CliffsNotes on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

Cliff Notes

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• ISBN:
  9780544179547
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Study Guides

Part 1: Chapters 1–5

Summary

The household of Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky is in a state of confusion that began three days ago when his wife discovered his relationship with their former French governess. Dolly Oblonsky says she can no longer live in the same house with her husband.

Stiva (as he is called) considers her attitude unnecessarily harsh, despite the gravity of the situation. Though she is a good mother to their five children and manages the household well, she is worn out and no longer young or good looking; whereas he feels himself in prime enjoyment of his powers. Meanwhile all the servants, painfully aware of the Oblonsky’s problems, feel a separation is imminent.

On the third day, while the barber shaves his face, Stiva reads a telegram, announcing that his sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, will arrive tomorrow to visit. Perhaps she might reconcile husband and wife.

Dressed and shaved, feeling fragrant and comfortable, Stepan Arkadyevitch reads his letters, some office papers, and peruses a liberal newspaper, one advocating the views of the liberal majority and satisfying to his truthful temperament. Interrupting his reading, he affectionately greets two of his children, treating them to bon-bons as he sends them off.

While his carriage awaits him, Stiva sees a petitioner and gives her advice. Taking his hat, he feels as if he forgot something. Lighting a cigarette, squaring his shoulders, he rapidly walks to his wife’s bedroom.

Darya Alexandrovna is collecting her things and the children’s clothes in order to pack up and leave for her mother’s house. Regarding her husband out of startled eyes, prominent in her sunken and thin face, she scans his figure which radiates health and freshness. Though he tries to look pitiful and humble, she notes with disgust that good nature of his which everyone praises and likes so well.

The brief interview fails. Dolly shrilly insists she will leave the house, while Stiva pleads his guilt and begs her to forgive his one lapse of passion which could not belie their nine years of happy marriage. When he weeps in sympathy for her, Dolly becomes angrier than ever: she seeks his love, not his pity.

Dolly leaves the room to attend to a child crying in the nursery. Plunging into the duties of the day, she crowds the grief out of her mind for a time. Stiva slowly leaves the room. “Maybe she will come around,” he tells himself.

Analysis

“Happy families are all alike,” Tolstoy writes as the first words of Anna Karenina, “Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Specifying this generalization the author details the life of a well favored aristocrat. Stepan Arkadyevitch has an excellent post in Moscow, is the head of a loving and smoothly run household. His wife, Darya, Stiva’s feminine counterpart in the Russian class system, centers her life on raising the children and tending her husband. But his infidelity shatters their harmonious life and Dolly must confront the problem of how to repair her personal ruin. For Stiva, his marital life is of secondary value; his official duties, his social activities, and his pleasures are primary. Thus we see that the values of men and women in this society are oriented toward different goals and Stiva’s affair with the French governess causes these different values to stand in clear relief.

In these chapters Tolstoy has set up a small working model which generates all the subsequent themes of Anna Karenina. Stiva’s petty love affair prefigures the adultery of Anna with Vronsky, and serves as a negative comparison with Levin’s successful marriage later in the novel. The individual’s quest for meaning through personal relationships and through the details of ordinary life begins—though modestly—among the descriptions of domestic life in the Oblonsky household.

Part 1: Chapters 6–11

Summary

Stepan Arkadyevitch, one who “was born in the midst of those who has been and are the powerful ones of this world” is president of a government board in Moscow, part of a department in the ministry where his brother-in-law, Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin, holds one of the most prominent positions. Stiva’s kindliness and good humor have won him the respect and liking of all his subordinates as well as his superiors. Despite excellent abilities, Stiva did poorly at school for he was idle and mischievous. Yet he does a good job at the office; never getting carried away with his work, his indifference to the business at hand increases his objectivity and accuracy.

During his busy morning, Stiva receives the unexpected visit of his childhood comrade, Konstantin Levin, an intense, thoughtful man of the same age. Levin, modeled after Tolstoy himself, cares deeply for farming, raising livestock, and managing his ancestral estate. He despises town life for being superficial and frivolous, while Stiva considers Levin’s affairs as trifling. Despite their differences, the two men have remained close friends. Levin’s love for Dolly’s youngest sister, Kitty Shtcherbatsky, also reinforces their friendship.

Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin has come to Moscow specifically to make an offer to the Princess Shtcherbatsky. He regards Kitty as a perfect creature and feels unworthy beside her. Though he believes she deserved better than an ugly, ordinary man like himself, he feels he could not have a moment’s rest until he made her an offer.

When Levin arrives at Moscow, he puts up at the house of his elder half-brother, Koznyshev. Sergey Ivanitch Koznyshev, a famous thinker and writer, concerned with intellectual problems and immersing himself in the political trends of Russia, is of an entirely different temperament than Levin. Rather than ask his brother’s advice on his personal problem, Levin tells Koznyshev of his disenchantment with his local Zemstvo organization and they talk about provincial self-government in general. (Zemstvos are representative county councils founded in 1864 by Alexander II.)

Sergey Ivanitch remarks that their brother Nicolai had turned up in Moscow and shows Levin a hostile note he received. Nicolai, after Koznyshev had covered an I.O.U. for him, writes that the only favors he wishes of his brothers is that they leave him in peace. Half-brother to Koznyshev, and elder brother to Konstantin, Nicolai has dissipated the greater part of his fortune, quarrelled with his brothers, and lives in the strangest and lowest company. Levin at once wants to visit his ruined brother, but first drives to the place where he might meet Kitty.

Arriving at the Zoological gardens’ skating rink, Kitty’s presence dominates his thoughts and he sees no one but her. The expression of her eyes—soft, serene, thoughtful—and her smile transports him and he feels softened and tender as in his early childhood. An excellent skater, Levin works off some of his nervousness by executing a daring leap down the coffee house steps. While he and Kitty skate together, Levin responds so meaningfully to her casual questions that he constantly blushes. She asks how long he intends to stay in Moscow. “It depends on you,” Levin says, and is horrorstruck at his inadvertent confession. Kitty stumbles, then hurries away from him toward her parents. Her mother, having higher hopes for her child, gives Levin a cold greeting but invites him to call on them. To offset her mother’s coolness, Kitty bids him a friendly farewell and her smile throws Levin into ecstasy.

Stiva now arrives. After greeting his in-laws, he draws Levin off to dinner, intently planning their menu while they drive to the restaurant. Oblonsky is perfectly at home among the bronzes, starchy tablecloths, mirrors, obsequious waiters. In their private dining room, he selects their wines and courses with elaborate care. Levin feels almost sullied in this luxurious atmosphere. After the freshness of skating and his delight in the innocence and truthfulness of Kitty, his present setting seems stale and artificial. People in the country, he tells Stiva, order their lives around the goal of work, not idleness. City people, having lost touch with the functional aspects of life, are only prepared to seek pleasure. “Why yes,” answers Stiva good-naturedly, “That’s just the aim of civilization—to make everything a source of pleasure.” Oblonsky, guessing why Levin returned to Moscow, declares he would be delighted to have him as a brother-in-law. He wonders if Levin knows Count Vronsky, for this handsome aide-de-camp is also in love with Kitty. Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky, rich, brilliant, and well connected, is, according to Stiva “one of the finest specimens of the gilded youth of Petersburg.” Levin pales at this news. He feels that Stiva’s counsels and talk of rivalry profane his great feeling for Kitty.

Oblonsky tells Levin of his own domestic problems and Konstantin cannot understand that a man would go “straight to the bakeshop and steal a roll” when he has just dined on plenty. Fiercely monogamous, Levin says he has “a loathing for fallen women” but then recollects his own sins. Stiva points out that life does not consist of clear-cut principles: Its variety, charm, and beauty is made up of “light and shadow” and that Levin is wrong to believe that one’s work, one’s relationships, one’s thoughts must always correspond to a defined aim in life.

After dinner, the two friends part. Levin looks forward to his evening at the Shtcherbatskys where his fate will be decided.

Analysis

Levin enters the novel in a customary outburst of frankness and intense conviction. He tells Stiva he no longer participates in the Zemstvo, derides Oblonsky’s bureaucratic job as a sinecure, and mentions Kitty. Immediately we learn of his main impulses: his quest for rural reform, his rejection of town life, and his passion for Kitty. Levin’s character becomes further defined by a comparison to that of Koznyshev and Nicolai, and during his behavior in the episodes at the skating rink. The discussion between Levin and Stiva as they dine concentrates other themes of Anna Karenina which Tolstoy later defines, especially that of the conflict between monogamy and sexual freedom. Defending the undivided family, Levin cuts himself short as he recalls his own lapses. This moment keynotes the inconsistencies between personal ideals and personal behavior, a problem which Levin (and Tolstoy) struggles with and a problem which Stiva overlooks and rationalizes by his hedonism.

Part 1: Chapters 12–15

Summary

Tolstoy introduces Kitty, the eighteen-year-old girl, who was spending her first winter “out in the world” and who already has two serious suitors, Levin and Count Vronsky. Kitty’s parents, having gone through the anxieties of getting their two elder daughters married off, have renewed arguments over their third. The old Princess Shtcherbatsky reflects how much easier it was in the older days when young girls did not demand their own freedom of choice in marriage. Nowadays it is hard for parents to know when to use their influence to protect their daughters against a rash or unsuccessful choice. The old prince prefers Levin for his plainness and honesty, while his wife prefers Vronsky for his dash and brilliance. She wonders why the young officer, openly flirting with Kitty at balls and calling on her at home, has not yet made an offer.

Kitty considers her feelings toward each of her suitors. While she feels “perfectly simple and clear” with Levin and somewhat awkward with Vronsky, she decides she prefers the dashing officer.

Kitty receives Levin in the drawing-room alone. He blurts out his proposal, his heart sinking as he gazes at her. “That cannot be,” Kitty whispers, “Forgive me.” The old princess arrives and guesses what has happened: Pleased, she welcomes Levin cordially.

Vronsky arrives among the other guests, and Levin remains to see the man Kitty loves. He sees Vronsky as an agreeable, sincere, very calm and intelligent person. Levin soon finds an opportunity to slip quietly away.

As she gets ready for sleep, Kitty rehearses the events of the evening. Though elated at having received an offer, she weeps as she recalls Levin’s kind eyes filled with dejection. Downstairs her parents argue. The old prince accuses his wife of debasing their child by catching “an eligible gentleman” for her and discouraging her feelings for Levin, by far the better man. If Kitty falls in love with Vronsky, a “peacock” and featherhead “who’s only amusing himself,” she might meet the same fate as their unfortunate Dolly.

Analysis

Kitty, although ready to love, is still not mature enough to discriminate. But she is flooded with happiness at Levin’s proposal and does not know why. Vronsky is introduced in the most favorable way, and, at Kitty’s unfeigned joy at his arrival, the theme of her indiscriminate love deepens.

As Kitty’s mother reflects on the simpleness of matchmaking when she was a girl, Tolstoy telescopes the family history through his characteristic device of “interior monologue.” This discussion also pinpoints a primary theme of the novel—the problem of marriage in a modern society.

Part 1: Chapters 16–23

Summary

Vronsky, after his luxurious and coarse life in Petersburg, finds a “great and delicate pleasure” in the affection of this “sweet and innocent girl,” though he feels no urge to marry and sees nothing wrong in paying attention to Kitty. The next day, waiting at the train station to meet his mother, he meets Oblonsky, whose sister is arriving on the same train. When Stiva explains that Levin’s depressed mood last night was the result of Kitty’s refusal, Vronsky feels like a conqueror and a hero.

When the train arrives, his mother introduces him to her traveling companion, the charming Madame Karenina; something peculiarly “caressing and soft” in the expression of her face catches his attention. Countess Vronsky explains this is the first time Anna has been away from her eight year old child and is somewhat anxious. “Yes,” Anna smiles, “the countess and I have been talking all the time, I of my son and she of hers.” Vronsky unable to take his eyes from Madame Karenina watches her walk lightly and rapidly with her brother to their carriage, carrying her “rather full figure with extraordinary lightness.”

A sudden accident at the station draws a crowd. A guard, not hearing the train move back, has been crushed under the wheels of the car. Anna is horrified and even more impressed to learn that the man is the only support of an immense family. “Couldn’t something be done?” she asks, and learns a few moments later that Vronsky had given 200 rubles for the benefit of the widow. Suspecting that this gesture has something to do with her, Anna frowns: It is something that ought not to have been.

In the carriage, Stiva wonders at her quivering lips and her tears. “It’s an omen of evil,” Anna says, and changes the subject. “Have you known Vronsky long?” she asks. “Yes,” answers Stiva, “We’re hoping he will marry Kitty.” Indeed?” says Anna softly, then with a toss of her head, “Come, let’s talk about you and what you wrote me about in your letter.”

Anna’s kindness and warmth, as well as her accurate recollection of the names, ages, and past illnesses of the Oblonsky children win Dolly’s confidence. Eventually Anna talks of the problem that brought her to Moscow in the first place. She points out how miserable Stiva felt at his infidelity and how repentant he is. “I don’t know how much love there still is in your heart for him,” she tells Dolly. “You alone know whether there is enough for you to be able to forgive. If there is, then forgive him!” Dolly, won over by Anna’s sympathy and understanding, feels much comforted.

Kitty calls on the following day, soon finding herself in love with Anna, “as young girls often fall in love with older and married women.” Anna’s eagerness, freshness, and the elasticity of her movements seem to be those of a girl in her twenties, while her seriousness and mournful smile attract Kitty to her maturity. Congratulating Kitty on behalf of Vronsky, Anna relates an incident where the young man had saved a woman from drowning, a story told her by Countess Vronsky. But she does not mention the incident of the 200 rubles: fearing something personal in that gesture, she does not like to think of it. Dolly’s children, shrieking with delight to see their aunt, interrupt further conversation, while Anna runs laughing to meet them. After dinner, Vronsky unexpectedly passes by but declines to join them. Kitty assumes he comes to seek her but does not wish to intrude while they have a guest. The visit seems odd to all of them, but particularly to Anna and she is troubled.

The great ball is held the following evening, and Kitty, intoxicated by the elegance of gowns around her, the lighted chandeliers, the livened footmen, feels her eyes sparkle and her lips rosy as young men constantly ask her to dance. She is certain that Count Vronsky will propose to her this night. Anna appears, beautifully elegant in a simple low-cut black velvet gown that brings out all her charm. Elated to see Vronsky, Kitty wonders why Anna deliberately refrains from answering his bow of greeting. Vronsky tells Kitty he has regretted not seeing her for so long. As they face each other during the pause before the dance, Kitty gives him a look “so full of love—that look, which met with no response, pierced her heart with unending shame for years after.” During her quadrille with another partner, Kitty observes Anna and Vronsky dancing opposite. On Anna’s expressive face appears the signs of excitement and success that she herself feels familiar with, while Vronsky’s expression, always firm and independent, bears a look of “bewilderment and humbled submissiveness, like the expression of an intelligent dog when it has done wrong.” Kitty’s world crumbles; only her self-discipline allows her to continue dancing and smiling and talking.

Analysis

We first hear of Anna Karenina in Chapter l, where she intends to arrive at Moscow to repair a broken marriage: Indeed an ironic touch on the part of the author. The railroad station, the scene of Anna’s first meeting with Vronsky, provides a symbol that concentrates the ideas of beginning, and, representing a point of departure as well. Alighting in Moscow, Anna confronts a new destiny and enter...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Leo Tolstoy Biography
• Book Summary
• Character List
• Character Map
• Summary and Analysis
• Part 1: Chapters 1–5
• Part 1: Chapters 6–11
• Part 1: Chapters 12–15
• Part 1: Chapters 16–23
• Part 1: Chapters 24–27
• Part 1: Chapters 28–33
• Part 1: Chapter 34
• Part 2: Chapters 1–3
• Part 2: Chapters 4–11
• Part 2: Chapters 12–17
• Part 2: Chapters 18–25
• Part 2: Chapters 26–29
• Part 2: Chapters 30–35
• Part 3: Chapters 1–6
• Part 3: Chapters 7–11
• Part 3: Chapters 12–23
• Part 3: Chapters 24–32
• Part 4: Chapters 1–23
• Part 5: Chapters 1–6
• Part 5: Chapters 7–13
• Part 5: Chapters 14–20
• Part 5: Chapters 21–33
• Part 6: Chapters 1–5
• Part 6: Chapters 6–15
• Part 6: Chapters 16–25
• Part 6: Chapters 26–32
• Part 7: Chapters 1–12
• Part 7: Chapters 13–22
• Part 7: Chapters 23–31
• Part 8: Chapters 1–5
• Part 8: Chapters 6–19
• Character Analysis
• Konstantin Levin
• Anna Karenina
• Count Vronsky
• Alexey Karenin
• Kitty Shtcherbatsky
• Dolly Oblonsky
• Stiva Oblonsky
• Minor Characters
• Critical Essays
• Plot Structure and Technique in Anna Karenina
• Themes in Anna Karenina
• Study Help
• Quiz
• Essay Topics and Review Questions
• Selected Bibliography