Originally Posted by Karen 28th September 2006


We know some of you are still reading the book, but we have to start discussing the main actions, so if you don't want to know about the plot, you might want to skip this one.

If you've finished the book, feel free to post answers containing references to the whole story.

Anna had a very difficult relationship with her father, an artist. On page 81, while her sister is dying, Anna desperately wants a true image of her sister and she sees her father painting his usual altered paintings. She says "She is going to die"....."And she'll be buried and we won't have a single photograph to remember what she really looked like." She remarks about him not showing reality in his paintings.

Her father slaps her "and told her she was an ignorant little fool." He tells her she's a monster, she couldn't be his daughter. Anna's sister dies. Her father leaves for Crimea and is gone for years. On her birthday, Anna's mother gives her a camera. Anna removes her father's paintings and attempts to burn them.

Do you think this father-daughter relationship affects the relationships with the men in her life, her husband, Mutz, Samarin? How?

Deppraved


Definitely, YES!

She learns to distrust men and at the same time, yearns for their love and acceptance--classic!

Really, this bit you quote really made me feel angry and sad for Anna.

What courage it took her mother to give her a camera. The father was so insecure about his talents as a artist, and obviously felt threatened by photographs. He enjoyed success by painting flatteringly generic portraits of the VIP's (all except that one with the rats, LOL) and heaven forbid a photograph would allow reality to set in!

I think the early relationship she had with her husband was very romantic, he was literally a savior on a white horse, and when he joined the castrates, she almost wished he really had died, it was a huge blow, confusing and devastating, which only served to make her more desperate to be loved and accepted by a man, any willing man!

She was very vulnerable to the charisma of Samarin, and Mutz was too normal and righteous for her.

The behaviour of the men in her life really turned her trust in her judgement upside down!

But in the end, I think she decided to think for herself and trust in herself again, and do what was best for her and Alyosha and move forward.

Karen


Arnelle, I'm so glad that you included your thoughts about the bravery of Anna's mother!! She was thinking only about her child and how to nurture and re-affirm her.

Edit: Rethinking this part --- What struck me was that of the 4 men in Anna's life ( her father, Gleb, Mutz and Samarin)....the man who did not basically lie to her was Mutz. Her father lied and mistreated her. She learned that her father was using young women her own age and was warned to stay away from him as she was just his type. Her husband *in essence* could not be truthful around her and betrayed her with the castrates, in my opinion. I have a hard time thinking that Balashov didn't betray her and lie to her. But, on the other hand, he told her the truth about what he had done to himself. Samarin just flat out lied and used her for his purpose of hijacking the train. ( I do think they used each other for sex.)

I also noticed that the only man who she ran off was Mutz. Her father abandoned her, her husband abandoned her and Samarin left her.

Herestoyou


Yes, Anna is definitely hurt by her father's attitude towards her. His wanting to gloss over reality with his paintings was at odds with her wanting to capture a moment in time. She wants to capture the way life "is" not the way others would like it to be. Thank God for her mother who truly understood her by giving her the camera.

I really think though she felt truly betrayed by Balashov as they had such a passionate love that resulted in a child, and he just completely threw that all away for religion after viewing the horrors of war. So why did she move to be near him then? Was it because she wanted to flaunt herself in front of him? get back at him by sleeping with other men knowing he would find out about it? or was she still hoping in some small way that he really could come back to her?

I also think her sleeping with other men was a way to prove to herself that she was a desirable, sexual being. I think Balashov really did a psychological number on her. Deep down I think she believes that if she was more of a "woman" maybe Balashov wouldn't have gone to the extremes that he did. Even though she seemed to know some of these relationships were wrong, she wanted to know that she was desirable to men. In comes Samarin, different from the others, dangerous maybe, but totally captivates her and her son. Sadly, she realizes too late what his agenda actually was, but at the same time, she did make a connection with him that apparently others before hadn't been able to make.

Finally in the end, it does seem like she is following what Anna truly wants, not what men may want for her (or from her.)