Topic > "Anna Karenina": Actions mean more than words

Facial expressions and body language communicate one's intentions and emotions much better than words. Leo Tolstoy, in Anna Karenina, describes a plethora of physical descriptions, allowing the reader to more fully understand the emotional mood of the characters. The other characters and the narrator often describe Anna's shoulders When Vrosnky and Levin look at them, they have a rush of excitement and Dolly notice them and are struck discontent or pain. In all three cases, Anna's shoulders indicate the state of mind at the time of the interaction. Anna's shoulders are a tangible manifestation of her mental and emotional state and the type of energy she expresses -essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay When Anna's back is first described, Anna also acts promiscuously for the first time, dancing with Vronsky, who is expected to propose to Kitty. Kitty admires Anna's dress, which showed off her shoulders and chest. She pointed out that “the black dress with luxurious lace was not seen on her; it was just a frame, and only she could be seen: simple, natural, graceful and at the same time gay and animated” (p.79). Anna's choice of dress testifies to her mood; he wanted to fit within the "frame" of society's expectations of him, but at the same time expose his exuberant nature. While still conforming to society's expectations, he sympathizes with the social outcasts and foreshadows his future relationship. At the ball, when Anna bares her shoulders, Kitty approaches Anna and interrupts a conversation, in which Anna says, "No, I don't throw stones" (p.79). This is a reference in the Bible when a woman is caught in the act of adultery. The woman is dragged in public, completely naked. The crime of adultery at that time was stoning. Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her” (John 8:7). When Hannah says, I cast no stones, she is saying that she is not without sin, but also that she might sympathize with a woman. who commits adultery. The circumstances - her flirtatious mood, exposed shoulders, and the conversation - foreshadow her abandonment of her husband in favor of Vronsky, her future lover. Once Anna becomes more comfortable with the his expressive mannerism, Vronsky takes the opportunity until they consummate their relationship the murderer pounces on this body with animosity, as if with passion, drags it away and tears it to pieces, so [Vronsky] covered her face and arms with kisses [Anna's] shoulders” (pp. 149-150). In this graphic description, the reader becomes aware of the toxic physical relationship that the characters have created. Anna's shoulders - the tangible revelation of her previous mental restraint - inform the reader of the characters' actions. By comparing their physical relationship to murder, Anna – and the reader – are forced to recognize that Vronsky killed her previously admired social position because of “these kisses” on her shoulder, (p.150) . Yet she holds Vronsky's love close to her. It killed his mental resistance and, in doing so, encouraged his promiscuous behavior to grow. After a long time, Anna is dying of puerperal fever and reconsiders the growth of her scandal. He no longer considers his defiance a cherished trait, which is evident in the way he now carries his shoulders. As she lay in bed, "The doctor removed her arms, carefully laid her on the pillow, and covered her shoulders" (p.413). She is no longer in a position of physical power, which is represented by the doctor having her back, as if to say you need to stop exposing yourself and go back to your previous lifestyle. Physical healing stimulates verbal control,which he previously possessed easily. He asks Alexi Alexandrovich to uncover Vronsky's face, and forgive him, which he does. Once this is completed, he prepares to die. Contrary to her plan, Anna miraculously survives and resorts to her previous risky relationship with Vronsky, much to the pleasure of society gossips. Repressed by lies and exclusion, Anna decides to go to the opera to prove that she doesn't care about society's expectations of her. Vronsky describes Anna as sitting in a box at the play; “The setting of her head on her beautiful, broad shoulders, the restrained excitement and radiance of her eyes and her whole face reminded him just as he had seen her at the ball in Moscow” (p. 546). His shoulders are described as broad, which could mean they attracted more attention than usual. Interestingly, the singer's shoulders are the only other shoulders described in this scene. Obviously, being the main performer, the singer seeks attention. Also wearing a revealing outfit, Anna competes for attention with the artist. He succeeds. Vronsky, without looking for Anna, knows where she is sitting “from the direction of all eyes” (p.545). Anna is the center of attention. She finds herself in a cyclical process: Anna is excited to prove that she can behave however she wants, so she dresses in a revealing manor that exposes her shoulders, then when people stare and gossip she becomes even more excited. By showing her back, she physically displays her emotional state of excited defiance of social expectations. In the final moments of Anna's life, she loses her mental vigor. When he is at the train station looking for Vrosnky in a state of complete agitation, he suddenly thinks of the train as a way to put him out of his misery. “Just at the moment when the space between the wheels reached her front, she dropped the red bag and, drawing her head back onto her shoulders, fell with her hands under the carriage and lightly, as if she had to get up immediately, fell to her knees” (p. 768). Tolstoy describes Anna as "retracting her head on her shoulders", which may be a metaphor for her physical and emotional ordeal. Throughout her relationship with Vronsky, there has been a struggle between what she says verbally and what her body reveals. When he first meets Vronsky, “he deliberately extinguished the light in his eyes, but it shone against his will” (p.61). At a party she encourages him to leave her alone, and when he refuses she says, "That just proves you have no heart"... But her eyes said she knew he had a heart, and that was why she was afraid of him ." (p.139). This is a recurring struggle, so when Anna finally no longer has the mental strength to fight the oppression of her situation, she simply behaves as her body wanted all along. In her moments of death, his head, representing his mental strength, falls on his shoulders, representing his physical desire. His final moments are the mental end of his internal struggle expressed externally Vronsky and Anna's resistance. It is no coincidence that Anna's shoulders and promiscuity appear at the same time; when her shoulders are described, and when they are not, they are based on her intentions first time in Petersburg and met Vronsky, “deliberately extinguished the light in his eyes, but it shone against his will” (p. 61). At the time of their meeting, his shoulders are not depicted. Every other feature is described: the figure, the expression, the head, the eyes, the eyelashes and the lips. She tries to make out the light, which shows that she is committed to maintaining her social expectations, despite her attraction to Vronsky. At the.