Chapter 38
Petersburg's highest society is one interconnected world with subdi...
The highest Petersburg society is essentially one: in it everyone knows everyone else, everyone even visits everyone else. But this great set has its subdivisions. Anna Arkadyevna Karenina had friends and close ties in three different circles of this highest society. One circle was her husband’s government official set, consisting of his colleagues and subordinates, brought together in the most various and capricious manner, and belonging to different social strata. Anna found it difficult now to recall the feeling of almost awe-stricken reverence which she had at first entertained for these persons. Now she knew all of them as people…
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Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"the conscience of Petersburg society."
Context: A clever member's label for Countess Lydia Ivanovna's circle
Tolstoy marks the moral set Anna now finds insufferable after Moscow.
In Today's Words:
One clique calls itself the conscience of the city, a circle of pious women and ambitious men tied to Karenin's career. Anna once moved there easily; now it feels false and dull. Every town has a group that treats respectability as a brand instead of a practice.
"she realized distinctly from the rush of disappointment that she had been deceiving herself,"
Context: Anna expected to meet Vronsky at a soiree and he was absent
Absence proves what presence had been hiding: the pursuit is not distasteful but essential to her.
In Today's Words:
When Vronsky fails to appear at a party Anna expected him to attend, disappointment hits so hard she admits she lied to herself. Missing him proves the chase matters more than propriety or marriage. You often learn what you want when the person is not there.
"That’s my one desire, to be caught,"
Context: Betsy teases him about being trapped by love
Vronsky reframes adultery as honorable conquest in a world that admires daring in married men.
In Today's Words:
Betsy mocks Vronsky for being caught in love and he answers that being caught is exactly what he wants from the affair. He treats pursuit of a married woman as a grand game society will admire. Dangerous desire often dresses itself in bravery and noble risk.
"Blessed are the peacemakers; theirs is the kingdom of heaven,"
Context: Vronsky says he must leave the opera for a diplomatic peacemaking errand
Betsy half-recalls scripture to mock Vronsky's busy nobility while keeping the flirtation light.
In Today's Words:
Vronsky claims he is off to reconcile quarreling men and Betsy vaguely quotes scripture about peacemakers, amused by his performance of virtue. The line shows how this set treats scandal and gallantry as entertainment. Wit often wraps appetite in irony and borrowed moral language today.
Thematic Threads
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Petersburg's single society divides into official, pious, and fashionable circles Anna navigates
Development
After Moscow Anna prefers the set where Vronsky can meet her openly under Betsy's cover
In Your Life:
You might drift toward the friend group where a forbidden attraction can appear accidental
Identity
In This Chapter
Anna discovers Vronsky's pursuit is the main interest of her life
Development
Self-deception cracks when disappointment at a soiree exposes her
In Your Life:
You may only admit an attachment when missing someone ruins an evening you claimed was casual
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
What three circles of Petersburg society does Anna belong to?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
Karenin's official set, Countess Lydia Ivanovna's pious career circle, and Princess Betsy Tverskaya's fashionable world.
- 2
How does Anna realize she has been deceiving herself about Vronsky?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
She expected to meet him at a soiree, felt sharp disappointment when he was absent, and admitted his pursuit is her life's main interest.
- 3
When has missing someone at an event changed how you understood your feelings?
application • mediumOne way to read it
Like Anna's soiree disappointment, absence can expose an attachment you were denying while arranging your calendar around it.
- 4
What does Vronsky tell Betsy about being caught in love?
application • deepOne way to read it
He says being caught is his only desire and jokes he is not caught enough, treating pursuit of Anna as honorable conquest.
- 5
Why does Vronsky leave the opera box before the entr'acte ends?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
He claims another peacemaking appointment at the French theater, showing how gallant errands and the affair intertwine in public life.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Productive Escape Patterns
Think of three times in your life when you dealt with emotional pain by throwing yourself into work or physical activity. For each situation, write down what type of work you chose, how long you used it as escape, and what you learned about yourself through that process.
Consider:
- •Notice whether you tend to choose solitary work or work that connects you with others
- •Consider how your choice of escape work reflects your values and skills
- •Reflect on whether the work actually moved you toward healing or just delayed it
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when productive escape helped you survive a difficult period. What did that experience teach you about your own resilience and coping strategies?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 39
Vronsky stays in Betsy's box long enough to tell the indiscreet story of two officers, a letter, and a red-faced husband. In Betsy's opera box Vronsky offers to tell an indiscreet story without names. Betsy guesses anyway as he describes two festive young men, likely officers, who follow a pretty woman in a sledge, write her an ardent letter, and hand it to her.
