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Foreshadowing
Genre
Explanation and Analysis:
Anna Karenina, a novel written by Leo Tolstoy, is a lengthy and dramatic story following protagonists Anna Arkadyevna Karenina and Konstantin Dimitrich Levin. The novel was written during the late 19th century, the golden age of Russian literature. Tolstoy lived concurrently with the other famous Russian author of the time, Fyodor Dostoevsky, though it is unlikely that the two authors ever met.
Anna Karenina exhibits aspects of Realism, which can be seen in Tolstoy's use of stream-of-consciousness narration. Tolstoy wrote with this technique before it was commonly established as a prominent literary device in the modernist era. The novel weaves together dark and philosophical themes of death, jealousy, and forgiveness. For one, Anna's infidelity causes jealousy in her husband, Karenin. Anna's own senseless jealousy and inability to forgive herself for her transgressions cause her to take her own life. At one point, Vronsky even attempts to shoot himself. Tolstoy contrasts this broken trio against the innocent love between Kitty and Levin. Their relationship is founded on forgiveness for themselves and others. These three themes—death, jealousy, and forgiveness—are typical of 19th-century Russian literature and can also be seen in Tolstoy's other novels. Together, these themes categorize the novel in the genre of literary Realism.
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