On his way to his mother’s compartment, Vronsky passes a woman striking enough to make him look at her again once he passes her. She is obviously a woman of the best society but is not particularly beautiful; however, there is a light in her eyes which, when she looks back at him and then promptly away again, displays a “suppressed eagerness” which also shows in her faint smile. It as if she tries to shroud the brilliance in her eyes but it shows nonetheless.

When Vronsky steps into the carriage, his “dried-up” old mother smiles at him tightly and squints at him with her black eyes. He asks about her journey, but he is listening to a voice outside of the carriage which he knows must belong to the woman he just passed. She asks about her brother before stepping back into the carriage, and Vronsky realizes the woman is Madame Karenina. He tells her that her brother is at the station and then introduces himself. With her eager smile, she says she knows him quite well, after spending the entire trip talking about him with his mother.

Vronsky steps onto the platform and calls Oblonsky. Anna Karenina does not wait for him to get to her but rushes out to greet him in a warm embrace. Though he could not explain why, Vronsky is mesmerized by her until he finally turns back to his mother who taunts him for being in some kind of love triangle. Anna Karenina returns to the compartment to say farewell to his mother. Vronskaya tells her not to fret about the son from whom she has never been parted, and she tells her she has “lost her heart” to her. Vronsky knows this is an empty phrase to his mother, but the younger woman is gracious and allows the woman to kiss her cheek. She shakes Vronsky’s hand with an energetic squeeze which he perceives as being somewhat special and then she is gone. Both mother and son find her charming.

His mother begins talking about her grandson’s christening and her oldest son’s finding favor with the Tsar before her old butler arrives to announce that everything is ready. As they prepare to disembark, several men race by in a panic, and the crowd follows. Oblonsky and his sister are also coming back, and the women stay in the carriage while the men check on the uproar.

A guard has been crushed by the train and the men see the mutilated corpse. The women have heard the news, but Oblonsky tells them how awful it was to see the wife crying over her mutilated husband and fretting that she will have no way to care for her family. Anna Karenina asks if there is nothing to be done, and Vronsky quietly slips away for a few moments to give some money to the widow.

In the carriage with her brother, Anna Karenina is distressed that this is a bad omen. She asks about Vronsky and her brother tells her that everyone is hoping he will marry Kitty. She visibly shakes off some oppressive thought and tells him she is here because of his letter and will help however she can. Oblonsky tells her he is placing all his hopes on her.