An essay on the topic “female images in the novel of L.N. tolstoy war and peace

Women in the novel

Many female images in Tolstov's novel "War and Peace" have prototypes in the real life of the author. This, for example, is Maria Bolkonskaya (Rostova), Tolstoy wrote her image from her mother, Volkonskaya Maria Nikolaevna. Rostova Natalya Sr. is very similar to the grandmother of Lev Nikolaevich - Pelageya Nikolaevna Tolstaya. Natasha Rostova (Bezukhova) even has two prototypes, these are the writer's wife, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, and her sister, Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya. Apparently, this is why Tolstoy creates these characters with such warmth and tenderness.

It is amazing how accurately he conveys the feelings and thoughts of people in the novel. The author subtly feels the psychology of a thirteen-year-old girl - Natasha Rostova, with her broken doll, and understands the grief of an adult woman - Countess Natalya Rostova, who lost her youngest son. Tolstoy seems to show their life and thoughts in such a way that the reader seems to see the world through the eyes of the heroes of the novel.

Despite the fact that the writer talks about the war, the female theme in the novel "War and Peace" fills the work with life and a variety of human relationships. The novel is full of contrasts, the author constantly opposes good and evil, cynicism and generosity.

Moreover, if negative characters remain constant in their pretense and inhumanity, then positive characters make mistakes, are tormented by pangs of conscience, rejoice and suffer, growing and developing spiritually and morally.

Rostov

Natasha Rostova is one of the main figures of the novel, it is felt that Tolstoy treats her with special tenderness and love. Throughout the work, Natasha is constantly changing. We see her at first as a little lively girl, then as a funny and romantic girl, and in the end she is already an adult mature woman, the wise, beloved and loving wife of Pierre Bezukhov.

She makes mistakes, sometimes she is mistaken, but at the same time, her inner instinct and nobility help her to understand people, to feel their state of mind.

Natasha is full of life and charm, therefore, even with a very modest appearance, as Tolstoy describes, she attracts with her joyful and pure inner world.

The eldest Natalya Rostova, mother of a large family, a kind and wise woman, seems very strict at first glance. But, when Natasha pokes her skirts, the mother "falsely angry" lashes out at the girl and everyone understands how much she loves her children.

Knowing that her friend is in a difficult financial situation, the Countess, embarrassed, gives her money. “Annette, for God’s sake, don’t refuse me,” the countess suddenly said, blushing, which was so strange with her middle-aged, thin and important face, taking out money from under her scarf.

With all the external freedom that she provides to children, Countess Rostova is ready to go to great lengths for the sake of their well-being in the future. She dares Boris away from her youngest daughter, interferes with the marriage of her son Nikolai with the dowry Sonya, but at the same time it is completely clear that she does all this only out of love for her children. And maternal love is the most selfless and bright of all feelings.

Natasha's older sister, Vera, is a little apart, beautiful and cold. Tolstoy writes: “A smile did not adorn Vera's face, as is usually the case; on the contrary, her face became unnatural and therefore unpleasant.

Her younger brothers and sister annoy her, they interfere with her, the main concern for her is herself. Selfish and self-absorbed, Vera is not like her relatives, she does not know how to love sincerely and disinterestedly, as they do.

Fortunately for her, Colonel Berg, whom she married, was very suitable for her character, and they made an excellent couple.

Marya Bolkonskaya

Locked up in a village with an old and despotic father, Marya Bolkonskaya appears before the reader as an ugly, sad girl who is afraid of her father. She is smart, but not self-confident, especially since the old prince constantly emphasizes her ugliness.

At the same time, Tolstoy says about her: “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 her whole face, these eyes became more attractive than beauty. . But the princess never saw the good expression in her eyes, the expression they assumed in those moments when she was not thinking about herself. Like all people, her face took on a strained, unnatural, evil expression, as soon as she looked in the mirror. And after this description, I want to look at Marya, watch her, understand what is going on in the soul of this timid girl.

In fact, Princess Marya is a strong personality with her own established outlook on life. This is clearly seen when she, along with her father, does not want to accept Natasha, but after the death of her brother, she nevertheless forgives and understands her.

Marya, like many girls, dreams of love and family happiness, she is ready to marry Anatole Kuragin and refuses marriage only for the sake of sympathy for Mademoiselle Bourienne. The nobility of the soul saves her from the vile and vile handsome man.

Fortunately, Marya meets Nikolai Rostov and falls in love with him. It is difficult to immediately say for whom this marriage becomes a great salvation. After all, he saves Mary from loneliness, and the Rostov family from ruin.

Although this is not so important, the main thing is that Marya and Nikolai love each other and are happy together.

Other women in the novel

In the novel "War and Peace" female images are drawn not only in beautiful and iridescent colors. Tolstoy also portrays very unpleasant characters. He always indirectly defines his attitude to the heroes of the story, but he never speaks about it directly.

So, finding herself at the beginning of the novel in the living room of Anna Pavlovna Sherer, the reader understands how fake she is with her smiles and ostentatious hospitality. Scherer "... is full of revival and impulses", because "to be an enthusiast has become her social position ...".

The coquettish and stupid Princess Bolkonskaya does not understand Prince Andrei and is even afraid of him: “Suddenly, the angry squirrel expression of the princess’s beautiful face was replaced by an attractive and compassionate expression of fear; she looked frowningly at her husband with her beautiful eyes, and on her face appeared that timid and confessing expression that a dog has, quickly, but feebly waving his lowered tail. She does not want to change, develop, and does not see how bored the prince is with her frivolous tone, her unwillingness to think about what she says and what she does.

Helen Kuragina, a cynical narcissistic beauty, deceitful and inhuman. Without hesitation, for the sake of entertainment, she helps her brother seduce Natasha Rostov, destroying not only the life of Natasha, but also Prince Bolkonsky. For all her external beauty, Helen is ugly and soulless internally.

Repentance, pangs of conscience - all this is not about her. She will always find an excuse for herself, and the more immoral she appears before us.

Conclusion

Reading the novel "War and Peace", we plunge into the world of joys and sorrows together with the characters, we are proud of their successes, we empathize with their grief. Tolstoy managed to convey all those subtle psychological nuances of human relationships that make up our lives.

Finishing the essay on the topic “Female Images in the Novel “War and Peace”, I would like to once again draw attention to how accurately and with what understanding of psychology the female portraits in the novel are drawn. With what awe, love and respect Tolstoy treats some female characters. And how ruthlessly and clearly shows the immorality and falsity of others.

Artwork test

In Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" a huge number of images pass before the reader. All of them are excellently depicted by the author, alive and interesting. Tolstoy himself divided his heroes into positive and negative, and not only into secondary and main ones. Thus, positivity was emphasized by the dynamism of the character's character, while static and hypocrisy indicated that the hero was far from perfect.
In the novel, several images of women appear before us. And they are also divided by Tolstoy into two groups.

The first includes female images that lead a false, artificial life. All their aspirations are aimed at achieving one single goal - a high position in society. These include Anna Scherer, Helen Kuragina, Julie Karagina and other representatives of high society.

The second group includes those who lead a true, real, natural way of life. Tolstoy emphasizes the evolution of these heroes. These include Natasha Rostova, Marya Bolkonskaya, Sonya, Vera.

The absolute genius of social life can be called Helen Kuragina. She was beautiful like a statue. And just as soulless. But in fashion salons, no one cares about your soul. The most important thing is how you turn your head, how gracefully you smile when you greet, and what an impeccable French accent you have. But Helen is not just soulless, she is vicious. Princess Kuragina is not marrying Pierre Bezukhov, but for his inheritance.
Helen was a master at luring men by tapping into their baser instincts. So, Pierre feels something bad, dirty in his feelings for Helen. She offers herself to anyone who is able to provide her with a rich life, full of secular pleasures: "Yes, I am a woman who can belong to anyone, and to you too."
Helen cheated on Pierre, she had a well-known affair with Dolokhov. And Count Bezukhov was forced, defending his honor, to shoot himself in a duel. The passion that clouded his eyes quickly passed, and Pierre realized what a monster he was living with. Of course, the divorce turned out to be a boon for him.

It is important to note that in the characterization of Tolstoy's favorite heroes, their eyes occupy a special place. The eyes are the mirror of the soul. Ellen doesn't have one. As a result, we learn that the life of this heroine ends sadly. She is dying of illness. Thus, Tolstoy passes judgment on Helen Kuragina.

Tolstoy's favorite heroines in the novel are Natasha Rostova and Marya Bolkonskaya.

Marya Bolkonskaya is not distinguished by beauty. She has the appearance of a frightened animal due to the fact that she is very afraid of her father, the old prince Bolkonsky. She has a "sad, frightened expression that rarely left her and made her ugly, sickly face even more ugly ...". Only one feature shows us her inner beauty: “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 ... these eyes became more attractive than beauty.”
Marya devoted her life to her father, being his indispensable support and support. She has a very deep connection with the whole family, with her father and brother. This connection is manifested in moments of spiritual upheaval.
A distinctive feature of Marya, as well as of her entire family, is high spirituality and great inner strength. After the death of her father, surrounded by French troops, the princess, heartbroken, nevertheless proudly rejects the offer of the French general for patronage and leaves Bogucharov. In the absence of men in an extreme situation, she alone manages the estate and does it wonderfully. At the end of the novel, this heroine marries and becomes a happy wife and mother.

The most charming image of the novel is the image of Natasha Rostova. The work shows her spiritual path from a thirteen-year-old girl to a married woman, mother of many children.
From the very beginning, Natasha was characterized by cheerfulness, energy, sensitivity, a subtle perception of goodness and beauty. She grew up in the morally pure atmosphere of the Rostov family. Her best friend was the meek Sonya, an orphan. The image of Sonya is not written out so carefully, but in some scenes (the explanation of the heroine and Nikolai Rostov), ​​the reader is struck by a pure and noble soul in this girl. Only Natasha notices that in Sonya "something is missing" ... In her, indeed, there is no liveliness and fire characteristic of Rostova, but the tenderness and meekness, so beloved by the author, excuse everyone.

The author emphasizes the deep connection between Natasha and Sonya with the Russian people. This is a great praise for the heroines from their creator. For example, Sonya fits perfectly into the atmosphere of Christmas divination and caroling. Natasha "knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person." Emphasizing the folk basis of his heroines, Tolstoy very often shows them against the backdrop of Russian nature.

Natasha's appearance, at first glance, is ugly, but her inner beauty ennobles her. Natasha always remains herself, never pretends, unlike her secular acquaintances. The expression of Natasha's eyes is very diverse, as well as the manifestations of her soul. They are “radiant”, “curious”, “provocative and somewhat mocking”, “desperately lively”, “stopped”, “begging”, “scared” and so on.

The essence of Natasha's life is love. She, despite all the hardships, carries it in her heart and, finally, becomes the embodiment of Tolstoy's ideal. Natasha turns into a mother who is completely dedicated to her children and her husband. In her life there are no interests other than family. So she became truly happy.

All the heroines of the novel, to one degree or another, represent the worldview of the author himself. Natasha, for example, is a beloved heroine, because she fully meets the needs of Tolstoy himself for a woman. And Helen is "killed" by the author for not being able to appreciate the warmth of the hearth.

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"War and Peace", without a doubt, is one of the pinnacles of Russian literature. Leo Tolstoy touches on acute social and philosophical problems. But also noteworthy are the female images in the novel "War and Peace", which represent the roles of female characters - both in the period of war and peace.

Prototypes of female images of "War and Peace"

We invite inquisitive readers to familiarize themselves with what is described in the novel by Leo Tolstoy “War and Peace”

Leo Tolstoy admitted to Mitrofan Polivanov, a childhood friend and ex-fiance of Sofya Andreevna, that his family served as inspiration for creating the image of the Rostov family. In correspondence with Polivanov, the memoirist Tatyana Kuzminskaya, Sofya Tolstoy's sister, notes that Boris is based on the image of Mitrofan himself, Vera is based on Liza (especially the features of gravity and attitude towards others). The writer endowed Countess Rostova with the traits of a mother-in-law - the mother of Sofya Andreevna and Tatiana. Kuzminskaya also found common features between herself and the image of Natasha Rostova.

In addition to the fact that Tolstoy took many of the features and qualities of characters from real people, the writer also mentioned many events in the novel that took place in reality. For example, Kuzminskaya recalls the episode of the wedding with the Mimi doll. It is known that Leo Tolstoy highly appreciated the literary talents of the Berses, that is, his wife, Tatyana Kuzminskaya and his own children. Therefore, Berses occupy a significant place in War and Peace.

Viktor Shklovsky, however, believes that the issue of prototypes is not resolved unambiguously. The critic recalls the stories of the first readers of "War and Peace", who really recognized the images of people in the work - their friends and relatives. But now, according to Shklovsky, we cannot adequately say that such and such a person served as the prototype of this character. Most often they talk about the image of Natasha Rostova and that Tolstoy chose Tatyana Kuzminskaya as the prototype for the heroine. But Shklovsky makes a remark: modern readers did not know and could not know Kuzminskaya, and therefore it is impossible to objectively judge how Tatyana Andreevna corresponds to the features of Natasha (or vice versa - Natasha - Tatyana). There is another version of the "origin" of the image of the younger Countess Rostova: Tolstoy, allegedly, borrowed the "template" of the character from some English novel, providing the qualities of Sophia Andreevna. In the letters, Lev Nikolayevich himself reports that the image of Natasha Rostova is a mix, a “mixture” of the characteristic features of women that mattered in the life of the writer.

Maria, the sister of Andrei Bolkonsky, was written off from the writer's mother, Maria Volkonskaya. It is noteworthy that in this case Tolstoy did not change the name of the heroine, leaving it as similar as possible to the name of the prototype. The elder Countess of Rostov bears a resemblance to the author's grandmother: we are talking about Pelageya Tolstoy. The attitude of the writer to these heroines is emphasized tender, warm. It can be seen that Tolstoy put a lot of effort and emotion into the creation of female characters.

Dear book lovers! We bring to your attention in the novel by Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace".

A separate place is occupied by Rostov. The surname of the family was formed by transforming the surname of the writer himself. This explains why among the images of the Rostovs there are so many similarities with the family and relatives of Leo Tolstoy.

Interesting details surround another prototype of the heroine of War and Peace, Lisa Bolkonskaya, the wife of Prince Andrei. Readers sometimes ask why Tolstoy treated this character so cruelly: as we remember, the literary Liza Bolkonskaya is dying. This image was generated by the personality of the wife of the second cousin of the author of "War and Peace" (Alexander Volkonsky) - Louise Ivanovna Volkonskaya-Truson. Tolstoy describes unusual and "best" memories that relate specifically to Louise. There is a version that the 23-year-old Tolstoy was in love with a 26-year-old flirtatious relative. It is curious that the writer denied that Louise Volkonskaya was the prototype of Liza. However, Sofya Andreevna, the author's wife, wrote that she found similarities between Lisa and Louise Ivanovna.

The reader will certainly find many similarities between the people who surrounded Tolstoy and the images created by the writer. But it is worth mentioning one more thought of Viktor Shklovsky: prototypes are the tragedy of the author, who tries to hide from the prototypes in the novel, to avoid parallels with real people, which never works out.

Women's theme in Leo Tolstoy's novel

The title of the work forces the writer to divide the novel into two parts - war and peace. War is traditionally associated with masculine traits, with cruelty and rudeness, the coldness of life. The world is identified with regularity, the predictable calmness of everyday life and the image of a woman. However, Lev Nikolaevich demonstrates that during periods of the highest tension of human forces, in a situation, for example, of war, masculine and feminine traits are mixed in one personality. Therefore, the women in the novel are meek and patient, but at the same time, strong in spirit, capable of bold and desperate deeds.

Natasha Rostova

The young Countess Rostova is the favorite of the writer. This is felt in the tenderness with which the creator of "War and Peace" approaches to write out the image of the heroine. The reader becomes a witness to the changes taking place with Natasha as the events of the novel unfold. Something in the younger Rostova remains unchanged: the desire to love, devotion, sincerity and simplicity, intricately combined with the refinement of nature.

At the beginning of the story, the countess appears as a child. Natasha is 13-14 years old, we know something from the girl's background. Natasha's first childhood love is Boris Drubetskoy, who lived next door to the Rostov estate. Boris will later leave his father's house to serve under Kutuzov. The theme of love will continue to occupy a significant place in Natasha's life.

The reader first meets the young countess in the Rostovs' house. Episode - the name day of the eldest countess and the youngest daughter - both Natasha. The younger Rostova behaves coquettishly and a little capriciously, because she understands that everything is allowed for a sweet child on this day. Parents love their daughter. Peace reigns in the Rostov family, an atmosphere of hospitality and friendliness.

Further, before the eyes of readers, Natasha turns into a girl who grows up, forms a worldview and a picture of the world, studying her awakening sensuality. From a small, lively, ugly, constantly laughing, large-mouthed girl, an adult, romantic and sophisticated girl suddenly grows up. Natasha's heart is ready to open up to great feelings. At this time, the countess meets Prince Bolkonsky, who lost his wife and experienced a spiritual crisis after the military events. Prince Andrei, who, it would seem, is the exact opposite of the younger Countess Rostova, proposes to the girl. The decision of the prince is accompanied by an internal struggle and doubts in Natasha.

Natasha is not depicted as ideal: the girl is not alien to mistakes, frivolous acts, what can be called humanity. Rostova - amorous and windy. At the insistence of his father, Andrei Bolkonsky postponed the engagement with Natasha for a year, but the girl did not pass the test, being carried away by the handsome but womanizer Anatoly Kuragin. The betrayal of Anatoly Rostov is going through hard, even trying to commit suicide. But music, a craving for art help Natasha withstand the wind of life's difficulties.

After the war with Napoleon, Natasha again meets an old childhood friend - Pierre Bezukhov. Rostova sees purity in Pierre. In one of the dialogues of the novel, Bezukhov, who returned from the war, was in captivity, rethought life, is compared with a man bathed in a bath. In relations with Pierre, Natasha shows completely different features from her youthful image: now she is a woman, mature, confident in her feelings, a devoted mother and wife, serious, but still in need of love.

A separate emphasis should be placed on Natasha's patriotism. During the retreat from Moscow, the girl insisted that the wagons on which the family belongings were transported be freed for the wounded. By sacrificing property, Natasha demonstrates an understanding of the value of the life of a simple soldier. This image is reminiscent of the story of how the daughters of the last Russian emperor, during the First World War, worked in the hospital as ordinary nurses, changing bandages for sick and wounded soldiers.

Natasha is full of passion for life, she is a charming, light, cheerful girl. Rostova manages to maintain this lightness even while taking care of the dying Prince Andrei. Despite the past, Natasha selflessly cares for the seriously wounded Bolkonsky: the prince dies in the arms of his former bride.

Elder Princess of Rostov

Natalya, mother of Natasha Rostova, is described as a wise and mature woman. The heroine, the mother of the family, is supposed to be strict. In fact, the woman is kind and loving, only pretending to show anger at capricious children - for educational purposes.

It is typical for the Rostovs not to draw a moral line between themselves and the common people. This is combined with the liberal tendencies that prevailed among the nobles at that time. Contrary to the accepted rules of good manners, the elder Rostova is a compassionate nature, seeking to help friends and acquaintances in need.

At first glance, Natalia Rostova gives children complete freedom of choice. But, if you take a closer look, the Countess, like a mother, worries about the future of her children. Natalya tries to keep Boris Drubetskoy away from her youngest daughter, to make sure that Nikolai makes a profitable game. For this, Natalia does not allow her son to marry his beloved Sophia. The girl was a relative of Nikolai Rostov, but did not have a penny behind her, which embarrassed the young man's mother. The image of the eldest Countess Rostova is an expression of pure and all-consuming maternal love.

Vera Rostova

The image of Natasha's sister - Vera - is on the map of the characters of "War and Peace" a little to the side. The beauty of Vera is oppressed by the coldness of the girl's nature. Leo Tolstoy emphasizes that Natasha, with her ugly features, gave the impression of a very pretty person. This effect was achieved due to the beauty of the inner world. Vera, on the contrary, was pretty outwardly, but the girl's inner world was far from perfect.

Vera is described as a young lady, unsociable, closed. The girl's face sometimes became even unpleasant. Vera is a selfish and self-centered nature, so Vera did not like the company of her younger brothers and sisters.

The character trait of Vera Rostova is self-absorption, which distinguished the girl from the rest of her relatives, who are more likely to have a sincere attitude towards others. Vera becomes the wife of a certain Colonel Berg: this party is very suitable for a girl in character.

Lisa Bolkonskaya

Prince Andrew's wife. A hereditary aristocrat who came from an influential noble family. For example, Lev Nikolaevich writes that Kutuzov himself was the girl's uncle. In girlhood, the heroine's name was Lisa Meinen, but the reader is not told anything about Lisa's childhood, parents, and youthful life. We know this character only from "adult life".

Liza's relationship with the Bolkonskys is neutral. Lisa appears as a miniature, light and cheerful girl, balancing the difficult nature of Prince Andrei. However, Bolkonsky is tired of his wife's company. In a fit of mental confusion, the prince leaves for the war. Pregnant Liza awaits her husband's return. But marital happiness was not destined to come true, since on the day of Andrei's arrival, Liza dies in childbirth. It is tragic that, returning, Andrei firmly decided to try to start a relationship with his wife from scratch. The death of Lisa upsets Bolkonsky: the prince falls into a state of gloom and depression for a long time.

The cheerful Liza is liked by all the guests who came to the Bolkonsky's house. However, the relationship with her husband is not the best way. Before marriage, romance reigned between the future spouses, but in the process of family life disappointment comes. Lisa and Andrei are not united by a common outlook on life or common goals: the spouses live as if separately. Lisa is a big kid. The woman is capricious, a little eccentric, the princess is not characterized by observation. In general, the princess is kind and sincere.

Marya Bolkonskaya

The sister of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is a merciful and deep girl. The first impression about Princess Marya is that she is an unhappy girl suffering from her own unattractiveness, sad and withdrawn. The princess, meanwhile, is kind and caring, devotedly caring for her dying father, who has always been emphatically rude and despotic with his daughter.

Marya is distinguished by intelligence and wisdom, maturity acquired in an isolated life. The girl is adorned with eyes that focus all attention on themselves - so that the ugliness of the princess becomes invisible. The uniqueness of the image of Marya Bolkonskaya requires attention to the spiritual life of the girl. Gradually, the reader sees how strong the nature of the heroine is, how strong her character is. Marya protects the estate from being plundered by the French, burying her father.

The girl's dreams, meanwhile, are simple, but unattainable. Marya wants family life, warmth, children. The princess is described as a rather adult girl who is about to get married. Anatole Kuragin seems to Bolkonskaya a suitable candidate in terms of status. But later the princess finds out that the chosen one is married. Because of sympathy for the unfortunate woman - Anatole's wife - Marya refuses to marry. However, family happiness still awaits the girl: the princess will marry Nikolai Rostov. Marriage with Nikolai is beneficial to both: for the Rostov family it is salvation from poverty, for Princess Bolkonskaya it is salvation from a lonely life.

Marya does not sympathize with Natasha. Relations between the girls are getting better after the death of Prince Andrei. Natasha's selflessness, shown during the wounding of her brother, helped the princess change her mind about Rostova.

Helen Kuragin

Elena Vasilievna Kuragina is a beautiful princess who became the first wife of Pierre Bezukhov. The princess looked like an antique statue, and the girl's face was enlivened by deep, black eyes. Helen was well versed in fashion and was known as a lover of dresses and jewelry. The princess' outfits were always distinguished by excessive frankness, bare shoulders and back. The reader is not told anything about Helen's age. But the manners of the heroine are truly aristocratic and majestic.

A graduate of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, Helen showed calmness of character, endurance, upbringing, worthy of a real secular lady. The heroine is characterized by sociability, love for noisy receptions that Helen arranged at home, hosting "the whole of St. Petersburg."

Helen's appearance, attention to her beauty, smile and bare shoulders characterizes the girl's soullessness, fixation solely on physicality. Helen is a stupid woman, not distinguished by intelligence and high moral qualities. Meanwhile, the princess knows how to present herself, because those around her have an illusion about Helen's mind. Meanness, heartlessness, emptiness - that's what distinguishes the girl. In moral terms, she did not go far from her brother - Anatole.

The narrative unfolds in such a way that the writer demonstrates Helen's propensity for debauchery, hypocrisy, and deceit. The princess turns out to be a rude and vulgar woman, but purposeful: Kuragina gets what she wants.

Helen starts numerous affairs on the side and even accepts the Catholic faith in order to divorce Pierre Bezukhov and remarry. As a result, Kuragina dies very young from an illness, presumably of a venereal nature.

War and Peace is one of those books that cannot be forgotten. In its very name - all human life. And also “War and Peace” is a model of the structure of the world, the universe, and therefore appears in the IV part of the novel (Pierre Bezukhov's dream) the symbol of this world - a globe - a ball. "This globe was a living, oscillating ball, without dimensions." Its entire surface consisted of drops tightly compressed together. The drops moved, moved, now merging, now separating. Each sought to spread, to capture the largest space, but others, shrinking, sometimes destroyed each other, sometimes merged into one. “Here is life,” said the old teacher, who once taught Pierre geography. “How simple and clear it all is,” thought Pierre, “how I could not know this before.”

“How simple and clear it all is,” we repeat, rereading our favorite pages of the novel. And these pages, like drops on the surface of the globe, connecting with others, form part of a single whole. Thus, episode after episode, we move towards the infinite and eternal, which is the life of man. But the writer Tolstoy would not have been a philosopher Tolstoy if he had not shown us the polar sides of being: life, in which form prevails, and life, which contains the fullness of content. It is from these Tolstoy ideas about life that we will consider female images in which the author highlights their special purpose - to be a wife and mother.

For Tolstoy, the world of the family is the basis of human society, where a woman plays a unifying role. If a man is characterized by an intense intellectual and spiritual search, then a woman, having a more subtle intuition, lives with feelings and emotions.

The clear opposition of good and evil in the novel was naturally reflected in the system of female images. Contrasting internal and external images as a writer's favorite technique is indicative of such heroines as Helen Kuragina, Natasha Rostova and Marya Bolkonskaya.

Helen is the embodiment of external beauty and internal emptiness, a fossil. Tolstoy constantly mentions her "monotonous", "unchanging" smile and "ancient beauty of the body", she resembles a beautiful soulless statue. Helene Scherer enters the salon “noisily with her sick white robe, trimmed with ivy and moss,” as a symbol of soullessness and coldness. It is not for nothing that the author does not mention her eyes, while the “brilliant”, “shining” eyes of Natasha and the “radiant” eyes of Marya always attract our attention.

Helen personifies immorality and depravity. The entire Kuragin family are individualists who do not know any moral norms, living by the inexorable law of the fulfillment of their insignificant desires. Helen only marries for her own enrichment. She constantly cheats on her husband, because the animal nature prevails in her nature. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy leaves Helen childless. "I'm not such a fool as to have children," she utters blasphemous words. Helen, in front of the eyes of the whole society, is busy arranging her personal life while still being Pierre's wife, and her mysterious death is connected with the fact that she became entangled in her own intrigues.

Such is Helen Kuragina with her dismissive attitude to the sacrament of marriage, to the duties of a wife. It is not difficult to guess that Tolstoy embodied in her the worst feminine qualities and contrasted her with the images of Natasha and Marya.

It is impossible not to say about Sonya. The peaks of Marya's spiritual life and Natasha's "peaks of feeling" are inaccessible to her. She is too mundane, too immersed in everyday life. She is also given joyful moments of life, but these are only moments. Sonya cannot compare with Tolstoy's favorite heroines, but this is more her misfortune than her fault, the author tells us. She is an "empty flower", but, perhaps, the life of a poor relative, the feeling of constant dependence did not allow her to blossom in her soul.

One of the main characters in the novel is Natasha Rostova. Tolstoy draws Natasha in development, he traces Natasha's life in different years, and, naturally, her feelings, her perception of life change over the years.

We first meet Natasha when this little thirteen-year-old girl, "black-eyed, with a big mouth, ugly, but alive," runs out into the living room and bumps into her mother. And with her image, the theme of “living life” enters the novel. Tolstoy always appreciated in Natasha precisely the fullness of life, the desire to live interestingly, fully and, most importantly, every minute. Overwhelmed with optimism, she strives to be in time everywhere: to console Sonya, to declare her love for Boris in a childishly naive way, to argue about the type of ice cream, to sing the romance “Key” with Nikolai, to dance with Pierre. Tolstoy writes that "the essence of her life is love." It combined the most valuable qualities of a person: love, poetry, life. Of course, we do not believe her when she "in all seriousness" says to Boris: "Forever ... Until death." And, taking him by the arm, she quietly walked beside him into the sofa with a happy face.

All Natasha's actions are determined by the requirements of her nature, and not by a rational choice, therefore she is not just a participant in a certain private life, for she does not belong to one family circle, but to the world of a general movement. And perhaps this was what Tolstoy had in mind when speaking about the historical characters of the novel: “Only one unconscious activity bears fruit, and a person who plays a role in a historical event never understands its significance. If he tries to understand it, he is amazed at the barrenness." She, not trying to understand his role, thereby already defines it for herself and for others. “The whole world is divided for me into two halves: one is she, and everything is there - happiness, hope, light; the other half is everything where it is not, there is all despondency and darkness, ”says Prince Andrei four years later. But while she is sitting at the birthday table, she looks at Boris with a childishly loving look. “The same look of her sometimes turned to Pierre, and under the look of this funny, lively girl he wanted to laugh, not knowing why.” This is how Natasha reveals herself in an unconscious movement, and we see her naturalness, that quality that will be an invariable property of her life.

The first ball of Natasha Rostova became the place of her meeting with Andrei Bolkonsky, which led to a clash of their life positions, which had a huge impact on both of them.

During the ball, she is not interested in either the sovereign or all the important persons pointed out by Peronskaya, she does not pay attention to court intrigues. She is waiting for joy and happiness. Tolstoy unequivocally singles her out among all those present at the ball, opposing her to secular society. Enthusiastic, fading with excitement, Natasha is described by L. Tolstoy with love and tenderness. His ironic remarks about the adjutant-manager asking everyone to move aside “somewhere else”, about “some lady”, about the vulgar fuss around the rich bride, make the light petty and false, while Natasha among all of them is shown as the only natural being. Tolstoy contrasts the lively, ebullient, always unexpected Natasha with the cold Helen, a secular woman who lives according to established rules, never commits rash acts. “Natasha's bare necks and arms were thin and ugly in comparison with Helen's shoulders. Her shoulders were thin, her chest indefinite, her arms thin; but on Helen it was already like varnish from all the thousands of glances that glided over her body, ”and this makes it seem vulgar. This impression is intensified when we remember that Helen is soulless and empty, that in her body, as if carved from marble, lives a stone soul, greedy, without a single movement of feeling. Here, Tolstoy's attitude to secular society is revealed, Natasha's exclusivity is once again emphasized.

What did the meeting with Andrei Bolkonsky give Natasha? As a truly natural being, although she did not think about it, she aspired to create a family and could find happiness only in the family. The meeting with Prince Andrei and his proposal created the conditions for achieving her ideal. Preparing to form a family, she was happy. However, happiness was not destined to last long. Prince Andrei strove for Natasha, but did not understand her, he did not have a natural instinct, so he postponed the wedding, not realizing that Natasha should love all the time, that she should be happy every minute. He himself provoked her betrayal.

The portrait characteristic makes it possible to expose the main qualities of her character. Natasha is cheerful, natural, spontaneous. The older she gets, the faster she turns from a girl into a girl, the more she wants to be admired, to be loved, to be in the spotlight. Natasha loves herself and believes that everyone should love her, she says about herself: "What a charm this Natasha is." And everyone really admires her, loves her. Natasha is like a ray of light in a boring and gray secular society.

Emphasizing the ugliness of Natasha, Tolstoy argues: it's not about external beauty. The riches of her inner nature are important: giftedness, the ability to understand, to come to the rescue, sensitivity, subtle intuition. Everyone loves Natasha, everyone wishes her well, because Natasha herself does only good to everyone. Natasha lives not with her mind, but with her heart. The heart rarely deceives. And although Pierre says that Natasha “does not deign to be smart,” she has always been smart and understood people. When Nikolenka, having lost almost the entire fortune of the Rostovs, comes home, Natasha, without realizing it, sings only for her brother. And Nikolay, listening to her voice, forgets about everything about his loss, about the difficult conversation with his father that is coming to him, he only listens to the wonderful sound of her voice and thinks: “What is this? .. What happened to her? How does she sing today? .. Well, Natasha, well, my dear! Well, mother." And not only Nikolai is enchanted by her voice. After all, Natasha's voice possessed extraordinary virtues. “In her voice there was that virginity, untouchedness, that ignorance of one’s own strengths and that still undeveloped velvety, which were so combined with the shortcomings of the art of singing that it seemed that nothing could be changed in this voice without spoiling it.”

Natasha understands Denisov very well, who proposed to her. She desires him and understands that "he did not want to say, but he accidentally said it." Natasha has an art that is not given to everyone. She knows how to be compassionate. When Sonya roared, Natasha, not knowing the reason for her friend's tears, "spreading her big mouth and becoming completely ugly, roared like a child ... and only because Sonya was crying." Natasha's sensitivity and subtle intuition "didn't work" only once. Natasha, so smart and insightful, did not understand Anatole Kuragin and Helen and paid dearly for the mistake.

Natasha is the embodiment of love, love is the essence of her character.

Natasha is a patriot. Without hesitation, she gives all the carts for the wounded, leaving things, and does not imagine that it is possible to do otherwise in this situation.

Natasha is close to the Russian people. She loves folk songs, traditions, music. From all this we can conclude that the ardent, lively, loving, patriotic Natasha is capable of a feat. Tolstoy gives us to understand that Natasha will follow the Decembrist Pierre to Siberia. Isn't that a feat?

We meet with Princess Marya Bolkonskaya from the first pages of the novel. Ugly and rich. Yes, she was ugly, and even very bad-looking, but this is in the opinion of outsiders, distant people who hardly know her. All those few who loved her and were loved by her knew and caught her beautiful and radiant look on themselves. Princess Mary herself did not know all his charms and strength. This look by itself illuminated everything around with the light of warm love and tenderness. Prince Andrei often caught this look on himself, Julie recalled in her letters the meek, calm look of Princess Marya, so, according to Julie, that she lacked, and Nikolai Rostov fell in love with the princess precisely for this look. But at the thought of herself, the sparkle in Marya's eyes dimmed, went somewhere deep into the soul. Her eyes became the same: sad and, most importantly, frightened, making her ugly, sickly face even uglier.

Marya Bolkonskaya, the daughter of General-in-Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, lived without a break in the Bald Mountains estate. She had no friends or girlfriends. Only Julie Karagina wrote to her, thus bringing joy and variety to the gray, monotonous life of the princess. The father himself was engaged in raising his daughter: he gave her lessons in algebra and geometry. But what did these lessons give her? How could she understand anything, feeling the gaze and breath of her father above her, whom she feared and loved more than anything in the world. The princess respected him and revered him and everything he had done with his hands. The main consolation and, perhaps, the teacher was religion: in prayer she found both comfort, and help, and the solution to all problems. All the complex laws of human activity were concentrated for Princess Mary in one simple rule - a lesson in love and self-affirmation. She lives like this: she loves her father, brother, daughter-in-law, her companion, the Frenchwoman Mademoiselle Bourienne. But sometimes Princess Mary catches herself thinking about earthly love, about earthly passion. The princess is afraid of these thoughts like fire, but they arise, arise because she is a person and, be that as it may, a sinful person, like everyone else.

And so Prince Vasily and his son Anatole come to Bald Mountains to woo. Probably, in secret thoughts, Princess Marya had long been waiting for just such a future husband: handsome, noble, kind.

The old prince Bolkonsky invites his daughter to decide her own fate. And, probably, she would have made a fatal mistake by agreeing to the marriage if she had not accidentally seen Anatole hugging Mademoiselle Bourienne. Princess Mary refuses Anatole Kuragin, refuses, because she decides to live only for her father and her nephew.

The princess does not perceive Natasha Rostova when she and her father come to meet the Bolkonskys. She treats Natasha with some internal hostility. She probably loves her brother too much, values ​​his freedom, is afraid that some completely sensitive woman can take him away, take him away, win his love. And the terrible word "stepmother"? This alone inspires dislike and disgust.

Princess Mary in Moscow asks Pierre Bezukhov about Natasha Rostova. "Who is this girl and how do you find her?" She asks to tell "the whole truth." Pierre feels "Princess Marya's ill will towards her future daughter-in-law." She really wants that "Pierre did not approve of the choice of Prince Andrei."

Pierre does not know how to answer this question. “I definitely don’t know what kind of girl this is, I can’t analyze her in any way. She is charming,” says Pierre.

But this answer did not satisfy Princess Mary.

“Is she smart? - asked the princess.

Pierre considered.

I think not, he said, but yes. She does not deign to be smart.”

“Princess Mary again shook her head disapprovingly,” notes Tolstoy.

All Tolstoy's characters fall in love. Princess Marya Bolkonskaya falls in love with Nikolai Rostov. Having fallen in love with Rostov, the princess during the meeting with him is transformed in such a way that Mademoiselle Bourrienne almost does not recognize her: “chest, feminine notes” appear in her voice, grace and dignity appear in her movements. “For the first time, all that pure spiritual inner work that she had lived until now came out” and made the face of the heroine beautiful. Caught in a difficult situation, she accidentally meets Nikolai Rostov, and he helps her cope with the intractable peasants and leave the Bald Mountains. Princess Mary loves Nikolai in a completely different way than Sonya loved him, who had to constantly do something and sacrifice something. And not like Natasha, who needed the beloved person to be just there, smiling, rejoicing and saying loving words to her. Princess Mary loves quietly, calmly, happily. And this happiness is increased by the realization that she finally fell in love, and fell in love with a kind, noble, honest person.

And Nicholas sees and understands all this. Fate more and more often pushes them to each other. A meeting in Voronezh, an unexpected letter from Sonya, releasing Nikolai from all obligations and promises made by Sonya: what is this if not a decree of fate?

In the autumn of 1814, Nikolai Rostov marries Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. Now she has what she dreamed of: a family, a beloved husband, children.

But Princess Marya did not change: she was still the same, only now it was Countess Marya Rostova. She tried to understand Nikolai in everything, she wanted, really wanted to love Sonya and could not. She loved her children very much. And she was very upset when she realized that something was missing in her feelings for her nephew. She still lived for others, trying to love them all with the highest, Divine love. Sometimes Nicholas, looking at his wife, was horrified at the thought of what would have happened to him and his children if Countess Mary had died. He loved her more than life, and they were happy.

Marya Bolkonskaya and Natasha Rostova become wonderful wives. Not everything is available to Natasha in Pierre's intellectual life, but with her soul she understands his actions, seeks to help her husband in everything. Princess Mary captivates Nicholas with spiritual wealth, which is not given to his uncomplicated nature. Under the influence of his wife, his unbridled temper softens, for the first time he realizes his rudeness towards the peasants. The harmony of family life, as we see, is achieved where the husband and wife, as it were, complement and enrich each other, making up a single whole. In the Rostov and Bezukhov families, mutual misunderstanding and inevitable conflicts are resolved by reconciliation. Love reigns here.

Marya and Natasha are wonderful mothers. However, Natasha is more concerned about the health of children, and Marya penetrates into the character of the child, takes care of his spiritual and moral education.

Tolstoy endows the heroines with the most valuable, in his opinion, qualities - the ability to subtly feel the mood of loved ones, share someone else's grief, selflessly love their family.

A very important quality of Natasha and Marya is naturalness, artlessness. They are not able to play a predetermined role, they do not depend on the opinions of strangers, they do not live according to the laws of the world. At her first big ball, Natasha stands out for her sincerity in expressing feelings. Princess Mary, at the decisive moment of her relationship with Nikolai Rostov, forgets that she wanted to be aloof and polite, and their conversation goes beyond secular conversation: "the distant, the impossible suddenly became close, possible and inevitable."

With the similarity of the best moral qualities, Natasha and Marya, in essence, are completely different, almost opposite natures. Natasha lives avidly, catches every moment, she lacks words to express the fullness of her feelings, the heroine enjoys dancing, hunting, singing. She is highly endowed with love for people, openness of soul, talent for communication.

Marya also lives in love, but there is a lot of meekness, humility, selflessness in her. She often rushes in her thoughts from earthly life to other spheres. “The soul of Countess Marya,” writes Tolstoy in the epilogue, “strives to the infinite, eternal and perfect, and therefore could never be at peace.”

It was in Princess Marya that Leo Tolstoy saw the ideal of a woman, and most importantly, of a wife. Princess Mary does not live for herself: she wants to make and makes her husband and children happy. But she herself is happy, her happiness consists in love for her neighbors, their joy and well-being, which, by the way, should be the happiness of every woman.

Tolstoy solved the issue of a woman's place in society in his own way: a woman's place in the family. Natasha created a good, strong family, there is no doubt that good children will grow up in her family, who will become full and full members of society.

In Tolstoy's work, the world appears multifaceted, there is a place for the most diverse, sometimes opposite characters. The writer conveys to us his love for life, which is in all its beauty and fullness. And considering the female images of the novel, we are once again convinced of this.

“How simple and clear it all is,” we are once again convinced, turning our eyes to the globe ball, where there are no longer drops destroying each other, and they all merged together, making up one big and bright world, as at the very beginning - in the Rostovs' house . And Natasha and Pierre, Nikolai and Princess Marya with the little Prince Bolkonsky remain in this world, and “it is necessary to take hand in hand as closely as possible and as many people as possible in order to resist the general catastrophe.

Literature

1. Newspaper "Literature" No. 41, p. 4, 1996

2. Newspaper "Literature" No. 12, pp. 2, 7, 11, 1999

3. Newspaper "Literature" No. 1, p. 4, 2002

4. E. G. Babaev "Leo Tolstoy and Russian journalism of his era."

5. "The best examination papers."

6. 380 best school essays.

In the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy draws many female characters. Natasha Rostova, one of the author's favorite heroines, Marya Bolkonskaya, to whom Tolstoy treats with the same warmth and sympathy, is opposed by the beautiful, depraved and pathologically stupid Princess Helen Kuragina, who embodied all the filth of the capital's society, Princess Drubetskaya is a mother hen, young "Little Princess" Lisa Bolkonskaya is a gentle and mournful angel. Less space is given in the novel to Vera Rostova, Sonya, a pupil of the Rostov family, and other women who play an episodic role. Tolstoy's attitude towards all women is rather peculiar. Gorky noticed this when he wrote about Tolstoy: “Most of all, he spoke about God, about a man and a woman. To a woman, in my opinion, he was irreconcilably hostile and loves to punish her - if she is not Kitty and not Natasha Rostova, a woman is a limited creature ... ”Yes, Tolstoy really loved his heroine Natasha Rostova. Her image is most fully revealed in the novel. Who is Natasha Rostova?
When Marya Bolkonskaya asked Pierre to tell about Natasha, he was at an impasse: “I definitely don’t know what kind of girl this is. She is charming. Why, I don't know. That's all there is to say about her." Natasha is not at all interested in intellectual life and public interests. One cannot even say whether she is smart, “she does not deign to be smart,” as Pierre put it in the same conversation with Princess Mary. But it surprisingly exerts a powerful influence on the moral formation and mental life of Prince Andrei and Pierre. For Natasha, there is no difficult question about the meaning of being, which Andrey and Pierre are thinking about and trying to solve. But it decides this question, as if by the way, by the very fact of its existence.
After meeting with Natasha, Andrey's views on life change dramatically.
Natasha is always sweet, beautiful. Being close to another person, she heals and renews him, and no one can understand how she does it. Natasha, unaware of that, determines the social behavior of people - such is her role in the life of Prince Andrei and Pierre. By her behavior, Natasha separates people from everything false, helps them to unite on some common basis. Even Drubetskoy is attracted by the force emanating from Natasha. Firmly at first intending to make it clear to Natasha that the relationship that once connected them, quite back in childhood, cannot be renewed, Boris finds a completely different Natasha whom he knew before. Now he can no longer see her, visits Helen less often, leaves as if in a fog, not knowing how it could end, and is completely confused.
Natasha sincerely loves Andrei Bolkonsky, brings him back to life. The episode with Anatole Kuragin is nothing more than a mistake. Her pure soul could not see the falsity of this person, because she could not allow impure thoughts in other people.
In the epilogue, we see a happy Natasha. Tolstoy draws her as a loving and beloved wife and caring mother, and he himself admires this new role of hers.
Also, Tolstoy's favorite heroine is Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. The meek and gentle Princess Marya was brought up without a mother, her father, although madly in love with her daughter, made increased demands on her. Nevertheless, she always meekly endured the whims and nit-picking of her father, never contradicted him and did not consider the punishments unfair. Submission and religiosity, over which her father teased, are combined in her with a thirst for simple human happiness. Her obedience is that of a daughter who has no moral right to judge her father. But at the same time, she is a strong and courageous person with a developed sense of self-worth. It was this feeling that helped her to show the necessary firmness when Anatole Kuragin wooed her. Marya longs for happiness, but she cannot marry the unloved.
Marya shows the same fortitude when her patriotic feelings are offended. She even forbade her French companion to be allowed in, having learned that she was connected with the enemy command. The richness of her inner world is evidenced by her diary dedicated to children, and her ennobling influence on her husband. Tolstoy lovingly describes the "radiant eyes" that make beautiful her ugly face. Princess Marya is a deep and sincere nature, she, like Natasha, is alien to pettiness, envy, falsehood, hypocrisy. Her spiritual softness, inner nobility aroused sincere love in Nikolai Rostov. The softness of Marya has a beneficial effect on their family life.
In the images of Natasha Rostova and Marya Bolkonskaya, Tolstoy reflects the typical features of the best representatives of the noble environment of the 19th century.
If Natasha and Marya are beautiful with their inner beauty, then Helen Kuragina is very beautiful on the outside, but there is no sublime in her beauty, she excites disgust. Helen is selfish and therefore in all her actions she is guided only by her own whims. Helen is really beautiful on the outside, but mentally ugly, undeveloped and vulgar. Helen is well aware of her beauty and knows how it affects others. Yes, they admire it, but they admire it only as a beautiful and precious thing. She uses it for personal purposes. Let us recall the episode when Helen seduces Pierre. Did she love him? Hardly. She loved his money. After all, when Pierre was just the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, few people from Helen's society and her ilk were interested in him. Only after receiving the inheritance did he become desirable in all homes. Helen set a trap for him. She, one might say, forced him to say: "I love you." The outcome was predetermined. She married Pierre, became rich, which means she got power in her hands.
Helen is also tested by the war of 1812, which reveals in her a vile and insignificant creature. She dreams of a new marriage with a living husband, for which she even converts to Catholicism, while the whole people unite against the enemy under the banner of Orthodoxy. Helen's death is natural and inevitable. Tolstoy does not even indicate the exact cause of her death, it is no longer important to him. Helen is spiritually dead.
Vera Rostova plays an episodic role in the novel. This is Natasha's older sister, but they are so different from each other that we are even surprised at their relationship. Tolstoy draws her as a cold, unkind woman who values ​​the opinion of the world too much and always acts in accordance with its laws. Vera is unlike the entire Rostov family.
Another woman of the Rostov family is Sonya. Tolstoy condemns and dislikes this heroine, makes her lonely at the end of the novel and calls her a "barren flower". But, in my opinion, she is capable of evoking sympathy. Sonya sincerely loves Nikolai, she can be kind and selfless. It is not she herself who is to blame for their break with Nikolai, but Nikolai's parents are to blame. It is the Rostovs who insist that the wedding of Nikolai and Sonya be postponed. Yes, Sonya does not know how, like Natasha, to admire the beauty of the starry sky, but this does not mean that she does not see this beauty. Let's remember how beautiful this girl was at Christmas time during fortune-telling. She was not hypocritical and did not pretend, she was sincere and open. This is how Nikolai saw her. I do not quite agree with the author's statement that her wings are clipped for love. Sonya could do a lot with her love, even with a man like Dolokhov. Perhaps, with her devotion and selflessness, she would have revived and cleansed this person. After all, he knows how to love his mother.
Liza Bolkonskaya is the little heroine of the novel, the wife of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Tolstoy showed us very little of her, her life is just as short. We know that her family life did not go well with Andrei, and her father-in-law considered her the same as all other women who have more flaws than virtues. Nevertheless, she is a loving and faithful wife. She sincerely loves Andrey and misses him, but dutifully endures her husband's long absence. Liza's life is short and imperceptible, but not empty, little Nikolenka remained after her.
Tolstoy's attitude towards his heroines is also shown in the epilogue. Natasha is happy with Pierre, they have three daughters and a son. Marya and Nikolai are also happy. The family of Nikolai and Princess Marya Tolstoy is generally considered ideal, a model of family happiness. It is not for nothing that everyone is drawn to them and everyone gathers under the roof of the Lysogorsk estate: the Bezukhovs, and Denisov, and the old countess, and Sonya, who found the meaning of life in the service of the house, and Nikolenka Bolkonsky, who has long been orphaned. Even the peasants of the surrounding villages ask the Rostovs to buy them and thus include them in their world.