Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Like-Minded Couples

While Kitty is away at the spa recovering from the heartbreak brought upon by Vronsky and coming to terms with her feelings concerning Levin, she comes across Varenka, who Kitty ends up loving for her modesty and simplicity.  I would like to point out the similarities between Varenka and Levin. Both Levin and Varenka are orphans, underestimate their potential value in terms of relationships, have both been rejected by those they were in love with, and both shy away from society and attention. Varenka and Levin can be seen as mirror characters, and it is symbolic that Kitty would come across and love a mirror of Levin during this time of heartbreak recovery.
Even more interesting, Kitty attempts to imitate Varenka, and therefore she is also imitating Levin. In class, we have touched on people in relationships being of “like minds” and this seems to cement Kitty and Levin as a pair. However, in the end, Kitty halts her attempts to be like Varenka. How does this fit into the idea of like-minded couples within the novel? Perhaps these couples are not as like-minded as we thought. The other couple whose relationship is based on love and mutual attraction, Anna and Vronsky, I see as very different in terms of personality and all the spouses of this generation are very different from each other and unhappy.

5 comments:

  1. I liked this post Jennette, as Kitty's time in the spa and the character of Varenka are aspects of the novel that we haven't talked about too much in class. I think your post bring up some interesting ideas about the nature of autonomy in relationships vs. the draw between like-minded people. I think Stiva and Dolly's relationship is somewhat of a balance between Kitty and Levin and Anna and Vronsky, who are level headed and passionate respectively. Stiva and Dolly seem to represent a blending of these two characteristics. The question is which couple is most successful: those who think alike or those who disagree?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The fact that Kitty decides that she doesn't want to be just like Varenka is important. It shows that she is attempting to establish herself as a unique individual. When she fell for Vronsky she was at a stage in her life where she might have tried to become anything that he wanted her to be. Now, though, she can be of like mind with her husband, but still maintain her own identity.

      Delete
  2. I really liked this post as well, because it brought up a point that, I think, was overlooked in class. In a real life situation, I feel as though, like minded people could be attracted to each other, but, for the lack fo a better word, the "spark" would dwindle out soon, because, having similar interests and opinions, they couldn't really challenge each other intellectually. Going back to the book though, particularly at Anna and Vronsky's relationship, I think it's building up to end in tragedy. So in the case of Anna Karenina, like minded people, or at least people who are more similar than they are different, will have an advantage at having a successful relationship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think like minded people have a greater chance of having a successful relationship in Anna Karenina because their relationship is based on something other than passion alone. As we're seeing with Anna and Vronsky, their relationship, which is pretty much just based on excitement and physical attraction, is falling apart because once the passion and excitement is gone, they don't have anything anymore.

      Delete
  3. I like this post. I never thought of the similarities between Levin and Varenka. When Kitty decides to stop imitating Varenka, she is growing up and becoming her own person. I think that she still probably imitates parts of people that she loves, like Levin and Varenka. This helps Kitty to be compatible with Levin, but not exactly like him. I think that like-mindedness is helpful in a relationship, but being a total imitation of someone is not.

    ReplyDelete