Main Themes - Anna Karenina

Hypocrisy: This theme is first touched upon with the novel's epigraph: "Vengeance is mine, I shall repay." This epigraph is a warning to both Russian Society and to the reader that the only person allowed to judge is God. The rest of us, being imperfect, merely make ourselves into hypocrites when we judge someone else. Russian Society is full of hypocrites in this book<indeed, the very corruption of this society is symbolized by …

…Levin always feels uncomfortable in cities, whereas Anna feels out of sorts away from them. Passion: Passion is distrusted in Anna Karenina because it can lead to destruction, as it does in Anna's case. But Anna's double, Levin is also an extremely passionate individual, and his passion is championed because it leads him to the Lord. In general, passion itself is not a bad force, but it can be easily corrupted and lead to problems.