Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" Pt. IV Quiz

Answer: Anna didn't love her son, Seryozha.

The countess quickly swept in and took over Karenin's household. While she didn't directly admit to her love for him, she offered to care for him while at the same time trying to convince him Anna no longer deserved to see her son. Her arguments were based on what she considered Anna's abandonment of Seryozha.

Answer: Humiliating and scandalous

Though Vronsky begged her not to go, Anna wanted to show that she was not afraid to show herself in public. At the opera, she had to bear the fact that she had lost much of her status. Some of her friends seemed uncomfortable while talking to her while others commented aloud that they were disgraced to sit near her.

Answer: mushrooms

Sergei Koznyshev had set it in his mind to propose to Varenka as he approached her, but when the moment came, he could not bring himself to do it. Varenka, against her greatest intuitions, spoke up about the mushrooms she had been picking with children earlier. Koznyshev continued on with the conversation about mushrooms and after a few moments, both knew that the proposal would not happen and continued to discuss mushrooms.

Answer: Instigate a fight amongst Levin's peasant workers.

Veslovsky began to get on Levin's nerves, and he eventually kicked the man out of his home. This act was seen as especially ungracious, something that Levin fully knew before undertaking it. Nonetheless, the man's behavior, especially around Kitty, had become unbearable to Levin.

Answer: Dolly

Dolly, Anna's sister-in-law, decided to visit Anna after leaving Levin's place. While there, she talked to Anna about going through the divorce Karenin had offered, especially for the sake of Anna's children. Anna didn't think she could go through such a humiliating ordeal. In the end, she decided to get the divorce after speaking it over with Vronsky.

Answer: King Lear

Poor Levin was often lost when it came to the socialite activities that often accompanied a life in the city. He thankfully sought out Pestsov after the fantasia was complete, and after displaying some of his confusion on the issue of Cordelia, was reminded he was supposed to have been reading the program while listening.

Answer: False

Anna and Levin met after Levin, Stiva, and Vronsky drink together at a club. Levin believed Anna to be pleasant, intelligent, and beautiful. After he arrived home, he quarreled with Kitty, who had already lost one suitor to Anna and was insanely jealous of her husband's affinity to her.

Answer: He was fearful.

Though Levin later found joy in his newborn after it had sneezed, he was at first fearful. He feared that he now had another vulnerability in his life and also that his son would ever have to suffer.

Answer: psychic

The French psychic Landau had come to Russia to employ his skills, and many believed in his abilities, even the devout Lydia Ivanovna. Landau's character could be seen as a criticism of the baseless faith many Russians put in mysticism.

Answer: Harmony or discord

Tolstoy argued that there must be either complete harmony in a relationship for any manner of things to be accomplished, or complete discord. Anything in between made their relations indefinite and unsure, so nothing was accomplished. For Anna and Vronksy, their relationship had taken to this middle ground.

They bickered endlessly over things they knew they shouldn't be upset over. Anna, especially, grew increasingly frustrated with their relationship.

Answer: love

When Vronsky began to say that Anna should respect him, Anna quickly interrupted him, saying that "respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be". After her relationship with Karenin, and his demand for her respect (and little else), Anna couldn't bear to hear her lover tell her to respect him.

Answer: Dolly

Anna went to see her good friend Dolly, who she decided to tell everything about her problems with Vronksy. However, when she arrived, she said very little. This could be attributed to the fact that Kitty was also visiting Dolly. Kitty had once been in love with Vronsky before Anna had taken him away from her. Anna grew nervous around the poor girl. Kitty felt pity for Anna.

Answer: True

In perhaps Tolstoy's most chilling moment of the novel, Anna expressed horror that she had done such a thing. Her suicide was meant to teach Vronsky a lesson, but immediately after she had thrown herself to the tracks, she regretted her decision and wished she could have undone it. Yet it was too late for her, and she found herself unable to struggle as the train ran her over.

Answer: Vronsky

Koznyshev began to write about the Slavic liberation movement after one of his books failed to gain traction. During his journey, he came across Vronsky, who had reentered military life. Vronsky believed that his life no longer had value and he didn't much care whether he died or not.

Answer: He found his faith in God.

Levin continued to search for answers to life, and when he came up short, he contemplated ending his own life. However, he found that if he simply lived his life instead of thinking about it, he was much happier. His newfound faith was strengthened after a tree nearly killed Kitty and his son, after which he discovered his feelings as a father were now greater than ever.