I have been reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy for about a month now and I am still enjoying it equally to when I started. Anna Karenina is a Russian novel from the early 1900s about Anna, a women who falls in love with Count Vronsky. Although it sounds like a wonderful love story Anna is actually already married creating a story that explores the complexities of adultery, love, and societal standards. This quotation is after Anna gave birth to her illegitimate child with Vronsky and she is describing her woes of her situation.
Everything in this baby was charming, but for some reason all this did not go deep to her heart. On her first child, though the child of an unloved father, had been concentrated all the love that had never found satisfaction. Her baby girl had been born in the most painful circumstances and had not had a hundredth part of the care and thought which had been concentrated on her first child. (Pg. 510)
The reason I chose this quotation was because it made me think of the ethics of adultery at the time, specifically considering children. One argument could say that Anna should not be shamed for her adultery because women were not allowed to get divorced causing Anna to have an affair with Vronsky. Instead of what could happen currently, where it is socially and legally acceptable to get a divorce to prevent this and many other issues. The counter argument is that Anna is affecting others, specifically her child, Seryozha therefore she should stop and does not have the right to do this. This argument considers she should be more selfless and consider Seryozha and her new daughter’s feelings. Supported by Anna stating that her daughter had been born from painful circumstances and that she would not have as much love as her previous son had. Overall, this quotation really helped me brainstorm about the ethics of adultery because it brought up the topic of children previous to the adultery and the possible children conceived from it.