Of course also a very dramatic love story has to be part of the »Time travel through literature«. In addition, the author of »Anna Karenina« – Leo N. Tolstoi – is a Russian writer and so we have even more different cultures in our time travel. »Anna Karenina« was published in 1877 and treats of the married woman Anna Karenina who falls in love with the young and attractive Count Wronskij and of the aftermaths of her actions.
»All happy families are alike; each unhappy
family is unhappy in its own way.«
family is unhappy in its own way.«
»Love. The reason I dislike that word is that it means too much for me, far more than you can understand.«
»All the girls in the world were divided into two classes: one class
included all the girls in the world except her, and they had all the
usual human feelings and were very ordinary girls; while the other class
-herself alone- had no weaknesses and was superior to all humanity.«
Anna Karenina is married to Alexej Karenin who is a distinguished man who works for the Russian government. That's why he hasn't got much time to take care of Anna and their son Serjoscha and so Anna is very unhappy of her situation. One day Anna's brother Stepan writes her a letter from Moscow and asks for help. He cheated on his wife Dolly and now he needs Anna's help to calm Dolly down so that Stepan can excuse his behavior. And so Anna travels to Moscow. At the train station she meets the young good-looking Count Wronskij and they are both taken with each other. Stepan arrives and Anna goes home with him to talk with Dolly.
Then there is another plot: Kostja Ljewin, a friend of Stepan, comes to Moscow to propose to a young Lady of the rich society of Moscow, Jekaterina 'Kitty' Schtscherbazkaja, who is unfortunately in love with Count Wronskij. At a soiree at the Schtscherbazkis Ljewin proposes to her but she sais that she cannot accept his hand in marriage. He is very depressed and returns to the countryside where he works but his heart is broken and he thinks that he cannot live without Kitty.
To return to the other plot; Anna and Stepan, who apologised successfully to Dolly, are going to a ball. It is planned that Kitty and Wronskij dance a lot to converge but Wronskij only dances with Anna. That's why Kitty is very angry at her and Anna leaves very confused about her feelings. Wronskij and Anna meet again and fall in love but Anna is afraid that her marriage will break if this carry-on will come out. Especially because of her son she often has to think about her actions and their aftermaths. But when Anna gets pregnant it is clear that the carry-on will after all come out. Anna and Wronskij fall out of favour and Anna wants to divorce Karenin but she is afraid that then she will lose her son too.
Kitty, feeling spurned by Wronskij, is sad that she refused the proposal of Ljewin but when he returnes to Moscow they both start preparations for their wedding. All seems to be good until Ljewins brother dies and Alexej Karenin refuses the divorce.
Anna Karenina is a very special woman. On the one hand she is very loyal to her son but on the other hand she would leave her husband for a carry-on. But we could nevertheless always understand her. Anna was wed to Karenin when she was only 18 years old. She was never happy with him and never knew real love until she met Wronskij. So we think that her actions are comprehensible. In contrary we think that the reactions of the society on her actions are very rude and impolite. Of course it was another time and an adulterousness can be very hard for the partner, but we think that Anna has to suffer enough and punish her with contempt seems to be far too hard!
At last we rally want to recommend this book warmly to you because it is well written and very elaborate. In addition if you're interested in this time and the Russian history this book is perfect for you.
Well, this time seems to be very hard. Maybe I'd better avoid affaires… ~Gwen
I think in my dreams nothing can happen to me... So let's meet Wronskij! ~Liv
Oh, and before we forget: if you're interested in love stories you should check our post about »Pride and Prejudice«!
source: Wikipedia