Issues of Gender and Adultery in Anna Karenina - Literature review Example

Anna Karenina. Gender and Adultery in 19th Century Russia Alexei Vronsky is one of the main characters in Leo Tolstoys novel, Anna Karenina. The novel highlights issues of gender and adultery in Russia during the 19th century (Tolstoy 3). Tolstoy presents Vronsky as a young man who is passionate for love. Tolstoy builds his story on distinctions and a series of comparisons between his characters. Anna and Kitty are two women entangled in marital betrayal. Anna is traditionally married to Karenina who accords her matrimonial betrayal by cheating on him with Kitty. Anna feels betrayed and begins to seek for real meaning of life and happiness that she readily finds in Vronsky. They pull out a romantic and intimate relationship that explodes leading to Anna being termed as a sympathetic and an adulterous woman. Tolstoys novel lies in a society setting that tolerates adultery in men but strongly condemns women from the same. The author agrees with Vronsky’s move in pulling out Anna, who was a married woman, into an intimate and a more serious relationship. The society they live involved the parents marriage of their children without love considerations. The act seems old and unfair as it confines the partners to a lifetime commitment full of sadness. The author makes a conclusion that a relationship rooted in love is the sure source of lasting happiness. A case example is the marriage between Levin and Kitty, which the author terms a stubborn individualist’s acceptance. Vronsky’s society and the author grant him unfair judgment as being callous. Vronsky, on the contrary, was confident and committed to publicly showing Anna his love. He resigns from his profession as a commissioner in order to accord his full attention and time to Ann whom his heart desired. He claims justification since adultery is a common practice in his community. The narrator mentions several cases of adultery that previously took place to confirm that it is not a strange occurring. Adultery changes Anna’s way of life completely, her colleagues and rest of her society denounce her. The author proves how Vronsky loved and treasured her using the case of horse competition. Vronkey bought an expensive horse and named it Frou – Frou. The highly valued horse symbolizes Anna at the instance of rejection by the community. Vronsky accidentally destroys the horse at the officers’ race in order to feel the pain of losing Anna may trigger in him. The unfairness that dominates societies and women are their enemies as none of them came out in Anna’s defense. Instead, women were to spearhead the unfairness subjected towards their gender. Stiva Oblonsky and Count Vronsky do not suffer at the hands of the society in the same ways Ann does. Count Vronsky and Anna were both adulterous since they engaged in an intimate relationship even though they were not legitimately spouses. Women have been victims of such unfair treatments in the societies. Because of their action, Vronsky becomes more successful and highly sought after while Anna’s star immediately starts to drop from heaven. The society condemns her, and this forces her to remain confined at home with a baby she does not love. The instance proves how our societies are unfair to the women and how male superiority dominates. An offense committed should be punishable based on the offense threshold and not based on gender. Tolstoy brings out a case involving the prince and the princess through a private communication. The conversation is a hysterical comparison to show unfair treatment of women. His wifes irrational perspective drawn from the society contradicts the prince’s rational and honorable concern for what is ethical according to the author. The contrast becomes evident in relation to their intentions for their daughter ‘suitors. The prince advocates marriage to Levin based on love, while the princess encourages Vronsky because of his good social status. The conversation ends in a quarrel, the princess has agitated outbursts that the prince humbly comforts. The narrator clearly favors the prince and continuously portrays him as a pillar of sense. The princess, on the other hand, exposes the raw evils of society and the insignificant manners that disseminate the nobility’s unhappiness. After Vronsky scorns their daughter Kitty, the princess, regrets her misinformed actions, and as the sense of more of Levin’s virtue, the prince earlier stand and viewpoint rendered most effective (Tolstoy 25). The author’s male superiority still manifest in the contemporary society; men and women engage in adultery. Women are the only ones discriminated and branded as prostitutes. Banking of the blame is always on the women even when fairness cuts across both the gender. Leo Tolstoy portrays Vronsky as a character who obsessed with love. He abandons everything in order to pursue his love for Anna. An in-depth analysis of his character traits depicts that he does not play a beautiful and grand role. His love for Anna is undisputable in the novel. His care about her prompts him to sacrifice anything for her case. For instance, he sacrifices his professional ambitions in order to be with her. He also accepts to lower his social dignity for Annas case. On the other hand, the novel reveals Vronskys weaknesses. He is subject to error just like other ordinary men. He involves himself in a life-destroying affair with Anna. The relationship breaks Annas family and alienates her from the society. Moreover, he runs away from Anna when she commits suicide due to the frustrations of their love affair. Besides, his failure to realize the dream of military glory shows his imperfect nature. Social pressures also influence the life of Vronsky. It is noteworthy that Vronskys limitations as a man brings disappointment to Ann. She strives to pursue love only to realize that Vronsky is a man with weaknesses. Her fears also increase when she becomes paranoid that her love with Vronsky is fading away. Annas concerns make Vronsky severe and unbearable since they increase his frustrations. It is evident that Vronsky does not play a beautiful and grand role in Anna Karenina. His role is one of the toughest in the novel. He experiences several challenges in the course of his life. First, he pulls Ann from her husband and convinces her to commit adultery with him. During that time, such an act was an abomination in the Russian society. The action costs Anna her friends and people close to her. Vronsky too loses his social life and public relations in the society. Vronsky attempts to salvage his relationship with Anna fails. Despite his shortcomings, he strives to offer his best in life. On the contrary, Anna feels abandoned by the society. Unlike Vronsky who can still interact with his friends, she loses everybody around her. Annas withdrawal makes it difficult for Vronsky to live with comfortably. Occasionally, Vronsky feels the pain of failure to achieve his ambitions in life. His love and devotion to Anna is the cause of some of his failures. However, he does not hold any grudge with her over the same. He patiently tolerates her whims and fear for the unknown. Anna refers to Vronskys deeds towards her as a duty, which is evidently an understatement. The remark makes him feel unappreciated. Vronsky experiences trauma when Anna commits suicide. Anna commits suicide amidst frustrations in life. Her love affair with Vronsky costs her social life when she losses all her friends. She faces humiliation and contempt from the elites of Petersburg. Annas death causes Vronsky trauma making his life unbearable. Consequently, it is evident that Vronskys role is one of the toughest in Anna Karenina. Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel in 19th century, a time when the Russian society was conservative in men and women relations. During this period, the society denied men and women the freedom to choose their love and marriage partners. Instead, parents made marriage decisions for their children. The fathers and husbands of women controlled their lives. The society also discriminated against women and denied some rights. For example, women lacked voting rights, right to higher education, and the right to own passports during 19th century (Tolstoy 53). However, unlike other European women who suffered the same fate, Russian women had rights to hold property. Russian society in 19th century compelled women to be submissive and obedient to their husbands. Men had full control of their wives and made key decisions affecting their lives. The society also dictated men to marry virgins only. It considered married women child-bearers submissive to their husbands. Individuals who disobeyed the rules of conduct in the 19th century received harsh treatment from members of the community. The society considered infidelity unnatural act despised those involved in it. Tolstoy story also covers the period towards the end of the 19th century, a time when Russia was experiencing significant historical changes. Reforms in social aspects of society members were influential in informing the novel’s central themes. Patriarchal values and liberal views of western modernism tore the Russian community into two. Conservatives maintained their traditions and authoritarianism while the liberals adopted technology, democracy and rationalism (Tolstoy 84). The changing times in Russia are evident in Tolstoys novel. Works Cited Tolstoy, Leo. The Anna Karenina Companion: Includes Complete Text, Study Guide, Biography, and Character Index. 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