War and Peace · Character
Vereshchágin
- Minor
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 238
At first he looks like a small, composed old man, ruddy-cheeked beneath a great white beard and brows, dressed in a clean blue peasant coat. There is a quiet firmness to his face that sits uneasily beside the harsh labels others attach to him.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- old
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 238
- Books
- 1
Vereshchágin is first presented as an elderly, bearded man, but later appears as a gaunt young prisoner, his head half-shaved and his slight body burdened with chains. In captivity, the corded vein rising at his neck and his timid, sad smile make his vulnerability painfully visible. The contrast between these portraits leaves him caught between the public names imposed on him and the human figure before the reader.
Description
In his first described appearance, Vereshchágin is short and old, with a ruddy face framed by a large snow-white beard and equally white eyebrows. His features are calm and firm, and he wears a clean blue peasant overcoat. A later, sharply contrasting portrait shows a young-looking, emaciated face beneath a half-shaved head of short hair, a long thin neck, and delicate hands unused to labor; his threadbare blue coat is lined with fox fur, above dirty convict trousers, battered thin boots, and heavy chains. His gauntness and the prominent vein swelling along his neck distinguish this prisoner appearance.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
- CR
Count Rostopchíngovernor who condemns and hands over a political prisoner
Rostopchin labels Vereshchágin a traitor and incites the crowd to kill him. Vereshchágin appeals to their shared accountability before God, but the mob beats him to death.
Story so far
BOOK 1War and Peace
Key events
Appearances
Meet Vereshchágin in Bookworm
Meet Vereshchágin in your EPUB — spoiler-safe to the book you're on.