Anna Karenina - Week 06 / Part 3, Chapters XVII - XXXII

[Gem , Moderator]

Week 5 covers the second half of Part 3 (Chapters XVII - XXXII).

1) In this section Vronsky is described as a man who "hated disorder." If this is the case, why do you think he allows such a disorderly situation as his affair with Anna comes to fruition?

2) Both Stiva and Karenin are pillars of Russian society and have shown to be very adept at their jobs and in working with people. Is this interesting to you—and if so in what ways? What do you learn about the Russian business/diplomatic world from Karenin and Stiva?

3) Why do you think Tolstoy's characters have to come to terms with death in order to understand life?

4) Tolstoy's writes in terms of the natural life of the country and the unnatural life of the city. What do you make of this? Is it an important prospective that we, the reader, need to be aware of?

5) What do you think is behind Levin's passion for agronomic reform? Is this passion a covering up a deeper emotional need or fear?