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: 237-252
Summary:
- Levin's brother, Sergei Ivanovich, stays with him in the countryside over the summer
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.