Anna Karenina is all about perplexed people with their lives torn apart between tangled relationships. Tolstoy, a profound advocate of strong family ties, holds to his stand in this book as well. Anna, who is married to Karenin, a high ranking person in the contemporary Russian society, gets attracted toward Vronsky, a dashing Count.
Vronsky pursue’s Anna into a relationship with him, and as this becomes public, the three lives jumble. He also speaks of the feminine dedication and generosity found in relationships with the character of Anna, as against the masculine feebleness in responding to it, reciprocating it by bringing in Vronsky.
There is also the character of Karenin, who has grown decrepit of forgiving Anna time and again, but always takes her side, in her bad times. The societal attitude toward Anna, which is very much similar even today, gives the hint of insecurity faced by Anna, during her relationship with Vronsky.
On the other hand, he also contrasts the perplexed and melancholy world of Anna and Vronsky with that of Levin and Kitty. Kitty, who too, was at first attracted by Vronsky, is later married to Levin, and finally devoted to him. This committed family represents, what in Tolstoy’s view as an ideal marriage.
The author successfully brings in view, the paradoxes of life, with the help of these characters, depicting sex, love, romance on one hand, and virtue, faith, devotion which leads to a mutual association, and finally, societal affirmation.
There also is a contrast shown, of an urban and a rural society, clearly marking the superiority of the rural counterpart, with the strong bonding amongst individuals in the rural society winning over that which exists in the urban society.