Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina

by

Leo Tolstoy

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Anna Karenina: Part 7, Chapter 29 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
On the way home, Anna convinces herself that Kitty despises her. A man in the street tips his hat to her before realizing he’s mistaken Anna for an acquaintance; Anna, despondently, thinks that she doesn’t even know herself. Everybody hates each other, she decides, and life is a lie.
Anna sees everything in the worst possible light—in her mind, Kitty hates her, the world hates her, she hates herself. Others don’t recognize her; she cannot recognize herself. In her insanity, she trusts nothing.
Themes
Marriage and Family Life Theme Icon
Adultery and Jealousy Theme Icon
Society and Class Theme Icon
At home, there is a telegram from Vronsky, saying that he cannot come before ten; not realizing he had only received the telegram and not her note, she decides she must go and see him herself. She decides to pack so that she can spend several days away: she hates the house and never wants to return. She goes to the railway station.
Due to miscommunication—after all, Anna has not learned the novel’s key lesson that one should never trust verbal communication—she sets off for the train to fetch Vronsky. She is repulsed by herself and her surroundings and is determined not to come back to her life at the house—a wish that comes true all too permanently.
Themes
Marriage and Family Life Theme Icon
Adultery and Jealousy Theme Icon
Society and Class Theme Icon