| Plot Summary of Anna Karenina |
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"Leo Tolstoy's classic novel of love, betrayal, and death is a stunning work of genius. The life of unhappily married, beautiful, passionate Anna Karenina, and her love affair with the dashing Count Vronsky, is contrasted with the courtship and marriage of Levin and Kitty and Levin's search for the truth about life, God, and himself. More than a story about the joys and sorrows of human relationships, 'Anna Karenina' brings 19th-century upper-class Russia to life, and intelligently discusses a plethora of social issues that are still very relevant to the modern world."
Christine Hung, Resident Scholar
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"A story of a woman who folds under the pressures of being a society wife and engages in an affair with a young military officer, abandoning her family and position. As a subplot, the story of a man, a farmer who finds that he loves a young woman of a higher station and isn't quite sure what to do about it. It is a commentary on late nineteenth-century life in Russia in both the upper class and somewhat with the working class. Anna Karenina poignantly reveals the way each class thinks of the other, and the struggles within both levels of the caste system."
Sarrah, Resident Scholar
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"A selfish woman, Anna Karenina, falls in love with a dashing man named Count Vronsky, when she is already married to a dispassionate nerd named Alexei Alexandrovich. She commits adultery with Vronsky and as a result, gets pregnant.
She almosts dies in childbirth, is abhorred by her husband and ends up not believing that Vronsky loves her anymore. As a result of frenzied terror, she commtis suicide (by throwing herself into a moving train)."
Brenna Saunders, Resident Scholar
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"Anna Karenina marries an older, wealthy man she does not love. Some reviewers portray him as cold, emotionless, and uncaring; I disagree. He is reserved, yes, but he does have feelings, and he gave his wife "all the love he was capable of." They have a son who adores his parents, and live a nice, steady, respectful life. Then the young and handsome Count Vronsky shows up, who is about to be engaged to a beautiful young lady named Kitty. He sees Anna - and the poor Kitty is instantly forgotten. Vronsky doesn't care a bit about breaking the young girl's heart, nor does he care about breaking Anna's family. He "cannot help it" and starts chasing Anna.
Anna, who has never been in love before, is swept off her feet. At first she tries to resist the Count, but then leaves her husband and son. This brings more suffering than joy. The society turns its back on Anna and Vronsky, Anna cannot see her son whom she terribly misses. She wants to divorce her husband, but he refuses. She and Vronsky live together unmarried. Slowly, things seem to be turning around - they have a baby girl, and some of their former friends re-open their homes for them. But happiness is still not there. Anna doesn't seem to be very interested in her little daughter. She is tortured by doubts, she is not sure whether Vronsky still loves her and wants to be with her. Finding no peace, she commits suicide."
Lissy, Resident Scholar
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"There are two big, fairly equal plots in "Anna Karenina". First of them, mostly known, is the story about Anna Karenina who falls in love with Count Vronsky, leaves her family and runs slowly into catastrophy. The second plot, however, taking a little more space in this book, is the story about count Levin, his internal struggle with religion, and his pursuit of his everyday work at his farm. "
Georg, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Anna Karenina |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- GENERAL--no other subplots apply
- love triangle/polygon
- seduction (yum!)
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- nature of existence (heavy philosophy)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Taboo sex story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Russian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Eastern Europe
City?
Yes
City:
- wealthy
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
- lot of descript of animal care
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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