeasurable height.

What in this quote reflects the point of view of the character, and what - the point of view of the narrator?

The judgment about the "insignificant seminarian" who holds the fate of Russia in his hands, of course, expresses the position of the enchanted Bolkonsky, who himself does not notice how he transfers the features of Napoleon to Speransky. And a mocking clarification - “as Bolkonsky thought” - comes from the narrator. “Contemptuous calmness” of Speransky is noticed by Prince Andrei, and arrogance leader(“from immeasurable heights...”) - the narrator.

In other words, Prince Andrei, on a new round of his biography, repeats the mistake of his youth; he is again blinded by the false example of someone else's pride, in which his own pride finds its nourishment. But here in the life of Bolkonsky a significant meeting takes place: he meets the same Natasha Rostova, whose voice on a moonlit night in the Ryazan estate brought him back to life. Falling in love is inevitable; marriage is a foregone conclusion. But since the stern father, the old man Bolkonsky, does not give consent to an early marriage, Andrei is forced to go abroad and stop working with Speransky, which could seduce him, entice him to the former path leader. And the dramatic break with the bride after her failed flight with Kuragin completely pushes Prince Andrei, as it seems to him, to the sidelines of the historical process, to the outskirts of the empire. He is again under the command of Kutuzov.

But in fact, God continues to lead Bolkonsky in a special way, to Him alone. Having passed the temptation of the example of Napoleon, happily avoiding the temptation of the example of Speransky, once again losing hope for family happiness, Prince Andrei in the third times repeats the pattern of his fate. Because, having fallen under the command of Kutuzov, he is imperceptibly charged with the quiet energy of the wise old commander, as before he was charged with the stormy energy of Napoleon and the cold energy of Speransky.

Tolstoy does not accidentally use the folklore principle Triple Hero Challenge: after all, unlike Napoleon and Speransky, Kutuzov is truly close to the people, is one with them. More details about the artistic image of Kutuzov in "War and Peace" will be discussed later; for now, let's focus on this. Until now, Bolkonsky was aware that he worshiped Napoleon, he guessed that he was secretly imitating Speransky. And the fact that he follows the example of Kutuzov, adopts the “nationality” of the great commander, the hero does not even suspect. The spiritual work of self-education, using the example of Kutuzov, proceeds in him latently, latently.

Moreover, Bolkonsky is sure that the decision to leave Kutuzov’s headquarters and go to the front, to rush into the thick of battles, comes to him spontaneously, by itself. In fact, he takes over from Mikhail Illarionovich a wise view of purely folk the nature of the war, which is incompatible with court intrigues and pride leaders. If the heroic desire to pick up the regimental banner on the field of Austerlitz was the “Toulon” of Prince Andrei, then the sacrificial decision to participate in the battles of the Patriotic War is, if you like, his “Borodino”, comparable on a small level of an individual human life with the great battle of Borodino, morally won Kutuzov.

It was on the eve of the Battle of Borodino that Andrei met his friend Pierre; going on between them third(again a folklore number!) meaningful conversation. The first took place in St. Petersburg (volume I, part one, chapter VI), during which Andrei for the first time threw off the mask of a contemptuous secular person and frankly told a friend that he was imitating Napoleon. During the second (Volume II, Part Two, Chapter XI), held in Bogucharov, Pierre saw before him a man who mournfully doubted the meaning of life, the existence of God, who had become internally dead and had lost the incentive to move. This meeting with Pierre became for Prince Andrei “an epoch from which, although in appearance it is the same, but in the inner world, his new life began.”

And here is the third conversation (Volume III, Part Two, Chapter XXV). Having overcome an involuntary alienation, on the eve of the day when, perhaps, both of them will die, friends once again frankly discuss the most subtle, most important topics. They do not philosophize - there is neither time nor energy for philosophizing; but each of their words, even very unfair (like Andrey's opinion about the prisoners), is weighed on special scales. And the final passage of Bolkonsky sounds like a premonition of imminent death: “Ah, my soul, lately it has become hard for me to live. I see that I began to understand too much. And it’s not good for a person to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... Well, not for long! he added.

The injury on the field of Borodin repeats in composition the scene of the injury of Andrey on the field of Austerlitz; and there, and here the truth is suddenly revealed to the hero. This truth is love, compassion, faith in God. (Here's another plot parallel.) But the fact of the matter is that in the first volume we had a character to whom the truth was despite everything; now we see Bolkonsky, who managed to prepare himself for the acceptance of the truth - at the cost of mental anguish and throwing. Please note: the last person Andrei sees on the Austerlitz field is the insignificant Napoleon, who seemed great to him; and the last person he sees on the Borodino field is his enemy, Anatol Kuragin, also seriously wounded ...

Ahead, Andrei has a new meeting with Natasha; last meeting. Moreover, the folklore principle of triple repetition works here too. For the first time, Andrei hears Natasha (without seeing her) in Otradnoye. Then he falls in love with her during Natasha's first ball (Volume II, Part Three, Chapter XVII), talks to her and makes an offer. And now - the wounded Bolkonsky in Moscow, near the Rostovs' house, at the very moment when Natasha orders the wagons to be given to the wounded. The meaning of this final meeting is forgiveness and reconciliation; having forgiven Natasha, reconciled with her, Andrei finally comprehended the meaning love and therefore he is ready to part with earthly life ... His death is depicted not as an irreparable tragedy, but as a solemnly sad total traversed earthly field.

No wonder Tolstoy carefully introduces the theme of the Gospel into the fabric of his narrative.

We are already accustomed to the fact that the heroes of Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century often pick up this main book of Christianity, which tells about the earthly life, teachings and resurrection of Jesus Christ; remember at least Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. However, Dostoevsky wrote about his own time, while Tolstoy turned to the events of the beginning of the century, when educated people from high society turned to the Gospel much less frequently. For the most part, they read Church Slavonic poorly, they rarely resorted to the French Bible; only after World War II did work begin on translating the Gospel into living Russian. This work was headed by the future Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov); The release of the Russian Gospel in 1819 influenced many writers, including Pushkin and Vyazemsky.

Prince Andrei is destined to die in 1812; nevertheless, Lev Nikolaevich went on a decisive violation of chronology, and in Bolkonsky’s dying thoughts, quotes come up precisely from the Russian Gospel: the birds of the sky “do not sow, nor reap”, but “your Father feeds them” ... Why? Yes, for the simple reason that Tolstoy wants to show: the gospel wisdom entered Andrei's soul, it became part of his own thoughts, he reads the Gospel as an explanation of his own life and his own death. If the writer forced the hero to quote the Gospel in French or even in Church Slavonic, this would immediately separate his inner world from the Gospel world. (In general, in the novel, the characters speak French the more often, the farther they are from the public truth; Natasha Rostova generally speaks only one line in French over four volumes!) And Tolstoy’s goal is exactly the opposite: he seeks to forever link the image of Andrei, who found truth, with the theme of the gospel.

Pierre Bezukhov

If the storyline of Prince Andrei is spiral-shaped and each subsequent stage of his life repeats the previous stage on a new turn, then Pierre's storyline is up to the epilogue- looks like a narrowing circle with the figure of a peasant Platon Karataev in the center.

This circle at the beginning of the epic is immeasurably wide, almost like Pierre himself - "a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, wearing glasses." Like Prince Andrei, Bezukhov does not feel himself truth seeker; he, too, considers Napoleon a great man - and is content with the widespread notion that history is run by great men, "heroes."

We get to know Pierre at the very moment when, from an excess of vitality, he takes part in carousing and almost robbery (the story of the quarter). Life force is his advantage over the dead light (Andrei says that Pierre is the only “living person”). And this is his main trouble, since Bezukhov does not know where to apply his heroic strength, it is aimless, there is something in it Special spiritual and mental demands are inherent in Pierre from the very beginning (which is why he chooses Andrei as his friend), but they are scattered, not clothed in a clear and distinct form.

Pierre is distinguished by energy, sensuality, reaching passion, extreme ingenuity and short-sightedness (literally and figuratively); all this dooms Pierre to rash steps. As soon as Bezukhov becomes the heir to a huge fortune, playboys immediately entangle him with their nets, Prince Vasily marries Pierre to Helen. Of course, family life is not given; accept the rules by which the high society live burners, Pierre can't. And now, having parted with Helen, for the first time he consciously begins to look for an answer to questions that torment him about the meaning of life, about the destiny of man.

“What's wrong? What well? What should you love, what should you hate? Why live and what am I? What is life, what is death? What power governs everything? he asked himself. And there was no answer to any of these questions, except for one, not a logical answer, not at all to these questions. This answer was: “If you die, everything will end. You will die and you will know everything, or you will stop asking.” But it was also scary to die” (volume II, part two, chapter I.).

And then on his life path he meets an old freemason-mentor, Joseph Alekseevich. (Masons were members of religious and political organizations, “orders”, “lodges”, which set themselves the goal of moral self-improvement and intended to transform society and the state on this basis.) The road along which Pierre travels serves as a metaphor for the path of life in the epic; Iosif Alekseevich himself approaches Bezukhov at the post station in Torzhok and starts a conversation with him about the mysterious destiny of man. From the genre shadow of the family novel, we immediately move into the space of the novel of upbringing; Tolstoy slightly noticeably stylizes the "Masonic" chapters as novel prose of the late 18th - early 19th century.

In these conversations, conversations, readings and reflections, Pierre reveals the same truth that appeared on the field of Austerlitz to Prince Andrei (who may also have gone through the “Masonic skill”; in a conversation with Pierre, Bolkonsky mockingly mentions the gloves that Masons receive before marriage for your chosen one). The meaning of life is not in a heroic feat, not in becoming a leader, like Napoleon, but in serving people, feeling involved in eternity...

But the truth is reopens, it sounds muffled, like a distant echo. And the further, the more painfully Bezukhov feels the deceitfulness of the majority of Freemasons, the discrepancy between their petty secular life and the proclaimed universal ideals. Yes, Joseph Alekseevich forever remains a moral authority for him, but Freemasonry itself eventually ceases to meet Pierre's spiritual needs. Moreover, reconciliation with Helen, to which he went under Masonic influence, does not lead to anything good. And having taken a step in the social field in the direction set by the Masons, having started a reform in his estates, Pierre suffers an inevitable defeat - his impracticality, gullibility and unsystematic doom the land experiment to failure.

Disappointed Bezukhov at first turns into a good-natured shadow of his predatory wife; it seems like a whirlpool playboys is about to close over him. Then he again begins to drink, revel, returns to the single habits of youth - and in the end he moves from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We have noted more than once that in Russian literature of the 19th century, Petersburg was associated with the European center of the bureaucratic, political, and cultural life of Russia; Moscow - with a rural, traditional Russian habitat of retired nobles and lordly loafers. The transformation of Pierre from St. Petersburg into a Muscovite is tantamount to his rejection of any life aspirations.

And here the tragic and purifying events of the Patriotic War of 1812 are approaching. For Bezukhov, they have a very special, personal meaning. After all, he has long been in love with Natasha Rostova, hopes for an alliance with whom are twice crossed out - by his marriage to Helen and Natasha's promise to Prince Andrei. Only after the story with Kuragin, in overcoming the consequences of which Pierre played a huge role, Bezukhov half-explains his love to Natasha: “Is everything gone? he repeated. - If I were not me, but the most beautiful, smartest and best person in the world, and would be free, I would this minute on my knees ask for your hand and love ”(Volume II, Part Five, Chapter XXII).

It is no coincidence that immediately after the scene of the explanation with Natasha Tolstaya, Pierre’s eyes show the famous comet of 1811, which foreshadowed the beginning of the war: “It seemed to Pierre that this star fully corresponded to what was in his softened and encouraged soul that blossomed into a new life.” The theme of the national test and the theme of personal salvation merge together in this episode.

Step by step, the stubborn author leads his beloved hero to comprehend two inextricably linked truths: the truth of sincere family life and the truth of nationwide unity. Out of curiosity, Pierre goes to the Borodino field just on the eve of the great battle; observing, communicating with the soldiers, he prepares his mind and his heart to perceive the thought that Bolkonsky will express to him during their last Borodino conversation: the truth is where “they”, ordinary soldiers, ordinary Russian people.

The views that Bezukhov professed at the beginning of War and Peace are reversed, before he saw in Napoleon the source of historical movement, now he sees in him the source of historical evil, the Antichrist. And he is ready to sacrifice himself for the salvation of mankind. The reader must understand: Pierre's spiritual path is only halfway through; the hero has not yet come to an agreement with the narrator, who is convinced (and convinces the reader) that it is not about Napoleon at all, that the French emperor is just a toy in the hands of Providence. But the experiences that befell Bezukhov in French captivity, and most importantly, his acquaintance with Platon Karataev, will complete the work that has already begun in him.

During the execution of the prisoners (a scene that refutes Andrei's cruel arguments during the last Borodino conversation), Pierre himself recognizes himself as an instrument in the hands of others; his life and his death do not really depend on him. And communication with a simple peasant, a “rounded” soldier of the Apsheron regiment Platon Karataev, finally reveals to Pierre the prospect of a new philosophy of life. The purpose of a person is not to become a bright personality, separate from all other personalities, but to reflect the life of the people in its entirety, to become a part of the universe. Only then can one feel truly immortal: “Ha, ha, ha! Pierre laughed. And he said aloud to himself: - The soldier did not let me in. Caught me, locked me up. I am being held captive. Who me? Me? Me - my immortal soul! Ha, ha, ha! .. Ha, ha, ha! .. - he laughed with tears in his eyes ... Pierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the departing, playing stars. “And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!..”” (Volume IV, Part Two, Chapter XIV).

No wonder these reflections of Pierre sound almost like folk poems, they emphasize, strengthened the internal, irregular rhythm:

The soldier didn't let me in.
Caught me, locked me up.
I am being held captive.
Who me? Me?

The truth sounds like a folk song - and the sky, into which Pierre directs his gaze, makes the attentive reader remember the finale of the third volume, the view of the comet and, most importantly, the sky of Austerlitz. But the difference between the Austerlitz scene and the experience that visited Pierre in captivity is fundamental. Andrei, as we have already said, at the end of the first volume comes face to face with the truth despite own intentions. He just has a long, roundabout way to get there. And Pierre comprehends it for the first time eventually painful quest.

But there is nothing definitive in Tolstoy's epic. Remember we said that Pierre's storyline is only Seems circular, that if you look into the epilogue, the picture will change somewhat? Now read the episode of Bezukhov's arrival from St. Petersburg and especially the scene of the conversation in the office - with Nikolai Rostov, Denisov and Nikolenka Bolkonsky (chapters XIV-XVI of the first epilogue). Pierre, the same Pierre Bezukhov, who has already comprehended the fullness of the public truth, who has renounced personal ambitions, again starts talking about the need to correct social ill-being, about the need to counteract the mistakes of the government. It is not difficult to guess that he became a member of the early Decembrist societies - and that a new thunderstorm began to swell on the historical horizon of Russia.

Natasha, with her feminine instinct, guesses the question that the narrator himself would obviously like to ask Pierre. “Do you know what I'm thinking? - she said, - about Platon Karataev. How is he? Would he approve of you now?”

What happens? Did the hero begin to shy away from the truth he had gained and suffered? And the middle one is right ordinary Human Nikolai Rostov, who speaks with disapproval of the plans of Pierre and his new comrades? So Nikolai is now closer to Platon Karataev than Pierre himself?

Yes and no. Yes- because Pierre undoubtedly deviates from the “rounded”, family, nationwide peace ideal, he is ready to join the “war”. Yes- because he had already passed in his Masonic period through the temptation of striving for the public good, and through the temptation of personal ambitions - at the moment when he counted the number of the beast in the name of Napoleon and convinced himself that it was he, Pierre, who was destined to save humanity from this villain. No- because the whole epic "War and Peace" is permeated with a thought that Rostov is not able to comprehend: we are not free in our desires, in our choice - to participate or not to participate in historical upheavals.

Pierre is much closer than Rostov to this "nerve" of history; among other things, Karataev taught him by his example submit circumstances, accept them as they are. Entering a secret society, Pierre moves away from the ideal and, in a certain sense, returns several steps back in his development - but not because he wants this, but because he can not evade the objective course of things. And, perhaps, having partially lost the truth, he learns it even more deeply at the end of his new path.

Therefore, the epic ends with a global historiosophical reasoning, the meaning of which is formulated in his last phrase: "... it is necessary to abandon non-existent freedom and recognize the dependence that we do not feel."

Sages

We told you about playboys, O leaders, about ordinary people, O truth-seekers. But there is another category of heroes in War and Peace, a mirror opposite leaders. This - sages. That is, characters who have comprehended the truth of public life and are an example for other heroes seeking the truth. These are, first of all, staff captain Tushin, Platon Karataev and Kutuzov.

Staff Captain Tushin appears in the scene of the Shengraben battle; we see him first through the eyes of Prince Andrei - and this is not accidental. If circumstances had turned out differently and Bolkonsky would have been internally ready for this meeting, she could have played the same role in his life as the meeting with Platon Karataev would play in Pierre's life. However, alas, Andrei is still blinded by the dream of his own Toulon. Having defended Tushin in chapter XXI (volume I, part two), when he is guiltily silent in front of Bagration and does not want to extradite chief, - Prince Andrei does not understand that behind Tushin's silence lies not servility, but an understanding of the hidden ethics of folk life. Bolkonsky is not yet ready to meet with his Karataev.

“A small round-shouldered man”, the commander of an artillery battery, Tushin from the very beginning makes an extremely favorable impression on the reader; external awkwardness only sets off his undoubted natural mind. Not without reason, characterizing Tushin, Tolstoy resorts to his favorite technique, draws attention to the hero’s eyes, this the mirror of one's heart: “Silently and smiling, Tushin, stepping from bare foot to foot, looked inquiringly with large, intelligent and kind eyes ...” (Volume I, Part Two, Chapter XV).

But why is such attention paid to such an insignificant figure, moreover, in the scene that immediately follows the chapter dedicated to Napoleon himself? The guess does not come to the reader immediately. But now he reaches chapter XX, and the image of the staff captain gradually begins to grow to symbolic proportions.

“Little Tushin with a pipe bitten to one side” together with his battery forgotten and left without cover; he hardly notices it, because he is completely absorbed general deed, feels itself an integral part of the whole people. On the eve of the battle, this awkward little man spoke of the fear of death and the complete uncertainty about eternal life; Now he is transforming before our eyes.

The narrator shows this small human large plan: “a fantastic world was established in his head, which constituted his pleasure at that moment. The enemy guns in his imagination were not guns, but pipes from which an invisible smoker emitted smoke in rare puffs. At this moment, it is not the Russian and French armies that are confronting each other - little Napoleon, who imagines himself great, and little Tushin, who has risen to true greatness, are confronting each other. He is not afraid of death, he is only afraid of his superiors, and immediately becomes shy when a staff colonel appears on the battery. Then (Glavka XXI) Tushin cordially helps all the wounded (including Nikolai Rostov).

In the second volume, we will once again meet with Staff Captain Tushin, who lost his arm in the war (analyze chapter XVIII of part two on your own (Rostov arrives at the hospital), pay special attention to how - and why exactly - Tushin refers to Vasily Denisov's intention to file a complaint with his superiors).

And Tushin, and another Tolstoy sage- Platon Karataev, are endowed with the same “physical” properties: they are small in stature, they have similar characters: they are affectionate and good-natured. But Tushin feels himself an integral part of the common people's life only in the midst of wars, and in peaceful circumstances he is a simple, kind, timid and very ordinary person. And Plato is involved in this life always, in any circumstances. And on war and especially able peace. Because he wears world in your soul.

Pierre meets Plato at a difficult moment in his life - in captivity, when his fate hangs in the balance and depends on many accidents. The first thing that catches his eye (and strangely soothes) is roundness Karataev, a harmonious combination of the appearance of the external and the appearance of the internal. In Plato, everything is round - both movements, and the life that he establishes around him, and even the homely “smell”. The narrator, with his characteristic insistence, repeats the words "round", "rounded" as often as in the scene on the Austerlitz field he repeated the word "sky".

Andrei Bolkonsky during the battle of Shengraben was not ready to meet with his Karataev, staff captain Tushin. And Pierre, by the time of the Moscow events, had matured to learn a lot from Plato. And above all - a true attitude to life. That is why Karataev "remained forever in Pierre's soul the most powerful and dearest memory and personification of everything Russian, kind and round." After all, on the way back from Borodino to Moscow, Bezukhov had a dream during which Pierre heard a voice. “War is the most difficult subjection of human freedom to the laws of God,” said the voice. - Simplicity is obedience to God, you can't get away from him. AND They are simple. They do not say, but do. The spoken word is silver, the unspoken is golden. A person cannot own anything while he is afraid of death. And whoever is not afraid of her, everything belongs to him. ... Connect everything? Pierre said to himself. - No, do not connect. You can't combine thoughts, but match all these thoughts - that's what you need! Yes, you have to match, you have to match!”

Platon Karataev is the embodiment of this dream; everything is in it associated, he is not afraid of death, he thinks in proverbs, in which centuries-old folk wisdom is summarized, it is not for nothing that Pierre hears the proverb in a dream “The spoken word is silver, but the unspoken is golden.”

Can Platon Karataev be called a bright personality? No way. On the contrary, he generally not a person because he does not have his own special spiritual needs, separate from the people, there are no aspirations and desires. He is more than a personality for Tolstoy, he is a particle of the people's soul. Karataev does not remember his own words spoken a minute ago, because he does not think in the usual sense of this word, that is, he does not build his reasoning in a logical chain. Simply, as modern people would say, his mind is “connected” to the public consciousness, and Plato’s judgments reproduce transcendental wisdom.

Karataev does not have a “special” love for people - he treats everyone equally lovingly. And to master Pierre, and to the French soldier who ordered Plato to sew a shirt, and to the rickety dog ​​that became attached to him. Not being personality he does not see personalities and around him, everyone he meets is the same particle of a single universe, like Plato himself. Death or separation is therefore of no importance to him; Karataev is not upset when he learns that the person with whom he became close suddenly disappeared - after all, nothing changes from this! The eternal life of the people continues, and in every new one you meet, its unchanging presence will be revealed.

The main lesson that Bezukhov learns from communication with Karataev, the main quality that he seeks to learn from his “teacher”, is voluntary dependence on the eternal life of the people. Only she gives a person a real feeling freedom. And when Karataev, having fallen ill, begins to lag behind the column of prisoners and is shot like a dog, Pierre is not too upset. Karataev's individual life is over, but the eternal, nationwide one, in which he is involved, continues, and there will be no end to it. That is why Tolstoy completes the storyline of Karataev with the second dream of Pierre, who was seen by the captive Bezukhov in the village of Shamshevo. “Life is everything. Life is God. Everything moves and moves, and this movement is God ... "

"Karataev!" Pierre remembered.

And suddenly Pierre introduced himself as a living, long-forgotten, meek old teacher who taught geography to Pierre in Switzerland ... he showed Pierre a globe. This globe was a living, oscillating ball without dimensions. The entire surface of the sphere consisted of drops tightly compressed between themselves. And these drops all moved, moved, and then merged from several into one, then from one they were divided into many. Each drop strove to spill out, to capture the greatest space, but others, striving for the same, squeezed it, sometimes destroyed it, sometimes merged with it.

That's life, - said the old teacher ...

God is in the middle, and each drop seeks to expand in order to reflect Him in the largest size ... Here he is, Karataev, now spilled and disappeared.

In the metaphor of life as a “liquid oscillating ball” made up of individual drops, all the symbolic images of “War and Peace” that we spoke about above are combined: the spindle, the clock mechanism, and the anthill; a circular movement that connects everything with everything - this is Tolstoy's idea of ​​the people, of history, of the family. The meeting of Platon Karataev brings Pierre very close to comprehending this truth.

From the image of the staff captain Tushin, we climbed, as if on a step up, to the image of Platon Karataev. But even from Plato in the space of the epic one more step leads up. The image of the People's Field Marshal Kutuzov is placed here on an unattainable height. This old man, gray-haired, fat, walking heavily, with a plump face disfigured by a wound, towers over both Captain Tushin and even Platon Karataev: the truth nationalities perceived by them instinctively, he comprehended consciously and raised it to the principle of his life and his military activity.

The main thing for Kutuzov (unlike all the leaders headed by Napoleon) is to deviate from personal proud decision guess correct course of events and don't interfere them to develop according to God's will, in truth. Having met him for the first time in the first volume, in the scene of the review near Brenau, we see before us an absent-minded and cunning old man, an old campaigner, who is distinguished by an “affection of respectfulness”. And we do not immediately understand that mask unreasoning campaigner, which Kutuzov puts on when approaching ruling persons, especially the tsar, is just one of the many ways of his self-defense. After all, he cannot, must not allow the real interference of these self-satisfied persons in the course of events, and therefore he is obliged to affectionately evade their will, without contradicting it in words. So he will dodge and from the battle with Napoleon during World War II.

Kutuzov, as he appears in the battle scenes of the third and fourth volumes, is not a figure, but contemplative, he is convinced that victory requires not the mind, not the scheme, but "something else, independent of the mind and knowledge." And above all - "you need patience and time." The old commander has both in abundance; he is endowed with the gift of “calm contemplation of the course of events” and sees his main purpose in do no harm. That is, to listen to all the reports, all the main considerations, useful (that is, consistent with the natural course of things) to support, harmful to reject.

And the main secret that Kutuzov comprehended, as he is depicted in War and Peace, is the secret of maintaining folk spirit, the main force in any struggle against any enemy of the Fatherland.

That is why this old, feeble, voluptuary person personifies Tolstoy's idea of ​​an ideal policy, which comprehended the main wisdom: a person cannot influence the course of historical events and must renounce the idea of ​​freedom in favor of the idea of ​​necessity. Tolstoy “instructs” Bolkonsky to express this thought: watching Kutuzov after he was appointed commander in chief, Prince Andrei reflects: “He will not have anything of his own. He ... understands that there is something stronger and more significant than his will - this is an inevitable course of events ... And most importantly ... that he is Russian, despite the Genlis novel and French sayings ... ”(Volume III, Part second, chapter XVI).

Without the figure of Kutuzov, Tolstoy would not have solved one of the main artistic tasks of his epic: to oppose the “deceitful form of a European hero, who allegedly controls people, which history has come up with” with the “simple, modest and therefore truly majestic figure” of a folk hero who will never settle into this "deceitful form".

Natasha Rostova

If we translate the typology of the heroes of the epic into the traditional language of literary terms, then an internal pattern will be revealed by itself. The world of everyday life and the world of lies are opposed dramatic And epic characters. dramatic the characters of Pierre and Andrei are full of internal contradictions, they are always in motion and development; epic the characters of Karataev and Kutuzov are striking in their integrity. But there is a character in the portrait gallery created by Tolstoy in War and Peace that does not fit into any of the listed categories. This lyrical the character of the main character of the epic Natasha Rostova.

Does she belong to the playboys? It is impossible to think about this. With her sincerity, with her heightened sense of justice! Does it apply to ordinary people, like their relatives, Rostov? In many ways, yes; and yet it is not without reason that both Pierre and Andrey are looking for her love, are drawn to her, distinguished from the general row. Wherein truth-seeker it - unlike them - can not be called in any way. No matter how much we reread the scenes in which Natasha acts, we will never find a hint of search moral ideal, truth, truth. And in the epilogue, after marriage, she even loses the brightness of her temperament, the spirituality of her appearance; baby diapers replace for her what Pierre and Andrei are given reflections on the truth and the purpose of life.

Like the rest of the Rostovs, Natasha is not endowed with a sharp mind; when in chapter XVII of the fourth last volume, and then in the epilogue, we see her next to the emphatically intelligent woman Marya Bolkonskaya-Rostova, this difference is especially striking. Natasha, as the narrator emphasizes, simply “did not deign to be smart.” On the other hand, it is endowed with something else, which for Tolstoy is more important than an abstract mind, even more important than truth-seeking: the instinct of knowing life by experience. It is this inexplicable quality that brings Natasha's image closer to wise men, first of all to Kutuzov - despite the fact that in everything else she is closer to ordinary people. It is simply impossible to “attribute” it to any one category: it does not obey any classification, it breaks out beyond the limits of any definition.

Natasha, “black-eyed, with a big mouth, ugly, but alive”, the most emotional of all the characters in the epic; therefore she is the most musical of all the Rostovs. The element of music lives not only in her singing, which everyone around recognizes as wonderful, but also in the very voice Natasha. Remember, after all, Andrei's heart trembled for the first time when he heard Natasha's conversation with Sonya on a moonlit night, without seeing the girls talking. Natasha's singing heals brother Nikolai, who falls into despair after losing forty-three thousand, which ruined the Rostov family.

From one emotional, sensitive, intuitive root, both her egoism, which is fully revealed in the story with Anatol Kuragin, and her selflessness, which manifests itself both in the scene with carts for the wounded in the fire department of Moscow, and in the episodes where it is shown how she takes care of the dying Andrei, how he takes care of his mother, shocked by the news of Petya's death.

And the main gift that is given to her and which raises her above all the other heroes of the epic, even the best ones, is a special the gift of happiness. All of them suffer, suffer, seek the truth - or, like the impersonal Platon Karataev, affectionately possess it; only Natasha disinterestedly rejoices in life, feels her feverish pulse - and generously shares her happiness with everyone around her. Her happiness is in her naturalness; that is why the narrator so harshly contrasts the scene of Natasha Rostova's first ball with the episode of her acquaintance and falling in love with Anatole Kuragin. Please note: this acquaintance takes place in theater(volume II, part five, chapter IX). That is, where reigns a game, pretense. This is not enough for Tolstoy; he forces the epic narrator to descend down the steps of emotions, to use in descriptions of what is happening sarcasm, strongly emphasize the idea of unnaturalness atmosphere in which Natasha's feeling for Kuragin is born.

No wonder just to lyrical the heroine, Natasha, is assigned the most famous comparison of War and Peace. At that moment, when Pierre, after a long separation, meets Rostova together with Princess Mary and does not recognize her, and suddenly “a face with attentive eyes with difficulty, with an effort, like a rusty door opens, smiled, and from this dissolved door suddenly smelled and doused Pierre with forgotten happiness ... It smelled, engulfed and swallowed him all ”(chapter XV of the fourth last volume).

But the true vocation of Natasha, as Tolstoy shows in the epilogue (and unexpectedly for many readers), was revealed only in motherhood. Having gone into children, she realizes herself in them and through them; and this is not accidental: after all, the family for Tolstoy is the same cosmos, the same integral and saving world, like the Christian faith, like the life of the people.

Introduction

Leo Tolstoy in his epic portrayed more than 500 characters typical of Russian society. In "War and Peace" the heroes of the novel are representatives of the upper class of Moscow and St. Petersburg, key government and military figures, soldiers, people from the common people, and peasants. The image of all strata of Russian society allowed Tolstoy to recreate a complete picture of Russian life in one of the turning points in the history of Russia - the era of wars with Napoleon in 1805-1812.

In "War and Peace" the characters are conditionally divided into main characters - whose fates are woven by the author into the plot narrative of all four volumes and the epilogue, and secondary - heroes who appear episodically in the novel. Among the main characters of the novel, one can single out the central characters - Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova and Pierre Bezukhov, around whose fates the events of the novel unfold.

Characteristics of the main characters of the novel

Andrey Bolkonsky- "a very handsome young man with definite and dry features", "small stature." The author introduces the reader to Bolkonsky at the beginning of the novel - the hero was one of the guests at the evening of Anna Scherer (where many of the main characters of Tolstoy's War and Peace were also present).

According to the plot of the work, Andrei was tired of high society, he dreamed of glory, no less than the glory of Napoleon, and therefore goes to war. The episode that turned Bolkonsky's worldview upside down is the meeting with Bonaparte - Andrei, wounded on the field of Austerlitz, realized how insignificant Bonaparte and all his glory really are. The second turning point in Bolkonsky's life is the love for Natasha Rostova. The new feeling helped the hero to return to a full life, to believe that after the death of his wife and everything he had endured, he could fully live on. However, their happiness with Natasha was not destined to come true - Andrei was mortally wounded during the Battle of Borodino and soon died.

Natasha Rostova- a cheerful, kind, very emotional and loving girl: "black-eyed, with a big mouth, ugly, but alive." An important feature of the image of the central heroine of "War and Peace" is her musical talent - a beautiful voice that fascinated even people inexperienced in music. The reader meets Natasha on the girl's name day, when she turns 12 years old. Tolstoy depicts the moral maturation of the heroine: love experiences, going out, Natasha's betrayal of Prince Andrei and her feelings because of this, the search for herself in religion and the turning point in the life of the heroine - the death of Bolkonsky. In the epilogue of the novel, Natasha appears to the reader in a completely different way - we are more likely to see the shadow of her husband, Pierre Bezukhov, and not the bright, active Rostova, who a few years ago danced Russian dances and “won back” carts for the wounded from her mother.

Pierre Bezukhov- "a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, wearing glasses."

"Pierre was somewhat larger than the other men in the room", he had "an intelligent and at the same time timid, observant and natural look that distinguished him from everyone in this living room." Pierre is a hero who is in constant search for himself through the knowledge of the world around him. Each situation in his life, each life stage became a special life lesson for the hero. Marriage to Helen, passion for Freemasonry, love for Natasha Rostova, presence on the field of the Battle of Borodino (which the hero sees precisely through the eyes of Pierre), French captivity and acquaintance with Karataev completely change Pierre's personality - a purposeful and self-confident man with own views and goals.

Other important characters

In War and Peace, Tolstoy conditionally identifies several blocks of characters - the families of the Rostovs, Bolkonskys, Kuragins, as well as the characters who are part of the social circle of one of these families. The Rostovs and Bolkonskys, as positive heroes, bearers of a truly Russian mentality, ideas and spirituality, are opposed to the negative characters Kuragins, who had little interest in the spiritual aspect of life, preferring to shine in society, weave intrigues and choose acquaintances according to their status and wealth. A brief description of the heroes of War and Peace will help you better understand the essence of each main character.

Graph Ilya Andreevich Rostov- a kind and generous man, for whom the most important thing in his life was his family. The count sincerely loved his wife and four children (Natasha, Vera, Nikolai and Petya), helped his wife in raising children and did his best to maintain a warm atmosphere in the Rostovs' house. Ilya Andreevich cannot live without luxury, he liked to arrange lavish balls, receptions and evenings, but his wastefulness and inability to manage economic affairs eventually led to the critical financial situation of the Rostovs.
Countess Natalya Rostova is a 45-year-old woman with oriental features, who knows how to make an impression in high society, the wife of Count Rostov, and the mother of four children. The countess, just like her husband, loved her family very much, trying to support children and bring up the best qualities in them. Due to excessive love for children, after the death of Petya, the woman almost goes crazy. In the countess, kindness to relatives was combined with prudence: wanting to improve the financial situation of the family, the woman is trying with all her might to upset Nikolai's marriage to Sonya, "not a profitable bride".

Nikolai Rostov- "a short curly young man with an open expression." This is a simple-hearted, open, honest and benevolent young man, Natasha's brother, the eldest son of the Rostovs. At the beginning of the novel, Nikolai appears as an admiring young man who wants military glory and recognition, but after participating first in the battle of Shengrabes, and then in the Battle of Austerlitz and the Patriotic War, Nikolai's illusions are dispelled and the hero realizes how absurd and wrong the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwar is. Nikolai finds personal happiness in marriage with Marya Bolkonskaya, in whom he felt a congenial person even at their first meeting.

Sonya Rostova- "a thin, petite brunette with a soft look tinted with long eyelashes, a thick black braid that twined around her head twice, and a yellowish tint of skin on her face", the niece of Count Rostov. According to the plot of the novel, she is a quiet, reasonable, kind girl who knows how to love and is prone to self-sacrifice. Sonya refuses Dolokhov, because she wants to be faithful only to Nikolai, whom she sincerely loves. When the girl finds out that Nikolai is in love with Marya, she meekly lets him go, not wanting to interfere with the happiness of her beloved.

Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky- Prince, retired general-ashef. This is a proud, intelligent, strict to himself and others man of short stature "with small dry hands and gray hanging eyebrows, sometimes, as he frowned, obscured the shine of intelligent and as if young, shining eyes." In the depths of his soul, Bolkonsky loves his children very much, but does not dare to show this (only before his death he was able to show his daughter his love). Nikolai Andreevich died from the second blow while in Bogucharovo.

Marya Bolkonskaya- a quiet, kind, meek, prone to self-sacrifice and sincerely loving her family girl. Tolstoy describes her as a heroine with "an ugly, weak body and a thin face", but "the eyes of the princess, large, deep and radiant (as if rays of warm light sometimes came out of them in sheaves), were so good that very often, despite the ugliness of everything faces, these eyes became more attractive than beauty. The beauty of Marya's eyes after struck Nikolai Rostov. The girl was very pious, she devoted herself entirely to caring for her father and nephew, then redirecting her love to her own family and husband.

Helen Kuragina- a bright, brilliantly beautiful woman with a "unchanging smile" and full white shoulders, who liked male society, Pierre's first wife. Helen was not distinguished by a special mind, but thanks to her charm, her ability to keep herself in society and establish the necessary connections, she set up her own salon in St. Petersburg, and was personally acquainted with Napoleon. The woman died of a severe sore throat (although there were rumors in society that Helen had committed suicide).

Anatole Kuragin- Helen's brother, as handsome in appearance and noticeable in high society as his sister. Anatole lived the way he wanted, discarding all moral principles and foundations, arranged drunkenness and brawls. Kuragin wanted to steal Natasha Rostova and marry her, although he was already married.

Fedor Dolokhov- "a man of medium height, curly-haired and with bright eyes", an officer of the Semenov regiment, one of the leaders of the partisan movement. In Fedor's personality, selfishness, cynicism and adventurism were combined in an amazing way with the ability to love and care for their loved ones. (Nikolai Rostov is very surprised that at home, with his mother and sister, Dolokhov is completely different - a loving and gentle son and brother).

Conclusion

Even a brief description of the heroes of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" allows us to see the close and inextricable relationship between the fates of the characters. Like all events in the novel, the meetings and farewells of the characters take place according to the irrational, elusive law of historical mutual influences. It is these incomprehensible mutual influences that create the destinies of the heroes and form their views on the world.

Artwork test

In the novel "War and Peace" Leo Tolstoy conveyed the author's vision of morals, state of mind and worldview of the advanced stratum of Russian society at the beginning of the 19th century. The problems of the state arise as a result of great world events and become the concern of every conscious citizen. The main characters of the novel "War Peace" are representatives of influential families at the court of the emperor.

Andrey Bolkonsky

The image of a Russian patriot who fell in the fight against the French invaders. Quiet family life, secular receptions and balls do not attract him. The officer takes part in every military campaign of Alexander I. The husband of Kutuzov's niece, he becomes the adjutant of the famous general.

In the battle of Schoenberg, he raises soldiers to attack, carrying a fallen banner, like a real hero. In the battle of Austerlitz, Bolkonsky is wounded and captured, released by Napoleon. In the battle of Borodino, a shell fragment hits the stomach of a brave warrior. The ladle died in agony in the arms of his beloved girl.

Tolstoy showed a man whose life priorities are public duty, military prowess and the honor of uniform. Representatives of the Russian aristocracy have always been the bearers of the moral values ​​of monarchical power.

Natasha Rostova

The young countess grew up in luxury, surrounded by parental care. Noble upbringing and excellent education could provide the girl with a profitable party, a cheerful life in the high society. The war changed the carefree Natasha, who suffered the loss of dear people.

Having married Pierre Bezukhov, she became a mother of many children, who found peace in family worries. Leo Tolstoy created a positive image of the Russian noblewoman, patriot and homemaker. The author is critical of the fact that after giving birth to four children, Natasha stopped taking care of herself. The author wants to see a woman unfading, fresh and well-groomed throughout her life.

Maria Bolkonskaya

The princess was raised by her father, a contemporary of Potemkin and a friend of Kutuzov, Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky. The old general attached importance to education, especially the study of technical sciences. The girl knew geometry and algebra, spent many hours reading books.

The father was strict and biased, he tormented his daughter with lessons, demonstrating his love and care in this way. Marya sacrificed her young years as a sacrifice to her parent's old age, she was by his side until his last days. She replaced the mother of her nephew Nikolenka, trying to surround him with parental tenderness.

Maria met her fate during the war in the person of the savior Nikolai Rostov. Their relationship developed for a long time, both did not dare to take the first step. The gentleman was younger than his lady, this embarrassed the girl. The princess had a large inheritance of the Bolkonskys, which stopped the guy. They made a good family.

Pierre Bezukhov

The young man was educated abroad, he was allowed to return to Russia at the age of twenty. The high society accepted the young man with caution, because he was the illegitimate son of a noble nobleman. However, before his death, his father asked the king to recognize Pierre as the legitimate heir.

In an instant, Bezukhov became a count and the owner of a huge fortune. Inexperienced, slow and trusting Pierre was used in selfish intrigues, he was quickly married to his daughter by Prince Vasily Kuragin. The hero had to go through the pain of betrayal, the humiliation of his wife's lovers, a duel, Freemasonry and drunkenness.

The war cleansed the count's soul, saved him from empty mental ordeals, radically changed his worldview. Having gone through fire, captivity and the loss of dear people, Bezukhov found the meaning of life in family values, in the ideas of new post-war political reforms.

Illarion Mikhailovich Kutuzov

The personality of Kutuzov is a key figure in the events of 1812 because he commanded the army defending Moscow. Leo Tolstoy in the novel Vaughn and the World presented his vision of the character of the general, his assessment of his actions and decisions.

The commander looks like a kind, fat old man who, with his experience and knowledge of large battles, is trying to lead Russia out of a difficult retreat situation. The battle of Borodino and the surrender of Moscow was a cunning military combination that led to victory over the French army.

The author described the famous Kutuzov as an ordinary person, a slave to his weaknesses, who has experience and wisdom accumulated over many years of his life. The general is an example of an army commander who takes care of the soldiers, worries about their uniforms, allowances and sleep.

Leo Tolstoy tried through the image of the main characters of the novel to convey the difficult fate of representatives of high society in Russia, who survived the European military storm of the early 19th century. Then a generation of Decembrists was formed, who would initiate new reforms, the result would be the abolition of serfdom.

The main feature that unites all the heroes is patriotism, love for the motherland, respect for parents.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy in his epic novel "War and Peace" provided a wide system of images. His world is not limited to a few noble families: real historical characters are mixed with fictional, major and minor ones. This symbiosis is sometimes so intricate and unusual that it is extremely difficult to determine which heroes perform a more or less significant function.

Representatives of eight noble families act in the novel, almost all of them occupy a central place in the narrative.

Rostov family

This family is represented by Count Ilya Andreevich, his wife Natalya, their four children together and their pupil Sonya.

The head of the family, Ilya Andreevich, is a sweet and good-natured person. He has always been provided for, therefore he does not know how to save, he is often deceived by acquaintances and relatives for selfish purposes. The count is not a mercenary person, he is ready to help everyone. Over time, his attitude, reinforced by addiction to the card game, became disastrous for his entire family. Because of the father's squandering, the family has been on the verge of poverty for a long time. The count dies at the end of the novel, after the wedding of Natalia and Pierre, of natural causes.

Countess Natalya is very similar to her husband. She, like him, is alien to the concept of self-interest and the pursuit of money. She is ready to help people who find themselves in a difficult situation, she is overwhelmed with feelings of patriotism. The countess had to endure many sorrows and troubles. This state of affairs is associated not only with unexpected poverty, but also with the death of their children. Of the thirteen born, only four survived; subsequently, the war took one more - the youngest.

The Count and Countess of Rostov, like most of the characters in the novel, have their prototypes. They were the grandfather and grandmother of the writer - Ilya Andreevich and Pelageya Nikolaevna.

The eldest child of the Rostovs is called Vera. This is an unusual girl, not like all the other members of the family. She is rude and callous at heart. This attitude applies not only to strangers, but also to close relatives. The rest of the Rostov children subsequently make fun of her and even come up with a nickname for her. The prototype of Vera was Elizaveta Bers, daughter-in-law of L. Tolstoy.

The next oldest child is Nikolai. His image is drawn in the novel with love. Nicholas is a noble person. He responsibly approaches any occupation. Tries to be guided by the principles of morality and honor. Nikolai is very similar to his parents - kind, sweet, purposeful. After the distress he had endured, he constantly took care not to find himself in a similar situation again. Nikolai takes part in military events, he is repeatedly awarded, but still he leaves military service after the war with Napoleon - his family needs him.

Nikolai marries Maria Bolkonskaya, they have three children - Andrei, Natasha, Mitya - and a fourth is expected.

The younger sister of Nikolai and Vera, Natalya, is the same in character and temperament as her parents. She is sincere and trusting, and this almost ruins her - Fedor Dolokhov fools the girl and persuades her to escape. These plans were not destined to come true, but Natalya's engagement with Andrei Bolkonsky was terminated, and Natalya fell into a deep depression. Subsequently, she became the wife of Pierre Bezukhov. The woman stopped watching her figure, others began to speak of her as an unpleasant woman. Tolstoy's wife, Sofya Andreevna, and her sister, Tatyana Andreevna, became the prototypes of Natalia.

The youngest child of the Rostovs was Petya. He was the same as all Rostovs: noble, honest and kind. All these qualities were enhanced by youthful maximalism. Petya was a sweet eccentric, to whom all pranks were forgiven. The fate of Petya was extremely unfavorable - he, like his brother, goes to the front and dies there very young and young.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the summary of the second part of the first volume of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".

Another child, Sonya, was brought up in the Rostov family. The girl was related to the Rostovs, after the death of her parents, they took her in and treated her like their own child. Sonya was in love with Nikolai Rostov for a long time, this fact did not allow her to get married on time.

Presumably she remained alone until the end of her days. Its prototype was Leo Tolstoy's aunt, Tatyana Alexandrovna, in whose house the writer was brought up after the death of his parents.

We get to know all the Rostovs at the very beginning of the novel - they are all active throughout the story. In the "Epilogue" we learn about the further continuation of their kind.

Bezukhov family

The Bezukhov family is not represented in such a numerous form as the Rostov family. The head of the family is Kirill Vladimirovich. The name of his wife is not known. We know that she belonged to the Kuragin family, but it is not clear who exactly she was to them. Count Bezukhov has no children born in marriage - all his children are illegitimate. The eldest of them - Pierre - was officially named by his father the heir to the estate.

After such a statement by the count, the image of Pierre Bezukhov begins to appear actively in public terms. Pierre himself does not impose his society on others, but he is a prominent groom - the heir to unthinkable wealth, so they want to see him always and everywhere. Nothing is known about Pierre's mother, but this does not become a reason for indignation and ridicule. Pierre received a decent education abroad and returned to his homeland full of utopian ideas, his vision of the world is too idealistic and divorced from reality, so all the time he faces unthinkable disappointments - in social activities, personal life, family harmony. His first wife was Elena Kuragina - a whore and a flirtatious. This marriage brought a lot of suffering to Pierre. The death of his wife saved him from the unbearable - he did not have the power to leave Elena or change her, but he could not come to terms with such an attitude towards his person. The second marriage - with Natasha Rostova - became more successful. They had four children - three girls and a boy.

Princes Kuragins

The Kuragin family is stubbornly associated with greed, debauchery and deceit. The reason for this was the children of Vasily Sergeevich and Alina - Anatole and Elena.

Prince Vasily was not a bad person, he possessed a number of positive qualities, but his desire for enrichment and gentleness of character towards his son nullified all positive aspects.

Like any father, Prince Vasily wanted to ensure a prosperous future for his children, one of the options was a profitable marriage. This position not only had a bad effect on the reputation of the whole family, but also later played a tragic role in the lives of Elena and Anatole.

Little is known about Princess Alina. At the time of the story, she was a rather ugly woman. Her distinguishing feature was hostility to her daughter Elena on the basis of envy.

Vasily Sergeevich and Princess Alina had two sons and a daughter.

Anatole - became the cause of all the troubles of the family. He led a life of spenders and rake - debts, brawls were a natural occupation for him. Such behavior left an extremely negative imprint on the reputation of the family and its financial situation.

Anatole was seen in love with his sister Elena. The possibility of a serious relationship between brother and sister was suppressed by Prince Vasily, but, apparently, they still took place after Elena's marriage.

The daughter of the Kuragins, Elena, had incredible beauty, like her brother Anatole. She skillfully flirted and after marriage had a love affair with many men, ignoring her husband Pierre Bezukhov.

Their brother Ippolit was completely unlike them in appearance - he was extremely unpleasant in appearance. In terms of the composition of his mind, he was not much different from his brother and sister. He was too stupid - this was noted not only by those around him, but also by his father. Nevertheless, Ippolit was not hopeless - he knew foreign languages ​​​​well and worked at the embassy.

Princes Bolkonsky

The Bolkonsky family occupies far from the last place in society - they are rich and influential.
The family includes Prince Nikolai Andreevich - a man of the old school and peculiar customs. He is rather rude in dealing with his relatives, but still not devoid of sensuality and tenderness - he is kind to his grandson and daughter, in a peculiar way, but still, he loves his son, but he does not really succeed in showing the sincerity of his feelings.

Nothing is known about the prince's wife, even her name is not mentioned in the text. In the marriage of the Bolkonskys, two children were born - son Andrei and daughter Marya.

Andrei Bolkonsky is partially similar in character to his father - he is quick-tempered, proud and a little rude. He has an attractive appearance and natural charm. At the beginning of the novel, Andrei is successfully married to Lisa Meinen - the couple has a son, Nikolenka, but his mother dies on the night after giving birth.

After some time, Andrei becomes the fiancé of Natalia Rostova, but he didn’t have to get married - Anatol Kuragin translated all the plans, which earned him personal dislike and exceptional hatred on the part of Andrei.

Prince Andrei takes part in the military events of 1812, is seriously wounded on the battlefield and dies in the hospital.

Maria Bolkonskaya - Andrey's sister - is deprived of such pride and stubbornness as her brother, which allows her, not without difficulty, but still to get along with her father, who is not distinguished by an accommodating character. Kind and meek, she understands that she is not indifferent to her father, therefore she does not hold a grudge against him for nit-picking and rudeness. The girl is raising her nephew. Outwardly, Marya does not look like her brother - she is very ugly, but this does not prevent her from marrying Nikolai Rostov and living a happy life.

Liza Bolkonskaya (Meinen) was the wife of Prince Andrei. She was an attractive woman. Her inner world was not inferior to her appearance - she was sweet and pleasant, she loved needlework. Unfortunately, her fate did not turn out in the best way - childbirth turned out to be too difficult for her - she dies, giving life to her son Nikolenka.

Nikolenka lost his mother early, but the boy's troubles did not stop there - at the age of 7, he also loses his father. Despite everything, he is characterized by the cheerfulness inherent in all children - he grows up as an intelligent and inquisitive boy. The image of his father becomes key for him - Nikolenka wants to live in such a way that his father can be proud of him.

Mademoiselle Bourienne also belongs to the Bolkonsky family. Despite the fact that she is only a friendly companion, her significance in the context of the family is quite significant. First of all, it consists in a pseudo friendship with Princess Mary. Often Mademoiselle acts meanly towards Mary, enjoys the favor of the girl in relation to her person.

The Karagin family

Tolstoy does not spread much about the Karagin family - the reader gets acquainted with only two representatives of this family - Marya Lvovna and her daughter Julie.

Marya Lvovna first appears before readers in the first volume of the novel, her own daughter also begins to act in the first volume of the first part of War and Peace. Julie has an extremely unpleasant appearance, she is in love with Nikolai Rostov, but the young man does not pay any attention to her. Does not save the situation and its huge wealth. Boris Drubetskoy actively draws attention to her material component, the girl understands that the young man is kind to her only because of the money, but does not show it - for her this is actually the only way not to remain an old maid.

Princes Drubetskoy

The Drubetsky family is not particularly active in the public sphere, so Tolstoy avoids a detailed description of the family members and focuses readers only on active characters - Anna Mikhailovna and her son Boris.

Princess Drubetskaya belongs to an old family, but now her family is going through hard times - poverty has become a constant companion of the Drubetskys. This state of affairs gave rise to a sense of prudence and self-interest in the representatives of this family. Anna Mikhailovna tries to get as much benefit as possible from her friendship with the Rostovs - she has been living with them for a long time.

Her son, Boris, was a friend of Nikolai Rostov for some time. As they grew older, their views on life values ​​and principles began to differ greatly, which led to a removal in communication.

Boris more and more begins to show self-interest and the desire to get rich at any cost. He is ready to marry for money and does it successfully, taking advantage of the unenviable position of Julie Karagina

Dolokhov family

Representatives of the Dolokhov family are also not all active in society. Among all, Fedor stands out clearly. He is the son of Marya Ivanovna and the best friend of Anatole Kuragin. In his behavior, he also did not go far from his friend: revelry and an idle way of life are a common occurrence for him. In addition, he is famous for his love affair with Pierre Bezukhov's wife, Elena. A distinctive feature of Dolokhov from Kuragin is his attachment to his mother and sister.

Historical figures in the novel "War and Peace"

Since Tolstoy's novel takes place against the backdrop of historical events related to the war against Napoleon in 1812, it is impossible to do without at least a partial mention of real characters.

Alexander I

The novel most actively describes the activities of Emperor Alexander I. This is not surprising, because the main events take place on the territory of the Russian Empire. In the beginning, we learn about the positive and liberal aspirations of the emperor, he is "an angel in the flesh." The peak of his popularity falls on the period of Napoleon's defeat in the war. It was at this time that the authority of Alexander reaches incredible heights. An emperor can easily make changes and improve the lives of his subjects, but he doesn't. As a result, such an attitude and inactivity become the reason for the emergence of the Decembrist movement.

Napoleon I Bonaparte

On the other side of the barricade in the events of 1812 is Napoleon. Since many Russian aristocrats were educated abroad, and the French language was everyday for them, the attitude of the nobles towards this character at the beginning of the novel was positive and bordered on admiration. Then disappointment occurs - their idol from the category of ideals becomes the main villain. With the image of Napoleon, such connotations as egocentrism, lies, pretense are actively used.

Mikhail Speransky

This character is important not only in Tolstoy's novel, but also during the real era of Emperor Alexander.

His family could not boast of antiquity and significance - he is the son of a priest, but still he managed to become the secretary of Alexander I. He is not a particularly pleasant person, but everyone notes his importance in the context of events in the country.

In addition, historical characters of lesser significance, in comparison with the emperors, act in the novel. These are the great commanders Barclay de Tolly, Mikhail Kutuzov and Pyotr Bagration. Their activity and the disclosure of the image takes place on the battlefields - Tolstoy tries to describe the military part of the narrative as realistic and captivating as possible, therefore these characters are described not only as great and unsurpassed, but also as ordinary people who are subject to doubts, mistakes and negative qualities of character.

Other characters

Among the other characters, the name of Anna Scherer should be highlighted. She is the "owner" of a secular salon - the elite of society meets here. Guests are rarely left to their own devices. Anna Mikhailovna always seeks to provide her visitors with interesting interlocutors, she often panders - this is of particular interest to her.

Characteristics of the heroes of the novel "War and Peace": images of characters

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