Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is, in many ways, a story about love and relationships. Two couples, Kitty and Levin, as well as Anna and Vronsky, find some form of love and passion throughout the novel, but their personalities determine the success of their relationships. In the sixth part of the novel, the two couples both spend the summer at their country estates, and their behaviors and reactions to parallel circumstances reflect the ultimate fate of their romances. Kitty and Levin are able to have a safer and more emotionally fulfilling relationship than Anna and Vronsky because they understand each other and because, despite this, each has genuine concerns. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The contrasting ways in which Kitty and Anna handle their domestic roles reflect the stability of their respective relationships. At a meeting of the women of the family on the balcony, Kitty "introduces [a] new way" of making jam, "which [was] used in her old house" (502) to Agatha Mikhaylovna, who ran Levin's . housekeeping before her marriage. Kitty, after moving into Levin's house, almost immediately took over the running of the house and took over Agatha's job. Although the scene in which they prepare jam according to Kitty's instructions humorously mocks the seriousness with which women take household chores, as shown by the mention of "The Wrath of Agatha Mikhailovna" (502) if the jam goes wrong, it also depicts the sweetness of the inevitable frictions during a sudden addition to a family and a change of direction in running a household. Therefore, small conflicts like this mark Kitty's integration into her domestic role as Levin's wife. She makes Levin's house her own by bringing the practices of her “old house” (502) and thus establishes a permanence in their relationship that Anna and Vroknsky's relationship lacks. During Dolly's visit to Vozdvizhensk, she concludes that the management of Vronsky's household "had all been done by the care of the master and depended on them" (570-571). While Levin keeps himself informed about what's going on at home, such as asking about the jam, he seemed content to leave the decisions to Kitty. Vronsky, on the other hand, seems to have always run his household, and the arrival of Anna in his life has not changed this fact. Indeed, Dolly observes that “Anna, Sviyazhsky, the princess, and Veslovsky were all equally guests” (571) in Vronsky’s house. Anna's status is therefore not that of a wife, but of a lover on whom nothing and no one in Vronsky's house depended, with the exception of Vronsky himself. The only reason Anna can call this house home is Vronsky's love for her. Indeed, she has convinced herself that she only loves her son and Vronsky, and that if they are both in her life, she will need no further human interaction. Unlike Kitty, who becomes attached to Levin's house and makes it her home in every way, including the presence of her mother and sister, Anna has nothing tangible around her to anchor herself to. and make her feel like she belongs. As a result, Kitty is more confident in her love and relationship than Anna, because her place in the world is no longer based solely on a man's emotions. Conversely, because Kitty feels more confident in Levin's love for her, she can move into his house and make his presence permanent, while Anna, fearing that Vronsky will stop loving her, continues to feel like a guest. While Kitty and Levin havetasks and thoughts to occupy themselves with in each other's absence, Anna does everything in her life with Vronsky in mind, thus contributing to her obsessive relationship with him. At one point, Kitty focuses all her energy on making a few Varenkas and Koznyshevs, and Levin worries about his new wagons. Their casual exchange about where they will be this afternoon illustrates their informal interactions when both are busy with matters that concern them. They both understand their ability to go about their daily lives, separate and involved in their own thoughts, while still being a loving couple. Additionally, they mostly interact freely and comfortably with their guests, Kitty especially with the women she loves, and this love coexists with her love for her husband. Anna, on the other hand, is unable to focus on anything other than Vronsky's love and attention. Although she and Vronsky seem busy in various activities, their connection rarely involves other people, and Anna's "main concern" remains "herself in the extent to which Vronsky cared about her" (583). Everything she has depends on Vronsky's love, and she feels that she can only maintain it with her physical beauty. Although she remains beautiful, she is still extremely unsure of Vronsky's feelings towards her and does everything she can to make him stay by her side lest he leave her. In the parallel scenes where the two women take leave of their husbands who are going to the elections in Kashin, Vronsky "prepares himself for the fight" (584), because he knows that Anna cannot bear to see him go out into the world without her. Conversely, it is Kitty who advises Levin to go to the elections, even buying him a uniform, because she fears he will be bored. Kitty is obviously comfortable with her husband being away from her, as she trusts his love and has other methods of keeping herself occupied in his absence, while Anna's insecurities flare at every turn. time that Vronsky has to leave because he is everything to her. In his absence, she can only worry about his fate. Although Anna and Levin are prone to outbursts of jealousy and anger, Levin and Kitty understand each other and Levin expresses his feelings, while Anna hides her emotions from Vronsky, who does not understand. her. Levin and Kitty are able to understand each other without communicating verbally, and Levin believes that Kitty "would understand what he meant from just a hint" (507). Levin, seeing Vaskena flirting with Kitty, is overcome by extreme jealousy. Kitty is able to immediately see that "something was wrong with her husband", despite her best efforts to hide her anger, and when she asks him about it even once, he “gave free rein to his feelings and told him everything” (519). . This frankness in their relationship prevents either party from hiding hostile feelings, and therefore prevents deep-rooted conflicts and misunderstandings from arising between them. Their simple relationship also contrasts with the relationship between Anna and Vronsky, in which Anna never wants to discuss difficult topics, the most pressing of which is divorce, because "it irritates her" (568) when Vronsky brings it up. She and Vronsky also often misunderstand each other's intentions, such as when Anna returns from her conversation with Dolly. Vronsky “looked into her eyes quizzically” to ask her about their meeting, but she misinterprets it as a look of longing and, instead, “only smiled at him” (581 ). These misunderstandings are common within the couple and, combined with Anna's refusal to address difficult issues, create an atmosphere of agitation and distrust. Moreover, Levin, as a man, is capable of acting for.