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Smarting over Anna\'s betrayal, Karenin thinks about the
Christian principle of forgiveness. But it\'s hard for him.
Just as earlier in the novel Anna had advised Dolly to forgive
Stiva, so now Dolly counsels Karenin to forgive Anna.
Karenin receives a telegram from Anna telling him she is
dying and asking him to come to her. He doesn\'t believe it--she
has lied to him so many times--but he can\'t help but think that
her death would solve all his problems.
When he arrives, Anna, despite having given birth safely to a
daughter, is delirious with fever. She begs Karenin to forgive
her affair with Vronsky and begs him to forgive Vronsky as well.
Karenin does. Now Anna feels ready to die, and wishes for
death.
Vronsky, humiliated before Karenin and desperate at the
thought of Anna\'s death, attempts to commit suicide. He shoots
himself after he has gone back to his room, but before he bleeds
to death his servant finds him and summons help.
Karenin is surprised at the tenderness and compassion he
found within himself--he even feels affection for Anna and
Vronsky\'s daughter and vows to raise her himself after Anna\'s
death. He knows inward peace for the first time in his life.
To Karenin\'s astonishment, however, Anna begins to recover.
His feelings toward her change. He realizes that Anna fears
rather than loves him. He receives an unexpected jolt when he
learns from Princess Betsy that Vronsky is leaving for a job in
the provinces and that Anna wishes to see him before he leaves.
Karenin is back in his old predicament. He wants to act so that
others will have no cause to condemn him, but the thought of
permitting Anna to resume her affair with Vronsky makes his
blood boil.
NOTE: APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING From a dramatic point of
view, Tolstoy uses the birth of Anna\'s child and Anna\'s
subsequent illness in a highly ironic way. Karenin\'s kindness
and Anna\'s contrition lead you to believe that the two will
reconcile. This is supported by the fact that Vronsky plays a
very small role in the deathbed scene.
You\'ve seen Tolstoy do this before. Just when you think you
know what will happen next, Tolstoy pulls a switch. This
technique keeps you on your toes, but that\'s not the only reason
Tolstoy uses it. He believes that appearances are often
deceiving. Anna is a perfect case in point: Just before she
began a torrid love affair with Vronsky, she was the picture of
the proper, faithful wife of a prominent gentleman. On the
basis of Anna\'s past actions and words, no one had any reason to
suspect that she would suddenly (or ever) leave her family.
Princess Betsy, a woman who loves intrigue, takes upon
herself the role of go-between. After telling Karenin about
Vronsky\'s plans, she goes to see Stiva, telling him that Karenin
will be the death of Anna. Stiva, concerned for his beloved
sister, begs Karenin to give her a divorce. Deeply upset,
Karenin finally agrees.
Princess Betsy goes to Vronsky to tell him the news. Vronsky
immediately visits Anna, who tells him she belongs to him. They
decide to go to Italy to live together.
Vronsky gives up the promising job he was offered, and Anna
refuses Karenin\'s offer of divorce because he refused to grant
her custody of Seriozha. The lovers leave, but many matters are
still undecided.
Many readers believe the deathbed scene to be the most
critical scene in the novel. Tolstoy is telling you that the
nearness of death brings out the best in people. Anna no longer
wants to be deceitful, Karenin is forgiving, Vronsky feels
shame. Anna\'s returning health, however, complicates things.
Anna goes back to Vronsky, Karenin again feels a thirst for
vengeance, and Vronsky devotes himself to a desperate love
rather than to a clear-cut, comparatively wholesome life.
At Anna\'s deathbed, they all seem to exist in a suspended
moment. But this is not how life works, and perhaps our true
desires can only be recognized in the crush of everyday life.
Do you think we recognize what we really hope for and aspire to
in times of crisis?
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