I’m liking my new translation of Anna K. Although it’s much easier to read, I don’t feel as though I’m losing any of the subtle complexity that Tolstoy wove so brilliantly into this story. I’m fascinated by his ability to capture shifting psychological nuances within each character. Again and again, jealousies, both petty and profound, seem to motivate his characters. Whether the issue is social, political, financial, or sexual, each character seems to be angling to match or outpace another. I’ve always liked the cautionary advice against judging my own insides by someone else’s outsides. In AK we can see the withering effects from doing just that.
Levin and Kitty are living the married life. The ever-so-private Levin is doing his best to accommodate Kitty and her large family. Kitty, for her part, has mastered spousal sonar and is capable of reading Levin’s every mood and inclination.
Being somewhat antisocial myself, I have to say that I feel sorry for Levin. In part six, Levin’s home is filled with people who are staying for non-specific periods of time. Sergei, Levin’s brother, is once again visiting, but then there are over a dozen additional guest that Kitty is primarily responsible for bringing in. Kitty’s best girlfriend, Varenka (the saint that Kitty wouldn’t mind being more saintly than,) is there. Kitty’s mother is there; remember, Kitty is pregnant, so the elder princess has taken it upon herself to oversee her daughter’s advancing condition. Kitty’s sister, Dolly, and her eight children are there. Dolly’s maid has come along. Stepan, Dolly’s husband – Mr. Womanizing-Eat-Drink-and-be-Merry-Politician is there. And, Stepan has brought some unknown young fellow, Vasenka Veslovsky, along with him.
Levin takes an instant and persistent disliking to Veslovsky, constantly imagining that the young man is after Kitty. He tries his best to mask his jealousy, but it doesn’t work, and eventually he orders the man to leave his house and never come back. The whole episode is highly disturbing to everybody in the house including Levin, but what’s done is done, and they all get back to their various activities.
Veslovsky is a friend of Vronsky’s. His news of Vronsky and Anna causes Dolly to venture an overnight trip out to the village where they are currently living. Dolly finds Anna living an enviable life. Anna seems happy, robust, and radiantly beautiful. Her home is an exquisitely restored, historic treasure, decorated with the finest furnishings, linens, and imports. Vronsky – handsome, relaxed, and proud – is pleased to show Dolly the hospital he is responsible for building. It will bring the most modern and sophisticated hospital services to the area and be regarded as the best hospital in all of Russia.
Vronsky implores Dolly to speak to Anna about getting a divorce. He wants Anna for his wife because he loves her but also because he wants their daughter and future children to bare his name. Dolly agrees, but when she tries, Anna is adamant that it’s a lost cause. It’s not that Karenin would refuse to grant the divorce, it’s that Anna is too much aware of how ruined she already is. No divorce or marriage will ever un-stain her reputation. Anna’s resistance to this obvious solution, albeit not a perfect solution, is more than Dolly can handle. First thing the next morning, Dolly packs and leaves.
With those painful waters stirred, Vronsky announces that he will be leaving for a few days to participate in a new election process for the region. He knows full well that this will not please Anna, but he resolves to go anyway. Anna has become wickedly insecure about Vronsky’s love for her. She attempts to hide her hurt, but he knows her too well. He’s begun to resent the cloying tactics of charming speech and revealing dress that she’s employed to keep him near. Both Vronsky and Anna are beginning to feel the constricting realities of the life they find themselves in.
To pacify her loneliness, shame, and isolation, Anna has taken up reading books, reading compulsively. She has been unable to bond with her baby daughter, and the mothering is left to inferior hired help. Quality servants refuse to work in a household such as Anna’s. Part six ends with another foreboding detail, Anna has begun using morphine to sleep at night.
O.K. I’m on to Part Seven.
BTW, Elizabeth Taylor would have made a great Anna.
Have a great week, and I’ll post again next Friday.