Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 6 Summary

  • During the children's tea, all the grown-ups sit on the balcony and chat.
  • They're expecting Oblonsky on the evening train, and Kitty's father might be with him. Although general opinion seems to be that the elder Prince will not be coming.
  • The Princess feels very gloomy that there are no more children left in her house since Kitty has been married.
  • Levin goes off to give Grisha his Latin lesson. Dolly is insistent that Levin follow the prescribed method of teaching, and not follow his own, as he had wanted.
  • Koznyshev brings up Oblonsky's upcoming arrival, noting that there were never such dissimilar brothers-in-law. Oblonsky feels at home in society, whereas Levin feels unbearably awkward.
  • Everyone hears the carriage arriving.
  • Levin jumps out to greet Oblonsky (a.k.a. Stiva), and yells that someone else is with Oblonsky. He assumes that it's the elder Prince.
  • Instead of the elder Prince, Oblonsky is sharing the carriage with a handsome young man named Vasenka Veslovsky.
  • Levin is promptly in a sour mood. He had hoped the elder Prince, who he had gotten quite fond of, would be visiting, not this complete stranger, whom Kitty seems to like a little too much.
  • Levin looks at everyone and thinks poorly of them all.
  • He storms off to attend to the business of farming. Kitty notices that he's in a bad mood.