Anna Karenina

Falling in love, getting married, and having children are social expectations of both men and women. Although love, marriage, and family are perceived and understood differently in various cultures and countries, there is pressure to achieve these prospects globally. Marriage, love and family are notions money cannot buy and for that reason they are often considered extremely important, precious and irreplaceable. Marriage becomes threatened and is altered significantly when a partner is unfaithful and commits adultery. The themes of infidelity, cheating, and adultery, are seen clearly in the Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Anna Karenina. Infidelity is most evident in the marriage of Anna Karenina and Alexei Karenin and the marriage of Stephen Oblonsky (Stiva) and Darya Oblonskaya (Dolly). The two relationships undergo similar hardships since they both involve a partner that commits adultery. Anna is unfaithful to her husband Alexei, and Stiva is unfaithful to his wife Dolly. Despite the similarity of events, society reacts differently toward Anna committing adultery and Stiva committing adultery solely due to the fact they are of two different sexes. 19th century Russia was largely a patriarchal society, where institutions were male dominated and male-centric, serving the male interest. The inherent sexism and its oppressive effects created a double standard regarding the consequences of adultery for men and women. When Anna Karenina deviates from the behavior expected of a moral woman through her acts of adultery; she is ostracized; when Stiva does the same, his reputation remains unthreatened. The unfortunate realization is the relenting persistence of these archaic notions regarding gender roles.

Anna Karenina is not loyal to her husba...

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...n life is more important than the conquest expected and set by society. An example of her blatant disregard for society is when she rejects the request of Karenin to stay in the marriage (although she has fallen in love with someone else) in order to maintain superficial appearances of an intact marriage and family.

The themes and events that occur in Anna Karenina are extremely universal. Although Russia in the 19th century is different than current day America in many ways, the two societies do pose particular similarities. The most prevailing similarity being, the male dominated patriarchal society set up in both locations during both time periods. Although the male domination and patriarchy unravel and affect each society in different ways, the mindsets and ethics of American patriarchal society and Russian patriarchal society are particularly analogous.