Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Anna Karenina, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage and Family Life
Adultery and Jealousy
Physical Activity and Movement
Society and Class
Farming and Rural Life
Compassion and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Anna and Vronsky admire a small painting, which Mikhailov says he had forgotten about; it is out because it has been put out to be sold. When the visitors leave, Mikhailov continues to work on the Pilate painting. Vronsky, Anna, and Golenishchev discuss the small painting, which Vronsky says he will buy.
Because Vronsky cannot assert his masculinity and talent in Mikhailov’s studio through artistic prowess, he asserts his dominance through purchasing power, insisting on buying the small, forgotten painting that he and Anna like.
Themes
