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Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy Collection
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Anna Karenina - Week 07 / Part 4, Chapters I- XXIII
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Gem wrote: "3) In Part Four, suddenly a lot of the consequences of infidelity come to light. Why do you think Tolstoy chose to put them into the novel so explicitly? What are his motivations for telling so much of Karenin and Oblonsky's stories?"I think that he is supporting his thesis statement--"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"--by showing us many forms unhappiness can take. And, of course, in keeping with the statement there's only one example of a happy family: Kitty & Levin. This is what irritates me a little bit about the book: it does feel smug, with Tolstoy clearly identifying with Levin, holding him up as a model of the (only) way to be.
The situation between Karenin, Anna, and Vronsky is just such a catastrophic mess, isn't it. Everyone is confused. Karenin does seem to have found a way to lift himself up, at least for awhile, from the morass with what appears to be a genuine transformational experience of forgiveness; but he is the only one helped by this, since it seems Anna, after giving birth to Vronsky's baby, now feels a bond with him strong enough to disallow any return to Karenin in the capacity of the wife she used to be.
Regarding point 4, Levin and Kitty:I haven’t been able to understand how it is that Levin loves Kitty. We readers haven’t seen a lot of interaction between them. Can we be sure that he really loves her for what she is and not what he imagines in his mind? Is part of his vision of her just a fantasy? When I see what happens in all the other relationships in the book, I have bad premonitions for this couple. Do they have the right foundation for a marriage? (What is the age difference between them again?)
Hi Gem,You pose a lot of good questions about significant parts of the section. I am curious to hear your own thoughts about them. For example what did you think yourself when you wrote this:
“3) In Part Four, suddenly a lot of the consequences of infidelity come to light. Why do you think Tolstoy chose to put them into the novel so explicitly? What are his motivations for telling so much of Karenin and Oblonsky's stories?“
Charlotte wrote: "Regarding point 4, Levin and Kitty: lov..."Meanwhile I have found out that Levin is 34 years old and Kitty is 17 years old when they meet.
Charlotte wrote: "Regarding point 4, Levin and Kitty:I haven’t been able to understand how it is that Levin loves Kitty. We readers haven’t seen a lot of interaction between them. Can we be sure that he really loves her for what she is and not what he imagines in his mind? Is part of his vision of her just a fantasy? When I see what happens in all the other relationships in the book, I have bad premonitions for this couple. Do they have the right foundation for a marriage? (What is the age difference between them again?)"
I've been thinking about this since you posted, and it's a good question. What is the difference between Anna and her husband and Kitty and Levin? The age difference exists in both cases, and it does seem to have played a part in the dysfunction of Anna's marriage, leading at least part to her fall for Vronsky.
The thing is, given a wife's financial dependence on her husband at this time and in this place, marriage between age-equals might not have been viable for most couples. Independent wealth might have made it possible, if it were a type of wealth with no associated management demands (which younger people would not yet be ready to take on). I don't remember whether or not Kitty brings any income of her own to the marriage. If she brings enough to support a family, she might have been able to choose someone closer to her own age to marry. But if she will depend on her husband for support, he will have to be established enough to support her, and at age seventeen herself, this would not be true of any of her peers. Levin himself, at that age, would have been in school, nowhere near ready to get married and support a family.
All this begs the question--why does Kitty have to get married at seventeen anyway? Nowadays this would be a ridiculous expectation, because she would also be in school, preparing to pull equal weight in a marriage later. But back then this wouldn't have been thought of, and at seventeen I guess marriage is just a natural and obvious next step for Kitty.
With regard to understanding what Levin sees in Kitty, and whether or not she is real for him or just some creation of his fantasy . . . I don't know. There is (of course!) then as now that attraction of the older man for the younger woman, and often it does not come with respect for the younger partner. In this case, I feel like the potential for disrespect is mitigated somewhat by Levin's longstanding relationship with Kitty's family, making it at least incrementally more difficult for him to treat her badly. Any disrespect aimed at Kitty would ultimately boil down to disrespect for the Shcherbatsky family standing behind her, and it's been made clear that Levin respects this family.
I've also been thinking over what Kitty sees in Levin, and remembering some of the crushes I developed as a child/preteen for the adult college students my dad used to bring home from time to time for dinners. Getting set up to marry one of them, as a teen, would have felt safe and cozy. If something like that had been proposed, I'm afraid I would have gone for it! Which would have resulted in . . . well, I actually have no idea how that sort of thing would've turned out.
Thank you, Alice, for all your careful thoughts about this topic.
And thank you, Charlotte, for bringing it up—I never would have noticed the parallel age gap between these different couples on my own!
Mod
You pose a lot of good questions about significant parts of the section. I am curious to hear your own thoughts about them. For example what did you think yourself when you wrote this:
“3) In Part Four, suddenly a lot of the consequences of infidelity come to light. Why do you think Tolstoy chose to put them into the novel so explicitly? What are his motivations for telling so much of Karenin and Oblonsky's stories?"
From what I understand, after reading (admittedly a small amount) about Tolstoy, some of this is autobiographical. He had more than a few, as in lots and lots, of relationships with women before he married. He had a son out of wedlock. Like Levin, he kept a diary and had his, then fiancée, read it. She was devastated but married him anyway.
Apparently, he struggled with a really high sex drive which he struggled with. This is a quote I had bookmarked that expresses what I'm trying to say far better than I can: "Tolstoy personally seemed incapable of reconciling sexual passion with marital relations, and as his life went on, he began to view sexuality as an evil, destructive force, and marriage as a type of licensed debauchery, with wives enslaved in a type of socially approved prostitution."
I think the struggle he dealt with absolutely jaded and magnified his perspective and his views on affairs.
Mod
Meanwhile I have found out that Levin is 34 years old and Kitty is 17 years old when they meet."
There was a 16-year age gap between Tolstoy and his wife.
Mod
Older man, younger woman. I think, frequently this gives the man a new vitality and a new lease on life. I think he loves her BUT I also think that (as evidenced with today's internet relationship, especially if they last a while before the partners meet... and I'm not knocking internet relationships I e-met my husband in a chat room before we met in real life) humans tend to "fill in the blanks" about who their partner is. We have the ability to create in our minds our dream partner/fantasy. I think in a lot of ways Levin does this.
Mod
I haven’t been able to understand how it is that Levin loves Kitty. We readers haven’t seen a lot of interaction between them. Can we be sure ..."
I agree with every single point you've made.
Gem wrote: "Week 6 covers Part 4, in its entirety (I - XXIII).1) Now that we've gotten to know Vronsky a bit more, what do you think of him? Do you see him becoming more self-aware? Do you think he makes a good match for Anna? Why or why not?"
Self-centered, self-absorbed, unimaginative?
Since Vronsky is doing so much to mess up Anna's life, it would behoove him to try to... understand her.
‘Stiva says that he has agreed to everything, but I can’t accept his generosity,’ she said, looking wistfully past Vronsky’s face. ‘I don’t want a divorce, it’s all the same to me now. Only I don’t know what he will decide about Seryozha.’
He simply could not understand how at this point in their meeting she could remember or think about her son, or a divorce. Did any of that really matter?
Mod
1) Now that we've gotten to know Vronsky a bit more, what do you think of him? Do you see him becoming more self-aware? Do you think ..."
He really didn't seem to "get" her or any of her concerns at that point. I think he is extremely self-centered. I've not been crazy about this from the beginning.
Lots to ponder from this week's reading. This week we see so much emotion from the characters, emotions that haven't been expressed previously.
1) Now that we've gotten to know Vronsky a bit more, what do you think of him? Do you see him becoming more self-aware? Do you think he makes a good match for Anna? Why or why not?
2) Reflect upon Karenin's predicament. He can't easily divorce his wife, yet she has moved beyond the pale of his influence. If he were to handle the situation in a morally upstanding way, what would be his best course of action? What do you think about his decision toward the end of this chapter? Has anything really been settled? What does this tell you, if anything, about Karenin?
3) In Part Four, suddenly a lot of the consequences of infidelity come to light. Why do you think Tolstoy chose to put them into the novel so explicitly? What are his motivations for telling so much of Karenin and Oblonsky's stories?
4) We learn more of the things Kitty and Levin seem to have in common during this section. Do you think they make a good couple? How do you feel about the details that surround Kitty and Levin's successful courtship? How is it different from the courtship earlier in the novel?
5) Vronsky and Karenin have a conversation toward the end of chapter XVII. What do we learn about Vronsky and Karenin through their conversation? Do you see anything new or a depth of character in this conversation that you did not see before? Does this change your opinion of either/both of the men?
6) What do you think of Oblonsky's final counsel to Karenin in chapter XXII? Is this similar or different from the counsel Anna gives to Dolly at the beginning of the novel? Has your view of Oblonsky changed throughout Part Four? If your view of him hasn't changed, how have his actions confirmed your initial thoughts of him?
7) At the beginning of the novel, we learn that Anna has a very close bond with her son Seryozha. What does it mean for her to leave him in order to be with Vronsky?