Anna Karenina: Personal Response

After finishing Anna Karenina (it took long), I’m both impressed and relieved. Impressed because of the great work of literature Tolstoy has masterminded, and relieved simply because I’m done with it and can move on to finish my other schoolworks.

After reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles, I thought: no other work that we will study in the course will be better than Tess. However, Anna Karenina turned out to be better than Tess. Firstly, it’s easier to read and understand. As the narrative voice in Anna Karenina have less of a personality than that of Tess, the story emphasizes more on the characters, what they do and speak. Without a narrator who seemingly interrupts the story, the story flows more naturally, just like watching a movie.

Secondly, I like how the plot revolves around different characters. These characters have different personalities, which offers different opinions on matters throughout the whole story. However, sometimes it does get confusing to think of the relationships between two characters and where they knew each other from. With so many characters, it allows me to gain insight of the Russia society at that time, and also how society has shaped the people’s thinking. Also, like Chi said, because there isn’t a clear main character in the novel, the story is so much more real. Life isn’t all just about 1 person, but many. The world continues regardless of one’s feelings or doings. Anna has a tragic ending whereas Levin has a happy one, and that’s life – tragic and happy events always go by, but the world still continues. This seem to minimize our contribution to the world, and again, raises the question of: what are we and what is the goal of life?

There are a few statements/quotes that I really like in the novel. One of them is on page 556: ‘…and if one loves, one loves the whole person as he or she is, and not as one might wish them to be.’. This left a deep impression for me. These past few years, I’ve been thinking why couples have children. Afterall, children are a burden and only requires money, time and effort. When my parents scold me, telling me that I’m just a burden, I wonder why they gave birth to me in the first place. They saythey love me, but why do they love me when I’m only a burden? They don’t owe me anything, but do so much just for me. This quote from Anna Karenina made me think, and it can be applied in this case – my parents love me because of who I am (their son). But this led me thinking: if this is so, doesn’t loving someone means suffering, since that someone will never ever be what one wishes them to be?

Another quote that left a great impression was on page 720: “‘If goodness has a cause, it is no longer goodness; if it has a consequence – a reward, it is also not goodness…’”. It is hard to think, that goodness requires no cause or consequence. Every thing I do, in my life, seem to me to have a cause and usually, a consequence. How can one do something, without a cause? Without a cause, why would one do that something? Just for the sake of doing it? Even the simplest of things, such as breathing – we do it because we need to, and this is a cause by itself. Another example: why do we get angry? We get angry because someone provoked our hormones, thus the cause is scientific – hormones. A better example: Donating money to charity. I do this because I believe in fairness and equality in the world and also in Karma, and hope to be rewarded with a fairer world. Is this goodness? To me, it is. However, according to the novel, since I do it for a cause – to have a fairer world – it isn’t goodness. I just can’t get this concept.

This book is truly a remarkable book as it is very realistic and truly, a great literature that raises questions.  If I had more time, I would read it again, and again.  9.75/10

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