# Butler — Hadji Murád character guide

> Butler in Hadji Murád by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the shortsighted Butler

**First appearance:** 0001-hadji-mur-d

## Snapshot

A shortsighted Russian officer who befriends Hadji Murád and finds himself seduced by the poetry of the mountain life he is sent to destroy.

## Who they are

Young, impressionable, and hungry for romance, Butler is drawn to Hadji Murád not as a prisoner but as a living legend, learning his songs and buying a Circassian coat to feel closer to that world. The friendship unsettles him: he is a soldier of the empire, yet the man across the table has become something like a friend, and the blood-feud ballad Khanéfi sings moves him more than any Russian hymn. His divided sympathies make him the reader's stand-in for the uncomfortable question of what it means to admire an enemy.

## Relationships

### [Hadji Murád](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/hadji_murad)

_friendship_

Butler, a Russian officer, develops a respectful and curious friendship with Hadji Murád, fascinated by his character.

### [Márya Dmítrievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/marya_dmitrievna)

_romantic_

Butler and Márya Dmítrievna share a tender, unspoken romantic attraction, with Butler admiring her warmth and strength.

### [Major Petróv](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/major_petrov)

_friendship_

Butler and Major Petróv are fellow officers who share a friendly, easygoing rapport within the regiment.

### [Márya Dmítrievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/marya_dmitrievna)

_romantic_

Butler and Márya Dmítrievna share a tender, unspoken romantic attraction, with Butler admiring her warmth and strength.

### [Major Petróv](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/major_petrov)

_friendship_

Butler and Major Petróv are fellow officers who share a friendly, easygoing rapport within the regiment.

### [Márya Dmítrievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/marya_dmitrievna)

_romantic_

Butler and Márya Dmítrievna share a tender, unspoken romantic attraction, with Butler admiring her warmth and strength.

### [Hadji Murád](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/hadji_murad)

_friendship_

Butler, a Russian officer, develops a respectful and curious friendship with Hadji Murád, fascinated by his character.

### [Major Petróv](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/major_petrov)

_friendship_

Butler and Major Petróv are fellow officers who share a friendly, easygoing rapport within the regiment.

## In the story

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/xvi)

A tall, handsome officer recently exchanged from the Guards, leading the 5th Company. He feels buoyant and joyful, viewing war romantically and avoiding thoughts of death and wounds.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/xviii)

First to encounter Hadji Murád outside the fort, greets him, and later helps entertain him. He is a strong young bachelor attracted to Márya Dmítrievna.

### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/xx)

Has become close friends with Hadji Murád, adopts mountain dress, and witnesses the attack by Arslán Khan.

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/xxi)

Visits the camp, attends the farewell dinner, and loses heavily at cards, leading to debt and shame.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/chapters/xxiv)

Butler indulges in the poetry of warfare, drinks heavily, and attempts to court Márya Dmítrievna, but is rebuffed. He is shocked by the arrival of Hadji Murád's head.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters/butler
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hadji_mur_d_se/characters