Part – III
Chapters 1–32
Levin visits with his half-brother, Sergei. The two men converse at length about the conditions of the rural peasantry, local politics, and the responsibility of the landowners to tend to the local affairs of their tenants. After working in his fields the next day, Levin receives a letter from Dolly. Having moved to the country in order to reduce household expenses, Dolly is struggling to adapt to rural hardships. Levin begins to visit Dolly again, which only serves to reawaken his feelings for Kitty. His love for Kitty is further renewed when he catches a glimpse of her in a passing carriage.
Back in St. Petersburg, Karenin struggles with his feelings for Anna following her admission of adultery. Growing increasingly distant from his family, he decides, nonetheless, that the best punishment for Anna is to deny her the divorce she so deeply desires. Anna is stunned by Karenin’s decision, and she contemplates leaving him and taking their son with her. But in the end, Anna decides to agree to Karenin’s plan, maintaining the appearances dictated by her social standing.
In light of Anna’s pregnancy, Vronsky is torn between continuing his military career (his primary source of income) and following a self-imposed code of conduct that would force him to resign his position (should he decide to make public his affair with a married woman). Setting off for Anna’s country home, where she has arranged a meeting, Vronsky tries to convince Anna to abandon her marriage and to apply for a divorce. Anna admits that her pride, as well as her love for her son, will keep her from ever doing so.
Meanwhile, Karenin’s standing in society rises, strengthened only momentarily by a brilliant political speech that he delivers on the relocation of the Russian native tribes. Despite his wife’s affair, he remains loyal as he maintains the illusion of a happy marriage. His demands of Anna are simple: there will be no divorce and Vronsky will never set foot in his home.
Back in the country, Levin struggles with his renewed feelings for Kitty, and the matter is intensified by Dolly’s persistent attempts to bring the two together for a meeting. Heading away from his farm (and from Kitty) to visit a friend, Levin is drawn into deep philosophical discussions about farming and the conditions of the peasantry. He continues his journey, visiting his dying half-brother Nikolai. Their conversations bring him to contemplate death, and he resolves to live his life to the fullest.
Part IV
Chapters 1–13
Anna and Karenin continue to uphold the illusion of their marriage, sharing a house despite the fact that they are almost totally estranged from one another. Both wish for an end to the situation, but neither can see a workable solution. Breaking her husband’s rule, Anna invites Vronsky to her home when Karenin is out attending a meeting. Karenin returns earlier than expected, and he confronts his wife and her lover. A heated argument follows, during which Vronsky recognizes a mean spiritedness and pettiness in Anna that leave him saddened. For her part, Anna erupts in anger against her husband, attacking his character. When her anger subsides, Anna tells Vronsky that she has had a dream of her pending death during childbirth. Karenin tells Anna that he plans to initiate divorce proceedings, and he threatens to take their son away from her.
After visiting a lawyer in St. Petersburg in order to set the divorce in motion, Karenin goes off to work in the rural provinces, having been in a professional slide since his speech. He then encounters Stiva and Dolly, who, despite Karenin’s obvious coldness, invite him to dinner. Levin, Kitty, and a number of locals, will also be attending. Karenin accepts the invitation. At the dinner, he witnesses Levin and Kitty’s reconciliation, and he spends the evening listening to discussions on numerous topics, including education and women’s rights.
The dinner brings numerous threads of the narrative together. Karenin confides to Dolly that he is divorcing Anna, despite the fact that it will ruin her. Levin and Kitty reunite; they apologize for their past mistakes and decide to marry in the near future. Levin believes that he should be totally honest with his affianced, so allows her to read his private journals, which reveal him to be an agnostic. The journals also reveal that he slept with a number of women prior to meeting Kitty. Upset at both of these discoveries, Kitty forgives him and the couple move forward with their plans.
Karenin, however, has been passed over in his bid for a coveted government post. To make matters worse, he receives news that Anna has delivered a baby girl, and that Anna is suffering what appears to be a fatal fever in the aftermath.
Rushing home, he finds Anna being tended by Vronsky. Certain that she is dying, Anna begs Karenin to forgive both her and her lover, which he does. Leaving the house, and tormented by thoughts of Anna’s death, Vronsky attempts suicide, but survives.
Karenin reflects upon his forgiveness, and on the affection he feels for the newborn child, also named Anna. Karenin overhears a conversation during which Betsy pleads with Anna to see the depressed and suicidal Vronsky once more before he is stationed, and he informs his wife that he will tolerate the affair on the condition that the family is not disgraced. Stiva arrives and negotiates a solution to the situation: Karenin will claim to be the adulterer because a divorce on these grounds will protect Anna’s reputation. Informed of the plan, Vronsky visits Anna, affirming his love for her. Anna, however, argues that Karenin is being overly generous, and she rejects his plan for a divorce. Instead, Vronsky resigns his commission with the army, and the two lovers go abroad.
Part V
Chapters 1–33
Following his engagement to Kitty, Levin attends a legally mandated meeting with a priest, and he also attends a bachelor party in his honor. After facing his last minute insecurities about the wedding, Levin and Kitty are finally married amidst many tears and much celebration. Returning to their country estate, the couple settle somewhat uncomfortably into married life. Nevertheless, the marriage is a happy one.
Less happy in his decision is Vronsky, who finds life in Italy (where he and Anna are now staying), less than satisfying. Anna, on the other hand, feels her spirits lift once the taint of disgrace that had dogged her in Russia is no longer a factor. While Anna recovers from the emotional havoc caused by the rumors that have dogged her for so long, Vronsky takes up painting as a means of fending off his growing frustration with his life. The attempt is unsuccessful. Anna and Vronsky expand their circle of acquaintances to include a Russian painter who agrees to paint a portrait of Anna. While Levin and Kitty go to tend to Nikolai on his deathbed, Karenin struggles to understand why his life has become defined by failure and misery. At this point in the novel, the narrator steps forward for a brief period in order to fill readers in on Karenin’s personal history.
Returning to St. Petersburg, Anna and Vronsky settle into a hotel and attempt to revitalize their social life, but to no avail. High society shuns them, and Anna meanwhile struggles with her own waning sense of love for her daughter and with the knowledge that she has abandoned her son. In a futile effort to re-enter society, Anna agrees to attend the opera with one of her old, unmarried aunts, much to Vronsky’s displeasure. Fearing the response that Anna might have to endure, Vronsky follows his lover to the opera and spies on her. He watches in dismay as she is insulted repeatedly by the other patrons; for her part, Anna returns home angry, and with a sense of desperation. Anna and Vronsky depart soon thereafter for the countryside, where they stay for a brief period before returning again to the city.
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