Anna Karenina: Why it’s a Classic

At approximately 1000 pages, Leo Tolstoy’s Russian romance classic Anna Karenina is a beast of a book that, at first glance, seems an insurmountable task. Was it not for the fact it predominantly tops every classics list ever collated, I may have never picked it up out of fear of intimidation. Perhaps pretentiously, it was Tolstoy’s widespread critical reception as one of the greatest writers of all time that drew me to his tragic masterpiece of an aristocratic married woman’s descent into hysteria after she enters into an affair and is scorned by Russian society.

As impressionable as my tastes may be, it was the writer’s rich and dynamic prose that kept me reading and drove me to Anna’s stunning conclusion: a visceral stream of consciousness charting fragile neuroticism to her perilous inevitable downfall. I’m speaking literally and figuratively here. Never underestimate a woman scorned.  Anna is a complex creation, neither heroine, nor anti-heroine, she possesses all the qualities of humanity, both the virtuous and the depraved. All Tolstoy’s characters are undeniably flawed yet empathetic, showcasing his masterful ability to neither idolise, nor vilify their unyielding existential quest for love. From the cultural ins and outs of late 19^th century aristocratic society to the peasant life of farmers, Tolstoy chronicles all facets of Russian day-to-day life in intimate human detail, which impressed even his most prestigious contemporaries. Literary neighbour and rival Fyodor Dostoyevsky declared Anna Karenina to be "flawless as a work of art". I’m inclined to agree with him for it is the most profound novel I have ever read. Not only is the story intoxicating, it also offers up big questions concerning human existence and contemplates the productive and destructive force of love in our lives.

The novel can be split into two main narratives: Anna Karenina’s spectacular struggle with the ethical and social consequences of committing adultery juxtaposed with Constantine Levin's search for purpose, whose trajectory towards a life of peace and contentment is the total opposite of Anna's slow personal decay. Tolstoy never judges his characters, instead letting their perspectives ethically and psychologically dominate the prose. He doesn’t explicitly condemn or praise Anna’s actions but subtlety sends a moral message: love that is purely carnal and impulsive only leads to tragedy. He acts as an omniscient, all-knowing third-person narrator who occasionally slips into the perspectives of several characters (all of which are richly drawn), even a dog for a couple of chapters. Their personal motivations and desires are portrayed brilliantly in all their contradictory, complex truth.

If Anna is the yin of the story, Levin must be the yang. He represents the voice of reason and spends the majority of his days scything grass and considering his purpose in the context of a wider universe. Levin’s a contemplative thinker, sometimes to his own detriment. After suffering a humiliating rejection from Princess Kitty, he succumbs to an angsty disposition and retreats to his country house to brood for a lengthy period. The problem with Levin is in his perpetual obsession for perfection, which he can never possibly attain. Like a latent adult growing into maturity, Levin’s introspective search for meaning and battle with spirituality reflects his coming of age. By the novel’s conclusion, Tolstoy reassures us it is enough to make ourselves the best that we can be without trying to control the world around us. This makes for one of the most moving passages in which Levin’s love for his family and faith in God is reaffirmed.

Anna Karenina is a bit like a soap opera in that it’s an exposition in love in all its many forms. The difference being it’s a damn good one that encompasses the full human spectrum of emotion. Like the entire classics catalogue, this is a book of its time, which means there are parts about Russian politics and society that don’t translate for a modern audience. (Call it a history lesson!) But Tolstoy’s meditations on hypocrisy, jealousy, faith, fidelity, family and marriage remain as powerful as they ever previously read. I never was one for self-help memoirs but something about this novel struck a chord in my spirit. Anna Karenina holds its characters up to readers like a reflective mirror; it’s almost impossible to judge their transgressions. If you can slog through pages of Levin scything grass and reflections upon agricultural reforms to sink your teeth into the more personal drama, perhaps you will learn something about yourself too.