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Ancestry
& Birth
Prince
Nicholas Sergeyevich Volkonsky had been living in his family estate
of Yasnaya Polyana. It was the time when slavery was common. Volkonsky
was a hard taskmaster but also reasonable. As a head of the estate
he saw that the peasants and tradesmen were well fed and dressed.
They, in turn, loved and feared him. The prince loved nature, books,
music and some rare flowers, which he grew in his greenhouse. He
hated hunting. He believed that inactivity and superstitions were
the roots of evil.
He
was married to Princess Katerina Dmitrievna Trubetskoy. They had
their one and only child, a daughter named Marya. On November 10,
1790, when Marya was barely two years old, her mother passed away.
The prince remained a widower, and, grew to dote on this docile
child. He devoted most of his time educating his daughter, who was
very obedient to him. Though he could not make her a good mathematician,
she had an inherent logical mind. He taught her self-control. But
living with her domineering father, Marya had to often hide some
of her feelings, as she was a very emotional girl; she frequently
involved herself in daydreaming. She cared for the poor and read
French novels. The idea of marriage never crossed her mind as she
grew up. Marya believed that her stern father, with his steely looks,
would turn away all young men around.
As
her advanced, she started becoming more frustrated; she wished to
end her life, as it appeared meaningless. Marya's father died on
February 3, 1821. Marya was now left alone in the world. She was
then 31 years old, and had till that day, followed the code of conduct
of the master of Yasnaya Polyana. Then she attended the wedding
of a close family member. At the ceremony, on seeing the young couple
together, she became very emotional. She was filled with thoughts
of love, marriage and motherhood.
Moving
to Moscow
Marya now lived in Moscow in her family house. The house was too big for this lonely lady. Her friends exhorted her to go out and enjoy. One fine day, a young man with average height and a melancholic expression on his face came to meet Marya. He wore a uniform and spoke French. He was Count Nicholas Ilich Tolstoy. Marya found him to be attractive and pleasant but, as usual, tried to hide her real feelings. But the meeting was intentional. Matrimony was discussed between the two who were not so young. Actually, the count was on the verge of bankruptcy, and saw the solution in this rich wedlock. Soon, Count Nicholas Ilich Tolstoy married Marya who was not beautiful but also five years older to him. The count had nothing but his name and descendant to bank on. His father Ilya Tolstoy had lost his wealth over wife's squandering money and wasteful lifestyle.
Count Nicholas, seeing no other better option, married Marya on July 9, 1822. Marya brought him a dowry of 800 male serfs in the government of Tula and Orel. Her husband offered her nothing except his elegant name. The marriage turned out to be loveless. Marya felt no passion
for her husband but was |
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moved by a sense of gratitude. She also
needed patience to get along well with her in-laws. Now that her
son's position was secure, his mother regretted that he had married
someone so ungainly, and homely. She was also jealous of the couple's
wedded bliss.
But
Marya was had immense patience and was a contented lady. She put
up with things as they came. On July 31, 1823, Countess Marya gave
birth to her first child. The son was named Nicholas and fondly
called 'Coco'. Marya's world was full of joy; in fact he was her
only 'world' then. She asked her husband to resign, and in 1824,
the entire family moved to Moscow. Nicholas Tolstoy, who took little
interest in agriculture, now became an active countryman. Before
their first son was three, they had a second son, Sergey, on February
17, 1826. The following year another son, Dmitry, was born on April
23.
On
August 28, 1828, in the village Yasnaya, at the home of count Nicholas
Ilich Tolstoy, a son, Leo, was born, and baptized the next day by
priest Vasily Mazhaishy, who was assisted by Arkhip Ivanov. Marya
Tolstoy was a very affectionate mother. She loved her children more
than anybody else in the world. She doted more on her last son,
Leo. She wanted him to become a man of exceptional abilities.
Successive
childbirths led to the deterioration of Marya. She ran a continual
fever and complained of violent headaches. She was soon bed-ridden
and had to wear a mask. As she wished to see her loved ones, all
family came to her bedside. Leo was, at that time, only 23 months
old and in the arms of his nurse. The child screamed with terror
at the sight of the livid mask. He could not recognize that the
same woman was his mother. The nurse took the violently crying Leo
back to his bedroom, where the baby grew calm amidst his toys. On
August 4, 1930, Marya died. Nicholas Tolstoy, now a widower, realized
the vacuum created in his life by the absence of the woman whom
he married selfishly and who, occupied his life for eight years.
The child soon lost memories of his mother. He tried hard to remember
her but memories eluded him. He tried to question those who knew
her, to get her picture in the mind-frame but sans success. They
told him that she was good, gentle, upright, intelligent and an
excellent storyteller. But he could not associate these qualities
with her, as he did not even have a portrait of her. Only a silhouette
cut out of black paper, showing her at the age of ten or twelve,
with a round forehead and a round chin, her hair in a veil at the
nape of her neck.
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