Anna Karenina · Chapter
XXI explained
After the reconciliation between Dolly and Stiva, the family gathers for tea.
What happens
After the reconciliation between Dolly and Stiva, the family gathers for tea. Anna, feeling a mother's longing, goes to fetch her album to show pictures of her son Seryozha. As she passes the staircase, she sees Vronsky, who has called but refuses to come upstairs. His brief, awkward appearance stirs conflicting feelings in Anna and puzzles the others, especially Kitty, who believes she knows the true reason for his visit.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Domesticity
The scene centers on a family tea after a marital reconciliation. Anna's poignant longing to look at her son's photo highlights the pull of maternal love amidst a social visit.
Social Conventions vs. Individual Desire
Vronsky's socially improper late call and his refusal to enter create tension. His actions, and Kitty's and Anna's private interpretations of them, hint at desires clashing with propriety.
Characters to notice
- Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
Observes the Oblonskys' reconciliation, feels pride and longing for her son Seryozha, and experiences a mix of pleasure and dread upon unexpectedly seeing Vronsky on the staircase.
- Darya Alexandrovna Oblonskaya
Hosts the tea, her tone to Stiva is mockingly affectionate, indicating a reconciliation, though she remains composed and practical.
- Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky
Emerges cheerful after reconciling with Dolly, tries to be helpful, and later explains Vronsky's visit as being about a dinner party.
- Kitty Shcherbatskaya
Blushes, believing she alone understands Vronsky came looking for her but refused to come up because Anna was present and it was late.
- Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky
Appears briefly at the foot of the stairs, shows embarrassment upon seeing Anna, and refuses Stepan Arkadyevitch's invitation to come up, leaving the household puzzled.
Key passages
“"Full, full reconciliation, full," thought Anna; "thank God!" and rejoicing that she was the cause of it...”
Anna internally celebrates the complete reconciliation between Dolly and Stiva, taking personal joy in having facilitated it.
Highlights Anna's role as a peacemaker and her investment in domestic harmony.
“She longed to look at his photograph and talk of him. Seizing the first pretext, she got up...”
Overcome with a mother's yearning for her distant son, Anna uses any excuse to go fetch his picture.
Emphasizes the depth of Anna's maternal affection and her sense of separation.
“Kitty blushed. She thought that she was the only person who knew why he had come, and why he would not come up.”
Kitty turned red, convinced she alone understood Vronsky's true motive for visiting and his reason for leaving.
Shows Kitty's persistent attachment to Vronsky and her misinterpretation of the situation, which actually centers on Anna.