Anna Karenina · Chapter
Levin Visits His Brother Nikolay explained
After his humiliating proposal to Kitty, a despondent Levin walks to his brother Nikolay's lodgings.
What happens
After his humiliating proposal to Kitty, a despondent Levin walks to his brother Nikolay's lodgings. He reflects on his own worthlessness compared to Vronsky and recalls Nikolay's troubled, oscillating life of religious asceticism and wild debauchery. Levin resolves to understand and love his brother. At the shabby hotel, he finds Nikolay living with his companion Marya Nikolaevna and a radical friend, Kritsky. Nikolay is initially hostile but softens, introducing his companions with defiant pride.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Misunderstanding
Levin feels profoundly isolated after Kitty's rejection. He believes Nikolay is also misunderstood by society, seeing his soul as no more 'in the wrong' than those who despise him, highlighting the gap between internal reality and external judgment.
Family and Domesticity
Contrasted and fractured. Levin seeks familial connection in his despair. Nikolay's domestic life is a defiant, non-traditional union with Marya Nikolaevna, set in squalor, challenging conventional notions of home and partnership.
Search for Meaning
Levin's existential crisis after his proposal leads him to question his purpose ('Who am I and what am I? A nobody...'). He also reflects on Nikolay's lifelong, turbulent search for 'a support and a curb' through religion and radicalism.
Characters to notice
- Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin
Deeply depressed after Kitty's rejection, compares himself unfavorably to Vronsky. Seeks solace and connection with his estranged brother Nikolay, determined to understand and love him despite his flaws.
- Nikolay Dmitrievitch Levin
Living in squalor with his companion Marya Nikolaevna. Emaciated, ill, and initially angry at the visit. Defiantly introduces his life partner and radical friend, showing a mix of vulnerability, pride, and a desire for respect.
- Marya Nikolaevna
Described as a pockmarked woman in a woolen gown. Nikolay introduces her as the 'partner of my life,' whom he took 'out of a bad house' but loves and respects, demanding others do the same.
- Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky
Not physically present, but vividly present in Levin's tormented thoughts as the contrast to himself—'happy, good-natured, clever, and self-possessed'—and as the man Kitty was bound to choose.
- Kitty Shcherbatskaya
The implicit cause of Levin's despair. Her rejection leads him to question his own worth and drives him to seek out his brother.
Key passages
“"Yes, there is something in me hateful, repulsive," thought Levin... "Who am I and what am I? A nobody, not wanted by anyone, nor of use to anybody."”
Levin is consumed by self-loathing and a sense of utter worthlessness after being rejected.
Shows the depth of his despair and damaged self-esteem.
“"I took her out of a bad house," and he jerked his neck saying this; "but I love her and respect her, and anyone who wants to know me... I beg to love her and respect her."”
Nikolay introduces Marya Nikolaevna with a defiant mixture of shame and fierce, protective pride.
Highlights Nikolay's complex character: his roughness, his need for respect, and his unconventional morality.
“Levin felt that, in spite of all the ugliness of his life, his brother Nikolay, in his soul, in the very depths of his soul, was no more in the wrong than the people who despised him.”
Levin believes his brother's essential soul is not culpable, despite his outwardly destructive life.
Central to Levin's compassionate mission; he judges by internal character, not external actions or society's view.
