The Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel by Kowthar Shire

ANATOMY OF ANNA KARENINA: DISSECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS ON THE ACCLAIMED NOVEL

by: Kowthar Shire

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Contents

A Glimpse into Anna Karenina: The Introduction

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What to Make of Justice in Tolstoy’s Russian Gentry?

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Looking Through the Magnifying Glass: Perspective

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Literary theory: Formalism

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Great Minds Think Alike

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Magnificent but Deadly Infrastructure

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Existentialism and Infidelity: Two Peas in a Pod?

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Vengeance and Faithfulness

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Thoughts and Ideas

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Works Cited

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Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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A Glimpse into Anna Karenina: The Introduction

n my English Language and Literature class, for our Autonomous Text unit, my teacher asked us to choose two books we always wished we had time to read, but never got around to reading. As an avid reader, I thankfully possessed an internal, endless list of books to choose from. The two I chose were very random, however.

Anna Karenina, one of those acclaimed, classic literature texts I always felt like I needed to read and a book recommended to me by my classmate, and One Hundred Years of Solitude, a magical realism novel my Spanish teacher suggested to me in a class once upon a time. In the end, I had to choose between the two for the book I was going to read for our Autonomous Text unit. For many, the option would be obvious: one of the texts was 864 pages long. I, on the other hand, am never one to shy away from the number of pages in a book. I think the longer the book, the later I will have to part with it. So, I chose Anna Karenina.

The pages of Anna Karenina welcomed me into the glittering world of the Russian elite with their extravagant balls, social etiquette, infidelity, and intellectual conversations about anything ranging from classical art to the rights of women over dazzling dinners. The book follows the plots of many characters: including but not limited to the charismatic Count Vronsky and the oblivious Stepan (Stiva) Oblonsky, but places a palpable focus on the plots of the titular character Anna Karenina and Konstantin Levin.

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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What to Make of Justice in Tolstoy’s Russian Gentry?

ustice, or the lack thereof, manifests itself in Anna Karenina in a number of ways; through the peasantry and the issue of classism, for one. But, in Tolstoy’s narrative, it most stunningly reveals itself through the plight of women. The bulk of the story revolves around Anna committing adultery with Count Vronsky, and causing the fall of her family. For Count Vronsky, his relationship with Anna is revered. Anna, a married woman, is a challenge for the youthful Vronsky to conquer: “But the position of a man pursuing a married woman, and, regardless of everything, staking his life on drawing her into adultery, has something fine and grand about it, and can never be ridiculous . . .” (Tolstoy 181.) His actions did not pose a threat to his social standings, not even to a degree in which his consequences could begin to parallel Anna’s. He was a man, and thus he remained quite untouchable and immune to a certain judgement which was only awarded to women.

As members of the Russian high society, most of Tolstoy’s characters flaunted an education of high caliber, but the women in this society did not enjoy this same privilege. At a dinner, Sergey Ivanovich and other male characters discussed women’s rights and they all showed an adequate awareness of this inequality; but they spoke of it as something that simply was, and not something to be changed. “Woman is deprived of rights from lack of education, and the lack of education results from the absence of rights. We must not forget that the subjection of women is so complete, and dates from ages back, that we are often unwilling to recognize the gulf that separates them from us.” (Tolstoy 481.)

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Looking Through the Magnifying Glass: Perspective

olstoy explored the concept of perspective consistently throughout Anna Karenina, through many themes such as gender, age, status, etc. The theme I will focus on is perspective in Anna Karenina regarding classism. Tolstoy used Konstantine Levin, the non-conforming, black sheep character to explore the peasantry since he was really the only character who encountered them often.

Through Levin’s journey, the readers observe the way his perception of the peasantry evolves.

He initially regards the peasantry with scorn and frustration arising from their disagreements about the methods of agriculture. However, it seems to the reader that he enjoys their company more than the company of the elite class, as he prefers to stay in his home in the countryside than in Moscow with the rest of society. “My opinion,’ answered Levin, ‘is only that this table-rapping simply proves that the educated society—so called—is no higher than the peasants. (Tolstoy 93.)

The high class perceived the peasantry as savages; such a heavily connoted word implied other words such uncivilized, uneducated, and improper. “. . . but now there has sprung up a new type of born freethinker . . . who grows up in ideas of negation in everything, that is to say, a savage. Well, he’s of that class. He’s the son, it appears, of some Moscow butler, and has never had any sort of education.” (Tolstoy 570.) The gentry fail to consider that the peasantry are uneducated because it is out of their capacity to seek education; they come from workers, and are bound to be workers. Due to the gentry’s misinformed and poorly developed assumptions of the peasantry, they have adopted a perspective of them which does not accurately reflect the nature of the peasants, and does not account for individuality within this group. Levin’s constant experiences with the peasants allowed him to form his own perspective on them, where he appreciates certain aspects of their behavior, and despises others.

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Literary theory: Formalism

ormalists disagreed about what specific elements make a literary work "good" or "bad"; but generally, Formalism maintains that a literary work contains certain intrinsic features.” — Purdue Online Writing Lab.1 Formalism is a literary theory that values proximity to a standard type of text. This means, essentially, that Formalism judges the text in the absence of plot, context, and even time and space, focusing on the inherent components of the text. Russian literature satisfies Formalism so successfully that a type of Formalism was named “Russian Formalism.” Anna Karenina is one work of Russian literature that encompasses Formalism.

One of the intrinsic elements in Formalism is a central or focal passage which can be said to sum up the entirety of the work. The first line of the first chapter of Anna Karenina is a prime example of this. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Tolstoy 1.)

Throughout the entire book, Tolstoy delves into the lives and relationships of several characters, and family always seems to make an appearance. Through his characters, Tolstoy shows several different types of families and the dynamics between them; Dolly and Stiva, Anna and Karenin, and later Kitty and Levin. Tolstoy does not only look into the relationships, but also their children and how the parents are with the children. No two families are identical in this novel. Through his set of characters, Tolstoy repeatedly shows the reader the nature of families when presented with hardships and obstacles.

Another element is how the author makes tension work in the text. After marriage, Kitty and Levin met the highs and lows of love; the lows being the many conflicts they struggled with during their relationship. During these conflicts, Tolstoy incorporated a tension so strong it could almost slice through the page. “During all this early time they had a peculiarly vivid sense of tension, as it were, a tugging in opposite directions of the chain by which they were bound.” (Tolstoy 588.) Tolstoy uses a chain as a metaphor for the relationship; something that bounds them together but becomes taut at the emergence of tension. Using tension as a method of portraying this relationship between Kitty and Levin was yet another attempt at showcasing the dynamics of family in Anna Karenina. Even couples like Kitty and Levin, who were truly in love, caused each other unhappiness at times.

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Purdue Writing Lab. “Formalism // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism /formalism.html.

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Great Minds Think Alike

iego Velázquez’s “Las Meninas” is a visual manifestation of Anna Karenina in a few ways. First, the predominant family theme expressed in both texts. Tolstoy opens up the novel with a memorable quote about families: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Tolstoy 1). “Las Meninas” is a portrait of a family.

Furthermore, “Las Meninas” embodies the concept of class that Anna Karenina does a great job of portraying--the painting depicts the Spanish royal family, and thus brings attention to wealth and class; Tolstoy employs the higher Russian class in his novel to accomplish this same effect. The maids represent a lower class reflected in Anna Karenina, and Velázquez himself embodies the distinct class in which an artist belongs; not quite as low as the working class, but not as high as the gentry, especially considering they entertain the higher class.

Another similarity between the two texts is time and space. The painting takes place in what looks like a drawing room, a space very common in the 18th century in which members of the house would entertain guests and visitors. This space indicates the painting is not so different in time than Anna Karenina, although Velázquez created the painting in the 1600s.

The presence of a lower class as seen by the maids and maybe even a middle class represented by Velázquez himself is also reflected in the peasantry and artists Levin frequently observes in Anna Karenina.

Lastly, both Velázquez and Tolstoy toy around with the idea of reality in their texts, both in their own respective ways. “Las Meninas” is praised for the way Velázquez plays with reality and illusion in his art style, including an image of himself drawing the painting in the painting, and Anna Karenina with Tolstoy’s open, continuous discussion of reality and philosophy through Levin’s existential thoughts.

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Magnificent but Deadly Infrastructure major issue plaguing the news right now is the issue of migrant workers in Qatar and the brutal, inhumane conditions they are experiencing in the midst of rapid 2022 FIFA World Cup development. The living and working conditions the migrant workers must endure has resulted in the deaths of thousands of migrant workers.2 In Anna Karenina, there is a scene when Anna, Count Vronsky, Stiva, and Countess Vronsky were at the train station, and there was a tragic incident in which a guard working at the station fell into the railways and was crushed by the train. “A guard, either drunk or much too muffled up in the bitter frost, had not heard the train moving back, and had been crushed.” (Tolstoy 107.) This event is closely related to the real-world issue of migrant workers dying under extreme conditions because the brutal way the guard died is very similar to many of the workers in Qatar. Many die from blunt injuries caused by a fall from great heights, others from cardiac or respiratory issues sprouting from the heat.

The theme of class, specifically the working class, closely links these two events further. Anna, Count Vronsky, and the others soon forgot the guard who passed away at the train station. He was nobody of value, so his death was a fleeting moment to the characters and the reader. Similarly, many migrant workers are not known to others outside of their own families, and the media often breaks them down into the phrase "migrant workers," failing to acknowledge that they are men with families, personalities, and interests. The word "worker" reduces both men to a title that does not reveal a whisper of the kind of person they truly are.

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Davidson, Animal Equality and Ollie, et al. “6,500 Workers Have Died in Qatar Building Infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.” LifeGate, 2 Mar. 2021, www.lifegate.com/qatar-6500-workers-dead-world-cup.

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Existentialism and Infidelity: Two Peas in a Pod?

social media post that relates a lot to Anna Karenina is this comic from Dilbert by Scott Adams that was posted to Twitter. The comic pictures a man seeking the meaning of life and a pessimist replying that there is meaning in nothing and he should merely focus on postponing his own death.

This social media post relates to the book through Levin, because throughout the novel Levin constantly evaluates his life and the purpose for his life. Since Levin is so unlike most of the characters in the book, he perpetually struggles from an existential crisis that invades his thoughts and clouds his judgement. When his brother Nikolai passes away, Levin obsessively ponders over the purpose of his life, contemplating death as the sudden proximity of death pushes him to think about his own life ending. “ ‘Yes, I thought the same not long ago, but now I know that I shall soon be dead.’ Levin said what he had genuinely been thinking of late. He saw nothing but death or the advance toward death in everything . . . Life had to be got through somehow till death had come.” (Tolstoy 440.)

At the end of the book, Levin experiences an epiphany, and it becomes clear that all his hardships, losses, and brushes with death had been leading him closer and closer to the true purpose of his life. His hunger for purpose and meaning in existence was finally satiated. “. . . but my life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me, every minute of it, is not only not meaningless, as it was before, but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which it is in my power to put into it!” (Tolstoy 968.)

Shire: Anatomy of Anna Karenina: Dissections and Reflections on the Acclaimed Novel

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Vengeance and Faithfulness

heory of knowledge, or TOK, spans a plethora of different subjects, concepts, and ways of knowing. Subjects like the social sciences, the natural sciences, the humanities, ethics, religious knowledge systems; ways of knowing like faith, memory, sense perception, reason, language.

Many of these subjects and ways of knowing play a role in Anna Karenina, but the two with perhaps the most indisputable roles are faith and morality. Tolstoy spun his own moral compass into Anna Karenina, exploring the realistically fictional world through Konstantin Levin (the character that embodies himself) and has shone a light on the rights and wrongs of Russia’s most privileged in the 1800s.

While many believe Tolstoy begins his story with the well-respected line, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Tolstoy 1), he actually started up the novel before the first chapter even began—with a biblical quote in the epigraph. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina. This biblical quote essentially sets the moral compass for the book. Anna Karenina committed adultery, and her punishment was the downfall which resulted in her death. The novel closes with Levin achieving a happy, loving marriage with the woman he loves and he experiences an epiphany that the readers know he has been on the edge of for the entirety of the book. Additionally, Vronsky viewed Anna’s death as her vengeance toward him and the way he treated her towards the end of their relationship. At the end, the bad are punished and the good are salvaged.

Another concept within TOK Tolstoy wove into his story is faith. Religion is a constant presence in this book, with religious characters and discussions revolving religion taking place throughout. Levin constantly pondered the validity and truth of religion. While Kitty was in labour, Levin subconsciously began to pray to God for his help. As a non-believer, it was especially surprising for him that such words escaped his lips at all. “ ‘Lord have mercy on us! Pardon us! Aid us!’ he repeated the words that for some reason came suddenly, to his lips. And he, an unbeliever, repeated these words not only with his lips. At that instant he knew that all his doubts, even the impossibility of believing with his reason, of which he was aware in himself, did not in the least hinder his turning to God. All of that now floated out of his soul like dust. To whom was he to turn if not to Him in whose hands he felt himself, his soul, and his love?” (Tolstoy 844.) This development of Levin starting as a non-believer and journeying to become a believer highlighted the subtle yet powerful way Tolstoy incorporated religion in the novel, almost as if to act as a guide in Levin’s life.

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Thoughts and Ideas y the closing pages of Anna Karenina, I was completely entranced by this story. Before I chose it, I was so interested in the concept of Russia in the 1800s; as someone who appreciates learning about cultures and customs, I was very intrigued by this book. As I read it, I battled with my attention span because although I have no issues reading long books, at times Anna Karenina could become quite dreary and long. However, I found that there was always something engaging lurking in one of the plots, and that curiosity and fascination always returned to me.

I believe the length of the book is so valuable in the sense that it allowed Tolstoy to truly explore a plethora of relevant, serious issues that still stake a claim in modern day societies. Infidelity, double standards, gender roles, classism, inequality; all global issues Tolstoy used his narrative to shine a light upon. I enjoyed reading Anna Karenina because it constantly helped shape and inform my opinions on many topics.

As a writer, one motive for reading Anna Karenina was that I had to read the work that is cited by many to be the greatest novel ever written.3 Tolstoy’s writing style is beautiful; I often enjoyed the way he used run-on sentences and dumped a ton of information into a single sentence to achieve a flowing, well-spun voice that resembled a stream of thoughts. His narration of the events in the story was so effortless that it seemed like he was there with the characters, observing the scene as it unfurled before him. It was very inspiring to read Anna Karenina because, as all books do, it taught me more about the skill of writing, and I am very grateful for the imprint this novel has left on me.

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“12 Novels Considered the ‘Greatest Book Ever Written.’” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written.

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Works Cited Tolstoy, Leo, and Mona Simpson. Anna Karenina. Random House Publishing Group, 2006.

Purdue Writing Lab. “Formalism // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism /formalism.html.

Davidson, Animal Equality and Ollie, et al. “6,500 Workers Have Died in Qatar Building Infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.” LifeGate, 2 Mar. 2021, www.lifegate.com/qatar-6500-workers-dead-world-cup.

“12 Novels Considered the ‘Greatest Book Ever Written.’” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written.

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