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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Part 2, Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—Nothing in Excess :
When Kitty begins to imitate Varenka's behavior and avoid society to fulfill religious duties, the princess worries that her daughter is going to the extreme. With an allusion, Kitty denies her extremism:
‘Il ne faut jamais rien outrer,’ she told her.
But her daughter said nothing in reply; she only thought in her heart that one could not speak of excessiveness in matters of Christianity. What excessiveness could there be in following a teaching that tells you to turn the other cheek when you have been struck, and to give away your shirt when your caftan is taken? But the princess did not like this excessiveness, and still less did she like it that, as she felt, Kitty did not want to open her soul to her entirely.
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Part 3, Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—The Great Czars:
For a while, Levin, Sviyazhsky, Mikahil Petrovich, and another landowner discuss Russian politics and farming. The unnamed landowner believes that "the emancipation has ruined Russia" and alludes to Russia's great czars to make his point:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘The point, kindly note, is that all progress is achieved by authority alone,’ he said, apparently wishing to show that he was no stranger to education. ‘Take the reforms of Peter, Catherine, Alexander. Take European history. The more so with progress in agricultural methods. Take the potato—even it was introduced here by force. The wooden plough hasn’t always been in use either. It was probably introduced before the tsars, and also introduced by force.
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Part 3, Chapter 30
Explanation and Analysis—Levin as Ben Franklin:
After being rejected by Kitty, Levin feels dejected and pathetic. He uses an allusion to Benjamin Franklin to illustrate his vulnerable feelings towards the rejection:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘And the fact that it is I, Kostya Levin, the same one who came to the ball in a black tie and was rejected by Miss Shcherbatsky and is so pathetic and worthless in his own eyes—proves nothing. I’m sure that Franklin felt as worthless and distrusted himself in the same way, looking back at his whole self. That means nothing. And he, too, surely had his Agafya Mikhailovna to whom he confided his projects.’
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Part 4, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Athenian Nights:
When Vronsky visits Anna, she accuses him of indulging in improper behavior with the actress Thérèses at a party the evening before. The narrative uses an allusion to insinuate Vronsky's licentious behavior:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She held her crochet in her hands, not crocheting but looking at him with strange, shining and unfriendly eyes.
‘This morning Liza came to see me - they’re not afraid to visit me yet, in spite of Countess Lydia Ivanovna,’ she put in. ‘She told me about your Athenian night. How vile!’
‘I was just going to say that ...’
She interrupted him:
‘Was it the Thérèse you knew before?’
‘I was going to say ...’
‘How vile you men are! How can you not imagine to yourselves that a woman cannot forget that?’ she said, becoming increasingly angry and thereby betraying the cause of her vexation. ‘Especially a woman who cannot know your life. What do I know? What did I know?’ she said. ‘Only what you tell me. And how do I know whether what you’ve told me is true ...’
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Part 7, Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—The Face of Fire:
Stiva travels to Petersburg to escape the uptight and stagnant lifestyle of Moscow. With an allusion and simile, the narrative demonstrates how Stiva better fits into a more relaxed, unconcerned society:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Moscow, in spite of its cafés chantants and omnibuses, was, after all, a stagnant swamp. That Stepan Arkadyich had always felt. Living in Moscow, especially around his family, he felt he was losing his spirits. When he lived in Moscow for a long time without leaving, he reached the point of worrying about his wife’s bad moods and reproaches, his children’s health and education, the petty concerns of his service; he even worried about having debts. But he needed only to go and stay for a while in Petersburg, in the circle to which he belonged, where people lived - precisely lived, and did not vegetate as in Moscow - and immediately all these thoughts vanished and melted away like wax before the face of fire.
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