Anna Karenina Characters

Anna Arkadyevna Karenina

Who is this Anna character? Short answer: Anna Karenina is one of literature's great heroines,...

Count Alexis Kirillovich Vronsky

Count Alexis (or Alexei) Vronsky ain't a particularly rounded character. We know that he is...

Constantine Dmitrich Levin

Anna Karenina has two goals: to give readers a gripping story and to show us a few general...

Alexis Alexandrovich Karenin

Alexis Karenin, Anna's husband, is a cold fish. He's got wealth and excellent social and...

Katerina (Kitty) Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky

Kitty Shcherbatsky starts out Anna Karenina like the kind of high society girls that we see in...

Stepan (Stiva) Arkadyevich Oblonsky

Prince Oblonsky, Anna's brother and Dolly's husband, is a great guy to have at a party: he loves...

Darya (Dolly) Alexandrovna Oblonsky

You know how, when you're playing a video game, there's sometimes a demo section that lets you...

Princess Betsy Tverskoy

Princess Betsy Tverskoy is the queen of elite, morally liberal Petersburg society. In her set,...

Countess Lydia Ivanovna

Countess Lydia is respected in Petersburg society as a pious do-gooder, but she's also a total...

Sergei (Seryozha) Karenin

At the beginning of the novel, Anna's son Seryozha is eight years old, and Anna's relationship...

Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev

Koznyshev is Constantine Levin's half-brother and an enthusiastic intellectual. He spends six...

Nicholas Dmitrievitch Levin

Nicholas is Levin's brother. Levin and Koznyshev sneered at Nicholas when he tried to live a...

Miss Agatha Mikhailovna

Levin's former nurse, now housekeeper. Miss Agatha squabbles a great deal with Kitty over the...

Princess Barbara Oblonsky

Anna's aunt who is supported by wealthy relatives. The Princess Barbara Oblonsky joins Anna and...

Golenishchev

Vronsky's old friend, who is fond of launching into long lectures. He hangs out with Anna and...

Young Ivan and his wife

These two peasants appear just once, in Part 3, but for Levin, this couple comes to represent...

Prince Lvov and Nataly

Kitty's brother-in-law and sister, respectively. Prince Lvov is a diplomat whom Levin respects,...

Masha

Nicholas's devoted companion, Masha is good at taking care of Levin even when he's drunk and...

Mikhailov

A Russian artist who paints Anna's portrait. His dedication to his art shows up Vronsky's...

Princess Myagky

Princess Myagky is a society woman who speaks her mind, and who also defends Anna.

Ryabinin

Ryabinin is the land merchant who successfully cheats Oblonsky. For Levin, Ryabinin's cheating of...

Serpukhovskoy

Serpukhovskoy is a childhood friend of Vronsky's. Even though Serpukhovskoy and Vronsky went...

The elder Prince and Princess Shcherbatsky

The elder Prince has much more sense than his wife, and he and his daughter, Kitty, have a close...

Madame Stahl

Madame Stahl is a sickly woman that Kitty meets at the German spa. Madame Stahl's deep devotion...

Sviyazhsky

Levin's friend, also a gentleman farmer, who lives in a different district with excellent snipe...

Varenka

Varenka is a minor character in the novel, but she plays an important role. She presents an...

Veslovsky

Veslovsky is a player who likes flirting with women. He is stout and good-looking, but seems to...

Countess Vronsky

Vronsky's mother, Countess Vronsky, is a society woman who was morally loose in her youth. She,...

Yashvin

Yashvin is Vronsky's best friend, and also a degenerate gambler and drinker. Yashvin also serves...