Kitty bears a resemblance to Sonya, Tolstoy’s wife, and the courtship scene in Part IV is autobiographical. While Kitty’s character lacks the interest of Anna’s, she is important as an example of a successful woman. Like Karenin, Kitty once embraced a spiritualistic religion to overcome the humiliation of unrequited love, but then came to accept her feminine destiny. Her womanliness, directed at the goals of family happiness, never descends to the witchlike level of Anna’s.

Kitty’s ill-timed infatuation for Vronsky serves the dramatic function of allowing her to recognize Levin as her true love. Vronsky’s rejection at the height of a significant social event allows Kitty to reject the deceit and illusion of town life and follow Levin into the country.