# VI explained — Anna Karenina

> Chapter companion for Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

Levin and Kitty are married in a church ceremony. The chapter details the rituals, prayers, and the overwhelming happiness that infects both of them and seems to spread to everyone present. The ceremony culminates with the priest instructing them to kiss, and they leave the church with a new sense of unity before departing for the country.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

The entire chapter is a direct depiction of the sacrament of marriage, focusing on the spiritual union, joy, and the formal transition into married life.

### Family and Domesticity

The wedding prayers explicitly invoke fruitfulness, looking upon sons and daughters, and the creation of a new family unit, leaving parents to cleave to one another.

## Character check-ins

### Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin

Overwhelmed with joy and disbelief during the wedding ceremony; feels a new, strange sense of closeness to Kitty after the kiss.

### Kitty Shcherbatskaya

Radiant with happiness, her feeling of triumph floods her soul; she smiles unconsciously, infecting everyone with her joy.

### Prince Shcherbatsky

Holds the wedding crown above Kitty's head with a shaking hand, urged by others to 'Put it on!'

### Tchirikov

Along with Prince Shcherbatsky, supports the crowns and stumbles over the bride's train, smiling and seeming delighted.

## Key lines

> They prayed: 'Endow them with continence and fruitfulness, and vouchsafe that their hearts may rejoice looking upon their sons and daughters.'

The prayer asks God to grant the couple self-control, many children, and the joy of seeing them.

_Highlights the societal and religious expectation for marriage to be productive and centered on children._

> The spark of joy kindled in Kitty seemed to have infected everyone in the church.

Kitty's radiant happiness spread to and affected everyone present at the ceremony.

_Emphasizes the transformative and communal power of genuine emotion in a formal social setting._

> It was only when their wondering and timid eyes met that he believed in it, because he felt that they were one.

Levin only believed the marriage was real when he and Kitty looked at each other and he felt their unity.

_Shows that the true validation of their union comes from their personal connection, not just the ceremony._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anna_karenina_se/chapters/part-v-vi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anna_karenina_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anna_karenina_se/chapters