dazzled by his own generosity. Death for Karenin becomes the basic .
truth which makes him___ a living human being capable of love. While .
on the other hand, Vronsky takes on the role of Karenin, he is unable .
to deal with Anna's deathbed crisis and even goes as far as attempting .
to suicide. This awareness of life-in-death provides the climax of the .
novel, with the main characters perceiving the truth from the.
heights of their emotional intensity. Hate and deceit no longer exist .
in the presence of death, and the three characters live in a.
moment of pure innocence. .
Yet as the crisis ends, and everything returns to normality, Anna, .
Vronsky and Karenin return to their old ways to live in that world of .
delusion. Anna and Vronsky continues with their ill-fated love, while .
Karenin despite his ennoblement, finds Anna cannot love him and .
reverts back to his old ways. This clearly shows that death brings .
about the ultimate truth of life and the world of the living is just a .
delusion. .
Death in the novel is personified by Levin's brother, the .
all-too-intimate Nikolai, whose lingering, ghastly death pushes Levin .
to make the leap of faith. This the leap of faith which the other .
characters had experienced, but were unable to retain after their .
dramatic experience with death. Levin is unlike them, and is in fact, .
able to discover for himself the meaning of life in the world and .
retain his leap of faith. For Levin in the end, he is no longer afraid .
of death and even though he does not completely change, he now knows .
the meaning of life and is at peace. .
Levin's example here provides for the reader an insight into .
Tolstoy's intertwining and complex structure in Anna Karenina. The.
reader is able to better understand how the role of death is critical .
to the novel. Levin serves as the backbone for Tolstoy's emphasis on .
the "natural life" where one loves and procreates, as opposed to the .
"unnatural life" where one lives by abstract principles.
