Anna Karenina by Tolstoy

Anna Karenina, the book, follows the journey of various couples, their families, and their affairs. Of love beyond the “yearning” phase. The story starts out with Dolly, depressed with her husband for cheating on her with their kids’ governess. And her husband called in his sister, Anna Karenina. However, on her way back, she (a married woman) ends up falling for a man called Vronsky.

Although she resists it at first, she ends up making relations with him regardless. Even becoming pregnant with his child. Which branches into Vronsky being the person formerly courting Kitty, (even though he had no feelings for her) who ends up marrying Levin instead. Anna and Vronsky start living together, despite the fact that Anna wasn’t divorced yet.

Through Anna’s character Tolstoy explores many facets of a woman’s life. About how different an affair is for a woman as compared to for a man, Anna has to forsake her position in society, to leave her child behind (with her husband restricting access to her), while Dolly is forced to accept her husband’s infidelity blindly.

It may be argued that Dolly’s husband didn’t actually love the governess and Anna loved Vronksy. But what of the governess? She was taken advantage of and then left alone. The two relationships show a contrast into married life for a man and a woman, and the discrepancies in divorce. A woman wasn’t allowed to remarry unless her former husband was dead, even though they were divorced.

As the couple’s relationship progressed, another variable, or point of contrast presented itself. The relationship between Kitty and Levin. Levin loved Kitty and thus asked to marry her, both of them were faithful to each other. They had their quarrels, and their difference in opinions because of lifestyle and religion but they didn't give up on their relationship. They navigated the change with Levin finding out how married life wasn’t just romance, but giving Kitty equal say in what happened in their lives. 

On the contrary, Vronsky and Anna slowly started growing sick of each other, with Anna refusing to divorce so as not to lose her rights to meet Sereyosha (her son) and Vronsky wanting a “man’s independence" and not wanting to deal with Anna’s constant pestering and jealousy. A contrast is shown in how Kitty and Levin’s quarrels are shown ending with them sorting it out and being happy, while Anna and Vronsky’s ended with them being bitter about each other. 

Apart from relationships, the book also delves into the concept of education, more specifically how educating women was still not the norm yet which was odd considering women were responsible for teaching the children in their early years. And how their political opinions were not considered very important.

Society has always treated women as lessers, as the “other”. But that’s true for every creature other than the “ideal man”. However, the ideal man is rarely ideal. In context to honest work– "Honesty is only a negative qualification.” If a virtue like honesty is considered a negative quality, does it not reflect how this “ideal well-respected man” operates?

The book also deals with themes of sickness and death. Anna’s sickness and Nikolai’s sickness. Levin, Nikolai’s brother, becomes depressed and starts questioning the very point of life and its purpose. Death and sickness changes people around you. How Karenin (Anna’s husband) for the first time felt sorrow and love with his wife as she was quite near her deathbed. Levin on the other hand even refused to see his brother in that state. His whole worldview is shaken.

This makes Levin question his beliefs and the atheist Levin turns religious. His religious journey is much through self reflection and internal thoughts. He questions how religions other than Christianity receive the highest blessings from God? "Universal manifestation of God to the whole world with all these nebulae” He concludes to pray, without knowing its reason. But its no longer meaningless like before bit believes in the positive meaning of goodness which he has the power to put into it.

As for the reflection of Russian society in the text, it reflects a time of change, industrialization, taking over instead of boosting agriculture, various political changes. One glaring point of interest is the use of french. The language has become the language of Russian court, culture and politics. The language of the “elite”. And its art and culture has deeply penetrated Russia. French governesses and tutors are preferred and this spread of french culture throughout Russia. This bright critical thoughts and liberal outlooks to Russia. In this book French is seen as a tool for alienation used by Karenin to Anna because of the formal ‘vous’ showing his dissatisfaction and distance from her after her affair.

Concluding, the book was a great insight into Russian society, women, life, religion, politics and relationship dynamics.