Nikolai Rostov

Count Nikolai Ilyich Rostov (Russian: Николай Ильич Ростов, Nikolaj Il'ič Rostov) is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace.

Nikolai Rostov
War and Peace character
Created byLeo Tolstoy
Portrayed byJeremy Brett
Oleg Tabakov
Sylvester Morand
Jack Lowden
In-universe information
Full nameNikolai Ilyich Rostov
GenderMale
TitleCount
OccupationSoldier first. Then quits the army and becomes a farmer.
FamilyIlya Rostov (father)
Natalia Rostova (mother)
Vera Rostova,
Natasha Rostova (sisters)
Petya Rostov (brother)
Sonya Rostova (cousin)
SpouseMaria Bolkonskaya
ChildrenAndrei, Mitya, and Natalia
NationalityRussian

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. He gives up his studies in a zealous desire to serve his country as a Hussar in the fight against Napoleon's French invading forces.[1] He dreams of manly success and glory in battle, although these dreams are somewhat undermined after he falls and is injured in the Battle of Austerlitz. Nikolai is initially easily influenced and acts out of emotional responses; unlike his childhood friend, the social climber Boris Drubetskoy, who writer Dimitri Pisarev regarded "as the complete antithesis".[2]

He refuses to use his family's contacts to improve his rank in the army, and comes under the influence of the libertine Dolokhov, losing large amounts of money to him at cards. Nikolai promises to marry his cousin Sonya but on his first leave home he pays no attention to her, and regularly goes to visit a courtesan. When Nikolai's friend Dolokhov proposes to Sonya and is rejected, Nikolai is easily led to financial ruin and social humiliation by Dolokhov, who manipulates him into again losing 43,000 Rubles at cards. Later, Sonya releases Nikolai from his promise to marry her. The book ends with his successful marriage to Maria Bolkonskaya and the couple's close friendship with Natasha and Pierre Bezukhov. Also, Nikolai's mother and Sonya live with him and his family at Bald Hills.

See also

References
  1. Tolstoy, Leo (1869). War and Peace. Part I Chapter 8.CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. A. V. Knowles, Leo Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage (Routledge, 1997), 114.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.