"Things cannot remain as he supposes," says Vronsky, thinking of the duel but saying something else. She must leave her husband. "But my son!" cries Anna, "I should have to leave him and I can't and won't do that." To Vronsky the choice is simple: She must leave her child or maintain this degrading position. "To whom is it degrading?" says Anna. The only thing important in her life is Vronsky's love, and "if that's mine, I feel so exalted . . . that nothing can humiliate me." As she sobs, Vronsky, himself close to tears, feels helpless knowing he is to blame for her wretchedness. Sadly, Anna realizes her fears: Everything will remain the same.
That Monday, at the usual sitting of the Commission, Karenin emerges victorious. His motion carried after a fight, even against the arguments of his rival Stremov, three new commissions are appointed to investigate the Reorganization of the Native Tribes. Petersburg society talks of nothing else but Karenin's latest victory.
The next day Anna arrives in Petersburg, her visit marring Karenin's satisfaction from yesterday's triumph. Demanding his wife's conduct to be above the suspicions of even the servants, Karenin forbids Anna to meet her lover. In return, he allows her all the privileges of a respectable wife without fulfilling the duties of one.
