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Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina Character List

Anna Karenina
the beautiful wife of a government official in St. Petersburg. At the beginning of the
book, she is a grande dame in the highest circles of society. She has one son,
Seroyzha, by her husband, whom she loves dearly. She possesses a great
vitalityTolstoy calls it "animation"that makes her irresistible to men and women
alike. She also possesses a great deal of passion and refuses to live her life without
contradictions. These two characteristics eventually cause her downfall, when she
falls in love with Count Vronsky.

Alexis Karenin
Anna's husband. A complicated figure, he is cold and calculating at the beginning of
the book, completely unable to think outside of the notions of social propriety and
try to reach Anna on an emotional level. As the book wears on, he proves himself to
be a man in possession of both great emotional depth and great cruelty. He refuses
Anna a divorce after he has promised her one, greatly affecting her life, but he is
also ruined by her actions.
Count Alexis Vronsky
A wealthy and dashing young officer of a calvary regiment. Supposedly interested in
Kitty Shcherbatskaya, he abandons her when he meets Anna. He is instantly smitten
with Anna and gives up his career and his place in society to be with her, though he
finds that without these thingsand when Anna becomes increasingly jealous of his
greater freedomhis love for Anna sours. He is often condemned by critics for his
shallowness.

Constantine Levin (Levin)

Anna's "double" in the book. Only he matches Anna in terms of his intensity and his
passion. Awkward in urban high society, he prefers to live on his country estate,
where he is very involved with agricultural work and the lives of his peasants. He
has high expectations and high demands for those close to him, including his wife,
Kitty. An agnostic for most of the book, his spiritual conversion forms the crux of
the novel's closing.

Koznyshev
Levin's half-brother. An intellectual who is too shy to propose to a young woman,
although he pontificates on a variety of subjects with misinformed and uniformed
courage. Tolstoy often uses him to parody the intellectual ideas of the 19th century,
and to warn against the prospect of Western "progress" (which Tolstoy considered
corrupting) invading Russia.

Nicholas Levin
Levin's elder brother. He has squandered his fortune and lives in circumstances of
deprivation and crassness. He is also an intellectual, though he represents death for
Levin. A consumptive, he is ill throughout most of his appearances in the novel. The
scene of his death sparks an existential crisis in Levin.

Kitty Shcherbatskaya
At eighteen, she is the youngest daughter of the Shcherbatskaya clan. She rejects
Levin's first proposal in the hopes of obtaining a husband in Vronsky, but Vronsky
does not propose. This shatters her and she comes to learn about herself through
the experience. She accepts Levin's second proposal a wiser woman, and proves
herself invaluable as a companion, a caretaker (to Nicholas) and new mother.

Dolly Shcherbatskaya Oblonsky

The eldest Shcherbatskaya daughter; she is married to Oblonsky and has six
children. She struggles to accept her husband's infidelity and financial
irresponsibility. She is a model for Tolstoy's ideal of the all-sacrificing wife and
mother, and her commentary throughout the book is meant to stand as honest and
credible throughout.

Seroyzha Karenin
Anna's son. At the beginning of the book, he is eight years old and the love of her
life. Anna is constantly concerned about what will happen to him if she gets a
divorce from Karenin. He loves his mother deeply and is hurt and confused when
she abandons him to leave with Vronsky.

Prince (Stiva) Oblonsky

Anna's brother and Dolly's husband. Though charming and winning in every way, he
possesses many faults. He hurts others, always unintentionally, with his
philandering and his financial irresponsibility. It is one of the book's biggest ironies
that Anna comes to Moscowthereby meeting Vronsky, the man who will destroy her
marriagewhen she is attempting to repair Oblonsky's marriage. Oblonsky is also
shallow and unable to feel anything deeply. For example, after Anna's death, he
recovers the quickest of any character.

Countess Lydia Ivanovna

An ecstatic Christian who makes Karenin her "project" after Anna leaves him. Her
Christianity is of the emotional variety, consisting of great passions and sensuality.
She is also hypocritical and cruel, encouraging Karenin to refuse Anna a divorce or
visiting rights for her son.

Princess Betsy
Vronsky's cousin. She encourages the affair between Anna and Vronsky until they
elope, after which she refuses to visit them or help them enter into high society.

Princess Barbara
A "sponging" woman who lives off of Vronsky and Anna after they fall from favor in
Petersburg society.

Countess Vronsky
Vronsky's mother, a society woman who once had many affairs herself. She
encourages the affair between her son and Anna at first, but stops approving when
Vronsky's career is derailed and finally comes to despise Anna altogether when
Vronsky's life is ruined.

(elder) Princess Shcherbatskaya

The matriarch of the Shcherbatskaya family is vitally worried about her daughters'
health and safety. She is a bit short-sighted: for example, she encouraged Kitty to
wait for Vronsky to propose rather than to accept Levin's first proposal.

(elder) Prince Shcherbatskaya

A kind, generous, and wise man. He wished that Kitty would accept Levin's first
proposal rather than wait for Vronsky. He and Levin become friends later on in the
book; he is a consistent voice of honesty and wisdom.

Varenka
A pious young woman Kitty befriends at the German spa she attends in order to
recuperate after Vronsky leaves with Anna. She is sweet and shy and encourages
Kitty to think about things other than marriage.

Madame Stahl
Varenka's adoptive mother. A mysterious figure, she moves in the highest circles of
society but rarely deigns to speak to anyone. She is known for being exceptionally
pious.

Mikhailov
A famous Italian painter. He is supremely dedicated to his art. His portrait of Anna
puts Vronsky to shame and convinces the latter to give up painting.

Masha
Nicholas' beleaguered female companion. She was once a prostitute and this
causes Levin to be uncomfortable around her.

Theodore
A peasant on Levin's farm. Due to his influence, Levin experiences a religious
epiphany at the end of the book.
Petritsky
A friend of Vronsky's. He rents Vronsky's apartment in St. Petersburg.

Vasenka Vaslovsky
A friend of Oblonsky's. A handsome, foppish young man who flirts inappropriately
with Kitty.

Countess Nordston
A socialite who humiliates Levin at a party.

Sviyazhsky
A landowner whose estate lies close to Levin's. They have a long discussion about
peasant labor, after which Levin formulates his agricultural theory.

How To Cite https://www.gradesaver.com/anna-karenina

/study-guide/character-list in MLA Format
Millner, Caille. "Anna Karenina Characters". GradeSaver, 25 April 2001 Web. 8 May
2019.

Anna Karenina Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Anna Karenina is a great resource to ask
questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What happens to the narrator's
candle?
Chapter thirteen of which
section?
Asked by Adam W #753616
Answered by jill d #170087 a
year ago 2/8/2018 3:31 AM
Publication about Tolstoy's
works from his time
Wow, you can try searching the
internet. I have never seen one
from the time period. You can
also try a public library or
university library if you live near
one.
Asked by Serena D #492664
Answered by Aslan 3 years ago
1/10/2016 3:12 AM
Why does anna come to her
brothers?
No, Anna was originally just
coming to visit her brother's
home. But she does become
embroiled in the problems of
her brother and his wife, which
stem from her brother's
infedelity and affair with his
children's governess.
Asked by shannon t #194019
Answered by jill d #170087 5
years ago 5/29/2014 12:26 AM

Essays for Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers
were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Anna Karenina.

Clash of Movements
Mixed Messages; Judgment in Anna Karenina
Levin and Mowing
Parallels to Destruction and Conflict in Anna and Vronsky's Love Story as
Evinced From Their First Meeting
Russia in Transition: Anna Karenina and the Ever-Changing Russian Landscape

Lesson Plan for Anna Karenina

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to Anna Karenina
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher
Related Links
Anna Karenina Bibliography

E-Text of Anna Karenina

The Anna Karenina e-text contains the full text of Anna Karenina.

Part One: Chapters 1-12

Part One: Chapters 13-24
Part One: Chapters 25-34
Part Two: Chapters 1-12
Part Two: Chapters 13-24

Wikipedia Entries for Anna Karenina

Introduction
Main characters
Plot introduction
Plot summary
Style and major themes