War and Preamble II: Dramatis Personae
Balaga is Fun, Bolkonsky is crazy, Mary is plain, Dolokhov is fierce, Hélène is a slut, Anatole is hot, Marya is old school, Sonya is good, Natasha is young, and Andrei isn't here
There are a lot of characters in War and Peace. Like, at least 500. Please note that the text on Project Gutenberg does not come with a cheat sheet of characters and this list is taken from the 2010 Maude/Mandelker translation. As a result there may be minor discrepancies between how names appear here and how they appear in the emails. I’ve noted Anglicized names where I know for sure they will happen but otherwise, some names may vary in translation.
To assist the reader, the following is a grouping of the major characters by family—their full names, French forms (if necessary), and diminutives. The names by which the characters are most commonly referred to are given in CAPITALS with stressed syllables marked with acute accents.
THE BEZÚKHOVS
COUNT Kiril Vladímirovich BEZÚKHOV
PIERRE, his son, legitimized after his father’s death, becomes Count Pyotr Kirílych BEZÚKHOV
Princess KATERÍNA SEMYÓNOVNA (Catiche, Katishe), Pierre’s cousin
THE ROSTÓVS
COUNT Ilyá Andréevich ROSTÓV
COUNTESS Natália ROSTÓVA (née SHÍNSHINA), his wife
Count NIKOLAI ILYÍCH Rostóv (Nikólenka, NICHOLAS, Nikólushka, Kólya,
Koko), their elder sonCount Pyotr Ilyích Rostóv (PÉTYA), their second son
Countess VÉRA ILÝNICHNA Rostóva, their elder daughter
Countess Natália Ilýinichna Rostóva (Nathalie, NATÁSHA), their younger
daughter
SÓFYA ALEXÁNDROVNA (Sophie, Sónya, Sónyushka), a poor member ofthe Rostóv family circle
BERG, Alphonse Kárlich, an officer of German extraction who marries
VéraTHE BOLKÓNSKYS
PRINCE Níkolai Andréevich BOLKÓNSKY, a retired General-in-Chief
PRINCE ANDRÉI NIKOLÁEVICH Bolkónsky (André, ANDREW, Andryúsha), his son
PRINCESS MÁRYA (Marie, MARY, Másha) Bolkónskaya, his daughter
Princess Elizavéta Kárlovna Bolkónskaya (Lise, Liza, née Meinen), Andréi’s wife
Prince Níkolai Andréevich Bolkónsky, Andréi’s son (Nikólushka, Nikólenka)
TÍKHON, Prince N. Bolkónsky’s attendant
ALPÁTYCH, his steward
THE KURÁGINS
PRINCE VASÍLI SERGÉEVICH Kurágin
Prince IPPOLIT VASÍLIEVICH Kurágin, his elder son
Prince ÁNATOLE VASÍLIEVICH Kurágin, his younger son
Princess ELÉNA VASÍLIEV Na Kurágina (Hélène, Elén, Lyólya), his daughter
Princess ÁNNA MIKHÁILOVNA Drubetskáya
Prince BORÍS Drubetskóy (Bórya, Bórenka), her son
JULIE Karágina, an heiress
MÁRYÁ DMÍTRIEVNA Akhrosímova (le terrible dragon)
MIKHAÍL ILARIÓNOVICH KUTÚZOV, General
BILÍBIN, a diplomat
DENÍSOV, Vasíli Dmítrich (Váska), a hussar officer
Lavrúshka, his batman
DÓLOKHOV (Fédya), an officer and desperado
Count Rastopchín, Governor of Moscow
ÁNNA PÁVLOVNA Scherer (Annette), Maid of Honour to the ex-Empress Márya Fyódorovna, Dowager Empress
Shinshín, a relation of Countess Rostóva
Timókhin, an infantry officer
Túshin, an artillery officer
Platón KARATÁEV, a peasant
Next week: historical figures & geography in War and Peace!