2. I. Introduction
Anna Karenina is a Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy, following the protagonist's life in the
late 19th century. First published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of
the greatest works of literature ever written, Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel.
It was initially released in serial installments from 1875 to 1877. It explores the world
of 19th century Russia, a time of great political and social change. Anna Karenina by
Leo Tolstoy tracks the life of aristocrat Anna Karenina and her tryst with Count
Vronsky. The novel is staged in the late nineteenth century at the height of major
political and social changes in Russia. Anna Karenina includes dozens of characters
that portray a realistic account of Russian society during this period.
4. Third Person (Omniscient)
In the world of Anna Karenina, the eyes of Leo Tolstoy see all and know all. In other words,
this novel is told from the perspective of an omniscient, or all-knowing third-person narrator.
The story slips into the perspectives of Anna, Vronsky, Karenin, Levin—even Levin's dog,
Laska (for two chapters)!
If there's no limit to what this narrator can describe, we have to be interested by what the
book doesn't tell us. For example, in the concluding chapters of Part 7, we get a lot of
introspection from Anna, but very little from Vronsky. What does this choice do to our sympathy
for these characters? Or, how about the fact that Part 8 focuses on Levin instead of, say, Karenin,
Seryozha, or even Vronsky? This narrator has proved that he can give us insight into anyone in
the novel. We have to wonder why he chooses one character over another.
5. This leads us to an important point about Anna Karenina's omniscient narrator. As readers, it
might seem to us that, because the narrator can tell anybody's story, that he's an uninvolved or
objective narrator. But while the narrator can be anywhere in the novel at any time, the fact that
he sometimes chooses to give one person's perspective instead of another's shows that he is
pretty dang involved, after all.
The narrator does have a message to get across, but Tolstoy's too subtle to come out and say,
"Here it is! Pay attention here!" Instead, he lets the perspectives of the characters of most
interest to him ethically or psychologically dominate the novel. So, Anna Karenina's narrator
may seem objective... but if you really look closely, he's anything but.
7. A. What is the basic conflict in the novel?
The conflict of the novel is where something happens to shake the major
characters out of their status quo. In Anna's case, she meets a certain Count
Vronsky while traveling from Petersburg to Moscow.
B. What other conflict is found in the novel?
Anna’s battle for love, her struggle between what she needs and what she
desires, her hatred of lies and her usage of them, her vacillation between
liberal values- and old patriarchal and moral values – all reinforce the theme
of internal conflict that leads to inevitable destruction.
9. A. If there is an obvious theme, what is it?
In the novel "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy, the obvious and major themes are LOVE and
DEATH. These themes are common and popular in literature.
LOVE occured when Anna and Count Vronsky fall inlove with each other. Their relationship is
an extramarital affair and a forbidden love because Anna is a married woman.
DEATH occured at the later part of the story wherein in desperation, Anna ends her tragic life by
throwing herself onto the tracks underneath an oncoming train, while begging God for
forgiveness during that time. The way Anna’s life ended symbolized the rise and fall of her life
put together into one incident that took place on the subway.
B. State the underlying theme of the novel.
Anna Karenina is commonly thought to explore the themes of hypocrisy, jealousy, faith, fidelity,
family, marriage, society, progress, carnal desire and passion, and the agrarian connection to
land in contrast to the lifestyles of the city.
10. C. Does the title of the novel in any way suggest the theme? If so, how does it?
Leo Tolstoy entitled his novel Anna Karenina to suggest that the life of this one
woman is worth eight hundred pages of storytelling. Her concerns are the mundane
(i.e., day-to-day) cares of a woman caught in a bad marriage and in love with another
man. It suggests the theme of the story in a way that the two central themes of the
novel are love and death. Perhaps one reason this novel has been so popular since it
was first published is precisely because its major themes are two of the most universal
and emotional situations human beings face. By giving the title Anna Karenina, the
author hints the themes of the story, which are the struggles and life of a woman
named Anna Karenina.
11. D. Is the theme hinted by the dialogue, characterization, symbolism, etc.?
The theme “marriage” of Anna Karenina is reflected in one of Vronsky’s conversation with Anna
at the country house, as the first hint of decline in the intimacy of their relations. Vronsky having a
thought that he fails to share with Anna—his memory of Serpukhovskoy’s warning about the
dangerous effects of women on men’s ambition. Tolstoy heightens the drama of this moment at the
country house by showing us Vronsky’s thought and then telling us of his inability to communicate
it to Anna.
Another hint of a bleak future comes in Vronsky’s symbolism or reference to Anna’s
“humiliation,” a very public form of shame. Anna rightly rejects this term, saying she does not feel
humiliation. She is aware only of love, a private emotion. Vronsky’s focus on humiliation suggests
that he feels beholden to the pressure of social values—a pressure that represents a clear danger to
their love.
Moreover, the theme of “society and class” and “adultery” is hinted on Anna’s character as a
beautiful person in every sense: intelligent and literate, she reads voraciously, writes children’s
books, and shows an innate ability to appreciate art. Physically ravishing yet tastefully reserved,
she captures the attentions of virtually everyone in high society. However, her pursuit of love and
emotional honesty makes her an outcast from society. Anna’s adulterous affair catapults her into
social exile, misery, and finally suicide.
13. A. Is the plot simple or complex? If complex, how many threads are found? How are
the threads united?
Having compose with over 1,000+ pages, depending on how it is translated, it is
indeed complex to be concluded. From Ann Mendez book review, she added that this
lengthy novel is spread over eight parts featuring two alternating protagonist
Konstantine Levin and Anna Karenina. The novel is widely obvious to have narrated
quite a number of life and love stories, these eight parts of the novel and the
characters’ life are all connected through series of consequential relationship.
14. B. How would you describe the movement of the plot-slow, rapid? Point out passages
where the movement is slow. Suggest why the author might jave purposedly made it slow.
The prominent use of interior monologues by the characters of the novel enables dramatic
sense and adds color to the characters definition. However, it also makes the plot a lot
more slower.
- Examples would be found in Part 2 of the novel, where Kitty becomes ill and goes to
healing center. Then kitty comes back to St. Petersburg feeling better and more prepared
to be wife.
- Part 3 when Konstantine Levin, focuses on is farm and tries to find meaning in life
without kitty
- Part 7 where Anna, upon realizing the relationship with Vronsky will not endure,
commits suicide.
- The author may have purposely made the plot slower in order to highlight of the story of
the novel and to have it more detailed.
15. C. Does the plot progress steadily from the beginning, or does it open with some event, then go back
to tell what happened before -"flashback"? if it employs flashback, at what point does the story start?
Based on what I have understood in the novel, the progress of the plot was steady and it didn’t
happen to have flashback. Actually Tolstoy built up and built up to this crashing climax, and then he
spoiled it by rambling on for another twenty pages about Levin’s search for faith. It resulted with a
smooth plot.
D. Does the author employ suspense by breaking the action at a critical point to introduce comment,
description, or another "story"?
Before I will tell you how the climax resulted the ending, let me state first the climax. Anna makes a
public appearance at the opera, forcing a confrontation between her desire to live life on her own
terms and the hostile opinions of St. Petersburg society, which scorns and rejects her; this episode
seals her fate as a social outcast and fallen woman. The author or Tolstoy was good at preparing the
readers to reach the climax of the story but the ending became weak due to the act of slowly spoiling
the readers about the events that would happen in the climax. I have read some reviews of the story
and i think that same thought was found.
16. E. Is the plot probable as a whole? Are there any improbable incidents?
Tolstoy applied the themes Of building a family life in Anna Karenina. The novel’s first sentence,
which indicates the novel’s concern with the domestic, is perhaps Tolstoy’s most famous: “All happy
families resemble each other; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina
interweaves the stories of three families, the Oblonskys, the Karenins, and the Levins, which we can
deduce makes the plot of Anna Karenina implausible and that is because it tackles a roller coaster of
feelings and events.
Yes, there are improbable incidents in Anna Karenina, such as when Anna’s life goes downhill while
Levin’s goes up, and what makes Levin happy, such as his family, is exactly what makes Anna
miserable. Another example is when Vronsky falls at a steeplechase race and Anna acts distressed in
public, confronting the fact that only the two of them knew their relationship, which makes their
biggest mistake to reveal. Furthermore, after Karenin discovers that Anna is having an affair with
Vronsky, he tolerates what she is doing until Anna finds a way to break away from his clutches.
Furthermore, even if Karenin forgives Anna’s worst crime in life, she desires to be free and one with
Vronsky, which makes her selfish. Finally, another unlikely incident in the novel is when Anna feels
stuck since she is unable to go out in society and gets envious of Vronsky. She feels cramped in and
terrible about trading her kid Seryozha for Vronsky. She also gets paranoid, and after an altercation
with Vronsky, she commits herself by jumping under a train.
17. F. What are the "inciting forces"? point them out.
Anna Karenina’s triggering forces are as follows:
Anna meets Vronsky in the railway station, beginning an acquaintance that develops into
illicit love and family instability; their affair leads to Anna’s abandoning of her husband and
kid. Meanwhile, Kitty declines Levin’s marriage proposal, leading him to retreat to his rural
house and ponder the meaning of life.
In more detail:
Stiva and Dolly fight over Stiva’s infidelity.
Levin proposes to Kitty but is turned down.
Anna and Vronsky, who are both drawn to one other, dance during the event.
Vronsky pursues and seduces Anna back to Petersburg.
Anna tells Karenin about her romance defiantly.
Anna nearly dies and then abandons Karenin for Vronsky.
Levin proposes to Kitty again, and the couple marries.
Dolly pays Anna a visit at Vronsky’s rural house.
Anna and Vronsky make their final trip to Moscow.
18. G. Is there a crisis?
Yes, there is. It is when Anna commits suicide. Anna cannot solve all her problems. Those
are her unfulfilled expectations, her attachment to her son, her fear of loving Vronsky, her
inability to withstand society's judgement and her dilemma. The conclusion is that Anna
cannot solve all her conflicts, and this causes her self-destruction. Therefore, she decides to
commit suicide.
H. At what point is the climax or turning point, the time at which the interest is at its highest
pitch?
After attending a horse race with Karenin, Anna confesses her love for Vronsky, who was
hurt during the race, and declares her divorce to Karenin. She is shunned by society, loses
her son, and she and Vronsky go into seclusion.
19. I. Is it a "closed" or submerged plot or an "open" plot?
Based on the novel, it has a close plot since the ending is clearly identifiable, which
is when Anna ends her tragic life by throwing herself onto the tracks underneath an
oncoming train, while begging God for forgiveness during that time. Vronsky hears
the news and leaves their child with Karenin out of depression, unable to bear the
child's presence. Konstantin and Kitty are happily married and live in the country.
21. A. Approximately how many characters are in the book? Consider only those who have a part in the
"action".
Apparently there are many characters in the story, but there are only 10 characters that are being
elaborated more because of there actions and rules in the said story.
These are:
1. Anna Arkadyevna Karenina- High society heroine whose love affair keynotes the novel.
2. Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin- Anna's deceived husband. He is a frigid, lonely man with an
influential government position in St. Petersburg.
3. Sergei Alexeyitch Karenin (Seriozha) -Anna's son whom she is forced to leave for her lover's
sake.
4. Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky- Anna's lover, an honorable, rich, handsome aide-de-camp
with a promising army career which he gives up in order to live with Anna.
5. Konstantin Dmitrich Levin (Kostya)- Autobiographical hero of novel.
6. Princess Katerina Alexandrovna Shtcherbatsky (Kitty) -The eighteen year old debutante who
becomes Levin's wife.
7. Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky (Stiva)- Anna's brother who is a pleasure-loving
socialite.
8. Princess Darya Alexandrovna Oblonsky (Dolly)- Stiva's long-suffering wife and Kitty's older
sister.
9. Nicolai Dmitrich Levin -Levin's profligate brother who dies of tuberculosis.
10. Sergei Ivanitch Koznyshev -Levin's elder half-brother who is a famous writer and intellectual.
22. B. From what segment of society are the principal characters drawn? If they are drawn from
several which one seems most convincing?
In Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy’s novel of conflicted romances, Vronsky, Karenin, and Anna
tries to break free from the social atmosphere of the 1800’s Russia to attain a love that is not
accepted by the public. Things considered “normal” by society turn into a way of life, and those
who do not accept these rules often find themselves lost, excluded, and even abandoned by their
peers. This immense pressure can affect a person’s thoughts and actions tremendously as they
feel forced to act with the societal norms. Although the beauty and grace of Anna seem to place
her above her detesting society, her peers’ skewed judgments and sexist expectations influence
nearly every aspect of her life, ultimately leading to the loss of her social standing and the
demise of her affair with Vronsky. The society also imposes an effect on the marriage between
Karenin and Anna. With their marriage growing apart due to Anna’s affair, their high social
standings are only hanging by a thread. It would be humiliating if society found out that they
have a failing marriage. Thus, Anna is unable to be with the person she loves and has to uphold
a public image that she herself no longer wants. Due to the pressures placed upon them by
society, Anna and Karenin must lead their lives of either falsehood or persecution. By
demonstrating the impossibility of maintaining a relationship simply by love, Anna Karenina
emphasizes the unavoidable implications of social class on the life and happiness of an
individual.
23. C. Do Men or Women occupy the chief places in the novel?
Women was highly presented in the novel in which it focuses in terms of the obligations
and responsibilities of women in the world. It was based and should in the way looking
forward as a wife and a mother to her family itself. On the other hand, men was categorized
as the base of the said family which is have a vital connection to women which is his wife.
It was been seen how the two gender develops and manage family in their own way.
Therefore, women and men have its place in the novel Anna Karenina.
Does the author succeed best in presenting men and women?
For me yes it was. A family was always composed of a man and a women which stand to
the structure of the said circle. In there, the role and works as a mother and a father was
been the thing that the author wanted to realized and emphasized. It gives the point of the
things would be vary due to its role and position.
24. Which is more life-like ? Explain
The more life-like in the novel is the responsibilities of the mother and a father. It was been
a guide and also a way of realization to all readers how could and how was a family ended
according to its purpose and intention. Also it was seen a life-like situation in the novel in
when Anna meets a certain Count Vronsky while traveling from Petersburg to Moscow, and
then again from Moscow to Petersburg. It was already common in the reality meeting new
and be attracted in that easy way knowing certain things that you are having a relationship.
25. D. Are any of the characters historical? If so, does the writer present them in the same light as
history does? Does he distort them for the sake of his story? Are they more noble? More
villainous?
I believe one of the characters of the story Anna Karenina is historical in the person of the
protagonist herself, Anna. Anna is the beautiful, passionate, and educated wife of Alexei
Karenin, a cold and passionless government official. Her character is rich in complexity: she is
guilty of desecrating her marriage and home, for instance, but she remains noble and admirable
nonetheless. Anna is intelligent and literate, a reader of English novels and a writer of children’s
books. She is elegant, always understated in her dress. Her many years with Karenin show her
capable of playing the role of cultivated, beautiful, society wife and hostess with great poise and
grace. I believe she is presented in the same light as history does since she is very nearly the
ideal aristocratic Russian wife of the 1870s. The author distort her for the sake of his story in a
way that wives long time ago are believed to be noble and that cheating of having an affair with
someone else during time is not trendy. Moreover, I can say that Anna is presented as villanous
in the story for the reason that she cheated on her husband and children by having an affair with
the affluent cavalry officer Country Vrónsky.
26. E. Can you separate the characters easily into two groups -"good" people and "bad" people?
Are good and evil characteristics blended so that there is some "bad" in the "good" people and
some "good" in the "bad" people? Point out "good "and "bad" traits in the principal characters.
In this novel, I think it is somehow hard to separate good people and bad people because there
are few plot twists in the novel. There are characters that are a combination of bad and good.
Ana Karenina is one of the major characters of the novel. She is intelligent and literate. She is
elegant, always understated in her dress. Her many years with Karenin show her capable of
playing the role of cultivated, beautiful, society wife and hostess with great poise and grace. On
the other hand, Anna Karenina may be one of the single best examples of a character with
whom the reader identifies even though the novel totally disapproves of her because she is one
who does terrible things, like commit adultery and abandon her children. The governing
principle of Anna’s life is that love is stronger than anything, even duty. She remains powerfully
committed to this principle. She rejects Karenin’s request that she stay with him simply to
maintain outward appearances of an intact marriage and family. Her exile from civilized
society in the later part of the novel is a symbolic rejection of all the social conventions we
normally accept dutifully. She insists on following her heart alone.
27. Even so, Anna’s insistence on living according to the dictates of her heart makes her a pioneer, a
woman searching for autonomy and passion in a male-dominated society. This shows that Her
character is a mixture of good and bad character.Next is Konstantin levin Independent-minded
and socially awkward, Levin is a truly individual character who fits into none of the obvious
classifications of Russian society. He is neither a freethinking rebel like his brother Nikolai, nor
a bookish intellectual like his half-brother Sergei. He is not a socialite like Betsy, nor a
bureaucrat like Karenin, nor a rogue like Veslovsky. In short, Levin is his own person. He
follows his own vision of things, even when it is confused and foggy, rather than adopting any
group’s prefabricated views. Despite his status as a loner, Levin is not self-centered, and he
shows no signs of viewing himself as exceptional or superior. Tolstoy’s representation of
Levin’s final discovery of faith, which he learns from a peasant, is equally ordinary. In this
regard, Levin incarnates the simple virtues of life and Tolstoy’s vision of a model human.
28. F. Are the characters consistent, or do they sometimes surprise you by doing
something you think they would not do? if they surprise you in some of their thoughts
of actions, do they do so convincingly? Point out instances.
One event in the novel that I did not expect to happen is when Anna decides to kill
herself because she mistakenly believes it is the only escape from her unhappy life,
specifically in regards to her marital and family woes. None of the viable options, i.e.
fleeing, divorcing seem to offer her freedom. She could have chose those other
options she had instead of taking away her own life.
29. G. What method of characterization is used, dramatic or analytic? Most writers
combine the two. Point out examples of each type.
Dramatic
The narrative centres on the adulterous affair between Anna, wife of Aleksey
Karenin, and Count Vronsky, a young bachelor and a parallel love story, involving
the difficult courtship and fulfilling marriage.
30. H. Are the characters "flat" or "round"? Point out changes that take place if they
are round.
Type of Characters:
Round Character:
Levin has grown from the beginning of the novel when his search for happiness was
centered on personal fulfillment through marriage. Soon after the marriage, Levin’s
sickly brother, Nicolai Dmitrich Levin, is dying of tuberculosis and Levin must
confront his death. This death adds to Levin’s sense of the reality of life, This event,
combined with his previous search for meaning, brings Levin to the conclusion that
one must live for their soul rather that for a gratification through things such as
marriage and family. It is this epiphany that gives Levin his sense of roundedness.
Flat Character:
Kitty is a flat character because she never change all thoughout the novel and she
remains devoted and loyad to her family.
31. I. Characters:
Enumeration and Selected Detail:
Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
A beautiful, aristocratic married woman from St. Petersburg whose pursuit of love
and emotional honesty makes her an outcast from society.
Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin
Anna’s husband, a high-ranking government minister and one of the most important
men in St. Petersburg.
Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky
A wealthy and dashing military officer whose love for Anna prompts her to desert her
husband and son.
Konstantin Dmitrich Levin
A socially awkward but generous-hearted landowner who, along with Anna, is the co-
protagonist of the novel.
32. I. Characters:
Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya (Kitty)
A beautiful young woman who is courted by both Levin and Vronsky, and who
ultimately marries Levin.
Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky (Stiva)
Anna’s brother, a pleasure-loving aristocrat and minor government official whose
affair with his children’s governess nearly destroys his marriage.
Darya Alexandrovna Oblonskaya (Dolly)
Stiva’s wife and Kitty’s older sister. Dolly is one of the few people who behave
kindly toward Anna after her affair becomes public.
Sergei Alexeich Karenin (Seryozha)
Karenin and Anna’s young son.
Nikolai Dmitrich Levin
Levin’s sickly, thin brother.
33. I. Characters:
Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev
Levin’s half-brother, a famed intellectual and writer whose thinking Levin has
difficulty following.
Agafya Mikhailovna
Levin’s former nurse, now his trusted housekeeper.
Countess Vronsky
Vronsky’s judgmental mother.
Alexander Kirillovich Vronsky
Vronsky’s brother.
Varvara Vronsky
Alexander Vronsky’s wife.
Prince Alexander Dmitrievich Shcherbatsky
The practical aristocrat father of Kitty, Dolly, and Natalie.
34. I. Characters:
Princess Shcherbatskaya
Kitty, Dolly, and Natalie’s mother.
Countess Lydia Ivanovna
A morally upright woman who is initially Anna’s friend and later her fiercest critic.
Elizaveta Fyodorovna Tverskaya (Betsy)
A wealthy friend of Anna’s and Vronsky’s cousin.
Marya Nikolaevna
A former prostitute saved by Nikolai Levin, whose companion she becomes.
Madame Stahl
A seemingly devout invalid woman whom the Shcherbatskys meet at a German spa.
Varvara Andreevna (Varenka)
A pure and high-minded young woman who becomes Kitty’s friend at the German
spa.
35. I. Characters:
Yashvin
Vronsky’s wild friend from the army.
Nikolai Ivanovich Sviyazhsky
A friend of Levin who lives in a far-off province.
Fyodor Vassilyevich Katavasov
Levin’s intellectual friend from his university days.
Vasenka Veslovsky
A young, pleasant, somewhat dandyish man whom Stiva brings to visit Levin. The
attentions Veslovsky lavishes on Kitty make Levin jealous.
Landau
A French psychic who instructs Karenin to reject Anna’s plea for a divorce.
36. J. Who is the hero/heroine? What are his/her chief traits of character? For what
may he/ she be admired? disliked? If there is a villainess, who is he/she? For what
can he/she be admired?
Anna Karenina, the tragic heroine of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1875–77). Anna
is a beautiful person in every way: intelligent and literate, she reads voraciously,
writes children's books, and has an innate ability to appreciate art. Her sex appeal
radiates down the centuries, and she comes across as stunning and adorable. One of
the reasons Anna is so difficult to like is that she defines herself solely in relation to
other people. Husband's wife. A son's mother. Vronsky's lover. She seemed to live a
completely unquestioned life, and when her lover left, she felt she had nothing to
live for. Anna was a perpetual child who craved gratification, indulgence, and
entertainment. In the end she had nothing, not even the will to start over. Anna
lacked determination and self-esteem.
37. K. Are any of the characters so exaggerated that they seem to be caricatures? Are
they braver, handsomer, more villainous than people in life usually are?
For me, Anna Karenina's characters were exaggerated at first, but I realized that we
all have different feelings and that I needed to consider her as well. She's simply
being herself. Anna is a beautiful, aristocratic married woman from St. Petersburg
who is an outcast in society due to her pursuit of love and emotional honesty. Anna's
adulterous affair propels her into social exile, misery, and, eventually, suicide. Anna
despises fakery and comes to regard her husband, Karenin, as the embodiment of the
fake, emotionless conventionality she despises. Tolstoy, on the other hand, clearly did
not want us to pass judgment on Anna. He just wanted us to see a desperate woman
making poor choices for whom we should feel sorry.
39. A. Point out a particular good passage of description. Show how it serves as
more than simple description, that is, how it creates, suspense or
atmosphere.
Those passage can be seen in Part 6 of Chapter VII of the novel. The passage
was a simple description of what will Levin felt if Kitty will be with another
man. As we can observed, there’s a stint of jealousy that Levin felt towards
those attractive young men.
40. B. Point out examples of descriptions of dramatic background, as when a fight
takes place during a storm, or lovers meet by moonlight. Does the action
harmonize with the background, or contrast with it?
41. Those passage can be seen in Chapter 33. Those dramatic background
creates a tension between Vronsky and Anna that lead to a conflict
between the two. I would say their action was harmonize with the
dramatic background hence they were only two in the room and thus they
can surely express what they feel towards each other without minding on
the judgement of others.
42. C. Does the author introduce "local color" that is, objects or details of costume, speech or
behavior characteristic of the locality he is describing? Give examples.The author does
introduce “local color.”
As seen in the novel, the locality is of Russian high society which mirrors the costume of the
characters like women wears extravagant dress, attends social events with their husbands; thus,
they dress fashionably. On top of that most of the characters are well-off and well-liked socialite
which gives hint to the characteristic of the locality they are residing that is indeed, an elite
society. Rapid industrialization is also present as railroads becomes a booming business and
later on become the face of industrialization.
43. D. What is the geographical location of the story? Does it shift?
The geographical location of the story is situated in the western part of Russia and considered to
the largest city in Russia (Moscow) then the geographical location of the story shift to St.
Petersburg, 400 miles or 640 km away from Moscow. This novel also tackles the real history of
Russia upon which their capital city was moved from where much of Anna Karenina took place,
the "old" Moscow, the former/more traditional capital to "new" Saint Petersburg, one of the
most "westernized" cities in Russia. More than three centuries ago the Russian capital was
moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but then two centuries later the capital moved back to
Moscow.
44. E. What is the time of the story? Can we as modern readers identify with the time if it is not the
present? How or why?
Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina depicts the lives of the upper class in the nineteenth century
Russia. This was a time of insane amounts of intellectual fervor and debate about what direction
Russia should take in becoming a modern nation. By the late 19th century, Russia was
preoccupied in proving that it could be as advanced as the rest of Europe. Tolstoy illustrates the
different facets of 19th century Russia through the different physical settings of the novel.
Setting matters a lot in Anna Karenina. The lives of the characters—especially their moral
lives—are affected by their surroundings. As a modern reader, I could hardly tell the specific
timeframe of the story primarily because it was set in a late period wherein I am not familiar
with, the novel also did not mention the specific year when the story took place. Hence, the
events and the surroundings of the characters in the novel would make us tell that is indeed set
in the backdrop of Imperial Russia in the 19th-century.
46. A. How would you describe the author's general style?
1. Direct, clear, forceful?
2. Informal, loose, easy?
3. Stiff, artificial, dull?
Many critics regard Tolstoy's style in Anna Karenina as transitional, bridging the
gap between the realist and modernist novel. The author's general style, I believe,
is direct, clear, and forceful. Leo Tolstoy is a well-known author because of his
concise and clear writing. Though his works contain connotations or abstractions,
the clarity of his style cannot be questioned.
47. D. Does the author use unfamiliar words? Cite some examples and give their
meanings.
In the novel Anna Karenina, the author used unfamiliar words such as:
disconsolate - sad beyond comforting , incapable of being soothed
pecuniary - relating to or involving money
discretion - the trait of judging wisely and objectively
mire - an area of deep mud
sophistry - the use of clever arguments to persuade people that something is true
when it is really false
preen - to spend a lot of time making yourself look attractive and then admiring
your appearance
sheaf - a number of pieces of paper tied or held together
reprovingly - in a way that shows that you do not approve of something that
somebody has done
48. E. Does The author of Anna Karenina mention historical or methodological
persons or events? How do they add to the total effect of the story?
The inspiration behind the character of Anna Karenina is widely considered to be
a 37-year-old woman named Anna Stepanova, who worked as a housekeeper for
one of Tolstoy’s neighbors. She and her husband regularly argued about his
flirtations with governesses. Finally, she became so consumed with jealousy that
she threw herself under a train.
There was a larger epidemic of suicides sweeping the country, a symptom of a
deeper, collective depression rather than just the result of a single love affair gone
awry.
49. F. If dialect is used, is it hard to understand? What is gained by its use?
French was the language of the Russian Court and to be able to move in the
highest social circles, a Russian needed to be born into the aristocracy and also
needed to be well-educated.
The French Language Tolstoy incorporates the use of French language in Anna
Karenina in many ways for various reasons. Throughout the entire novel, many
of the protagonists state random words or phrases in French. Indeed, when
French is used to communicate in Anna Karenina, it is usually in the sense of
superficiality, i.e. society or other formal and outrageous occurrences such as the
French Clairvoyant episode.
50. G. Does the dialogue seem natural? Is it stiff and awkward? Do the characters
seem to be talking at the level we expect of them? If they are uneducated, do they
sound it?
The conversation in Anna Karenina is a little bit unnatural because it uses French
language in a superficial way between conversations of the characters. There is a
sense of awkwardness present in the story as the round characters engage in love
affairs, especially in the part of Anna and Karenin where the two ended in an
awkward confrontation. Also, the character of Levin impacted the story big as he
is naturally a social awkward. Whereas, the other characters are talking at the
level the readers didn’t expect, such as the character of Levin who keeps on
changing as the story progress as well as it affected the way he engage to the
other characters mostly with his wife and son. In addition, almost all of the
characters came from aristocratic and well- off family, meaning they are well-
educated and the readers can observe it the way they behave and described in the
story.
