Flashcards for Anna Karenina

Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin

Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin is Anna's husband, a high-ranking bureaucrat in St. Petersburg whose journey is marked by a painful shift from cold propriety to unexpected grace and back to rigid self-preservation.

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Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is the tragic heroine of Tolstoy's novel, marked by her striking beauty, intelligence, and emotional depth.

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Count Alexei Vronsky

Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky is a wealthy and attractive cavalry officer whose intense love for Anna Karenina drives the novel's central tragedy.

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Dolly Oblonskaya

Darya Alexandrovna "Dolly" Oblonskaya is one of Tolstoy's most grounded and morally clear characters, acting as both a domestic anchor and a subtle ethical guide throughout Anna Karenina.

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Kitty Shcherbatskaya

Kitty Shcherbatskaya is a young princess from Moscow whose emotional journey from a naïve debutante to a mature wife and mother represents one of the most uplifting arcs in the novel.

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Konstantin Levin

Konstantin Levin is one of the two main characters in the novel and serves as Tolstoy's most autobiographical figure.

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Nikolai Levin

Nikolai Levin is the younger brother of Konstantin Levin, a tragic figure whose ongoing presence compels Konstantin to face issues of mortality, guilt, and the limitations of idealism.

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Princess Betsy Tverskaya

Princess Betsy Tverskaya is a dazzling presence in St. Petersburg's high society and stands out as one of the novel's key secondary characters.

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Sergei Koznyshev

Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev is Konstantin Levin's half-brother, a well-known intellectual and author from Moscow whose recently finished philosophical book marks his early appearances.

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Stepan Oblonsky (Stiva)

Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky—better known as "Stiva"—serves as the novel's social lubricant and comedic contrast.

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“There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness, and truth.”

This famous line comes from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and ties closely to the novel's moral themes.

Narrator (Tolstoy)

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

This is the famous opening sentence of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1878), delivered by the novel's unnamed omniscient narrator rather than a specific character.

Omniscient Narrator · Part One, Chapter 1

“The candle by which she had been reading the book filled with trouble and deceit, sorrow and evil, flared up with a brighter light, illuminating for her everything that before had been in darkness, then flickered, grew faint, and went out forever.”

This haunting passage appears near the end of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (Part 7, Chapter 31) and delivers a devastating description of Anna's death beneath the wheels of a train.

Narrator · Part 7, Chapter 31

“There are no conditions to which a person cannot grow accustomed, especially if he sees that all those around him live in the same way.”

This reflection comes from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and is closely tied to Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky (Stiva), Anna's brother, as he justifies his comfortable but morally questionable lifestyle at the start of the novel.

Narrator (reflecting Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky's perspective) · Part 1, Chapter 2

“I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.”

This line is spoken by Levin in Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina during a discussion about love and individual differences among the characters.

Levin · Part 4, Chapter 7 (approximate)

“If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.”

This quiet yet impactful line is delivered by Stiva Oblonsky (Prince Stepan Arkadyevich), Anna's charming brother who always forgives himself, during a moment of casual reflection.

Stiva Oblonsky (Prince Stepan Arkadyevich) · Part 6, Chapter 11

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”

This epigraph — taken from Romans 12:19 and resonating with Deuteronomy 32:35 — is not attributed to any character but is placed by Tolstoy himself at the start of the novel.

Leo Tolstoy (narrator/author) · Epigraph

“He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”

This line comes from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and captures Levin's intense, almost instinctive awareness of Kitty Shcherbatskaya at the skating rink — a key moment of romantic awakening in the novel.

Narrator (focalized through Konstantin Levin) · Part 1, Chapter 9

“He soon felt that the fulfillment of his desires gave him only one grain of the mountain of happiness he had expected.”

This line relates to Oblonsky (Stiva), but it resonates more deeply with Levin and especially with the doomed love story of Anna and Vronsky.

Narrator (reflecting on Oblonsky / Vronsky) · Part 1

“Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed.”

This reflective observation comes from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and connects closely with the novel's narrative voice, resonating deeply with the inner lives of its main characters—especially Anna and Levin.

Narrative voice (Tolstoy)

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”

This line appears in Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and is linked to Konstantin Levin, who serves as the novel's philosophical counterpart to Anna.

Konstantin Levin (narrative reflection) · Part 2 / Spring section

“But the law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.”

This line is spoken by Konstantin Levin in the final chapters of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (Part VIII), during a significant spiritual awakening he experiences towards the end of the novel.

Konstantin Levin · Part VIII

Anna's Red Bag

In Anna Karenina, Anna's red bag symbolizes her intense, rebellious desires and the social scrutiny that ultimately leads to her downfall.

Mowing the Fields

In Anna Karenina, the mowing of the fields represents a genuine, physical existence and the redemptive quality of hard work that comes from a connection with nature and the peasant community.

The Candle

In Anna Karenina, the candle represents the delicate and temporary nature of life and awareness—a brief light fighting against the vast darkness.

The Horse Race

In Anna Karenina, the Krasnoe Selo horse race symbolizes reckless passion, male ego, and the destructive outcomes of unchecked desire.

The Storm

In Anna Karenina, the storm symbolizes destructive passion, moral chaos, and the upheaval of social and spiritual order.

The Train

In Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, the train symbolizes the relentless, dehumanizing force of modernity and fate.

Epigraph

Tolstoy begins the novel with the biblical quote "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," from Romans 12:19.

Extended Metaphor

The railway and its locomotives serve as a recurring metaphor that weaves throughout the novel.

Juxtaposition

Tolstoy organizes the entire novel by contrasting Anna's and Levin's stories.

Motif

Candlelight and its eventual extinction serve as a recurring motif linked to Anna's awareness and mortality.

Irony

Tolstoy uses irony sharply in his portrayal of Petersburg society.

Symbolism

Anna's red bag — held tightly as she approaches the train at Obiralovka — serves as a small but powerful symbol.

Pathetic Fallacy

The weather and physical surroundings often reflect and heighten the characters' inner emotions.

Free Verse

While Anna Karenina is a prose novel, Tolstoy's sentence rhythms in key moments—especially during Levin's epiphanies and Anna's final monologue—have a quality that some critics liken to free verse.

Allusion

Tolstoy weaves literary and cultural references throughout the novel that subtly shape the characters' self-perception.

Paradox

The novel's deepest paradox lies in Anna's quest for true love, which ultimately leads to her complete loss of identity.

Narrative Poem

Anna Karenina showcases Tolstoy's brilliant use of third-person omniscient narrative, though he wields this narrative power with careful intention.

disarray

A state of complete disorder and confusion, where normal routines and relationships have broken down and nothing is functioning as it should.

noun · Chapter 1

to blame

Responsible or at fault for something bad that has happened; deserving of criticism or punishment for a wrongdoing.

phrase · Chapter 1

plucked

Pulled or picked something — here a flower — from where it was growing, removing it from its natural place and thereby ending its life.

verb · Chapter 2

fragrance

A sweet, pleasant smell, used here as a metaphor for the appealing, delicate quality of a person's charm that can fade over time.

noun · Chapter 2

notions

Personal beliefs, opinions, or ideas about how things are or ought to be, especially regarding social or moral conduct.

noun · Chapter 2

confidence

Trust and firm belief in someone's honesty and faithfulness, especially within a marriage or close relationship.

noun · Chapter 2

scythe

A large farming tool with a long curved blade on a long handle, swung by hand to cut grass or grain in a field.

noun · Chapter 3

oblivion

A state of being completely unaware of one's surroundings and self, a kind of blissful mental blankness reached through total absorption in physical work.

noun · Chapter 3

mowing

Cutting grass or grain with a scythe or similar tool, here done by hand alongside peasant farm workers in a field.

verb · Chapter 3

acting a part

Pretending to be something one is not, performing a false role rather than behaving naturally and sincerely.

phrase · Chapter 3

wicked

Morally bad or sinful; having done things that violate accepted standards of right behavior, especially in matters of faithfulness and honesty.

adjective · Chapter 4

robbed of life

Stripped of vitality and existence; killed or destroyed, used here to describe love that has been extinguished by a person's own actions.

phrase · Chapter 4

expatriate

A person living in a foreign country, away from their homeland, often as part of a community of fellow nationals abroad.

noun · Chapter 5

solemnity

A serious, dignified, and deeply felt quality of manner or expression, suggesting that a moment carries great personal importance.

noun · Chapter 5

frictions

Small disagreements, tensions, or points of conflict between people living closely together, the minor irritations of shared daily life.

noun · Chapter 5

dissatisfied

Feeling that something is not good enough or that one has fallen short; not content with oneself or one's situation.

adjective · Chapter 6

code of rules

A personal set of firm principles and standards of conduct that a person follows to decide what is acceptable and what is not.

phrase · Chapter 6

ostracizes

Excludes someone from a social group, refusing to accept or associate with them as a form of collective punishment for breaking social rules.

verb · Chapter 6

mistress

A woman who has a long-term romantic and sexual relationship with a man who is not her husband, outside the bounds of marriage.

noun · Chapter 7

caresses

Gentle, affectionate touches or embraces; physical expressions of love and tenderness between two people.

noun · Chapter 7

faded

Having lost its original brightness, beauty, or freshness; diminished in appeal or vitality compared to what it once was.

adjective · Chapter 7

inopportunely

At the wrong moment; saying or doing something at a time that is awkward, inconvenient, or likely to cause trouble.

adverb · Chapter 8

holy of holies

The innermost, most sacred and private part of a person's soul or self, borrowed from the term for the most sacred chamber of the ancient Jewish Temple.

phrase · Chapter 8

unquestionable

Completely certain and beyond any doubt; not open to challenge or dispute, here describing a meaning in life that feels absolutely sure.

adjective · Chapter 8