In his most famous novel, Tolstoy describes the life and fate of several noble families, among which the Rostov family occupies the main place. “War and Peace” is a work that has embraced a huge era in the life of Russia. And the writer expressed this era mainly through the description of the patriarchal way of life of the old noble families.
In this article, we turn to the description of the Rostov family and give a description to each member of this family.
Rostov family: characteristics
Here are the main qualities that describe this family: simplicity, sensual perception of the world, breadth and generosity of the soul. Rostovs are not inherent in intelligence, pedantry and rationality. However, for the writer himself, this was not a drawback, since the qualities inherent in this family outweighed any other possible advantages.
The Rostov family (War and Peace) is described to the reader from almost ideal positions. These are people who are not only complacent and sympathetic to each other, but also willing to help others. So, in their family, Sonya, the niece of the count, is brought up, lives Boris Drubetskoy, a distant relative of the Rostovs. In their huge house, guests are always welcome, warmth, love, mutual understanding reign here.
Graph
Consider the image of the head of this family - the old Count Ilya Andreevich. This is a careless, good-natured, eccentric and already pretty aged man. He is the personification of the openness that carries the Rostov family. “War and peace” conveys not only the spirit of the era, but defines the main moral values for the people living in it. That is why Tolstoy describes with such love the adoration that the count has for his household. The author describes the ideal relationship of the father to children, for example, using Ilya Andreevich. He does not resist Peter's desire to join the army, sincerely worries about Natasha’s well-being after breaking up with Bolkonsky, saves Nikolai, who gets into a bad story with Dolokhov. Not once did the old count turn his back on his children and condemn them.
However, the credulity and good nature of Ilya Andreevich lead the family to ruin. And the graph is not able to change this. However, Tolstoy presents this wastefulness and mismanagement in a completely different way. When the war begins, Count Rostov easily abandons his property, giving carts to the wounded. Thus, showing that the material has no real value in this world, only virtue and a willingness to help others are important.
Countess
The Rostov family (War and Peace) also boasts another remarkable way. This is Countess Natalya, mother of the family. She was a woman with an “oriental face”, exhausted by caring for children. Her walk was very slow due to weakness, but she gave her appearance additional significance and impressiveness. At the time of the beginning of the novel, she was 45 years old.
The countess is a real mother, endowed with an incredible gift of a teacher. She has a very trusting, close relationship with children - they all run for advice in any situation. The Countess sensibly argues that if they swear at the children and scream, they will not tell anything, but it is not known what they can do slowly. And so she knows everything that her children do, all their thoughts are open to her.
Despite the difficult financial situation of the family, the countess remains generous and helps to get money for uniforms of the son of Princess Anna Drubetskaya. In relation to money, she is very similar to her husband.
Rostov children
The Rostov family in the novel War and Peace is a role model. Love, warmth and understanding that are characteristic of parents were passed on to children. They spend hours of intimate conversations among themselves. Their affection for each other is saturated with true spiritual intimacy and tenderness. So, Natasha openly shares her secrets with Nikolai and Sonya, not seeing any reason to hide anything from her brother and sister.
Now let's take a closer look at the images of the younger Rostovs.
Vera Rostova
However, the Rostov family, whose characteristics we are primarily interested in, are not all so simple and open. Vera, the eldest daughter, is very different from her household. She is cold, calm, beautiful, and constantly makes comments to others, which makes everyone immediately embarrassed.
There is no simplicity and cordiality in Vera, she does not need to offend Sonya or start reading moral instruction to children. Although the brothers and sisters treated her with cordiality. That is why Vera was the countess's unloved child. Despite her beauty, her face, which at the time of the conversation became very unnatural, aroused hostility among others. At all, she produced an "annoying effect."
Despite her education and academic success, Vera was a limited girl. She tried to be reasonable and strict, did not break the rules and considered herself superior to her brothers and sisters.
Nikolay Rostov
The Rostov family in the novel “War and Peace” is also represented by interesting male images. Nikolai values the atmosphere that reigns in his family. For him, to be in the circle of home is “the best pleasure”. Tolstoy characterizes this hero as follows: "gifted and limited."
Nicholas is simple and unsophisticated, he is characterized by nobility, honesty, directness, generosity and responsiveness. So, he forgives Drubetskoy duty, since they had long been friends with the Rostovs. However, the character is completely devoid of creativity. All his interests come down to family and household. He is a supporter of the old way of life, and Pierre’s thoughts about the changes are incomprehensible to him and seem seditious.
Natasha Rostova
Natasha is the soul of the Rostov family. Moreover, this image is central to the whole novel. The heroine is a living embodiment of human unity. So, for example, it was through Natasha that the Rostov and Bolkonsky family united for some time. You can evaluate the other characters in the novel by how spiritually close they are to Natasha.
However, the heroine is not without egoism, which is natural for every person and necessary for a happy and fulfilling life. This “natural” egoism of Natalia is contrasted in the novel with the cold and indifferent egoism of Vera and Helen Kuragina, since it is not suitable for a full life.
The family of Natasha Rostova admires and sincerely loves her. Only Vera remains cold to her younger sister.
Petya and Sonya
Two more characters are included in this group by Tolstoy. The Rostov family took Sonya to her, despite the fact that she is only the niece of the count. The girl has always been considered the beloved of Nicholas. However, her fate did not turn out very well - she remained with the Rostovs, but did not get her own family. And when Natasha married Pierre, she helped with the children.
Petya, the youngest son of the Rostovs, died at a fairly young age. At 15, the boy decided to go to war, where he ended his life. His death greatly undermined the health of the count and countess.
Conclusion
Very often in literary criticism, the Rostov and Bolkonsky families are compared. Since these two noble families represent completely opposite qualities - emotions and cold judiciousness.
The Rostov family is emotional, poetic and musical. It does not have that coldness and edification that reigns, for example, in the relations of Prince Bolkonsky to his children. This is an idyllic world where every member of the family will always find support and understanding. And any grief will help to overcome the love and warmth of others.