Nikolai Bolkonsky
The old prince, father of Andrei and Marya
BOOK ONE
Book One, Part One
1 Jan: Chapter 1
Anna Pavlovna has few kind words to say of the old prince, who lives retired in the country. Nicknamed “the King of Prussia”, he is very rich, stingy, clever but eccentric and a bore. In his household, his daughter Marya is thought to be very unhappy.
22 Jan: Chapter 22
A small old man with bushy eyebrows and shrewd, youthfully glittering eyes. He is hard-hearted and inspires fear and respect in all. He believes in the virtues of “activity and intelligence” and loathes “idleness and superstition”. This last point puts him at loggerheads with his pious daughter, as he tries to drive the religion out of her head with algebra. Despite his coldness, there are hints of how he tries to control his temper and an underlying, unsayable love for Marya.
23 Jan: Chapter 23
The old prince is having his customary “golden” nap before dinner, something that puts him in good humour. He asks his son about the war and this new German idea of “strategy” but pays little attention to Andrei’s reply.
24 Jan: Chapter 24
At dinner, we get a better sense of the old prince. His son is amused by his father’s “Achilles’ heal”, revering his illustrious but perhaps fictitious genealogical tree. At the table, he talks at his architect, who is invited to demonstrate the old prince’s supposed egalitarian values. His son listens patiently to his diatribe against the “new men”, Germans, and Napoleon, while marvelling at his precise knowledge of recent political and military events.
25 Jan: Chapter 25
We note that Marya says he is “less bitter of late” and “is always gentle and kind” to Mikhail Ivanovich and Mademoiselle Bourienne. But Andrei says, “he’s getting very trying”. Nikolai says goodbye to his son in his dressing gown, for he only lets his guard down to his son. He gives Andrei instructions to carry out if he dies. And then he says, “If they kill you, it will hurt me, your old father”. And in the shriek of his voice, we hear his fear and pain. “We’ve said goodbye. Go!”
Book One, Part Three
18 Feb: Chapter 3
Bolkonsky is in a foul mood about the arrival of Vasili Kuargin. He calls Vasili “a little boy”, a man who rose to a high position after Empress Catherine died. A new man. He ordered the snow to be shovelled back on the road, to slow the Kuragins down. He is especially cruel and tempestuous to her daughter.
19 Feb: Chapter 4
The old prince broods in his study: “Prince Vasili is a shallow braggart, and his son, no doubt, no doubt, is a fine specimen.” Here, we learn of his fears about giving away Marya. “Justice clashed not only with his feelings but with the very possibility of life.” Life without Marya was “unthinkable.”
When he joins the rest of the family, he criticises Marya for changing her hair and making “a scarecrow of herself.”
He talks to Vasili alone, telling him that it will be Marya's choice alone. He feigns indifference, but his voice tells a different story.
20 Feb: Chapter 5
The old prince paces up and down in the night, snorting. He feels insulted and tries to decide what is right, but only gets more worked up. He thinks his daughter can’t wait to be rid of him. “What devil brought them here? I never invited them. They came to disturb my life — and there is not much of it left.”
The next day he insists to his daughter “leave me out of the question” but when she speaks of “my own desire” he can’t help himself: “She’ll be the wife, while you…” He sees the terrible effect this has on her.
BOOK TWO
Book Two, Part One
13 Mar: Chapter 7
When he hears from Kutuzov of his son’s disappearance at Austerlitz, he retreats into the cold certainty of despair. He tells Marya her brother is dead and orders a monument to be built in his memory. “He tried not to change his former way of life, but his strength failed him He walked less, ate less, slept less, and became weaker every day.”
14 Mar: Chapter 8
When his daughter-in-law goes into labour, the old Prince shuts himself away in his room.
15 Mar: Chapter 9
After the death of Liza and the birth of his grandson, the old prince hugs his son and “sobs like a child.” At Liza’s funeral, he sees the same expression on her face that Andrei sees. “Ah, what have you done to me, and why?” At this, he turns angrily away.
Book Two, Part Two
30 Mar: Chapter 8
The old prince has found a new lease of life as a commander-in-chief supervising enrolment in his districts. “He was continually travelling through the three provinces entrusted to him, was pedantic in the fulfilment of his duties, severe to cruelty with his subordinates, and went into everything down to the minutest details himself.”
When he writes to his son with instructions, Andrei ignores him so that he can care for his sick baby boy.
5 Apr: Chapter 14
The old prince and Pierre argue about a future without wars: “Drain the blood from men’s veins and put in water instead, then there will be no more wars!”
But he takes a shine to Pierre: “A fine fellow—your friend—I like him! He stirs me up. Another say clever things and one doesn’t care to listen, but this one talks rubbish yet stirs an old fellow up!”
He has had dinner with Count Rostov, who has sent less than half of his contingent of troops to the war. Presumably, Bolkonksy gave Rostov a piece of his mind!
Book Two, Part Three
5 May: Chapter 23
Andrei asks for his father’s consent to his marriage. With “external composure” and “inward wrath” the old man begs Andrei to wait a year and go abroad.
7 May: Chapter 25
At Bald Hills, the old prince's health and temper are getting worse. He takes it all out on Marya, attacking her religion and the way she cares for Andrei's son.
8 May: Chapter 26
Six months pass. Andrei writes to Marya from Switzerland, informing her of the betrothal. He asks her to give the letter to their father and get his agreement to shorten his exile. The letter angers the old prince, who threatens to marry Bourienne. "Wait until I am dead," he says.
Book Two, Part Five
16 May: Chapter 2
Marya has moved to Moscow with her father and nephew. The old prince has become the centre of the anti-French opposition to government. But his health has deteriorated and Marya’s life has become even harder. Lonely and isolated in Moscow, she becomes irritable: losing her temper with little Nikolai and attacking Mademoiselle Bourienne. The old prince increasingly favours and flirts with the Frenchwoman and loses all control on the mention of Countess Natasha Rostova.
17 May: Chapter 3
St Nicholas’s day, and guests come to pay their respects to ‘the relics’ of the old prince Bolkonsky. That morning, he throws out a fashionable doctor, accusing him of being a French spy. At dinner, Pierre and Boris listen to the old prince and Count Rastopchin bemoan the state of politics and Russian society. ‘The French are our Gods: Paris is our Kingdom of Heaven.’
28 May: Chapter 7
The count and Natasha visit the Bolkonskys. Ilya Rostov is afraid and makes his excuses to avoid an encounter with the terrifying prince. Bolkonsky refuses to see them but then appears in his dressing gown and nightcap, sounding confused and apologetic.
11 June: Chapter 21
Bolkonsky’s spirits rally when he reads Natasha’s note calling off the engagement, and hears the rumours concerning Natasha.
BOOK THREE
Book Three, Part One
Chapter 8
On his way to the western front, Andrei stops at Bald Hills and argues with his father about Mademoiselle Bourienne. Despite Marya imploring him to forgive and forget, Andrei leaves his family on bad terms without remorse or regret.
Book Three, Part Two
Chapter 2
After Andrei left Bald Hills, he broke off relations with Mademoiselle Bourienne. Marya interprets this as done to wound her. Julie writes (in Russian) to express her patriotism, and Andrei writes to advise his father to leave Bald Hills. The old prince refuses to discuss the war and seems confused about the French position. Instead, he immerses himself in a building project.
Chapter 3
Mikhail Ivanovich returns Andrei’s letter to the old prince. But Bolkonsky is busy with his will and issuing instructions to Alpatych, who will ride out to Smolensk. Later, the old prince struggles to sleep and has his bed moved to a place where he has not slept before, free from oppressive thoughts. There, he remembers the letter, reads it and briefly understands it. But the past pulls him back in search of peace.
Chapter 8
Andrei’s father and sister are not in Moscow. At Ball Hills, the old prince awoke as from a dream and vowed to defend his home to the death. Marya refuses to leave him and he says much that cannot be unsaid. Soon after, he has a stroke, and Marya takes him to Bogucharovo. Three weeks pass, and he asks to see Marya, telling her with great difficulty that he loves her and wants her to forgive him. He dies on a hot and sunny day, as Marya walks through the lime trees Andrei planted.