Anna Karenina · Chapter
III explained
Anna and Vronsky have a tense, intimate conversation in their home.
What happens
Anna and Vronsky have a tense, intimate conversation in their home. Anna expresses her consuming jealousy over Vronsky's social life and his past, and they discuss their miserable position. She reveals a terrifying dream about a peasant and a prophecy of her death in childbirth, which Vronsky recognizes from his own dream. The conversation shifts to their contempt for Karenin, whom Anna mimics and derides as an unfeeling machine. Despite moments of bitterness, the chapter ends with Anna feeling the stirring of her unborn child, a moment of solemn attention.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Misunderstanding
Anna feels utterly isolated in her jealousy and fear, stating her life is 'incomprehensible' when Vronsky is away. Vronsky, in turn, feels he cannot make her happy and is trapped, unable to understand or alleviate her suffering.
Love and Marriage
The chapter contrasts Anna's passionate, torturous love for Vronsky with her empty, false marriage to Karenin, whom she depicts as a soulless bureaucrat. Their illicit union is depicted as a source of misery, not freedom.
Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
Anna viciously critiques Karenin's ability to maintain the pretense of a normal marriage, calling him 'steeped in falsity.' Their entire social position is built on a lie that is becoming unbearable.
Characters to notice
- Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
Tormented by jealousy and a premonition of death from a dream; expresses deep unhappiness with her social position and contempt for Karenin; has a moment of blissful connection with her pregnancy.
- Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky
Tries to soothe Anna's jealousy; feels coldness despite her love; is horrified by her dream, which mirrors his own; feels trapped in their unhappy situation.
- Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin
Discussed but not present; Anna mockingly imitates his mannerisms and speech, describing him as an unfeeling, mechanical official who is 'perfectly satisfied' with their false situation.
- Countess Lidia Ivanovna
Mentioned as a figure whose disapproval does not prevent 'Liza' from visiting Anna.
- Korney
Mentioned by Anna as the one who interpreted her dream, saying 'In childbirth you’ll die, ma’am.'
Key passages
“'If you knew how terrible it is to me, what I would give to be able to love you freely and boldly! I should not torture myself and torture you with my jealousy.'”
Anna expresses that the constraints of their secret affair amplify her jealousy and prevent the pure, open love she desires.
Highlights the corrosive effect of social judgment on their relationship.
“'I shall die; and I’m very glad I shall die, and release myself and you.'”
Anna, haunted by a dream, sees her own death in childbirth as the only escape from their painful situation.
Reveals her profound despair and the dream's ominous foreshadowing.
“'He’s not a man, he’s an official machine. He doesn’t understand that I’m your wife, that he’s outside, that he’s superfluous.'”
Anna dismisses Karenin as an unfeeling bureaucrat completely detached from the emotional reality of her life with Vronsky.
Demonstrates her utter contempt for Karenin and the legal marriage she is trapped in.