Princess Maria"Marya" in certain translations Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya (, ''Mariya Bolkonskaia'') is a fictional character in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's 1869 novel ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

''. Princess Maria, the sister of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, is a deeply religious young woman who has resigned herself to an unmarried life to be with her domineering father, Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky. Princess Maria is a plain woman, whose lack of beauty is offset by her large, caring eyes. She is overshadowed by her beautiful French companion, Mademoiselle Bourienne. An attempt to marry her off to the profligate Prince

Anatole Kuragin Anatole Vasilyevich Kuragin () is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'', its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well. Description Anatole is Hélène Kuragina's wild-living brother and a ...

fails. Princess Maria's father dies during the days leading to the

battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

. The peasants on her Bogucharovo estate threaten to become violent and Maria is rescued by

Nikolai Rostov Count Nikolai Ilyich Rostov () is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. Count Nikolai is the brother of Vera Rostova, Natasha Rostova and Petya Rostov. At the start of the novel, Nikolai is aged 20 and a university student ...

. They fall in love, but several situations keep them apart and eventually they both forgo any hope of marriage. Maria's brother, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, is seriously wounded in battle and chances to fall under the care of

Natasha Rostova Countess Natalya "Natasha" Ilyinichna Rostova (; , named Natasha Rostov in the Rosemary Edmonds version; born 1792, according to the book) is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel '' War and Peace''. She is the beautiful dau ...

, with whom Princess Maria becomes close friends after they witness Andrei Bolkonsky's death together. Maria marries the impoverished

in the winter of 1813, and eventually the couple have four children. Nikolai Rostov relies on his work and her moral support, not financial, to become a wealthy and content estate owner. Stephen Vizinczey suggests that Tolstoy created Maria out of his longing for his mother, Princess Maria Nikolayevna Volkonskaya, who died before Tolstoy's second birthday.

References

External links

Princess Maria Bolkonskaya (Character) from ''Voyna i mir'' (1967)
''The Internet Movie Database'' Characters in War and Peace Fictional Russian people in literature Female characters in literature Literary characters introduced in 1869 {{Lit-char-stub

See also

References

External links