Anna Karenina, Part 4, Chapter 2 summary
Part 4, Chapter 2 of 239 · 4 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 2, Vronsky accepts Anna’s urgent invitation, sleeps through part of the evening, and encounters Alexey Alexandrovitch as he enters her house. His anger at the husband contrasts with his growing surrender to his attachment, while Anna’s distressed welcome reveals how painfully she depends on seeing him.
What happens
- Anna asks Vronsky to visit during her husband’s expected absence, despite the husband’s ban on receiving him.
- Vronsky falls asleep and wakes terrified by a dream of a peasant speaking French.
- Arriving late, Vronsky almost collides with Alexey Alexandrovitch, who acknowledges him and leaves.
- Vronsky resents the husband’s refusal to confront him and feels trapped in deceit.
- The narrator describes how Vronsky’s attachment to Anna pushes his ambitions aside.
- Anna greets him in distress, then studies his face against her ideal image of him.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Anna’s greeting makes the distress of waiting explicit. It shows that their meetings bring fear and strain as well as closeness.
Quick check
Whom does Vronsky encounter at the Karenins’ doorway?
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