One of my favorite aspects of Part 6 was that a lot of it was from Dolly's perspective. I really enjoyed the insight into her thoughts...she is very observant and sensitive to others and to details.
She sort of goes from envy and bravo for Anna and almost a loss of hope (or lack of purpose) at her own life, and all the way around to a joy and appreciation of her family and the kids she is raising.
I liked how she could laugh at herself a bit, her unfashionable, shabby clothing and looks in comparison to Anna and her household. She had moments when she was feeling out of place and embarrassed...Dolly seems like a down-to-earth, unpretentious sort of gal. She has that groundedness of mother, where Anna really does not, in my opinion. What do you think?
Anna seems obsessed with Vronsky at this point. Where he is going, who he is with, how she can keep him, everything she says and does seems to be focused on him, pleasing him, keeping him, controlling him?
Has the book reached a climax (or perhaps there are several?) when Anna reveals, "You must understand that I love two beings - equally, I think, but both more than myself - Seryozha and Alexei." ? pg.641
And then, just a few pages later she realizes that if she wants to keep Vronsky, the only way is if she divorces Karenin and marries Vronsky, who she can't live without. She makes her choice, her choice is Vronsky at the risk of losing Seryozha, although he isn't really a thought in her mind as she decides how she must keep Vronsky:
pg. 666 "Just as before, she could only try to keep him by her love and her attractiveness. And as before, by being occupied during the day and taking morphine at night, she could stifle the terrible thoughts of what would happen if he stopped loving her. True, there was one other means, not to keep him - for that she wanted nothing but his love - but to get so close to him, to be in such a position, that he could not abandon her. That means was divorce and marriage. And she began to wish for it, and decided to agree to it the very first time he or Stiva brought it up."
I would just like to say that I stand by my initial evaluation of Vronsky and his ego. He gets bored and seems to like to re-invent himself, finding new ways to stroke his ego. This sounds more like a judgment than observation on my part but I have trouble making a distinction so I wonder what you all think?
pg. 662 "Vronsky had come to the elections because he was bored in the country and had to assert his right to freedom before Anna....but he had never expected that this business of the elections could get him so involved...or that he could do it so well. He was a completely new man in the circle of the noblemen, but he was obviously a success....he experienced a pleasant feeling of triumph for the man of his choice. The elections themselves enticed him so much that, should he be married by the end of the three-year term, he was thinking of standing himself - in the same way as, after winning a prize through a jockey, he would always wish he had raced himself."
Was his pursuit of Anna also one of his amusements? A victory to chase after? I think he really does love her but I can't help comparing her to Vronsky's horse that broker her back and had to be put down.
On the other hand, I observe in Vronsky that restlessness of the human spirit, the reason men and women need purpose and the work for carrying it out. In contrast to Levin, who is occupied with his land, farming, new methods and his book; Vronsky has sort of been soul searching throughout the novel, trying to find the right plow to put his hands on, a purpose and a work to occupy himself with.
One of my favorite aspects of Part 6 was that a lot of it was from Dolly's perspective. I really enjoyed the insight into her thoughts...she is very observant and sensitive to others and to details.
ReplyDeleteShe sort of goes from envy and bravo for Anna and almost a loss of hope (or lack of purpose) at her own life, and all the way around to a joy and appreciation of her family and the kids she is raising.
I liked how she could laugh at herself a bit, her unfashionable, shabby clothing and looks in comparison to Anna and her household. She had moments when she was feeling out of place and embarrassed...Dolly seems like a down-to-earth, unpretentious sort of gal. She has that groundedness of mother, where Anna really does not, in my opinion. What do you think?
Obsess-much?
ReplyDeleteAnna seems obsessed with Vronsky at this point. Where he is going, who he is with, how she can keep him, everything she says and does seems to be focused on him, pleasing him, keeping him, controlling him?
Has the book reached a climax (or perhaps there are several?) when Anna reveals, "You must understand that I love two beings - equally, I think, but both more than myself - Seryozha and Alexei." ? pg.641
And then, just a few pages later she realizes that if she wants to keep Vronsky, the only way is if she divorces Karenin and marries Vronsky, who she can't live without. She makes her choice, her choice is Vronsky at the risk of losing Seryozha, although he isn't really a thought in her mind as she decides how she must keep Vronsky:
pg. 666 "Just as before, she could only try to keep him by her love and her attractiveness. And as before, by being occupied during the day and taking morphine at night, she could stifle the terrible thoughts of what would happen if he stopped loving her. True, there was one other means, not to keep him - for that she wanted nothing but his love - but to get so close to him, to be in such a position, that he could not abandon her. That means was divorce and marriage. And she began to wish for it, and decided to agree to it the very first time he or Stiva brought it up."
I would just like to say that I stand by my initial evaluation of Vronsky and his ego. He gets bored and seems to like to re-invent himself, finding new ways to stroke his ego. This sounds more like a judgment than observation on my part but I have trouble making a distinction so I wonder what you all think?
ReplyDeletepg. 662 "Vronsky had come to the elections because he was bored in the country and had to assert his right to freedom before Anna....but he had never expected that this business of the elections could get him so involved...or that he could do it so well. He was a completely new man in the circle of the noblemen, but he was obviously a success....he experienced a pleasant feeling of triumph for the man of his choice. The elections themselves enticed him so much that, should he be married by the end of the three-year term, he was thinking of standing himself - in the same way as, after winning a prize through a jockey, he would always wish he had raced himself."
Was his pursuit of Anna also one of his amusements? A victory to chase after? I think he really does love her but I can't help comparing her to Vronsky's horse that broker her back and had to be put down.
On the other hand, I observe in Vronsky that restlessness of the human spirit, the reason men and women need purpose and the work for carrying it out. In contrast to Levin, who is occupied with his land, farming, new methods and his book; Vronsky has sort of been soul searching throughout the novel, trying to find the right plow to put his hands on, a purpose and a work to occupy himself with.