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Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy Collection
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Anna Karenina - Week 03 / Part 2, Chapters I - XIX
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The description of the courtship between Anna and Vronski was different to my expectations. The whole affair lacked passion. At least as a reader, I don’t feel a lot of passion coming from the pages. Does anyone else here feel the same?It is more as short sketch of how they met, the structure of the hunt, and the forbidden nature of it all. That’s at least how I see it.
In chapter 11, it seems like the passion has already died. (At the point when they finally have sex, after one year?) What happened? (Was he a disaster in bed, as compared to her husband…?)
Mod
I think we see more shame than anything having a big impact on her at this point. My translation reads:
Shame at her spiritual nakedness weighted on her and communicated itself to him. But, despite all the murderer's horror before the murdered body, he had to cut this body into pieces and hide it, he had to make use of what the murderer had gained by his murder.
I think Tolstoy crafted his words wonderfully (especially if this is a literal translation) by equating the affair to a murder. I guess when you think about it, an affair is the murder of the vows of matrimony. It's a pretty powerful statement.
The only symptoms of Kitty’s illness that are named are diminishing strength, malnutrition, and “nervous excitement .” Kitty herself attributes it to a broken heart-but as it’s unclear whether she was truly in love with Vronsky, I think a big part of it is her sense of shame and embarrassment over the whole thing. She and her sister Dolly are both dealing with their feelings of humiliation during this period, and seem to be very close and supportive of each other. Kitty is seeing the world through a negative lens, including her sister’s husband. Anna finds herself drawn to Betsy’s societal circle after she has become interested in Vronsky. This is the “less virtuous” of her available sets of friends, and according to Tolstoy very little separates the circle from the “demimonde”. Betsy’s set is less likely to be judgmental about Anna’s flirtation with Vronsky, as Betsy engages in similar behavior. One thing that attracts Anna to Betsy is the fact that she is Vronsky’s cousin and is often visited by him. The relationship between Anna and Betsy stands in contrast with Dolly and Kitty’s, which seems more authentically supportive.
I don’t believe the statement that “the role of a man who attached himself to a married woman and devoted his life to involving her in adultery at all costs, has something beautiful and grand about it” represents Tolstoy’s feelings at all. It seems to represent the attitude of men like Vronsky and others in his social circle who lack a strong moral compass.
Gem wrote: "Kitty's illness frames the beginning of Part Two. What do you notice about it in particular? What do you attribute her decline in health..."For me it has been obvious that Kitty declined Levin one moment, and regretted it immediately the next moment. It wasn't explicit, but I understood it so, in between the lines. Did others also understand it that way? (Is it just my imagination?)
I feel that she took to Levin deep down inside, but would not admit to it. Her mother advised her against it. And Levin was not obviously a perfect suitor, so she couldn't see it clearly. But I am sure that she had som deeper feelings for him that she couldn't articulate. So she felt ill about the whole situation.
And Levin also can't forget her. Such a drama. Will they ever be able to know about each others' feelings?
So I think she is ill because she is sorry that she declined Levin and wasted that good chance, when Vronski was not the dream canditate anyway.
Oh I definitely agree about that. Levin might have felt solid to her, like a friend from childhood, and consequently not sufficiently glamorous compared with Vronsky while she was under Vronsky’s spell. But as soon as he reveals his shallowness and humiliates her, she realizes her mistake. She may not have been able to acknowledge this consciously at first, and the repression of something so sad could go a fair way toward making her “sick”—driving away her appetite, etc.
I really like this reading of her illness—not heartbreak over losing Vronsky, but regret and sadness about Levin coupled with shame and humiliation.
Mod
Excellent points. You nailed the relationship between Dolly and Kitty, especially in contrast to Anna and Betsy.
Mod
For me it has been obvious that Kitty decli..."
I think that girls as young as she is are flattered by any and all the attention they receive from men. Even though her mother advised against Levin, her father was for him (I can't remember if Kitty knows how her father felt.) I wonder if deep down she didn't see/feel/think/know Levin was a stable man of integrity and that's why she regretted her decline. Then seeing Vronsky with Anna together solidified how she felt/what she knew about Levin?
Ceane wrote: "The relationship between Anna and Betsy stands in contrast with Dolly and Kitty’s, which seems more authentically supportive."Yes. Chapter 3 was done so well, with the sisters' conversation in Kitty's bedroom. I liked Chapter 2 too, with the argument between the the parents, but then making up again. Seemed like they really love each other. Also this paragraph, very insightful :
As soon as Kitty had left the room in tears, Dolly had immediately seen, with her maternal, family instincts, that there was woman’s work to be done, and she prepared herself for it. Mentally rolling up her sleeves, she took off her hat and prepared for action. While her mother was attacking her father, she had tried to restrain her mother as far as filial deference permitted. During the Prince’s outburst she was silent; she felt shame on her mother’s behalf and affection towards her father for so quickly becoming kind again, but when her father went out, she girded herself to do the main thing which was needed, which was to go and comfort Kitty.
1) Kitty's illness frames the beginning of Part Two. What do you notice about it in particular? What do you attribute her decline in health to, and why?
2) The Shcherbatsky sisters spend time together in this portion of the novel. What do you think is interesting about their relationships?
3) Why, do you think Anna and Princess Betsy are fond of each other, and what important roles do you see them playing for each other?
4) In Chapter IV, there is a statement about Vronsky that goes, "the role of a man who attached himself to a married woman and devoted his life to involving her in adultery at all costs, has something beautiful and grand about it..." (p. 128) What do you find interesting or intriguing about this statement? Do you think the author truly believes it—and if not, why does he say it?
5) What do you think about the "courtship" and interactions between Vronsky and Anna. Do you find anything to be unique about the way they talk to each other? Do you recognize it as something you would call "love?" Do you get the sense that Anna truly feels guilty about the actions she has taken with Vronsky? If not, why do you think? What do you think about the way her husband tried to talk to her about her relationship with Vronsky? About Anna's reaction? Should her husband have done something more, or something different?
7) Stiva and Levin are friends, but they seem to be very different kinds of men. What are the most obvious ways in which they look at their life from different angles? Does it strike you as odd that these men should be and remain friends in spite of the different way they look at life?