Anna Karenina Notes

In progress

2017-04-26

Note: started these notes on part 3

"For him words took away the beauty of what he saw" (241)
For Sergei Ivanovich, country is a place to relax and think of nothing. It's almost the opposite to Levin (it's his livelihood)
Levin is indifferent to the common good

Stepan Arkadyich, goes to Petersburg and lives in summer houses
Dolly moves with children to her dowry estate, Yergushovo (35mi away from Levin's Pokrovskoe)
Stepan did a bad job repairing the place, so it's kind of a pain to live there

Dolly brings up Kitty again. "Why are you angry with her?"
Levin tells her about his rejected proposal, which she didn't know about
"'For you men, who are free and can choose, it's always clear whom you love. But a young girl in a state of expectation, with that feminine, maidenly modesty, a girl who sees you men from afar, who takes everything on trust - a girl may and does sometimes feel that she doesn't know who she loves or what to say'" (270).
Dolly tells Levin that Kitty's rejection means nothing
Levin disagrees
When Dolly's children fight (Tanya and Grisha, the cake ones) it ruins her good mood
Levin comforts her, but imagines his kids will be perfect

Some shady stuff going on with the distribution of Levin's sister's estate's hay, so Levin goes and sorts stuff out
Some stuff about a young married man and his wife loading hay

Levin is still watching the hay people
"Levin had often admired this life, had often experienced a feeling of envy for the people who lived this life, but that day for the first time, especially under the impression of what he had seen in the relations of Ivan Parmenov and his young wife, the thought came clearly to Levin that it was up to him to change that so burdensome, idle, artificial and individual life he lived into this laborious, pure and common, lovely life" (275).
"One thing is sure, that this night has decided my fate" (276).
Levin comes to this big revelation that he wants to renounce his old life and take up the "farm" life. But he doesn't really know how to make the transition.
He changes his mind when he sees Kitty on her way to Yergushovo.

Alexei Alexandrovich has one weakness: he can't hear/see the tears of a child or a woman with indifference. He gets angry and loses reason.
This is why he adopts a look of deadness when Anaa tells him about Vronsky and cries
Alexei compares finding out about Vronsky to the pulling of a long-aching tooth
Feelings for his son also change
Alexei thinks now of what to do. He wants to hinder the relationship of Anna and Vronsky. Wants redemption/vengeance.
- Duel? Nah
- Divorce? Nah
- "...became convinced hat there was only one solution: to keep her with him, concealing what had happened from society, and taking all possible measures to stop their affair and above all - something he did not admit to himself - to punish her" (282).
  - It aligns with religion... that's convenient
  - External reason: reform his wife! Second chance!
  - Actual reason: revenge

Writes letter to Anna containing his decision
Some "filler" crap about Alexei's job
- Irrigating the fields in the Zaraysk province
- Settling of racial minorities

In the midst of preparing to leave, Anna gets her husbands letter
She responds with "message received" and goes to a party, where she hopes to meet Vronsky and ask him what to do

Anna arrives at the croquet party
Lying now gives Anna pleasure
Anna sneaks meeting info into Betsy's letter to Vronsky
Some conversation about Liza Merkalov and Kaluzhsky... I think they're having an affair?
"Perhaps you're inclined to look at things too tragically" (298).

"Every man, knowing to the smallest detail all the complexity of the conditions surrounding him, involuntarily assumes that the complexity of these conditions and the difficulty of comprehending them are only his personal, accidental preculiarity, and never thinks that others are surrounded by the same complexity as he is" (302).
Vronsky sorts out his debts and thinks about his financial situation

Vronsky's code of rules unquestionably define his life... but Anna is making things more complicated
Reminder: Anna is pregnant
"Ambition was the old dream of his childhood and youth, a dream which he did not confess even to himself, but which was so strong that even now this passion struggled with his love" (306)
Slightly torn between pursuing career and Anna
Settles (I think) for keeping his position and Anna... so not fully devoting himself to either
Possessing Anna prevents him from envy

There's a celebration for Serpukhovskoy's arrival (old classmate, got a bunch of promotions in Central Asia)
Some ceremonial crap happens
Vronsky and Serpukhovskoy sit down and talk careers and women
Serpukhovskoy belives Vronsky wants, or will want, a more prestigious career
They skirt around the topic of Anna
"'Women are the main stumbling block in a man's activity. It's hard to love a woman and do anything. For this there exists one means of loving conveniently, without hindrance - that is marriage" (312)
- Compares marriage to carrying a burden on back instead of with hands

Vronsky meets Anna at Vrede's
He comes happy, but after seeing Anna's serious face, his mood changes
Anna shows Vronsky the letter and is disappointed with his reaction
Vronsky assumes there's going to be a duel. Says he'll think it over and come to a decision