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Part 8, Chapter 15
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
Koznyshev changes the subject to discuss the spirit of the people; he says that the intelligentsia are now all of one mind. The Prince argues that the newspapers all say the same thing, but that that doesn’t necessarily express the will of the people. Levin pipes in to say that war with the Turks would mean that people wouldn’t just be sacrificing themselves for their souls, they’d be murdering people. But Levin realizes that no matter what he says, even though he wants to argue, Koznyshev and Katavasov aren’t going to change their minds. He points out that the rain clouds are gathering and that they should go home.
While Koznyshev thinks that the intelligentsia should be able to make decisions for all of Russia, as they follow public opinion and are much more well-informed than the peasants, the Prince and Levin argue that a small, lopsided group cannot represent the whole. Meanwhile, the weather seems to both mirror the argument, and also to put a halt to it.
Themes
