Which character in War and Peace is Pierre's first wife?

Hélène Kuragina is Pierre Bezukhov’s first wife in *War and Peace*.

After Pierre inherits his father’s immense fortune and becomes Count Bezukhov, Prince Vasily Kuragin encourages a marriage between Pierre and his beautiful daughter Hélène. Pierre is socially inexperienced and deeply conflicted, but pressure from Vasily and the expectations of Petersburg society help bring about the match.

The marriage quickly becomes unhappy. Hélène is portrayed as brilliant in social performance but morally shallow, and rumours of her affairs—especially with Fyodor Dolokhov—provoke Pierre into a duel. Pierre wounds Dolokhov, then separates from Hélène while struggling with jealousy, guilt, and spiritual confusion.

Hélène later becomes a powerful society hostess and seeks a way to dissolve her marriage so that she can remarry. Pierre eventually finds a new emotional and moral direction, especially through Natasha Rostova. Natasha is Pierre’s second wife, while Sonya is Nikolai Rostov’s cousin and Julie Karagina is a separate wealthy socialite.