91 pages • 3 hours read
Leo TolstoyAnna Karenina
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1879A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 6, Chapters 1-15 Summary
The section opens with Levin surrounded by guests at his estate. Dolly and her children have come for the summer, as has his brother Sergei and Kitty’s friend Varenka. Sergei is impressed with Varenka’s intellect and calm temperament, and the guests begin to believe he may propose to her. The women discuss proposals as they make jam, and Kitty recalls that Levin still resents her past with Vronsky.
Dolly reflects that at the time, Anna functioned as her savior, but now Kitty is the one happily married. Kitty’s mother still dislikes Levin. On a walk together, Levin and Kitty discuss Sergei and Varenka and their mutual mourning for Nikolai. Levin admits that though he envies his brother’s devotion to social causes, he is too happy to regret his new domestic life.
Alone with Varenka, Sergei is struck by her manner and her serenity—especially in their woodland surroundings. But he loses his nerve, realizing he cannot betray the memory of his lost youthful love.
The family atmosphere is generally tense when Oblonsky arrives with a distant Scherbatsky cousin, Vasenka Veslovsky, who flirts with Kitty. He also resents Oblonsky acting like a doting husband in public, knowing his friend remains unfaithful. Levin finds everyone “disgusting” (570).
Levin finds that Oblonsky and Veslovsky hope to go hunting with him. He watches Kitty talk with the guests and persuades himself she is unfaithful to him. Dolly resolves to visit Anna. Levin confesses his outrage and resentment that a guest would behave this way in his house, and Kitty explains that the conversation was about Vronsky and that is why she was drawn into it. He apologizes.
Levin sets off for the hunt in a better mood, even finding Veslovsky amusing, though he has a very bad shooting day. On an overnight stop at a peasant cottage, Levin and Oblonsky argue over economics and capitalism, and Oblonsky urges him to be less concerned about Kitty’s opinions. Levin falls asleep listening to Veslovsky and Stiva flirt with peasant women. Levin has a better hunting day while alone, and is relieved to receive word from Kitty that she is well.
Upon returning home, Levin is still jealous and resentful as he dislikes discussing the practical details of Kitty’s upcoming labor; it seems to spoil his higher feelings. Kitty is upset Veslovsky wishes to discuss Anna and whether love is more important than traditional morality. Levin remains deeply offended by his guest, and goes to see Dolly, who is horrified by his resolve to force Veslovsky to leave. It is not customary to take offense at mild flirtation. Levin refuses to explain his reasoning to Veslovsky and Oblonsky calls him ridiculous. The atmosphere improves after Veslovsky leaves, with Dolly making everyone laugh at the visual of him bouncing away.
Part 6, Chapters 16-25 Summary
At Levin’s insistence, Dolly takes one of his carriages to see Anna, which she is reluctant to do knowing how the Levins feel about Vronsky. Dolly contemplates how miserable and overburdened she is with many children, especially with Stiva’s absences and their growing debts. She even imagines a love affair of her own. She meets Anna who is overjoyed to see her. Dolly is, as ever, struck by Anna’s beauty. Dolly assures Anna that she loves her without judgment; Anna weeps in gratitude.
To change the subject, Anna describes Vronsky’s latest passion for estate management and new innovative farming tools. Dolly is overwhelmed by the luxury of the house, and embarrassed to tell Anna she cannot stay long. Anna, turning back to her situation, says, “I simply want to cause no evil to anyone but myself” (616). Dolly is embarrassed to be surrounded by finery and wealth and aware of her own poorly made clothes. She is surprised to discover Anna’s nursery is far less orderly than the rest of the house and that Anna obviously spends little time with her young daughter. Anna describes the guests Dolly will meet, explaining that Sviyazhsky is an important connection for Vronsky’s new rural ambitions, and that other local community members will be there. She mocks Levin for turning out Veslovsky.
Dolly is uneasy in the hedonistic atmosphere, despite generally approving of Anna’s choices and her weariness with her own more conventional life. Vronsky takes her on a tour of his new reformist project, a hospital, and his passion for the project helps Dolly see why Anna chose him. Vronsky deliberately walks Dolly home alone while Anna and Sviyazhsky visit the stables, and she is nervous at first, thinking he might want to discuss Kitty. But he asks for her help in persuading Anna to ask Karenin for a divorce, so his children can be legitimate, and they can more happily live. Dolly realizes Anna’s new “habit of narrowing her eyes” (628) occurs when she is reminded of her legal situation and her refusal to fully consider it.
At dinner, Dolly is impressed with Vronsky’s eye for the details of hospitality and meal planning. Anna is an able hostess, charming the men and making conversation despite the social disparities of the group. She notes that Vronsky, unlike Levin, ignores Veslovsky’s efforts to flirt with Anna. Dolly defends Levin when others mock him. She finds the whole atmosphere “theatrical” (634), as the adults play lawn-tennis and she remains unhappy with Veslovsky's coquetry.
Anna comes to see Dolly in her bedroom, lamenting that Kitty no doubt still hates her. She mentions her distaste for Vronsky being away. Anna shocks Dolly by saying there will be no more children to legitimize, arguing that she must remain beautiful and attractive. Dolly cynically reflects that this is nothing when all men can have affairs as Oblonsky does. Anna argues that it is better not to have children than to bring them into a world where they would only be associated with scandal. Dolly realizes they will never agree and drops the subject. Anna admits that she constantly thinks of her divorce dilemma, but she cannot face writing to Karenin for help or choosing between her son and Vronsky.
The two women part; Dolly is eager to return to her simpler life. Anna takes morphine before bed and ignores Vronsky’s silent question about whether she will seek a divorce. Only Anna is truly sad at Dolly’s departure, knowing Dolly reminds her of the “best part of her soul” (642) for which her current environment does not allow. Dolly’s servants are also glad to return home, but back at Levin’s, Dolly finds herself optimistically describing everything and defending Anna, omitting everything she disliked.
Vronsky and Anna are alone, knowing their situation must somehow change. Anna devotes herself to reading and architecture, especially to Vronsky’s new hospital project. Vronsky is surprised when she does not object to his planned trip to participate in the local elections, but assures himself it is best to retain his “male independence” (645).
Part 6, Chapters 26-32 Summary
Levin and Kitty are in Moscow for the birth of their child, and Kitty sends him to participate in the rural elections, knowing he is bored and unhappy trying to resolve a legal matter for his sister. Levin does not understand most of the debate, but he decides to participate with less judgment than in the past. Levin’s brother tells him they are hoping to replace the old marshal with a new reformer.
Oblonsky, present because Dolly’s land is nearby, explains that in some cases they vote for their preferred opponent, so that their faction’s leader, Sviyazhsky, faces him. Levin does not understand how to vote and finds he pities the conservative opponent—a man he knows well. Levin tries to hide in the banquet hall and finds there has been an effort to get men drunk to prevent them from voting. He meets the older man he remembers from one of his visits to Sviyazhsky—a defender of serfdom who also feels obligated to participate in the elections. He distinguishes between himself and Levin as “landowners” and the other nobles who do not work their land as “landlords” (656-57). The two men see themselves as invested in the land, unlike their noble peers, and they consider themselves an endangered species, unlike those who seek profit and mechanization as Vronsky does. Levin is embarrassed to be reintroduced to Vronsky, and poorly behaves. Sergei reproaches Levin for his behavior. Levin tries to leave and is brought back to vote, discovering the reformer has won.
Vronsky hosts a victory party, pleased with his new social standing and his independence from Anna. His mood is spoiled when he receives a letter from her that their daughter is ill, but he is skeptical about the urgency of the problem since the note also mentions that she might have come herself to inform him but chose not to do so. Anna knows she is alienating Vronsky with her jealousy and comes to see a divorce as the solution to her insecurities. Vronsky returns as requested, angry to find that little Annie is fine. The two begin to quarrel, and Anna insists she should go with him to Moscow and will seek a divorce. Watching Vronsky, even though he says he would like nothing better, she senses he is exhausted by her and thinking, “if it is like this, it is a disaster!” (668)—an attitude the narrator says will continue to haunt her. The two leave for Moscow to wait for word from Karenin.
Part 6 Analysis
As Kitty and Levin prepare for parenthood, jealousy, resentment, and doubt drive the narrative for all the characters. Tolstoy seems to suggest that envy is not always unhealthy, or can be a catalyst for change. Levin’s jealousy of Veslovsky shows his temper and capacity for cruelty, yet he and Kitty ultimately reach an agreement and send Veslovsky away, choosing their happiness above social conventions of people in their class. Levin chooses his own vision of domestic harmony over the mores of the aristocracy, and Kitty supports him in this. Levin finds himself lost during the elections, defending traditions and older mindsets that are neither fashionable nor profitable. Both his hunting trip and his conversation with the old landowner reveal that it is his connection to nature that is his refuge—especially when he fails to connect with those around him.
Dolly’s inner life, rarely an object of interest, shapes much of her journey to Anna. She finds herself resentful of domesticity—even of her children—and remains unhappy due to Oblonsky’s unfaithfulness. She imagines a love affair of her own, envying Anna’s freedom and life with a man who cherishes her. This underscores that Tolstoy is not idealistic about marriage, though he clearly advances conservative arguments. Dolly does not remain married because she is happy, but because there are no other alternatives; her dreams are only momentary and do not last. Dolly soon learns that Anna’s life of luxury hides anxiety and disharmony, as if what she thought was a dream may in fact be a nightmare. Vronsky is desperate for her divorce, imagining that this will repair their relationship, and because he cannot do so himself, depends on Dolly to reach Anna. Anna flirts with her guests, unbothered, and Dolly, significantly, finds herself defending Levin.
The atmosphere of greater sophistication and relaxed attitude toward coquetry seems to no longer strike Dolly as harmless, but to indicate greater weakness of character and something false in human relationships. But she remains unable to condemn Anna and even finds herself empathizing with Vronsky: She is not the moral scold Levin can be, but merely at sea in an unfamiliar environment and too socially aware to believe Anna’s life is as lovely as its outer appearances indicates.
Tolstoy suggests Anna’s love for Dolly, to the woman who restored a marriage and loved her husband and son, far from the social outcast she is now, is Anna’s last tether to her former life. She seems to recognize this, overjoyed to learn she has not lost the love of a person who once truly knew her as she was. Anna’s insistence to Dolly that she will not bear more children is difficult to interpret in a 19th century context, as reliable contraception did not exist. Anna may be indicating that she seeks abortion care as needed, which would account for some of Dolly’s horror, though contraception itself was also a social taboo at the time.
Between this and Anna’s morphine habit, Tolstoy seems to imply that she has become unnatural: an object of pity and horror. Vronsky feels increasingly trapped with her, resentful of her insistence on his time and his presence. Anna begins to feel this, finally accepting that divorce may resolve their problems. Vronsky increasingly regards her as emasculating, both for her envy and because their unconventional relationship threatens his ability to pass property to his children. The increasing precariousness of their connection hints at the tragedy to come.
Once more, Levin is Anna’s sharpest point of contrast, though the two have not yet met: He is certain of what he values and needs, and society’s opinion of him concerns him very little. She cannot afford this degree of nonconformity, due to her social position and her gender, which helps explain their very different fates.
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