History Literature / AnnaKarenina

* AuthorFilibuster: Tolstoy loves this trope. In fact, the entire final section of this book, after [[ItWasHisSled Anna's]] [[AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame suicide]], which nobody seems to remember, is nothing except an anarcho-pacifist Christian moralist lecture.

* DidYouThinkICantFeel: Alexei to Anna.

* FullNameUltimatum: When the Karenins start to call each other "Anna Arkadyevna" and "Alexey Alexandrovitch", it's a sure sign that their marriage is falling to pieces. Similarly, Stiva knows that as long as his wife calls him by his nickname, she still loves him.

* DanceofRomance: Anna and Vronsky during their second meeting at the ball.

** Which is ''nothing'' compared to his more famous ''WarAndPeace'' which was several times longer.

One of the main threads of the novel centers on Anna Arkadaevna Karenina who is a good, kind, empathetic, but impulsive person and a loving mother who dotes on her son. Like the majority of the women in her social circle, her marriage was determined not by love, but by polite courtship and social convenience. She's married to the much older, cold, and highly respected diplomat Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (Russian last names generally get altered by gender). One day, after traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow on a train, she meets the brave officer Alexei Krillovich Vronsky at the train depot, who at the time appears to be on the fast track in his military career. It's LoveAtFirstSight, though the fact that Anna is married -- and cannot be granted a fair divorce in the Russian legal system -- complicates matters significantly. Gradually, the pair sacrifices ''everything'' else they value for each other. Unfortunately, this is not a typical Western romance, but a tragedy: giving everything up for love may not be worth it, as the reactions of friends and family show, especially when said love may be transient.

The other main thread revolves around Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who in contrast to most of the other characters lives on an estate out in the country rather than in Moscow or St. Petersburg. His country lifestyle (and overly romanticized appreciation for the peasants' way of life) comes into conflict with the customs of high society in the cities, particularly in his stern but well-meaning outlook on life. At the story's start, he is seeking to be married to Ekaterina Alexandrovna "Kitty" Shtcherbatskaya, whom he has known for some time. However, he faces numerous issues of [[DoggedNiceGuy confidence]], such as the fact that Kitty is also initially being courted by the very handsome and desirable Vronsky. Although Levin and Anna are both impulsive, Levin carefully considers his options, whereas Anna is unable to resist her desire for a better life.

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a timeless love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. The novel has been adapted into many [[FilmOfTheBook versions]] for both theatrical film and TV, with actresses such as Creator/GretaGarbo, Creator/VivienLeigh, Creator/JacquelineBisset, Creator/SophieMarceau and Creator/KeiraKnightley in the title role.

* AuthorTract: The book more or less is a vehicle with which to deliver it. By the end of the book, all pretense is dropped and the final 100 page section of the book is nothing except for a prolonged AuthorFilibuster by Levin.

* BigFancyHouse: Being written about the Russian aristocracy of the late 19'th century, you can expect that these turn up all the time.

The other main thread revolves around Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who (in contrast to most of the other characters) lives on an estate out in the country rather than in Moscow or St. Petersburg. His country lifestyle (and overly romanticized appreciation for the peasants' way of life) comes into conflict with the customs of high society in the cities, particularly in his stern but well-meaning outlook on life. At the story's start, he is seeking to be married to Ekaterina Alexandrovna "Kitty" Shtcherbatskaya, whom he has known for some time. However, he faces numerous issues of [[DoggedNiceGuy confidence]], such as the fact that Kitty is also initially being courted by the very handsome and desirable Vronsky. Although Levin and Anna are both impulsive, Levin carefully considers his options, whereas Anna is unable to resist her desire for a better life.

Some chapters take the point of view of other characters, such as Levin's easygoing friend Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky (Anna's brother, who is entering a tough spot in his marriage due to infidelity) and Alexei Karenin (who becomes severely depressed when he learns of Anna's infidelity and finds it very difficult deciding whether he will officially divorce Anna, a socially risky move for him, her, and their son). Levin's brothers, the destitute Nikolai Dmitrievich and the highly successful Sergius Ivanich (Levin's half-brother), also play large roles in some chapters, particularly by interjecting philosophical viewpoints in various discussions (which, in some cases, are throughly mocked in the narration).

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a classic love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. The novel has been adapted into many [[FilmOfTheBook versions]] for both theatrical film and TV, with actresses such as Creator/GretaGarbo, Creator/VivienLeigh, Creator/JacquelineBisset, Creator/SophieMarceau and Creator/KeiraKnightley in the title role.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anna_k_02_8500.jpg]]

-->-- The opening line of the novel

->''"The central theme of Anna Karenina is that a rural life of moral simplicity, [[GoodIsBoring despite its monotony]], is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passion, which only leads to tragedy."''
-->-- Klaus Baudelaire's take on the book's central theme, in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''

Some chapters take the point of view of other characters, such as Levin's easygoing friend Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky (who is entering a tough spot in his marriage due to infidelity) and Alexei Karenin (who becomes severely depressed when he learns of Anna's infidelity and finds it very difficult deciding whether he will officially divorce Anna, a socially risky move for him, her, and their son). Levin's brothers, the destitute Nikolai Dmitrievich and the highly successful Sergius Ivanich (Levin's half-brother), also play large roles in some chapters, particularly by interjecting philosophical viewpoints in various discussions (which, in some cases, are throughly mocked in the narration).

->''"Happy Families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."''

* TheEveryman: Levin.
* TheIngenue: Kitty.
* TheKirk: Levin's character and philosophy fall in the middle between those of his two brothers, intellectual Sergey (TheSpock) and passionate Nicolai (TheMcCoy).
* TheMasochismTango: Anna and Vronsky slide into this after moving in together - while Vronsky is free to socialize with whomever he likes, Anna (see SlutShaming) has no one but him to turn to for support, which makes her bitterly jealous, and him increasingly disgusted by her jealousy.

* AuthorFilibuster: Tolstoy loves this trope. In fact, the entire final section of this book, after [[spoiler:[[ItWasHisSled Anna's]] [[AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame suicide]]]], which nobody seems to remember, is nothing except an anarcho-pacifist Christian moralist lecture.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Anna, when everything falls apart. Vronsky]] is also DrivenToSuicide earlier in the story but his attempt fails and he reconsiders. [[spoiler:Levin]] struggles with suicidal urges near the end, due to not finding any true meaning in life.

** Nikolai Levin is a male example. He at several points says that his illness is DefinitelyJustACold and claims to be feeling better, [[spoiler:even on the day of his death]], but it's clear he is seriously ill.

* InHarmsWay: [[spoiler:Vronsky, severely depressed, returns to his military roots in the quasi-epilogue and goes off to fight for Serbian independence as his coping mechanism for Anna's suicide.]]
* ItWasHisSled: Nabokov invoked this trope about [[spoiler:Anna's suicide]] so his students wouldn't focus entirely on the plot.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Averted with Karenin. [[spoiler: He does let Anna go with Vronsky, but in a spirit of bitterness; later on, he refuses to grant a divorce, on the grounds that his strict religion will not allow it.]]. At times, Vronsky states he would respect Anna's decision to stay with Karenin (for her son) early on.

* MeaningfulName: Konstantin Levin. Constantine is of course the emperor who converted Rome to Christianity, just as Levin [[spoiler: undergoes his own conversion]] at the end. And Levin is from "Lev" which is generally the Russian translation of "Leo" as befitting an AuthorAvatar.

* PetTheDog: Karenin forgiving Anna [[spoiler: supposedly when she's dying and reaching out to him.]] And he bears affection for Annie, Anna's child by Vronsky.

** Subverted during [[spoiler:the birth of Anna and Vronsky's baby. The two of them share a heartwarming moment of reconciliation with Karenin; he forgives them both, promises to the look after the baby... then Anna survives, to her own disappointment, and feels so inadequate in the face of Karenin's kindness that she leaves him, breaking his heart and their son's.]]

* WomenAreWiser: Kitty is much more practical and level-headed than her husband, which he loves and admires; especially during [[spoiler: Nikolai's death]].

* {{Deconstruction}}: Possibly one to romance tales of the time.
* DecoyProtagonist: Anna or Levin, depending on who you ask.

* UpperClassWit: Many of the characters, despite their nobility, are not stupid and most are highly educated.

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a classic love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. The novel has been adapted into many [[FilmOfTheBook versions]] for both theatrical film and TV, with actresses such as Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Jacqueline Bisset, Sophie Marceau and Creator/KeiraKnightley in the title role.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: This is more or less how Vronsky lives. He has a very internally inconsistent, but armor clad set of rules about how he may act, treat other people, handle situations, and everything else in his life.

-> '''Anna:''' ''(returning home after her visit to Stiva)'' Is Seryozha all right?
-> '''Karenin:''' Is that all I get in return for my ardour?

->''"Happy Families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."''\\

->''"The central theme of Anna Karenina is that a rural life of moral simplicity, [[GoodIsBoring despite its monotony]], is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passion, which only leads to tragedy."''\\

--The opening line of the novel

->'' "The central theme of Anna Karenina is that a rural life of moral simplicity, [[GoodIsBoring despite its monotony]], is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passion, which only leads to tragedy."''\\
--Klaus Baudelaire's take on the book's central theme, in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''

''Anna Karenina'' is a Russian novel by Creator/LeoTolstoy, who also wrote ''WarAndPeace''. It was first published as a serial novel in 1873. Like ''War and Peace'', it has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a classic love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. The novel has been adapted into many [[FilmOfTheBook versions]] for both theatrical film and TV, with actresses such as Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Jacqueline Bisset, Sophie Marceau and most recently KeiraKnightley in the title role.

** Anna towards Vronsky. Dolly feels like this about Stiva's infidelity in the beginning, but eventually learns to ignore it.

* PrettyInMink: Of course it's Russia, but adaptations are certainly this trope.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: Anna, contrasted with Kitty's HairOfGoldHeartOfGold.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Averted during [[spoiler:the birth of Anna and Vronsky's baby. The two of them share a heartwarming moment of reconciliation with Karenin; he forgives them both, promises to the look after the baby ... then she survives, to her own disappointment, and feels so inadequate in the face of Karenin's kindness that she leaves him, breaking his heart and their son's.]]

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a classic love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. The novel has been adapted into many[[FilmOfTheBook versions]] for both theatrical film and TV, with actresses such as GretaGarbo, VivienLeigh, Jacqueline Bisset, SophieMarceau and most recently KeiraKnightley in the title role.

This book is a Russian classic and tends to be considered a classic love story, though it also contains touches of satire of contemporary Russian society. There are several [[FilmOfTheBook films of the book.]]

One of the main threads of the novel centers on Anna Arkadaevna Karenina who is a good, kind, empathetic, but impulsive person and a loving mother who dotes on her son. Like the majority of the women in her social circle, her marriage was determined not by love, but by polite courtship and social convenience. She's married to the much older, cold, and highly respected diplomat Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (Russian last names generally get altered by gender). One day, after traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow on a train, she meets the brave officer Alexei Krillovich Vronsky at the train depot, who at the time appears to be on the fast track in his military career. It's LoveAtFirstSight, though the fact that Anna is married -- and cannot be granted a fair divorce in the Russian legal system -- complicates matters significantly. Gradually, the pair sacrifice ''everything'' else they value for each other. Unfortunately, this is not a typical Western romance, but a tragedy: giving everything up for love may not be worth it, as the reactions of friends and family show, especially when said love may be transient.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Anna towards Vronsky. Dolly feels like this about Stiva's infidelity in the beginning, but eventually learns to ignore it.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Kitty, fitting with being TheIngenuine.

* HappilyMarried: Levin and Kitty in the latter part of the story, as well as Kitty's parents, and Vronsky's brother and his wife.

----

* IllGirl: Nikolai Levin is a male example. He at several points says that his illness is DefinitelyJustACold and claims to be feeling better, [[spoiler:even on the day of his death]], but it's clear he is seriously ill.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: Anna, contrasted with Kitty's HairofGold.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Averted with Karenin. [[spoiler: He does let Anna go with Vronsky, but in a spirit of bitterness; later on, he refuses to grant a divorce, on the grounds that his strict religion will not allow it.]]

* OneSteveLimit: Anna's husband Karenin and her lover Vronsky have the same first name, Alexei. And Vronsky has a brother with the similar name Alexander. Anna's name is shared by her maid and daughter, who are called "Annushka" and "Annie" to tell them apart.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Anna. Also karenin, though his heart of gold is buried very deep down.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Brutally averted during [[spoiler:the birth of Anna and Vronsky's baby. The two of them share a heartwarming moment of reconciliation with Karenin; he forgives them both, promises to the look after the baby ... then she survives, to her own disappointment, and feels so inadequate in the face of Karenin's kindness that she leaves him, breaking his heart and their son's.]]