Anna Karenina goes to Moscow to persuade her sister-in-law not to divorce her brother, who has had an affair. While there, she meets Count Vronsky, who is a dashing army officer. He falls in love with the lovely Anna, and tries to get her to leave her husband and marry him. But although she is not attracted to her husband, Anna can't bring herself to leave him, fearing she will lose her son.They do begin an affair, which her husband discovers. He asks her to break it off, believing this will save their marriage. When and Vronsky continue to see each other, Karenin sees a lawyer about getting a divorce. But Anna almost dies after giving birth to a daughter, so he doesn't pursue it.
When Vronsky gets a military posting to Europe, Anna goes with him. Eventually they try to make a life for themselves in Italy. However, they have trouble making friends, and end up going back to Russia. There she is shunned by her former friends, and discovers her son has been told she has died. She becomes more and more isolated and anxious, even as Vronsky resumes his former social life. She is paranoid and convinced he is in love with someone else, although he tries to reassure her. She is intensely jealous, and doesn't want him to leave her side for a minute. She takes morphine to help her sleep. After a terrible fight with Vronsky, she commits suicide by throwing herself under a train.
A parallel story within the novel is that of Konstantin Levin, a country landowner, telling of his difficulties managing his estate, his eventual marriage, and other personal issues. The novel explores a diverse range of topics, including an evaluation of the feudal system that existed in Russia at the time; politics, religion, morality, gender and social class.
872 pages
copyright 1876
