Anna Karenina · Chapter
The Circles of Society explained
Anna Karenina navigates the three distinct circles of Petersburg high society: her husband's official circle, the pious and ambitious circle of Countess Lidia Ivanovna, and the fashionable world of Princess Betsy Tverskaya.
What happens
Anna Karenina navigates the three distinct circles of Petersburg high society: her husband's official circle, the pious and ambitious circle of Countess Lidia Ivanovna, and the fashionable world of Princess Betsy Tverskaya. She finds the first two insufferable and insincere since her return from Moscow, and is increasingly drawn to Betsy's fashionable set, where she frequently meets Vronsky. The chapter details Anna's growing self-awareness of her feelings for Vronsky, which have become the central interest of her life, and includes a scene at the opera where Betsy teases Vronsky about his pursuit.
Themes in this chapter
Social Conventions vs. Individual Desire
Anna's growing attraction to Vronsky and the fashionable world directly conflicts with the social conventions of her husband's official and pious circles, which she is expected to inhabit.
Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
Anna perceives insincerity in Countess Lidia Ivanovna's circle. The fashionable world's claimed disdain for the demimonde is undercut by their identical tastes, highlighting societal hypocrisy.
Characters to notice
- Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
Analyzes her place in Petersburg society, acknowledging her boredom with her husband's circles and her irresistible attraction to the fashionable world where she meets Vronsky. She realizes her 'displeasure' at his pursuit is a self-deception.
- Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky
Actively pursues Anna in the fashionable world. He speaks with Betsy at the opera, expressing his desire to be 'caught' by Anna and viewing his pursuit of a married woman as something fine and grand, not ridiculous.
- Princess Betsy Tverskaya
Serves as Anna's conduit to the fashionable world. At the opera, she teases Vronsky about his passion for Anna, takes pleasure in the affair, and arranges their meetings.
- Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin
Mentioned indirectly through his social circles. He holds the pious circle of Countess Lidia Ivanovna in high esteem, which Anna now avoids.
- Countess Lidia Ivanovna
The center of the pious, ambitious circle Anna finds insufferable. Her set is mocked by Princess Betsy as a 'house of charity.'
Key passages
“Now, since her return from Moscow, she had come to feel this set insufferable. It seemed to her that both she and all of them were insincere...”
After Moscow, Anna found her former serious-minded friends fake and unbearable.
Shows her shifting moral and social alignment post-Moscow, where she met Vronsky.
“soon after her return from Moscow... she realized distinctly from the rush of disappointment that she had been deceiving herself, and that this pursuit was not merely not distasteful to her, but that it made the whole interest of her life.”
She understood her disappointment at missing Vronsky proved his pursuit was the main focus of her life.
Key moment of self-awareness about the depth of her feelings for Vronsky.
“the position of a man pursuing a married woman... has something fine and grand about it, and can never be ridiculous...”
Vronsky believes chasing a married woman is a noble, grand endeavor.
Reveals Vronsky's romantic self-image and justification for his actions.