Today we will talk about two key characters in the book of the famous and talented Russian writer L. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”. These characters will be Anna herself and her gentleman Vronsky. Do we know everything about these heroes, do we well understand their motives and desires? That is what remains to be seen.
Acquaintance with Karenina
Karenina Anna Arkadyevna is the central character in the book of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. This is a noble woman who lives in St. Petersburg. He is the sister of S. Oblonsky and the wife of Alexei Karenin. There are two opinions as to who is the prototype of the heroine. According to T. Bers, Maria Gartung, daughter of Alexander Pushkin, can be considered the prototype of Karenina in terms of external characteristics. It should also be noted that the fate of Maria Tolstoy (the sister of the writer) is very similar to the life of the character.
What is Anna Karenina really? The characters, through which she reveals herself as a person, show her from different angles. We’ll talk more about this below, but for now it’s worth understanding that Anna is not at all a middle-aged woman who decided to have fun in secret from her husband. Tolstoy’s female image is much deeper and more capacious. There is evidence that Lev Nikolaevich spoke with a woman who told Tolstoy the story of how her friend committed suicide from unhappy love.
Image of a woman
What is the nature of Anna Karenina? The characters in the book allow us to consider this image from different angles, however, it is worth starting the interpretation from the epigraph to the book: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay Az”. It is also worth considering the historically established vision of a woman in those days and the conditions of social and religious life.
The first part of the book characterizes Anna Karenina as a good mother, an exemplary wife. She settles disputes in the Oblonsky family, helps them to establish family well-being. What does Anna live with? The author tells us that most of all a woman cares about her son. Although in public, she somewhat exaggerated her role as a loving mother. Only observant Dolly managed to catch false notes in the family life of Anna and Alexei. At the same time, Anna certainly respected her husband.
Relationship
At the very beginning, when the spark only appears, Anna is trying in every possible way to extinguish the attraction to Alexei Vronsky in herself. Girls who also liked Alexey notice that Anna is changing a lot at the ball. Something violent, diabolical and very attractive appears in her gaze, gait, movements. It is worth noting that Anna Karenina, the characters surrounding her, in particular Kitty and Dolly, are not at all religious. The concept of blind religious faith can most likely be attributed to Karenin Alexei Alexandrovich. Anna is completely different. She is a calm, fair woman who has a reputation in society as a morally pure woman. However, it is she who is “carried on” for an affair and is mired in a difficult relationship with her husband and lover, balancing between lies and hypocrisy.
Guilty awareness
After a relationship is established between lovers, Anna changes. Now she notices the deceit and falsehood in the relations of all those around her. She is disgusted, as if she had noticed all this just now. Despite this, her own lying relationship continues to carry her further and further. She herself does not notice how she is going downhill, violating all her principles, which she previously considered unbreakable. After a while, Anna begins to feel like a traitor. Her attitude towards her husband is getting worse, she literally hates him. And all because of the fact that he feels his generosity, moral purity.
Neither a change of scenery (a trip to Italy), nor a little daughter bring Anna the desired peace of mind. She only more and more deeply feels her suffering, realizing that she acted horribly towards her husband. She does not cease to torment her longing for her son. Her biggest problem is that she cannot live with Vronsky and her beloved son.
Alexey Vronsky
Vronsky is a handsome and rich man. His friends love him, he is a good fellow. Among the qualities of his character can be noted kindness, honesty, responsiveness. He is considered romantic in nature, because once in his youth he saved a drowning woman. He gave all his money in favor of his brother. Only when he got Anna did he take a portion of his income. With all this, Alexei Vronsky is a shallow man. He has good qualities of character, but in his heart he is callous. She respects her mother, but does not love her because of her frequent love affairs and frivolous attitude to life.
Total
What does Anna Karenina come to in the end? The characters around her live their lives, while the young woman is desperate. She is visited by thoughts of suicide. Actually, we ourselves know how the book ended. Unable to find a balance in life between her conscience and desires, Anna could not choose between two beloved men - her son and Vronsky. She wanted to solve the problem in her own way.
What did the author want to show in his book Anna Karenina? The characters here were the background for Anna or helped reveal her? There is an answer. Tolstoy tried to show that it is impossible to build your happiness on the grief of others, it is impossible to forget your moral duty. Of course, the main figure is Anna, but the stories of other characters only complement the vision of Tolstoy, which he transmitted through the life story of each hero.