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Who was your favorite princess growing up?

Ozma of Oz, The Lost Princess of the Fairyland of Oz.

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“That proves you are unusual,“ returned the Scarecrow; "and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.”

— L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz

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“I don’t dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I’m dreaming for living.”

— Steven Spielberg

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I just want to do the crossword in pencil and drink a nice cup of coffee and do nothing all day.

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People who only watched the Wizard of Oz movie (the first one, not the one that they made based on Ozma of Oz) do not know how weird those books get.

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I am going to eat a donut from the vending machine and read that book I’m unsure about.

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“If you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.”

— Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

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“Now that I’m free to be myself, who am I?” - Mary Oliver

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I want to read poetry and eat chocolate and watch the rain and ignore everything else.

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Fresh honeycomb and bread from the farmer’s market and pottery from the antique shop and music on the record player.

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I like old movies and rainy days and hot chocolate.

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Political Parties in Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy was published in 1878 and takes place in 1874 towards the end of Imperial Russia.(VII) The translation referred to in this essay is by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, this translation does not differ that much from other translations of the text and is a reliable and accurate representation of the story. In the book, Alexander II is the Tsar during this time period, and the Intelligentsia are active in secret societies focusing on anarchism and socialism. Throughout this time period at universities and in cities there are people who are left wing radicals, people who believe in communism, and there are also conservative nationalists. They often debated on matters of economy, government, class, women’s rights, and Russian culture. This novel was written during Tolstoy’s moral crisis so the debate in ideologies represent what he was thinking in real life.  Anna Karenina shows characters from all of these political ideologies. In addition to the romance plot, how people debated between liberal and conservative ideologies is shown by the characters. Tolstoy held conservative views and this book shows how he saw the radical intelligentsia destroying families. (IX) While the main plot is mostly the focus of the book, there are many instances of conversations and small details that show western liberals, communism, and conservativism throughout this novel.  

Vronsky is an important character throughout the novel because he is an example of a western liberal. He symbolizes the radical intelligentsia and is what causes Anna to divorce her husband. This divorce is symbolic of radicals destroying traditional family values and deviating from their culture. Vronsky shows his political stance and scorn for Russian culture throughout the book and shows a preference for western liberalism. “As I’ve come to know him here, he’s both cultivated and very intelligent. He’s a man who will go far.”(39)This is how the character Vronsky is introduced, and he will eventually be the reason why Anna’s perfect marriage and family ends in divorce. He is a part of the radical intelligentsia. Immediately after this Tolstoy shows what could be him own opinion on Vronsky when he writes, “Levin frowned and kept silent.”(39) This shows that Vronsky was not liked from the start. Another way Vronsky shows his liberal views is through language. His preference for western language is shown when Tolstoy writes, “he went on in French, as he always did, avoiding the impossible coldness of formal Russian and the danger of the informal.”(187) Vronsky often speaks in French, as well as several other radical characters, showing a preference for western culture. This is an example of the actions of someone in the radical intelligentsia. His rejection of Russian culture is shown by his language preference. He continues to talk in French throughout the books and mentions again how he prefers the language when Tolstoy writes, “He wrote a without addressing her and in French, using the plural pronoun ‘you,’ which does not have that character of coldness which it has in Russian.”(283) This again shows a preference for language favored by western liberals and educated intelligentsia. Vronsky shows Western Liberal views throughout the novel through his symbolic role representing the view, his dislike for traditional Russian culture, and his continued use of the French language.  

Anna Karenina is also a character that shows western liberalism. Her journey from conservitive to liberal is shown negatively and her views lead to her death at the end of the novel. There is one scene in the novel that stood out as the moment Anna becomes liberal. Anna is married to Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin who is very strict and traditional. This scene is her realizing that she is in love with Vronsky, who is liberal and likes the west a lot. This scene starts with Anna holding a red bag getting on a train to go meet Vronsky. She is reading a novel. She is reflection on this novel and Tolstoy writes, “The hero of the novel was already beginning to achieve his English happiness, a baronetcy and an estate, and Anna wished to go with him to this estate, when suddenly she felt that he must be ashamed and that she was ashamed of the same thing. But what was he ashamed of? ‘What am I ashamed of?’ she asked herself in offending astonishment.” (100) She is reading the English novel and realizes that she is not happy with her life or with her life in Russian culture. She continues and thinks about Vronsky at the ball, Vronsky is symbolic of Radical Intelligentsia. Her reflection continues and then the novel states, “then a red fire blinded her eyes.”(100)  The red is symbolic of radical left socialism and communism. Red symbolizes communism and radical anarchist movements like that of the radical intelligentsia at the end of the 19th century, so it makes sense for red to symbolize Anna becoming a Radical. She is seeing the world in a radical way now and this scene is one of the most important in the book because it shows a shift in her ideology. Anna shows why people in Russia were becoming liberals and supporting revolutions. Her journey throughout the novel shows the benefits and costs of western liberal ideology in Russian society.  

Throughout the novel characters show their dislike for liberals and the radical intelligentsia and hold conservative Russian views. One example is when Levin says, “’My opinion,’ answered Levin, ‘is simply that these turning tables prov that our so-called educated society is no higher than the muzhiks. They believe in the evil eye, and wicked spells, and love potions.’”(52) This is a critique of the radical intelligentsia and people who idolized western culture, spiritualism in the west was an important part of culture in high society and among educated people at universities. Major figures in western culture like Oscar Wilde and Aurther Conan Doyle were holding seances and talking to ghosts during this time period. This is meant to show that they are not that smart and should not be taken seriously if talking to ghosts and making potions. Another example is when Tolstoy writes, “however good that life of simplicity and labour may be, I cannot go back to it.” (278) This is an example or reject collective government and having no classes. This is Levin explaining that he needs high society and likes being in the upper class. He denounces his liberal brother Nikolai’s communist ideas about society. Levin is an example of a mostly conservative character in the start of the novel. Levin has a happier story because of this. Levin and Kitty’s relationship throughout the novel is much better than Anna and Vronsky and they face less tragedy. This shows the author’s slightly conservative bias.  

Communism is shown throughout the novel through the character Nikolai. One example is when Nikolai says, “You know that capital oppresses the worker – the workers in our country, muzhiks, bear all the burden of labour, and their position is such that, however much they work, they can never get out of their brutish situation.”(88) This is an example of his opinion against classes and that he thinks there should be collectivism in the economy. He thinks the working class is oppressed, this is communist. Continuing this thought Nikolai then says, “And so we’re organizing a metal-working association, in which all production and profit and, above all, the tools of production, will be common property.”(88) This demonstrates his communist opinions because it describes an ideal communist factory. A metaphorical reference to his communist ideologies is shown when he is described as having “red patches”  on his cheeks. (88) He is talking about the factories and unfair labor and the red on his face is meant to show his political opinion symbolically. Nikolai supports communism and talks about it’s ideology throughout the novel through his ideas about a collective economy and inequality between classes.  

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy shows many examples of the politics of the early 1870s in Russia. Western Liberal views, Conservative Nationalists, and Communists are all shown using characters like Vronsky, Levin, Anna, and Nikolai. 

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Sunsets and old books and Doc Martens and Pepsi