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Who wrote the work Anna Karenina. III. Students' report about the prototypes of the novel “Anna Karenina” Theatrical productions and film adaptations of the novel

Once a famous American writer, laureate Nobel Prize in literature, William Faulkner was asked to name the three best novels in world literature, to which he answered without hesitation: “Anna Karenina”, “Anna Karenina”, and again “Anna Karenina”.

On April 17, 1877, Leo Tolstoy completed his famous novel Anna Karenina, on which he had been working for more than four years. If the great Russian classic called “War and Peace” a “book about the past”, in which he described a beautiful and sublime “integrated world”, then he called “Anna Karenina” a “novel from modern life”, where the chaos of good and evil reigns.

Tolstoy began writing one of the most famous novels in the history of Russian literature in 1873. He had long planned to write such a book in which he would describe the love and life of a fallen woman, from the point of view of society. The writer figured out how to start the novel almost immediately.

At the end of 1874, Tolstoy decided to submit the first chapters of the novel (which was still very far from being completed) to the Russian Messenger, and now he “involuntarily” had to work on the book in order to keep up with the monthly magazine. Sometimes he sat down to work with pleasure, and sometimes he exclaimed: “Unbearably disgusting” or “My Anna bores me like a bitter radish.”

All of reading Russia was burning with impatience in anticipation of new chapters of Anna Karenina, but work on the book was difficult. The first part of the novel alone had ten editions, but the total amount of work on the manuscript amounted to 2560 sheets.

Tolstoy sat down to work on the book under the impression of Pushkin’s prose. This is evidenced by both the testimony of Sofia Tolstoy and the author’s own notes.

In a letter to literary critic Nikolai Strakhov, Tolstoy wrote: “...I once after work took up this volume of Pushkin and, as always (for the seventh time, it seems), I reread everything, was unable to tear myself away and seemed to be reading it again. But more than that, he seemed to have resolved all my doubts. Not only Pushkin before, but I think I have never admired anything so much: “The Shot”, “Egyptian Nights”, “ Captain's daughter"!!! And there is an excerpt “The guests were going to the dacha.” Involuntarily, accidentally, without knowing why or what would happen, I conceived of people and events, began to continue, then, of course, I changed it, and suddenly it began so beautifully and coolly that a novel came out, which I have now finished in draft, a very lively, passionate novel and finished, with which I am very pleased and which will be ready, God willing, in two weeks.”

But after two weeks the novel was not ready - Tolstoy continued to work on Anna Karenina for another three years.

Tolstoy was repeatedly reproached for treating Anna too cruelly, “forcing her to die under a carriage.” To which the writer replied: “Once Pushkin said to his friend: “Imagine what kind of thing my Tatyana threw out. She got married. I didn’t expect this from her.” I can say the same about Anna. My heroes do what they should do in real life, and not what I want.”

Tolstoy chose the Moscow region as the setting for Karenina’s suicide. railway station Ripped off, and he did it not by chance: at that time the Nizhny Novgorod road was one of the main industrial highways, and heavily loaded freight trains often traveled along it. During the years the novel was written, the station was used by an average of 25 people a day, and in 1939 it was renamed Zheleznodorozhnaya.

Tolstoy largely copied Anna Karenina’s appearance from Alexander Pushkin’s daughter Maria Hartung. From her, Karenina inherited both her hairstyle and her favorite necklace: “Her hairstyle was invisible. Only noticeable, decorating her, were these willful short rings of curly hair, always sticking out at the back of her head and temples. There was a string of pearls on the chiseled strong neck.”

Tolstoy met the heiress of the great poet in Tula 5 years before writing the novel. As you know, her charm and wit set Maria apart from other women of that time, and the writer immediately liked her. However, Pushkin’s daughter, of course, did not throw herself under any train and even outlived Tolstoy by almost a decade. She died in Moscow on March 7, 1919 at the age of 86.

Another prototype for Karenina was a certain Anna Pirogova, who in 1872, in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, threw herself under a train because of unhappy love. According to the memoirs of the writer’s wife Sofia Tolstoy, Lev Nikolaevich even went to the railway barracks to see the unfortunate woman.

In addition, there were two women in the Tolstoy family who left their husbands for lovers (which was a very rare occurrence in those days). Literary scholars are confident that their fates had no less influence on the image and character of Karenina.

Also, the image of one of the main characters of the novel was close to the poet Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, for whose sake Sofya Andreevna Bakhmeteva left her husband - this story made a lot of noise in the world.

In the mid-1930s, while working on the anniversary edition of Tolstoy’s works, literary scholars examined the manuscript collection of Anna Karenina and determined that the novel initially began not with the famous words “Everything was mixed up in the Oblonsky house,” but with a scene in the salon of the future princess Tverskoy. This draft manuscript was called “Well done Baba,” and the main character was first called Tatyana, then Nana (Anastasia), and only later did she become Anna.

April 17, 1877 Lev Tolstoy Finished work on the novel Anna Karenina. The prototypes of many of the characters were real people - the classic “drew” some of the portraits and characters from the friends, relatives and acquaintances around him, and the hero named Konstantin Levin is often called the alter ego of the author himself. AiF.ru tells what Tolstoy’s great novel is about and why “Anna Karenina” turned into a “mirror” of its era.

Two marriages

“All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” this phrase opens the first volume of Anna Karenina and sets the mood for the entire novel. Over the course of eight parts, the author describes the joys and hardships of individual families: adultery, weddings and the birth of children, quarrels and worries.

The work is based on two storylines: a) the relationship between the married Anna Karenina and the young and passionately in love with her Alexei Vronsky; b) the family life of landowner Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. Moreover, against the backdrop of the first couple, experiencing passion and jealousy, the second has a real idyll. By the way, in one of the early versions the novel was called “Two Marriages.”

On someone else's misfortune

The scene of the meeting between Anna and Vronsky in the light (Part II, Chapter VI). Drawing by Elmer Boyd Smith, 1886 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Anna Karenina’s life, it would seem, can only be envied - a woman from high society, she is married to a noble official and is raising a son with him. But her entire existence is upended by a chance meeting at the station. Coming out of the carriage, she exchanges glances with the young count and officer Vronsky. Soon the couple collides again - this time at the ball. Even Kitty Shcherbatskaya, who is in love with Vronsky, notices that he is drawn to Karenina, and she, in turn, is interested in her new admirer.

But Anna needs to return to her native Petersburg - to her husband and son. Persistent and stubborn Vronsky follows her - not at all embarrassed by her status, he begins to court the lady. Over the course of a year, the heroes meet at balls and social events until they become lovers. The entire high society is watching the development of their relationship, including Alexei Karenin, Anna’s husband.

Despite the fact that the heroine is expecting a child from Vronsky, her husband does not give her a divorce. During childbirth, Anna almost dies, but a month after her recovery she leaves abroad - together with Vronsky and their little daughter. She leaves her son in the care of his father.

But life with her lover does not bring her happiness. Anna begins to be jealous of Vronsky, and although he loves her, he is burdened by her and yearns for her. Returning to St. Petersburg does not change anything, especially since former friends avoid their company. Then the heroes go first to the village, and then to Moscow - however, their relationship does not become stronger from this. After a particularly violent quarrel, Vronsky leaves to visit his mother. Karenina follows him and at the station a decision comes to her on how to resolve this situation and “untie” everyone’s hands. She throws herself under a train.

Vronsky takes the loss seriously and volunteers to go to war. Their little daughter is taken in by Alexey Karenin.

Vasily Meshkov. "L. N. Tolstoy at work in the library in Yasnaya Polyana.” 1910 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Levin's second chance

In parallel, Tolstoy unfolds another storyline: describes the story of Kitty Shcherbatskaya and Konstantin Levin. The 34-year-old landowner was in love with 18-year-old Kitty and even decided to propose to her, but she was then infatuated with Vronsky and refused. Soon the officer left for Anna, and Shcherbatskaya was left “with nothing.” Due to nervousness, the girl fell ill, and Levin drove off back to the village, to manage his estate and work together with the peasant men.

However, Tolstoy gave his heroes a second chance: at a dinner party the couple met again. Kitty realizes that she loves Levin, and he realizes that his feelings for the girl have not faded away at all. The hero offers Shcherbatskaya his hand and heart for the second time - and this time she agrees. Immediately after the wedding, the couple leaves for the village. Despite the fact that at first life together is not easy for them, they are happy - Kitty supports her husband when his brother died and gives birth to Levin’s child. This is exactly what, according to Tolstoy, a family should look like, and there must certainly be spiritual closeness between spouses.

Mirror of the era

Mikhail Vrubel. "Anna Karenina's date with her son." 1878 Photo: reproduction

As I wrote Sergei Tolstoy, son of a classic, “From a realistic novel, such as Anna Karenina, what is required first of all is truthfulness; therefore, his material was not only large, but also small facts taken from real life.” But what could have prompted the author to come up with such a plot?

In the 19th century, divorce was rare. Society harshly condemned and despised women who dared to leave their family for another man. However, precedents did occur, including in Tolstoy’s family. For example, his distant relative Alexey Tolstoy married Sofya Bakhmeteva- when the couple met, Bakhmeteva was already married to someone else and had a daughter. To some extent, Anna Karenina is a collective image. Some features of her appearance resemble Maria Hartung- daughter Pushkin, and the character of the heroine and the situation in which she found herself, the author “wove” from several different stories. The spectacular ending was also taken from life - the live-in wife of Tolstoy's neighbor in Yasnaya Polyana died under a train - Anna Pirogova. She was very jealous of her lover, and somehow she quarreled with him and left for Tula. Three days later, the woman sent a letter to her partner through the coachman, and she threw herself under the wheels.

Nevertheless, critics were outraged by Tolstoy's novel. Anna Karenina was called immoral and amoral - that is, “in reality” readers treated her in exactly the same way as the secular characters in the book. The author’s description of the scene of intimacy between his heroine and Vronsky also caused a number of attacks. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin spoke of “Anna Karenina” as a “cow novel”, where Vronsky is a “bull in love”, and Nikolay Nekrasov wrote an epigram:

“Tolstoy, you proved with patience and talent,

That a woman should not "walk"

Neither with the chamber cadet, nor with the aide-de-camp,

Year of publication of the book: 1875-1877

The writer worked on Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina for four years, starting in 1873. The work almost immediately received the status of a classic of world literature. It has been translated into many languages and filmed in several countries. Based on the work, plays, ballets and musicals were staged. The most recent film adaptation of the Anna Karenina novel was the 2017 Russian TV series Anna Karenina. The story of Vronsky."

Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina summary

Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky, a thirty-five-year-old civil servant, is caught by his wife in infidelity with their governess. Dolly (his wife) took this news too seriously. She wants to take six children and leave the house immediately. Stepan himself (aka Stiva) does not see anything wrong in his betrayal. He justifies his action by saying that he no longer loves his wife. For all their years life together Dolly had changed both externally and internally, so Stiva did not even think that his wife would react so painfully to the news of betrayal. He himself is currently awaiting the arrival of his sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina.

While working, Stepan Arkadyevich meets his longtime friend Konstantin Levin. He came for a reason. For a long time he has been in love with Kitty Shcherbatskaya, Dolly’s younger sister, and is soon going to propose to her. Levin is a landowner who lives in the province and farms. His great love for Kitty is also reinforced by the fact that the girl is from a respectable noble family, which Konstantin has respected since childhood. The friends got to talking and Stiva admitted that he approved of the marriage of Kitty and Konstantin and was happy for him.

Next, "Anna Karenina" the book describes Kitty as a young naive girl of eighteen years old. She has great sympathy for Levin, she likes to spend time with him and, of course, she cannot help but notice sympathy on his part. The situation becomes more complicated when Count Alexei Vronsky appears on the horizon. He begins to actively court the girl, although he does not want to marry her at all. All this becomes a difficult test for Kitty herself, who, due to her youth, cannot understand her feelings. She has affection for both Levin and Vronsky, but still understands that with Alexei she is guaranteed a good future. Having received an offer from Konstantin, she, as in, refuses him.

Further in Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina” you can read about how the next day Count Vronsky goes to the station to meet his mother. There he meets Oblonsky, who is waiting for his sister to arrive. When the train arrives and the passengers get out of their carriages, Vronsky's gaze immediately falls on the beautiful stranger. She turns out to be Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. The woman also pays attention to the count. He catches the sparkle in her eyes and her smile. Unexpectedly drunk guard railway station falls under a train and dies. Anna sees this event as not a very good sign.

Stiva asks his sister to help him reconcile with his wife. Anna persuades Dolly not to leave the house. She calls on the woman to remember how happy the couple were in their marriage and assures her that Stepan is very sorry for what he did and does not intend to repeat such an act. Dolly agrees to give this relationship a second chance.

Kitty decides to visit the Oblonskys. She is fascinated by Anna, her manners, voice, grace. The young girl sees Karenina as the ideal woman. Soon Vronskikh appears. But as soon as Alexey finds out that Anna is in the house, he refuses to come in. With this action, Vronsky arouses suspicion among those present.

Anna goes to the ball with the Oblonsky and Shcherbatsky family. Kitty is fascinated by Anna's appearance. At the ball, Vronsky flirts with Kitty and invites her to dance. The girl becomes more and more fascinated by the count. She dreams of their future together. Suddenly, Kitty notices Alexei flirting with a woman in a black dress. She turns out to be Anna. From that moment until the end of the ball, Vronsky communicates and dances only with Karenina. Both feel that passion is arising between them, it is present in their every gesture, in every word. Anna informs Vronsky that tomorrow she is going back to St. Petersburg.

The very next day, on the train, Karenina notices the Count on the train. Vronsky tells Anna that he is going to St. Petersburg solely for her sake. Anna is confused: she doesn’t know where this romance will lead her, but she is unable to resist the feeling that is arising in her. She is met on the platform by her husband and eight-year-old son Seryozha. Karenina understands that she is not just indifferent to her husband. With every second around him, she feels a deep disgust for this man.

Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin works at the ministry. He is much older than his wife and by his nature is particularly unromantic, devoid of love for any form of art. He spends all his time either at work or reading newspapers or theological literature. Karenin loves his wife, but prefers to talk about his feelings infrequently.

Further in the novel “Anna Karenina” we can read about how in winter Kitty falls ill with tuberculosis. Doctors are confident that the disease manifested itself against the background of a nervous breakdown. All the girl’s relatives understand that the culprit is the betrayal of Count Vronsky. The Shcherbatskys decide that Kitty needs to unwind. They send her abroad to improve her health and forget about the grief that happened.

In St. Petersburg, Vronsky often meets with Anna. The count's cousin helps them with this. The entire secular society suspects Anna of treason, but Alexey Alexandrovich has no idea about anything. When Karenin's friends hint to him about his wife's infidelity, he wants to talk to Anna. Their conversation leads nowhere. The woman skillfully hides the secret affair and assures her husband that this is all his invention.

Stiva Oblonsky visits Levin at his estate. All this time, Konstantin was busy looking after the economy and making profitable deals with merchants. During the conversation, Levin learns that Kitty and Vronsky are not together and that the girl is seriously ill

Vronsky is not satisfied with the relationship he has with Karenina. He asks the woman to divorce her husband and marry him. But with all her love for the count, Anna is afraid of losing her son. She understands that Karenin can forbid her to see the child, and she will not survive this, because Seryozha is the only reason, according to which Anna remained married to Alexei Alexandrovich all these years.

The relationship between Karenina and Vronsky crosses the platonic level. Anna is rushing about. She doesn't want to live a lie, but at the same time she doesn't want to talk to her husband. And there is something to talk about, because the woman understands that she is irrevocably in love with the count. Moreover, she is expecting a child from him.

The Karenins go to the races, in which Vronsky participates. During the race, the Count falls from his horse and is seriously injured. Anna's behavior during the fall of her lover betrays the woman. She panics and starts crying. The thought that she could lose Alexei drives her crazy. Karenin does not like this behavior of his wife. Wanting to avoid shame, he persuades Anna to leave here. On the way home, Anna breaks down. Everything that has accumulated in her results in a frank conversation with Karenin. She admits to her husband that she does not love him and has not been faithful to him for a long time. Karenin is confused. He doesn't know what to do in this situation. He decides to leave Anna in a house outside the city, and he goes to St. Petersburg to make a decision.

His brother Sergei Koznyshev comes to Konstantin Levin. They spend a lot of time talking about life and people. Sergei notices that Levin likes to spend time on the ground. He works in the field along with everyone else, looks after the farm himself and finds peace of mind during hard work. Later, Konstantin learns that Dolly and her children are coming to the village next door. The woman is not used to living in the village, she cannot find a common language with the servants. In addition, the renovation of the house is not completed and Dolly has to deal with all the economic problems. In desperation, she accepts Levin's help. In gratitude, she is thinking of setting him up with Kitty. Dolly tells Konstantin that she is going to invite her sister to stay in this house. Levin admits that he is afraid to date Kitty because she refused him a few months ago. But Dolly assures young man that all is not lost for him.

Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, Karenin in the novel Anna Karenina thinks about how he should act in the current situation. He sees several options for solving the problem. He immediately discards thoughts about the duel with Vronsky and about divorcing his wife. Alexey Alexandrovich does not want to change anything in his life. He is driven by the fear of losing influence in society. In addition, he wants to hurt his wife. Pain commensurate with what he experienced. Therefore, he tells Anna that she can stay with him and her son. But she should continue to lie to everyone, imitating a happy family life. Anna is in despair. She realizes that now she hates her husband even more. He seems to her a soulless person, incapable of understanding. At some point, she wants to pack her things and leave him, but she understands that she does not want to be in the role of a mistress.

Anna is burdened by her life. She doesn't understand what to do next. Everything is aggravated by the fact that Vronsky begins to move away from her. She catches the coldness in his gaze and begins to panic. Anna arranges scenes of jealousy for him. She is afraid that he will leave her, thereby ruining her life.

Karenin goes to visit the Oblonskys. Kitty and Levin are also there. Young people spend a lot of time together. Kitty realizes that she is in love with Konstantin. She feels at ease talking to him. Levin also realizes that his feelings for Kitty have only become stronger. He proposes to the girl again, and she accepts. The family begins preparations for the wedding.

Karenin receives a letter from Anna. The woman writes that she will die soon. Her pregnancy was not easy, and the woman is afraid of dying during childbirth. Alexey Alexandrovich goes home. There he finds Vronsky, who was very upset. Karenin is informed that Anna has given birth, but she herself is dying and is calling for her husband. In a feverish state, Anna asks her husband for forgiveness for everything she has done. Karenin's heart can't stand it. He forgives his wife and takes upon himself all the worries about her and the newborn Anna.

Having recovered, Anna again moves away from her husband. She feels no gratitude for anything he has done. Karenin seems like a stranger to her. After a conversation with Oblonsky, Karenin agrees to sign divorce papers. Vronsky and Anna, their child, leave for Italy, and Alexey Alexandrovich remains in St. Petersburg with his son Seryozha.

Before the wedding, Levin worries that he does not believe in the existence of God. But they are about to get married. Konstantin turns to the priest for help and he finds the necessary words. Young people get married with a pure heart. After the wedding they move to the village. For several months they got used to living together, quarreled, could not understand each other. But after they moved to Moscow, everything improved. Later, Konstantin learns that his brother, Nikolai Levin, is dying. He goes to him. Kitty is traveling with her husband. Nikolai loved drinking and was currently living with a woman of easy virtue. Konstantin could never accept his brother's lifestyle, so they were not on close terms. Kitty was able to find understanding in her heart. She begins to care for Nikolai, who has only a few days left to live. After the death of his brother, Konstantin feels depressed. Kitty suddenly becomes ill, and the doctor tells the girl that she is pregnant.

A crisis ensues in the relationship between Karenina and Vronsky. It worsens after the couple arrives back in St. Petersburg. Society does not accept Karenina, considering her act shameful. Anna visits her son on his birthday. Having lived all this time with his father, the boy was never able to love him. The woman learns that Seryozha was told that his mother had died. Anna understands how much she loves her son and does not want to be apart from him.

Due to conflict in society, Anna increasingly stays at home. She feels despondent, although she tries to occupy herself with reading and caring for her little daughter. Further in his novel L.N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina” talks about how one day Karenina goes to the theater. But even there she will be condemned by society. One of the ladies said that she was ashamed to sit next to Anna. The main character can't stand it. She blames Vronsky for everything, although she understands that it was her choice too.

Dolly comes to visit Anna and Alexey. She can observe all the misunderstandings that reign between lovers. Anna has become unsure of herself, she is afraid to the point of panic that the count might leave her. The main character of the novel “Anna Karenina” is interested in all her husband’s affairs, helps with advice and deeds. But all this looks so intrusive that Vronsky feels like he’s in a cage. He understands that Anna is manipulating him with her attacks of jealousy and hysterics. The Count understands that he is tired of this relationship. He goes on business. Karenina finds the separation difficult and begins taking medicine containing morphine. Upon her return, Anna again quarrels with Vronsky. Her jealousy reached its limit. She doesn't want him to leave her, even for a little while. The Count feels that his love for this woman is giving way to irritability. He doesn't know how much longer his patience will last.

Kitty and Levin move to Moscow. There Konstantin meets Anna, who managed to make a very pleasant impression. Kitty remembers how Karenina recently bewitched Vronsky. She is tormented by jealousy. Konstantin sees this and says that he will limit communication with Anna. After some time, Kitty gives birth to a boy. They give him the name Dmitry.

And, if everything is going well for Levin and Kitty, there is complete discord in the relationship between Karenina and Vronsky. Anna's jealousy goes beyond all boundaries. She becomes contradictory in her actions. Her impulsiveness played a cruel joke on her. She alternately swears her love for Vronsky and then curses him. The Count finds it difficult in this relationship. He understands that the feelings between them have long faded away. He is even saddened by the news that Karenin has finally filed the divorce papers. After this, in the novel “Anna Karenina” by Tolstoy we can read that Alexey Alexandrovich goes to visit his mother. Anna does not want to let him go, but she comes to terms with the separation. It is hard for her to realize that the count no longer loves her. In a fit of jealousy, Karenina follows Vronsky to the station. There she recalls how, on the first day of their meeting on the platform, the station watchman fell under the train. The woman's mind is foggy. She sees no way out of her current situation. Anna decides to punish both Vronsky and Karenin. How in main character decides to commit suicide and throws himself under a train.

Vronsky is having a hard time with Anna's death. He begins to blame himself. Unable to bear the thoughts of his dead beloved, the count goes to war in Serbia. Karenin takes in the daughter of Anna and Vronsky to raise him.

After the birth of little Dima, Kitty and Konstantin move to the village. There they lead a measured and happy life.

The novel “Anna Karenina” on the Top books website

Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina has been considered a classic of world literature for centuries. Therefore, his high place in, as well as among, cannot cause any misunderstandings. Moreover, we can say with confidence that the novel will continue to occupy high places in the future.

You can read Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina” online on the Top Books website.

Anna Karenina is the main character of the writer's novel of the same name, which has become one of the most significant works of Russian literature. At the beginning of the work, the reader sees only the positive aspects of the multifaceted personality of the main character, but this whole idealized image collapses when Anna appears in her life, and Karenina understands that for the sake of the new feeling emerging in her chest, she is ready to sacrifice her position in society, her family, and own dignity.

The history of the novel

The novel “Anna Karenina” was written after the fifth volume of the works of Tolstoy, whom the writer considered his mentor, fell into the hands of Tolstoy. There, the creator’s gaze stopped on the line “The guests were going to the dacha...”, after which images, faces, events and names began to chaotically appear in the prose writer’s imagination, which, after being transferred to paper, made up the draft version of “Anna Karenina.”

The characteristics of the heroine and the peculiarities of her behavior were taken from Tolstoy’s acquaintances and friends. Anna is an intelligent, winsome, freedom-loving woman who did not know how to be a hypocrite and did not tolerate falsehood in others. In her desperate desire to surrender to her feelings there was “something cruel, alien, demonic.”

It is known that before starting work on the novel, Lev Nikolaevich learned about a divorce in the family of close friends. At that time, getting a divorce was not accepted; such an action led to censure and condemnation from the public. However, the sister of Tolstoy’s friend divorced without remorse and remarried a couple of months later.

Then another misfortune happened: Anna Stepanovna Pirogova threw herself under the train, abandoned by her lover, Lev Nikolaevich’s neighbor. The Creator saw the mutilated corpse of a woman, and this event made an indelible impression on him. Now all biographers agree that these family dramas served as material for creating characters and the novel as a whole.

The image and biography of Anna Karenina

In the summer of 1873, Leo Tolstoy told his circle the good news that he had almost finished a new novel, and promised skeptical friends to demonstrate the final version of the work in 3 months. As a result, three months stretched over five years, and the first book edition of Anna Karenina was published only in 1878.

2012 was marked by the release of a Hollywood film adaptation directed by Joe Wright and starring. Five years later (in April 2017), he presented to the audience his vision of the novel - the series “” with, and starring.

The main roles in the production, reflecting the drama of the novel in the body language of the artists and atmospheric musical accompaniment, went to actors Dmitry Solomykin and. In 2017, the performance, which is in demand among spectators, is still available for viewing by viewers of the Vakhtangov Theater.
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko to demonstrate their vision of “Anna Karenina” to lovers of high art.
Also in 2016, the premiere of the musical “Anna Karenina” took place on the stage of the Moscow Operetta, the origins of which were people who had previously staged musicals that enjoyed incredible success with the public - “Count Orlov” (2012) and “” (2008).
The author created the description of Karenina’s appearance under the impression of meeting Maria Hartung, the daughter of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. From her he took his hairstyle and manner of dressing.
The film Love, based on Anna Karenina in 1927, had an alternative ending in which Karenin dies and Anna is happily reunited with Vronsky. In this form, the film was intended for distribution in the United States. In Europe, the film was shown with a traditional tragic ending.

In one of the original editions, the main character is called Anastasia, and her lover had the last name Gagin.
The most famous quote from the novel about happy and unhappy families formed the basis of the “Anna Karenina principle.” This is how experts in economics and sociology characterize a situation in which success is possible only with a combination of large quantity factors, and the absence of at least one of them dooms the business to failure.

Quotes
All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
I am so proud that I will never allow myself to love a person who does not love me.
In order to do anything in family life, either complete discord between spouses or loving consent is necessary. When the relationship between the spouses is uncertain and there is neither one nor the other, no business can be undertaken.
Bibliography
1875 - “Anna Karenina”

Filmography
1912 - “Anna Karenina” (France)
1914 - “Anna Karenina” (Russian Empire)
1915 - “Anna Karenina” (USA)
1917 - “Anna Karenina” (Italy)
1927 - “Love” (USA)
1934 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Rita Waterhouse)
1948 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Vivien Leigh)
1953 - “Anna Karenina” (television play, in the role of Anna - Alla Tarasova)
1958 - “Forbidden Love” (as Anna - Zully Moreno)
1961 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Claire Bloom)
1970 - “Anna Karenina” (TV series, in the role of Anna - Margarita Balboa)
1974 - “Anna Karenina” (TV series, in the role of Anna - Lea Massari)
1975 - “Anna Karenina” (in the role of Anna - Maria Silva)
1985 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Jacqueline Bisset)
1995 - “Big Fire” (mini-series, as Anna - Carol Alt)
1997 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Sophie Marceau)
2000 - “Anna Karenina” (TV series, in the role of Anna - Helen McCrory)
2009 - “Anna Karenina” (TV series, in the role of Anna - Tatyana Drubich)
2012 - “Anna Karenina” (as Anna - Keira Knightley)
2017 - “Anna Karenina. The Story of Vronsky" (in the role of Anna - Elizaveta Boyarskaya)

Still from the film “Anna Karenina” (2009)

In the Moscow house of the Oblonskys, where “everything was mixed up” at the end of winter 1873, they are waiting for the owner’s sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. The reason for the family discord was that Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky was caught by his wife in infidelity with the governess. Thirty-four-year-old Stiva Oblonsky sincerely feels sorry for his wife Dolly, but, being a truthful person, he does not assure himself that he repents of what he has done. Cheerful, kind and carefree Stiva has long been no longer in love with his wife, the mother of five living and two dead children, and has long been unfaithful to her.

Stiva is completely indifferent to the work he is doing, serving as a boss in one of the Moscow offices, and this allows him to never get carried away, not make mistakes and perform his duties perfectly. Friendly, tolerant of human shortcomings, charming Stiva enjoys the favor of people in his circle, subordinates, bosses and, in general, everyone with whom his life brings him together. Debts and family troubles upset him, but cannot spoil his mood enough to make him refuse dinner at a good restaurant. He has lunch with Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, who has arrived from the village, his peer and friend from his youth.

Levin came to propose to eighteen-year-old Princess Kitya Shcherbatskaya, Oblonsky’s sister-in-law, with whom he had long been in love. Levin is sure that a girl like Kitty, who is above all earthly things, cannot love him, an ordinary landowner, without, as he believes, special talents. In addition, Oblonsky informs him that he apparently has a rival - a brilliant representative of the St. Petersburg “golden youth”, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky.

Kitty knows about Levin's love and feels light and free with him; with Vronsky she experiences an incomprehensible awkwardness. But it is difficult for her to understand her own feelings; she does not know who to give preference to. Kitty does not suspect that Vronsky does not intend to marry her, and dreams of a happy future with him force her to refuse Levin. Meeting his mother, who has arrived from St. Petersburg, Vronsky sees Anna Arkadyevna Karenina at the station. He immediately notices the special expressiveness of Anna’s entire appearance: “It was as if an excess of something so filled her being that, against her will, it was expressed either in the brilliance of her gaze or in a smile.” The meeting is overshadowed by a sad circumstance: the death of a station watchman under the wheels of a train, which Anna considers a bad omen.

Anna manages to persuade Dolly to forgive her husband; A fragile peace is established in the Oblonskys' house, and Anna goes to the ball together with the Oblonskys and Shcherbatskys. At the ball, Kitty admires Anna's naturalness and grace, admires that special, poetic inner world that appears in her every movement. Kitty expects a lot from this ball: she is sure that during the mazurka Vronsky will explain himself to her. Suddenly she notices how Vronsky is talking with Anna: in each of their glances one can feel an irresistible attraction to each other, every word decides their fate. Kitty leaves in despair. Anna Karenina returns home to St. Petersburg; Vronsky follows her.

Blaming himself alone for the failure of the matchmaking, Levin returns to the village. Before leaving, he meets with his older brother Nikolai, who lives in cheap rooms with a woman he took from a brothel. Levin loves his brother, despite his uncontrollable character, which causes a lot of trouble for himself and those around him. Seriously ill, lonely, drinking, Nikolai Levin is carried away by the communist idea and the organization of some kind of metalworking artel; this saves him from self-contempt. A date with his brother aggravates the shame and dissatisfaction with himself that Konstantin Dmitrievich experiences after the matchmaking. He calms down only in his family estate Pokrovsky, deciding to work even harder and not allow himself luxury - which, however, never existed in his life before.

The usual life in St. Petersburg, to which Anna returns, causes her disappointment. She had never been in love with her husband, who was much older than her, and had only respect for him. Now his company becomes painful for her, she notices the slightest of his shortcomings: his ears are too big, his habit of cracking his fingers. Her love for her eight-year-old son Seryozha does not save her either. Anna tries to regain her peace of mind, but she fails - mainly because Alexey Vronsky tries in every possible way to achieve her favor. Vronsky is in love with Anna, and his love intensifies because he is having an affair with a lady big world makes his position even more brilliant. Despite the fact that his entire inner life is filled with passion for Anna, outwardly Vronsky leads the ordinary, cheerful and pleasant life of a guards officer: with the Opera, the French theater, balls, horse races and other pleasures. But their relationship with Anna is too different in the eyes of others from easy social flirting; strong passion causes universal condemnation. Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin notices the attitude of the world towards his wife’s affair with Count Vronsky and expresses his dissatisfaction to Anna. Being a high-ranking official, “Alexei Alexandrovich lived and worked all his life in official areas dealing with reflections of life. And every time he came across life itself, he distanced himself from it.” Now he feels in the position of a man standing above the abyss.

Karenin's attempts to stop his wife's uncontrollable desire for Vronsky, Anna's own attempts to restrain herself are unsuccessful. A year after the first meeting, she becomes Vronsky's mistress - realizing that they are now connected forever, like criminals. Vronsky is burdened by the uncertainty of the relationship and persuades Anna to leave her husband and join her life with him. But Anna cannot decide to break with Karenin, and even the fact that she is expecting a child from Vronsky does not give her the resolve.

During a race where everyone is present elite, Vronsky falls from his horse Frou-Frou. Not knowing how serious the fall is, Anna expresses her despair so openly that Karenin is forced to immediately take her away. She announces to her husband her infidelity and disgust for him. This news gives Alexey Alexandrovich the impression of a sore tooth being pulled out: he finally gets rid of the suffering of jealousy and leaves for St. Petersburg, leaving his wife at the dacha awaiting his decision. But after going through everything possible options future - a duel with Vronsky, a divorce - Karenin decides to leave everything unchanged, punishing and humiliating Anna with the requirement to maintain a false appearance of family life under the threat of separation from her son. Having made this decision, Alexey Alexandrovich finds enough peace to devote himself, with his characteristic stubborn ambition, to thinking about the affairs of the service. Her husband's decision causes Anna to burst into hatred towards him. She considers him a soulless machine who does not think that she has a soul and the need for love. Anna realizes that she is driven into a corner because she is unable to exchange her current position for that of a mistress who abandoned her husband and son and deserves everyone’s contempt.

The continuing uncertainty of the relationship is also painful for Vronsky, who deep down loves order and has an unshakable set of rules of behavior. For the first time in his life, he does not know how to behave further, how to bring his love for Anna into agreement with everyday rules. If he joins her, he will be forced to resign, and this is also not easy for him: Vronsky loves regimental life, enjoys the respect of his comrades; besides, he is ambitious.

The lives of three people are entangled in a web of lies. Anna alternates pity for her husband with disgust; she cannot help but meet with Vronsky, as Alexey Alexandrovich demands. Finally, childbirth occurs, during which Anna almost dies. Lying in childbirth fever, she asks for forgiveness from Alexei Alexandrovich, and at her bedside he feels pity for his wife, tender compassion and spiritual joy. Vronsky, whom Anna unconsciously rejects, experiences burning shame and humiliation. He tries to shoot himself, but is saved.

Anna does not die and, when the mental softening caused by the proximity of death passes, she again begins to be burdened by her husband. Neither his decency and generosity, nor his touching care for the newborn girl relieves her of irritation; she hates Karenin even for his virtues. A month after her recovery, Anna goes abroad with the retired Vronsky and her daughter.

Living in the village, Levin takes care of the estate, reads, and writes a book about agriculture and undertakes various economic rearrangements that do not find approval among the peasants. For Levin, the village is “a place of life, that is, joys, sufferings, labor.” The men respect him, they go forty miles to him for advice - and they strive to deceive him for their own benefit. There is no deliberateness in Levin’s attitude towards the people: he considers himself part of the people, all his interests are connected with the peasants. He admires the strength, meekness, and justice of the peasants and is irritated by their carelessness, sloppiness, drunkenness, and lies. In disputes with his half-brother Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev, who came to visit, Levin proves that zemstvo activities do not benefit the peasants, because they are not based either on knowledge of their true needs, or on the personal interests of the landowners.

Levin feels his merging with nature; he even hears the growth of spring grass. In the summer he mows with the men, feeling the joy of simple labor. Despite all this, he considers his life idle and dreams of changing it to a working, clean and common life. Subtle changes are constantly taking place in his soul, and Levin listens to them. At one time it seems to him that he has found peace and forgotten his dreams of family happiness. But this illusion crumbles to dust when he learns about Kitty’s serious illness, and then sees her herself, going to her sister in the village. A feeling that seemed dead again takes possession of his heart, and only in love does he see an opportunity to solve the great mystery of life.

In Moscow, at a dinner with the Oblonskys, Levin meets Kitty and realizes that she loves him. In a state of supreme elation, he proposes to Kitty and receives consent. Immediately after the wedding, the newlyweds leave for the village.

Vronsky and Anna travel around Italy. At first Anna feels happy and full of the joy of life. Even the knowledge that she was separated from her son, lost her good name and became the cause of her husband’s misfortune does not darken her happiness. Vronsky is lovingly and respectfully towards her, he does everything to ensure that she is not burdened by her position. But he himself, despite his love for Anna, experiences melancholy and clutches at everything that can give his life significance. He begins to paint, but, having enough taste, he knows his mediocrity and soon becomes disillusioned with this activity.

Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Anna clearly feels rejected: they don’t want to accept her, her friends avoid meeting her. Insults from the world also poison Vronsky’s life, but, busy with her worries, Anna does not want to notice this. On Seryozha’s birthday, she secretly goes to see him and, finally seeing her son, feeling his love for herself, she understands that she cannot be happy apart from him. In despair, in irritation, she reproaches Vronsky for having stopped loving her; It takes him a lot of effort to calm her down, after which they leave for the village.

The first time of married life turns out to be difficult for Kitty and Levin: they have difficulty getting used to each other, charms are replaced by disappointments, quarrels are replaced by reconciliations. Family life It seems to Levin like a boat: it’s nice to watch gliding on the water, but it’s very difficult to steer. Suddenly, Levin receives news that brother Nikolai is dying in the provincial town. He immediately goes to him; Despite his protests, Kitty decides to go with him. Having seen his brother and experienced painful pity for him, Levin still cannot get rid of the fear and disgust that the proximity of death evokes in him. He is shocked that Kitty is not at all afraid of the dying man and knows how to behave with him. Levin feels that only his wife’s love saves him these days from horror.

During Kitty's pregnancy, which Levin learns about on the day of his brother's death, the family continues to live in Pokrovskoye, where relatives and friends come for the summer. Levin values the spiritual closeness he has established with his wife, and is tormented by jealousy, afraid of losing this closeness.

Dolly Oblonskaya, visiting her sister, decides to visit Anna Karenina, who lives with Vronsky on his estate, not far from Pokrovsky. Dolly is amazed at the changes that have occurred in Karenina; she feels the falseness of her current way of life, especially noticeable in comparison with her previous liveliness and naturalness. Anna entertains the guests, tries to take care of her daughter, reading, and setting up the village hospital. But her main concern is to replace with herself everything that he left for her for Vronsky. Their relationship is becoming more and more tense, Anna is jealous of everything that he is interested in, even of zemstvo activities, which Vronsky is engaged in mainly in order not to lose his independence. In the fall they move to Moscow, awaiting Karenin's decision on divorce. But, offended in his best feelings, rejected by his wife, and finding himself alone, Alexey Alexandrovich falls under the influence of the famous spiritualist, Princess Myagkaya, who persuades him, for religious reasons, not to give his criminal wife a divorce.

In the relationship between Vronsky and Anna there is neither complete discord nor agreement. Anna blames Vronsky for all the hardships of her situation; attacks of desperate jealousy are instantly replaced by tenderness; Quarrels break out every now and then. In Anna's dreams, the same nightmare is repeated: some man bends over her, pronounces meaningless French words and does something terrible to her. After a particularly difficult quarrel, Vronsky, against Anna’s wishes, goes to visit his mother. In complete confusion, Anna sees her relationship with him as if in a bright light. She understands that her love is becoming more and more passionate and selfish, and Vronsky, without losing his love for her, is still burdened by her and tries not to be dishonest towards her. Trying to achieve his repentance, she follows him to the station, where she suddenly remembers the man crushed by a train on the day of their first meeting - and immediately understands what she needs to do. Anna throws herself under a train; her last vision is of a muttering man. After this, “the candle, by which she was reading a book full of anxiety, deception, grief and evil, flared up with a brighter light than ever, illuminated for her everything that had previously been in the darkness, crackled, began to fade and went out forever.”

Life becomes hateful for Vronsky; he is tormented by unnecessary, but indelible repentance. He volunteers to fight the Turks in Serbia; Karenin takes his daughter to live with him.

After Kitty's birth, which became a deep spiritual shock for Levin, the family returns to the village. Levin is in painful discord with himself - because after the death of his brother and the birth of his son, he cannot resolve the most important questions for himself: the meaning of life, the meaning of death. He feels that he is close to suicide and is afraid to walk with a gun so as not to shoot himself. But at the same time, Levin notes: when he does not ask himself why he lives, he feels in his soul the presence of an infallible judge, and his life becomes firm and definite. Finally, he understands that the knowledge of the laws of good, given personally to him, Levin, in the Gospel Revelation, cannot be grasped by reason and expressed in words. Now he feels able to put an undeniable sense of goodness into every minute of his life.

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