Anatole Kuragin Character Analysis in War and Peace

Anatole is one of Prince Vassily’s sons, known as an amoral good-for-nothing. He looks at life as entertainment, nothing more, and he doesn’t worry about the consequences of his actions for himself or others. When Anna Pavlovna Scherer and Prince Vassily set him up with Princess Marya Bolkonsky, he flirts shamelessly with Marya’s companion Mlle Bourienne, derailing the intended engagement. Years later, after accumulating massive debt and getting kicked out of his home by Prince Vassily, Anatole ensnares Natasha Rostov, who falls passionately in love with him (or at least thinks she does). Though most don’t know it, Anatole is already married to a Polish woman he met while stationed with the army. He plans to abduct and elope with Natasha, but the plan is foiled at the last minute, and Pierre angrily kicks Anatole out of Moscow. Though Natasha’s former fiancé Prince Andrei Bolkonsky detests and resents Anatole, he forgives and pities him when Anatole gets injured, perhaps fatally, at the battle of Borodino.

Anatole Kuragin Quotes in War and Peace

The War and Peace quotes below are all either spoken by Anatole Kuragin or refer to Anatole Kuragin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Thinking of marriage, Princess Marya dreamed of family happiness and children, but her chiefest, strongest, and most secret dream was of earthly love. […] “My God,” she said, “how can I suppress these devil’s thoughts in my heart? How can I renounce evil imaginings forever, so as peacefully to do Thy will?” And she had barely asked this question, when God answered her in her own heart: “[…] The future of people and your own fate must be unknown to you; but live so as to be ready for anything. If God should see fit to test you in the duties of marriage, be ready to fulfill His will.” With this reassuring thought (but still with a hope that her forbidden earthly dream would be fulfilled), Princess Marya sighed, crossed herself, and went downstairs without thinking about her dress, or her hairstyle, or how she would walk in, or what she would say. What could all that mean in comparison with the predestination of God, without whose will not one hair falls from man’s head.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 221

Explanation and Analysis:

Before her brief, ill-fated matchup with Anatole Kuragin, Princess Marya prays for guidance concerning a possible marriage. Though Princess Marya is the most religious character in the novel, she’s not otherworldly, separate from the world. In contrast, like other characters such as Prince Andrei and Pierre, Marya struggles to live out her convictions amid the conflicting influences of the real world.

In particular, she struggles with the fact that she yearns for romantic love, but believes this desire is evil because it threatens to draw her affections away from God. In prayer, Marya is comforted by the belief that God controls inscrutable fate, and she must simply submit to it. This fits in with Tolstoy’s broader argument that the movement of history, or “necessity,” is the primary determinant of human events, whether in war or marriage. For Marya, details like dress and hairstyle are tiny and insignificant compared to God’s will controlling everything.

The last two sentence of the quote are probably allusions to the Biblical Gospels, especially to Christ’s promise in the Book of Luke that “not a hair of your head will perish” under persecution unless God decrees it.)

The curtain rose again. Anatole left the box calm and cheerful. Natasha returned to her father’s box, now totally subjected to the world she was in. Everything that was happening before her now seemed perfectly natural to her; but instead all her former thoughts about her fiancé, about Princess Marya, about country life, never once entered her head, as if it was all long ago, long past.

In the fourth act there was a devil, who sang, waving his arm, until the boards were pulled out from under him, and he sank down below. That was all Natasha saw of the fourth act: something excited and tormented her, and the cause of it was Kuragin, whom she involuntarily followed with her eyes.

Related Characters: Anatole Kuragin, Princess Marya Bolkonsky, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostov

Page Number and Citation: 566

Explanation and Analysis:

In the unfortunate, sobbing, exhausted man whose leg had just been removed, he recognized Anatole Kuragin. […] Anatole was sobbing deeply. “Yes, it’s he; yes, this man is closely and painfully connected with me by something,” thought Prince Andrei, not yet understanding clearly what he saw before him. […] And suddenly a new and unexpected memory from the world of childhood, purity, and love came to Prince Andrei. He remembered Natasha as he had seen her for the first time at the ball in 1810, with her slender neck and arms, with her frightened, happy face ready for rapture, and in his soul love and tenderness for her awakened, stronger and more alive than ever. He now remembered the connection between him and this man, who was looking at him dully through the tears that filled his swollen eyes. Prince Andrei remembered everything, and a rapturous pity and love for this man filled his happy heart.

Related Characters: Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (speaker), Natasha Rostov, Anatole Kuragin

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 814

Explanation and Analysis:

Anatole Kuragin Character Timeline in War and Peace

The timeline below shows where the character Anatole Kuragin appears in War and Peace. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

They discuss Prince Vassily’s other children, especially his two problematic sons, foolish Ippolit and troublesome Anatole. Anna Pavlovna suggests marrying off Anatole, perhaps to their mutual relation Princess Marya Bolkonsky. The... (full context)

...Princess Lise leaves, she quietly plans with Anna Pavlovna to match her sister-in-law Marya with Anatole, Prince Vassily’s son. Prince Ippolit gets in everyone’s way as he says goodbye to the... (full context)

Happiness and the Meaning of Life Theme Icon

...by hired carriage, but at the last moment, he changes his mind and goes to Anatole Kuragin’s for gambling and drinking. He figures that he’d given his word both to Anatole... (full context)

While making Pierre drink glass after glass of wine, Anatole explains that Dolokhov, an army officer, is making a bet with Stevens, an English sailor,... (full context)

...Pavlovna Scherer’s soirée. And now Pierre has been banished to Moscow for his behavior at Anatole’s. With Dolokhov and Kuragin, he got in trouble for driving around with a bear in... (full context)

...the meantime, Princess Anna Mikhailovna is scheming to marry off Marya to Prince Vassily’s son Anatole. She closes by encouraging Marya to read the enclosed mystical book. (full context)

...business trip, including a visit to Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky, in hopes of marrying his son Anatole to the wealthy prince’s daughter Marya. But he’s concerned that Pierre, who still hasn’t proposed... (full context)

In December, Prince Vassily takes his son Anatole on a visit to Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky. Prince Nikolai has always held a low opinion... (full context)

Prince Vassily, Anatole, and their party arrive in the evening. Anatole looks at all of life as entertainment... (full context)

European Culture vs. The Russian Soul Theme Icon

...guests for changing her hairstyle without his permission. He ignores Princess Marya’s tears and questions Anatole about his military service, then just as abruptly sends him to rejoin the ladies. He... (full context)

With the arrival of Anatole, all the young women of the house feel that their lives have new meaning. Princess... (full context)

...gentle with his daughter. He explains that Prince Vassily seeks Marya’s hand in marriage for Anatole. He sends her to her room to consider this offer. However, he also jokes that... (full context)

...love. Meanwhile, Julie becomes impatient and begins to act uncharacteristically cheerful towards a new guest, Anatole Kuragin. His mother warns Boris that Prince Vassily has sent Anatole to Moscow to marry... (full context)

...Then she begins to feel a bit drunk in the bright, warm, heady atmosphere. When Anatole Kuragin comes in late and speaks to his sister Hélène while looking at Natasha, she... (full context)

During an intermission, Natasha notices Anatole Kuragin eyeing her and smiling affectionately in the next box. Even after the second act... (full context)

During the next intermission, Anatole enters Hélène’s box. Hélène introduces him to Natasha. Natasha is struck by his simple good... (full context)

In the opera’s fourth act, a devil sings. All this time, Natasha can’t help watching Anatole, and she feels excited and tormented by him. After the opera, he helps Natasha into... (full context)

Anatole Kuragin is living in Moscow because, back in Petersburg, Prince Vassily kicked him out. He’s... (full context)

Though nobody but his close friends know it, Anatole is already married. Two years ago, a Polish landowner had forced Anatole to marry his... (full context)

Anatole likes Dolokhov, while Dolokhov, who habitually manipulates others, befriends and uses Anatole for his connections.... (full context)

...thoughts of Princess Marya, old Prince Nikolai, the opera, and her guilty, flustered feelings about Anatole Kuragin. (full context)

...such an important lady praising her. Before Hélène leaves, she tells Natasha that her brother Anatole is quite in love with her and that she’s sure Natasha’s fiancé doesn’t want her... (full context)

...when everyone sits down for the actress’s performance, grabs the chair next to her before Anatole can get it. Mlle George emerges in costume and recites French verses about a woman’s... (full context)

Anatole dances with Natasha and tells her he loves her. She’s astonished and struggles to speak,... (full context)

...Prince Andrei, yet now, just a day later, it’s overshadowed by her new passion for Anatole. (full context)

That evening, a maid hands Natasha another letter, looking secretive. It’s from Anatole. When she reads the passionate letter, Natasha believes her own feelings are echoed in it.... (full context)

...She bursts into tears and wakes her friend. Natasha immediately tells Sonya that she loves Anatole. When Sonya asks how she can reject Prince Andrei, Natasha impatiently tells her not to... (full context)

Horrified, Sonya threatens to tell on Natasha; she feels ashamed for her friend. If Anatole isn’t comfortable seeing Natasha openly, she insists, there must be reasons for that. Natasha refuses... (full context)

On one of their final days in Moscow, Natasha tries to talk to Sonya about Anatole, but they end up arguing about how Natasha will “ruin” herself. Sonya watches Natasha closely... (full context)

Anatole has been staying with Dolokhov, and together they’ve made a plan to abduct Natasha. Natasha... (full context)

Anatole paces Dolokhov’s house, smiling. Dolokhov urges him to drop the plan—his marriage will be discovered,... (full context)

...Marya Dmitrievna sends him a note, he comes at once. On the way, he passes Anatole, who looks calm and untroubled. Pierre envies him. Marya Dmitrievna swears Pierre to secrecy and... (full context)

...Dmitrievna is afraid that, if Count Rostov or Prince Andrei learn what’s happened, they’ll challenge Anatole to a duel. She asks Pierre to order his brother-in-law to leave Moscow, and he... (full context)

...intercepts Pierre on his way out. She says that Marya Dmitrievna has told Natasha about Anatole’s marriage, but she’s refusing to believe it without Pierre’s confirmation. On his honor, Pierre tells... (full context)

Pierre asks Anatole if he can understand that there’s more to life than his own pleasure—other people’s lives... (full context)

Meanwhile, Natasha is very sick. The night she learned that Anatole was married, she swallowed a little bit of arsenic, then grew frightened and confessed what... (full context)

...Pierre pities Natasha. He promises to do this, but he asks whether Natasha truly loved Anatole. Natasha starts to cry and says she doesn’t know. Pierre cries, too. He kisses her... (full context)

...Prince Andrei meets with Pierre in Moscow, he travels to Petersburg to meet with Prince Anatole Kuragin. Having been tipped off by his brother-in-law Pierre, Kuragin flees Petersburg, taking an army... (full context)

Prince Andrei hopes to meet with Anatole in order to find a pretext for a duel. However, their paths don’t cross in... (full context)

...complains of those “nonentities” who cause so much unhappiness. Princess Marya knows he’s referring to Anatole. Marya tries to comfort him, saying that all grief is ultimately sent by God, not... (full context)

...house chapel, as they always do. Natasha overhears young men whispering about her, Bolkonsky, and Kuragin. She used to take pride in her beauty at such moments, but now the attention... (full context)

...live a good life. During the prayers, Natasha prays earnestly for both Prince Andrei and Anatole. Later in the service, the priest unexpectedly kneels to lead the congregation in a lengthy... (full context)

...the forest. He smiles at the memory. He understood Natasha’s open, sincere soul, he feels—and Anatole Kuragin didn’t. He just saw an innocent young girl he didn’t really care about—and he... (full context)

...been amputated. When the doctor steps away from the man, Andrei is shocked to recognize Anatole Kuragin. It takes him a moment to remember his connection with the man. Eventually, a... (full context)

...later. Andrei also asked for a copy of the Gospels. Memories of his wounding, seeing Anatole Kuragin, and his newfound hope of happiness come back to him. But in his condition,... (full context)

...only be loved by divine love, not human love, and that’s why his love for Anatole gave him such joy. This train of thought also reminds him of Natasha, whom he... (full context)

...love for her has subtly bound him to life again. It reminds him of seeing Anatole Kuragin at the medical station. He’s tormented by the question of whether Kuragin is still... (full context)

Anatole Kuragin Character Analysis

Anatole Kuragin Quotes in War and Peace

Volume 1, Part 3: Chapters 1–5 Quotes

Volume 2, Part 5: Chapters 5–10 Quotes

Volume 3, Part 2: Chapters 36–39 Quotes

Anatole Kuragin Character Timeline in War and Peace