We first hear of Anna Karenina in Chapter l, where she intends to arrive at Moscow to repair a broken marriage: Indeed an ironic touch on the part of the author. The railroad station, the scene of Anna's first meeting with Vronsky, provides a symbol that concentrates the ideas of beginning, and, representing a point of departure as well. Alighting in Moscow, Anna confronts a new destiny and enters a foreign world. The "evil omen" which makes her shudder foreshadows her doom.
What is outstanding in Anna is her charm and fascination, apparent to Vronsky as their glances first meet. Capable of deep and strong passions, her whole being is directed toward love. Tolstoy writing that "her whole nature was so brimming over with something that against her will it showed itself . . ." indicates that her capacity for love has not yet been awakened.
Another outstanding quality is Anna's maturity. When she tells Vronsky that she and his mother have talked about their sons throughout the journey, Anna assumes herself a generation older than her future lover. This "age" difference between them underscores the essential duplicity and futility of their future relationship. The comparison of Seriozha with Vronsky also foreshadows Anna's later dilemma when she must choose between her child and her lover.
Anna becomes the object of fascination and love for everyone in her brother's household. She appeals to the children, wins Dolly's confidence: Kitty falls in love with her for her qualities of youth (denoting her peerage and future competition with Kitty) and maturity (denoting the emotional depth which charms Vronsky). But her charm is "diabolical and strange" at the same time. Kitty notices this during the ball when Anna regards her smilingly and with "drooping eyelids."
The key to Anna's personality and the quality which endears her to Tolstoy is her naturalness and emotional depth. She responds with her heart, not with applying social principles. Counseling Dolly to forgive Stiva, Anna argues, not from the standpoint of maintaining appearances to preserve a reputation before society, but from inner emotions. If you love him, then forgive him, Anna says. At the same time this quality provides the source of Anna's nobility, it also increases her susceptibility for a lawless passion.
In these episodes which reveal subtleties of individual character and relationships, a few of Tolstoy's narrative devices deserve brief mention. Though he is thoroughly an omniscient author, Tolstoy allows us to view the ball through the narrower--and more intense--viewpoint of Kitty, who watches Vronsky fall under Anna's spell. Kitty's suffering conveys to us the full quality of Madame Karenina's fascination.
Tolstoy also shows great dexterity in handling the psychological tensions and their physical relief. A good example of this occurs when Anna tells Kitty what a chivalrous nature Vronsky has. She relates how he saved a woman from drowning but refrains from mentioning the incident of the 200 rubles. In the pause, her frown keynotes the deceit which will enmesh her more and more: But at that moment, the children rush in and Anna, laughing, tumbles them to the ground.
