Nothing is real for me until I've read about it.

Robert Gottlieb
About This Quote

In the world of books, there is nothing that cannot be imagined. The perfect example is Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. In the book, Anna is married to Mr. Levin who is a successful lawyer.

She has three children and has known Mr. Levin for many years before she ever thought of having him as her husband. She feels very secure in her new lifestyle and loves her world with all its luxuries.

She feels content but her happiness is short lived. One day, she meets Count Vronsky, a wealthy aristocrat who offers her wealth, fame, and security for life if she will leave her husband and marry him instead. This of course causes Anna to decline the offer of Vronsky but he makes it clear that he will not give up on his pursuit of her nor will he take no for an answer.

He is like an animal that cannot be tamed and continues to pursue the woman he wants even after she has refused him many times before. This type of persistence is exactly what Anna Karenina lacked which accounts for the great despair that leads her to take her own life at the end of the book.

Source: Avid Reader: A Life

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