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Part 6, Chapter 14
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
Levin finds Dolly, who is punishing her daughter for some misdemeanor. Dolly says that everyone has noticed that Veslovsky has been flirting with Kitty. Levin tells Veslovsky that a carriage is waiting and that he must leave. Veslovsky asks for an explanation, but seeing Levin’s bulging muscles, he scurries away like the society dandy he is. Everybody except Kitty’s mother, who thinks Levin has been unspeakably rude, becomes quite merry once Veslovsky has left.
Once Dolly confirms Levin’s suspicion that Veslovsky is flirting with Kitty, he becomes calmer and more pragmatic about his jealousy. When it was his own secret emotion, it was too much to deal with, but when it’s an objective fact, he can act on it, and Levin is much happier when he is active than when he is brooding.
Themes
