Carmel’s Reviews > Anna Karenina > Status Update

Alright kids, we did it: two hundred pages in, I finally lost track of a character. Who is Vronsky's sister again?

I can only hope this works better in Russian: "This child with his naive outlook on life was the compass which showed them the degree of their divergence from what they knew was right, but did not want to see"

Ugh. This fight between Anna and Karenin sucks. All of a sudden, they're not a team. She's shutting him out, and he has no tools to deal with it, and he's totally making it worse by trying to stay in control of his feelings. Honestly though, I don't even know if he can do anything at this point to get her back. Try a little tenderness though dude! Get vulnerable, it's your best shot.

ANNA. VRONSKY. Quit 'saying' shit with your eyes. That's not how this works. I mean I know you've got a semi-omniscient narrator and all to help you out, but that's how date rape happens. Also, GET A LIFE YOU'RE NOT THAT COOL.

I always imagine Prince Scherbatsky to be played by Lord Grantham. Stodgy, aristocratic, slightly bewildered, but ultimately conscientious and sweet. Thus far, at least.

Big difference between Moscow and Petersburg! Also, this is pre-communist Russia, what the heck are all these officials and officers doing? Feels like stature comes from the government, which feels odd, but is that really any different from contemporary society in other European countries at the time?

Feels like Anna being apologetic to Dolly about Oblonsky's infidelity is foreshadowing. Is she going to have an affair with Vronsky?

Odd cultural moment: Prince and princess not only sleep in separate rooms, but "make the sign of the cross over each other" before kissing and retiring to their separate rooms.

I'm finding myself actually identifying with Oblonsky's pov re: Levin, even though I find O entitled and blind to his priveledge. Levin is just so painfully earnest and naive