What I’m Reading – Anna Karenina

*Spoilers*

I recently finished reading Anna Karenina, written by Leo Tolstoy in 1878.

This book is on the longer side, my version was 817 pages. What I discovered after reading Crime and Punishment is that translations matter a lot. A good translation can make a book a lot more enjoyable to read. Also, I will probably always be confused by Russian names. Russians have rules about names that I was very unaware of. A person can be called by their first name, last name, or a nickname, depending on who is talking to them. So, in the book, a character’s full name is Katerina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya; she is often called Kitty, a nickname. Depending on who is talking to her, they will use her nickname, first name, or last name, and for me, it can be confusing because it seems like a new character has been introduced when someone uses a different name.

Two main male characters in the book have the same first name, Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, Anna’s husband, and Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, Anna’s lover. For the vast majority of the book, Alexei Kirillovich is always called Vronsky, when someone randomly called him Alexei, I re-read a few paragraphs to see where I missed Anna’s husband coming back. It can get confusing if you’re unaware of Russian naming conventions. I was introduced to it in Crime and Punishment so I caught on quicker reading Anna Karenina, but it can still be confusing.

I really enjoyed the book, the characters are memorable even if not always likable.

In my opinion Anna’s story is truly tragic. She is desperate for deep, lasting love and in the end, never finds it. Her husband, Alexi, is very emotionally stunted, and her lover, Vronsky, doesn’t really understand her needs. Anna is charming and beautiful, but her pursuit of love left her with nothing. She was rejected by society and her friends for pursuing a relationship with Vronsky, while he was left pretty much unscathed by the affair. Her world grew smaller and smaller until, eventually, there was nothing left. Anna was a woman who left a loveless marriage and followed an intoxicating passion she didn’t know existed. While it was ultimately unfulfilling, she was aware of the consequences and was willing to risk everything for it.

Vronsky almost reminded me of a frat boy. He was a Count and grew up with wealth and status. He loved Anna in his own way but was never able to truly give her the emotional connection she needed. He was all about flashy romance and passion. He knew she was married and strongly pursued her anyway. He was basically coasting through life, enjoying the company of women and his bachelorhood, until he met Anna and was so taken with her that he had to get to know her. Unlike Anna, he doesn’t face any real consequences for the affair. As a man with status, he was very well protected, and he didn’t lose his social circle like Anna did. It was frustrating to see Vronsky watch Anna fall apart in front of him and not know how to truly reach out to her.

Alexi, Anna’s husband, became a more tragic character as the book went on. At first, he is seen as heartless and mean to Anna, but as the story unfolds, we see more of Alexi. He admits that he never loved his wife and that he never loved anyone, including family and friends. He lives his life by order and logic, which has taken him far, and he doesn’t see any reason to be any other way. In the middle of the book, he has an emotional breakthrough, and it’s one of the most uplifting parts in the story. He is overtaken with emotions of forgiveness, and love, but he can’t hold on to it. In the end, he reverts to his old ways. A man who never experienced love and so never knew how to love his wife and child is sad and such a lonely place to be.

Levin is the level-headed, hard-working character. He isn’t chasing emotions, he is trying to understand the world and his role in it. He finds true love, but it doesn’t destroy him; he isn’t sure about religion, and he tends to ruminate on what the right thing to do is. While Levin is a well-off landowner, he often labors in the fields with his workers. He isn’t a fan of politics and feels out of place among the wealthy. Levin’s journey to enlightenment is interesting, and while he does feel lost and desperate for answers toward the end of the book, he eventually finds what he was looking for. It all sort of falls into place in a way that is at once impactful and gentle. I thought his story ended well and made sense.

Dolly, who is married to Anna’s brother Stepan, is also a tragic character. She is married, has a lot of kids, and is oppressed by her husband. Stepan cheats on her a lot and is never around to help her run the house and raise the kids. She is usually far too busy to let herself think about her situation and her feelings. When she gets a day to herself, she realizes how unhappy and stressed she is. She regrets marrying her husband, who cheats on her; she’s humiliated that it’s common knowledge. While she loves her children, she reflects on how difficult and painful all of her pregnancies were. She is also envious of Anna, who followed her heart and seemed happy with a new man. Dolly is the responsible one in the relationship and realizes that everything is on her shoulders, but in the end, she doesn’t leave her husband.

The character I truly hated was Stepan, Anna’s brother. He is selfish, thoughtless, hedonistic, and all around unsympathetic. He doesn’t see anything wrong with cheating on his wife because she became boring after having four of his kids, and he needs to be with someone exciting. He is terrible with money and puts his family in debt chasing the finer things in life and buying his mistresses gifts. When he starts to think of his wife’s unhappiness, his children’s future, and his gray hair, he goes to Petersburg, where he says he forgets all his troubles and lives freely. His character is charming and not malicious, but he is so self-centered that I didn’t see anything really redeeming about him.

This is my third Russian novel and there is something to be said for Russian angst. This book was dense in places, but I enjoyed getting to know the characters and reading about life in Russia in the late 1800s. This book is ultimately about the tension between passion and duty. Anna follows passion and loses everything, while Levin seeks a meaningful life built on love, work, faith, and responsibility. Through these characters, Tolstoy explores marriage, hypocrisy, social expectations, and the search for purpose.

I would recommend this book.

Rating 8.5/10