Anna Karenina: Part II

I hve finished Part II of Anna Karenina. I've read 341 pages of Tolstoy's epic novel, and I'm still not even halfway finished with it. Call me simple. Call me inappreciative of written art. But I can't help thinking that no book really needs to be this long. Okay, I take that back. Pillars of the Earth needed to be that long, but I can think of no other book that really needed to be so many pages that I have to cut it up into sections just to read it comfortably.

Nevertheless, I will stick with it.

Here are my thoughts so far:
This book brings back a simple but strong memory: When I was a little girl, living in a ranch-style brick house on Pine Level Drive in Hawkinsville, Georgia, I daily spied a book on the big, black book case my father built in our living room. It was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. At the time, I was about six. And when I read that title, I silently said it phonetically in my head: "Anna Kara-NEE-na." It was years before I realized the pronunciation was different. And for a short time, when I was about nine or ten or so, I honestly thought there were two books. I would hear people refer to Anna Ka-REN-ina, and I would think, Why would someone write a book with that title when there's already a book called Anna Kara-NEE-na? The two titles are too similar. I know, I know. But in my defense, it was only a very short while before I figured things out.

You'd think I would have learned from the Chevrolet misunderstanding. You see, when I was about four or five and attending Mrs. Linder's kindergarten, my friend Kim Tripp always bragged that her parents drove a Chevrolet. She thought that car was hot stuff. I thought, That must be a pretty fancy car. I always looked for it in parking lots. I saw scads of Chev-er-LETs, but never any Chever-LAYs. For a while, I thought the Tripps drove the only Chver-LAY in the world and they kept it a big secret.

Anyway, now that I'm reading the novel and I see the name Karenina, I think about that misunderstanding with the character's name.

Speaking of that title character... I don't like her. I'm trying not to be so judgmental, but she makes that almost impossible. I've done a bit of research on the novel, just some scratch the surface stuff to help me understand its structure and development. One tidbit of knowledge I've learned so far (aside from what I've already written in earlier posts) is that Tolstoy did not intend to pass judgment on his title character. According to one expert, Tolstoy does not explicitly praise or condemn Anna because to do so would "usurp Godly privilege" (and he was a strong opponent of usurping). I, however, do not oppose usurping as strongly, and I have no problem judging Anna at all. She is self-centered and spoiled. Besides, from the looks of Tolstoy, I get the impression he condemned her just a wee little bit, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

But I love Levin... I just love him. Kitty was stupid to refuse him. One of my favorite scenes so far is when Levin makes Oblonsky look like an idiot. True, that's not very hard to do, but still. First, Oblonsky wants to sell his forest without first having counted the trees. Levin tries to make him understand that he's selling the property for much less than it's worth. And then, when Oblonsky still tries to make the deal with his buyer, Levin steps in and offers to buy the property from Oblonsky at a higher price, just to keep Oblonsky from being cheated. Levin might be just a simple farmer, but he's a smart man and a fair one too. Did I mention that I like him?

Interesting patterns: I can't help noticing that just after we see Karenin circling his house as he debates whether he should confront his wife, we see Levin touring his farm. Karenin debates whether he should reprimand his wife; Levin actually does reprimand his employees.

Karenin and Vronsky have the same first name.

Levin shoots a bird. Vronsky shoots a horse.

As Anna becomes more and more despicable, Levin becomes more and more sympathetic.

Imagery to go back and examine after reading: I learned a long, long time ago that if an author spends significant page space describing something, it's important. I've spotted two important images. The first is the bird that takes flight when Levin and Oblonsky are hunting. And the second is the horse Vronsky has his eye on before the race. That horse has to be representative of Anna somehow. But I'll have to go back and examine both images after I've read the whole novel.

Some good sentences: I know in my discussion of Part One, I complained of some really bad sentences. But I've read some really good ones in Part II. Here's an example: "Everyone had something to say in censure or ridicule of the luckless Madame Maltischtcheva, and the conversation crackled merrily, like a burning fagot-stick." Great simile!

So here's the sixty-second synopsis of Part II:

Anna and Vronsky still have the hots for each other, and Vronsky, with the help of Princess Betsy, finds ways to cross paths with Anna whenever he can. Karenin suspects foul play, and at first questions whether he should call Anna to the carpet, but when it's pretty clear infidelity's afoot, he lets her go to the summer home alone, preferring to stay in Moscow to work. Anna gets pregnant (gasp!). Meanwhile, Kitty, having never received a proposal from Vronsky is so embarrassed and heartbroken that the doctor declares her sick and prescribes travel abroad. So off go the Shcherbatskies to Germany for Kitty's convalescence. There she meets a lovely young lady named Varenka, who is just too good to be true. She and Kitty become fast friends. Meanwhile, Levin is back at his farm, getting over Kitty and making Kitty's brother in-law look like a big fat idiot. Back in Moscow (or is it Petersburg?) Vronsky falls during a horse race. Though he is unhurt, his horse suffers a broken back and must be shot. Anna weeps for Vronsky, which makes Karenin angry.

And now on to Part III. Susan, I await your reflections on the novel.