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.

Levin has no idea what is under discussion.

Neither did I. I found this section rather tedious. The only interesting point was the awkward meeting between Levin and Vronsky (coming up).

Same!

Although I was a bit surprised Levin didn't understand.

I had no idea either! I think maybe it was deliberately poorly explained, to give us a sense of how Levin is feeling?

Interesting idea, Tarahumara. I might read over it again with that in mind (if I can muster up some enthusiasm!)

I think so. I sympathise with Levin. I feel the same whenever my dh tries to explain Italian politics!

10th July
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 29

•	In the snack room, excitement grows among all the noblemen.
•	Levin doesn't have anything to do, because all his friends are talking to Vronsky, and other ways of passing time don't interest him.
•	Feeling lonely, he spots one of the landowners he met during his visit to his friend Sviyazhsky's in Part 3, Chapter 27.
•	The landowner says he doesn't understand the point of nobility elections either, and that it's an obsolete institution.
•	
•	The two of them talk about the ultimate futility of work. Try as they might, they just about break even or operate at a loss. They feel that the only real work of the nobleman can be accomplished on their own estates, and that all of this district representation is pointless.
•	Sviyazhsky's approach breaks up their conversation, but they're pleased to have gotten a chance to see one another.

11th July
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 30

•	Sviyazhsky brings Levin over to a group that includes Vronsky.
•	Levin is so out of it that, when it's being discussed who else will stand in the election, he blunders by naming the two people who have already been nominated, Sviyazhsky and a fellow to whom we haven't been introduced, Nevedovsky. Both of whom are standing right next to Levin. It's clear he doesn't follow the election hype.
•	The guys who do follow that hype? Oblonsky and Vronsky: they compare the election to a great battle. Oblonsky suggests that they could bet on it like a race.
•	
•	As the various noblemen walk off to hear the results, Koznyshev remarks to Levin alone that he can't believe how awkward and rude Levin is. He writes this off as Russia's greatest problem, that its people are so insensitive to what should be done. Koznyshev tells Levin that Levin is always saying everything is unimportant, but he still always messes up in the end.
•	Nevedovsky is elected Provincial Marshal to the great joy of the crowd, which follows him as closely as it had once followed Snetkov during the election.

Spoiler Alert

And tomorrows because I'm on Hols and we've got A Big Day Out tomorrow so I might forget!

12th July
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 31

•	Nevedovsky and others eat dinner that night at Vronsky's. It's a splendid and merry dinner party. It is a victory for the modern liberal party, and Vronsky is carried away by the excitement of being on the winning side of an election (because he, too, is a member of the new party).
•	Vronsky is pleased because he helped contribute to Nevedovsky's success. It's clear he has a budding political career.
•	Sviyazhsky toasts Nevedovsky and is the perfect gentleman, even though he lost. In fact, he tells his colleagues that it wasn't a failure because his party has now found a better representative.

•	All the men prepare to go carouse somewhere else, but Vronsky's valet brings in a letter from Anna.
•	It's a strange and contradictory message. She tells him that the baby is ill, and that she wants Vronsky to come, but knows it will annoy him. She wonders why Vronsky isn't already home yet.
•	The elections had taken longer than anticipated. Vronsky figures that the explanatory letter he sent her hadn't reached her yet. He's annoyed by her hostile tone, especially since their child is sick.
•	Vronsky gets on the next train home. He's struck by the difference between the merriment of the elections and the gloom that's awaiting him back at home.

That's a really good point Tarahumara, I agree!

Certainly there doesn't seem to be much to distinguish the different candidates.

I keep falling behind with the discussion, but your post of last week is really interesting, @FuzzyCaoraDhubh :

No wonder Dolly feels uncomfortable and wants to go home. It's so awkward being a go-between. Anna and Vronsky don't seem capable of having an honest conversation with each other. They are on shaky ground if he's looking forward to having a son and she has decided otherwise as per the implication with the mysterious ellipses! And the reason to prevent pregnancy is to keep her figure rather than not putting her life in danger giving birth. Anna comes across as being superficial. I suppose she is dependent on Vronsky now and needs to stay attractive for him. Also, divorcing Karenin means he will block access to their son, so she is in a bind. There is a suggestion that her liaison with Vronsky has changed her and not for the better <narrows eyes> :)

I was excited to see more ellipses, ha! And this time they're to do with birth control! Anna's first sexual transgression was adultery as indicated by ellipses, and now it's contraception. She keeps doing unspeakable things... I'm really curious as to what kind of contraception she would have been using. Maybe historians of sexuality would know.

I agree that Anna is coming across less sympathetically in this section of the book, but part of me is thinking, go Anna, well done for taking control of your reproductive rights. I also suspect that her desire not to have more children is because the loss of her son is so painful to her, it has made it impossible for her to bond with any further children (including her baby daughter, poor little one). It's grossly unfair that Anna can have either divorce or her son, but not both.

Love what you did with the eye narrowing, Fuzzy, I only just realised 😁

Thank you @cassandre 😅

I agree that Anna's situation is awful especially the lack of bonding with her daughter.

13th July
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 32

•	Anna realizes that clinging to Vronsky only pushes him away and makes up her mind to be calm about their separation. But the look he gave her before he left for the elections had shattered her composure.
•	Later than same night, Anna starts getting upset. She gets angry when she thinks about the fact that Vronsky can go anywhere he pleases and do anything he likes (including maybe leaving her), but that she is irrevocably bound to him.
•	Anna believes the only way that she can keep him is by remaining charming and beautiful.
•	She begins to think seriously of obtaining a divorce from Karenin so as to secure her tie to Vronsky.
•	
•	For five days, Anna passes her time quietly.
•	On the sixth day, Vronsky does not return as promised, and Annie falls ill. As Anna nurses her daughter, it only serves to remind her more forcibly of the strength of her love for Seryozha.
•	That night, Anna freaks out and writes her letter to Vronsky, sending it off without reading it.
•	The next morning, Anna receives Vronsky's letter and feels regret at having written her letter, but at the same time she's pleased that he will be coming home soon.
•	Nevertheless, Anna is convinced that she is losing Vronsky, and that he is getting tired of her.
•	She decides that she wants him to be at home so she can know what he's doing at all times.
•	Annie has recovered by the time Vronsky arrives home. Anna doesn't care how he feels, she cares only that he is at home, where she can keep an eye on him. She looks beautiful as usual, and as Vronsky looks at her he feels tired of her beauty.
•	The couple spends a calm evening at home.
•	Later that night in their bedroom, Anna brings up the letter. She brings up her jealousy of his departures, and tells him that in the future they must stay together.
•	Vronsky protests that he's been willing to give up his whole life for her.
•	
•	Anna says she will write to Karenin for a divorce.
•	Vronsky mutters an endearment, saying that he would love to be with Anna always, but his eyes tell a different story—the story of a man who doesn't want to get tied down.
•	Anna writes to her husband, and she and Vronsky move to Moscow and settle down as a married couple at the end of November.

Grade Saver Summary & Analysis Part 6

Part Six Summary:
For various reasons, Levin and Kitty have to make room in their country house for lots of people. Dolly and her children are visiting, in large part because their own country house is in ruins. Varenkaa, Kitty's pious friend from Part Two, makes good on her promise to come visit when Kitty is married. The elder Princess Shcherbatskaya is determined to stay with Kitty throughout her first pregnancy. And Koznyshevv, as usual, seeks his yearly relief from the stress of the city. Koznyshev is attracted to Varenka, and this excites the whole house. Kitty and Dolly eagerly scheme about the possibility for Koznyshev's proposal, while the elder Princess worries after Kitty, telling her that excitement is bad for her health and insisting on all sorts of excessive precautions for the health of the unborn child.
When Varenka and Koznyshev go out to pick mushrooms, Koznyshev decides that this is his opportunity to propose. But when he approaches Varenka, his timidity takes over, and they wind up having a banal conversation about the mushrooms. The moment passes, and both know that it will never happen again.
Oblonsky arrives with a Vasenka Veslovsky, a handsome young playboy. Levin is irritated because he was expecting the old Prince Shcherbatskaya, and because he notes immediately Veslovsky's attraction to Kitty. He rapidly feels very jealous of Veslovsky and feels insecure about his relationship to Kitty. He is prone to exaggeration, as Tolstoy notes, "He already saw himself as a deceived husband, who was needed by his wife and her lover only in order to provide them with the comforts of life and with pleasures." He agrees to go on a hunting trip with Oblonsky and Veslovsky, and Veslovsky's ineptitude comforts him. But when they return to the house, Veslovsky continues to flirt brazenly with Kitty. Dolly tries to tell Levin that he has nothing to be worried about, but Levin is livid and throws Veslovsky out. Everyone is shocked, but Levin feels better, and eventually everyone except the elder Princess Shcherbatskaya sees the humor in the situation and is able to laugh.
Dolly goes to visit Anna at Vronsky's country estate, a day's travel by carriage from Levin's house. She worries about her childreneverything from their health and behavior during the day she is gone to the question of how she will get them started in life. She feels nervous leaving them, but is determined to fulfill her promise to visit Anna. When Dolly pulls up, Anna gallops up to the carriage on a horse and throws herself at Dolly with a great deal of joy. Dolly is at first impressed by the luxurious surroundings of Vronsky's estate and Anna's vitality, but she gradually becomes disturbed as the visit wears on. Though they are surrounded by people Princess Barbaraa, Veslovsky, and an old friend, Sviyazhskyy their visitors are "sponging" off of them and are of a lower class than they usually associate with. Vronsky seems to be happy and occupied with multiple occupationshe relishes in the role of the large landowner, is getting involved in local politics, and enjoys making grand gestures like building a hospital for the peasants. But soon Dolly realizes that there is a great deal of turmoil beneath the surface of their lives.
Anna still refuses to accept Karenin's offer of a divorce despite Vronsky's urging. He wishes that his children will be legitimate so that they may inherit his lands. Dolly tries to convince Anna as well, but Anna refuses to consider it. Dolly also notes with concern that Anna does not seem at all interested in her little girl. Anna and Dolly have an extended tete-a-tete in which Anna reveals that she is practicing birth control. She cannot get pregnant again, she says, because Vronsky will not find her attractive if she does. Dolly, naïve about such matters, is horrified and fascinated. We also learn that Anna has been taking morphia at night in order to sleep. Dolly leaves the next day feeling distinctly uncomfortable, and is relieved to return to the Levins. But she continues to defend Anna to everyone else.
Vronsky goes to Moscow for the provincial nobility elections, leaving Anna at home. He expects a struggle, but she does not argue at all. This fact makes Vronsky even more nervous, but he decides to deny his feelings and appreciate the peace. The Levins also move to Moscow for the last month of Kitty's pregnancy. A few other nobles from the provinceSviyazhsky, Oblonsky, and Koznyshevalso converge in Moscow for the elections. Levin, who is expected to participate in the energy and excitement surrounding the election, is bored and impatient with the entire affair. The debate is endless and the highly bureaucratic process contains not even a scrap of concern for merit. Levin lacks the temperament for the elections and makes several social mistakes. Levin and Vronsky meet; the latter is charming as usual, but Levin is rude to him. Vronsky stays one day longer than he had planned and throws a dinner party for the victors. Reveling in the masculine company and discussion, Vronsky is extremely satisfied with everything until he receives a rather hostile note from Anna enjoining him to return at once. The note claims that little Annie is sick.
At home, Vronsky learns that the note was a ruse for Anna. Princess Barbara complains that Anna takes morphia when he is gone. Anna wished him to return home because she was jealous and lonely. They reunite passionately, but Vronsky feels increasingly irritated and hemmed in by her constant demands. Anna recognizes that he craves freedom, what he calls "my masculine independence," and that the future of their relationship depends on it, but she is unable to conceive of giving him more space. Her own loneliness and the high degree of insecurity in her position make it impossible for her to act other than clinging to him. But she agrees to write Karenin for a divorce, and the couple moves to Moscow.

Part 6 Analysis:

The contrast between the two couples continues in this section. Both couples, we see, are clinging to surface tranquilities that threaten to explode except in the case of the Levins the explosion is farce and in the case of the Vronskys we will see that it is tragic.
The lovely, delicate story of Varenka and Koznyshev shows with Chekhovian observation that the power of the intellect can turn into putty when faced with the power of the heart. Koznyshev, who has an answer for everything, cannot ask a simple question of a guileless and good-hearted girl. Their story shows the failure of a marriage before it even begins and represents, in some ways, Levin's own yearnings for an untouchable bride.
Both families go through jealous rages during Part Six. Levin, still refusing to compromise on anything, flies into a rage at the sight of a foolish young man flirting with his wife. Veslovsky is ridiculous and Kitty's faithfulness is never in doubt, at least by her but Levin's response is to his own fears rather than to reality. Reacting to his own doubts about his ability to make Kitty happy, and to his own fears about the problems with marriage, he puts the house into an uproar. But the result is pure comedy Veslovsky fleeing as he attempts to tie one of his great foppish ribbons, Levin throwing his luggage around and the rest of the house reacts accordingly, making it the great tale of the evening.
The result of Anna's jealousy, however, is not funny at all, and we are meant to recognize the difference in the two situations immediately. Unlike Levin, Anna does not have a specific target to focus her jealousy on, and she lashes out at Vronsky instead. While she is perhaps right to resent Vronsky's "masculine independence," her rage only drives him further and further away. She senses this, and it causes her to create even greater scenes of fury to convince herself of his love.
Feminist critics have written that Anna may have masochistic tendencies. Her behavior at the opera is one of their favorite examples, but they also use the fights with Vronsky during this chapter to illustrate this point. This is an interesting reading because Anna certainly does have a tendency towards self-destruction, if nothing else, and many of her choices deliberately bring pain to herself. She also has a mild obsession with death, and her dreams about the peasant (who symbolizes carnal excess and death) underline this point.
But Anna's refusal of a divorce should not be equated with her tendencies towards self-destruction. Anna refuses a divorce because to marry Vronsky and start a new family would merely place her back in the situation she was already in. Though it seems odd, considering her passion for Vronsky, it is no accident that Tolstoy gave both Karenin and Vronsky the same first name. Anna insists on maintaining a highly individualized romance in order to avoid the stifling tedium of another bourgeois marriage, even though she is merely trading one type of torture for another.
We see proof of Anna's decline vividly during Dolly's visit. Dolly, poor, long-suffering Dolly, is drawn in strict comparison to Anna in this section. Anna is rich, beautiful, and supposedly happy while Dolly is unattractive, wane, and burdened by financial problems as well as a large family, but Dolly senses that she is much better off than Anna. She is particularly concerned about Anna's refusal to have more children because it will make her less attractive to Vronsky. As Dolly aptly notes, "If that's what he's looking for he'll find women whose dresses and manners are even gayer and more attractive." Anna is desperate to keep Vronsky, but she will never accomplish it by such means. Dolly, despite her husband's infidelities, recognizes the goodness in her situation and would not wish to have Anna's.

Spoiler Below
(Alert for those who haven't read the book before or unlike me have managed to avoid spoilers thus far!)

Anna's death is also hinted at by her use of morphia. Her growing dependence on the drug in order to function normally foreshadows her eventual conclusion that it is too difficult to go on living.

Day off tomorrow, 15th July, back on 16th July with Chapter 1 of Part 7.

Thanks for the summaries and the discussions - I’d got behind and so stayed away from the thread, but managed to catch up by skimming the election chapters. I agree it was supposed to be baffling.

I enjoyed the Bristol Old Vic production that was kindly posted about here. I agree Dolly was much louder than in the book. I also felt that Karenin was perhaps too inoffensive?

I’m also intrigued about how Anna was made unable to have more children.

16th July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 1

•	The Levins have been in Moscow for more than two months (remember their plan to go there for the birth of Kitty's child), and Kitty's kid is way overdue.
•	Everyone is impatient and alarmed (especially Levin), except for Kitty, who is happy and calm.
•	She is leading a joyful life as she feels the love for her unborn child growing.
•	Kitty's only worry is that Levin is not himself when he's in the city. Instead of being calm, hospitable, and affectionate, like he is in the country, Levin is now irritable, on edge, and always in a hurry. In the country, he knows his place, but in the city, Levin is always anxious that someone will offend either him or Kitty.
•	
•	The problem is that Levin has nothing to do in Moscow, since he doesn't gamble, go to gentlemen's clubs, or pursue young women. At the same time, writing his book (on Russian agricultural problems) doesn't occupy him in the city.
•	One advantage of city life is that the two of them don't fight.
•	Kitty meets Vronsky again at the home of Princess Mary. She blushes at first, but recovers her composure and behaves admirably.
•	Kitty tells Levin of the encounter. He is angry at first but cheers up when he realizes that the encounter confirms that Kitty no longer has feelings for Vronsky.

Oh, I scrolled up and read the spoiler first!! . Hey ho. I sort of knew .

On a side note-

it is no accident that Tolstoy gave both Karenin and Vronsky the same first name.

He did?? How did I not notice this??

17th July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 2

•	Levin visits Kitty at eleven in the morning, before he leaves for the day. She tells him to call on the Bohls, even through making social calls makes him uncomfortable. She also asks him for more money. Levin looks annoyed at this, but Kitty asks innocently whether they're doing something wrong: the money just seems to be flowing out like water. Levin feels angry at himself, because he knows he's been doing a lot of the spending.
•	Kitty mentions that Dolly is in terrible financial difficulties, and Levin may have to team up with Prince Lvov to have a chat with Oblonsky.
•	He asks how she is feeling. She says that she's not at all afraid of giving birth.
•	
•	City life is expensive. Although Levin was shocked at first, he has now gotten used to spending money like water, and not having any money in the bank.
•	Levin visits a friend named Katavasov, who had promised to introduce him to a famous scholar named Metrov.
•	Levin reflects that he's always had money in the bank, and now that it's come to an end, he doesn't quite know where to get more.

18th July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 3

•	Since taking up residence in Moscow again, Levin has renewed his friendship with a university friend, Professor Katavasov, whom he hasn't seen since his marriage to Kitty.
•	Katavasov introduces Levin to this important scholar, Metrov, by talking about Levin's book on "the natural conditions of the worker" (7.3.5), which is now not only on agriculture, but also contains some natural history about the place of the worker in relation to his environment.
•	Levin is eager to discuss his own ideas, but every time he tries to talk directly to Metrov, Metrov talks over him, refusing to listen to anything but himself.
•	
•	Levin's primary objection to Metrov's work is that he only considers the Russian worker in terms of economics and income—he never considers the character or place of the Russian worker. Levin's views are influenced by zoology, says Katavasov, the study of animals, of which he considers mankind to be just one kind.
•	The three men attend a meeting of the Society of Amateurs, during which Levin declines Metrov's offer to read his book. He also declines further socializing with Metrov, because he perceives that, while Metrov is important, he, Constantine Levin, is also important. Why should he have to sit back and listen to Metrov endlessly?
•	Levin goes to visit Prince Lvov, the diplomat married to Kitty's sister, Nataly.

19th July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 4

•	Levin and Lvov get along splendidly. Levin particularly admires Lvov's children.
•	Nataly comes in, and the three of them discuss their plans for the rest of the day. Levin decides to go with Nataly to a concert and a public meeting.

20th July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 5

•	At the matinee concert, a fantasia entitled King Lear on the Heath and a quartet dedicated to Bach are performed.
•	Levin is confused regarding the fantasia. He tries to formulate some sort of intelligent opinion, but the fantasia jumps around chaotically and doesn't make any sort of sense. He feels that is like listening to a madman: parts are good, even moving, but the music shifts unexpectedly.
&bull;	Levin chats with Pestsov about Wagnerian music; the conversation segues into art. Levin feels that the problem with Wagner (a <a class="break-all" href="http://www.wagneroperas.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">German composer</a> of the late 19th century) is that he tries to use music to express things better expressed in other arts. Wagner was a proponent of music as total art, while Levin believes that each sphere of art&mdash;poetry, painting, sculpture&mdash;is best for expressing only certain things. So, poetry should not describe a person&#039;s face; depicting faces is what painting is for. Pestsov disagrees, arguing that art is at its best when it can unite all of its forms.
&bull;	
&bull;	Levin sees Count Bohl during intermission and remembers that he has to call on the Bohl family.
&bull;	He takes his leave of Nataly.

I'm getting a bit worried about Kitty. How overdue is she now?? I hope she and the baby are ok. (No spoilers please if you know the answer!)

Me too Tara! I'm sure she'd have been induced by now in modern times - definitely worrying.

21st July
Anna Karenina Part 7, Chapter 6

•	Levin goes to the Bohl house and makes awkward small talk for as short a time as possible.
•	He meets Nataly at the public meeting, where he begins experiencing mental exhaustion, and then escorts her home.
•	He stops by the Committee meeting, where he catches up with Sviyazhsky and Oblonsky, but as he's tiring, he makes a stupid remark that haunts him through the rest of their conversation.
•	After leaving the Committee meeting, Levin stops by the house to make sure Kitty is all right (she is), then goes off to the club.

Kitty is having a twelve month pregnancy, it seems.

Levin isn't cut out for small talk. He's happiest with a scythe in his hand or behind the new-fangled combine harvester.

I'm pondering on the two Alexeis, Karenin and Vronsky. I think the reason they share the same first name is to show how different they are from each other as people. It isn't obvious at all that they are both called Alexei until it's pointed out. Never the twain do meet and Anna isn't the kind to go around swooning Alexei at either man, I don't think.