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A character in War and Peace

Princess Mary Bolkonskaya

Andrew's plain, devout sister, who lives with their harsh father at Bald Hills and marries Nicholas Rostov.

What they want

She wants to be good, and in private she wants a husband and children.

The book

War and PeaceLeo Tolstoy, 1869

Three young Russians grow up while Napoleon's armies march from Austerlitz to a burning Moscow and back out again.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Princess Mary looks after her difficult father, studies with him, prays, and gives money to wandering pilgrims. She has beautiful eyes, the book says, and believes nobody will marry her.

How Princess Mary Bolkonskaya Is Portrayed

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Her father's pupilIn Book I, Chapter XXV, old Prince Bolkonski gives her lessons in algebra and geometry from a notebook he has written himself.
  • A suitor from St PetersburgIn Book III, Chapters III to V, Prince Vasili brings Anatole to Bald Hills to marry her. She finds him kissing her companion, Mademoiselle Bourienne, and refuses him.
  • Her father's deathIn Book X, Chapter VIII, as the French approach, her father is struck down by paralysis. He dies at Bogucharovo, and the peasants there refuse to let her leave.
  • RescuedIn Book X, Nicholas Rostov happens on the estate, puts down the peasants' revolt, and escorts her away.
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Princess Mary marries Nicholas Rostov after the war. Her money pays off the Rostov debts, and in the first epilogue she raises Andrew's son with her own children at Bald Hills.

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