Plots, Characters, and Relationships in Anna Karenina Essay -- Tolstoy

Plots, Characters, and Relationships in Anna K arnina Reason has been given to man to enable him to escape from his troubles.1 These words, spoken by an unknown woman on a revile minutes before Anna took her own life, proved cold comfort for Vronskys mistress. inefficient to reason her way out of her despair, she flung her body under a naturalise in an act of vengeance and escape. She failed in her personal quest, one for fulfillment that she shares with the other main protagonist in the novel, Levin, who makes corresponding attempts to reason through with(predicate) his own dilemmas. Anna Karenina is an epic, through which are interwoven the parallel accounts of the personal struggles of Anna and Levin, create in tandem. One ends in death and tragedy, the other in spectral fulfillment. It is a novel of balances not only of plots, but also of characters, and relationships among characters. Tolstoys choice of title immediately sets up expectations in the reviewer expectation s that are destined to be disappointed. Although the reader may anticipate a unambiguous tale of a womans descent into adultery, they will find that that element is cover by and permeated with the equally dominant tale of a mans quest for concord and love, and a good deal of extraneous material. Levin serves as a lip for Tolstoys beliefs, and on occasions his activities take on a pseudo-biographical aspect. At time it seems that Annas involvement in the novel is minimal - with episodes involving her being sparsely distributed - and the reader may well wonder why the novel is so entitled. Although it is strong to be certain of Tolstoys motives, this essay will argue that he so named the novel because of the utterly pivotal and essential fu... ...nt, independent, and thoughtful character, there is an touch running throughout he novel that suggests that she has failed to adopt the befitting friendly role for a woman. Ultimately, she is portrayed as irrational and emotionally labile, driven by insatiable desires I dont know myself, says Anna as she sinks near to her final ebb I only know my appetites, as the French say.15 Bibliography Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenin, translated by Edmonds, Rosemary, Penguin, London, 1978. End Notes 1 Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenin, translated by Edmonds, Rosemary, Penguin, London, 1978, p. 799.2 Ibid., p. 508.3 Ibid., pp. 588-9.4 Ibid., pp. 796-7.5 Ibid., p. 490.6 Ibid., p. 491.7 Ibid., p. 798.8 Ibid., p. 532. 9 Ibid., p. 672.10 Ibid., p. 800.11 Ibid., p. 853.12 Ibid., p. 832.13 Ibid.14 Ibid., in Introduction.15 Ibid., p. 793