Anna Karenina | Part 7, Chapters 1–5 | Summary

Summary

In Chapter 1, Levin and Kitty are in the third month of their Moscow residency, and she appears to be past her term. Everyone is quite nervous, except for Kitty, who is "calm and happy." In Chapter 2, Kitty meets Vronsky again at her godmother's house, and although she has a few moments of discomfort, she is able to treat him with politeness and indifference. In Chapter 3, Levin intends to pay a call on his university friend, Professor Katavasov, and later goes to a concert and a public service meeting with his sister-in-law, Natalie. Kitty also asks him to pay a return call on an aristocratic family, the Bohls, and to talk with Natalie's husband, Prince Lvov, about the deteriorating situation of Dolly and her family.

The sisters want their husbands to jointly admonish Stiva for his financial recklessness. Levin meets with a well-known scholar at Katavasov's house, who has been invited so that Levin can discuss his book with him. But the scholar is not especially interested in Levin's ideas, nor is Levin with his. In Chapter 4, the three men attend a lecture together, and then Levin goes to Lvov's house, remembering Stiva's money problems only when he and Natalie are leaving for the concert. Levin does not enjoy the concert in Chapter 5, which is based on the work of Shakespeare, but he meets Count Bohl there, whom he has forgotten to visit.

Analysis

Kitty meets Vronsky with some trepidation at her godmother's house but quickly recovers herself and is able to fully put their past behind her. Levin is back from the election and spends a day as an urban gentleman, but he is out of his element in the city and thus has some trouble keeping track of his itinerary. Levin does not enjoy the concert, which mixes two genres (the music is based on Shakespeare's work). This is not surprising because Tolstoy has very definite opinions about art and does not approve mixing genres; he also had a strong aversion to Shakespeare.