In his novel, Tolstoy portrayed a number of heroes. The author is not in vain presented a detailed description of the characters. "War and Peace" is a novel in which the fictional characters that make up the whole noble family, reflect to the reader a reflection of people who lived during the war with Napoleon. In War and Peace, we see the Russian spirit, features of secular society, historical events characteristic of the period from the late 18th to the early 19th century. The greatness of the Russian soul is shown against the background of these events.
If you make a list of characters ("War and Peace"), you get only about 550-600 heroes. However, they are not all equally important for the narrative. "War and Peace" is a novel whose heroes can be divided into three main groups: main, secondary characters and just mentioned in the text. Among them are both fictional and historical figures, as well as heroes who have prototypes among the writer's entourage. This article will introduce the main characters. "War and Peace" is a work in which the Rostov family is described in detail. So let's start with her.
Ilya Andreevich Rostov
This is a count who had four children: Petya, Nikolai, Vera and Natasha. Ilya Andreevich is a very generous and kind-hearted person who loved life. As a result, his exorbitant generosity led to wastefulness. Rostov is a loving father and husband. He is a good organizer of receptions and balls. But life in a big way, as well as selfless help to wounded soldiers and the Russians leaving Moscow from Moscow, delivered fatal blows in his condition. Conscience tormented Ilya Andreevich all the time because of the impending poverty of his family, but he could not help himself. After the death of Petit, the youngest son, the count was broken, but he perked up, preparing the wedding of Pierre Bezukhov and Natasha. Count Rostov dies a few months after these characters were married. War and Peace (Tolstoy) is a work in which Ilya Andreyevich, Tolstoy’s grandfather, is the prototype of this hero.
Natalya Rostova (wife of Ilya Andreyevich)
This 45-year-old woman, the wife of Rostov and the mother of four children, had some oriental features. Others regarded the focus of power and slowness in it as solidity, as well as its high significance for the family. However, the true reason for these manners lies in a weak and exhausted physical condition due to childbirth and the forces given to raising children. Natalya loves her family and children very much, so the news of the death of Petit was almost crazy about her. Countess Rostova, like Ilya Andreevich, loved luxury and demanded that all follow her orders. In it you can find the features of Tolstoy's grandmother - Pelageya Nikolaevna.
Nikolay Rostov
This hero is the son of Ilya Andreyevich. He is a loving son and brother, reveres a family, but at the same time faithfully serves in the army, which is a very important and significant feature in his characterization. He often even saw a second family in his fellow soldiers. Although Nikolai was in love with Sonya for a long time, his cousin, he still marries Marya Bolkonskaya at the end of the novel. Nikolai Rostov is a very energetic person, with an “open expression” and curly hair. His love for the Russian emperor and patriotism never dried up. Having passed through the hardships of war, Nikolai becomes a brave and courageous hussar. He resigns after the death of Ilya Andreevich in order to improve the financial situation of the family, pay debts and finally become a good husband for his wife. This hero is presented to Tolstoy as a prototype of his own father. As you probably already noticed, the presence of prototypes in many heroes is characterized by a system of characters. "War and Peace" is a work in which the morals of the nobility are represented through the traits of the Tolstoy family, who was a count.
Natasha Rostova
This is Rostov’s daughter. A very emotional and energetic girl who was considered ugly, but attractive and lively. Natasha is not very smart, but intuitive, as she could well “guess people”, their character traits and mood. This heroine is very impulsive, prone to self-sacrifice. She beautifully dances and sings, which was at that time an important characteristic of a girl belonging to secular society. Leo Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes the main quality of Natasha - proximity to the Russian people. She absorbed the strength of the spirit of the nation and Russian culture. Natasha lives in an atmosphere of love, happiness and kindness, but after a while the girl is faced with a harsh reality. The blows of fate, as well as heartfelt emotions make this heroine an adult and, as a result, give her true love for her husband, Pierre Bezukhov. The story of Natasha’s rebirth of soul deserves special respect. She began attending church after being the victim of a deceitful deceiver. Natasha is a collective image, the prototype of which was Tolstoy’s daughter-in-law, Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya, as well as her sister (the author’s wife) - Sofya Andreevna.
Vera Rostova
This heroine is the daughter of the Rostovs (War and Peace). Portraits of characters created by the author are distinguished by a variety of characters. Faith, for example, was famous for its strict temper, as well as for the inappropriate, albeit fair, comments that it made in society. Her mother, for some unknown reason, didn’t really love her, and Vera felt this acutely, often therefore going against all. This girl subsequently became the wife of Boris Drubetskoy. The prototype of the heroine is the sister of the wife of Lev Nikolaevich (Elizabeth Bers).
Peter Rostov
Son of the Rostovs, still a boy. Petya, who had grown up, was eager for the young man to go to war, and his parents could not keep him. He escaped from their guardianship and decided on the Denisov Regiment. In the first battle, Petya dies, before he even has time to fight. Very crippled the family the death of his beloved son.
Sonia
With this heroine we end the description of the characters ("War and Peace") belonging to the Rostov family. Sonya, a glorious miniature girl, was the native niece of Ilya Andreevich and lived all her life under his roof. Love for Nicholas became fatal for her, since she could not marry him. Natalya Rostova, the old countess, was against this marriage, because her lovers were cousins. Sonya acted nobly, refusing Dolokhov and deciding to love only Nicholas all her life, freeing him from the promise made to her. She spends the rest of her life under the care of Nikolai Rostov, under the old countess.
The prototype of this heroine is Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya, the second cousin of the writer.
Not only Rostovs in the work are the main characters. War and Peace is a novel in which the Bolkonski family also plays a large role.
Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky
This is the father of Andrei Bolkonsky, the general-general in the past, in the present - the prince, who earned the nickname in the Russian secular society "the Prussian king". He is socially active, strict as a father, pedantic, is a wise master of the estate. Outwardly, this is a thin old man with thick eyebrows that hung over smart and penetrating eyes, in a powdered white wig. Nikolai Andreevich does not like to show his feelings even to his beloved daughter and son. He plagues Marya with constant nit-picking. Prince Nikolai, sitting on his estate, monitors the events taking place in the country, and only before his death loses the idea of ​​the scale of the Russian war with Napoleon. Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, the grandfather of the writer, was the prototype of this prince.
Andrey Bolkonsky
This is the son of Nikolai Andreyevich. He is ambitious, like his father, restrained in the manifestation of feelings, but he loves his sister and father very much. Andrei is married to Lisa, the "little princess." He made a successful military career. Andrei philosophizes a lot about the meaning of life, the state of his spirit. He is in constant search. In Natasha Rostova, after the death of his wife, he found hope for himself, because he saw a real girl, and not a fake, as in secular society, girl, and therefore fell in love with her. Having made this heroine an offer, he was forced to go abroad for treatment, which became a test of their feelings. The wedding eventually fell through. Andrei went to war with Napoleon, where he was seriously wounded, and died as a result. Until the end of his days, Natasha looked after him faithfully.
Marya Bolkonskaya
This is Andrei’s sister, the daughter of Prince Nicholas. She is very gentle, ugly, but good soul and also very rich. Her devotion to religion is an example of meekness and good nature to many. Mary loves her father unforgettably, often pestering her with her reproaches and ridicule. This girl also loves her brother. She did not immediately accept Natasha as a future daughter-in-law, since she seemed to her too frivolous for Andrei. Mary, after all the hardships, marries Nikolai Rostov.
Her prototype is Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, mother of Tolstoy.
Pierre Bezukhov (Petr Kirillovich)
The main characters of the novel "War and Peace" would not be fully listed, if not to mention Pierre Bezukhov. This hero plays one of the most important roles in the work. He experienced a lot of pain and mental trauma, has a noble and kind disposition. Loves Pierre himself Lev Nikolaevich. Bezukhov, as a friend of Andrei Bolkonsky, is very responsive and devoted. Despite the intrigues weaving under his nose, Pierre did not lose confidence in people, did not become embittered. Having married Natasha, he finally found happiness and grace, which he lacked with his first wife, Helen. At the end of the work, his desire to change political foundations in Russia is noticeable, you can even guess from afar the Pierre's Decembrist sentiments.
These are the main characters. “War and Peace” is a novel in which a large role is given to such historical figures as Kutuzov and Napoleon, as well as to some other commanders. Other social groups are represented, except for the nobility (merchants, petty bourgeois, peasantry, army). The list of characters (War and Peace) is very impressive. However, our task is to consider only the main characters.