Anna Karenina
(Leo Tolstoy)

Although the exact months and years that Leo Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina is unknown, he is generally accepted that he wrote the book between 1873 and 1877. The book, often considered Tolstoy’s greatest work, first appeared in serialized form in the publication, Russian Messenger. In 1878 it was published in book form, in three volumes, and first editions are extremely difficult to find and fetch very high prices.

Tolstoy often referred to Anna Karenina as his first novel. In his assessment, War and Peace, published in 1869, was too autobiographical to be considered a novel.

Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia Andreevna, recorded in her journal in 1870 that Leo had come with an idea for a story about an adulterous wife who ruined herself by her actions. Originally Tolstoy had intended a story that would censorious of the woman with much sympathy directed at her husband, who was a good man. As he developed the plot the character of Anna (who went through several name changes) was cast in a more sympathetic light and her husband, Alexei Karenin, while not entirely a villain, was drawn as too cold to bring happiness to the warm-hearted Anna. In January of 1872 a young woman known to the Tolstoys, and the mistress of a wealthy landowner, killed herself by throwing herself under a train. The author himself viewed her damaged corpse and this left a profound impression. This young woman was also named Anna, and her tragic end is said to have inspired his choice of Anna Karenin’s mode of suicide. It was an eerie prescient – Tolstoy himself would end his days at a stationmaster’s house after fleeing his home and arriving at a railway station. In his case, the cause of death was pneumonia.

Anna Karenin is a novel about families. The famous first line of the novel: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, tells the reader that a story about domestic relationships is about the follow. Tolstoy does not disappoint. The main characters and many of the minor ones are related by blood or marriage. Much of the action revolves around domestic issues, be they of infidelity, finances, children, and holidays and travel. The wider setting puts these families into a historical context: Russia during the 1870s, about a dozen years after the abolition of serfdom. The country is being pulled gradually into a more industrial world (Britain was at the peak of its world power, an industrial, trading and imperial giant) – most of Europe had gone through the changes that Russia then was struggling with decades before. The country was considered insular and somewhat backward by the rest of the Western world.

Tolstoy’s development of a “family novel” was considered old-fashioned even in its day. But through the use of family relationships, the descriptions of the constraints and narrowness of the aristocratic society, and the almost lyrical descriptions of the land and the overworked peasants Tolstoy was able describe Russia in the last third of the nineteenth century and in doing so created one of the masterpieces of literature.

Settings

Moscow

The city of Moscow is the center of Russian culture and power. Through the eyes of the aristocrats of Russia, it is a place of the court, fine dining, clubs, opera, theatre and endless round of social activities. It is where many of the aristocrats live, including the Oblonskys and the Shtcherbatskys.

Petersburg

The second city of Russia, it is the center of bureaucracy and has its own set of social members and societal restrictions and taboos. Anna Karenina, the title character and her husband and son live in Petersburg. Anna and Vronsky will also take up residence there later in the novel.

The Regimental Barracks/racetrack

Count Vronsky is an officer in the army and the regimental barracks with its racetrack serve as a backdrop where his lifestyle is revealed and where he and Anna do some of their courting. Racing is an amusement of the aristocracy.

The “watering-hole” or spa in Germany (Soden)

Prince and Princess Shtcherbatsky take their broken-hearted daughter Kitty to Soden in an attempt to heal her emotionally. Her friendship with Varenka will begin there, having a great influence on taking Kitty from girlhood to adulthood and developing within her compassion.

Konstantin’s Farm

Konstantin’s country estate is presented as an idyllic place – where nature rules in all her bounty and the laws of living for both humans and animals are simple. There is struggle but it is rewarded. The author uses the pastoral setting as a stark contrast to the artificiality and fleeting character of the aristocracy’s urban setting.

Karenin’s Home

The Karenin home in Petersburg is a setting of oppression and pain – for all its inhabitants. Anna wishes to escape from it, Alexei finds no happiness there, and young Sergei is left there, lonely and confused, by his mother.

Princess Betsy’s

Princess Betsy is a cousin of Count Vronsky and her home in Petersburg is used as a meeting-place for Anna and Vronsky before Anna leaves her husband.

The Palazzo in Italy

Vronsky and Anna escape their social circle after Anna leaves her husband by going to Italy. They find the life they might lead there as ex-pats to be empty and dissatisfying and they return to Russia.

The Election in Kashinsky

The inclusion of the elections and political machinations in Kashinsky allows the author to present the massive changes that Russia must undergo to throw off a corrupt and outdated system.

Railway Stations

Both railway stations, early and late in the book, are used as settings for Anna and Vronsky to meet and for Anna to commit suicide. They transcend social classes as everyone uses them.