The new year resolution, as always, was to write more. But when life just seems to pass you by without handing you anything worthy to write about, this becomes a bit challenging. After much deliberation (yes I am fancy) I decided to write about books. I currently have a disturbingly large (and growing) pile of unread books, all covered and ready to be read. But selecting one book among them and sticking with it is the trick. With my unfocused brain, even such a menial task becomes a struggle. Long story short, I randomly picked up a book, the thickest, oldest and supposedly the most difficult one on my shelf, Anna Karenina. To make the task even more interesting, I decided to do a series of reading blogs where I talk about the book in parts.
Verdict after Part 1 – Maybe not my cup of tea.
I am not a serious reader (although I want to be one), and I have always imagined serious readers to be well acquainted with classics, especially those which have stood the test of time. Anna Karenina is one of the most famous work of fiction. But did it age well? I am not so sure.
The book is divided into 8 parts, and I finished the first part in about a week. But it took me a while to get over my initial disappointment of finding out the entire story, which was given in the preface at the beginning of the book!!!!
Yes, the previous statement deserved the three “!” at the end. I don’t know why the person who wrote it decided to reveal the ending in his write-up, or why the publisher decided to use it as a preface rather than an afterword. Usually I don’t read prefaces, but I was making a big deal out of this whole reading blog exercise, I thought I will be thorough.
My copy of Anna Karenina is translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Yes they are a couple, and they are quite reputed and talented translators, their works have won numerous awards. In fact, their translation is regarded as the best one for all notable Russian works, including that of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. I am not qualified to comment on the quality of the translation, but I did listen to a bit of another translation by Constance Garnett on Audible. Mind you, I just listened for a few minutes but from what I heard, I felt that Garnett’s language was more poetic. But that is not the general consensus, and Pevear and Volokhonsky’s is widely accepted to be the best translation of Anna Karenina. I am sticking with them for the time being. Whichever translation you choose, the important thing is to skip the Preface and Introduction and come back to them only after you have read the entire book.
I didn’t know much about the novel (until I read the Preface that is) but I knew it was a tragic love story. For some reason I thought a war was at the center of the plot, but that may be because I was mixing it up with War and Peace. But I was familiar with the opening line of the novel, which is pretty famous in its own way.
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
There are four main characters in the novel, or at least in the first part. Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, Konstantin Dmitrich Levin, and Ekaterina “Kitty” Alexandrovna.
I know, let’s just call them Anna, Vronsky, Levin and Kitty.
The novel opens with a glimpse into to life of the Oblonksy family. Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky (Stiva) is Anna’s brother. The Oblonsky household is under tremendous tension because Dolly, Stiva’s wife has found about his affair with their French governess. It is a fitting beginning to the novel, as it sets the stage for the main plot, which is also the tragic affair of a married character. But Stiva’s character portrayal is rather problematic. You see, Stiva is generally a well admired man, with a pleasing personality, the kind of person who gets on well with everyone. We are explicitly told that he did not repent his behavior, but was terribly affected by the pain he had inflicted on his wife. But, I guess like all men, he felt that the only thing to do was to get on with his life, managing to be oblivious to the pain he has caused, as long as possible. He reminded me of a lot of guys I had the misfortune to know in my life, and just as I had done in my life, I found myself pitying and making excuses for him. His wife, Dolly is completely shattered. She was willing to continue the pretense of the marriage for the sake of her children (5 in total), but she felt she couldn’t love him anymore and therefore, it was impossible to live with him. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet even as all hope of reconciliation is lost. At this stage, Anna Karenina, Stiva’s sister, arrives from St.Petersburg, to mediate between the husband and the wife. She finally convinces Dolly to stay in the marriage, reminding her about the love she once had for her husband. Ironic, because the novel is after all about (again, Thanks Mr. Preface man) Anna’s own affair and her choices. The moral of the story is- it is easy to give advice but not to follow them.
I never thought I will read another novel with a “love/infatuation at first sight” theme. By this point I was so tired that I thought maybe I am no longer interested in reading fiction that depicted real life. But for now, I am stuck with Anna and her heavy choices. Once Anna has convinced Dolly to forgive her husband, we find that the narrative shifts. Stiva and Dolly seemed to have fulfilled their purpose in the first part and we now see Levin and Kitty. Levin is Stiva’s friend, another member of the rich Russian Aristocracy, who lives away from the city. He is our rich but humble hero, intelligent, well read and devoted to his vocation as a land owner. He is compassionate to the plights of the less fortunate people and has a keen sense of right and wrong. He sounds like a solid guy who, unlike Stiva, respects the institution of marriage. But the guy is a bit of a mess when it comes to his romantic life. Levin’s family and Dolly’s family were close. He believed himself to be in love with Dolly once, and when she got married, he turned to her sister Natalie, who also eventually got married. He now strongly feels that the third and the youngest sister, Kitty, is the love of his life and is determined to propose to her. I am not sure why he believes it has got to be one of the three sisters, but it is what it is.
Now we come to the young Kitty. She seems to be an ordinary and typical eighteen year old girl. She is aware of the fact that Levin wants to marry her, and to be fair, she is quite fond of the guy. Even though her mother strongly disapproves of the union, her father is extremely pleased with the prospect. However, there is another complication- Vronsky. Kitty is in love with Vronsky, who is young, charismatic and handsome. Although Levin is neither ugly nor poor, the guy is in short supply of charisma and confidence and Vronsky is the clear winner.
But does Vronsky like Kitty? Ah, here comes the twist. Vronsky is not exactly a playboy, but he is. He does not actively seek out to seduce young women, but he is the type who deeply enjoys the adoration they have for him. Tolstoy brilliantly paints this character, explaining his background as well as his intentions. He flirts with Kitty, giving her the impression that she is special to him. Tolstoy says:
Though he said nothing to her that he could not have said before everybody, he felt that she was growing increasingly dependent on him, and the more he felt it, the more pleasing it was for him, and his feeling for her grew more tender. He did not know that his behaviour towards Kitty had a specific name, that it was the luring of a young lady without the intention of marriage, and this luring was one of the bad actions common among brilliant young men such as himself.
The minute I read this, I felt rage. Again, I have had the misfortune to know quite a large number of guys who could’ve been Vronsky. I am still unable to figure out what Tolstoy thinks, because even though he captured that playboy mindset quite accurately, I am upset by his use of the phrase “brilliant young men” to describe the Vronsky-type guys, somehow normalising or even glorifying the flaw even while acknowledging it. I find it difficult to like Vronsky, for obvious reasons, but there is a conflict in that as well. You see, if he were indeed a playboy, using women as sport, forcing his company on others, with a deliberate intention to cause pain, then yes without question he would’ve been hated. But here is a guy who is unaware of the effect he has on the women he courts, who genuinely believes that –
In his Petersburg world people were divided into two quite opposite sorts. One was the inferior sort: the paltry, stupid, and, above all, ridiculous people who believe that a husband should live with the one wife to whom he is married, that a girl should be pure, a woman modest, and a man, manly, self controlled and firm; that one should bring up one’s children to earn their living, should pay one’s debts, and other nonsense of the kind. These were the old-fashioned and ridiculous people. But there was another sort of people: the real people to which all his set belonged, who had above all to be well-bred, generous, bold, gay, and to abandon themselves unblushingly to all their passions and laugh at everything else.”
Hmm. No. Definitely hate the guy’s guts, yup.
After she had sorted out Dolly’s issues, Anna concerns herself with her societal obligations, and attends a ball. Why shouldn’t she, when she has done what she has come into the city for, so with the remaining time she feels she shouldn’t deny the pleasure of her charming personality to the lesser mortals.
No I don’t quite like Anna either. And that is NOT because she will probably go ahead with her affair with Vronsky in the subsequent parts of the novel (Thank you again, the writer of the Preface), but because she is this perfect, charming lady loved by everyone but behaves as if she is nurturing a secret pain. She might be. But still.
Vronsky and Anna meet for the first time at the train station. Vronsky was there to pick up his mother, while Anna was being received by Stiva. There is an immediate attraction between the two. Later, they meet at a ball to which Kitty invited Anna (see what I mean?) and apparently falls in love. Just like that. Anna seems to have some sense of right and wrong in the beginning; she acknowledges her growing infatuation with a complete stranger, with whom her new friend Kitty is obviously in love, and removes herself from the company of Vronsky immediately by going back to her son and husband, all ready to forget what has or has not happened. But Vronsky follows her back to her hometown and even has the audacity to approach her husband who had come to pick her up from the train station. The meeting proceeds without any major incident, but I felt that it was a bad omen for the all the unpleasantness that is bound to follow.
I was screaming at Anna the entire time, to run away from this relation which can clearly never have a happy conclusion. But for all her charm and maturity, Anna seems to be weak. I think Tolstoy wanted some redeeming quality for Anna, as his (or the translators’) choice of words for describing Anna’s husband and his attitude towards her sounds like he regards the relationship with contempt. And that is where Part 1 ends. Vronsky and Anna, again, moving in the same social circle, with undeniable electricity between them, of which both are aware. You and I both know where it is headed, and to be honest, I am not looking forward to reading Part 2. I have realized that I enjoy fantasy and science fiction more, and these complicated interpersonal drama serves only to remind me of the real world, and I don’t want to be reminded of the real world.
However, I have a soft corner for Levin, and he is the character I identify with the most. I particularly loved this one passage where, after being rejected by Kitty, he goes back home and sits in his study pondering over his situation. He looks over the room and inspects the objects which were so familiar to him, but:
When he saw it all, he was overcome by a momentary doubt of possibility of setting up that new life he had dreamed of on the way. All the traces of his life seemed to seize hold of him and say to him: “No you won’t escape us and be different, you’ll be the same as you were: with doubts, an eternal dissatisfaction with yourself, vain attempts to improve, and failures, and an eternal expectation of the happiness that has eluded you and not possible for you.
It struck a chord within me. I felt seen, when I read this, and that is why I have decided to continue with the book for now. It frustrates me that I know how it ends. The knowledge corrupts the reading experience, it strips off all hope. Never again will I ever read the preface of any book before finishing it!
I wonder how long will Anna last in resisting Vronsky. Whatever happens to Vronsky, I am sure he deserves it. I fear for Kitty and Levin, caught up in the drama of pretentious and seemingly superior people who have no concern for others.
Hey what do you know, I do feel kind of excited to go on reading!
A Cosmic Void 