Confession: I have been in a book slump since the beginning of the summer, and the culprit is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. A beautiful novel set in Imperial Russia, in 1874, this book is multitude of genres and subgenres in one. The first and foremost would be love, with a tumultuous relationship between Kitty and Konstantin, and the love affair between Count Vronsky and Anna. Economic issues when Konstantin’s farm begins to fail at bringing in enough money for his new family. Social issues when Anna becomes the social pariah of St. Petersburg, for divorcing her husband, Alexei. Even depression and inner demons is in this book; but I won’t say how because SPOILER ALERT.
Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. She is the title character. Anna is a beautiful woman from St. Petersburg, married to Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, and mother to Sergei Alexeich Karenin. Upon meeting Count Vronsky on the deboarding of the train from Moscow, she falls in love and starts her journey of emotional self-discovery. Said journey causes a nasty divorce of her marriage, which at that time, was considered a crime against God, thus casting her out in society. Not that I am saying that her love affair was for the better, but her marriage with Karenin was falling apart, as he sports a very manufactured appearance.
Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin. He is married to Anna Karenina, and an important government minister. Incredibly formal and traditional, Karenin is one of the most important men in St. Petersburg. Throughout the book, he exemplifies a sort of emptiness; you can tell he is unfulfilled, both in family life and outward appearance. Life is very much about checking the boxes and moving on for Karenin. The only sense of true passion we ever see in him, comes out when he learns of Anna’s affair; even then, it’s a vile creature, even though he is essentially the one that got screwed over.
Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. He is a very charming man in the Calvary, who begins the book as the man that seduces all the pretty, unattached debutants. Though he is desperately in love with Anna, staying by her side means turning down a promotion in Tashkent, to which Vronsky is visibly upset for quite a few chapters. Just as Tolstoy meant to create the idealistic loner, when we get too close to his inner personality, Tolstoy effectively shuts us out again.
Konstantin Dmitrich Levin (Kostya). A kind, yet socially awkward fellow, who is madly in love with Kitty. He is very intellectual and well-read, but only uses his intelligence for his farm. Levin becomes a bit of a sass queen when the farm fails to bring in enough money. At first, Kitty turns his proposal down, but being the determined fellow that he is, successfully tries again, after retreating to his farm in emotional pain. (This is not a spoiler, I believe it is in the blurb on the back.) Kostantin is on the right.
Darya Alexandrovna Oblonskaya. A proud mother of five children, she is still madly in love with her husband, Stiva. Throughout the book, she is upset because she found a love note from Stiva to the governess. Near the middle of the book, she becomes one of Anna’s confidants.
These are just a few of the most important characters of the book. Of course, I haven’t covered them all (Stiva, Seryozha, Countess Vronskoya, and Nikolai). Though there are many more characters not included here, the beauty of literary fiction is that every character has a purpose.
