Chapter 152
Anna and Vronsky arrive in Petersburg and take separate hotel floor...
On arriving in Petersburg, Vronsky and Anna stayed at one of the best hotels; Vronsky apart in a lower story, Anna above with her child, its nurse, and her maid, in a large suite of four rooms. On the day of his arrival Vronsky went to his brother’s. There he found his mother, who had come from Moscow on business. His mother and sister-in-law greeted him as usual: they asked him about his stay abroad, and talked of their common acquaintances, but did not let drop a single word in allusion to his connection with Anna. His brother came the…
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Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"If the world disapproves, I don’t care,”"
Context: Telling his brother how he views Anna
Bold declaration before reality teaches him.
In Today's Words:
Vronsky tells his brother that if the world disapproves he does not care, but family who want him must treat Anna as his wife. The line sounds principled and defiant. Tolstoy sets it against what follows: Vronsky can still enter drawing rooms while Anna cannot. His courage does not transfer to the woman he claims to protect.
"society was closed for him and Anna; but now some vague ideas had sprung up in his brain that this was only the case in old-fashioned days, and that now with the rapidity of modern progress (he had unconsciously become by now a partisan of every sort of progress) the views of society had changed, and that the question "
Context: On Vronsky's misapprehension about progress
What he should have known at heart.
In Today's Words:
The narrator says Vronsky should have understood society was closed for him and Anna, yet he half believes modern progress changed views. Tolstoy marks the gap between knowledge and wish. Vronsky will test the world because admitting exclusion feels like accepting permanent cramp. The test will hurt Anna more than him.
"hands raised for him were dropped to bar the way for Anna."
Context: Cat-and-mouse image of Petersburg reception
Same gesture, opposite meaning.
In Today's Words:
Tolstoy compares Petersburg to cat and mouse: hands raised to welcome Vronsky drop to block Anna. The image captures adultery's double standard without moralizing. One partner passes through; the other meets the same arms as a wall. Vronsky learns the gesture is not confusion but policy.
"I can’t raise her."
Context: Refusing to rehabilitate Anna socially
Plain limit from a sympathetic ally.
In Today's Words:
Varya tells Vronsky she cannot ask Anna home or rehabilitate her without offending people who think differently; I can't raise her. She articulates the name carefully as Anna Arkadyevna and denies judging, but her daughters and husband's career decide. Tolstoy gives the refusal a humane face, which makes it harder to dismiss as mere cruelty.
Thematic Threads
Unequal scandal
In This Chapter
Vronsky enters society; Anna stays in hotel rooms.
Development
Prepares Anna's isolation and opera defiance.
In Your Life:
Affairs rarely cost both partners the same friendships.
False progress
In This Chapter
Vronsky believes modern views changed reception.
Development
Crossed legs metaphor shows self-deception.
In Your Life:
Assuming times changed can delay facing old rules.
Anna's new mood
In This Chapter
Cold, irritable, hiding something from Vronsky.
Development
Links social pain to maternal crisis ahead.
In Your Life:
Withdrawal often starts when one partner still moves freely.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
Why does Vronsky believe society might have changed?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
He has become a partisan of progress and hopes intimate friends will look at his connection in the proper light, though he knows at heart the world is shut on them.
- 2
What does the crossed legs metaphor explain?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
You tolerate a fixed position only while believing you could change it; once you know you must stay, cramps and strain reveal how unbearable exclusion really is.
- 3
Why does Betsy's tone change after learning divorce is unsettled?
application • mediumOne way to read it
Without legal marriage she risks stones from society; her ten-minute visit becomes a performance of courage rather than renewed intimacy.
- 4
What does Varya mean by I can't raise her?
application • deepOne way to read it
She may visit Anna privately but cannot host her or restore her socially without harming her daughters and husband's position among people who judge adultery.
- 5
When have you seen one person keep access after a shared scandal?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
The hands raised for him pattern names how communities punish women or the labeled wrongdoer while protecting the man or insider.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Who Opens the Door
List each person Vronsky asks to accept Anna: brother, Betsy, Varya. What does each offer versus refuse?
Consider:
- •Include if the world disapproves
- •Include cat and mouse
- •Include I can't raise her
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time you assumed a partner's friends were your friends too and learned otherwise.
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 153
Anna came to Petersburg above all to see Seryozha, and Lydia Ivanovna's silence will push her toward a desperate birthday visit. Anna returned to Russia chiefly to see her son. Since Italy the thought never left her; near Petersburg the meeting grew huge in her imagination.
