The Kuragins Aren’t Poor (At All)
Seriously, though. The Kuragins aren’t broke. The Rostovs are broke, and Tolstoy makes a big show out of how that plays out. The Kuragins are not as rich as Count Bezukohov or the Bolkonskys, but they’re not broke. Nothing implies this. In fact, on the contrary:
- They have multiple estates (we know, because Vasili goes to inspect them in November, IIRC, of 1805). The Rostovs have at least one estate, but we’re told that it has been mortgaged and re-mortgaged and they’re forced to sell it off later on. We are given no such indications of financial troubles for the Kuragins.
- They live in Petersburg (and are part of Petersburg high society). General knowledge about Imperial Russia tells us that living in Petersburg was notably more expensive than living in, say, Moscow. (By the way, who are the families who live primarily in Moscow? Right. The Rostovs and Dolokhovs, who are the ones with actual financial problems. Also, the Rostovs have some ties to Petersburg and aren’t completely ostracized there of course, but it’s clear that they’re a little awkward there, outsiders. That kind of cream-of-the-crop high society is not their normal social circle.)
- Anatole receives a very large allowance. Compare: Anatole spends about 20k rubles a year + about another 20k in debt which his father pays off for him. Nikolai’s allowance for 4-5 months (late December to May) is about 2k so, approximately 6k a year. (This, btw, is before the card game. And in that card game Nikolai loses a little more than Anatole’s annual expenditures (43k), and this is treated like a practically insurmountable amount by both Nikolai and his father.)
To that last point: does Vasili Kuragin complain a bit about Anatole’s spending? Yea. But, look, Anatole spends about twice as much as he’s actually supposed to. It’s obviously annoying. But does Vasili Kuragin actually strike anyone as the sort of person who would allow his son’s frivolous activities to bankrupt the family? Come on, of course not. And he holds the purse strings, btw. Yet, he never cuts Anatole off. He only tells him in about 1810 that he will no longer pay his debt because he’s trying to get Anatole to marry already. It’s not a necessity measure, it’s blackmail.There is no indication that the strain Anatole’s activities puts on the family’s finances is actually significant.
So then why does Helene have to marry Pierre? Why is Vasili Kuragin constantly trying to sell off his children to the highest bidder? Because he’s a social climber like woah. Vasili is trying to level up. Look who he’s aiming for: Bezukhov, Bolkosky, Julie Karagin (who, btw, is an heiress. Unlike Marya, she’s not getting just a dowry, she’s getting all of it.) Vasili wants more money and power, sure. Because that’s what social climbers want and social climbing doesn’t just stop when you get to “rich.” It’s a constant bid for more than you currently have.
Also, marrying Helene to a rich husband would always be helpful. Vasili milks that marriage for all its worth. But it’s not a family-saving move the way marrying Anatole would be. (And notice how very not-persistent Vasili seems to be about this. He has a lot of time between 1805 and 1808 or so - when Anatole’s Polish thing happens - to wrangle Anatole into a marriage to an heiress and the results are zero. And his initial attempt is Marya and all Vasili can get out of that marriage is a large dowry. Which is nice, but in a need-money scenario, he’s be looking at heiresses.) I mean…the husband owns all the money anyway. Also notice how the Rostovs put at least some pressure on Nikolai to marry well, whereas neither Vera nor Natasha are pressured in quite the same way. (Denisov is rejected not because of money but because Natasha is only 15 when he proposes. No one even thinks to oppose Vera’s marriage to Berg who is beneath her in both social and economic status.) Helene’s marriage is advantageous, especially since Pierre is the sort of person you can milk for cash. But if Vasili was trying to save the family from ruin via marriages, his first priority would be marrying HIppolyte or Anatole to an heiress which he…aims for, but doesn’t pursue quite as doggedly as one might expect, especially from someone like him.
Helene had to marry Pierre because her father has Ambitions, not because Anatole spends too much money. Come on.