Friday, April 11, 2014

The Young Kitty

My post this week related to Kitty. I must say that as we have learned more about Kitty, I grow more and more infatuated with her. Whereas in the beginning of the novel she paled next to the stout and impressive Anna, now, Kitt's sweetness and, to an extent, softness elevate her to my favorite. Is Tolstoy playing favorites also? Does Tolstoy consider Kitty the ideal female? Given that Tolstoy sees himself in Levin, I do not find it unimaginable that Levin's love-interest would also be Tolstoy's ideal woman. Consider also Levin's conviction that it's either Kitty or no one. Levin does not imagine any other woman short of Kitty could be worth marrying. Indeed, if we look at favorites from War and Peace, Natasha seems like a clear nominee. Given Kitty's youth and heartbreak due to Vronsky (which parallels with Natasha's own child-like qualities and fling with Anatole), she seems like an extension of Natasha. Tolstoy seems to have developed Natasha (before she became a great matron) and come up with Kitty.

Moreover, Kitty, despite her youth, seems to have a perceptive mind that makes her intelligent. I particularly liked how Kitty, "boldly with her truthful eyes," contradicted Levin's arguments on women's rights (396-397). She does this again when planning their honeymoon. Instead of going abroad, Kitty insists that they move into the country home as she understands that it would be more pleasant for Levin (although he does not say it). However, now, as I nearly reach the end of my blog post, I'm starting to grow annoyed with Kitty. Like was mentioned in the previous post on Stepan, his flaws make him human (and to me, likeable). What are Kitty's flaws? Tolstoy need not continue to show us she has a heart of gold; we already know it. Before, I was really impressed with Tolstoy's increasing ability to write females but perhaps Kitty's isn't the best example. Do her angelic characteristics make her unreal? Regardless, Kitty warms my heart.

6 comments:

  1. I think it's interesting that you're this fond of Kitty as a character especially since I remember you saying you didn't care much for Natasha. Kitty could be more of a fantasy than Natasha was. One thing thats important to consider is that the differences in Kitty's portrayal could be from the fact that we don't meet her until she is 18 while we met Natasha when she was only 12, which gives us a limited crew on Kittys development from girlhood to womanhood. Nevertheless it'll be interesting to see how Kitty as a character develops throughout the rest of the novel.

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  2. I do think that Kitty's flaws lie in the fact that she was infatuated with Vronsky and allowed other people's opinions influence her initial decision of not marrying Vronsky.

    I was mad when I read the thing about them not going abroad because she knew he had to be in the country, and although she could not understand his work, she still wanted him to be able to do it. I feel that the ideal woman in Tolstoy's perspective is one that avoids experiences outside the motherland and that is completely dedicated to her husband's goals - which is why Family Happiness now feels like a cautionary tale. This passage I just mentioned reminded me a lot of Mary and Natasha and their devotion to their husbands. To a certain extent, I feel that the ideal woman for Tolstoy is one that devotes herself to improving her partner in life and not necessarily to their own growth. I like Kitty, but I can't help being angry at Tolstoy for suggesting this is the kind of women every girl should aspire to be.

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    1. Absolutely! I got frustrated reading that too. It feels like the only examples of women who aren't like that are society women like Helene and they're generally not portrayed sympathetically. I think Tolstoy views women's roles this way partly due to his time but also from his focus on the importance of family. Since he viewed family as a key part of his life, he might have assumed that women should aspire to be devoted mothers and loyal partners to their husbands in order to facilitate his idea of what a family should be. I still find his limited views of women's potential irritating but it's useful to try to figure out the why of it.

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    2. I recently read a book named Catherine de Paris about a princess of Romanian descent that marries into Polish aristocracy and is connected to the good world of Europe. While she is not a Helene, there are so many layers to her character and she has opinions and cultural influence. She is not the only female character in European literature to possess those traits so I find it hard to accept how patriarchal Tolstoy's opinions about women are. There is no spectrum for him I feel like, you're either a Helene, or something close to that, or a Mary/ Kitty.

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    3. I really enjoyed everyone's comments. They definitely made me question my position. Iulia, you're totally right in that Kitty is solely defined by Levin. While that does bother me, I also feel like Levin's willing to do the same for Kitty. Your example about Pierre and Natasha to me also reminds me that they had somewhat equal power between them. I don't want to defend Tolstoy's inability to limit the women he writes but I do feel like he does some things right. Also, Alex, yes, you're totally right in that I didn't like Natasha. However, while Kitty seems like an extension of Natasha, Kitty seems to have a depth and seriousness to her character that Natasha did not. You're right in that it could be due to age. I'm also now wondering, giving Iulia's example of either Helene or Mary/ Kitty, what it says about Tolstoy to be able to write a character like Anna.

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