All Ostrovsky's plays are listed at the time of creation. Ostrovsky's works: list of the best

“Anna Karenina is one of the most charming women

images of Russian literature. Her clear mind, pure

heart, kindness and truthfulness attract to her

the sympathies of the best people in the novel -

the Shcherbatsky sisters, Princess Myagkaya, Levina.”

Lies from a textbook of Russian literature

The pure heart, kindness and truthfulness of Anna Karenina is the most terrible joke that gentlemen professors and literary critics could come up with. This is their dark humor, and we will not dwell on it any further.

Let's talk about Princess Myagkaya. It's amazing that it's real kind woman- the compilers of the textbook, with the enviable agility of an inexperienced mind, wrote down Countess Lydia Ivanovna as a hypocrite. But Princess Myagkaya - an open prude, a gossip, a cold narcissistic person and a lover of useless gatherings at Betsy Tverskaya's - was considered one of the best people in the novel, placing her in the company of the Shcherbatsky sisters and Levin. Yes, Levin and the Shcherbatskys would run from her like incense from the devil!

Now regarding the sympathies of these best people for Anna (with the exception of Princess Myagkaya). Kitty can’t stand Anna for a long time - this is openly and constantly emphasized by Tolstoy, and it’s strange to me that no one is able to notice this. Dolly has been disappointed in her for a long time now. But Levin... Well, we’ll see what kind of sympathy he will begin to feel for her, and most importantly, why. And how his wife Kitty will react to these sympathies of his - and how these sympathies of her husband will end for her.

In the meantime, let's return to Vronsky's estate. We settled on the fact that Dolly, after all these involuntary observations of Anna, suddenly becomes very unpleasant that Anna should come to her in the evening. And she even decides not to stay here any longer and leave tomorrow.

In the evening, before going to bed, Anna comes to Dolly. She wants to start some pleasant, intimate conversation with Dolly, but this time for some reason she cannot find the words. Then she hard sighs and guilty kind of asking about... Kitty! Well, he just can’t forget.

“Well, what about Kitty? - she said, sighing heavily and looking guiltily at Dolly. “Tell me the truth, Dolly, isn’t she angry with me?” No, says Dolly with a smile. “But he hates, despises?” – Anna continues to inquire. What are you saying, says Dolly, just... well... “you know, this can’t be forgiven.”

Oh, how directly this is said! And oh, how Anna doesn’t like such directness! After all, it’s one thing when she puts on a guilty look on herself - in the hope of getting consolation and forgiveness cheaply, and another thing to directly hear that this time there will be no leniency. And, hiding her hostility (turning away and looking out the window), she hurries to justify herself:

“Yes, yes,” turning away and looking at open window, said Anna. “But it wasn’t my fault.” And who is to blame? What is guilty? How could it be otherwise? Well, what do you think?

Dolly answers something vaguely and tries to change the subject. But Kitty means too much to Anna - after all, Kitty was the first to give her a silent rebuff, Kitty was the first to openly regard Anna’s act as vile. And Anna quickly interrupts Dolly: “Yes, yes, but we haven’t finished about Kitty. She is happy? He is a wonderful person, they say.”

Here we observe the same manipulative cunning as in the case of her son - when Anna, who hates her husband to the point of nausea, praises him to her son, thus trying to earn herself a moral alibi. Now, in exactly the same way, she says nice things about Levin, Kitty’s husband, but to say nice things about Kitty herself makes her jaw clench.

Dolly calmly confirms in response that yes, they say, Kitty has a husband wonderful person. And Anna immediately expresses joy about this: “Oh, how glad I am! I'm very happy!"

Very soon she will take this “wonderful man” into her circle, and not even the fact that Kitty is about to give birth will stop her (which she, of course, knows about from Vasenka Veslovsky)...

Well, now you can complain about life. Self-pity is Anna’s second favorite pastime. And so, as if with humility and as if with humility, she says that they will live here, in the village, alone, and that she personally does not wish for anything else, but Alexey... he is so busy... he is almost never at home ! no, no, she certainly doesn’t hold him! but... her situation is so difficult...

By the way, Dolly says softly, you should still get a divorce and marry Vronsky. But this is precisely not part of Anna’s plans. What excuse can I find? Well, of course, with moral overtones. Liars love references to morality. And Anna tells a sad story with a hint of morality:

“Do you know, the only woman who came to see me in St. Petersburg was Betsy Tverskaya? You know her, right?Au fond c"est la femme la plus depravee qui existe.She was in connection with Tushkevich, deceiving her husband in the most disgusting way. And she told me that she didn’t want to know me until my position was wrong. Don’t think that I’m comparing... I know you, my darling. But I involuntarily remembered...”

Well, of course. If ex-best friend Betsy deceives her husband, then in the most disgusting way, and if Anna, then in the most pleasant way. And the fact that, being with her husband and lover, she herself also seduced this Tushevich, and Yashvin, and Veslovsky (which Dolly instantly noticed with an unpleasant aftertaste), is strangely not taken into account by Anna.

Well, now we can move on to the conversation with Vronsky. So what were you talking to him about? – asks Anna. Yes, he suffers, says Dolly, he wants to legitimize his daughter and become your husband, and most importantly, so that it becomes easier for you, so that you get rid of the condemnation of society and stop suffering.

What?! Stopped suffering?! Did she hear right?! "This is impossible!" – Anna says quickly.

And also, Dolly continues, so that all your children are legitimate and do not suffer harm.

“What kind of children? - Anna said without looking at Dolly and squinting. (Again not looking and again squinting! An alarming sign.) Yes, your future children, Dolly clarifies in bewilderment. Oh the future, says Anna, well, “he can be calm, I won’t have any more children.” How could it not be? – Dolly was excited. Yes, it won’t happen, Anna replies, it won’t, “because I don’t want it.”

And at these words, Dolly’s face reflects a whole range of feelings: curiosity, surprise and... horror. And, seeing this horror, Anna rushes to correct the unpleasant impression and adds with a smile that she simply... well, she simply cannot have any more children: “The doctor told me after my illness.”

But it seems that this time Dolly did not believe her... It seems that for some time now she does not believe a single statement of Anna. “N"est ce pas immoral" (this is immoral) - said Dolly after a pause.

And, surprisingly, Anna begins a debate on this matter. Although if the point is really that she can not have children, then the controversy here is simply pointless. What kind of controversy can there be if she cannot have children? What is there to argue about? But Anna argues, and quite heatedly.

Well, why is it immoral, Anna argues, “think, I have a choice of two: either to be pregnant, that is, sick, or to be a friend, a comrade of my husband, still a husband,” Anna said in a deliberately superficial and frivolous tone.” And besides, she continues mournfully, I’m not his wife, because “he loves me as long as he loves me. So, how can I support his love? With this?” – and she pretended to be pregnant.

But Dolly is stubbornly silent and only sighs in disagreement.

Well, okay, says Anna, here’s another argument for you. “You forget my position. How can I want children? I'm not talking about suffering, I'm not afraid of it. Think about who my children will be? Unhappy children who will bear someone else's name. By their very birth they will be forced to be ashamed of their mother, father, and their birth.”

But that’s what we’re talking about, Dolly says in amazement, that’s why you have to get a divorce - in order to marry Vronsky and so that your children have a legal name, that’s what we’re talking to you about!

But Anna... doesn’t seem to hear her. As if in just this case there was no way out like divorce, and as if no one told her anything about divorce at all! Like a deaf person, she continues to repeat the same thing about unfortunate children, before whom she would feel guilty all her life for the fact that they were born in an illegal situation, and that there is no point in bringing such unfortunate children into the world.

Anna is clearly counting on sympathy, but instead of sympathy, only an expression appears on Dolly’s face disgusting. Anna sees this expression. And... changes tactics...

All the more so, you need to get a divorce, says Dolly, “all the more you need to arrange your situation, if possible.”

That's it if it is possible“Anna said suddenly in a completely different, quiet and sad voice.”

Is it really impossible, Dolly wonders, because your husband agreed to the divorce!

And Anna has absolutely nothing to object to this. So she just... drops the topic. Or rather, he doesn’t turn away, but takes a pause, and all this, of course, with an expression of suffering on his face: “Dolly! I don’t want to talk about it,” that’s all she said.

And so, while she is frantically thinking of what to answer Dolly to her very obvious objection, she simply chirps about Veslovsky’s Vasenka, and she so wants to show off in front of Dolly that she does not notice that here she involuntarily gives herself away: “He’s a boy.” , she says, “and it’s all in my hands; you understand, I manage it as I want.”

This is Karenina’s credo. Manage, hold in your hands, subordinate to your will, your whims, your desires. By the way, she is deeply mistaken about Vasenka. Vassenka doesn’t care at all who she flirts with, as long as she flirts. He flirted with the pregnant Kitty for his own pleasure, not caring about her husband or her pregnancy, for which Levin kicked him out. In essence, Vasenka is a copy of Karenina herself.

However, the answer is ready, and now she herself returns to the dangerous topic. Oh, it’s all so terrible, she says, I’m so exhausted, I constantly think about divorce, because of these thoughts I even started taking morphine at night... But my husband will never give me a divorce, because he’s now under the influence Lydia Ivanovna!.. And why should I even humiliate myself and write to him, because I can get an insulting answer!.. Well, okay, let’s say I get consent... but then they will never give me their son, and he will “grow up” , despising me”... But I love them both more than myself! But alas, I will never unite them, and therefore, I am unhappy again... “I love only these two beings, and one excludes the other. I can't connect them, and that's all I need. And if this is not the case, then it doesn’t matter.” There are tears in her eyes, her hands are pressed to her chest.

Thin Dolly is trembling with excitement. The topic itself is so poignant that she forgot about her mistrust of Anna. And Anna sees this perfectly well and puts the finishing touches on the situation: with a guilty look, she humbly asks not to despise her. What contempt there is after such and such suffering! Dolly is overwhelmed by serious emotions; now she is unable to even remember her suspicions about Anna.

It's amazing how Anna knows how to turn everything to her advantage. She seemed to have forgotten that her husband agreed to give her Seryozha. So absolutely no one stopped her from combining her son and lover into one. But she herself refused it. She herself refused the terms of the divorce that were so beneficial for her - and only because, having received consent to the divorce, she immediately doubted whether it was beneficial for her, whether she should leave a loophole for returning just in case, and how beneficial it was for her husband, not It was in vain that he agreed to such conditions.

And yet, Anna is right about one thing: her husband is really now under the influence of Lydia Ivanovna, and she cannot be fooled so easily by cheap appeals to pity and nobility. And she will be able to explain to Alexei Alexandrovich that taking on someone else’s guilt and thus dooming oneself to dishonor is stupid and unfair to oneself. That is why Anna does not want to write to her husband - pride makes her panicky afraid of suffering a deliberate defeat.

But the conversation with Dolly is over. Anna returns to her place, takes morphine and... “with a calm and cheerful spirit” goes to bed. Vronsky peers attentively into her face - he looks for traces of her conversation with Dolly, and he looks questioningly into her eyes, expecting an answer about the divorce. But after morphine, Anna understands Vronsky’s questioning glance as a love call - and smiles at him in agreement...

So, for some time now Anna has been constantly taking morphine, which is one of the most dangerous drugs. Getting used to it occurs instantly and, without outside help, is irreversible. It produces catastrophic destruction in the psyche. Morphine addicts live no more than seven years.

Morphine was given to her during childbirth fever, and this was enough for her not to forget about it. However, a person never becomes a drug addict by accident - he is necessarily and first of all pushed to this by his personal qualities.

Even before any drug, Anna’s main character traits were selfishness, arrogance, deceit, anger, vindictiveness, a terrifying inner emptiness and uncleanliness in the choice of means. The ugly story of Alexei Alexandrovich's grooming, when he was cunningly placed in ambiguous circumstances using blackmail. Then nine years of pretense - not everyone can withstand such a period, but for Anna pretense came extremely easily, it was her natural internal environment. Ugly story with Kitty. Then a whole year of Vronsky’s shocking courtship. Then a long disgusting mockery of my husband.

All this brought Anna unspeakable pleasure and pleased her pride and selfishness. Her innate deceit made her extremely resourceful, and other people's decency and gullibility served as her true protection from punishment. The one who dared to fight back, like Kitty, became her enemy, inciting a feeling of revenge in her.

In this chain, her hatred of her husband has completely different reasons. Of course, this hatred is dictated by the direct moral opposite of Alexei Alexandrovich. But not only. The main reason is that despite all the enormous destruction that he suffered from Anna, he remained a man who under no circumstances would bow to her, to her vices and irrepressible thirst to completely rule his life - he had a core , and she intuitively felt it. Yes, he could weaken, make a mistake, succumb to pressure. But not at all because she wanted it that way, that it was her order, her will or her whim, but solely because of her spiritual qualities, her decency and kindness, her ability to forgive and love, as well as her tendency to constantly doubt the need for strict measures and downplay them at the first opportunity. And this attitude towards life and towards people frightens and irritates Anna beyond measure.

The same attitude towards people, if we take the female cast of the novel, is characteristic of Kitty and Dolly. She doesn’t like them either, but she is forced to hide her dislike: for Kitty - so as not to betray her true nature and not to antagonize Dolly, since she needs Dolly, she is her only bridge with light, society’s attitude towards Anna partly depends on her.

Vronsky attracted her by offering her what her nature so craved - humility and complete obedience to her will. And for quite a long time he really was her psychological slave - until his life was boring and empty. But then, completely unexpectedly for himself, Vronsky found his place in life - he discovered real talent, and real talent is impossible without the awakening of personality. Awakening requires development. Development needs freedom of expression. Self-expression is impossible without self-esteem, otherwise there is nothing to express. There is a revaluation of values.

As a result, Vronsky begins to increasingly protest against his position as a submissive victim, because the status of a submissive victim excludes freedom, interfering with the development of talent. And this also becomes a source of constant anxiety and fear for Anna. She sees that everyone strives to live according to some other laws - the laws of mutual understanding and goodness, and no one else wants to be a submissive victim to her...

©Natalia Vorontsova-Yuryeva

In the Moscow house of the Oblonskys, where “everything was mixed up” at the end of winter 1873, they are waiting for the owner’s sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. The reason for the family discord was that Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky was caught by his wife in adultery with the governess. Thirty-four-year-old Stiva Oblonsky sincerely feels sorry for his wife Dolly, but, being a truthful person, he does not assure himself that he repents of what he has done. Cheerful, kind and carefree Stiva has long been no longer in love with his wife, the mother of five living and two dead children, and has long been unfaithful to her.

Stiva is completely indifferent to the work he is doing, serving as a boss in one of the Moscow offices, and this allows him to never get carried away, not make mistakes and perform his duties perfectly. Friendly, tolerant of human shortcomings, charming Steve enjoys the favor of people in his circle, subordinates, bosses and, in general, everyone with whom his life brings him together. Debts and family troubles upset him, but cannot spoil his mood enough to make him refuse dinner at a good restaurant. He has lunch with Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who has arrived from the village, his peer and friend from his youth.

Levin came to propose to eighteen-year-old Princess Kitya Shcherbatskaya, Oblonsky's sister-in-law, with whom he had long been in love. Levin is sure that a girl like Kitty, who is above all earthly things, cannot love him, an ordinary landowner, without, as he believes, special talents. In addition, Oblonsky informs him that he apparently has a rival - a brilliant representative of the St. Petersburg “golden youth”, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky.

Meeting his mother, who has arrived from St. Petersburg, Vronsky sees Anna Arkadyevna Karenina at the station. He immediately notices the special expressiveness of Anna’s entire appearance: “It was as if an excess of something so filled her being that, against her will, it was expressed either in the brilliance of her gaze or in a smile.” The meeting is overshadowed by a sad circumstance: the death of a station watchman under the wheels of a train, which Anna considers a bad omen.

Anna manages to persuade Dolly to forgive her husband; A fragile peace is established in the Oblonskys' house, and Anna goes to the ball together with the Oblonskys and Shcherbatskys. At the ball, Kitty admires Anna's naturalness and grace, admires that special, poetic inner world, which appears in her every movement. Kitty expects a lot from this ball: she is sure that during the mazurka Vronsky will explain himself to her. Suddenly she notices how Vronsky is talking with Anna: in each of their glances one can feel an irresistible attraction to each other, every word decides their fate. Kitty leaves in despair. Anna Karenina returns home to St. Petersburg; Vronsky follows her.

Blaming himself alone for the failure of the matchmaking, Levin returns to the village. Before leaving, he meets with his older brother Nikolai, who lives in cheap rooms with a woman he took from a brothel. Levin loves his brother, despite his uncontrollable character, which causes a lot of trouble for himself and those around him. Seriously ill, lonely, drinking, Nikolai Levin is passionate about the communist idea and the organization of some kind of metalworking artel; this saves him from self-contempt. A date with his brother aggravates the shame and dissatisfaction with himself that Konstantin Dmitrievich experiences after the matchmaking. He calms down only in his family estate Pokrovsky, deciding to work even harder and not allow himself luxury - which, however, never existed in his life before.

The usual life in St. Petersburg, to which Anna returns, causes her disappointment. She had never been in love with her husband, who was much older than her, and had only respect for him. Now his company becomes painful for her, she notices the slightest of his shortcomings: his ears are too big, his habit of cracking his fingers. Her love for her eight-year-old son Seryozha does not save her either. Anna tries to regain her peace of mind, but she fails - mainly because Alexey Vronsky tries in every possible way to achieve her favor. Vronsky is in love with Anna, and his love intensifies because an affair with a lady of high society makes his position even more brilliant. Despite the fact that all of it inner life filled with passion for Anna, outwardly Vronsky acts ordinary, cheerful and nice life guards officer: with the Opera, the French theater, balls, horse races and other pleasures. But their relationship with Anna is too different in the eyes of others from easy social flirting; strong passion causes universal condemnation. Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin notices the attitude of the world towards his wife’s affair with Count Vronsky and expresses his dissatisfaction to Anna. Being a high-ranking official, “Alexei Alexandrovich lived and worked all his life in official areas dealing with reflections of life. And every time he came across life itself, he distanced himself from it.” Now he feels in the position of a man standing above the abyss.

Karenin's attempts to stop his wife's uncontrollable desire for Vronsky, Anna's own attempts to restrain herself are unsuccessful. A year after the first meeting, she becomes Vronsky's mistress - realizing that they are now connected forever, like criminals. Vronsky is burdened by the uncertainty of the relationship and persuades Anna to leave her husband and join her life with him. But Anna cannot decide to break with Karenin, and even the fact that she is expecting a child from Vronsky does not give her determination.

During a race, where all the high society is present, Vronsky falls from his horse Frou-Frou. Not knowing how serious the fall is, Anna expresses her despair so openly that Karenin is forced to take her away immediately. She announces to her husband her infidelity and disgust for him. This news gives Alexey Alexandrovich the impression of a sore tooth being pulled out: he finally gets rid of the suffering of jealousy and leaves for St. Petersburg, leaving his wife at the dacha awaiting his decision. But, having gone through all possible options for the future - a duel with Vronsky, a divorce - Karenin decides to leave everything unchanged, punishing and humiliating Anna with the requirement to maintain a false appearance of family life under the threat of separation from her son. Having made this decision, Alexey Alexandrovich finds enough peace to devote himself, with his characteristic stubborn ambition, to thinking about the affairs of the service. Husband's decision

Causes Anna to burst out with hatred towards him. She considers him a soulless machine who does not think that she has a soul and the need for love. Anna realizes that she is driven into a corner because she is unable to exchange her current position for that of a mistress who abandoned her husband and son and deserves everyone’s contempt.

The continuing uncertainty of the relationship is also painful for Vronsky, who deep down loves order and has an unshakable set of rules of behavior. For the first time in his life, he doesn’t know how to behave further, how to bring his love for Anna into agreement with everyday rules. If he joins her, he will be forced to resign, and this is also not easy for him: Vronsky loves regimental life, enjoys the respect of his comrades; besides, he is ambitious.

The lives of three people are entangled in a web of lies. Anna alternates pity for her husband with disgust; she cannot help but meet with Vronsky, as Alexey Alexandrovich demands. Finally, childbirth occurs, during which Anna almost dies. Lying in childbed fever, she asks for forgiveness from Alexei Alexandrovich, and at her bedside he feels pity for his wife, tender compassion and spiritual joy. Vronsky, whom Anna unconsciously rejects, experiences burning shame and humiliation. He tries to shoot himself, but is saved.

Anna does not die and, when the mental softening caused by the proximity of death passes, she again begins to be burdened by her husband. Neither his decency and generosity, nor his touching care for the newborn girl relieves her of irritation; she hates Karenin even for his virtues. A month after her recovery, Anna goes abroad with the retired Vronsky and her daughter.

Living in the village, Levin takes care of the estate, reads, and writes a book about agriculture and undertakes various economic rearrangements that do not find approval among the peasants. For Levin, the village is “a place of life, that is, joys, sufferings, labor.” The men respect him, go forty miles to him for advice - and they strive to deceive him for their own benefit. There is no deliberateness in Levin’s attitude towards the people: he considers himself part of the people, all his interests are connected with the peasants. He admires the strength, meekness, and justice of the peasants and is irritated by their carelessness,

Sloppiness, drunkenness, lies. In disputes with his half-brother Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev, who came to visit, Levin proves that zemstvo activities do not benefit the peasants, because they are not based either on knowledge of their true needs, or on the personal interests of the landowners.

Levin feels his merging with nature; he even hears the growth of spring grass. In the summer he mows with the men, feeling the joy of simple labor. Despite all this, he considers his life idle and dreams of changing it to a working, clean and common life. Subtle changes are constantly taking place in his soul, and Levin listens to them. At one time it seemed to him that he had found peace and forgotten his dreams of family happiness. But this illusion crumbles to dust when he learns about Kitty’s serious illness, and then sees her herself, going to her sister in the village. A feeling that seemed dead again takes possession of his heart, and only in love does he see an opportunity to solve the great mystery of life.

In Moscow, at a dinner with the Oblonskys, Levin meets Kitty and realizes that she loves him. In a state of supreme elation, he proposes to Kitty and receives consent. Immediately after the wedding, the newlyweds leave for the village.

Vronsky and Anna travel around Italy. At first Anna feels happy and full of the joy of life. Even the knowledge that she was separated from her son, lost her good name and became the cause of her husband’s misfortune, does not darken her happiness. Vronsky is lovingly and respectfully towards her, he does everything to ensure that she is not burdened by her position. But he himself, despite his love for Anna, experiences melancholy and clutches at everything that can give his life significance. He begins to paint, but, having enough taste, he knows his mediocrity and soon becomes disillusioned with this activity.

Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Anna clearly feels rejected: they don’t want to accept her, her acquaintances avoid meeting her. Insults from the world also poison Vronsky’s life, but, busy with her worries, Anna does not want to notice this. On Seryozha’s birthday, she secretly goes to see him and, finally seeing her son, feeling his love for herself, she understands that she cannot be happy apart from him. In despair, in irritation, she reproaches Vronsky for having stopped loving her; It takes him a lot of effort to calm her down, after which they leave for the village.

The first time of married life turns out to be difficult for Kitty and Levin: they have difficulty getting used to each other, charms are replaced by disappointments, quarrels are replaced by reconciliations. Family life seems to Levin like a boat: it’s pleasant to watch gliding on the water, but it’s very difficult to steer. Suddenly, Levin receives news that brother Nikolai is dying in the provincial town. He immediately goes to him; Despite his protests, Kitty decides to go with him. Having seen his brother and experienced painful pity for him, Levin still cannot get rid of the fear and disgust that the proximity of death evokes in him. He is shocked that Kitty is not at all afraid of the dying man and knows how to behave with him. Levin feels that only his wife’s love saves him these days from horror.

During Kitty's pregnancy, which Levin learns about on the day of his brother's death, the family continues to live in Pokrovskoye, where relatives and friends come for the summer. Levin values the spiritual closeness he has established with his wife, and is tormented by jealousy, afraid of losing this closeness.

Dolly Oblonskaya, visiting her sister, decides to visit Anna Karenina, who lives with Vronsky on his estate, not far from Pokrovsky. Dolly is amazed at the changes that have occurred in Karenina; she feels the falseness of her current way of life, especially noticeable in comparison with her previous liveliness and naturalness. Anna entertains the guests, tries to take care of her daughter, reading, and setting up the village hospital. But her main concern is to replace Vronsky with herself for everything that he left for her sake. Their relationship is becoming more and more tense, Anna is jealous of everything that he is interested in, even of zemstvo activities, which Vronsky is engaged in mainly in order not to lose his independence. In the fall they move to Moscow, awaiting Karenin's decision on divorce. But, offended in his best feelings, rejected by his wife, finding himself alone, Alexey Alexandrovich falls under the influence of the famous spiritualist, Princess Myagkaya, who persuades him, for religious reasons, not to give his criminal wife a divorce.

In the relationship between Vronsky and Anna there is neither complete discord nor agreement. Anna blames Vronsky for all the hardships of her situation; attacks of desperate jealousy are instantly replaced by tenderness; Quarrels break out every now and then. In Anna's dreams, the same nightmare is repeated: some man bends over her, pronounces meaningless French words and does something terrible to her. After a particularly difficult quarrel, Vronsky, against Anna’s wishes, goes to visit his mother. In complete confusion, Anna sees her relationship with him as if in a bright light. She understands that her love is becoming more and more passionate and selfish, and Vronsky, without losing his love for her, is still burdened by her and tries not to be dishonest towards her. Trying to achieve his repentance, she follows him to the station, where she suddenly remembers the man crushed by the train on the day of their first meeting - and immediately understands what she needs to do. Anna throws herself under a train; her last vision is of a muttering man. After this, “the candle, by which she was reading a book full of anxiety, deception, grief and evil, flared up with a brighter light than ever, illuminated for her everything that had previously been in the darkness, crackled, began to fade and went out forever.”

Life becomes hateful for Vronsky; he is tormented by unnecessary, but indelible repentance. He volunteers to fight the Turks in Serbia; Karenin takes his daughter to live with him.

After Kitty's birth, which became a deep spiritual shock for Levin, the family returns to the village. Levin is in painful discord with himself - because after the death of his brother and the birth of his son, he cannot resolve the most important questions for himself: the meaning of life, the meaning of death. He feels that he is close to suicide and is afraid to walk with a gun so as not to shoot himself. But at the same time, Levin notes: when he does not ask himself why he lives, he feels in his soul the presence of an infallible judge, and his life becomes firm and definite. Finally, he understands that the knowledge of the laws of good, given personally to him, Levin, in the Gospel Revelation, cannot be grasped by reason and expressed in words. Now he feels able to put an undeniable sense of goodness into every minute of his life.

At the end of the winter of 1873 in Moscow, a serious family conflict broke out in the Oblonsky house. Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky was caught by his wife in adultery with his governess. The prince himself was very a good man, but unfortunately did not like his job and his wife. And he had one more peculiarity: Steve, despite any problems, always found the time and energy to have dinner at a restaurant. And during this period, the Oblonskys were waiting for the prince’s sister Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, while Stiva was having dinner at a restaurant with his friend, Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who had come from the village.

Levin has long been in love with an eighteen-year-old girl, Kitty Shcherbatskaya. He intends to offer her his hand and heart, but understands that she will not pay attention to a simple landowner. Kitty herself cannot understand her feelings. She is very easy and calm with Levin, but she is also very nice to another man - a representative of the St. Petersburg “golden youth”, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. But Kitty does not know that Vronsky does not want to marry her, due to the fact that the girl does not know this, in the hope of a happy future with Alexei, Kitty refuses Levin.

Anna Karenina comes to town. During her arrival at the station, she is noticed by Vronsky, who was struck by the beauty of the woman. Vronsky himself came to meet his mother, who came from St. Petersburg. But at that moment, at the station, the station guard gets hit by a train. Anna Karenina sees this sight and considers it a bad sign.

Thanks to Anna Dolly, Stiva Oblonsky’s wife forgives her husband for treason. After this, she goes to the ball in the company of the Oblonskys and Shcherbatskys. In it, Kitty hopes for Vronsky’s explanation and admires Anna’s beauty. But a little later, the girl notices that her lover and Anna are communicating very tenderly; an inexplicable craving for each other is noticeable in all their gestures. After some time, Anna Karenina left for St. Petersburg. Vronsky also went there. And Levin did not stop blaming himself for his failure with Kitty; he went to the village, where he set strict limits for himself that were there before.

Arriving in St. Petersburg, Anna felt very depressed. She was married to a man older than her, and for whom she had no feelings other than respect. She and Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin had an eight-year-old son, Seryozha, but even he did not save Anna from betrayal. The fact is that she fell in love with Vronsky, just as Vronsky fell in love with her. They became lovers. Despite this, in order not to show their relationship, they ordinary life, but the public still understood the nature of the relationship between Anna and Vronsky. This character was clear to Anna Karenina’s husband. He repeatedly tried to talk to his wife, but it was useless. And only once he could not stand it, when at a race, where all the high society was present, Vronsky fell from his horse, and Anna, not knowing the severity of the injury, became very worried. It was then that Alexey Alexandrovich took his wife to the dacha, where he forbade communication with Vronsky and threatened that if she cheated, he would kick her out and not allow her to see her son. But he told her this after the woman told him that she was disgusted with him and that she was cheating on him. Anna, frightened, agreed to his conditions, but her husband, wanting to further humiliate the woman, set strict limits for her, within which she was obliged to create the impression happy family Karenins. But Alexey Alexandrovich did not know that after a year of relationship with Vronsky, Anna was expecting a child from her lover.

The life of three people was unbearable. Anna suffered because of such conditions of her husband, she loved Vronsky, and she had a mixed feeling of hatred and compassion for Alexei Alexandrovich. But Vronsky was racking his brains about what to do in this situation. He loved Anna, but if they decided to go against everything and be together, Vronsky would have to quit his service, which he really didn’t want, because he liked her.

Some time later, Anna Karenina gives birth to a girl, but during the birth process, she almost died. Her husband is very worried about her, from whom Anna asks forgiveness for everything. Vronsky was saved in time when he wanted to shoot himself, after he was rejected by Anna, who was in a fever.

But after Anna recovers from a difficult birth, she becomes even more disgusted with Karenin. He, in turn, tenderly cares for the newborn girl. But even this did not help avoid Anna, her daughter and Vronsky, who resigned, from escaping abroad.

Meanwhile, Levin lives in the village. The meaning of his life became the peasants, whom he respected and protected. Levin believed that zemstvo activities did not benefit the peasants. He writes books, enjoys authority among local men, and dreams of a simple working life. He stopped dreaming of family happiness, forgot about his feelings, but suddenly he finds out about Kitty’s illness, and again his heart melted. A little later, he meets a girl while she was on her way to visit her sister in the village. And already in the Oblonskys’ house, Levin realizes that his feelings are mutual, and Kitty agrees to the marriage proposal. They get married and leave for the village.

The life of Anna and Vronsky was cloudless at first. A lot of travel, love, Vronsky tried to support Anna as much as possible at the time of her separation from her son. But when they returned to St. Petersburg, joy gave way to misfortune. Everyone who knew Vronsky and Anna turned away from them, they stopped respecting Anna and no one communicated with her. And when it was Anna’s son’s birthday, she secretly went to see him, and after she saw Seryozha, she began to blame Vronsky for being separated from him, she began to reproach him that Vronsky had lost interest in her and no longer loved her. Vronsky made every effort to explain to the irritated woman that this was not so.

The family life of Kitty and Lensky was not what they imagined it to be. The newlyweds took a long time to get used to each other. They fought often. But only when Lensky was sad, during the death of his brother, did the man realize how close Kitty was to him. The girl supported her husband very much and told him about her pregnancy. Lensky greatly valued Kitty, her care and her closeness. And on this basis he was very jealous of his wife, afraid of losing this closeness.

Anna, according to Dolly, her brother's wife, is behaving insincerely. She entertains guests, takes care of her daughter, but all this is not the same as it was before Vronsky appeared. Anna blames him for all her misfortunes, and Vronsky still loves her. Anna is trying to replace everything that he gave up for Anna, but the quarrels continue.

Karenin does not give Anna a divorce due to the fact that he came under the influence of Princess Myagkaya. And against the backdrop of all the events, Anna begins to be jealous of Vronsky for everything that is possible. She often has an incomprehensible dream, as if a man was standing over her and muttering something incomprehensible. Some time later, after another quarrel, Vronsky goes to his mother, which Anna did not want. She decides to follow him to the station. There she remembers a man who was run over by a train and throws herself under him. After that, she sees a man above her, who said something incomprehensible, and her life is over. Vronsky went to war in Serbia, wanting to forget everything, and his and Anna’s daughter is taken in by Karenin.

Levin is tormented by terrible thoughts about death, he wants to commit suicide, but in time he understands all the goodness of life, thanks to the Gospel. And after that, he lives, receiving joy from life, from Kitty and from his son.

General information:

When written: 1873- 1877
When published: 1875- 1877
Where published: “Russian Bulletin” (editor - Katkov) 1878 - entire edition
Scandals and criticism: Russian writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin spoke negatively about Anna Karenina. He gave Vronsky a pamphlet satirical title "Bull in Love", and, speaking about the novel itself, he defined Tolstoy’s creation as “cow romance”: “It’s terrible to think that it is still possible to base romances on sexual impulses alone. It’s terrible to see the figure of the silent dog Vronsky in front of you. I think this is vile and immoral. And the Conservative Party is attached to all this and is triumphant. Can you imagine that some kind of political banner is being made from Tolstoy’s cow novel?”

Nikolay Nekrasov in his article “Notes on Magazines for December 1855 and January 1856,” which was a review of Russian literature for 1855, he wrote about Tolstoy as a new, brilliant talent, “ on which the best hopes of Russian literature now rest". At the same time, he did not accept the accusatory pathos in Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina, which, according to Nekrasov, was directed against high society. He ridiculed "Anna Karenina" in an epigram: “Tolstoy, you proved with patience and talent that a woman should not “walk” with either the chamber cadet or the aide-de-camp when she is a wife and mother.”

Left criticism perceived the novel as an apology and apotheosis of high society. IN conservative criticism the novel, just like in the radical left, was interpreted as a work from high society life, which this time the author was given credit for. But the publisher of the magazine text of the novel is an ultra-conservative journalist and critic M.N. Katkov in an unsigned article, he considered the idea of the novel to be undeveloped.

And the novel was not truly appreciated by non-ideologized criticism. So, A.V. Stankevich on the pages of Vestnik Evropy, he reproached the writer for violating the laws of composition and genre, assuring that instead of one novel, Tolstoy produced two. Of the writers, only F.M. Dostoevsky.

Intent:

On February 24, 1870, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy conceived a novel about the private life and relationships of his contemporaries, but began to implement his plan only in February 1873. The novel was published in parts, the first of which was published in 1875 in "Russian Bulletin". Gradually, the novel turned into a fundamental social work, which received enormous success. The continuation of the novel was eagerly awaited. The editor of the magazine refused to print the epilogue because of the critical thoughts expressed in it, and finally, the novel was completed on April 5 (17), 1877.

If Tolstoy called “War and Peace” a “book about the past,” in which he described a beautiful and sublime “integrated world,” then he called “Anna Karenina” "a novel from modern life". L.N. Tolstoy presented in Anna Karenina a “fragmented world” devoid of moral unity, in which chaos of good and evil reigns.

Unlike War and Peace, there were no greats in Anna Karenina. historical events, but it raises and remains unanswered topics that are close to everyone personally. F. M. Dostoevsky found in Tolstoy’s new novel "a huge psychological development of the human soul."

The novel, touching on feelings “close to everyone personally,” became a living reproach to his contemporaries, whom N. S. Leskov ironically called “real secular people.”

Initially, the author wanted to portray a woman who had lost herself, but not my fault. Gradually, the novel grew into a broad, revealing canvas, showing the life of post-reform Russia in all its diversity. The novel presents all layers of society, all classes and estates in new socio-economic conditions, after the abolition of serfdom.

Plot concept The novel is connected with the plot of Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”: “It is obvious that “Anna Karenina” begins with how “Eugene Onegin” ends. Tolstoy believed that in general the story should begin with the fact that the hero got married or the heroine got married<…>. In the harmonious world of Pushkin, the balance of marriage is preserved. In the troubled world of Tolstoy's novel, it collapses.

“This is how we write. Pushkin gets straight to the point. Another would begin to describe the guests, the rooms, but he puts it into action right away.”

Lev Nikolaevich read Pushkin's excerpt “The guests arrived at the dacha...” and began to write a novel with the words: “After the opera, guests flocked to the young Princess Vrasskaya.”

This was the scene of the reception of guests at the young hostess Princess Betsy Tverskaya (Mika Vrasskaya) after an opera performance in the French theater.

At Pushkin's discussing Volskaya: “...But her passions will destroy her<…>Passion! What a big word! What are passions!<…>Volskaya was alone with Minsky for about three hours straight... The hostess said goodbye to her coldly..."

Tolstoy's First the Karenins appear in the living room, then Vronsky. Anna Arkadyevna retires with Vronsky at a round table and does not part with him until the guests leave. Since then, she has not received a single invitation to balls and evenings of great society. The husband, who left before his wife, already knew: “the essence of the misfortune has already happened... In her soul there is a devilish brilliance and determination<…>she is full of thoughts about a quick date with her lover.”

Prototypes:

As in all other cases, Tolstoy was not given the beginning of his novel for a long time. Eleven times he began Anna Karenina, discarding the pages that did not satisfy him one after another. In one of his early drafts, Tolstoy gave the novel the title “Well done, Baba.” Following this title, others appeared: “Two couples”, “Two marriages”. However, none of them were assigned to the work. In early drafts of the novel, its heroine was society woman, whose name was Tatyana Stavrovich, who was not similar to Anna Karenina either in character, appearance, or behavior. When War and Peace was published, readers tried to guess real prototypes one or another actor novel. The first readers of Anna Karenina tried to do the same.

Anna Karenina - In 1868, in the house of General Tulubiev, L.N. Tolstoy met Maria Alexandrovna Hartung, daughter of Pushkin. Tolstoy described some features of her appearance: dark hair, white lace and a small purple garland of pansies.

Based on the appearance and marital status described by L.N. Tolstoy, the prototype could be Alexandra Alekseevna Obolenskaya, wife of A.V. Obolensky.

Anna Stepanovna Pirogova, which unhappy love led to death, in 1872 (due to A.I. Bibikov).

Divorce was a very rare occurrence. And the story of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy’s marriage to S. A. Bakhmeteva, who left her husband L. Miller for his sake. Before her marriage to L. Miller, Sofya Bakhmeteva gave birth to a daughter, Sophia (married Khitrovo) from Prince G. N. Vyazemsky (1823-1882), who fought a duel with her brother and killed him. A.K. Tolstoy dedicated the lines to her: “In the midst of a noisy ball...”.

The situation in the Tolstoy-Sukhotin-Obolensky family also turned out to be a difficult story. Wife of Chamberlain Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin Maria Alekseevna Dyakova in 1868 she achieved a divorce and married S. A. Ladyzhensky. His son, Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotin, married L.N. Tolstoy’s daughter, Tatyana Lvovna, and his first wife was Maria Mikhailovna Bode-Kolycheva, from whose marriage there were five children.

Connecting in Anna Karenina: image and appearance of Maria Hartung, tragic story love of Anna Pirogova and incidents from the lives of M. M. Sukhotina and S. A. Miller-Bakhmetyeva, L. N. Tolstoy leaves precisely tragic ending.

Konstantin Levin - Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Was depicted in the novel as typical image Russian idealist, but he shows far from the best part of his “I”

Nikolay Levin - Dmitry Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He was ascetic, strict and religious; his family nicknamed him Noah. Then he began to go on a spree.

Alexey Vronsky- Wing adjutant and poet Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. In 1862, he married S.A. Miller-Bakhmetyeva, who left her husband and family for his sake. This story caused a lot of noise in the world.

Karenin - The hero’s surname comes from the Greek Kareon - head. At Karenin's reason prevails over feeling.

1) Baron Vladimir Mikhailovich Mengden (1826-1910), landowner and official, member of the State Council, a callous person, short in stature and unattractive. But he was married to the beautiful Elizaveta Ivanovna Obolenskaya.

2) Chamberlain, adviser to the Moscow city office Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin (1818-1886). In 1868, his wife Maria Alekseevna Dyakova obtained a divorce and married Sergei Alexandrovich Ladyzhensky.

3) Pobedonostsev, Konstantin Petrovich (1827-1907) - Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, ideologist of the reign of Emperor Alexander III.

According to the plan, Karenin was “a very kind person, completely absorbed in himself, absent-minded and not brilliant in society, such a learned eccentric”, with obvious authorial sympathy, painted the image of L.N. Tolstoy. But in Anna's eyes he is a monster, and besides "He's stupid and angry."

Stiva Oblonsky- Leonid Dmitrievich Obolensky, husband of E.V. Tolstoy (daughter of L.N. Tolstoy’s younger sister, Maria). In appearance and character he resembled Stepan Arkadyevich - “quite tall, blond beard, broad shoulders. His good nature, his penchant for having a good time." In some draft versions of the novel, Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky is even called Leonid Dmitrievich.

Dolly Oblonskaya - Wife of Stiva Oblonsky, mother of six children. Reminds me of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy in her immersion in family affairs and caring for her many children. "Name, not character" coincides with Daria Trubetskoy, wife of D. A. Obolensky

Kitty Shcherbatskaya- Shcherbatov's daughter, Praskovya Sergeevna (1840-1924), for whom L.N. Tolstoy had sympathy, (she later married Count A.S. Uvarov)

[in general, there is also about prototypes, but I think the basic ones will suffice]

Symbolism:

In Tolstoy's novel no matches. The path begins with the railway, without which communication would have been impossible. On the way from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Princess Vronskaya tells Anna Karenina about her son Alexei. Anna comes to reconcile Dolly with her brother Stiva, who was convicted of treason, and who "Everyone is to blame". Vronsky meets his mother, Steve meets his sister. The coupler dies under the wheels... The apparent “event ordering” only reveals and shows the state internal chaos and confusion of heroes - “everything is mixed up”. And the “thick whistle of the locomotive” does not force the heroes to wake up from their far-fetched sleep, it does not cut the knot, on the contrary, it intensifies the melancholy of the heroes, who subsequently pass through the brink of final despair.

The death of the coupler under the wheels of a steam locomotive became "bad omen" beautiful horror blizzards" symbolized the imminent destruction of the family.

There were no signs of big trouble. The secular princess advised Anna Arkadyevna: “You see, you can look at the same thing tragically and make it a torment, and you can look at it simply and even fun. Maybe you tend to look at things too tragically.”

But Anna saw in all events signs of fate. Anna dreams of death during childbirth: “You will die in childbirth, mother”, she constantly thought about death and the lack of a future. But fate gives a second chance (like Vronsky, when he tried to shoot himself), Anna does not die, but the doctor relieves her pain with morphine.

Tolstoy shows suicide as relief from suffering. Thoughts of suicide are constant companions of Levin, who hides the lace from himself and overcomes the “threat of despair”; Vronsky, who shoots himself in the heart after Karenin’s humiliating and heartbreaking words. But only Anna finds herself in a hopeless and truly desperate situation.

Now a convincing dead end has approached for Anna. She is jealous of Vronsky for Princess Sorokina - "I will punish him." She is exhausted by the unbearable expectation of Karenin's decision and, after six months of staying in Moscow, receives his harsh refusal. => a tragic ending is inevitable

Structure and poetics:

The novel is based on "clutches" like War and Peace. Action continues after death main character. Explaining the constructive principle of the work, the author wrote to N. N. Strakhov, who participated in the preparation separate publication: “In everything, almost everything that I wrote, I was guided by the need for a collection of thoughts linked together to express myself, but each thought expressed separately in words loses its meaning, is terribly diminished when one is taken from the link in which she is situated. The connection itself is not composed of thought (I think), but of something else, and it is impossible to express the basis of this connection in words; but you can only do it mediocrely - using words to describe images, actions, situations.”. The author of Anna Karenina explained approximately the same thing to another correspondent, S.A. Rachinsky: “Your judgment about A. Karenina seems incorrect to me. On the contrary, I am proud of the architecture - the vaults are built in such a way that you cannot even notice where the castle is. The connection of the building is made not on the plot and not on the relationships (acquaintances) of persons, but on the internal connection <…>That's right, you're looking for it in the wrong place, or we understand the connection differently; but what I mean by connection is the very thing that made this matter significant for me - this connection is there - look - you will find it.”

Tolstoy creates circumstances that seem to justify Anna. The writer talks in the novel about the connections of another society lady, Betsy Tverskoy. She does not advertise these connections, does not flaunt them, and enjoys a high reputation and respect in society. Anna is open and honest, she does not hide her relationship with Vronsky and strives to get a divorce from her husband. And yet, Tolstoy judges Anna on behalf of God himself. The price for betraying her husband is the heroine's suicide. Her death - manifestation of divine judgment.

E pygraph for the novel Tolstoy chose the words of God from bible book Deuteronomy in Church Slavonic translation: “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay.” Anna commits suicide, but this is not divine retribution - the meaning of Anna's divine punishment is not revealed by Tolstoy. (In addition, according to Tolstoy, it is not only Anna who deserves the highest judgment, but also other characters who have committed sins - first of all, Vronsky.) Anna's guilt for Tolstoy is - in evading the destiny of a wife and mother. The connection with Vronsky is not only a violation of marital duty. It leads to the destruction of the Karenin family: their son Seryozha is now growing up without a mother, and Anna and her husband are fighting each other for their son. Anna's love for Vronsky is not a high feeling in which physical attraction prevails spirituality, A blind and destructive passion . Her symbol is furious blizzard, during which an explanation takes place between Anna and Vronsky. According to B. M. Eikhenbaum, “interpretation of passion as an elemental force, as a “fatal duel”, and the image of a woman dying in this duel - these are the main motives of “Anna Karenina” prepared by Tyutchev’s lyrics.” Anna deliberately goes against the divine law that protects the family. For the author, this is her fault.

Later, Tolstoy wrote about the biblical saying - the epigraph to Anna Karenina: “People do a lot of bad things to themselves and to each other only because weak, sinful people have taken upon themselves the right to punish other people. “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay.” Only God punishes, and then only through man himself.” By to the remark of A. A. Fet,“Tolstoy points to “I will repay” not as the rod of a grumpy mentor, but as the punitive power of things. Tolstoy rejects strict moralism and the desire to judge his neighbor - only callous and sanctimoniously pious natures like Countess Lydia Ivanovna, who turned Karenin against Anna, are capable of this. “The epigraph of the novel, so categorical in its direct, original meaning, reveals to the reader another possible meaning: “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay.” Only God has the right to punish, and people do not have the right to judge. This is not only a different meaning, but also the opposite of the original one. In the novel, the pathos of unresolvedness is increasingly revealed. Depth, truth - and therefore unresolvedness.

In “Anna Karenina” there is no one exclusive and unconditional truth- in it many truths coexist and at the same time collide with each other,”- this is how E. A. Maimin interprets the epigraph

But another interpretation is possible. According to the words of Christ, “from everyone to whom much is given, much will be required”. Anna is given more than those who are not faithful to Betsy Tverskaya or Steve Oblonsky. She is mentally richer and more subtle than them. And she was punished more severely. This interpretation corresponds to the meaning of the epigraph to the text of the first completed edition of the novel: “The same thing: marriage is fun for some, but for others it is the wisest thing in the world.”. For Anna, marriage is not fun, and the more serious is her sin.

In Tolstoy's novel they are connected three storylines - stories of three families. These three stories are both similar and different. Anna chooses love, ruining his family. Dolly, the wife of her brother Stiva Oblonsky, for the sake of the happiness and well-being of the children, reconciles with her husband who cheated on her. Konstantin Levin, marrying Dolly’s young and charming sister, Kitty Shcherbatskaya, strives to create a truly spiritual and pure marriage, in which husband and wife become one, similarly feeling and thinking being. On this path he faces temptations and difficulties. Levin loses his understanding of his wife: Kitty is alien to his desire for simplification and rapprochement with the people.

G.Ya. Galagan correlates the fates of the novel's heroes, their life choice with an interpretation of the Eastern parable about the traveler and the dragon, contained in Tolstoy’s autobiographical treatise “Confession”. In Confession Tolstoy writes about four ways, with which people of his circle try to hide from the fear of life. Each of these paths received figurative embodiment in the artistic fabric of “Anna Karenina”:

The path of “ignorance” (Karenin and Vronsky)
The path of “Epicureanism” (Steve Oblonsky)
“the path of strength and energy” aka the ability to commit suicide (Anna)
The path “from weakness to insight” [life in the illusory hope of finding meaning and salvation] (Levin)

Anna's suicide is very important, that it is the suicide of a woman who thinks that her lover has lost interest in her, and not a “philosophical” decision to commit suicide- can hardly be called “an outlet of strength and energy.” But still, in the main, the comparison of the novel and the treatise is justified.

Distinctive artistic feature novel - repetitions of situations and images that serve as predictions and harbingers. Anna and Vronsky meet at the railway station. At the moment of the first meeting, when Anna accepted the first sign of attention from her new acquaintance, the train coupler was crushed by the train. The explanation between Vronsky and Anna takes place at the railway station. Vronsky's cooling towards Anna leads her to suicide: Anna throws herself under a train. Railway image correlates in the novel with the motives of passion, mortal threat, with cold and soulless metal. Anna's death and Vronsky's wine are predicted in a horse racing scene, when Vronsky, due to his awkwardness, breaks the back of the beautiful mare Frou-Frou. The death of the horse seems to foreshadow Anna's fate. Anna's dreams are symbolic, in which she sees a man working with iron. His image echoes the images of railway employees and is shrouded in threat and death. Metal and Railway endowed with a frightening meaning in the novel. Symbolic blizzard, a whirlwind, during which Vronsky and Anna meet on the platform. This is a sign of the elements, fatal and unbridled passion. A dream in which Anna hears a voice predicting death by childbirth, is also full of deep meaning: Anna dies in childbirth, but not when a daughter gives birth, but when in love for Vronsky she herself is born to a new life: the birth does not take place, she was unable to love her daughter, her lover ceases to understand her.

In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy uses internal monologue technique, descriptions of chaotic, randomly replacing each other observations, impressions of the world around us and the thoughts of the heroine (Anna, traveling to the station after a quarrel with Vronsky).

Themes, problems, worldview position of Tolstoy:

“Anna Karenina” is not only a complete work philosophical meaning, but also topical. The novel takes place from 1873 to 1876, and the author responds on all burning topics: writes about peasant reform, and about the introduction of an independent court, and about military reform, and about the volunteer movement in support of the rebel Serbs. Tolstoy’s assessments of the reforms are very harsh: thoughtless adoption of Western institutions is harmful, the landowner economy is undermined. Hero-ideologist, boldly challenging accepted liberal opinions, Levin speaks.

Important question about aristocrats. In Anna Karenina" the author's understanding of aristocracy Levin expresses in a conversation with Stiva Oblonsky: “<…>Let me ask you what Vronsky’s aristocracy consists of \...\ You consider Vronsky an aristocrat, but I don’t. A man whose father got out of nothing by being a swindler, whose mother, God knows who, had no connection with... No, excuse me, but I consider myself and people like me to be an aristocrat, who in the past can point to three or four honest generations of families, who were on highest degree education, and who have never been mean to anyone.” For Tolstoy, an aristocrat is not just a nobleman, even a titled one like Count Vronsky, but a nobleman from a good, old family, a bearer of family traditions who values family memory, a landowner working on ancestral land. Tolstoy appreciates the aristocracy, but not the world- deceitful, vicious, empty.

Sharing Slavophile idea of the people as a guardian of the national spirit and skeptical of the adoption of Western forms of state and social life, characteristic, in his opinion, of the reforms of the 1860s, Tolstoy was indifferent to pan-Slavist pathos and alien to faith in the special mystical calling of Russia. The sarcastic depiction in Anna Karenina of the volunteer movement in defense of Serbia from the Turks the day before is indicative Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878

About the Slavophiles in one of N.N.’s letters. Tolstoy spoke very clearly and sharply to Strakhov: “One of two things: Slavophilism or the Gospel.”

Well, problems something like this:

Problems marriage and family. Tolstoy himself, perhaps without meaning to, pronounces a verdict on society. There is no place for feelings there. At the same time, we must not forget that he also does not justify Anna, because problem number two.
Morals and ethics nobility and people. Morality and ethics are in flux. Anna is punished because she violated her duty as a wife and mother. Love in the novel is shown as a destructive passion. Well, here are the affairs of Betsy Trubetskoy and Steve. The world is evil.
All sorts of topical issues. Economic problems, ways of economic development of the country. Political forms of government in Russia and the West.
Meaning human existence.

In fact, in some source, a smart person said that the problems are inexhaustible. I can agree x))

In general, everything is didactic and socially accusatory in nature.

Summary of the novel:

In the Moscow house of the Oblonskys, where “everything was mixed up” at the end of winter 1873, they are waiting for the owner’s sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. The reason for the family discord was that Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky was caught by his wife in infidelity with the governess. Thirty-four-year-old Stiva Oblonsky sincerely feels sorry for his wife Dolly, but, being a truthful person, he does not assure himself that he repents of what he has done. Cheerful, kind and carefree Stiva has long been no longer in love with his wife, the mother of five living and two dead children, and has long been unfaithful to her.

Stiva is completely indifferent to the work he is doing, serving as a boss in one of the Moscow offices, and this allows him to never get carried away, not make mistakes and perform his duties perfectly. Friendly, tolerant of human shortcomings, charming Stiva enjoys the favor of people in his circle, subordinates, bosses and, in general, everyone with whom his life brings him together. Debts and family troubles upset him, but cannot spoil his mood enough to make him refuse dinner at a good restaurant. He has lunch with Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who has arrived from the village, his peer and friend from his youth.

Levin came to propose to eighteen-year-old Princess Kitya Shcherbatskaya, Oblonsky’s sister-in-law, with whom he had long been in love. Levin is sure that a girl like Kitty, who is above all earthly things, cannot love him, an ordinary landowner, without, as he believes, special talents. In addition, Oblonsky informs him that he apparently has a rival - a brilliant representative of the St. Petersburg “golden youth”, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky.

Kitty knows about Levin's love and feels light and free with him; with Vronsky she experiences an incomprehensible awkwardness. But it is difficult for her to understand her own feelings; she does not know who to give preference to. Kitty does not suspect that Vronsky does not intend to marry her, and dreams of a happy future with him force her to refuse Levin. Meeting his mother, who has arrived from St. Petersburg, Vronsky sees Anna Arkadyevna Karenina at the station. He immediately notices the special expressiveness of Anna’s entire appearance: “It was as if an excess of something so filled her being that, against her will, it was expressed either in the brilliance of her gaze or in a smile.” The meeting is overshadowed by a sad circumstance: the death of a station watchman under the wheels of a train, which Anna considers a bad omen.

Anna manages to persuade Dolly to forgive her husband; A fragile peace is established in the Oblonskys' house, and Anna goes to the ball together with the Oblonskys and Shcherbatskys. At the ball, Kitty admires Anna's naturalness and grace, admires that special, poetic inner world that appears in her every movement. Kitty expects a lot from this ball: she is sure that during the mazurka Vronsky will explain himself to her. Suddenly she notices how Vronsky is talking with Anna: in each of their glances one can feel an irresistible attraction to each other, every word decides their fate. Kitty leaves in despair. Anna Karenina returns home to St. Petersburg; Vronsky follows her.

Blaming himself alone for the failure of the matchmaking, Levin returns to the village. Before leaving, he meets with his older brother Nikolai, who lives in cheap rooms with a woman he took from a brothel. Levin loves his brother, despite his uncontrollable character, which causes a lot of trouble for himself and those around him. Seriously ill, lonely, drinking, Nikolai Levin is carried away by the communist idea and the organization of some kind of metalworking artel; this saves him from self-contempt. A date with his brother aggravates the shame and dissatisfaction with himself that Konstantin Dmitrievich experiences after the matchmaking. He calms down only in his family estate Pokrovsky, deciding to work even harder and not allow himself luxury - which, however, never existed in his life before.

The usual life in St. Petersburg, to which Anna returns, causes her disappointment. She had never been in love with her husband, who was much older than her, and had only respect for him. Now his company becomes painful for her, she notices the slightest of his shortcomings: his ears are too big, his habit of cracking his fingers. Her love for her eight-year-old son Seryozha does not save her either. Anna tries to regain her peace of mind, but she fails - mainly because Alexey Vronsky tries in every possible way to achieve her favor. Vronsky is in love with Anna, and his love intensifies because an affair with a lady of high society makes his position even more brilliant. Despite the fact that his entire inner life is filled with passion for Anna, outwardly Vronsky leads the ordinary, cheerful and pleasant life of a guards officer: with the Opera, the French theater, balls, horse races and other pleasures. But their relationship with Anna is too different in the eyes of others from easy social flirting; strong passion causes universal condemnation. Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin notices the attitude of the world towards his wife’s affair with Count Vronsky and expresses his dissatisfaction to Anna. Being a high-ranking official, “Alexei Alexandrovich lived and worked all his life in official areas dealing with reflections of life. And every time he came across life itself, he distanced himself from it.” Now he feels in the position of a man standing above the abyss.

During a race, where all the high society is present, Vronsky falls from his horse Frou-Frou. Not knowing how serious the fall is, Anna expresses her despair so openly that Karenin is forced to immediately take her away. She announces to her husband her infidelity and disgust for him. This news gives Alexey Alexandrovich the impression of a sore tooth being pulled out: he finally gets rid of the suffering of jealousy and leaves for St. Petersburg, leaving his wife at the dacha awaiting his decision. But, having gone through all possible options for the future - a duel with Vronsky, a divorce - Karenin decides to leave everything unchanged, punishing and humiliating Anna with the requirement to maintain a false appearance of family life under the threat of separation from her son. Having made this decision, Alexey Alexandrovich finds enough peace to devote himself, with his characteristic stubborn ambition, to thinking about the affairs of the service. Her husband's decision causes Anna to burst into hatred towards him. She considers him a soulless machine who does not think that she has a soul and the need for love. Anna realizes that she is driven into a corner because she is unable to exchange her current position for that of a mistress who abandoned her husband and son and deserves everyone’s contempt.

The continuing uncertainty of the relationship is also painful for Vronsky, who deep down loves order and has an unshakable set of rules of behavior. For the first time in his life, he does not know how to behave further, how to bring his love for Anna into agreement with everyday rules. If he joins her, he will be forced to resign, and this is also not easy for him: Vronsky loves regimental life, enjoys the respect of his comrades; besides, he is ambitious.

The lives of three people are entangled in a web of lies. Anna alternates pity for her husband with disgust; she cannot help but meet with Vronsky, as Alexey Alexandrovich demands. Finally, childbirth occurs, during which Anna almost dies. Lying in childbirth fever, she asks for forgiveness from Alexei Alexandrovich, and at her bedside he feels pity for his wife, tender compassion and spiritual joy. Vronsky, whom Anna unconsciously rejects, experiences burning shame and humiliation. He tries to shoot himself, but is saved.

Living in the village, Levin takes care of the estate, reads, writes a book about agriculture, and undertakes various economic changes that do not find approval from the peasants. For Levin, the village is “a place of life, that is, joys, sufferings, labor.” The men respect him, they go forty miles to him for advice - and they strive to deceive him for their own benefit. There is no deliberateness in Levin’s attitude towards the people: he considers himself part of the people, all his interests are connected with the peasants. He admires the strength, meekness, and justice of the peasants and is irritated by their carelessness, sloppiness, drunkenness, and lies. In disputes with his half-brother Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev, who came to visit, Levin proves that zemstvo activities do not benefit the peasants, because they are not based either on knowledge of their true needs, or on the personal interests of the landowners.

Levin feels his merging with nature; he even hears the growth of spring grass. In the summer he mows with the men, feeling the joy of simple labor. Despite all this, he considers his life idle and dreams of changing it to a working, clean and common life. Subtle changes are constantly taking place in his soul, and Levin listens to them. At one time it seems to him that he has found peace and forgotten his dreams of family happiness. But this illusion crumbles to dust when he learns about Kitty’s serious illness, and then sees her herself, going to her sister in the village. A feeling that seemed dead again takes possession of his heart, and only in love does he see an opportunity to solve the great mystery of life.

Vronsky and Anna travel around Italy. At first Anna feels happy and full of the joy of life. Even the knowledge that she was separated from her son, lost her good name and became the cause of her husband’s misfortune does not darken her happiness. Vronsky is lovingly and respectfully towards her, he does everything to ensure that she is not burdened by her position. But he himself, despite his love for Anna, experiences melancholy and clutches at everything that can give his life significance. He begins to paint, but, having enough taste, he knows his mediocrity and soon becomes disillusioned with this activity.

Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Anna clearly feels rejected: they don’t want to accept her, her friends avoid meeting her. Insults from the world also poison Vronsky’s life, but, busy with her worries, Anna does not want to notice this. On Seryozha’s birthday, she secretly goes to see him and, finally seeing her son, feeling his love for herself, she understands that she cannot be happy apart from him. In despair, in irritation, she reproaches Vronsky for having stopped loving her; It takes him a lot of effort to calm her down, after which they leave for the village.

Dolly Oblonskaya, visiting her sister, decides to visit Anna Karenina, who lives with Vronsky on his estate, not far from Pokrovsky. Dolly is amazed at the changes that have occurred in Karenina; she feels the falseness of her current way of life, especially noticeable in comparison with her previous liveliness and naturalness. Anna entertains the guests, tries to take care of her daughter, reading, and setting up the village hospital. But her main concern is to replace with herself everything that he left for her for Vronsky. Their relationship is becoming more and more tense, Anna is jealous of everything that he is interested in, even of zemstvo activities, which Vronsky is engaged in mainly in order not to lose his independence. In the fall they move to Moscow, awaiting Karenin's decision on divorce. But, offended in his best feelings, rejected by his wife, and finding himself alone, Alexey Alexandrovich falls under the influence of the famous spiritualist, Princess Myagkaya, who persuades him, for religious reasons, not to give his criminal wife a divorce.

Life becomes hateful for Vronsky; he is tormented by unnecessary, but indelible repentance. He volunteers to fight the Turks in Serbia; Karenin takes his daughter to live with him.

Kitty

Ekaterina Shcherbatskaya is one of the heroines of L. N. Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina, a beautiful young princess from a noble family, younger sister Daria (Dolly) Oblonskaya, later the wife of Konstantin Levin. Kitty is only eighteen years old. It has just begun to be published and is enjoying considerable success. Many young men at Moscow balls were already in love with her, but two gentlemen seemed to be serious contenders for the girl’s hand. The first is the hereditary nobleman Levin Konstantin, the second is a representative of secular youth, Count Vronsky. Kitty liked her position in society, she was flattered by the attention.

While she is passionate about Vronsky, Levin, who is not indifferent to her, comes to the city and proposes to her. Kitty refuses, hoping to get a confession from Vronsky. This course of events greatly injures Levin and robs him of his peace of mind for a long time. He leaves for his village and throws himself into work. Stiva Oblonsky, who is more sophisticated in matters of the heart, advises not to give up right away, but to fight for the girl’s heart. Kitty, meanwhile, notices that Vronsky is not attracted to her at all, but to Anna Karenina. This news plunges the girl into shock, causing her to become seriously ill. Kitty's parents send her to Germany for treatment.

Having recovered, Kitty realizes that she would like to be Levin’s wife. They meet by chance in the village of the Oblonskys a few months later. The young people explain to each other and this time Kitty agrees to Konstantin’s proposal. First time family life seems too heavy. Over time they get used to each other. In addition to love, the couple also develops a strong emotional connection. In everyday life, Kitty proves herself to be an excellent housewife. By nature, she turns out to be quite generous and merciful. When Levin's brother is sick, she patiently looks after him and empathizes with him. Subsequently, she becomes a good mother. In the image of Kitty, the author depicted the ideal woman as he himself imagined it. She was at the same time beautiful, skillful in economic matters and pure in soul.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina - the main character novel of the same name L. N. Tolstoy and one of the most popular female images in Russian literature. Anna is a young attractive woman from high society, wife of the famous official A. A. Karenin, sister of Stepan Oblonsky. She is not just beautiful, but is distinguished by special sophistication and grace. By nature, she is cheerful, kind and pleasant to talk to. Anna has an eight-year-old son, Seryozha, in whom she dotes. Anna's husband is much older than her. Although she never loved him, she always respected him and treated him well. Everything changes in Anna's life after meeting the young Count Vronsky. He falls recklessly in love with her and begins to pursue her in the hope of reciprocity. In the high society of St. Petersburg, flirting and affairs were commonplace, even among married people, but such passion could not hide from prying eyes, much less leave anyone indifferent.

Anna understands that this connection is fatal and will only bring her trouble. For this reason, she initially tries to stay away from Vronsky, but soon cannot withstand his onslaught and falls under his spell. Soon the whole world will know about her romance, and at the same time Anna’s husband, Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin. This news unsettles him. He not only becomes disappointed in all women and in life in general, but also loses interest in his beloved and successful career. In essence, there is almost nothing connecting them with Anna. He is a cold, reasonable person, while she is impulsive, open and straightforward. She tries to save the marriage to the last, because she cannot imagine life without her son Seryozha. But the feeling of guilt before her husband, society and family haunts her.

Karenina and Vronsky begin to live separate life, outside of society. They soon have a daughter, Anna. They travel a lot, because in St. Petersburg Karenina is burdened by people's gossip and sidelong glances. Vronsky still loves her devotedly and tries to encourage her in every possible way. However, the process of Karenina’s mental crisis is inevitable. Her honest sincere soul gets entangled in deceitful and false relationships. As a result, she becomes deeply unhappy and begins to use morphine in Vronsky’s absence. Anna is increasingly having nightmares; it seems to her that Alexei has stopped loving her, that he is cold towards her. Vronsky himself also begins to feel disadvantaged. He lacks freedom and is tired of talking about love. Scandals and hysterics become an integral part of their lives. Unable to withstand these hardships and mental discord, at the end of the novel Anna throws herself under a train. Having failed to build one’s own happiness at the expense of the misfortune of others and to step over moral laws society, she chose death.

Vronsky

Alexey Vronsky is one of the main characters in A. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”, a count, aide-de-camp, a representative of the “golden youth” of St. Petersburg and an enviable groom. Vronsky is rich, handsome and educated. He comes from a noble family and has great connections in the world. Despite the apparent respectful attitude towards his mother, he does not feel warm feelings towards her. He is not a family man and is prone to lung love affairs. His life changes dramatically after meeting Anna Karenina, the wife of a high-ranking St. Petersburg official. His love for her completely captivates him, and he follows on her heels in search of reciprocity. At the same time, he forgets about another girl with whom he frivolously flirted, about Kitty Shcherbatskaya. The girl's heart was broken when she realized that Vronsky was only interested in Anna. Out of despair, Kitty even fell ill, and then spent some time receiving treatment abroad.

The appearance of Anna in Vronsky's life is inevitably fatal. Their first meeting was marked by a station tragedy: a local watchman was hit by a train. Anna immediately noticed a bad sign in this. However, Vronsky, blinded by her beauty and grace, did not notice anything. According to the author, there is something frightening and alarming in the image of Vronsky and his unexpected appearances. By character he was a rather superficial and shallow person. For all his love for Anna, he preferred not to change his lifestyle. Also, I met and drank with friends, loved gambling, was distinguished by a thirst for victory. For example, during one race, in pursuit of victory, he drove his horse Frou-Frou so hard that it could not stand it and fell.

We visited Vronsky and positive features. Against the background of carelessness and frivolity, he was also characterized by kindness, courage and strength of character. For the sake of love for Anna, he neglected his career, friends, business as usual and everything that occupied him so much before meeting her. He understood that he had brought a lot of trouble on her and felt guilty. He remained honest and respectful with her until the end. And even when Karenina threw scandals and hysterics, he endured everything with dignity and tried his best to console and support her. Anna herself was never able to endure human gossip and secular condemnation of her act. At the end of the novel, she threw herself under a train. This completely broke and morally destroyed Alexei Vronsky. He could no longer stay in St. Petersburg and decided to volunteer to go to war in Serbia to find his death there. He left his daughter with Anna to be raised by A.A. Karenin.

Karenin

Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin is one of the central characters in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina, the husband of the main character, a high-ranking statesman. Karenin is very influential in secular society. He is respected for his honesty, integrity and prudence. The main traits of his character are determination, hard work, predominance of will, orderliness in affairs and feelings. His days are scheduled minute by minute for a week in advance. Work takes up all his thoughts and time. In relation to his wife and son, he sometimes shows deliberate disdain, behind which he hides his true feelings. In fact, he truly loves and values his family.

Everything changes when Karenin learns about his wife Anna’s affair with Vronsky. In this situation, his weakness manifests itself - the inability to show feelings. He is too subject to generally accepted norms and is used to living “on a schedule.” He doesn’t even fight for his love, but simply tries to find a reasonable solution to this problem. Instead of doubling his love and tenderness, showing the full strength of his feelings for his wife, he withdraws into himself and immerses himself in work. Being confused and not knowing what to do, Karenin decides to leave everything as it is and only repeats to Anna day after day about decency.

Feeling of forgiveness and selfless love They wake up in it only when Anna is in serious condition after giving birth. He understands how hard it is for her and sincerely sympathizes with her. He is even ready to take care of her daughter from Vronsky, forget about everything that happened and forgive her. But this impulse does not last long. When Anna comes to her senses, she leaves him again. Here again the weakness of Karenin, who is not a fighter by nature, is revealed. In contrast to him, young Vronsky is ready to show character, create a family, albeit a “problematic one,” and start a new career.

And at the end of the novel it turns out that Karenin is still a weak person, hiding his weakness behind the uniform of an official. With Anna's disappearance, his career stopped, all household affairs came to a standstill, until the old Countess Lydia Ivanovna took over them. Moreover, Karenin turns out to be a driven person. So, for example, at the insistence of Lydia Ivanovna, he does not give a divorce to his wife. Having finally lost interest in his career, he begins to attend a secret religious circle. Despite everything, after Anna's death and Vronsky's departure, he takes upon himself the responsibility of raising their daughter.

Stiva Oblonsky, characteristics

Stiva Oblonsky, that is, Stepan Arkadyevich, is a character in Leo Tolstoy’s book “Anna Karenina”. He is the head of the Oblonsky family, the brother of Anna Karenina. Stiva is married to Dolly, that is, Daria Alexandrovna, the older sister of Kitty Shcherbatskaya. They have five, and by the end of the novel there are already six children.

Stiva is a good-natured, sociable, cheerful person. He always, even in adversity, feels clean, healthy and prosperous. He does not envy, never gets offended, does not quarrel with anyone, but also does not like to work and strain. In his position, he is shamelessly lazy, but since he does not offend anyone and does not demand anything from anyone, all his subordinates love him.

People generally like Steve for his sociable disposition and are always happy to meet him: “Aha! Steve! Oblonsky! Here he is!" - almost always with a joyful smile"

Leo Tolstoy considers the Oblonsky family unhappy. There are reasons for this. Stiva has a beautiful appearance and attractiveness. He is interested in women, is in love and cheats on his wife. The novel “Anna Karenina” begins with Stiva’s betrayal coming to light and striking Dolly like a thunderbolt. He does not repent of the betrayal itself, but only worries about the fact that he failed to hide it from his wife, causing her pain.

Along with his hobbies, family life remains very valuable for Stepan Arkadyevich; he says about his wife: “an amazing woman.” At the same time, he realizes that she is no longer as attractive as before, exhausted by a bunch of children and housework. Stiva believes that it is possible to be more lenient towards his infidelities. He loves spending time with children, but, as a father, he does not think about how their upbringing is going. The wife does this.

Stiva quickly forgets his troubles; at the end of the novel, he violently and sincerely experiences the death of his sister, but soon “moves away.” Stiva is indispensable when you need to help resolve someone else's conflict, he has easy character, he likes to introduce people and often acts as a mediator in solving a problem.

Family problems Steve because he is frivolous and does not like to think about anything. He doesn’t know how to manage money, which is why Dolly is constantly in debt, saves on everything and raises her children with the help of relatives. Stiva continues to lead the bachelor lifestyle that he was accustomed to before his marriage, having fun, playing pranks, and spending a lot of time in companies. It costs money, which is so lacking at home:

“No matter how hard Stepan Arkadyevich tried to remember that he had a wife and children, nothing worked...

“And Stepan Arkadyevich, who was having a lot of fun, sent Daria Alexandrovna a telegram with the following content: “Nevedovsky was chosen with twelve balls. Congratulations. Pass it on." He dictated it out loud, noting: “We must please them.” Daria Alexandrovna, having received the dispatch, only sighed about the ruble for the telegram ... "

Of course, there is no malicious intent in Stiva’s actions; he loves to please people, he just doesn’t think about how appropriate this is. So at Levin’s wedding, he tells his sister-in-law a pun about divorce. This bright man, in a sense, myself big child, that is why children love him very much.

Dolly Oblonskaya, characteristics

Dolly Oblonskaya, aka Daria Alexandrovna Oblonskaya, character in the novel Anna Karenina. She is the mother of six children, the wife of Stiva Oblonsky, Anna’s brother. Dolly married for love, but her family has endless problems.

Dolly is tormented by lack of money and worries about children, which she has to bear alone. She wears patched blouses to save money and devotes all her energy to the children. Due to eternal worries, Dolly lost her attractiveness:

“Daria Alexandrovna, in a blouse and with braids pinned to the back of her head, already sparse, once thick and beautiful hair with a haggard thin face and large, protruding from the thinness of the face, with frightened eyes…»

Her husband, Steve, is a very kind and sociable, but careless and frivolous person. Dolly does not feel any support from him in her household chores: “Of course, there is nothing to count on Steve…”

In addition, a spouse with a light heart allows himself to cheat:

“He only repented of the fact that he did not know how to hide it from his wife better... It even seemed to him that she, an exhausted, aged, already ugly woman and not remarkable in any way, a simple, only kind mother of the family, out of a sense of justice should be lenient...”

Dolly is simply horrified by the betrayals; she cannot forgive them. She has ceased to respect her husband; even his cheerful disposition periodically irritates her. Dolly accuses him of torturing her:

“My youth and beauty have been taken from me by whom? Him and his children. I served him..."

Spouses quarrel and then make peace. Dolly either suffers from not being loved enough as a woman, or discovers within herself love for her husband. He appreciates the fact that his children love him, he is still dear to her, she is pleased that Steve, despite his betrayals, considers his family sacred and continues to love her, Dolly, as a life partner.

Dolly was raised to be very naive and innocent, she real woman: sensitive, gentle, faithful and devoted, very caring about children. She has a big heart, she sincerely loves people and prefers not to judge anyone. It was Daria Alexandrovna who was the first to accept Anna’s action, her leaving her husband. Dolly also knows how to sincerely, to the point of tears, rejoice at the happiness of others.

Stiva says about his wife:

“She has the gift of foresight. She sees right through people; but that’s not enough, she knows what will happen, especially regarding marriages.”

Dolly was born to love and believe in love, she is dreamy and romantic. At the wedding of Kitty and Levin, Dolly “returning in thought to her wedding, she glanced at the beaming Stepan Arkadyevich, forgot everything present and remembered only her first innocent love...”

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