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Part 6, Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Anna Karenina, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage and Family Life
Adultery and Jealousy
Physical Activity and Movement
Society and Class
Farming and Rural Life
Compassion and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
During the children’s tea, the adults talk. Oblonsky is expected on the train, and Kitty’s father might be coming as well, though likely not. Kitty’s mother is sad that she has no more children left in the house. Levin leaves to give Grisha, one of the Oblonsky children, his Latin lesson; after having been chastised for trying to teach Grisha his own way, Levin now goes by the book.
The excitement has gone out of the air now that the anticipation of a new proposal has fallen flat. Just as Levin tries to explain his agricultural ideas frequently throughout the novel without much success, he also has trouble giving the children Latin lessons. He’s a born doer, not a born teacher.
Themes
Oblonsky arrives: not with the Prince, however, but with a handsome young man named Veslovsky. Levin is jealous and unhappy that Kitty is smiling and seeming to enjoy the handsome stranger’s company.
Veslovsky’s arrival triggers all of Levin’s jealousies: he sees Veslovsky as another handsome, Vronsky-esque figure, and he still smarts from Kitty’s first rejection of him.
Themes
