Summary of Leo Tolstoy’s world famous novel “Anna Karenina”

✍- Narayan Giri

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy (9 September 1828 – 7 November 1910) was a famous Russian writer. He is also regarded as one of the world’s leading novelists. He is also the creator of Tolstoyism, whose philosophy is currently used in various fields. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize from 1902 to 1906 for his contributions to literature. Although he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1910, he did not receive the prize, which is also considered to be the major controversy of the Nobel Prize.

Born into an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, he is best known for novels such as “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina.” He used to write works focusing on a realist and self-concept. He is regarded as one of the immortal creators of Russian literature for his contributions to Russian literature during his lifetime. His works marked a new phase in Russian and world realism, acting as a bridge between twentieth-century and nineteenth-century novels and literature. Leo Tolstoy had a profound influence on the development of cosmopolitanism in the development of the realist tradition in world literature.

Anna Karenina is a major novel by Leo Tolstoy. It was first published as a book in 1878. Many writers consider it the greatest work of literature ever written. Tolstoy himself called it his first real novel. It was initially serialized in The Russian Messenger magazine from 1873 to 1977.

With more than a dozen major characters in eight parts, Anna Karenina spans about 800 pages. It is usually divided into two sections. It deals with themes of betrayal, trust, family, marriage, imperial Russian society, desire, rural life, urban life.

The essence of the novel

Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky (“Stiva”), an aristocratic prince of Moscow, who was unfaithful to his wife, Princess Daria Alexandrovna (“Dolly”). After Dolly discovers her husband Stivia’s affair with the child’s teacher, the house and family are in turmoil. What Stiva informs the family is that her married sister, Anna Arkadyna Karenin, is visiting from St. Petersburg to calm the situation. She is coming to settle her brother-in-law’s quarrel.

Meanwhile, Stiva’s childhood friend, Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin (“Kostya”), arrives in Moscow with the intention of proposing to Dolly’s younger sister, Princess Katerina Alexandrovna Sherbatskaya (“Kitty”). Levin is a passionate, restless, but shy aristocratic landlord who, unlike his Moscow peers, chooses to live in the country with his vast wealth. What he learns is that Kitty is also being pursued by an army cavalry officer named Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky.

Arriving at the train station to meet Anna, Stiva runs into Vronsky, who is visiting his mother, Countess Vronskaya. Anna and Vronsky traveled in the same carriage and talked together. Thus family members are reunited. The first time Vronsky sees Anna, a railway employee accidentally falls in front of a train and is killed. Anna explains this as a “bad sign”. However, Vronsky is infatuated with Anna and donates two hundred rubles to the family of the deceased, which impresses him. Anna also feels uncomfortable leaving her young son, Sergei (“Seryozha”) alone for the first time.

At the Oblonsky home, Anna talks openly and emotionally with Dolly about Stiva’s relationship and assures her that Stiva loves her despite her mistrust. Dolly is moved by Anna’s speech and decides to forgive Stiva.

Kitty, who visits Dolly and Anna, is only eighteen years old. In his first season as a debutant, he is expected to play a great game against someone of his social standing. Vronsky is paying close attention to her and hopes to dance with her at a ball game that evening. Kitty is struck by Anna’s beauty and personality and becomes infatuated with her in the same way as Vronsky. When Levin proposes to Kitty at his home, she rudely rejects it, while Kitty’s father favors Levin.

At the big ball, Kitty hopes to hear something from Vronsky, but he dances with Anna, choosing her as a friend over a stunned and heartbroken Kitty. What Kitty learns is that Vronsky is in love with Anna and has no intention of marrying her despite his open affection. Vronsky regards his interactions with Kitty only as a source of amusement, and assumes that Kitty acts for that reason. Annoyed by Vronsky’s emotional and physical reactions, Anna immediately returns to St. Petersburg. Vronsky travels on the same train. During an overnight journey the two meet and Vronsky confesses his love. Anna rejects him even though Anna is very impressed by his attentions.

Overwhelmed by Kitty’s rejection, Levine abandons any hope of marriage and returns to his estate. Anna returns to St. Petersburg with her husband Karenin (a senior government official) and their son Seryozha. When Anna first sees her husband after her meeting with Vronsky, Anna finds him unattractive, although she tells herself he is a good man.

Shcherbatsky consults with doctors about Kitty’s health, who continues to fail after Vronsky’s rejection. An expert suggests that Kitty visit a health spa abroad to get well. Dolly talks to Kitty then realizes that she is in pain because of Vronsky and Levin, whom she cared about and hurt for nothing. Humiliated by Vronsky and hurt by Levin’s disapproval, Kitty laments to her sister by mentioning Stiva’s infidelity and says she could never love someone who cheated on her. Meanwhile, Stiva meets Levin at his country estate, selling land nearby.

In St. Petersburg, Anna begins to spend a lot of time in the inner circle of fashionable society and Vronsky’s cousin’s daughter, Princess Betsy. Vronsky continues to pursue Anna. Although Anna initially tries to reject him, she eventually succumbs to his attentions and begins an affair. Meanwhile Karenin reminds his wife of the impropriety of paying too much attention to Vronsky in public, which is becoming the subject of rumours. He is concerned about his public image, although he mistakenly believes that Anna is above suspicion.

Vronsky takes part in an interesting equestrian competition, during which he rides his mare Frou-Frou too hard – his irresponsibility causes the horse to fall and break its saddle. Anna is unable to hide her grief over the accident. Earlier, Anna had told Vronsky that she was pregnant. Karenin is also present at the race and comments to Anna that her behavior is inappropriate. Anna confesses to her husband about their relationship in a state of extreme sadness and emotion. Karenin tells him to break it off in the belief that their marriage will be safe to avoid further rumours.

Kitty and her mother visit a German spa to escape ill health. There they meet the wheelchair-bound Pietist Madame Stahl and her adopted daughter, Saint Varenka. Impressed by Varenka, Kitty becomes very chaste, but is disillusioned by her father’s criticism, when he suspects that Madame Stahl is faking her illness. She then returns to Moscow.

Levine continues to work on his estate, a setting closely linked to his spiritual thoughts and struggles. He struggles with the idea of lying, thinks about how to get rid of it, and criticizes the lies of others. He develops ideas related to agriculture and develops a unique relationship between agricultural laborers and their native land and culture. He believed that European agrarian reform would not work in Russia because of the unique culture and personality of the Russian peasantry.

When Levin visits Dolly, Dolly tries to explain what happened between him and Kitty and tries to explain Kitty’s behavior. Levin is greatly moved by Dolly’s comments about Kitty and begins to distance himself from Dolly because he believes her loving behavior towards her children is false. Levine resolves to forget Kitty and considers the possibility of marrying a peasant woman. However, seeing Kitty in his car makes Levin realize that he still loves her. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, Karenin refuses to break up with Anna, insisting that their relationship will continue. He threatens to leave Sergei if he continues his relationship with Vronsky.

While Anna and Vronsky continue to see each other, Karenin consults a lawyer about a divorce. During the period in Russia, only the innocent party could request a divorce in an affair and it was either accepted by the guilty party – which would undermine Anna’s status in society and prevent her from remarrying in the Orthodox Church – or the guilty party could find a party in an act of adultery. Karenin forces Anna to hand over some of Vronsky’s love letters, which the lawyer deems insufficient as evidence for the case. Stiva and Dolly argue against Karenin’s campaign for a divorce.

Karenin changes her plans after hearing that Anna is dying after the difficult birth of her daughter Annie. In her room, Karenin apologizes to Bronsky. However, embarrassed by Karenin’s generosity, Vronsky unsuccessfully attempts to kill himself by shooting himself. After Anna recovers, she realizes that despite Karenin’s forgiveness and his affection for Annie, she cannot live with Karenin. He is dismayed when Anna hears that Bronsky is leaving for a military posting in Tashkent. Anna and Vronsky reunite and flee to Europe, leaving Seryozha and Karenin with a parole offer. Meanwhile, Stiva works with Levin as a matchmaker, arranging a meeting between him and Kitty, resulting in their reconciliation.

Levine and Kitty get married and start their new lives on their country estate. Although the couple is happy, the first three months of marriage are bitter and stressful. Levin feels dissatisfied with the time he wants to spend with Kitty and dwells on his inability to be productive as a bachelor. As the marriage began to improve, Levin learned that his brother Niko was dying of tuberculosis. Kitty offers to travel with Levin to see Nikolai and proves to be a great help in Nikolai’s care. Levine’s love for Kitty grows stronger as he sees his wife handling the situation in an infinitely more capable way than he could. Eventually Kitty learns that she is pregnant.

In Europe, Vronsky and Anna struggle to find friends who will accept them. Anna is happy to finally be alone with Vronsky but feels suffocated. They cannot meet Russians of their own class and find it difficult to entertain them. Vronsky, who believes that being with Anna is the key to his happiness, finds himself increasingly depressed and dissatisfied. He paints and tries to patronize an émigré Russian artist of talent. However, Vronsky does not see that his art lacks talent and passion, and his talk about art is highly ostentatious. Growing restless, Anna and Vronsky decide to return to Russia.

In St. Petersburg, Anna and Vronsky stay in one of the best hotels, but take separate suites. It becomes clear that while Vronsky is still able to move freely in Russian society, Anna is prevented from doing so. His old friend, Princess Betsy, with whom he is having an affair, avoids his company. Anna begins to worry that Vronsky no longer loves her. Meanwhile Karenin is comforted by Countess Lydia Ivanovna, who is excited by the fashionable religious and mystical ideas of the upper class. Ivanovna advises Seryozha to distance herself from Anna by telling her that her mother is dead. However, Seryozha refuses to believe this is true. Anna goes to see Seryozha uninvited on her ninth birthday, but Karenin finds her.

Desperate to at least regain her old place in society, Anna attends a performance at the theater, where all the high society of St. Petersburg attends. Vronsky begs her not to go, but Anna is unable to explain to herself why she cannot be there. At the theater Anna is openly rejected by her old friends, one of whom deliberately makes a scene and leaves the theater. Anna is doomed. Unable to find a place for themselves in St. Petersburg, Vronsky and Anna move to Vronsky’s own country estate.

Dolly spends the summer with her mother, Princess Sherbatskaya, and Dolly’s children, Levin and Kitty. Levin’s life is simple and unaffected, although Levin is so uncomfortable with Sherbatskaya’s “attacks”. Veslowski becomes extremely jealous when a visitor openly teases a pregnant kitty. Levin tries to overcome his jealousy and briefly succeeds during a hunt with Veslovsky and Oblonsky, but eventually succumbs to his feelings and orders Veslovsky to leave in an embarrassing scene. Veslobsky immediately goes to live with Anna and Vronsky at their nearby estate.

When Dolly visits Anna, he is struck by the contrast between the Levins’ aristocratic-yet-simple home life and Vronsky’s extremely luxurious and wealthy country estate. She is also unable to keep up with Anna’s fashionable clothes or Vronsky’s extravagant spending on the hospital he is building. Besides, all is not well with Anna and him. Dolly notices Anna’s anxious behavior and her uneasy love for Veslovsky. Vronsky makes an emotional request to Dolly, asking her to persuade Anna to divorce Karenin so that the two can marry and live normally.

Anna is extremely jealous of Vronsky and cannot bear him even for a short trip when he leaves. When Vronsky goes away for several days for a provincial election, Anna is convinced that she must marry him to prevent him from leaving. After Anna writes a letter to Karenin, he and Vronsky leave the countryside for Moscow.

Levin quickly becomes accustomed to the city’s fast-paced, expensive and frivolous social life when he visits Moscow for Kitty’s imprisonment. He accompanies Stiva to a gentleman’s club, where the two meet Vronsky. Levin and Stiva visit Anna, who spends her free days parenting an orphaned English girl. Levin initially feels uneasy about the trip, but Anna easily charms him. When he confesses to Kitty that he came to see Anna, she then accuses him of being in love with her. Realizing that Moscow society life had a negative, corrupting influence on Levin, the couple later reconciled.

Anna understood why she could be attracted to a man like Levin, who had a young and beautiful new wife, but could no longer attract Vronsky. His relationship with Vronsky is increasingly strained, as he can move freely in Russian society while being an outcast. His growing bitterness, frustration and jealousy lead to quarrels between the couple. Anna uses morphine to induce sleep, a habit she started while living with Vronsky at his country estate. He depended on it. Meanwhile, after a long and difficult labor, Kitty gives birth to a son, Dmitri, who is named “Mita”. Levin is horrified by the sight of the small, helpless child.

Stiva visits Karenin to get compliments on the new position. During the visit, Stiva urges Karenin to divorce Anna, but Karenin’s decisions are now governed by a French “suitor” recommended by Lydia Ivanovna. During a visit to Stiva he apparently has a vision in his sleep and gives Karenin a cryptic message, which he interprets as saying that she should refuse his request for a divorce.

Anna is intensely jealous and irrational towards Vronsky, whom she suspects of having affairs with other women. He is convinced that his mother is planning to marry a woman from a wealthy society. They have a bitter dispute and Anna believes the relationship is over. She begins to think of suicide as an escape from her pain. In her mental and emotional confusion she sends a telegram to Vronsky asking him to come to her house and then goes to see Dolly and Kitty. Anna’s confusion and rage overcome her, and in her first meeting with Vronsky at the end of the railway platform, she throws herself with deadly intent between the wheels of a moving freight train in conscious symmetry with the death of a train worker.

The latest book by Sergei Ivanovich (Levin’s brother) has been neglected by readers and critics and he takes part in the Russian commitment to Slavism. Stiva gets the position she wants and Karenin takes custody of Vronsky and Anna’s baby Annie. A group of Russian volunteers, including the suicidal Vronsky, departs to fight in an Orthodox Bulgarian uprising against the Turks, widely known as the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).

A lightning storm hits Levin’s house while his wife and newborn son are outside, and, fearing for his safety, Levin learns that he loves his son as much as Kitty. Kitty’s family is concerned that a man as philanthropic as her husband does not consider himself a Christian.

After a long conversation with a farmer, Levin has a change of heart and comes to the conclusion that he believes in the Christian principles he was taught as a child and no longer questions his beliefs. A person must decide for himself what is acceptable in relation to his faith and belief. He decides not to tell Kitty about the change he has made.

While Levin was initially unhappy with his return to his faith, it did not completely convert him. However, by the end of the story, Levine concludes that despite his newly accepted beliefs he is human and will continue to make mistakes. His life can now be meaningful and truly righteous.