Anna Karenina Readalong, 2023

[StColumbofNavron]

Following the success of W&P in 2022, we’ve decided to stick with Tolstoy for 2023 and read Anna Karenina, one chapter per day.

For newbies: we simply read one chapter a day and discussion is allowed with a broader chat at the end of each section. Tolstoy’s chapters are nice and short, flicking through average length is about 4 pages.

I have used the Penguin Classics (2001, 2003) trans. by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky for the breakdown below. More on editions below.

There are 249 chapters in this edition and the book is in 8 parts taking us to 14 September with a break of a day between each book. Hopefully, irrespective of the edition you pick the finishing of each ‘book’ will hopefully align.

Book 1, ch. 1-34 (1 Jan-3 Feb)
BREAK, 4 Feb
Book 2, ch. 1-35 (5 Feb-11 Mar)
BREAK, 12 March
Book 3, ch. 1-32 (13 Mar-13 Apr)
BREAK, 14 Apr
Book 4, ch. 1-23 (15 Apr-7 May)
BREAK, 8 May
Book 5, ch. 1-33 (9 May-10 Jun)
BREAK, 11 Jun
Book 6, ch. 1-32 (12 Jun-14 Jul)
BREAK, 15 Jul
Book 7, ch. 1-31 (16 Jul-15 Aug)
BREAK, 16 Aug
Book 8, ch. 1-29 (17 Aug-14 Sept)

Some info on different translations and editions in the links below. Maud, Aylmer and Pevear and Volonkhonsky all present once again.

Wikipedia here
Tolstoy Therapy
New York Times
Some thoughts on Pevear and Volonkhonsky contenting the Russian Lit market

For reasons best known to me (largely foolish) I decided look up and work it all out on my phone instead of laptop, so apologies for any inaccuracies, typos etc. I am certain I have forgotten something, got my numbering wrong somewhere, but hopefully broadly correct.

All that remains is to say welcome back to those who are remaining committed to Tolstoy, thank you to those who organised and helped the last read run smoothly and welcome, do come in to those joining.

p.s. I would love to see the covers of your books.

19/2/23

Part 2, Chapter 15

•	Levin and Oblonsky go shooting.
•	Feeling happy, Levin is finally bold enough to ask if Kitty is married.
•	Oblonsky's reply—that Kitty is not married, not thinking of getting married, and is very ill and has been sent abroad—disturbs Levin.
•	
•	Laska (Levin's dog) spies a snipe and assumes that the two men are going to miss it.
•	Both men hit the snipe, and Laska fetches it.

I'm a couple of chapters behind, but I agree with having some sympathy for Karenin. I found the bit where he was trying to give his little speech, but couldn't get his thoughts into words, rather touching.

I do feel for Anna too. Vronsky is clearly the bad guy here!

20/2/23

Part 2, Chapter 16

•	On their way home, Levin asks Oblonsky for all the details of Kitty's situation, but once Oblonsky starts to speak of them, Levin suddenly cuts him off, saying that he has no right to know
•	Then they start discussing the forest that Oblonsky is about to sell. He's getting a bad deal. Levin knows that the forest is worth much more than Oblonsky's asking price, and he feels scornful of city people who come down to the country assuming they know everything.
•	
•	Oblonsky asks why no one else offered a higher price, and Levin explains that the dealer (Ryabinin) has fixed it up with the other dealers so that no one else will offer a better price.
•	By the time they reach the house, Levin is in a bad mood, although he won't admit it.

•	Ryabinin is waiting for Oblonsky.

•	Ryabinin is unattractive and doesn't have any class or manners. Levin clearly dislikes him.

•	Ryabinin wants to talk first, to bring down the price even further, but after Levin threatens to buy the forest himself, Ryabinin produces the money that had been agreed upon previously.

21/2/23

Part 2, Chapter 17

•	Oblonsky is now cheerful.

•	Levin is in a terrible mood, which is made worse by the idea that Kitty is ill because Vronsky failed to propose.

•	Levin and Oblonsky enter into an extended discussion.

•	Levin understands that he's being kind of reactionary, but he still feels that it's wrong that the peasant classes and the nobility are growing closer together. As a nobleman, he's okay with noblemen losing their property due to excessive luxury, because that's what noblemen do. And it's great for peasants to raise themselves up and buy land if that's what they deserve.
•	
•	What he dislikes, though, is when noblemen lose money due to innocence (i.e., ignorance), because it's just a waste. He thinks it's ridiculous to see noblemen like himself getting poor because they don't know what's what, while the peasants are educating themselves, buying land and making money. According to Levin, the next generation of noblemen is also getting a bad deal.

•	Oblonsky doesn't seem to care. He's more interested in Miss Agatha's herb brandy. For him, alcohol is more crucial than social commentary.

•	Levin asks about Vronsky, and Oblonsky points out that he recommended that Levin go head-to-head with Vronsky to fight for Kitty.

•	Oblonsky also mentions that Kitty's mother was the real Vronsky fan because Vronsky was an ideal aristocrat and had a future in society.

•	Levin gets worked up at the idea of Vronsky being an ideal aristocrat: he dismisses Vronsky's parents as wily and conniving. Levin also suggests that Vronsky's mother had loose morals.

•	It becomes clear that Levin's vision of the aristocracy doesn't encompass the hedonist socialites with whom Vronsky associates.

•	Levin likes the idea of an aristocracy in which members can point back to three or four honest generations, with high degrees of education, and low degrees of debt. In his opinion, that's better than someone who lives on handouts from connections and is willing to do anything for money.
•	

Oblonsky's good mood continues even though he knows that he's probably more in Levin's second group than in the first. Oblonsky nonetheless agrees with Levin and enjoys his spirit.
•
• Levin is in a much better mood after his rant.

•	The two men agree to go shooting first thing in the morning.

22/02/23

Part 2, Chapter 18

•	Vronsky's outer life has not changed one bit since his affair with Anna.

•	He still hangs out with his military friends, (a.k.a. his regiment). They all love him, and he loves them back.

•	He doesn't mention his love to any of them, but the entire Petersburg society knows that an affair is taking place between Vronsky and Anna. Karenin's important standing puts a massive spotlight on their affair.
•	
•	Everyone gets ready for the relationship to go public—all the women who don't like Anna are preparing the nasty things they'll send through the gossip mill.

•	Vronsky's mother approved of the affair at first, when she thought that Vronsky was having an elegant affair with a prominent society woman.

•	Vronsky's mother is not so pleased, however, when she realizes that it's a passionate, desperate affair that results in Vronsky turning down promotions in order to remain near Anna.

•	Vronsky's second passion is for horses, which gives him some time away from his primary passion (i.e., Anna).

•	His regiment has planned a race for the officers. It's a steeplechase (an obstacle course for horses over three miles of open ground) for which Vronsky had registered and bought a special English thoroughbred mare. In spite of his distracting love for Anna, Vronsky is pretty excited about this event.

23/02/23

Part 2, Chapter 19

•	On the day of the races mentioned in the previous chapter, Vronsky comes a bit earlier than usual to eat lunch in the regimental mess. He's leaning over a French novel, but he's not really reading—he just doesn't want anyone coming up and talking to him.

•	He's preoccupied (as usual) with thoughts of Anna, who he hasn't seen in three days.

•	He thinks up an excuse to visit her by saying that Betsy sent him to see if she would be going to the races.
•	
•	Two officers go over and try to talk to Vronsky about his eating and drinking before the race. They irritate him.
•	Next, Yashvin, a captain, goes over to Vronsky and is well received, by contrast.

•	Yashvin is Vronsky's best friend in the regiment. He's also a man who doesn't seem to have any morals. He's described as a gambler and a rake. (A rake is an old-fashioned term for a "player." Yashvin is a player who enjoys breaking ladies' hearts without ever getting tied down.)

•	Vronsky likes Yashvin for a lot of reasons: he's strong, he's a great drinker, he's got a lot of character, and he can do any number of things with great skill in spite of all his drinking. Most of all, Vronsky believes that Yashvin likes Vronsky for who he really is.

•	Vronsky also feels that Yashvin would be the only friend he has who could possibly understand his desperate love for Anna.

•	The two men chat about Yashvin's gambling and Vronsky's chances for winning the steeplechase, and then the two head over to Vronsky's place for a bit of drinking.

I'm struck by how very un British AK is. I know that's ridiculous but it's so different. I can't think of too many 19th century British novels so fixated on the aristocracy as protagonists and so open about affairs . Victorians I guess did shame more. The Russians seemed saucier to me! I'm sure they both were in reality but Dostoevsky's lens is so different form Hardy or Dickens or Eliot. I don't even remember Thackeray being quite so gossipy, chatty and uncensorious. (I'm aware that bit will change but it's the open chatter about it that seems so striking)?

Is a rake the same as a cad 🤔

I think a rake gets up to no good but stops short of doing really bad things like hurting people's feelings. More mischievous, perhaps?

Yes, I think rake is more like whathisname in Clarissa . Who I can only think of as Sean Bean.

😁

'He's a bit of a rake'.
'He's such a cad'.

And what's a bounder??

By George!

and who was George anyway?

A bounder is someone who tries to present themselves as someone above their station, according to Collins. Similar to cad. Also, 'rotter' deserves an honourable mention!

A cad and a bounder . And a rotter. Lawks.

I'm embarrassed to admit - I hadn't twigged that Anna and that utter scoundrel and rogue (😉) Vronsky had consummated their passion!!! Maybe because I didn't have the three, mysterious dots?

I'm reading along and up to date but that juicy detail totally skipped me (although I did read one chapter after a skinful which might well have been Ch12... I'm off back to reread!)

Same @SanFranBear , I tend to come back to this thread after I've read a chapter or two of the book, but I got too caught up with other things and was well into the farming chapters by the time I realised that Anna and Vronsky had got it on. I dont even have the excuse of inebriation to account for that missed nugget!

Ps the chat on cads and rotters has reminded me of a conversation at one of the office jobs I had as a teenager. Some of my colleagues were musing on what a 'cad' was, I responded with 'the same as an 18th-century bounder' and got a mix of strange looks and laughs for my trouble. Up until I left I was periodically reminded of the bounder comment...

Cludgie 😂

I can't believe how the two of you missed that chapter 😅 Would you like a notification next time there is a passionate scene? (Only joking!)

I looked up the term for the three dots in a text (an ellipses). I had forgotten what it is called. Tolstoy is fond of using these, particularly in dialogue. Is that what you are all referring to, by the way, or am I missing out on more dots?!

Just sharing the page from my Kindle with the ellipses highlighted. (P and V edition).

I was struck by the attitude of Vronksy’s mother. She was not upset he was having an affair with another man’s wife, in fact she thought that added to his image in a positive way. Anna’s place in society was what made it acceptable to her. What she didn’t like was that she feared that her son actually liked the woman in question.

24/02/23

Part 2, Chapter 20

•	Vronsky lives in a spacious Finnish cottage with Petritsky now that the regiment is out in the country.

•	Yashvin prods Petritsky with a toe and wakes up the man. Petritsky is suffering the consequences of having drunk too much the night before.

•	According to Petritsky, Vronsky's older brother called on him.

•	Petritsky is cranky and has a bad taste in his mouth. Yashvin suggests drinking some vodka. Petritsky tries to get everyone else to drink with him. Finally he remembers that Vronsky's brother left a letter. He tries to remember where he left it, and finally locates the letter.

•	In the letter, both Vronsky's brother and mother complain. His mother complains that Vronsky hasn't come to see her, and his brother says that he wants to talk to Vronsky.

•	Vronsky leaves to inspect his racehorse (and see Anna). Also, he's avoiding drinking because he doesn't want to add to his weight before the races.

•	On his way out, some officers make fun of his premature baldness.

I had a look back and my copy does have the three dots... but I'm obviously not as good at reading the subtle signs (although looking at it now, it's fairly obvious!)

I think it's interesting that they're showing us a bit more about who Vronsky is at rhe moment... despite his cad-like behaviour with Anna, it's clear he's well liked and respected in his regiment but I guess it's very different there than in society life. He also 'plays the game' better - the fact he didn't size up his rivals horse and accepts his comrades joshing without recourse. Do his fellow soldiers know about his liason, do you think?

Vronsky is balding? I missed that!
piggy mentally readjusts James Norton image.

25/02/23

Part 2, Chapter 21

•	Vronsky arrives at the stable, which is manned by an Englishman. (Vronsky reveals to us that he has the ability to speak English.)

•	The name of Vronsky's horse is Frou Frou. He has to resist temptation to check out Frou Frou's number one rival, a horse named Gladiator. Gladiator will be ridden by Vronsky's number one rival, a man named Makhotin.

•	The Englishman says that if Vronsky were riding Gladiator, he would bet on him. Vronsky's pleased with the compliment to his riding skills.

•	As it is, Vronsky is riding Frou Frou. He's pleased to see her. Her body has plenty of flaws, but Vronsky notes that it doesn't matter because she has good blood. He also feels confidence in his own "pluck" and riding ability.
•	

The mare is excited. Vronsky also gets excited about the race.
•
The Englishman tells Vronsky that the most important thing to do before a race is to keep cool.
•
Vronsky goes off to visit Anna at her country house.
•
In the carriage, he reads his mother's letter and brother's note.
•
Vronsky gets angry as he reads, since he thinks they have no right to interfere with his relationship with Anna. He knows that if it was an ordinary society love affair, they wouldn't care.
•
At heart he feels like his mother and brother are correct in their concern. This is not a fleeting passion, but an intense love, and he suddenly feels how painful it is for both of them to have to conceal their relationship when they are so exposed to public opinion.
•
Vronsky hates the necessary lies and deceit. He has had a vague feeling of disgust ever since he started the affair. Anna has also been under strain—she can no longer be serene and dignified.
•
Vronsky decides that all the lying must stop. He also decides that they need to abandon everything and to be alone together.

😄 and low carbing was a thing back then too :)

@Piggywaspushed I’d like to point you in the direction of Google and the key words ‘Santiago Cabrera Vronsky’ - because THIS is 100% what I believe Vronsky looks like.