The female image in the novel “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy is, one might say, the theme of a separate work. With his help, the author shows us his attitude to life, an understanding of the happiness of a woman and her mission. On the pages of the book there are many characters and fates of the fair sex: Natasha Rostova, Maria Bolkonskaya, Lisa Bolkonskaya, Sonya, Helen Kuragin. Each of them is worthy of our attention and shows the attitude of the great writer to this type of women. So, let's try to remember who embodies the female image in the novel "War and Peace." We will pay attention to several heroines that are found on the pages of the work.
Natasha Rostova at the beginning of the novel
This female image in the novel "War and Peace" requires the greatest attention of the author, and he devotes to Natasha many pages of his creation. The heroine, of course, causes the most lively interest of readers. At the beginning of the work she is a child, but a little later we see a young enthusiastic girl. We see how she gracefully swirls in the dance, smiles, looks at life as if she had just opened a book full of mysteries, wonders, and adventures. This is a surprisingly kind and open young lady who loves the whole world, trusts him. Every day of her life is a real holiday, she is the favorite of her parents. It seems that such a light character will certainly give her a happy, carefree life with a loving husband.
She admires the beauty of the moonlit night, she sees something beautiful in every moment. Such enthusiasm wins the heart of Andrei Bolkonsky, who accidentally heard a conversation between Natasha and Sonya. Natasha, of course, also falls in love with him easily, joyfully, wholeheartedly. However, her feeling did not pass the test of time, with the same readiness she accepts the courtship of Anatol Kuragin. Andrei cannot forgive her for this, which he admits to his friend, Pierre Bezukhov. It’s hard for Natasha to blame for infidelity, because she’s so young, she wants to know more about life. Such is this young female image in the novel "War and Peace."
Natasha Rostova. Life tests
However, the girl has a lot of tests that greatly change her character. Who knows, perhaps, if Natasha had not encountered life's difficulties, a narcissistic egoist would have grown out of her, thinking only of her interests and joys, unable to make her husband and children happy.
She readily undertakes to care for the dying Andrei Bolkonsky, showing himself as a fully mature, adult person.
After the death of Andrei Natasha, he is very sad, is very worried about his passing away. Now before us is not a fun coquette, but a serious young woman who has experienced a loss.
The next blow in her life is the death of her brother Petit. She cannot indulge in grief, as her mother needs help, who nearly went crazy due to the loss of her son. Natasha spends day and night at her bedside, talking to her. Her gentle voice calms the countess, who has transformed from a youthful woman into an old woman.
We see a completely different captivating female image in the novel “War and Peace”. Natasha Rostova is now completely different, she easily sacrifices her interests for the happiness of others. It seems that all the warmth that her parents gave her is now pouring out on others.
Natasha Rostova at the end of the novel
The beloved female image in the novel "War and Peace" is for many the image of Natasha Rostova. This heroine is loved by the author himself, for a reason he pays so much attention to her. At the end of the work, we see Natasha as the mother of a large family who lives with concerns for loved ones. Now she does not at all resemble that young girl who was before us on the first pages of the work. The happiness of this woman is the well-being and health of Pierre’s children and husband. She is alien to empty pastime and idleness. She gives even more power to love received at a tender age.
Of course, Natasha is now not so elegant and beautiful, she does not really look after herself, wears simple clothes. This woman lives in the interests of people close to her, giving herself entirely to her husband and children.
Surprisingly, she is absolutely happy. It is known that a person is able to be happy only when he lives the interests of loved ones, because loved ones are a continuation of ourselves. Love for children is also love for oneself, only in a broader sense.
So L.N. Tolstoy described this amazing female image in the novel "War and Peace." Natasha Rostova, it’s hard to talk about her briefly - this is the ideal of the woman of the writer himself. He admires her graceful youth, admires the matured heroine and makes her a happy mother and wife. Tolstoy believed that the greatest happiness for a woman is marriage and motherhood. Only then her life is full of meaning.
L.N. Tolstoy also shows us how different female attractiveness can be. At a young age, admiration for the world, openness to everything new, of course, delight others. However, such behavior in an adult lady may seem ridiculous. Just imagine if the beauty of the night was not admired by a young girl, but by a lady of a more mature age. Most likely, she could look ridiculous. Each age has its own beauty. Caring for loved ones makes an adult woman happy, and her spiritual beauty makes others admire.
When high school students are asked an essay on the theme “My favorite female image in the novel“ War and Peace ”, everyone without exception writes about Natasha Rostova, although, of course, one could write about someone else if one wanted to. This once again confirms that generally accepted human values have been defined in the world for a long time, and the heroine of the novel, written more than a hundred years ago, still causes sympathy.
Marya Bolkonskaya
Another favorite image of the author in the novel “War and Peace” is Mary Bolkonskaya, sister of Andrei Bolkonsky. Unlike Natasha, she did not have a liveliness of character and attractiveness. As she writes about Marya Nikolaevna Tolstoy, she was ugly: a weak body, a thin face. The girl meekly obeyed her father, who wanted to develop activity and mind in her, being confident in her daughter's absolute plainness. Her life consisted of classes in algebra and geometry.
However, the unusual decoration on the face of this woman was the eyes, which the author himself calls a mirror of the soul. It was they who made her face "more attractive than beauty." The eyes of Marya Nikolaevna, large and always sad, radiated kindness. Such an author gives them an amazing description.
The female image in the novel "War and Peace", embodied by Marya Nikolaevna, is an absolute virtue. From the way the author writes about her, it becomes clear how much he admires such women, whose existence is sometimes unnoticed.
Andrei Bolkonsky’s sister, like Natasha, loves the family, although she was never spoiled, she was brought up in severity. Mary suffered the bad character of her father, respected him. She could not even think about discussing the decisions of Nikolai Andreyevich, she was awed by everything he did.
Marya Nikolaevna is very impressionable and kind. She is saddened by her father’s bad mood, she sincerely rejoices at the arrival of her groom, Anatol Kuragin, in whom she sees kindness, courage, generosity.
Like any kind woman, Mary, of course, dreams of family happiness and children. She endlessly believes in fate, in the will of the Almighty. Bolkonsky’s sister does not dare to desire anything for herself, her noble deep nature is not able to envy.
The naivety of Marya Nikolaevna does not allow her to see human vices. She sees in everyone a reflection of her own pure soul: love, kindness, decency.
Mary is one of those amazing people who are truly happy with the happiness of others. This smart and bright woman is simply not capable of anger, envy, revenge and other base feelings.
So, the second delightful female image in the novel "War and Peace" is Mary Bolkonskaya. Perhaps Tolstoy loves her no less than Natasha Rostov, although she does not pay so much attention to her. She is like that ideal of the author, to which Natasha will come in many years. Having no children, no family, she finds her happiness in giving heat to other people.
Feminine happiness of Marya Bolkonskaya
Bolkonsky’s sister was not mistaken: not wanting anything for herself, she nonetheless met a man who sincerely loved her. Mary became the wife of Nikolai Rostov.
Two, it would seem, completely different people ideally suited each other. Each of them experienced disappointment: Mary - in Anatole Kuragin, Nikolai - in Alexander the First. Nikolai turned out to be the man who was able to increase the wealth of the Bolkonski family, making the life of his wife happy.
Mary surrounds her husband with care and understanding: she approves of his desire to improve himself through hard work, through housekeeping and concern for the peasants.
The female image in the novel “War and Peace”, embodied by Marya Bolkonskaya, is a portrait of a real woman who is used to sacrificing herself for the well-being of others and being happy from it.
Marya Bolkonskaya and Natasha Rostova
Natasha Rostova, which we see at the beginning of the work, is absolutely not like Marya: she wants happiness for herself. Sister Andrei Bolkonsky, like her brother, puts in the first place a sense of duty, faith, religion.
However, the older Natasha becomes, the more she reminds Princess Mary of wanting happiness for others. However, they are different. Natasha’s happiness can be called more mundane, she lives on daily chores and deeds.
Marya is more concerned about the spiritual well-being of loved ones.
Both heroines are undoubtedly loved by the author of the work and are the embodiment of sacrifice - the main, according to Tolstoy, female virtue.
Sonia
The niece of Natasha Rostova’s father is another female image. In the novel "War and Peace" Sonia, it would seem, exists only to show the best qualities of Natasha.
This girl, on the one hand, is very positive: she is prudent, decent, kind, ready to sacrifice herself. If we talk about her appearance, then she is very good. This is a slender graceful brunette with long eyelashes and a luxurious braid.
Initially, Nikolai Rostov was in love with her, but they could not get married, because Nikolai's parents insisted on postponing the wedding.
The girl’s life is more subordinated to reason, not to feelings. Tolstoy does not really like this heroine, despite all her positive qualities. He leaves her alone.
The author considers her poor spiritually, while endowing her with an attractive appearance. It should be noted that Tolstoy is characterized by emphasizing spiritual wealth with the help of not too expressive appearance.
The author considers Sonia to be ordinary, ordinary and, possibly, not worthy of happiness.
Lisa Bolkonskaya
Lisa Bolkonskaya is, one might say, a supporting heroine, the wife of Prince Andrei. In the light of her called "little princess." It is remembered by readers thanks to a pretty upper sponge with antennae. Lisa is an attractive person, even this small flaw gives the young woman a unique charm inherent only to her. She is good, full of vitality and health. This woman easily endures her delicate position, everyone around is having fun looking at her.
It is important for Lisa to be in the light, she is spoiled, even capricious. She is not inclined to think about the meaning of life, leads a usual way of life for a secular lady, loves empty conversations in salons and in the evenings, enjoys new outfits. Bolkonsky’s wife does not understand her husband, Prince Andrei, who considers it important to benefit society.
Lisa loves him superficially, as if they were only supposed to get married. He is for her - a background that fits into the ideas of secular ladies about how a spouse should be. Liza does not understand his thoughts on the meaning of life, it seems to her that everything is simple.
It's hard for them to be together. Andrei is forced to accompany her to balls and other social events, which becomes completely unbearable for him.
This is perhaps the simplest female image in the novel "War and Peace." Lisa Bolkonskaya from the first edition of the novel remained unchanged. Her prototype was the wife of one of Tolstoy's relatives, Princess Volkonskaya.
Despite the complete lack of mutual understanding between the spouses, Andrei Bolkonsky in a conversation with Pierre notes that she is a rare woman with whom you can be calm for your own honor.
When Andrei goes to war, Lisa settles in his father’s house. Her superficiality is once again confirmed by the fact that she prefers to communicate with Mademoiselle Bourienne, and not with Princess Marya.
Lisa anticipated that she could not survive the birth, and so it happened. She treated everyone with love and did not want anyone to be evil. This was evidenced by her face after death.
The lack of character of Lisa Bolkonskaya is that she is superficial and selfish. However, this does not prevent her from being gentle, affectionate, good-natured. She is a pleasant and cheerful conversationalist.
However, Tolstoy treats her coldly. He does not love this heroine because of her emotional emptiness.
Helen Kuragin
The last female image in the novel "War and Peace" is Helen Kuragina. Rather, this is the last heroine that we will write about in this article.
Of all the women who appear on the pages of this grandiose novel, Helene is certainly the most beautiful and luxurious.
Behind her beautiful appearance are selfishness, vulgarity, intellectual and spiritual underdevelopment. Helen realizes the power of her beauty and uses it.
She wants everything she wants at the expense of her own appearance. Accustomed to this state of things, this woman ceased to strive for the development of personality.
Helene becomes Pierre Bezukhov's wife solely because of his rich inheritance. She does not really seek to create a strong family, give birth to children.
The war of 1812 finally puts everything in its place. For the sake of his own well-being, Helen adopts Catholicism, while her compatriots unite against the enemy. This woman, whose image can be called "dead", is really dying.
Of course, the most beautiful outwardly female image in the novel "War and Peace" is Helen. Tolstoy admires her shoulders at the first ball of Natasha Rostova, but he interrupts her life, considering such an existence meaningless.
Lisa Bolkonskaya, Helen Kuragina and Natasha Rostova
As mentioned above, the deaths of Lisa and Helen were not accidental. They both lived for themselves, were capricious, selfish.
Recall what Natasha Rostova was at the beginning of the novel. Like Lisa Bolkonskaya, she admired balls, high society.
Like Helen Kuragin, she was attracted to something forbidden, inaccessible. It was for this reason that she was going to run with Anatole.
However, Natasha’s high spirituality does not allow her to remain forever a superficial fool and plunge, like Helen, into a depraved life. The main character of the novel accepts the difficulties that fell to her lot, helps her mother, takes care of terminally ill Andrei.
The deaths of Lisa and Helen symbolize the fact that the passion for social events and the desire to try the forbidden must remain in youth. Maturity requires more balanced behavior and a willingness to sacrifice our own interests.
Tolstoy created a whole gallery of female images. He loved some of them, others not, but for some reason he included in his novel. It is difficult to determine what is the best female image in the novel "War and Peace." Even the negative and unloved heroines were invented by the author for a reason. They show us human vices, the inability to distinguish between the false, the superficial, and the really important. And let everyone decide for himself what is the most attractive female image in the novel "War and Peace."