Tolstoy brings Kitty's friend Countess Nordston to life through the use of various literary devices. This enables the reader to better understand this character and it makes her and the novel more real. Like Kitty's mother, the Countess Nordston attempts to act as a barrier to Levin's marriage aspirations. The Countess represents a different life from Levin's, and Kitty must choose between the two worlds, being country life and the materialistic city.
When the reader first encounters the Countess at the Shcherbatsky home in Moscow, she is shown in an unfavorable way. "She was a thin, sallow, nervous, ailing woman with shining black eyes" (Maude, 48). By introducing the Countess with this unflattering language Tolstoy shows how she is a character to be disliked. Furthermore, by telling the reader about her eyes he implies that she is cunning. .
Later on in this first meeting with the Countess Nordston, Tolstoy explains the hostility between Levin and her. Tolstoy does this by Levin expressing in his mind what he thinks towards her. "Levin really could not bear her and despised her for the very thing she was proud of and regarded as a merit, that is, her nervousness and refined contempt and disregard for all the rough and common things of life" (Maude, 49). This sentence not only shows how the Countess is regarded by another character, but also illustrates that she represents the feelings of many of the members of Russian high society. By telling the reader that the Countess dislikes rough and common things it also points out in stronger contrast her difference from Levin who appreciates the more basic aspects of life. .
Besides having the Countess Nordston seen through the eyes of others, Tolstoy lets the reader understand how she feels about her situation at the Shcherbatsky's home. This is done through the literary device of interior monologue and lets it be known that Levin's dislike of her is mutual.
