Anna Karenina, Part 5, Chapter 28 summary

What happens

1. Vronsky and Anna take separate rooms in a Petersburg hotel, and he tells his brother that he considers Anna his wife.
2. His brother visits Anna, while Vronsky hopes that changing social attitudes might make their relationship acceptable.
3. Betsy visits Anna briefly but stresses that other people reject her until she obtains a divorce and marries.
4. Varya offers to visit Anna but refuses to receive her at home, prompting Vronsky to declare their friendship weakened.
5. Vronsky abandons further efforts, avoids his old circle, and finds reminders of Alexey Alexandrovitch painful.
6. Anna alternates between affection and coldness, leaving Vronsky uncertain about the worry she conceals.

In this chapter

What to notice

The sentence states the unequal treatment that defeats Vronsky’s hopes. His efforts with friends and family expose the limits of their support.

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