Summary Karenin finds himself alone and despised by all, as a sick dog left by the pack to fend for itself. At the deepest point in his misery, Countess Lydia Ivanovna enters his study unannounced and offers herself as his confidante and helper. Doing what she can to “lighten his […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 21-33Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 14-20
Summary Despite their great love, the first period of Levin’s married life is a trying one. Not knowing what is important to each of them, they have frequent arguments. After each quarrel, however, they experience a renewed tenderness and reaffirmation of their love. Only during their third month of marriage, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 14-20Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 7-13
Summary During the three months that Anna and Vronsky travel abroad, they are sensitive to the reactions of their acquaintances. Avoiding contact with Russians, they discover that most people they know are tactful about their illegal relationship. In this first period of freedom and rapid return to health, Anna feels […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 7-13Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 1-6
Summary Stiva tells Levin he needs a certificate of confession before he can be married. Levin appears in church, confessing to the old priest his sin of doubting everything, even the existence of God. After receiving absolution, he ponders over the priest’s questions as to how he will provide for […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 5: Chapters 1-6Summary and Analysis Part 4: Chapters 1-23
Summary Although totally estranged, the Karenins live as before. Anna continues to meet Vronsky but always away from home and her husband knows about it. All three endure their misery only because they hope for a change. Karenin expects this passion to pass with the lapse of time, while Anna […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 4: Chapters 1-23Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 24-32
Summary The after effects of Levin’s evening on the haycock destroy his pleasure as a squire and make him dissatisfied with farming. He is additionally annoyed because Kitty is spending the summer merely twenty miles away. Seeking a change, Levin visits his friend Sviazhsky who lives in a remote part […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 24-32Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 12-23
Summary At Anna’s confession, Karenin remains still and deathlike. After seeing her home, he is better able to examine the problem. Like a sufferer who has had the bad tooth extracted, he feels relief at his wife’s outburst. Despite his deep cowardice, he first considers challenging Vronsky to a duel. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 12-23Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 7-11
Summary While Oblonsky goes to Petersburg on business, Dolly and her six children move to the country estate at Yergushovo which was part of her dowry. By moving out of Moscow, she avoids the pressing bills of the tradesman which lack of funds prevent her from paying, and her children […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 7-11Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 1-6
Summary Koznyshev, deciding to take a vacation, goes to visit his brother, Konstantin Levin. Nothing is more relaxing for Koznyshev than this rural atmosphere: whereas Levin, engulfed in the full tide of summer work, is annoyed at his brother’s attitude. Farms and peasants and livestock are part of Levin’s life […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 1-6Summary and Analysis Part 2: Chapters 30-35
Summary At the German spa, Kitty is strongly attracted by a Russian girl who arrived with an invalid lady named Madame Stahl. She observes how this Mademoiselle Varenka, an adoptive daughter to her companion, makes friends with all who are seriously ill. Varenka’s dignity and her absorption in her work […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: Chapters 30-35