Travel. Cities. Staying put. If we think about Anna Karenina as a novel about space and place, we come up with several important contrasts:
Above you see Countess Vronskaya (remember, her name is feminine, thus she is Vronsky's mother, but the adjectival ending that constitutes her last name enables us to speak about her as simply "Vronskaya" and know we are talking about a woman) and Anna in the train carriage. Why do you think Anna meets Vronsky's mother before she meets him? Does the mother play an important role? After all, this is a novel about families, and Anna's status as a mother is not insignificant in her characterization or in the plot...
Read on!
- Moscow versus St. Petersburg: Anna lives in St. Petersburg, her brother and family live in Moscow (as do the Shcherbatskys -- Kitty and her parents). How does Tolstoy play Moscow off St. Petersburg? It seems that he doesn't really like either, but we also recognize that as the glittering capital, the seat of the Russian government and the "Venice of the North," St. Petersburg is colder than the old capital of Moscow. Moscow has some good qualities; after all, think about the fresh air and fun to be had when ice skating, even in the city.
- The City versus the Country: in Part One we already see this contrast. Levin is uncomfortable in Stiva's office and doesn't really like his club. How does he behave differently in the country? When you see other "city" characters in the country (like Dolly, for example), do they behave differently?
- Russia versus the West: Several times during the novel the characters visit the "West," or Europe. Kitty is diagnosed as needing a spa in Germany (when really she needs to get over her humiliation at being rejected by Vronsky, especially after she had just rejected Levin as a suitor), but what does she learn there? How does she behave differently, and what kinds of people does she meet? In future Anna too will visit Europe, and it will be worthwhile considering how she fits in, or doesn't, and what she perceives about those around her, "locals," other Europeans, and of course Russians.
Above you see Countess Vronskaya (remember, her name is feminine, thus she is Vronsky's mother, but the adjectival ending that constitutes her last name enables us to speak about her as simply "Vronskaya" and know we are talking about a woman) and Anna in the train carriage. Why do you think Anna meets Vronsky's mother before she meets him? Does the mother play an important role? After all, this is a novel about families, and Anna's status as a mother is not insignificant in her characterization or in the plot...
Read on!