The central characters are war and peace. Brief description of the main characters of the novel War and Peace of Leo Tolstoy

Every book you read is another life lived, especially when the plot and characters are so worked out. "War and Peace" is a unique epic novel, there is nothing like it in Russian or world literature. The events described in it take place in St. Petersburg, Moscow, foreign estates of nobles and in Austria for the whole 15 years. The scale and characters are striking.

War and Peace is a novel that mentions over 600 characters. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy describes them so accurately that the few well-aimed characteristics that end-to-end characters are awarded are enough to form an idea about them. Therefore, "War and Peace" is a whole life in the fullness of colors, sounds and sensations. She is worth living.

The origin of the idea and creative search

In 1856, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy began writing a story about the life of a Decembrist who returned after exile. The period of action was to be 1810-1820. Gradually, the period expanded until 1825. But by this time main character already matured and became family man. And in order to better understand him, the author had to return to the period of his youth. And it coincided with a glorious era for Russia.

But Tolstoy could not write about the triumph over Bonaparte France without mentioning failures and mistakes. Now the novel already consisted of three parts. The first (according to the author's idea) was to describe the youth of the future Decembrist and his participation in the war of 1812. This is the first period of the hero's life. Tolstoy wanted to devote the second part to the Decembrist uprising. The third - the return of the hero from exile and his later life. However, Tolstoy quickly abandoned this idea: the work on the novel turned out to be too large-scale and painstaking.

Initially, Tolstoy limited the duration of his work to 1805-1812. The epilogue, dated 1920, appeared much later. But the author was worried not only about the plot, but also about the characters. "War and Peace" is not a description of the life of one hero. The central figures are several characters at once. And the main actor- people, which is much larger than the thirty-year-old Decembrist Pyotr Ivanovich Labazov who returned from exile.

Work on the novel took Tolstoy six years - from 1863 to 1869. And this is not taking into account the six that went into developing the idea of ​​a Decembrist, which became his basis.

Character system in the novel "War and Peace"

Tolstoy's main character is the people. But in his understanding, he is not just a social category, but a creative force. According to Tolstoy, the people are all the best that is in the Russian nation. Moreover, it includes not only representatives of the lower classes, but also those of the nobles who tend to want to live for the sake of others.

To the representatives of the people, Tolstoy opposes Napoleon, the Kuragins and other aristocrats - regulars in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. These are the negative characters of the novel "War and Peace". Already in the description of their appearance, Tolstoy emphasizes the mechanistic nature of their existence, lack of spirituality, "animality" of actions, lifelessness of smiles, selfishness and inability to compassion. They are incapable of change. Tolstoy does not see the possibility of their spiritual development, so they remain forever frozen, distant from a real understanding of life.

Often, researchers distinguish two subgroups of "folk" characters:

• Those who are endowed with "simple consciousness". They easily distinguish right from wrong, guided by the "mind of the heart." This subgroup includes such characters as Natasha Rostova, Kutuzov, Platon Karataev, Alpatych, officers Timokhin and Tushin, soldiers and partisans.
• Those who are "searching for themselves." Education and class barriers prevent them from connecting with the people, but they manage to overcome them. This subgroup includes such characters as Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. It is these heroes who are shown capable of development, internal changes. They are not without flaws, more than once they are mistaken in their life quest but with dignity pass all the tests. Sometimes Natasha Rostova is also included in this group. After all, she was once carried away by Anatole, forgetting about her beloved Prince Bolkonsky. The war of 1812 becomes a kind of catharsis for this entire subgroup, which makes them look at life differently and discard the class conventions that until then prevented them from living according to the dictates of their hearts, as the people do.

The simplest classification

Sometimes the characters of "War and Peace" are divided according to an even simpler principle - the ability to live for the sake of others. Such a system of characters is also possible. "War and Peace", like any other work, is the vision of the author. Therefore, everything in the novel takes place in accordance with the attitude of Lev Nikolaevich. The people, in Tolstoy's understanding, are the personification of all the best that is in the Russian nation. Such characters as the Kuragin family, Napoleon, many regulars of the Scherer salon, know how to live only for themselves.

Along Arkhangelsk and Baku

• "Life-burners", from Tolstoy's point of view, are the furthest from a correct understanding of being. This group lives only for themselves, selfishly neglecting others.
• "Leaders". So Arkhangelsky and Bak call those who think they control history. To this group, for example, the authors include Napoleon.
• "Wise men" are those who understood the true world order and were able to trust providence.
• "Ordinary people". This group, according to Arkhangelsky and Bak, includes those who know how to listen to their hearts, but do not really strive anywhere.
• Truth Seekers are Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. Throughout the novel, they are painfully searching for the truth, striving to understand what the meaning of life is.
• The authors of the textbook single out Natasha Rostova as a separate group. They believe that she is at the same time close to " ordinary people", and to the "wise men". The girl easily comprehends life empirically and knows how to listen to the voice of her heart, but the most important thing for her is her family and children, as it should be, according to Tolstoy, for an ideal woman.

You can consider many more classifications of the characters in War and Peace, but they all ultimately come down to the simplest one, which fully reflects the worldview of the author of the novel. After all, he saw true happiness in serving others. Therefore, positive (“folk”) heroes know how and want to do this, but negative ones do not.

L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace": female characters

Any work is a reflection of the author's vision of life. According to Tolstoy, the highest purpose of a woman is to take care of her husband and children. It is the keeper of the hearth that the reader sees Natasha Rostova in the epilogue of the novel.

All positive female images of the characters in War and Peace fulfill their highest purpose. the happiness of motherhood and family life endows the author and Maria Bolkonskaya. Interestingly, she is perhaps the most positive hero of the novel. Princess Mary has practically no flaws. Despite a versatile education, she still finds her destiny, as it should be for a Tolstoy heroine, in caring for her husband and children.

A completely different fate awaits Helen Kuragina and the little princess, who did not see the joy in motherhood.

Pierre Bezukhov

This is Tolstoy's favorite character. "War and Peace" describes him as a man who by nature has a highly noble disposition, therefore he easily understands the people. All his mistakes are due to the aristocratic conventions inspired by his upbringing.

Throughout the novel, Pierre experiences many mental traumas, but does not become embittered and does not become less good-natured. He is devoted and sympathetic, often forgetting about himself in an effort to serve others. By marrying Natasha Rostova, Pierre found that grace and true happiness that he so lacked in his first marriage with the completely false Helen Kuragina.

Lev Nikolaevich loves his hero very much. He describes in detail his formation and spiritual development from the very beginning to the end. The example of Pierre shows that the main thing for Tolstoy is responsiveness and devotion. The author rewards him with happiness with his favorite female heroine - Natasha Rostova.

From the epilogue, you can understand the future of Pierre. By changing himself, he seeks to transform society. He does not accept contemporary political foundations of Russia. It can be assumed that Pierre will participate in the Decembrist uprising, or at least actively support it.

Andrey Bolkonsky

For the first time, the reader meets this hero in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Sherer. He is married to Lisa - the little princess, as she is called, and will soon become a father. Andrei Bolkonsky behaves with all the regulars Sherer is extremely arrogant. But soon the reader notices that this is only a mask. Bolkonsky understands that others do not understand his spiritual quest. He talks to Pierre in a completely different way. But Bolkonsky at the beginning of the novel is not alien to the ambitious desire to achieve heights in the military field. It seems to him that he is above aristocratic conventions, but it turns out that his eyes are just as blinkered as the rest. Andrei Bolkonsky realized too late that he had renounced his feelings for Natasha in vain. But this insight comes to him only before his death.

Like other “searching” characters in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”, Bolkonsky has been trying all his life to find the answer to the question of what is the meaning of human existence. But he understands the highest value of the family too late.

Natasha Rostova

This is the favorite female character Tolstoy. However, the entire Rostov family seems to the author to be the ideal of nobles living in unity with the people. Natasha cannot be called beautiful, but she is lively and attractive. The girl feels the mood and characters of people well.

According to Tolstoy inner beauty does not match with the outside. Natasha is attractive due to her character, but her main qualities are simplicity and closeness to the people. However, at the beginning of the novel, she lives in her own illusion. Disappointment in Anatole makes her mature, contributes to the maturation of the heroine. Natasha begins attending church and ultimately finds her happiness in family life with Pierre.

Marya Bolkonskaya

The prototype of this heroine was the mother of Lev Nikolaevich. Not surprisingly, it is almost completely devoid of flaws. She, like Natasha, is ugly, but has a very rich inner world. Like others positive characters novel "War and Peace", at the end she also becomes happy, becoming the keeper of the hearth in her own family.

Helen Kuragina

Tolstoy has a multifaceted characterization of characters. War and Peace describes Helen as a cutesy woman with a fake smile. It immediately becomes clear to the reader that external beauty there is no interior content. Marrying her becomes a test for Pierre and does not bring happiness.

Nikolay Rostov

The core of any novel is the characters. "War and Peace" describes Nikolai Rostov as a loving brother and son, as well as a true patriot. Lev Nikolaevich saw in this hero the prototype of his father. After going through the hardships of the war, Nikolai Rostov retires to pay the debts of his family, and finds his true love in the face of Marya Bolkonskaya.

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

In this article we will consider what are the characteristics of the main characters of Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace". Pay attention to why Tolstoy endowed these characters with such features and what he wanted to say to his readers.

Pierre Bezukhov in the novel "War and Peace"

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

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

Pierre Bezukhov is so loved by Tolstoy because this protagonist of the novel is tirelessly looking for the meaning of life, asking himself painful questions: “What is 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?

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

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

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

Pierre Bezukhov has an inquisitive mind, thoughtful and often ruthless introspection. He is a decent person, kind and a little naive. He asks himself and the world philosophical questions about the meaning of life, God, the purpose of existence, not finding an answer, he does not dismiss painful thoughts, but tries to find the right path.

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

Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace"

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

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

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

Comprehends the protagonist of the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy and disappointment in love (Natasha betrays him, deciding to run away with the fool Anatoly Kuragin), in life for the sake of the family (he understands that this is not enough), in public service(Speransky's activity turns out to be a meaningless fuss that does not bring true benefit).

M. M. Blinkina

AGE OF HEROES IN THE NOVEL "WAR AND PEACE"

(Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences. A series of literature and language. - T. 57. - No. 1. - M., 1998. - S. 18-27)

1. INTRODUCTION

The main goal of this work is math modeling some aspects of the development of the plot and the establishment of relationships between real and novel time, or rather, between the real and novel ages of the characters (and, in this case, the relationship will be predictable and linear).

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

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

Section 7 proposes mathematical model, reflecting the features of the "aging" of Tolstoy's heroes.

2. AGE PARADOXES: TEXT ANALYSIS

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

In the same August 1805, we met all the other children from this family, in particular, with the elder sister Vera: Eldest daughter the countess was four years older than sister and acted like a big.

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

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

Exactly three more years will pass, and we will get last message on the age of these two sisters:

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

So, over these four years, Natasha has grown by three, as, however, was expected. Instead of seventeen or even eighteen, she is now sixteen. And there will be no more. This is the last mention of her age. And what happens to her unfortunate older sister in the meantime?

Faith was twenty four years, she traveled everywhere, and despite the fact that she was undoubtedly good and reasonable, so far no one has ever proposed to her.

As we can see, over the past three years, Vera has grown by four. If we count from the very beginning, that is, from August 1805, it turns out that in four small year Faith grew by seven years. During this time period, the age difference between Natasha and Vera doubled. Vera is no longer four, but eight years older than her sister.

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

Nicholas in January 1806 was nineteen or twenty years old:

How strange it was for the countess that her son, who was moving in her very tiny penises twenty years ago, now a courageous warrior ...

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

On the other hand, we know that Pierre left Boris fourteen year old boy and decidedly did not remember him.

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

And, finally, one more, already quite funny example: the age of Nikolenka Bolkonsky. In July 1805, his future mother: ... little princess Volkonskaya, who got married last winter and now did not go out into the world because of her pregnancy ... waddling, walked around the table with small quick steps ...

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

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

Tolstoy has numbers everywhere, and the numbers are exact, fractional. Age in War and Peace is undoubtedly functional. No wonder Dolokhov, beating Nikolai in cards, decided to continue the game until this record increased to forty-three thousand. This number was chosen by him because forty-three was the sum of his years plus Sonya's. .

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

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

However, even from the above examples, it is already clear, firstly, that the author "ages" and "youngens" his characters differently, and secondly, that this does not happen by chance, but in a systemic, programmed way. How exactly?

From the very beginning, it becomes obvious that the positive and negative characters age differently, disproportionately. (“Positive and negative” is, of course, a conditional concept, however, in Tolstoy, the polarity of a character in most cases is determined almost unambiguously. The author of “War and Peace” is surprisingly frank in his likes and dislikes). As shown above, Natasha matures more slowly than expected, while Vera, on the contrary, grows faster. Boris, as a friend of Nikolai and a friend of the Rostov family, appears as a twenty-year-old; he, in the role of a secular acquaintance of Pierre and future husband of Julie Karagina, at the same time turns out to be much older. At the ages of the heroes, it is as if a certain non-strict order is set, or rather, an anti-order. There is a feeling that the heroes are "penalized" by an increase in age. Tolstoy, as it were, punishes his heroes with disproportionate aging.

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

In general, characters of "different polarity" grow up in different ways. Moreover, the extremely saturated space of age is divided between positive and negative characters. At the age of sixteen, Natasha and Sonya are mentioned. After the age of sixteen - Vera and Julie Karagina. No more than twenty happens to Pierre, Nikolai and Petya Rostov, Nikolenka Bolkonsky. Strictly more than twenty Boris, Dolokhov, "ambiguous" Prince Andrei.

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

In the novel, a boundary is set, after which only negative characters already exist; border, having stepped over which, obviously positive hero simply ceases to exist in the space of age. In a perfectly symmetrical way, the negative character walks through the novel without age until he passes this boundary. Natasha loses her age at the age of sixteen. Julie Karagina, on the contrary, is gaining age, being no longer her first youth:

Julie was twenty seven years. After the death of her brothers, she became very rich. She was completely ugly now; but I thought that she was not only just as pretty, but much more attractive now than she was before ... A man who ten years ago would have been afraid to go every day to the house where she was seventeen year old lady in order not to compromise her and not to bind himself, now he boldly went to her every day and talked with her not as with a young lady-bride, but as with an acquaintance who had no sex.

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

Well, Lela? - Prince Vasily turned to his daughter with that careless tone of habitual tenderness, which is assimilated by parents who caress their children from childhood, but which was only guessed by Prince Violence by imitating other parents.

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

If we move from lyrics to numbers, then it turns out that in the novel there are positive characters aged 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 16, 20, as well as 40, 45, 50, 58. Negative is 17, 20, 24, 25, 27. That is, positive heroes from early youth immediately fall into respectable old age. At bad guys senile age also, of course, happens, but the fragmentation of their age in old age is less than that of positive ones. So, the positive Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova says: fifty eight years lived in the world... The negative prince Vasily evaluates himself with less accuracy: to me sixth decade, my friend...

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

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

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

Helen is the eternal bride. With a living husband, she chooses with charming immediacy a new groom for herself, and one of the applicants is young, and the other is old. Helen dies under mysterious circumstances, preferring the old admirer to the young, that is: as if she herself chooses old age and death, renouncing her privilege of eternal youth, and dissolves into non-existence.

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

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

And Helen also dies there, not from an excess of youth ...

4. THE FIRST COMPLETED VERSION OF THE NOVEL

The first version of "War and Peace" helps solve many of the riddles given in the final version of the novel. What is very vaguely read in the final version appears in the early version with a striking novel narration clarity. The space of age here is not yet saturated with the romantic understatement that modern reader. Deliberate accuracy borders on banality. Not surprisingly, in the final version of the novel, Tolstoy renounces such meticulousness. Mentions of age becomes one and a half times less. Behind the scenes is a lot of interesting details, which would not be superfluous to mention here.

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

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

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

The early version also clarifies the age for us Boris: Hélène called him mon hage and treated him like a child ... Sometimes, in rare moments, Pierr "got the idea that this patronizing friendship for an imaginary child who was 23 years old had something unnatural.

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

This pretty daughter is Julie Karagina, who at first was thought to be younger and more attractive. However, in 1811, Julie Akhrosimova (as she was originally called) will already be that "sexless" creature, as we know her from the final version.

Dolokhov in the first version of the novel beats Nikolai not forty-three, but only forty-two thousand.

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

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

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

Such a number of age occurrences allows us to establish that Natasha was born in the autumn of 1791. Thus, at her first ball she shines at eighteen, and by no means at sixteen.

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

In fact, Natasha is in her twentieth year at this moment, and Sonya is at least a year and a half older.

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

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

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

So little time left to live

I'm already sixteen years old!

Y. Ryashentsev

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

5.1. Up to ten years

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was very fond of children.

Sometimes they would bring him a full chamber. step

there is nowhere to step, but he keeps shouting: More! More!

D. Kharms

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

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

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

- No, mother, he does not want to sleep, - little Natasha answered with persuasiveness, - he laughs.

Such an instructive little character. Here's the next one, a little older:

Only one granddaughter of Andrei, Malasha, six year old girl, to whom the most illustrious, after caressing her, gave a piece of sugar for tea, remained on the stove in a large hut ... Malasha ... otherwise understood the significance of this advice. It seemed to her that it was only a personal struggle between "grandfather" and "long-sleeved", as she called Beningsen.

Amazing insight!

The last character in age who shows signs of the same "childish-unconscious" behavior, like all the juvenile characters of Tolstoy, is the eternally sixteen-year-old Natasha Rostova:

In the middle of the stage were girls in red corsages and white skirts. They all sang something. When they finished their song, the girl in white went up to the prompter's booth, and a man in tight-fitting silk pantaloons on thick legs, with a feather and a dagger, came up to her and began to sing and shrug...

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

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

Individuality in this enumeration relies on everyone, even the old woman Belova, whom we meet in the first and second last time. Even a tutor, and a governess, and even a tutor do not merge into the general concept of "tutors". And only children, sexless and faceless, go in a crowd. Kharms had something to parody.

Anatole Kuragin

He is the son of Prince Vasily, the brother of Helen and Hippolyte. Prince Vasily himself looks at his son as a "restless fool" who constantly needs to be rescued from various troubles. A. is very handsome, dandy, insolent. He is frankly stupid, not resourceful, but popular in society, because "he had both the ability of calmness, precious to the world, and unchanging confidence." A. friend of Dolokhov, constantly participating in his revelry, looks at life as a constant stream of pleasures and pleasures. He doesn't care about other people, he's selfish. A. treats women with contempt, feeling his superiority. He was used to being liked by everyone, without experiencing anything serious in return. A. became interested in Natasha Rostova and tried to take her away. After this incident, the hero was forced to flee from Moscow and hide from Prince Andrei, who wanted to challenge the seducer of his bride to a duel. The last time they see each other is in the infirmary, after the Battle of Borodino. A. was wounded, his leg was amputated.

Andrey Bolkonsky

This is one of the main characters of the novel, the son of Prince Bolkonsky, the brother of Princess Mary. At the beginning of the novel, we see B. as an intelligent, proud, but rather arrogant person. He despises people of high society, is unhappy in marriage and does not respect his pretty wife. B. is very restrained, well educated, he has a strong will. This hero is going through a big spiritual change. First we see that his idol is Napoleon, whom he considers a great man. B. goes to war, goes to the active army. There he fights on an equal footing with all the soldiers, shows great courage, composure, and prudence. Participates in the Battle of Shengraben. B. was seriously wounded in the battle of Austerlitz. This moment is extremely important, because it was then that the spiritual rebirth of the hero began. Lying motionless and seeing the calm and eternal sky of Austerlitz above him, B. understands all the pettiness and stupidity of everything that happens in the war. He realized that in fact there should be completely different values ​​​​in life than those that he had until now. All feats, glory do not matter. There is only this vast and eternal sky. In the same episode, B. sees Napoleon and understands all the insignificance of this man. B. returns home, where everyone thought he was dead. His wife dies in childbirth, but the child survives. The hero is shocked by the death of his wife and feels guilty before her. He decides not to serve anymore, settles in Bogucharovo, takes care of the household, raises his son, reads many books. During a trip to St. Petersburg, B. meets Natasha Rostova for the second time. A deep feeling awakens in him, the heroes decide to get married. B.'s father does not agree with the choice of his son, they postpone the wedding for a year, the hero goes abroad. After the betrayal of the bride, he returns to the army under the leadership of Kutuzov. During the Battle of Borodino, he was mortally wounded. By chance, he leaves Moscow in the Rostovs' train. Before his death, he forgives Natasha and understands the true meaning of love.

Anna Pavlovna Sherer

Maid of honor close to Empress Maria Feodorovna. Sh. is the mistress of a fashionable salon in St. Petersburg, the description of the evening in which the novel opens. A.P. 40 years old, she is artificial, like the rest elite. Her attitude to any person or event depends entirely on the latest political, court or secular considerations. She is friendly with Prince Vasily. Sh. "full of animation and impulse", "to be an enthusiast has become her social standing In 1812, her salon displays false patriotism by eating cabbage soup and being fined for speaking French.

Bagration

It's real historical person, one of the most famous Russian military leaders, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, bears the title of prince. Tolstoy says that B. is "short, with an oriental type of hard and motionless face, dry, not yet an old man." In the novel, we mainly see him as the commander of the Shengraben battle, whom Kutuzov blessed to save the army. Just the presence of B. on the battlefield already helps the fighters. Everyone loves and respects him for his determination and courage. During the most decisive moment of the battle, B. does not give visible orders, but dismounts and goes into battle in front of the entire army. During the Battle of Austerlitz B. also showed his heroism. He alone repelled the enemy, who was clearly twice as strong, and then, during the retreat, withdrew his column from the battlefield undisturbed. Tolstoy notes that when a dinner was given in honor of B., in his face "honor was saluted to a fighting, simple, without connections and intrigues, Russian soldier ...".

German, first the groom, and then the husband of Vera Rostova. This is a "fresh, pink Guards officer, impeccably washed, buttoned and combed." At the beginning of the work, B. is a lieutenant, and at the end of the work he becomes a colonel, from which it can be seen that B. made a good career. He is precise, calm, courteous, but very selfish and stingy. He loves and can only talk about himself and his successes. Those around him laugh at him, he is a stranger in the Rostovs' house. They do not understand his prudence, stinginess. B. makes an offer to Vera and demands the promised dowry from the old count, despite the difficult financial position Rostov. This hero is clearly unpleasant and alien to Tolstoy himself.

Boris Drubetskoy

Son of Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya. From childhood he was brought up and lived for a long time in the house of the Rostovs, to whom he was a relative. B. and Natasha were in love with each other. Outwardly, this is "a tall, blond young man with regular, delicate features of a calm and handsome face." B. from his youth dreams of a military career, allows his mother to humiliate himself in front of his superiors, if this will help him. So, Prince Vasily finds him a place in the guard. B. is going to make a brilliant career, making many useful acquaintances. After a while, he becomes Helen's lover. B. manages to be in the right place at the right time, and his career and position are established especially firmly. In 1809, he meets Natasha again and is carried away by her, even thinking of marrying her. But it would hinder his career. Therefore, B. begins to look for a rich bride. He eventually marries Julie Karagina.

Vasily Kuragin

Prince, father of Helen, Anatole and Hippolyte. This is a very famous and quite influential person in society, he occupies an important court post. The attitude towards everyone around Prince V. is condescending and patronizing. The author shows his hero "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." But when he smiled, there was "something unexpectedly rude and unpleasant" in his smile. Especially Prince V. does not wish harm to anyone. He simply uses people and circumstances to carry out his plans. V. always strives to get close to people who are richer and higher in position. The hero considers himself an exemplary father, he does everything possible to arrange the future of his children. He is trying to marry his son Anatole to the rich Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. After the death of the old prince Bezukhov and Pierre receiving a huge inheritance, V. notices a rich fiancé and by cunning gives his daughter Helen to him. Prince V. is a great intriguer who knows how to live in society and make acquaintances with the right people.

Count Rostov

Rostov Ilya Andreevy - Count, father of Natasha, Nikolai, Vera and Petya. Very kind, generous person loving life and not very able to calculate their funds. R. is best able to make a reception, a ball, he is a hospitable host and an exemplary family man. The count is used to living in a big way, and when the means no longer allow this, he gradually ruins his family, from which he suffers greatly. When leaving Moscow, it is R. who begins to give carts for the wounded. So he deals one of the last blows to the family budget. The death of Petit's son finally broke the count, he comes to life only when he is preparing a wedding for Natasha and Pierre. In the same year, R. dies and leaves a good memory behind.

Countess of Rostov

The wife of Count Rostov, "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." R. creates in his family an atmosphere of love and kindness, he cares very much about the fate of his children. The news of the death of the youngest and beloved son of Petya almost drives her crazy. She is accustomed to luxury and the fulfillment of the slightest whims, and demands this after the death of her husband.

The author describes Fyodor Dolokhov as follows: “Dolokhov was a man of medium height, curly-haired and with light, blue eyes. He was about 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 all The lines of this mouth were remarkably finely curved. In the middle, the upper lip energetically fell on the strong lower lip in a sharp wedge, and in the corners there constantly formed something like two smiles, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a hard , with an impudent, intelligent look, made such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face. This hero is not rich, but he knows how to put himself in such a way that everyone around respects and fears him. He likes to have fun, and in a rather strange and sometimes cruel way. For one case of mockery of the quarter, D. was demoted to the soldiers. But during the hostilities, he regained his rank of officer. This is a smart, brave and cold-blooded person. He is not afraid of death an evil person, hides his tender love for his mother. In fact, D. does not want to know anyone except those whom he really loves. He divides people into harmful and useful, sees mostly harmful people around him and is ready to get rid of them if they suddenly stand in his way. D. was Helen's lover, he provokes Pierre to a duel, dishonestly beats Nikolai Rostov at cards, and helps Anatole arrange an escape with Natasha.

Captain Tushin

This is the staff captain, the hero of the battle of Shengraben. T. - a man of small stature with a thin voice, there was something "non-military, somewhat comical, but extremely attractive" in him. This hero is shy in front of his superiors, feels guilty, small. On the eve of the battle, T. speaks of the fear of death and what awaits after it. But during the battle, the hero is transformed. He feels like "a huge, powerful man who throws cannonballs at the French with both hands." Battery T. was forgotten during the battle. During the battle, the staff captain is no longer afraid of death or injury, he becomes more and more cheerful, the soldiers obey him like children. Soldiers miraculously survive thanks to the heroism of T.

Princess Mary

Daughter of the old Prince Bolkonsky and sister of Andrei Bolkonsky. M. is ugly, sickly, but her whole face is transformed by beautiful eyes: "... 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 the whole face, these eyes became more attractive than beauty. Princess M. is very religious. She often hosts all kinds of pilgrims, wanderers. She has no close friends, she lives under the yoke of her father, whom she loves, but is incredibly afraid of. old prince Bolkonsky was distinguished by a bad character, M. was absolutely crammed with him and did not at all believe in her personal happiness. She gives all her love to her father, brother Andrei and his son, trying to replace little Nikolenka dead mother. M.'s life changes after meeting Nikolai Rostov. It was he who saw all the wealth and beauty of her soul. They marry, M. becomes a devoted wife, fully sharing all the views of her husband.

Kuragina Helen

Kuragina Helen is the daughter of Prince Vasily, and then the wife of Pierre Bezukhov. A brilliant St. Petersburg beauty with an "unchanging smile", white full shoulders, glossy hair and a beautiful figure. There was no noticeable coquetry in her, as if she was ashamed "for her undoubtedly and too strong and victorious acting 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 Dolokhov and Drubetskoy, E. continues to be one of the most famous and favored ladies of St. Petersburg. In the light she makes very great success; living alone, she becomes the mistress of the diplomatic and political salon, gaining a reputation as an intelligent woman. Having decided 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.

A real historical person, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. For Tolstoy, he is the ideal of a historical figure and the ideal of a person. “He will listen to everything, remember everything, put everything in its place, will not interfere with anything useful and will not allow anything harmful. He understands that there is something stronger and more significant than his will, this is an inevitable course of events, and he knows how to see them, knows how to understand their meaning and, in view of this meaning, knows how to renounce participation in these events, from his personal will directed to something else. K. knew that “the fate of the battle is not decided by the orders of the commander-in-chief, not by the place on which the troops stand, not by the number of guns and killed people, but by that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he followed this force and led it as far as it was in his power." K. merges with the people, he is always modest and simple. His behavior is natural, the author constantly emphasizes his heaviness, senile weakness. K. - an exponent of folk wisdom in the novel. His strength lies in the fact that he understands and knows well what worries the people, and acts in accordance with this. K. dies when he has fulfilled his duty. The enemy has been driven out of the borders of Russia, this folk hero has nothing else to do.

Lisa Bolkonskaya

Prince Andrew's wife. She is the darling of the whole world, an attractive young woman whom everyone calls the "little princess". “Her pretty, with a slightly blackened mustache, her upper lip was short in teeth, but the sweeter it opened and the more cute it sometimes stretched out and fell on the bottom. her special, actually her beauty. It was fun for everyone to look at this full of health and liveliness, pretty future mother, who so easily endured her situation. L. was a universal favorite due to her constant liveliness and courtesy of a secular woman, she could not imagine her life without high society. But Prince Andrei did not love his wife and felt unhappy in marriage. L. does not understand her husband, his aspirations and ideals. After Andrei left for the war, L. lives in the Bald Mountains with the old prince Bolkonsky, for whom he feels fear and hostility. L. foresees his imminent death and really dies during childbirth.

Napoleon

This is a real historical person, the French emperor. Tolstoy decided to debunk the legend of Napoleon from the standpoint of real humanism. At the beginning of the novel, this man is the idol of Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov considers N. A great man. But gradually these best heroes of Tolstoy become disillusioned with their idol.

Work description

Anatole Kuragin
He is the son of Prince Vasily, the brother of Helen and Hippolyte. Prince Vasily himself looks at his son as a "restless fool" who constantly needs to be rescued from various troubles. A. is very handsome, dandy, insolent. He is frankly stupid, not resourceful, but popular in society, because "he had both the ability of calmness, precious to the world, and unchanging confidence." A. friend of Dolokhov, constantly participating in his revelry, looks at life as a constant stream of pleasures and pleasures.

In this article, we will introduce you to the main characters of Leo Tolstoy's work "War and Peace". Characteristics of the characters include the main features of appearance and inner world. All the characters in the story are very interesting. Very large in volume is the novel "War and Peace". The characteristics of the heroes are given only briefly, but meanwhile, a separate work can be written for each of them. Let's start our analysis with a description of the Rostov family.

Ilya Andreevich Rostov

The Rostov family in the work are typical Moscow representatives of the nobility. Its head, Ilya Andreevich, is known for his generosity and hospitality. This is a count, the father of Petya, Vera, Nikolai and Natasha Rostovs, a rich man and a Moscow gentleman. He is motivated, good-natured, loves to live. In general, speaking of the Rostov family, it should be noted that sincerity, goodwill, lively contact and ease in communication were characteristic of all its representatives.

Some episodes from the life of the writer's grandfather were used by him to create the image of Rostov. The fate of this person is aggravated by the realization of ruin, which he does not immediately understand and is unable to stop. In its appearance, there are also some similarities with the prototype. This technique was used by the author not only in relation to Ilya Andreevich. Some internal and external features of Leo Tolstoy's relatives and friends are also guessed in other characters, which is confirmed by the characteristics of the heroes. "War and Peace" is a large-scale work with a huge number of characters.

Nikolay Rostov

Nikolai Rostov - son of Ilya Andreevich, brother of Petya, Natasha and Vera, hussar, officer. At the end of the novel, he appears as the husband of Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. In the appearance of this man one could see "enthusiasm" and "swiftness". It reflected some of the features of the writer's father, who participated in the war of 1812. This hero is distinguished by such features as cheerfulness, openness, goodwill and self-sacrifice. Convinced that he is not a diplomat or an official, Nikolai leaves the university at the beginning of the novel and enters hussars. Here he participates in Patriotic War 1812, in military campaigns. Nicholas takes his first baptism of fire when the Enns is crossed. In the battle of Shengraben, he was wounded in the arm. After passing the test, this man becomes a real hussar, a brave officer.

Petya Rostov

Petya Rostov - youngest child in the Rostov family, brother of Natasha, Nikolai and Vera. He appears at the beginning of the work as a small boy. Petya, like all Rostovs, is cheerful and kind, musical. He wants to imitate his brother and also wants to join the army. After the departure of Nikolai, Petya becomes the main concern of the mother, who only realizes at that time the depth of her love for this child. During the war, he accidentally ends up in the Denisov detachment with an assignment, where he remains, because he wants to take part in the case. Petya dies by coincidence, showing before his death best features Rostovs in relations with comrades.

Countess of Rostov

Rostova is a heroine, when creating the image of which the author used, as well as some circumstances of the life of L. A. Bers, the mother-in-law of Lev Nikolayevich, as well as P. N. Tolstoy, the writer’s paternal grandmother. The Countess is used to living in an atmosphere of kindness and love, in luxury. She is proud of the trust and friendship of her children, pampers them, worries about their fate. Despite external weakness, even some heroine makes reasonable and balanced decisions regarding her children. Dictated by love for children and her desire to marry Nikolai to a wealthy bride at any cost, as well as nit-picking Sonya.

Natasha Rostova

Natasha Rostova is one of the main characters of the work. She is the daughter of Rostov, the sister of Petya, Vera and Nikolai. At the end of the novel, she becomes the wife of Pierre Bezukhov. This girl is presented as "ugly, but alive", with a big mouth, black-eyed. Tolstoy's wife and her sister T. A. Bers served as the prototype for this image. Natasha is very sensitive and emotional, she can intuitively guess the characters of people, sometimes selfish in manifestations of feelings, but most often capable of self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness. We see this, for example, during the removal of the wounded from Moscow, as well as in the episode of nursing the mother after Petya died.

One of the main advantages of Natasha is her musicality, beautiful voice. With her singing, she can awaken all the best that is in a person. This is what saves Nikolai from despair after he lost a large amount.

Natasha, constantly carried away, lives in an atmosphere of happiness and love. After meeting Prince Andrei, a change occurs in her fate. The insult inflicted by Bolkonsky (the old prince) pushes this heroine to be infatuated with Kuragin and to refuse Prince Andrei. Only after feeling and experiencing a lot, she realizes her guilt before Bolkonsky. But this girl feels true love only for Pierre, whose wife she becomes at the end of the novel.

Sonya

Sonya is the pupil and niece of Count Rostov, who grew up in his family. She is 15 at the beginning of the story. This girl fits perfectly into the Rostov family, she is unusually friendly and close to Natasha, she has been in love with Nikolai since childhood. Sonya is silent, restrained, cautious, reasonable, she has a highly developed ability for self-sacrifice. She attracts attention with moral purity and beauty, but she does not have the charm and immediacy that Natasha possesses.

Pierre Bezukhov

Pierre Bezukhov is one of the main characters in the novel. Therefore, without him, the characterization of the heroes ("War and Peace") would be incomplete. Let us briefly describe Pierre Bezukhov. He is the illegitimate son of a count, a famous nobleman, who became the heir to a huge fortune and title. In the work, he is depicted as a fat, massive young man, wearing glasses. This hero is distinguished by a timid, intelligent, natural and observant look. He was brought up abroad, appeared in Russia shortly before the start of the 1805 campaign and the death of his father. Pierre is inclined to philosophical reflections, smart, kind-hearted and gentle, compassionate towards others. He is also impractical, sometimes subject to passions. Andrei Bolkonsky, his closest friend, characterizes this hero as the only "living person" among all representatives of the world.

Anatole Kuragin

Anatole Kuragin - officer, brother of Ippolit and Helen, son of Prince Vasily. Unlike Ippolit, the "calm fool", Anatole's father looks at Anatole as a "restless fool" who must always be rescued from various troubles. This hero is stupid, impudent, dapper, not eloquent in conversations, depraved, not resourceful, but he has confidence. He looks at life as a constant amusement and pleasure.

Andrey Bolkonsky

Andrei Bolkonsky is one of the main characters in the work, the prince, the brother of Princess Marya, the son of N. A. Bolkonsky. Described as a "quite handsome" young man of "small stature". He is proud, intelligent, looking for great spiritual and intellectual content in life. Andrey is educated, restrained, practical, has strong will. His idol at the beginning of the novel is Napoleon, whom our characterization of the heroes will also introduce to readers just below ("War and Peace"). Andrei Balkonsky dreams of imitating him. After participating in the war, he lives in the village, raises his son, and takes care of the household. Then he returns to the army, dies in the Battle of Borodino.

Platon Karataev

Imagine this hero of the work "War and Peace". Platon Karataev - a soldier who met Pierre Bezukhov in captivity. In the service, he is nicknamed the Falcon. Note that this character was not in the original version of the work. His appearance was caused by the final design in the philosophical concept of "War and Peace" of the image of Pierre.

When he first met this good-natured, affectionate man, Pierre was struck by the feeling of something calm emanating from him. This character attracts others with his calmness, kindness, confidence, as well as smiling. After the death of Karataev, thanks to his wisdom, folk philosophy, expressed unconsciously in his behavior, Pierre Bezukhov understands the meaning of life.

But they are not only depicted in the work "War and Peace". Characteristics of heroes include real historical figures. The main ones are Kutuzov and Napoleon. Their images are described in some detail in the work "War and Peace". The characteristics of the heroes we mentioned are given below.

Kutuzov

Kutuzov in the novel, as in reality, is the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. Described as a man with a plump face, disfigured by a wound, with heavy steps, full, gray-haired. For the first time on the pages of the novel appears in an episode when a review of troops near Branau is depicted. He impresses everyone with his knowledge of the matter, as well as the attention that is hidden behind external absent-mindedness. Kutuzov is able to be diplomatic, he is quite cunning. Before the Battle of Shengraben, he blesses Bagration with tears in his eyes. A favorite of military officers and soldiers. He believes that time and patience are needed to win the campaign against Napoleon, that the matter can be decided not by knowledge, not by intelligence, and not by plans, but by something else that does not depend on them, that a person is not able to really influence the course of history . Kutuzov contemplates the course of events more than intervenes in them. However, he knows how to remember everything, listen, see, not interfere with anything useful and not allow anything harmful. This is a modest, simple and therefore majestic figure.

Napoleon

Napoleon is a real historical person, the French emperor. On the eve of the main events of the novel is the idol of Andrei Bolkonsky. Even Pierre Bezukhov bows before the greatness of this man. His confidence and self-satisfaction are expressed in the opinion that his presence plunges people into self-forgetfulness and delight, that everything in the world depends only on his will.

This is a brief description of the characters in the novel "War and Peace". It can serve as a basis for more detailed analysis. Referring to the work, you can supplement it if necessary. detailed description heroes. "War and Peace" (1 volume - the introduction of the main characters, subsequent - the development of characters) describes in detail each of these characters. The inner world of many of them changes over time. Therefore, Leo Tolstoy presents in dynamics the characteristics of the heroes ("War and Peace"). Volume 2, for example, reflects their life between 1806 and 1812. The next two volumes describe further events, their reflection in the fate of the characters.

Characteristics of heroes are of great importance for understanding such a creation of Leo Tolstoy as the work "War and Peace". Through them, the philosophy of the novel is reflected, the author's ideas and thoughts are transmitted.