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Tolstoy gives you a chance to become acquainted with Vronsky
in Chapter XVI through a mixture of biographical detail and
interior monologue. You learn that Vronsky had no family life
as a child, that his mother was a famous socialite and femme
fatale. Vronsky still has a troubled relationship with his
mother: He doesn\'t respect her loose way of life and he resents
that she meddles in his life. Though Vronsky\'s mother is a
minor character in the novel, her relations with Vronsky will
have an important effect on the plot.
You also learn that Vronsky doesn\'t realize he is trifling
with Kitty in a way that could seriously hurt her feelings or
damage her reputation. He\'s young and self-centered, and is too
busy enjoying himself to worry about anything. Yet, he\'s
beginning to grow tired of the sort of night life that so
enchants Stiva.
Keep these thoughts in mind as the novel progresses and
Vronsky\'s situation becomes more and more complex. His views on
domesticity will change in ways that might surprise you.
You meet Anna for the first time in Chapter XVIII. In the
first chapter Tolstoy let you know that the prospect of Anna\'s
visit gladdened Stiva because he knew her presence would change
things. Indeed it does--every character in the novel is
affected.
Vronsky is the first major character to see Anna. He goes to
the train station to meet his mother, who introduces him to her
compartment mate, Anna Karenina. At this point Vronsky\'s mother
likes Anna but this will change. Vronsky is immediately smitten
with Anna. He notices immediately an \"excess of vitality\" that
\"betrays itself against her will.\" Anna\'s inner light shone,
\"despite of herself in her faint smile.\" Tolstoy has carefully
prepared the entrance of his heroine. You\'re in suspense
because Dolly and Stiva\'s situation is unresolved; like Stiva,
you\'re expecting Anna to fix things up between them. Perhaps
you\'ve been expecting Anna to be practical, perceptive--the
perfect go-between. Now that you\'ve met her, you\'re aware that
she\'s a somewhat mysterious woman of captivating beauty. Are
you wondering why she has come to Moscow? It seems she\'s
arriving on short notice; perhaps she\'s impulsive, perhaps she\'s
running away from something. There\'s more here than meets the
eye--think about it as you watch Anna operate over the course of
the novel.
Just as you\'re getting caught up in the bustling atmosphere
of the train station and being swept along by Vronsky\'s sudden
passion for Anna, Tolstoy pulls the rug out from under you.
There is an accident--the stationmaster has either fallen or
thrown himself beneath a train. To impress Anna, Vronsky gives
the stationmaster\'s widow two hundred rubles. To Anna, the
accident--and Vronsky\'s gesture--is a bad omen.
NOTE: FORESHADOWING Pay attention to the physical
description of Anna in this chapter. Her \"excess of vitality\"
will prove to be integral to her demise.
The stationmaster\'s death functions in two ways. It has
immediate dramatic impact because it is unexpected, like a bolt
from the blue. The accident immediately casts a pall on Anna
and Vronsky\'s meeting; from the beginning the two have a
connection in death. This incident will resonate through the
rest of the novel. The stationmaster\'s death foreshadows Anna\'s
death later on. The old man--or someone very much like
him--will haunt Anna in a recurring nightmare that she
interprets as foretelling her death.
Two interesting character quirks are described: Vronsky
seems less than sincere in giving the widow money. (Be on the
lookout for other such indications of egotism in Vronsky.) And
Stiva tells Anna the family is hoping that Vronsky will marry
Kitty. Remember that earlier Stiva had encouraged Levin. After
you\'ve gotten to know Stiva better think back to this chapter
and try to answer the following questions: Was Stiva lying to
Levin? Is he lying now? Or does he always back the most likely
winner?
Stiva takes Anna to his and Dolly\'s home. On the way he
tells her his troubles. It\'s understood that she\'ll help him.
Dolly receives Anna in her bedroom, where she is surrounded
by her children. Anna\'s nieces and nephews are drawn to her and
she to them. Keep this in mind as the novel progresses: Anna\'s
relationship with children is a sort of weathervane of her
mental state.
Anna convinces Dolly to forgive Stiva. Here, Anna is a model
of canniness and acuity. She guesses accurately what will most
touch Dolly and lays it on thick. She waxes eloquent about
Stiva\'s feelings of shame and humiliation (Do you remember any
such thing?), and emphasizes that Stiva loves Dolly more than
anything in the world. Anna tells Dolly that when Stiva first
fell in love with her, he associated her with poetry and high
ideals (this may or may not be true). To finish it off, Anna
says that if she were in Dolly\'s place she would forgive and
forget Stiva\'s offense.
Notice how brilliantly manipulative Anna can be. Do you
admire that trait? Does it make you uneasy?
While Dolly and Stiva make up with one another, Anna visits
Kitty. Kitty is impressed with Anna, immediately feels close to
her and confides in her. Tolstoy created Anna and Kitty as
opposites; contrast them as you learn more about each one.
Kitty tells Anna about an upcoming ball and her hopes for a
romance with Vronsky. Kitty--innocently or naively--would like
Anna to be there to share in her happiness. She says she
imagines Anna \"in lilac.\"
Anna wears black to the ball, a color that points up her
sophistication and sensuality. Vronsky all but ignores Kitty
and can\'t take his eyes off Anna. Kitty can see that Anna is
exhilarated by her own attractiveness and the effect it has on
Vronsky. Kitty decides that there is \"something strange,
satanic, and enchanting\" about Anna. What do you think of this
observation? Should Anna, as an older woman, be mindful of the
pain she\'s causing Kitty?
NOTE: Although Anna is trying to keep Vronsky at arm\'s
length, Tolstoy\'s descriptions give her away. Her hair is
disarranged, her eyes are sparkling, her voluptuous arms are
adorned with bracelets. Tolstoy tells you there is something
\"terrible and cruel in her charm.\" What he means is that there
is something very sexual in her charm. Tolstoy was ill at ease
with blatant sexuality, especially in women. Pay attention to
such descriptions--they usually foreshadow trouble.
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