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
As Anna stands on the train platform in the snowstorm, Vronsky suddenly appears. He has followed her from Moscow. The news both terrifies and thrills her: she is proud and excited by her power over him, yet she is also frightened by the danger inherent in their burgeoning relationship and cannot sleep.
Although Anna believes she is leaving Moscow to escape Vronsky, he has followed her, and her power over him, and the passion he has for her, thrills her, even though she also recognizes the danger in this electric relationship.
Themes
The first face Anna sees when the train pulls into Petersburg is her husband’s, and the first thing she notices are his unsightly ears. She is painfully aware of her dissatisfaction with both Karenin and herself.
Anna does not love her husband, Karenin, and her passion for Vronsky makes this previously latent fact painfully obvious to her.
Themes
