The Common Weal and Forgiveness
Brief Reflections on Parts 3 and 4 of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
I just finished reading and discussing (with the Provo Great Books Club) parts 3 and 4 of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. (For my commentary on Parts 1 and 2, see here, here, here, and here.)
I would like to highlight and comment upon a few impressive scenes from these two books.
I enjoyed Konstantin Levin’s conversation with his brother Koznyshev at the beginning of Book 3. The difference between them, Koznyshev argued, was that Konstantin made “the mainspring self-interest,” whereas he, Koznyshev, supposed “that interest in the common weal exists in every man of a certain degree of advancement."
Who is right, Konstantin or his brother Koznyshev?
It seems to me that a distinction must be made between those who truly understand and labor for the common weal or the welfare of the people, and those who only claim to do so. The hard working Konstantin’s confession that self-interest is the mainspring, for himself and for most people, seems more honest and real than Koznyshev’s (along with every other man of a certain degree of advancement) supposed lofty interest in the common weal. Tolstoy seems to make the reader admire Konstantin’s democratic common sense more than Koznyshev’s aristocratic fancy.
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.
There is some truth to Camus’ lamentation, but it also seems to me that healthy societies contain elements of both sincere aristocratic interest in the common weal and honest democratic common sense, even if it is self-interested. How does Konstantin’s conversation with his brother Koznyshev, along with the unfolding interactions between each of Tolstoy’s characters, help us to help us to gauge the health of 19th century Russian society?
When Konstantin Levin’s gaze momentarily meets that of Kitty Shtcherbatsky as she drives by in a carriage, the reader knows that they are destined to meet again and fall in love.
Anna’s confession, Karenin’s response, and Vronsky’s response are a train wreck, and the plans for a duel in the minds of Karenin and Vronsky would be comical if they weren’t so depressing. The theme of death crops up quite frequently in these books too.
My favorite scene thus far, however, is when Anna calls her lover Vronsky and her husband Karenin together, and Karenin forgives them both. After that, Tolstoy’s depiction of Vronsky’s failed suicide attempt is as memorable as the earlier horse racing scene.
I look forward to reading the second half of what is perhaps one of the greatest novels ever written, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
