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."
