Count Rostov Character Analysis in War and Peace

Count Rostov, husband of Countess Rostov and father of Vera, Nikolai, Natasha, and Petya, is a cheerful, generous man who lovingly indulges his family and enjoys the good things in life. He is notoriously bad at managing his money, which leads the Rostovs’ to have perpetually shaky finances and to hold a correspondingly lower position in society. The Count loves to lavishly entertain even though he can’t afford it. He also adopts his poor young cousin Sonya. He can’t bear to face any unpleasantness in his life, like shame over his debts or Natasha’s broken engagement to Prince Andrei. After the sorrows of 1812, especially Petya’s death, the Count dies, tearfully asking the Countess’s forgiveness for his failings.

Count Rostov Character Timeline in War and Peace

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

European Culture vs. The Russian Soul Theme Icon

...their name day. Guests have been coming and going all day. Princess Drubetskoy sits with Countess Rostov in the drawing room. Meanwhile, Count Rostov, cheerful and self-satisfied, drifts between the drawing... (full context)

In the drawing room, conversation focuses on the current gossip: Count Bezukhov’s illness, and his son Pierre’s improper behavior at Anna Pavlovna Scherer’s soirée. And now... (full context)

...guests can’t resist Natasha’s infectious laughter. Princess Drubetskoy’s son Boris, a lifelong friend of the Count’s eldest son Nikolai, comes in, too. At home among the company, Boris teases Natasha about... (full context)

Count Rostov’s 15-year-old cousin Sonya and Nikolai remain in the room. The count tells a guest... (full context)

...the guest Julie Karagin, Sonya storms out of the room, and Nikolai hurries after her. Countess Rostov says that children at this dangerous age cause their parents much anxiety. She is... (full context)

...know how she’ll afford to equip Boris for the army. Her only hope is that Count Bezukhov will leave Boris, who’s his godson, an inheritance. She decides she’ll approach him before... (full context)

At the Rostovs’, the Countess weeps about her friend Anna Mikhailovna’s plight. Finally she asks the Count for money, and... (full context)

Later, the Countess sits with her daughters and guests in the drawing room. One guest, Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimov,... (full context)

...a bishop. Natasha realizes that Vera had been tormenting Sonya earlier, telling her that the Countess would never consent to the marriage and that Nikolai will marry Julie instead. Natasha comforts... (full context)

...and the countess marvels at the poised, grown-up way Natasha chats with the young man. Count Rostov dances with Marya Dmitrievna, and his exuberance delights the onlookers, who burst into applause... (full context)

When Anna Mikhailovna goes into the countess’s room after dinner, Count Rostov listens at the keyhole, unable to hear much. Finally, Anna Mikhailovna opens the door... (full context)

...kissing him, and all talking at once. Sonya, now turned 16, beams at him. The Countess weeps on Nikolai’s new Hungarian jacket. Denisov comes in unnoticed, until Natasha shrieks and hugs... (full context)

In March, Count Rostov arranges a dinner at the English Club in honor of Prince Bagration. In the... (full context)

Before dinner, Count Rostov makes sure to introduce Nikolai to Bagration, who recognizes him from the war. The... (full context)

At home, Pierre paces the old Count Bezukhov’s study, unable to rest. He keeps picturing his wife’s face and Dolokhov’s beside it,... (full context)

...Even as Nikolai starts losing large sums of money, Dolokhov dares him to keep going. Count Rostov is low on funds and told Nikolai he can’t give him a further allowance... (full context)

Happiness and the Meaning of Life Theme Icon

Count Rostov is the province’s marshal of nobility, and in May, Prince Andrei must visit him... (full context)

Later, as Prince Andrei sits through Count Rostov’s dull entertainments, he keeps glancing at Natasha. Unable to sleep that night, he opens... (full context)

...military reforms, and soon after, he’s invited to meet with the new minister of war, Count Arakcheev. (full context)

When Prince Andrei gets his chance to meet with Count Arakcheev, the minister grumbles about the proliferation of new military proposals, yet he also appoints... (full context)

...parents’ finances further, the family’s debts mount, and they eventually move to Petersburg so that Count Rostov can earn income from a government post. Soon after their move, Berg and Vera... (full context)

...no other proposals. Still, the Rostovs feel a bit ashamed of the couple’s engagement. Also, Count Rostov is painfully aware that he has no dowry to give his daughter. A few... (full context)

One evening, Natasha bursts into Countess Rostov’s room, interrupting her mother’s bedtime prayers. Unable to scold her daughter—they both treasure these... (full context)

...and delighted to overhear guests discussing her. Mme Peronsky points out the distinguished guests, including Countess Hélène Bezukhov, various foreign ambassadors, and Andrei Bolkonsky. Natasha remembers him from his visit to... (full context)

As one of the more honored guests, Pierre sits at a card game with Count Rostov. Natasha sits there, too, and Pierre notices that she seems uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn.... (full context)

...Andrei is surprisingly shy. Sonya won’t leave her friend’s side. Natasha later confides in the Countess that she’d first fallen in love with Andrei at Otradnoe and that their meeting again... (full context)

Countess Bezukhov is having a party that night. Pierre wanders through the party with a sad,... (full context)

...her engagement and, seeing her unflappable calm, feels skeptical that the marriage will take place. Countess Rostov secretly agrees with Nikolai, believing that there’s nothing legitimately keeping Prince Andrei abroad and... (full context)

...across a distant relative and neighbor who’s hunting, too. They decide to combine their packs. Count Rostov also joins the hunt, though he’s most interested in chatting with his valet. Meanwhile,... (full context)

Count Rostov resigns from his post as marshal of the nobility due to the expenses involved.... (full context)

Countess Rostov encourages Nikolai to visit the Karagins in Moscow. Nikolai balks at the idea of... (full context)

...Christmas, Nikolai tells his mother that he loves Sonya and intends to marry her. Though Countess Rostov has been expecting this, she tells Nikolai that she and the Count cannot bless... (full context)

A few days later, Countess Rostov speaks to Sonya with unexpected cruelty. She accuses Sonya of luring Nikolai and being... (full context)

...in order so that he can resign from the service and marry Sonya. Meanwhile, the Countess falls ill from the emotional strain. The Count needs to sell his Moscow estate in... (full context)

At the end of January, Count Rostov arrives in Petersburg with Natasha and Sonya. They must sell the Moscow estate and... (full context)

The next day, Count Rostov and Natasha go to see Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky. The Count is nervous, but Natasha... (full context)

...as a minister to some Persian prince, and Moscow’s ladies are now obsessed with him. Countess Bezukhov sits down in the next box, and Natasha admires her beauty. Then the overture... (full context)

...her that there’s anything wrong with that. During the next intermission, Natasha is flattered that Countess Bezukhov asks to be introduced to her. Even though she can tell that Hélène is... (full context)

...to visit Prince Nikolai and have a talk with him regarding Natasha. While she’s gone, Countess Bezukhov stops in to invite the Rostovs to a soirée that night. Natasha feels special... (full context)

That night Count Rostov takes Natasha and Sonya to the Bezukhovs’ and is unhappy to find a frivolous... (full context)

...next morning, Natasha tries hard to act normal. After breakfast, Marya Dmitrievna calls Natasha and Count Rostov over. She tells them what happened at the Bolkonskys’ yesterday—she and Prince Nikolai got... (full context)

...behaving distractedly. It dawns on her that Natasha must be planning to elope with Anatole. Count Rostov is away dealing with the Moscow estate, and Sonya doesn’t know what to do.... (full context)

...She demands that Natasha listen and tells her that she’s disgraced herself, but that for Count Rostov’s sake, she’ll conceal what’s happened. When she lifts Natasha’s face toward her, both she... (full context)

...Natasha lapses into a shivering fever, ignoring everyone’s efforts to comfort her. The next day Count Rostov returns, cheerful due to the successful conclusion of his estate business. When he finds... (full context)

Marya Dmitrievna is afraid that, if Count Rostov or Prince Andrei learn what’s happened, they’ll challenge Anatole to a duel. She asks... (full context)

Pierre has promised to visit the Rostovs with war news. When he stops at Count Rastopchin’s to pick up the relevant documents, an army courier gives him a letter from... (full context)

...sovereign’s faith in the people of Moscow, and his commitment to stand among them. Afterward, Count Rostov is teary-eyed. Blushing, Petya goes up to his father and says he wants to... (full context)

...home, he repeats his firm intention to join the army. Though he doesn’t say yes, Count Rostov starts searching for a way that Petya can be sent to a less dangerous... (full context)

Then Count Rastopchin comes in and says that the Emperor will arrive soon. He supposes there won’t... (full context)

...up for it, he pledges a thousand men and their maintenance to the war effort. Count Rostov goes home and tearfully tells his wife about the affecting scene; he also signs... (full context)

The conversation turns to the Rostovs’ struggles. Natasha is better, and the Count wants to return to the country, but the Countess insists on waiting for Petya, who’s... (full context)

On August 30th, Pierre returns to Moscow. He immediately runs into Count Rastopchin’s adjutant who says Pierre must go to the Count’s at once. At Rastopchin’s, Pierre... (full context)

...sense of it and collapses into bed. The next morning, his butler informs him that Count Rastopchin has sent a police official to see whether Pierre is still there. Pierre immediately... (full context)

...stay in Moscow until September 1st. Now that Petya, too, has joined the army, the Countess is constantly fearful. The Count, in an effort to calm his wife’s fears, has Petya... (full context)

...she feels depressed about Nikolai’s recent letter, in which he spoke of Princess Marya. The Countess is happy about this development, claiming she always predicted that Nikolai would marry Marya Bolkonsky.... (full context)

...she’d better ask for permission, so she goes inside and, in a rush, asks the Countess—who’s drowsy from a headache—if the wounded can lodge there. Both she and the Count, who’s... (full context)

When Countess Rostov hears that there are drunken riots in the streets, the family starts packing more... (full context)

...workers, peasants, and poor people who gather at Three Hills, weapons in hand. But when Count Rastopchin doesn’t join them as promised, they disperse. (full context)

...soon run out of carts and be left with nothing for the family. When the Count gets up, two men approach him directly, and the Count promptly offers them rides on... (full context)

...wounded not be abandoned; it doesn’t matter if their things get left behind. Ashamed, the Countess gives in. Natasha joyfully runs outside and begins giving orders for trunks to be stored... (full context)

...carriage catches Sonya’s attention, and when she learns who’s inside, she runs to tell the Countess. The Countess weeps when she hears that Andrei is said to be dying. They both... (full context)

...have nothing much to do. A young Russian officer knocks at the gate, seeking the Count, and Mavra Kuzminishna explains that the family have just left. The young man, a relative... (full context)

...after they leave Moscow, the Rostovs’ carriages stop in Mytishchi, 13 miles away. That night, Count Rostov’s servants speculate about a fire blazing in the distance. When the Count’s valet Danilo... (full context)

The Count and Sonya go outside to look at the blaze; the Countess and Natasha stay inside.... (full context)

...marry his cousin. The governor’s wife argues that marrying Sonya is unthinkable—it would kill the Countess, and the Count’s financial affairs are in disorder. This means that Sonya wouldn’t be happy,... (full context)

...give Nikolai his freedom. She claims that in light of the Rostovs’ financial woes, the Countess’s hostility, and Nikolai’s recent silence, she no longer holds him to his promise. She can’t... (full context)

Sonya wrote her letter from the Trinity monastery. Lately, Countess Rostov has been more and more determined to marry Nikolai to a rich woman. A... (full context)

...her grief over Andrei weighs her down again. When the carriage stops, Sonya and the Countess hurry to welcome her. The Count looks different from the last time Marya saw him—lost... (full context)

...her to go to her father—there’s been a misfortune. Natasha is shocked to see the Count weeping like a child. The Countess is sobbing and beating her head against the wall... (full context)

Before Petya’s death, the Countess had been a lively 50-year-old woman, but when she finally emerges from her room, she’s... (full context)

Natasha married Pierre Bezukhov in 1813. It was the Rostovs’ last happy family event; the Count died in the same year, and at that point, the family broke up. The events... (full context)

When the Count dies, Nikolai is with the Russian troops in Paris. He immediately resigns and returns to... (full context)

...Pierre don’t realize how bad Nikolai’s situation is. He not only has to support the Countess and Sonya on a small salary, but to do so in such a way that... (full context)

In 1814, Nikolai and Princess Marya get married, and Countess Rostov and Sonya join the couple at Bald Hills. The marriage allows Nikolai to repay... (full context)