| Shailesh Acharya |
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” These are the opening lines of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
Published in 1877 , the book was and still is of significant importance in the world of literature. Even after almost 150 years of publication, it has great relevance, especially regarding the immutable nature of humans.
Anna is the wife of a highly respected personage in society. The book follows her quest for love and passion for a bachelor, Count Vronsky, leading to her inevitable downfall. As she pursues her adulterous passion, she slowly sacrifices her family (husband and son), besides her own mental well-being and ‘reputation’ in society. The book does a great job of changing the depiction of Anna from a powerful, independent woman a self-loathing one.
While all of this happens, Anna’s counterpart Vronsky faces little to no criticism from the society. He still goes out and enjoys himself without any hassle. To add on to this, Anna’s brother, who is also involved in adulterous relations remains unaffected. Whereas Vronsky and Stiva (Anna’s brother) have no reason to worry, anybody associate with Anna is condemned by the entirety of society. This is representative of the position of women in society during that time .
Over the course of this book, Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, a semi-autobiographical portrayal of Tolstoy himself follows a path quite opposite to that of Anna’s. Levin’s story fulfils the role of a conduit through whom Tolstoy’s own views are expressed. Throughout the progress of the novel, he goes from rejection and ideological confusion to that of self-understanding and fulfilment. Levin says “life has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it,” as he finally understands from his perspective, the meaning of life. Levin’s narrative flows parallel to Anna and makes us question the inquisitive nature of love, life and family.
Anna Karenina is a magnificent book for those who have the time to ponder. Pick up this book and you will spend just about the same time thinking as you spend reading. This book has incredibly descriptive and in-depth dialogues that enforce the narrative, foreshadowing of major events, thorough chapters, all of which together form a thrilling and exciting experience for the reader.