Bolkonsky family. Image and character characteristics of Liza Bolkonskaya based on the epic novel War and Peace (Tolstoy Lev N.) How Andrei Bolkonsky's wife dies

He managed not only to diversify the literary world with a new work that is original from the point of view of genre composition, but also came up with bright and colorful characters. Of course, not all regulars at bookstores have read the writer’s bulky novel from cover to cover, but most know who Andrei Bolkonsky and Andrei Bolkonsky are.

History of creation

In 1856, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy began work on his immortal work. Then the master of words thought about creating a story that would tell readers about the Decembrist hero, forced to return back to the Russian Empire. The writer unwittingly moved the scene of the novel to 1825, but by that time the protagonist was a family-owned and mature man. When Lev Nikolaevich thought about the hero’s youth, this time involuntarily coincided with 1812.

1812 was not an easy year for the country. The Patriotic War began because the Russian Empire refused to support the continental blockade, which Napoleon saw as the main weapon against Great Britain. Tolstoy was inspired by those troubled times, and besides, his relatives participated in these historical events.

Therefore, in 1863, the writer began working on a novel that reflected the fate of the entire Russian people. In order not to be unfounded, Lev Nikolaevich relied on the scientific works of Alexander Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, Modest Bogdanovich, Mikhail Shcherbinin and other memoirists and writers. They say that in order to find inspiration, the writer even visited the village of Borodino, where the army and the Russian commander-in-chief clashed.

Tolstoy worked tirelessly for seven years on his fundamental work, writing five thousand draft sheets and creating 550 characters. And this is not surprising, because the work is endowed with a philosophical character, which is shown through the prism of the life of the Russian people in an era of failures and defeats.

“How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.”

No matter how critical Tolstoy was, the epic novel War and Peace, published in 1865 (the first excerpt appeared in the Russian Messenger magazine), was a widespread success among the public. The work of the Russian writer amazed both domestic and foreign critics, and the novel itself was recognized as the greatest epic work of new European literature.

The literary diaspora noted not only the exciting plot, which is intertwined in both “peaceful” and “war” times, but also the size of the fictional canvas. Despite the large number of characters, Tolstoy tried to give each hero individual character traits.

Characteristics of Andrei Bolkonsky

Andrei Bolkonsky is the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. It is known that many characters in this work have a real prototype, for example, the writer “created” Natasha Rostova from his wife Sofia Andreevna and her sister Tatyana Bers. But the image of Andrei Bolkonsky is collective. Among the possible prototypes, researchers name Nikolai Alekseevich Tuchkov, lieutenant general of the Russian army, as well as staff captain of the engineering troops Fyodor Ivanovich Tizenhausen.

It is noteworthy that the writer initially planned Andrei Bolkonsky as a minor character, who later received individual traits and became the main character of the work. In the first drafts of Lev Nikolayevich Bolkonsky was a secular young man, while in subsequent editions of the novel the prince appears before readers as a male intellectual with an analytical mind, who sets an example of courage and courage for fans of literature.

Moreover, readers can trace from start to finish the formation of the personality and the change in the character of the hero. Researchers classify Bolkonsky as one of the spiritual aristocracy: this young man is building a career, leading a social life, but he cannot be indifferent to the problems of society.

Andrei Bolkonsky appears before readers as a handsome young man of small stature and with dry features. He hates secular hypocritical society, but comes to balls and other events for the sake of decency:

“He apparently not only knew everyone in the living room, but was so tired of them that he found it very boring to look at them and listen to them.”

Bolkonsky is indifferent to his wife Lisa, but when she dies, the young man blames himself for being cold to his wife and not paying her due attention. It is worth noting that Lev Nikolaevich, who knows how to identify man with nature, reveals the personality of Andrei Bolkonsky in the episode where the character sees a huge dilapidated oak tree on the edge of the road - this tree is a symbolic image of the internal state of Prince Andrei.

Among other things, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy endowed this hero with opposite qualities; he combines courage and cowardice: Bolkonsky participates in a bloody battle on the battlefield, but in the literal sense of the word he is running from an unsuccessful marriage and a failed life. The protagonist either loses the meaning of life, then again hopes for the best, building goals and means to achieve them.

Andrei Nikolaevich revered Napoleon, he also wanted to become famous and lead his army to victory, but fate made its own adjustments: the hero of the work was wounded in the head and taken to the hospital. Later, the prince realized that happiness does not lie in triumph and laurels of honor, but in children and family life. But, unfortunately, Bolkonsky is doomed to failure: not only the death of his wife awaits him, but also the betrayal of Natasha Rostova.

"War and Peace"

The action of the novel, which tells about friendship and betrayal, begins at a visit to Anna Pavlovna Scherer, where the entire high society of St. Petersburg gathers to discuss politics and Napoleon’s role in the war. Lev Nikolaevich personified this immoral and deceitful salon with the “Famus society”, which was brilliantly described by Alexander Griboedov in his work “Woe from Wit” (1825). It is in Anna Pavlovna’s salon that Andrei Nikolaevich appears before readers.

After dinner and idle talk, Andrei goes to the village to visit his father and leaves his pregnant wife Lisa at the family estate Bald Mountains in the care of his sister Marya. In 1805, Andrei Nikolaevich went to war against Napoleon, where he acted as Kutuzov’s adjutant. During the bloody battles, the hero was wounded in the head, after which he was taken to the hospital.

Upon returning home, Prince Andrei received unpleasant news: his wife Lisa died during childbirth. Bolkonsky plunged into depression. The young man was tormented by the fact that he treated his wife coldly and did not show her due respect. Then Prince Andrei fell in love again, which helped him get rid of his bad mood.

This time, Natasha Rostova became the young man’s chosen one. Bolkonsky proposed marriage to the girl, but since his father was against such a misalliance, the marriage had to be postponed for a year. Natasha, who could not live alone, made a mistake and began an affair with a lover of wild life, Anatoly Kuragin.

The heroine sent Bolkonsky a letter of refusal. This turn of events wounded Andrei Nikolaevich, who dreams of challenging his opponent to a duel. To distract himself from unrequited love and emotional distress, the prince began to work hard and devoted himself to service. In 1812, Bolkonsky took part in the war against Napoleon and was wounded in the stomach during the Battle of Borodino.

Meanwhile, the Rostov family moved to their Moscow estate, where the war participants are located. Among the wounded soldiers, Natasha Rostova saw Prince Andrei and realized that love had not faded in her heart. Unfortunately, Bolkonsky’s poor health was incompatible with life, so the prince died in the arms of the astonished Natasha and Princess Marya.

Film adaptations and actors

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy’s novel has been filmed more than once by eminent directors: the work of the Russian writer has been adapted for avid film fans even in Hollywood. Indeed, the number of films based on this book cannot be counted on one hand, so we will list only a few films.

"War and Peace" (film, 1956)

In 1956, director King Vidor brought Leo Tolstoy's work to television screens. The film differs little from the original novel. No wonder the original script was 506 pages, which is five times the size of the average text. Filming took place in Italy, with some episodes filmed in Rome, Felonica and Pinerolo.

The brilliant cast includes recognized Hollywood stars. She played Natasha Rostova, Henry Fonda played Pierre Bezukhov, and Mel Ferrer played the role of Bolkonsky.

"War and Peace" (film, 1967)

Russian filmmakers have not lagged behind their foreign colleagues, who amaze viewers not only with the “picture”, but also with the scope of their budget. The director worked for six years on the highest-budget film in the history of Soviet cinema.

In the film, film fans see not only the plot and acting, but also the director’s know-how: Sergei Bondarchuk used panoramic battles, which were new for that time. The role of Andrei Bolkonsky went to the actor. Kira Golovko and others also played in the film.

"War and Peace" (TV series, 2007)

German director Robert Dornhelm also took up the film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's work, peppering the film with original storylines. Moreover, Robert departed from the canons in terms of the appearance of the main characters, for example, Natasha Rostova () appears before the audience as a blonde with blue eyes.

The image of Andrei Bolkonsky went to the Italian actor Alessio Boni, who is remembered by film fans for the films “Robbery” (1993), “After the Storm” (1995), “” (2002) and other films.

"War and Peace" (TV series, 2016)

According to The Guardian, residents of Foggy Albion began to buy the original manuscripts of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy after this series, filmed by director Tom Harperm.

The six-episode adaptation of the novel shows viewers love relationships, devoting almost no time to military events. He played the role of Andrei Bolkonsky, sharing the set with and.

• Lev Nikolaevich did not consider his cumbersome work finished and believed that the novel “War and Peace” should end with a different scene. However, the author never brought his idea to life.
• In (1956), costume designers used more than one hundred thousand sets of military uniforms, costumes and wigs, which were made from original illustrations from the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.

• The novel “War and Peace” traces the author’s philosophical views and pieces from his biography. The writer did not like Moscow society and had mental vices. When his wife did not fulfill all his whims, according to rumors, Lev Nikolaevich walked “to the left.” Therefore, it is not surprising that his characters, like any mortals, have negative traits.
• King Vidor's film did not gain fame among the European public, but it gained unprecedented popularity in the Soviet Union.

Quotes

“The battle is won by the one who is determined to win it!”

“I remember,” Prince Andrei hastily answered, “I said that a fallen woman must be forgiven, but I did not say that I can forgive. I can't".

"Love? What is love? Love prevents death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by one thing. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source.”

“Let’s leave the dead to bury the dead, but while you’re alive, you must live and be happy.”

“There are only two sources of human vices: idleness and superstition, and there are only two virtues: activity and intelligence.”

“No, life is not over at 31, suddenly it’s finally over,” Prince Andrei certainly decided. - Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary for everyone to know it: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary for everyone to know me, so that my life is not just for me. life, so that they don’t live so independently of my life, so that it is reflected on everyone, and so that they all live with me!”

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy in his famous novel “War and Peace” singled out “folk thought” as the main idea. This theme is most comprehensively and vividly reflected in the passages from the work that describe the war. As for the “peace,” the “family thought” predominates in its depiction. She also plays a very important role in the work that interests us. The theme of love in the novel "War and Peace" largely helps the author to reveal this idea.

Love in the life of the characters in the novel

Almost all the characters in the work are tested by love. Not all of them come to moral beauty, mutual understanding and true feeling. Moreover, this does not happen immediately. Heroes have to go through mistakes and suffering, which redeems them, cleanses and develops their souls.

The life of Andrei Bolkonsky with Lisa

The theme of love in the novel "War and Peace" is revealed through the example of several heroes, one of which is Andrei Bolkonsky. His path to happiness was thorny. At the age of 20, being an inexperienced young man, blinded by external beauty, he decides to marry Lisa. But Andrei very quickly comes to a depressing and painful understanding that he made a cruel and unique mistake. In a conversation with his friend, Pierre Bezukhov, he utters words almost in despair that he should not get married before he has done everything he could. Andrei says that he would give a lot to not be bound by family ties now.

Bolkonsky and his wife did not bring peace and happiness. Moreover, he was burdened by her. Andrei did not love his wife. He rather despised her, treating her like a child from a stupid, empty world. Bolkonsky was oppressed by the feeling that his life was useless, that he had become an idiot and a court lackey.

Andrey's mental breakdown

This hero had ahead of him the death of Lisa, a spiritual crisis, melancholy, fatigue, disappointment, contempt for life. At that time, Bolkonsky resembled an oak tree that stood like a contemptuous, angry and old freak between smiling birch trees. This tree did not want to submit to the charm of spring. However, suddenly a confusion of young hopes and thoughts arose in Andrei’s soul, unexpected for him. As you probably guessed, the theme of love in the novel "War and Peace" is further developed. The hero leaves the estate transformed. Again there is an oak tree on the road in front of him, but now it is not ugly and old, but covered with greenery.

Bolkonsky's feelings for Natasha

The theme of love in the novel "War and Peace" is very important for the author. According to Tolstoy, this feeling is a miracle that revives us to a new life. to Natasha, a girl so unlike the absurd and empty women of the world, Bolkonsky did not immediately appear. It renewed his soul, turned it upside down with incredible force. Andrey has now become a completely different person. It was as if he had stepped into the light from a stuffy room. True, even his feelings for Natasha did not help Bolkonsky humble his pride. He never managed to forgive Natasha for her “betrayal.” Only after he received a mortal wound did he rethink his life. Bolkonsky, after a mental turning point, understood Natasha’s suffering, repentance and shame. He realized that he had been cruel in breaking off his relationship with her. The hero admitted that he loves her even more than before. However, nothing could keep Bolkonsky in this world, not even Natasha’s fiery feeling.

Pierre's love for Helen

The theme of love in Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is also revealed through the example of Pierre. The fate of Pierre Bezukhov is somewhat similar to the fate of Andrei, his best friend. Like him, who was carried away by Lisa in his youth, Pierre, who had just returned from Paris, fell in love with Helen, who was doll-like beautiful. When exploring the theme of love and friendship in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” it should be noted that Pierre’s feelings for Helen were childishly enthusiastic. Andrey's example taught him nothing. Bezukhov had to convince himself from his own experience that external beauty is not always internal, spiritual.

Unhappy marriage

This hero felt that there were no barriers between him and Helen, that this girl was terribly close to him. Her beautiful marble body had power over Pierre. And although the hero understood that this was not good, he still succumbed to the feeling that this depraved woman inspired in him. As a result, Bezukhov became her husband. However, the marriage was not happy. A feeling of gloomy despondency, disappointment, contempt for life, for himself and for his wife gripped Pierre some time after living with Helen. Her mystery turned into stupidity, spiritual emptiness and depravity. This is worth mentioning if you are writing an essay. The theme of love in Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is illuminated from a new perspective in the relationship between Pierre and Natasha. We will now talk about how these heroes finally found their happiness.

Pierre's new love

Bezukhov, having met Natasha, like Andrei, was struck by her naturalness and purity. In his soul, the feeling for this girl began to grow timidly even when Natasha and Bolkonsky fell in love with each other. Pierre was happy for them, but this joy was mixed with sadness. Bezukhov's kind heart, unlike Andrei, understood Natasha and forgave her for the incident with Anatoly Kuragin. Despite the fact that Pierre tried to despise her, he was able to see how exhausted she was. And then for the first time Bezukhov’s soul was filled with a feeling of pity. He understood Natasha, perhaps because her infatuation with Anatole resembled his own infatuation with Helen. The girl believed that Kuragin had inner beauty. In communicating with Anatole, she, like Pierre and Helen, felt that there was no barrier between them.

Renewal of the soul of Pierre Bezukhov

Bezukhov’s path of life’s quest continues after a disagreement with his wife. He becomes interested in Freemasonry, then participates in the war. Bezukhov has a half-childish idea of ​​killing Napoleon. He sees Moscow burning. Next, he is destined for difficult moments of waiting for his death, and then captivity.

Pierre's soul, cleansed, renewed, having gone through suffering, retains its love for Natasha. Having met her again, he discovers that this girl has also changed a lot. Bezukhov did not recognize the old Natasha in her. Love awoke in the hearts of the heroes, and “long-forgotten happiness” suddenly returned to them. They were overcome, as Tolstoy put it, by “joyful madness.”

Finding Happiness

Life woke up in them along with love. The strength of feeling brought Natasha back to life after a long period of mental apathy, which was caused by the death of Prince Andrei. The girl thought that with his death her life was over. However, the love for her mother, which arose in her with renewed vigor, showed Natasha that love was still alive in her. The power of this feeling, which constituted the essence of Natasha, was capable of bringing to life the people whom this girl loved.

The fate of Princess Marya and Nikolai Rostov

The theme of love in Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is also revealed through the example of the relationship between Princess Marya and Nikolai Rostov. The fates of these heroes were not easy. Ugly in appearance, meek, quiet princess had a beautiful soul. During her father's lifetime, she did not even hope to ever get married or raise children. Anatole Kuragin was the only one who wooed her, and even then only for the sake of a dowry. Of course, he could not understand the moral beauty and high spirituality of this heroine. Only Nikolai Rostov managed to do this.

Tolstoy, in the epilogue of his novel, speaks of the spiritual unity of people, which is the basis of nepotism. At the end of the work, a new family appeared, where seemingly different beginnings - the Bolkonskys and the Rostovs - were united. Reading Lev Nikolaevich's novel is very interesting. The eternal themes in the novel “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy make this work relevant today.

Liza Bolkonskaya is the wife of Prince Andrei. She is attractive, the author himself treats her with sympathy, respectfully calling her “little princess.” The prototype of Liza Bolkonskaya was L.I. Volkonskaya, the wife of L.N.’s second cousin. Tolstoy, nee Truzson. The whole world loves Lisa, she is always lively, kind, and cannot imagine her life without high society. The external characteristics of the heroine are described by the author with great warmth: “Her pretty upper lip, with a slightly blackened mustache, was short in the teeth, but the more sweetly it opened and sometimes stretched out even more sweetly and fell onto the lower one. As always happens with quite attractive women, a disadvantage her short lips and half-open mouth seemed special, her beauty itself.

Everyone had fun looking at this pretty expectant mother, full of health and vivacity, bearing her situation so easily.”

However, Prince Andrey is not pleased with his wife; he feels unhappy in his marriage. They are completely different, Lisa loves her husband very much, but does not understand him, his aspirations and ideals are alien to her. During frequent arguments with her husband, a “brutal, squirrel-like expression” appeared on the princess’s face. Prince Andrei in his soul repented of marrying Lisa, but, talking with Pierre and his father, he agrees that Lisa is a highly moral woman, with her “you can be calm for your honor.” The princess herself also does not seek to find common ground with her husband. When Andrei goes to war, it is not his wife, but Princess Marya who blesses him. Lisa remains to live in the Bald Mountains, in the house of Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky, but does not experience warm feelings for him, but only fear and hostility. She also does not find a kindred spirit in Princess Marya; she is closer to the empty and frivolous Mademoiselle Bourrienne than to the subtle and spiritually rich Marya.

The image of Lisa Bolkonskaya stands apart from other female images in the novel. The heroine is not like Helen Kuragina, despite the fact that Lisa also loves social life. The little princess, unlike Helen, is capable of loving devotedly. But at the same time, Lisa does not look like Natasha Rostova. She does not have the liveliness and depth of feelings, the subtlety of nature that Natasha has. The heroine has little in common with Marya Bolkonskaya. Despite the fact that Princess Marya feels sorry for Lisa, the princess does not understand her desire for self-sacrifice and “universal love.” Princess Bolkonskaya is an ordinary woman, with ordinary female weaknesses, who loves her husband and wants reciprocal love.

Tolstoy prepared a short life for his heroine. She had a presentiment of her imminent death, and in fact dies during childbirth. But she gives Prince Andrei a son - little Nikolenka. The heroine’s life was not empty, she loved her husband and was completely devoted to him. But the author cannot make the heroine, whom he deeply likes, unhappy; she has no future with Prince Andrei, so Tolstoy “allows” her to die. The expression on the princess’s face just before her death and on her deathbed seems to indicate that Lisa loves everyone, she does not wish harm to anyone and does not understand why she is doomed to suffer. The death of the heroine evokes a feeling of burning guilt in Andrei Bolkonsky and pity in his father.

However, the death of Lisa Bolkonskaya was not accidental. Tolstoy shows her as charming, striving to be nice to everyone; in the world she was one of the desired figures. The heroine tried to combine these qualities with devotion to her husband and motherhood. However, Tolstoy did not like high society; he was far from the news and gossip discussed in the salons, just as Prince Andrei was far from them. Lisa fails to win her husband's heart, she becomes superfluous in the novel and dies. However, the fact that she left Prince Andrei a son suggests that this heroine performed an important function in the novel.

Updated: 2012-03-31

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The first time we encounter the Bolkonsky family in its entirety is at the end of the first part of the first volume, when everyone in Bald Mountains, on the main Bolkonsky estate, is awaiting the arrival of Prince Andrei and his wife. From this moment on, a lot, one might say almost everything, becomes clear about this family, about all their members. Starting with the old prince and ending with mlle Bourienne. Before we begin describing the family members, it should be said that everyone in the Bolkonsky family is special in their own way. If we draw a parallel with the Rostovs, we can immediately say: these are completely different people. The Rostovs are simple nobles, a good-natured father, a kind mother, a generous son, carefree children. Here everything is completely different. A dictator-father, a submissive daughter, a fearful daughter-in-law, and an independent son. This is an overview of the whole family, which gives some insight into the Bolkonskys. You can figuratively imagine the Bolkonskys as a triangle, at the top of which is their father, Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, on the other peak Andrei, and not the third, Princess Marya Bolkonskaya with Lisa, the wife of Prince Andrei. These are three fronts, three completely opposite groups (if one or two people can be called that) in the family.

Nikolai Bolkonsky

Most of all, the old prince valued “two virtues in people: activity and intelligence.” “He himself was involved in raising his daughter and, in order to develop both main virtues in her, he gave her lessons in algebra and geometry and distributed her whole life in continuous studies. He himself was constantly busy either writing his memoirs,” or “calculations from higher mathematics, either by turning snuff boxes on a machine, or by working in the garden and supervising the buildings that did not stop on his estate.” Living in the village, Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky reads a lot, he is aware of current events. Unlike the inhabitants of secular drawing rooms, he deeply worries about everything that happens in Russia, and believes that the duty of a nobleman is to serve his homeland. True love for the homeland and the consciousness of his duty to it are heard in his parting words to his son: “Remember one thing, Prince Andrei: if they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man... And if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be... ashamed!" When in 1806 the theater of military operations approached the Russian borders, Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, despite his venerable age, accepted the appointment as one of the eight commanders-in-chief of the militia. "He was constantly traveling around the three provinces entrusted to him; he was pedantic in his duties, strict to the point of cruelty with his subordinates, and he himself went down to the smallest details of the matter." In 1812, having learned about the capture of Smolensk by the French, the old Prince Bolkonsky decides to "stay in the Bald Mountains to the last extreme and defend himself." Thoughts about his homeland, about its fate, about the defeat of the Russian army, did not leave him even in his dying hours. Nikolai Andreevich was a Russian gentleman, tyranny and despotism were sometimes manifested in him, but at the same time he was a man of enormous moral strength, highly developed spiritually. Bolkonsky was inherited by his children - Prince Andrei and Princess Marya. The old Prince Bolkonsky did not want his daughter to be like secular women. He did not like idleness, he worked himself and demanded that the princess’s life be filled with useful activities.

Andrey Bolkonsky

In Tolstoy's artistic world there are heroes who persistently and purposefully seek the meaning of life, striving for complete harmony with the world. They are not interested in social intrigues, selfish interests, empty conversations in high society salons. They are easy to recognize among arrogant, self-satisfied faces. These, of course, include one of the most striking images of “War and Peace” - Andrei Bolkonsky. True, the first acquaintance with this hero does not evoke much sympathy, because his handsome face “with definite and dry features” is spoiled by an expression of boredom and dissatisfaction. But it, as Tolstoy writes, is caused by the fact that “everyone who was in the living room was not only familiar, but was already so tired of him that he found it very boring to look at them and listen to them.” The author's extensive commentary suggests that a brilliant and idle, empty life does not satisfy the hero, who strives to break the vicious circle in which he finds himself. Prince Andrei, who, in addition to intelligence and education, has a strong will, decisively changes his life by entering service at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. Bolkonsky dreams of heroism and glory, but his desires are far from vanity, for they are caused by the desire for the victory of Russian weapons, for the common good. Possessing hereditary pride, Andrei unconsciously separates himself from the world of ordinary people. In the hero’s soul, the gap between his lofty dreams and earthly everyday life becomes deeper and deeper. His pretty wife Lisa, who once seemed perfect to him, turned out to be an ordinary, ordinary woman. And Andrei undeservedly insults her with his disdainful attitude. And the bustling life of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, which Bolkonsky sees as the brain of the army, also turns out to be very far from ideal. Andrei firmly believes that his thoughts about saving the army will attract attention and interest and will serve the common good. But instead of saving the army, he has to save the doctor’s wife from the demands of the transport officer. This, in general, noble deed seems too petty and insignificant to Andrei in comparison with his heroic dream. The feat he accomplished during the Battle of Austerlitz, when he runs ahead of everyone with a banner in his hands, is full of external effect: even Napoleon noticed and appreciated it. But why, having committed a heroic act, does Andrei not experience any delight or elation? Probably because at that moment when he fell, seriously wounded, a new lofty truth was revealed to him, along with the high endless sky, spreading a blue vault above him. Against his background, all his former dreams and aspirations seemed small and insignificant to Andrey, the same as his former idol. A reassessment of values ​​took place in his soul. What seemed beautiful and sublime to him turned out to be empty and vain. And what he so diligently fenced himself off from - a simple and quiet family life - now seems desirable to him, full of happiness and harmony. It is not known how Bolkonsky’s life with his wife would have turned out. But when, having risen from the dead, he returned home kinder and gentler, a new blow fell upon him - the death of his wife, to whom he was never able to make amends. Andrei is trying to live a simple, calm life, touchingly caring for his son, improving the lives of his serfs: he made three hundred people free cultivators, and replaced the rest with dues. These humane measures, testifying to Bolkonsky’s progressive views, for some reason still do not convince of his love for the people. Too often he shows contempt for a peasant or a soldier, whom one can pity, but cannot respect. In addition, the state of depression and the feeling of the impossibility of happiness indicate that all the transformations cannot completely occupy his mind and heart. Changes in Andrei's difficult mental state begin with the arrival of Pierre, who, seeing his friend's depressed mood, tries to instill in him faith in the existence of a kingdom of goodness and truth that should exist on earth. Andrei's final revival to life occurs thanks to his meeting with Natasha Rostova. The description of the moonlit night and Natasha’s first ball emanates poetry and charm. Communication with her opens up a new sphere of life for Andrey - love, beauty, poetry. But it is with Natasha that he is not destined to be happy, because there is no complete mutual understanding between them. Natasha loves Andrei, but does not understand and does not know him. And she, too, remains a mystery to him with her own, special inner world. If Natasha lives every moment, unable to wait and postpone until a certain time the moment of happiness, then Andrei is able to love from a distance, finding a special charm in anticipation of the upcoming wedding with his beloved girl. The separation turned out to be too difficult a test for Natasha, because, unlike Andrei, she is not able to think about something else, to keep herself busy with something. The story with Anatoly Kuragin destroys the possible happiness of these heroes. Proud and proud Andrei is unable to forgive Natasha for her mistake. And she, experiencing painful remorse, considers herself unworthy of such a noble, ideal person. Fate separates loving people, leaving bitterness and pain of disappointment in their souls. But she will unite them before Andrei’s death, because the Patriotic War of 1812 will change a lot in their characters. When Napoleon entered Russia and began to rapidly advance, Andrei Bolkonsky, who hated the war after being seriously wounded at Austerlitz, went into the active army, refusing a safe and promising service at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. Commanding a regiment, the proud aristocrat Bolkonsky becomes close to the mass of soldiers and peasants, learns to appreciate and respect the common people. If at first Prince Andrei tried to arouse the courage of the soldiers by walking under bullets, then when he saw them in battle, he realized that he had nothing to teach them. He begins to look at the men in soldiers' greatcoats as patriotic heroes who courageously and steadfastly defended their Fatherland. Andrei Bolkonsky comes to the idea that the success of the army does not depend on the position, weapons or number of troops, but on the feeling that exists in him and in every soldier. This means that he believes that the mood of the soldiers, the general morale of the troops are a decisive factor for the outcome of the battle. But still, the complete unity of Prince Andrei with the common people did not happen. It is not for nothing that Tolstoy introduces a seemingly insignificant episode about how the prince wanted to swim on a hot day, but due to his disgust towards the soldiers wallowing in the pond, he was never able to fulfill his intention. Andrei himself is ashamed of his feelings, but cannot overcome it. It is symbolic that at the moment of his mortal wound, Andrei experiences a great craving for simple earthly life, but immediately thinks about why he is so sorry to part with it. This struggle between earthly passions and ideal, cold love for people becomes especially acute before his death. Having met Natasha and forgiven her, he feels a surge of vitality, but this reverent and warm feeling is replaced by some kind of unearthly detachment, which is incompatible with life and means death. Thus, revealing in Andrei Bolkonsky many remarkable features of a patriotic nobleman. Tolstoy ends his path of quest with heroic death for the sake of saving his homeland. And in the novel, his friend and like-minded person Pierre Bezukhov is destined to continue this search for higher spiritual values, which remained unattainable for Andrei.

Maria Bolkonskaya

The princess lives permanently on the Bald Mountains estate with her father, an illustrious nobleman of Catherine’s, exiled under Paul and who has not gone anywhere since then. Her father, Nikolai Andreevich, is not a pleasant person: he is often grumpy and rude, scolds the princess as a fool, throws notebooks and, to top it all off, is a pedant. And here is the portrait of the princess: “The mirror reflected an ugly, weak body and a thin face.” And then Tolstoy seemed amazed by what he saw: “the princess’s eyes, large, deep and radiant (as if rays of warm light sometimes came out of them in sheaves), were so beautiful that very often, despite the ugliness of her entire face, these eyes became more attractive than beauty*. Together with Prince Andrey, Princess Marya is shown to us in the novel as a perfect, absolutely integral psychologically, physically and morally human type. At the same time, like any woman, according to Tolstoy, she lives in a constant, unconscious expectation of love and family happiness. - a mirror of the soul, a common place. But the princess’s soul is truly beautiful, kind and gentle. And it is with her light that Princess Marya’s eyes shine, she is intelligent, romantic and religious. She humbly endures her father’s eccentric behavior, his mockery and ridicule, without ceasing to deeply and deeply. She loves him very much. She loves the “little princess,” she loves her nephew Nikolai, she loves her French companion who betrayed her, she loves her brother Andrei, she loves, without being able to show it, Natasha, she loves the vicious Anatole Kuragin. Her love is such that everyone nearby obeys its rhythms and movements and dissolves in it. Tolstoy gives Princess Marya an amazing destiny. He realizes for her any of the wildest romantic dreams of a provincial young lady. She experiences betrayal and the death of loved ones, she is saved from the hands of her enemies by the brave hussar Nikolinka Rostov, her future husband (how can one not remember Kozma Prutkov: “If you want to be beautiful, join the hussars”). A long languor of mutual love and courtship, and in the end - a wedding and a happy family life. Sometimes one gets the impression that the author elegantly and cleverly parodies countless French novels, which were an integral part of the “women’s world” and had a significant influence on the formation of the spiritual world of the Russian young lady of the early 19th century. Of course, this is not a direct parody. Tolstoy is too big for this. Using a special literary device, he always takes Princess Marya beyond the boundaries of the plot. Every time she sensibly and logically comprehends any “romantic” or similar combination of events. (Let us remember her reaction to the adultery of Anatol Kuragin and the Frenchwoman Bourien.) Her intelligence allows her to stand with both feet on the ground. Her dreaminess, developed by novels, allows her to think of some parallel, second “romantic” reality. Her religiosity stems from her moral sense, which is kind-hearted and open to the world. Undoubtedly, its literary predecessor attracts attention in this context. This, of course, is Lizonka from Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades”. In some cases, the pattern of their destinies coincides down to the smallest detail. “Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr,” writes Pushkin, “she spilled tea and received reprimands for an extra piece of sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the author’s mistakes.” How can one not remember the life of Princess Marya with her father in Bald Mountains and Moscow! In the image of Princess Marya there is much less literary typicality and much more of a living, quivering soul and human attractiveness than other female characters in the novel. Together with the author, we, the readers, take an active part in her fate. In any case, real pleasure comes from the description of her cozy family happiness with her limited but deeply beloved husband among her children, relatives and friends.

Lisa Bolkonskaya

Prince Andrei's wife. She is the darling of the whole world, an attractive young woman whom everyone calls “the little princess.” “Her pretty upper lip, with a slightly blackened mustache, was short in the teeth, but the more sweetly it opened and even more sweetly it sometimes stretched out and fell onto the lower one. As always happens with quite attractive women, her shortcoming - short lips and half-open mouth - seemed with her special, actually her beauty. Everyone was happy to look at this pretty future mother, full of health and liveliness, who endured her situation so easily.” Lisa was everyone's favorite thanks to her constant liveliness and politeness as a socialite; she could not imagine her life without high society. But Prince Andrei did not love his wife and felt unhappy in his marriage. Lisa does not understand her husband, his aspirations and ideals. After Andrei leaves for the war, Lisa lives in the Bald Mountains with the old Prince Bolkonsky, for whom she feels fear and hostility. Lisa foresees her imminent death and actually dies during childbirth.

Nikolenka Bolkonsky

Another Nikolai Bolkonsky - Nikolenka - will continue the ideas of his father. In "Epilogue" he is 15 years old. For six years he was left without a father. And even before the age of six, the boy spent little time with him. In the first seven years of Nikolenka’s life, his father participated in two wars, stayed abroad for a long time due to illness, devoted a lot of effort to transformative activities in the Speransky commission (of which the old prince was proud, who would probably have been upset if he had learned about Prince Andrei’s disappointment in state activities) . The dying Bolkonsky leaves his son something like an old encrypted will about the “birds of the air.” He does not pronounce these gospel words out loud, but Tolstoy says that the prince’s son understood everything, even more than an adult, wise person with life experience, could understand. As a “bird of heaven”, which in the Gospel is a symbol of the soul, not having “image and form”, but constituting one essence - love - Prince Andrei comes, as promised, to Nikolenka after his death. The boy dreams of the Father - love for people, and Nikolenka takes an oath to sacrifice himself (it is not for nothing that Mucius Scaevola comes to mind) at the command of the Father (Father is a word written, of course, not by chance with a capital letter).

After reading L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” readers encounter some images of heroes who are morally strong and set a life example for us. We see heroes who go through a difficult path to find their truth in life. This is how the image of Andrei Bolkonsky is presented in the novel “War and Peace”. The image is multifaceted, ambiguous, complex, but understandable to the reader.

Portrait of Andrei Bolkonsky

We meet Bolkonsky at the evening of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. L.N. Tolstoy gives him the following description: “...short stature, a very handsome young man with certain dry features.” We see that the prince’s presence at the evening is very passive. He came there because it was supposed to: his wife Lisa was at the evening, and he had to be next to her. But Bolkonsky is clearly bored, the author shows this in everything “... from a tired, bored look to a quiet, measured step.”

In the image of Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy shows an educated, intelligent, noble secular man who knows how to think rationally and be worthy of his title. Andrei loved his family very much, respected his father, the old Prince Bolkonsky, called him “You, father...” As Tolstoy writes, “... cheerfully endured his father’s ridicule of new people and with visible joy called his father to a conversation and listened to him.”

He was kind and caring, although he may not seem like that to us.

Heroes of the novel about Andrei Bolkonsky

Lisa, the wife of Prince Andrei, was somewhat afraid of her strict husband. Before leaving for the war, she told him: “...Andrey, you have changed so much, you have changed so much...”

Pierre Bezukhov “...considered Prince Andrei an example of all perfections...” His attitude towards Bolkonsky was sincerely kind and gentle. Their friendship remained faithful to the end.

Marya Bolkonskaya, Andrei’s sister, said: “You are good to everyone, Andre, but you have some kind of pride in thought.” By this she emphasized her brother’s special dignity, his nobility, intelligence, and high ideals.

Old Prince Bolkonsky had high hopes for his son, but he loved him like a father. “Remember one thing, if they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man... And if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be... ashamed!” - the father said goodbye.

Kutuzov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, treated Bolkonsky in a fatherly manner. He received him cordially and made him his adjutant. “I need good officers myself...” said Kutuzov when Andrei asked to be released into Bagration’s detachment.

Prince Bolkonsky and the war

In a conversation with Pierre Bezukhov, Bolkonsky expressed the thought: “Drawing rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out. Now I’m going to war, to the greatest war that has ever happened, but I don’t know anything and I’m no good.”

But Andrei’s craving for fame, for his greatest destiny was strong, he was heading towards “his Toulon” - here he is, the hero of Tolstoy’s novel. “...we are officers who serve our Tsar and Fatherland...” Bolkonsky said with true patriotism.

At the request of his father, Andrei ended up at Kutuzov’s headquarters. In the army, Andrei had two reputations, very different from each other. Some “listened to him, admired him and imitated him,” others “considered him a pompous, cold and unpleasant person.” But he made them love and respect him, some were even afraid of him.

Bolkonsky considered Napoleon Bonaparte a “great commander.” He recognized his genius and admired his talent for warfare. When Bolkonsky was assigned the mission to report to the Austrian Emperor Franz about the successful battle of Krems, Bolkonsky was proud and glad that he was the one going. He felt like a hero. But having arrived in Brunne, he learned that Vienna was occupied by the French, that there was “the Prussian Union, betrayal of Austria, a new triumph of Bonaparte...” and no longer thought about his glory. He thought about how to save the Russian army.

In the Battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel War and Peace is at the peak of his glory. Without expecting it, he grabbed the thrown banner and shouted “Guys, go ahead!” ran towards the enemy, and the whole battalion ran after him. Andrei was wounded and fell on the field, there was only the sky above him: “... there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!..” Andrei’s fate after the Battle of Austrelitz was unknown. Kutuzov wrote to Bolkonsky’s father: “Your son, in my eyes, with a banner in his hands, in front of the regiment, fell as a hero worthy of his father and his fatherland... it is still unknown whether he is alive or not.” But soon Andrei returned home and decided not to participate in any military operations anymore. His life acquired apparent calm and indifference. The meeting with Natasha Rostova turned his life upside down: “Suddenly such an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes, contradictory to his whole life, arose in his soul...”

Bolkonsky and love

At the very beginning of the novel, in a conversation with Pierre Bezukhov, Bolkonsky said the phrase: “Never, never get married, my friend!” Andrei seemed to love his wife Lisa, but his judgments about women speak of his arrogance: “Egoism, vanity, stupidity, insignificance in everything - these are women when they show themselves as they are. If you look at them in the light, it seems like there is something, but there’s nothing, nothing, nothing!” When he first saw Rostova, she seemed to him like a joyful, eccentric girl who only knew how to run, sing, dance and have fun. But gradually a feeling of love came to him. Natasha gave him lightness, joy, a sense of life, something Bolkonsky had long forgotten. There was no more melancholy, contempt for life, disappointment, he felt a completely different, new life. Andrei told Pierre about his love and became convinced of the idea of ​​marrying Rostova.

Prince Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova were matched. Separating for a whole year was torment for Natasha, and a test of feelings for Andrei. Having been carried away by Anatoly Kuragin, Rostova did not keep her word to Bolkonsky. But by the will of fate, Anatol and Andrei ended up together on their deathbed. Bolkonsky forgave him and Natasha. After being wounded on the Borodino field, Andrei dies. Natasha spends his last days of life with him. She looks after him very carefully, understanding and guessing with her eyes what exactly Bolkonsky wants.

Andrei Bolkonsky and death

Bolkonsky was not afraid to die. He had experienced this feeling twice already. Lying under the Austerlitz sky, he thought that death had come to him. And now, next to Natasha, he was absolutely sure that he had not lived this life in vain. Prince Andrei's last thoughts were about love, about life. He died in complete peace, because he knew and understood what love is, and what he loves: “Love? What is love?... Love interferes with death. Love is life..."

But still, in the novel “War and Peace” Andrei Bolkonsky deserves special attention. That is why, after reading Tolstoy’s novel, I decided to write an essay on the topic “Andrei Bolkonsky - the hero of the novel “War and Peace.” Although there are enough worthy heroes in this work, Pierre, Natasha, and Marya.

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