Part 4, Chapter 20 Summary

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After he sees Princess Betsy out, Alexey Alexandrovitch goes back to his wife. Anna Karenina looks frightened and has been crying. He gently tells her he appreciates her confidence in him and sits down beside her bed. He speaks in Russian, using the Russian “thou” used to denote intimacy and affection, which is insufferably irritating to Anna Karenina. Alexey Alexandrovitch says he is grateful for her decision and agrees with her that since Vronsky is going away, there is no need for him to come and say good-bye.

Unable to suppress her irritation, Anna Karenina interrupts her husband and asks why, since she has already said so, he feels he must repeat it. She thinks to herself that a man so consumed with love that he is ready to kill himself has even more need to see her, and she knows she cannot live without him and needs to see him too. But she compresses her lips, drops her eyes, and stares at her husband’s swollen, veiny hands as he wrings them together.

Anna Karenina says she wishes never to speak of this again but knows what her predictable husband will say next. Alexey Alexandrovitch says he does not appreciate Princess Betsy’s interference; Anna Karenina quickly defends her, saying she knows Princess Betsy truly cares for her and that she refuses to believe the things others say about the princess. Alexey Alexandrovitch sighs and says nothing. She experiences the usual tortuous sensation of physical repulsion for her husband, and all Anna Karenina wants is for him to leave.

She wants the oppressive presence gone, but Alexey Alexandrovitch wants to talk to her about baby Anna. He tells her he has sent for the doctor because the wet nurse does not have enough milk to feed the child. Anna Karenina is self-absorbed and blames him for not letting her nurse the baby as she wanted; she whines that now she is being blamed for this situation. When her husband demurs, saying he does not blame her, Anna Karenina breaks into sobs and asks why she did not just die. When she regains some control, Anna Karenina asks her husband to forgive her outburst and to leave. Alexey Alexandrovitch does leave, but he knows things cannot go on as they are.

The impossibility of his situation at every level becomes clear to him. He sees his pitiable position in the world, the hatred in his wife’s eyes, and the brutal force of his circumstances crashing against his spiritual inclinations. It is evident to him that both the world and his wife expect something from him, but he is unable to determine what either of them wants.

Alexey Alexandrovitch is convinced it would be better for Anna Karenina if she breaks off any relations with Vronsky; but if that cannot be, he is prepared to allow the relationship to continue as long as the children are not disgraced and he is not deprived of them. This would be better than the alternative position of shame for Anna Karenina, but he knows that everyone is against him. He will not be allowed to maintain a course that seems natural and right to him and will be forced to do what is wrong but seems proper to others. Alexey Alexandrovitch feels hopeless and helpless.

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Part 4, Chapter 19 Summary

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Part 4, Chapter 21 Summary

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