Part Five Summary
Levin and Kitty tie the knot
In preparation for the wedding, Stephan, of all people,
reminds Levin that he must go to confession, in which Levin tells the priest
that he has doubts about God. And
later, his bachelor brother and friend ask Levin if he is prepared to relinquish
all of his freedoms? Our good man Levin
contemplates that he is glad at the loss of his freedom to be married forever
to Kitty.
But, oh, no! Levin is
having doubts about Kitty’s love for him, as he cannot believe that SHE would
want to spend the rest of her life with him.
He goes to see her for reassurance and provides her an opportunity to
confess anything on her heart. But there
is nothing to reveal.
The wedding goes off with hitches, poor Levin! But once he is there, and the ceremonies
begin, Levin is deep in thought and speechless about what is actually happening. Meanwhile, the male and female guests have different
views about marriage: the men make jokes; and the women want to
protect Kitty from the double standards.
After the wedding, the newlyweds head to the country house.
Vronsky and Anna bored in Italy
Vronsky and Anna have been in Italy for three months. It works for Anna because she is not burdened
by her dishonor; but Vronsky is bored. Since Vronsky has taken
up painting, they visit a local Russian artist, Mihailov, who paints Anna’s
portrait. Mihailov’s paintings of
Russia call them back to their home country.
Ah, the newlyweds, Levin and Kitty, experience typical
marital impediments, and Levin is concerned that married life has caused him to
become idle. Then one day he receives a
letter that Nikoly is on his deathbed. Levin wants to go alone to see him, but Kitty
is insistent upon accompanying him. Levin finds Kitty to be a hindrance, and he does not want his innocent
Kitty to meet his ill brother.
And yet, while Levin is uneasy, loathing, and paralyzed,
Kitty is proactive and pities Nikolay.
Kitty is motivated to change Nikolay’s environment and alleviate some
of his suffering to make him comfortable.
Kitty does not think of herself; she demonstrats her care for
others. Levin should be impressed. Finally, Nikolay passes away and Kitty
learns that she is pregnant.
Alexey is gloomy. His
career is over, and he has no friends to confide in, except Countess Lidia
Ivanovna, who loves him. She entreats
him to trust in Jesus. Anna has returned
to St. Petersburg and wants to see her son, but Lidia spitefully convinces
Alexey not to allow Anna to see him.
Anna rebells against high society
In St. Petersburg, Anna visits her son anyway, and they are
overjoyed to be reunited. Before
leaving, she unexpectedly confronts Alexey.
Meanwhile, Anna is miserable because friends and Vronsky’s family
members reject her. The world cannot
accept her because she is not divorced from Alexey or married to Vronsky.
Nonetheless, Anna goes to the opera that evening, against
Vronsky’s warnings that her behavior is rebellion toward the
standards of high society. And sure
enough, she is affronted and made to look like a fool. It is evident they must leave St.
Petersburg.
1 comment:
Thanks again for an excellent summary. I confess that I'm behind about 10 chapters on my journaling. I was speedily reading on our trip home from Chicago yesterday with the goal of finishing part V. Now I get the not so enjoyable chore of skimming those chapters and catching up in my journal. Blech.
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