Anna Karenina Readalong, 2023

09/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 32

•	When Vronsky returns that night, Anna is still not at home. The servants tell him that she had gone out with some lady.
•	Vronsky is increasingly puzzled by Anna's behavior. Vronsky resolves to clear things up between them.
•	Anna returns with her aunt, Princess Barbara Oblonsky.
•	Vronsky is increasingly worried, but Anna ignores the signs.
•	
•	Tushkevich arrives with a note from Princess Betsy expressing her regret that she can't come say good-bye to Anna.
•	Anna asks Tushkevich to procure a box for the opera, and then asks him to dine with them. Vronsky is amazed at the first request—Anna will see all of her former society friends at the opera.
•	Throughout dinner, Anna flirts aggressively with both Yashvin and Tushkevich.
•	After dinner, Vronsky tries to dissuade Anna from going to the opera, but she insists that it's harmless. It seems more like she refuses to accept her new position as a social outcast.
•	Anna looks absolutely beautiful in her evening dress, but all Vronsky feels is irritation.

08/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 31

•	Anna hadn't expected that seeing her son again would have such a powerful effect on her. Sitting in her hotel room, she feels numb.
•	The Italian wet nurse brings in the baby girl Annie to see her mother. Anna finds the girl charming, but now realizes that her love for her daughter is nothing compared to the love for her son.
•	This love she has for Seryozha is all the more powerful because she knows that the two of them will always be separated, both physically and spiritually.
•	
•	After Anna gives the baby back to the wet nurse, she takes out all her pictures of Seryozha, taken at various points in his life.
•	As she goes through her photo album, she sees a photo of Vronsky and feels a rush of love for him. At the same time, she's suddenly angry that Vronsky is not there to help her.
•	She sends Vronsky a note asking him to come over right away.
•	He writes back that Prince Yashvin is visiting. He asks if Anna can receive both of them.
•	Remembering that Vronsky hasn't seen Anna since dinner the night before and yet still won't come to her alone this evening, Anna suddenly worries that Vronsky has stopped loving her.
•	When Vronsky and Prince Yashvin go over, the three of them chat for a while. Vronsky looks at the pictures of Seryozha that Anna has left on the table. Anna practically snatches them out of his hands.
•	
•	Anna extends a dinner invitation, which Yashvin accepts with a smile that shows Vronsky how much Yashvin likes Anna.
•	As the two men are leaving, Anna asks Vronsky whether he still loves her and when they will leave Petersburg. He replies: soon—after all, he hasn't been enjoying himself in Petersburg much either.

Today’s chapter was hard to read. It brought tears to my eyes.

07/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 30

•	Mr. Vasili, the tutor, does not immediately know who Anna is, but once he figures it out, he wonders if he should go tell Karenin that she is here.
•	Mr. Vasili goes in because he is supposed to get Seryozha up at a certain time but, hearing the happy conversation between mother and son, he decides to give them ten more minutes.
•	Meanwhile, Anna's arrival has generated intense discussion among the servants. They know that she and Karenin can't meet, but Karenin is going to the nursery at 9 a.m.
•	
•	Seryozha's nanny, who adores Anna, comes in to wish the boy a happy birthday.
•	Seryozha watches the nanny whisper something to Anna, and Anna's expression turns into fear and shame.
•	Anna turns to Seryozha and tries to say good-bye, but she can't get the words out.
&bull;	Seryozha understands without being told that it&#039;s impossible for his mother and father to meet, and he also knows instinctively that Anna doesn&#039;t want to leave him. What he <span class="italic">can&#039;t</span> wrap his head around is the idea that Anna has done something wrong. Why should she look guilty, he wonders?.
&bull;	Anna tells him to love his father and that his father is a better person than she is.
&bull;	The two of them weep throughout their good-bye.
&bull;	Karenin comes in. Despite having just said that he&#039;s a better person than she is, Anna is instantly full of loathing and disgust for Karenin and envy that he should be able to spend time with Seryozha when she can&#039;t. She runs out of the room.

Yes, that was a bittersweet chapter.

It was an excellent chapter. So descriptive and it evoked all the senses.
I'm glad that the servants were on Anna's side.

I found today's chapter really moving... I can't imagine how Anna copes being away from her son and the description of his early morning wake-up was just wonderful. There really is nothing quite as soft or warm as as newly awake child!

06/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 29

•	That secret something Anna has been hiding from Vronsky is that she wants to see her son. That was the main point of her desire to visit Petersburg.
•	For two days, Anna has staked out her objective, making inquiries and doing recon. (She had ruled out going directly to the house or appealing to Karenin.)
&bull;	On the third day, Anna discovers that Karenin and Countess Lydia are close friends. She writes the Countess a note (the note that we see in <a class="break-all" href="https://www.shmoop.com/anna-karenina/part-5-chapter-23-summary.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chapter 23</a>3*), knowing that Karenin will live up to the magnanimous role he is playing.
&bull;	
&bull;	Anna feels utterly humiliated when &quot;no answer&quot; comes back, but she sees and understands Countess Lydia&#039;s point of view. What makes it worse is that, since she hasn&#039;t confided in Vronsky about wanting to see her son, she has to suffer alone.
&bull;	The next day Anna is composing an appeal to her husband when Countess Lydia&#039;s letter is brought to her. It makes her angry due to its clear spitefulness and cruelty.
&bull;	Anna resolves to go to the house tomorrow, on Seryozha&#039;s birthday, and do whatever it takes to see him&mdash;i.e., bribe the servants.
&bull;	She buys a lot of toys and gets ready to go to the house before Karenin is awake. She&#039;s prepared for everything except what to say to her son.
&bull;	The next day, Anna goes to her old house. Kapitonych recognizes her and lets her in. She goes straight to her son&#039;s room.
&bull;	Anna is amazed at how much her son has changed physically. She starts crying.
&bull;	
&bull;	The reunion between mother and son is joyful. Seryozha exclaims that he <span class="italic">knew</span> she would come because it is his birthday.

05/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 28

•	When they arrive in Petersburg, Vronsky and Anna live in separate suites of rooms.
•	Vronsky is fooling himself as to what Anna's reception will be in polite society.
•	Russian society can be harsh. If a woman does something that's not allowed—say, leaving her husband for another man—she will be shut out of society.
•	Because of Anna's behavior, her former friends ignore her, no one invites her to parties, and if people she used to know see her in public, they pretend she isn't there. Anna's friends risk being ostracized themselves if they try to reach out to her. Vronsky hopes that the people closest to Anna will ignore this social pressure, but he's wrong.
•	
•	After finding out that there was no official divorce, Princess Betsy's enthusiasm for hanging out with Anna is gone. She does visit Anna, but only for ten minutes, and only to make a point of her loyalty.
•	Vronsky hopes his sister-in-law, Varya, will not refuse to see Anna, but Varya gently says no. She makes it clear that her decision is merely a reflection of what society demands.
•	As a result, Vronsky and Anna spend their time in Petersburg as if it's a foreign city—except that Karenin's name seems to come up everywhere.
•	Throughout their stay, Anna has been in a strange mood. Vronsky is confused and feels that Anna is hiding something from him.

Oh poor little Seryozha, so keen to glory in his diffident dad's medal and so motherless. I liked the shift in focus, must say.

I felt a little sorry for Countess Lydia who was married off when so young to a man who deserted her pretty quickly. It’s said she fell in love with him although she can’t have known him. I imagine she needs someone to love her, hence the fixation on certain men. I am not sure Karenin will be a match for her ardour. But then she set a child as a hostage of this need and then my sympathy waned. But children being used as hostages in divorce is again something we all recognise - I am constantly surprised by how contemporary the themes remain.

I agree, I feel for Karenin, but I am not sure I’d like him if I met him!

And yes, it’s annoying that women are caregivers all the time. Even when they excel (Kitty coming into her own), it’s in her role as a caregiver. Otherwise she was portrayed as a bit vacuous and annoying.

Yes! I'm hoping that Seryozha will meet up with Anna soon. It's a terrible situation. His lessons sound very dull. It's no wonder he's tuning out and is distracted with all that's going on.

I'm a couple of chapters behind (just finished ch25) but just popping in to say how sorry I feel for Karenin, despite his personality which is still rather unappealing. I feel sorry for Anna too. She has her lover but has lost her son .

04/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 27

•	After his tutor leaves, Seryozha sits and waits for his lesson with his father.
•	One of Seryozha's favorite occupations when he goes out into the city is to watch for his mother. He doesn't believe that his mother is dead, because his nanny let it slip that she's alive, and he doesn't believe that his mother is bad, because he loves her too much.
•	When his father arrives, Seryozha is excited to see him, and he checks his father's expression for signs of pride regarding the Nevsky award.
•	
•	Seryozha is a bad student—he can't remember anything. What he gathers from his Bible lesson is that good people don't have to die.
•	Seryozha is actually an extremely intelligent, eager boy, just not in the way that his instructors would like. So his instructors often punish him for failing in his lessons. That night, Seryozha tells his tutor that he said an extra secret prayer. The tutor can't guess what Seryozha's prayer was. It was that his mother might come visit him for his birthday.

😇

Ah... I appear to be in the right place (or will be when I read my chapter later!)

Thanks so much, Desdemona - you help keep us all on track!!

03/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 26

•	For the first time, we get a chapter entirely focused on Karenin and Anna's son, Seryozha. After coming back from a walk, Seryozha gossips with the hall porter for a bit. The hall porter is an old man named Kapitonych.
•	Seryozha is in a great mood. Tomorrow is his birthday. He's also proud that his father has received the Alexander Nevsky award.
•	Seryozha has a difficult time with his lessons, probably because he's distracted by other things. He's fascinated by his father's official honors, and starts day-dreaming about how awesome it would be if his father received the two awards above the Alexander Nevsky.
•	
•	He wonders at the grand adult conspiracy that makes them all repeat the same dull, useless information. His tutor is thinking of other things while he's repeating Seryozha's lessons, and Seryozha wonders sadly why the tutor doesn't seem to care about him.

02/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 5, Chapter 25

•	Countess Lydia, having told Karenin that Anna and Vronsky are in Petersburg, takes him into her sitting room and shows him Anna's letter requesting to see Seryozha.
•	Karenin is willing to let Anna see her son, but Countess Lydia persuades him that's a bad idea. She appeals to his vanity. She tells Karenin that he is lofty and that Anna is base. Her request is only cruelty to Karenin. He agrees that Anna should not see Seryozha.
&bull;	Countess Lydia deliberately pens a very cruel letter to Anna in French, a language that she uses frequently (see our <a class="break-all" href="https://www.shmoop.com/anna-karenina/countess-lydia-ivanovna.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Character Analysis</a>s* for thoughts on why). The letter offends Anna entirely.
&bull;	
&bull;	Karenin goes home feeling very uncomfortable. He can&#039;t concentrate on anything, and remembers his cold, formal conduct with Anna in the aftermath of her confession of her love of Vronsky.

Thanks Fuzzy!

<waves to SanFranBear> Good to hear from you!

I don't think we've seen too much of Lydia so far or my memory is faulty. Betsy has featured more often in comparison.

I’m a day or 2 or 3 behind so have only skimmed the last few posts but need to ask, have we encountered Lydia much before? I confused her name with Betsy’s at first but that’s altogether the wrong track.

Popping back in again - so sorry for my absence but am still reading along. I think I'm somehow a few chapters ahead as I haven't been having any days off or the like and, without Desdemona's fabulous summaries, its very easy to go wrong!

Have to agree with so much of what's been said over the last few pages, but nothing more so than James' comment: We all knew that he was not a man to run away with when he kicked his horse.

I should obviously do the same 😂

I'm so sad that I have the chapters in my calendar on my phone...

Possibly, I've been away this week so may have lost track. If no one else thinks otherwise I'll skip today and post chapter 25 tomorrow.