Anna Karenina · Chapter
Levin's Past and Present: The Shtcherbatsky Household and His Love for Kitty explained
Levin is in Moscow to propose to Kitty Shcherbatskaya but is too embarrassed to admit it to Oblonsky.
What happens
Levin is in Moscow to propose to Kitty Shcherbatskaya but is too embarrassed to admit it to Oblonsky. The chapter delves into Levin's long-standing connection to the Shtcherbatsky family, which provided the domestic warmth he lacked after being orphaned. He idealizes the family, especially its feminine members, and recounts his sequential, almost dutiful, attraction to each sister before settling on Kitty. Despite being a respectable match, Levin is plagued by insecurity, believing himself—a country gentleman without a conventional career—to be unworthy of the perfect, enchanting Kitty. After two months of tortured hope in Moscow and a retreat to the country, he has returned with a desperate resolve to propose.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Central theme. Levin's agonized journey toward proposing marriage explores the conflict between intense romantic feeling and pragmatic social considerations of a 'good match.'
Isolation and Misunderstanding
Levin's profound sense of being an outsider—both to the enchanting world of the Shtcherbatskys and to conventional society—fuels his insecurity and belief that he is fundamentally unworthy of Kitty's love.
Family and Domesticity
Levin's love is initially for the Shtcherbatsky household itself, which represents a cultivated, warm, and honorable family life he felt deprived of after being orphaned. This idealization forms the foundation of his specific love for Kitty.
Characters to notice
- Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin
Reveals his deep-seated insecurities and romantic idealism. He is in Moscow to propose to Kitty, tormented by feelings of unworthiness stemming from his lack of a conventional career and his self-perceived ordinariness.
- Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky
Questions Levin about his purpose in town, prompting Levin's internal turmoil. His marriage to Dolly is noted as a past event that shifted Levin's attachments within the family.
- Kitty Shcherbatskaya
Described as the object of Levin's profound love and idealization. She is portrayed as a perfect, almost unearthly creature in Levin's eyes, the youngest sister he finally realizes he is destined to love.
- Darya Alexandrovna Oblonskaya
Mentioned as the eldest Shtcherbatsky sister whom Levin was 'all but in love with' before her marriage to Oblonsky removed her from consideration.
- Mademoiselle Linon
Appears as part of the mysterious, idealized domestic routine of the Shtcherbatsky household, accompanying the young ladies on their outings.
Key passages
“he could not answer, 'I have come to make your sister-in-law an offer,' though that was precisely what he had come for.”
Levin's true purpose for being in town is to propose to Kitty, but he is too embarrassed to admit it.
Highlights Levin's internal conflict and social anxiety.
“it was with the household, the family, that Konstantin Levin was in love, especially with the feminine half of the household.”
Levin fell in love with the entire Shtcherbatsky family and its domestic atmosphere, not just an individual at first.
Shows the origin of his feelings in an idealized vision of family life.
“Levin was in love, and so it seemed to him that Kitty was so perfect... and that he was a creature so low and so earthly...”
His love for Kitty makes him see her as a sublime being and himself as utterly unworthy.
Illustrates the power dynamics and insecurity in his romantic idealism.
“he had no ordinary, definite career and position in society... a country gentleman, occupied in breeding cattle, shooting game, and building barns...”
Levin believes his lack of a conventional, prestigious career makes him a poor match in the eyes of Kitty's family and society.
Central to his crisis of self-worth and social standing.
