Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" a classic which is a class apart.
Recently completed reading the 817 pages long tome and was left with the feeling why did it end so soon.
"Anna Karenina" is not just the story of Anna Karenina but the story of all mankind.A tale which showcases different kinds of human beings with their bare souls so that one cannot help but feel intimate with the characters.
Firstly,all those who read this novel can't help sympathising with Anna,an elegant lady,mother of a four year old, married to an emotionless Statesman who cares about nothing but his ambitions.It was not her fault that she falls in love with Vronsky who gave her the love and respect which she so lacked in her mechanical life.
Firstly,all those who read this novel can't help sympathising with Anna,an elegant lady,mother of a four year old, married to an emotionless Statesman who cares about nothing but his ambitions.It was not her fault that she falls in love with Vronsky who gave her the love and respect which she so lacked in her mechanical life.
She gives up her everything;her position in society and her son to be with Vronsky but could not deal with the way society treats her as a result.The same people who would have felt honored to meet her before start to avoid her and she becomes an outcast, a fallen woman.
All this takes a toll on her, who not only starts to blame Vronsky for her situation but also becomes extremely possessive of him.Whenever he went out of her sight she would think that He is probably having affairs with other women and is no longer in love with her.Resulting in quarrels with Vronsky only to be ended by repeated assurances from him that he loves her and only her.Yet, she could not contain her jealousy and in the end commits suicide thinking that it will be painful and regretful for Vronsky to live without her.
Secondly,the novel could have been named "Anna Karenina,Konstantin Levin" because half of the novel is about this man,his internal struggles,his doubts,his life and ultimately how he come to terms with these.
Overall,a great novel,one which will make you feel sad when you see that the pages on the right side of bookmark are thinning.
P.S. Any attempt to summarize a novel such as "Anna Karenina" is blasphemous in my opinion as it trivializes not only author's art and style but also renders the soul of the novel meaningless and hence I haven't written the summary here.
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