Trains in Anna Karenina

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The Role Of Trains In Anna Karenina In the book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trains are prevalent in bringing about change, both outright and in a roundabout manner, of a character, and ultimately bringing about death of the character from the change. The machines are portrayed as bad, bad for society and people in general, and bracket the novel in a negative light. Trains are a means of transport, and the metaphor of the train can be extended to Anna’s ‘transport’ of attraction, from Karenin to Vronsky. The metaphor of transportation, or transportation of ‘love’, for a quick change in scenery is a clear one. Anna knew she was never in a proper relationship with Karenin, and when she saw Vronsky for the first time, she found herself interested in his fascination for her. By the time she was introduced to Vronsky fully, she found herself “seized by a feeling of joyful pride.” (page 109) Anna found herself proud of the attentions she was getting from Vronsky. She became more intrigued with Vronsky and found herself drifting towards him to receive more affection than she had gotten from her husband. Anna’s affections switched to Vronsky and she became more reliant on his love than on anything else. And when she suspected that his love for her was dwindling, Anna took matters into her own hands and proceeded to kill herself, just to show him the pain she was feeling from thinking about his infidelity. Anna’s course of action was not thought of properly, but it was something that made the story progress. There are many turning points in Anna and Vronsky’s relationship, and surprisingly, most of them occur at train stations. Anna and Vronsky’s relationship can be traced from the beginning to the end, with the most important points occurring in train stations. The relationship starts with Vronsky spotting Anna at the train station when he was going to pick up his
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