Anna Karenina, Part 5, Chapter 14 summary

What happens

1. After three months of marriage, Levin finds both disappointments and pleasures that differ from his expectations.
2. Kitty eagerly manages furniture, meals, servants, and preparations for guests, activities Levin finds puzzling but endearing.
3. Their first quarrel begins when Levin loses his way and returns half an hour late.
4. Kitty reproaches him, and Levin feels that defending himself would deepen a separation that hurts them both.
5. They reconcile, but recurring quarrels make their first month together bitter and humiliating.
6. After a month in Moscow, their married life begins to run more smoothly during its third month.

In this chapter

What to notice

Levin experiences Kitty’s suffering as inseparable from his own. This feeling pushes him toward reconciliation rather than proving himself right.

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