Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is a novel about love and marriage among the Russian aristocracy in the 1870s. Anna is young, beautiful woman married to a powerful government minister, Karenin. She falls in love with the elegant Count Vronsky and after becoming pregnant by him, leaves her husband Karenin and her son Seryozha to live with her lover. Despite the intervention of friends such as her brother Oblonsky, an adulterer himself, she is unable to obtain a divorce, and lives isolated from the society that once glorified her. As a man, Vronsky enjoys relative social freedom, which causes Anna to have increasingly intense fits of jealousy. Because of her constant suspicion, she thinks that Vronsky’s love for her is dwindling. Their story is ended by an exciting finale that moves the reader.

Interwoven with the story of Anna, is the tale of Levin, a thoughtful, passionate young man who seeks to marry the Princess Catherine Shcherbatskaya, known as Kitty. Kitty rejects his first proposal because she believes that Vronsky, who flirted with her before he met Anna, intends to marry her. Levin is devastated and withdraws to his country estate and works on a book about agriculture. But the couple reunites through another appearance of Oblonsky, Kitty’s brother in law, and they discover that they are deeply in love. Kitty joyfully accepts Levin’s second proposal. Once married, they live happily in the country, host their families and guests during the summers, and have a son. Levin's philosophical doubt and religious skepticism trouble him despite his domestic happiness, but, after a spiritual enlightenment, he finally recognizes that the capacity for goodness is innate. He devotes himself to living for his loved ones, and to giving his life meaning by advancing the will of God.

Anna Karenina is a timeless classic and has been acclaimed by many literary critics as the best or one of the best novels of all time. One critic tells us that “the character development throughout is what makes this novel a classic,” and goes on to say, “This is one of the best books I have ever read.” The character development is a very intriguing part of the story and keeps the reader turning the page to see what each person goes through next. There are so many characters that a reader might lose track if they are not paying close enough attention, but each one has their own captivating story to tell.

Anna and Vronky’s relationship is the one most closely examined by Tolstoy. The two start of as esteemed individuals in society. Vronksy is a self-assured and elegant young man and Anna is a beautiful and elite woman. Her love with Vronsky became an intense affair. Soon after their first affair, Anna says to her lover, “Everything is finished…I have nothing but you now. Remember that.” Vronsky replies, “I cannot fail to remember what to me is life itself.” But, through much toil and tribulation, despite Vronsky’s unfailing love for her, Anna becomes deceptive, jealous, and spiteful. Their kind and loving discourse becomes arduous and hurtful quarrels. Because she has given up everything, she becomes possessive of him and his affections. “And though she was sure that he had begun to grow cold there was still nothing she could do; it was impossible for her to change her relations with him. It was just as it had been beforeвЂ"it was by love alone, by her charms, that she could hold him. And just as before, it was only by busying herself during the day and taking morphia at night that she could stifle the terrifying thoughts of what would happen if he fell out of love with her.” There is an exiting finale which confirms the status of their relationship. And although, “when she poured out her usual dose of morphia, and thought that all she had to do was drink the whole phial in order to die” and “started thinking once again with enjoyment of how he would torment himself, repent, and love the memory of her when it was already too late,” towards the conclusion of the book, she did not overdose on morphine. One of the greatest themes in the novel is love, marriage, and relationships. Anna and Vronsky’s is little more than a romantic entanglement in which sex and passion, especially for Anna, is more important than anything else. This flawed basis is the cause of their downfall as a couple.

The next most closely examined character is Constantine Levin. Levin is Tolstoy’s heroic figure in the story. He is logical, candid, and honorable. His one true love is Kitty, Anna’s sister in law’s sister. “The place she was standing on seemed to him an unapproachable shrine, and there was a moment when he was on the verge of leaving, he was so filled with fear…He stepped down, avoiding a long look at her, as though she were the sun, but he saw her, just like the sun even without looking.” He is grief-stricken when she at first rejects him, but cannot ignore his love for her. “There were no eyes on earth like those. There was only one creature on earth able to focus all the light and meaning of life for him. That was sheвЂ"Kitty.” Fortunately for them, both, they come together again and have a devoted love for each other. Their relationship undergoes some hardships similar to those of Anna and Vronsky. They too have to deal with traces of jealously