what did annas dream have to do with her death? The peasant working the iron...the book lit by the candle of her life?
what does it all mean? I'm having trouble understanding. Sparknotes seems really off to me, though I can't really articulate what I think of it all.
>Anna’s death scene is justifiably considered one of the greatest of Tolstoy’s achievements in the novel, and in Russian literature as a whole. Her suicide is not merely the end of her life but also its summation: she acts independently and alone, and she seeks to escape the falsity of the people around her, just as she did in life. Yet Anna is not a diva in death, any more than she was in life. She does not pity herself or appeal to the sympathy of the crowd; she does not care about what other people think of her. Anna does not fancy herself superior to anyone but rather includes herself in the group of people that she wishes to get rid of—she escapes not just the world but Anna Karenina as well. Tolstoy’s portrayal of Anna’s final minutes is filled not with the wrath and vengeance that the novel’s epigraph foretells but rather with great tenderness. His description of Anna’s life as a candle being illuminated and then snuffed out forever equates her life with light and truth. Tolstoy pays a quiet tribute to this character of whom he disapproves but whom he loves nonetheless.
Nah Its just a warning to all the sluts. The main character is Levin.
Josiah Hill
Anna sinks, Vronsky rises. Levin (Lev) is ultimately character numero uno (as the previous user states). Nonetheless we have inklings, intuitions, and they know no borders. For instance, Tolstoy himself died at a train station..
Michael Scott
it means you read a book by a slave rapist and are trying to derive cohesive morality from it, when really, Levin is a mary sue self insert, and Anna is some cunt who didn't let him fuck her. So, he naturally wrote himself happy, amd her miserable, to teach women like her a lesson in the future. Astounding depth, right? >y-your interpretation is flawed! so, Tolstoy couldn't be a petty human being? Even Joyce made insults to his enemies in Ulysses.
Caleb Bennett
Veeky Forums is too misogynistic to discuss Anna
Not even memeing, every single time the book comes up it's just endless "she was just a dumb whore" posting. Try another forum.
Jaxon Scott
>implying Tolstoy wasn't the misogynist oh my, it's almost as though people mention it every time because it's an aspect of the novel!
Brayden Thomas
there's a difference between discussing it as a serious topic and just blindly saying everything she did was because women are dumb sluts
Gavin Reyes
well, why did she leave her child to be with a prettyboy douchebag, for example?
Henry Kelly
>buzzwords: the post
Isaac Evans
oh, women are dumb sluts. well, if you look at Tolstoy's character, his flagrant womanizing behaviour, it isn't untoward to attribute Anna's flaws to his opinion of women as a whole, even Kitty, who is only truly happy in subservience of Levin, or even Dolly, who is the real tragedy of the work, a woman so bereft of free will, that she must accept her disgusting husband and his sexual transgressions. If anything, the male characters likely represent different stages of Tolstoy's life, in some respect, all in their relation to women around them do they come in relief as douchebags. Levin isn't too much of a douche, I'll admit, but he's the hero, so his flaws must be slowly erased by religious fanaticism, or mowing grass, or whatever. Anyway, no, Anna didn't act that way because all women are sluts, but rather because that's the general opinion of Tolstoy's. not all women are sluts, but the ones who are must suffer as abominations.
Brayden Green
>i don't have anything to offer in response: the post
Dominic Sanders
Just kill yourselves, ok? Or go read and discuss fantasy and YA, those genres seem more suitable for you.
William Foster
>kys, you hurt my feelings calling my favorite author a slave rapist
James Price
It was a different time
Isaiah Sanchez
Get a life, you post this same shit in every Tolstoy thread.
Kevin Lee
I do agree that Tolstoy doesn't write women particularly well. Sometimes his female characters seem a little simple or even dog-like in their actions, but he more than makes up for it with his psychological insight. I also don't think the book is specifically about "sluts and roasties" at all. Tolstoy is very critical of any sort of decadence (Oblonsky) and moral relativism.
Anyway, I wasn't looking for a summary of the novel or a main message or anything in general. I think I have a good grasp on that. It's actually my second time reading the book. I wanted thoughts on something pretty specific: the significance of that dream she has before her death. It seems very mysterious to me, sort of like a Tom Bombadil inclusion, but it's not random because there was obvious foreshadowing in the very beginning.
William Price
ah yes, genius moralist shouldn't be held to a transcendant standard like every other philosopher in existence. right.
Aiden Peterson
The train is a metaphor for dick
Evan Taylor
the meaning aside from the obvious prophesy? not sure. doubt it is as simple as that. if i'm not mistaken, Vronsky has the same dream? maybe wish fulfilment in a literal sense?
Christopher Russell
is it the dwarf you've hung yourself upon? he was my favorite character. horrifying though. who knows what depths relate to his presence.
Wyatt Long
>Tolstoy pays a quiet tribute to this character of whom he disapproves but whom he loves nonetheless. Is there anyone here who agrees with this interpretation and can they tell me what made them think so?
I don't agree with that Tolstoy was just petty and I agree with that he has great psychological insight but while he shows understanding of his characters I didn't feel any sympathy and it was vaguely upsetting. It's true that this was back in high school and I might not have made a very good judgement then. Though to be fair this "criticism of moral relativism" thing doesn't sound very encouraging.
Noah Russell
>woman doesn't fuck, she's a cunt >woman fucks, she's a slut
Jack Howard
yes, exactly why Tolstoy and Tolstoy fans are problematic in this day and age.
Benjamin Moore
its just wierd how sympathetic tolstoy gets to Anna once she decides to kill herself
Jacob Rodriguez
Tolstoy was probably suicidal himself
Jose Bell
plebs.
Julian Lewis
>slave rapist documentation for this claim, please?
Jason Reed
he outlines his exploits in his diaries, as well as his wife's diaries.
Christian Russell
that's not a very well cited source. quotes? passages?
Joshua Foster
well, there's the book Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia which goes as follows:
"Tolstoy loved to be among the peasants. He derived intense pleasure - emotional, erotic - from their physical presence. The 'spring-like' smell of their beards would send him into raptures of delight. He loved to kiss the peasant men. The peasant women he found irresistible - sexual attractive and available to him by his 'squire's rights'. Tolstoy's diaries are filled with details of his conquests of the female serfs on his estate - a diary he presented, according to the custom, to his bride Sonya on the eve of their wedding; '21 April 1858. A wonderful day. Peasant women in the garden and by the well. I'm like a man possessed.'
a quick example without just telling you to read the diaries, yes, it's sourced, just look it up yourself. i trust you understand what is meant by "squire's rights" as well as i do.
