Anna Karenina · Chapter
Chapter XVI explained
Levin, his father-in-law Prince Shcherbatsky, Sergey Ivanovitch, and Stepan Arkadyevitch converse, but Levin's mind is entirely on Kitty and their newborn son.
What happens
Levin, his father-in-law Prince Shcherbatsky, Sergey Ivanovitch, and Stepan Arkadyevitch converse, but Levin's mind is entirely on Kitty and their newborn son. He visits Kitty, who is recovering and planning the christening. Levin witnesses the baby being dressed and experiences a complex mix of emotions—disgust, pity, apprehension, and a strange pride—upon first seeing his child, a feeling far from the joyous fatherhood he anticipated.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Domesticity
The chapter centers on the birth of Levin and Kitty's son, exploring the intense, complex emotions of new parenthood and the strengthening of their marital bond.
Search for Meaning
Levin grapples with the unexpected and overwhelming feelings provoked by fatherhood, seeking to understand his new 'sphere of liability to pain' and the profound responsibility it entails.
Characters to notice
- Konstantin Dmitrievitch Levin
Struggles with his new identity as a father, feeling a profound sense of responsibility and apprehension rather than immediate joy upon seeing his son.
- Kitty Shcherbatskaya
Recovering from childbirth, radiant and focused on the baby, asking to hold him and showing maternal instinct.
- Lizaveta Petrovna
The midwife who tends to the newborn, dressing him and showing him to Levin with pride.
- Sergey Ivanovitch Koznishev
Present in the conversation with Levin and the others at the start of the chapter.
- Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky
Present in the initial conversation, discussing yesterday's dinner at the club.
Key passages
“He felt himself exalted to unattainable heights, from which he studiously lowered himself so as not to wound the people he was talking to.”
Levin feels spiritually elevated by the birth of his child but consciously acts normally around his guests.
Highlights Levin's internal transformation and new perspective.
“There was the same change in it from earthly to unearthly that is seen in the face of the dead. But then it means farewell, here it meant welcome.”
Kitty's face has a transcendent, spiritual quality similar to that of the deceased, but hers signifies a joyful new beginning rather than an end.
Emphasizes the profound, almost sacred nature of childbirth and renewal.
“What he felt towards this little creature was utterly unlike what he had expected. There was nothing cheerful and joyous in the feeling; on the contrary, it was a new torture of apprehension.”
Levin's initial paternal feeling is not joy but fearful anxiety and a sense of vulnerability for the helpless baby.
Captures the novel's realistic and complex portrayal of parenthood, contrasting with idealized expectations.