Part One - Days 1–4
Pages read: 1-116
Summary: Introducing key characters and setting up the story
- Stepan has an affair, and his wife, Dolly, finds out
- Levin proposes to Kitty, and Kitty refuses him
- Kitty anticipates Count Vronsky proposing to her, which doesn't happen
- The married Anna Karenina meets Vronsky, and he begins pursuing her
- Levin returns to the countryside, Anna and Vronsky return to St. Petersburg
I enjoyed the different opinions of Anna herself from the other characters in the novel. In high society, she is seen as intelligent and is respected. She is even admired greatly by Kitty. We see though, that Anna's perspectives and the advice she gives to other characters are wrong. This stresses Kitty's innocence and naivity, alongside how powerful Anna's presence is in shaping others. This also sets us up to understand that Anna will make bad, unadvised decisions of her own. Tolstoy very clearly highlights her flaws, and exploits this as a tool to foreshadow her next commitments.
The old prince's perspective on this pretty accurately summarises my thoughts on Vronsky as well. There is nothing special about him. The highlight of part one for me was the prince calling Vronsky a "fop".
"I see a popinjay like this whippersnapper, who is only amusing himself."
Part Two - Days 5-9
Pages read: 117-236
Summary: Following Anna's normal life back in Petersburg's high society and the Shcherbatsky aftermath
- Kitty is now ill, moves in with Dolly, and then heads abroad
- Anna is disenchanted with her life back home, and continues to see Vronsky
- High society slowly becomes aware of Anna's affair, and Alexei confronts her
- Stepan convines Levin to go back to Moscow
- Anna is pregnant (holy moly)
I was particularly struck by Tolstoy's choice to describe Anna and Vronsky's physical affair like a savage murder, highlighting the barbarity and irreparability of the situation.
"Everything is finished... I have nothing but you. Remember that."
Part Three - Days 9
Pages read: 237-352
Summary: Following Levin's normal life back on the farm, and Anna's stagnant situation
- Levin's brother, Sergei Ivanovich, stays with him in the countryside over the summer
- The Oblonskys move to the countryside permenantly
- Levin still pines over Kitty despite throwing himself into his farming
- Alexi decides to keep Anna by his side to punish her, rejecting the notion of divorce
Levin states specifically that no activity can be solid unless it's based on personal interest, and that he will always defend with all his might the rights that touch on his interests. He doesn't see the point in selfless acts, and is indifferent to the common good. This is privileged, aristocratic thinking. I found Levin's attitude to be ignorant. Thinking that because things don't directly affect you, that they can't eventually have an impact on you, is ignorant, which leaves him vulnerable to larger social shifts. This pissed me off.
A note of interest is that Levin is hard-working, and does a lot of physical labour which takes up a lot of his day. Sergei is care-free while on the farm. Sergei’s elevated position allows him to argue for altruism without being burdened by physical necessity, while Levin’s immersion in labour makes him suspicious of anything intangible. Living in Moscow, in its volatile society environment, likely permits and fosters Sergei's open-mindedness. Levin, in contrast, sees truth only in what can be measured and worked with, such as his farm and his land. Sergei rightly brings up the development of nations, unfolding over centuries. Tolstoy is criticising Levin's mindset, highlighting that invisible change is not non-existent change. However, there is also a point to be made that Sergei's abstract talk risks being disconnected from reality. Discussion and awareness are necessary, but action brings change, and Levin's perspective emphasises this. Real change must be lived, not just spoken.
Levin has the choice of becoming a farmer, like the muzhiks, but chooses
his own happiness with Kitty instead. I find this to be very in character
for him, as he consistently thinks about his own interests only, which we have
already discussed. His brother Sergei has already called him out for being unable to give up
his peace.
The main topic of discussion brought up in this part is that farmowners
in Russia are operating at a loss, and this is a widespread issue which is
continually discussed outside of this chapter. This is the result of the abolishment of
serfdom by the emancipation of 1861.
"Either you're so undeveloped that you cannot see all that you could do,
or you cannot give up your peace, your vanity, whatever, in order to do it."
Part Four
Pages read: 353-436
Summary: The Karenins struggle, while Kitty and Levin find each other
- Alexei pursues a divorce
- Levin and Kitty see each other again, and confess their love for each other
- Anna is dying, so Alexei forgives and stays with her while Vronsky shoots himself
- Levin and Kitty are engaged
- Anna and Vronsky leave for Europe without attaining a divorce
I enjoyed the contrast in this partition between
Sergei, Alexei and Pestsov discuss women's education > thoughts?
"He was as fresh as a big, green, waxy Dutch cucumber."