Which princess becomes Nikolai Rostov's wife in War and Peace?

Princess Marya Bolkonskaya becomes Nikolai Rostov’s wife in War and Peace.

Marya, also spelled Maria in some translations, is the deeply religious daughter of Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky and the sister of Prince Andrei. She spends much of the novel at the Bolkonsky estate of Bald Hills, enduring her father’s demanding routines while trying to balance family duty, faith and personal feeling.

Her relationship with Nikolai develops after the upheavals of the 1812 campaign. They meet again through circumstances involving Marya’s family and the Rostovs, and their eventual marriage joins two of the novel’s central families. Nikolai’s marriage to Marya also helps stabilize the Rostov household after years of emotional and financial strain.

Sonya Rostova is a common mix-up because she is closely connected to Nikolai and is engaged to him for much of the story. However, Sonya ultimately accepts that Nikolai will marry Marya. Julie Karagina and Hélène Kuragina are other society figures, not Nikolai’s wife.