In Anna Karenina, Christian forgiveness carries unclear connotations. The Bible suggests forgiveness in many instances, proposing it as a necessary virtue:
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Christianity commands believers to forgive out of obedience and faith, in the name of God. However, the act of forgiveness seems futile for human relationships in Anna Karenina. While Tolstoy places the concept of forgiveness at the forefront of various scenes, the act itself has an ambiguous effect, rather than a healing one—it is most certainly not a spiritual miracle. Forgiveness is considered a wonderful kindness, according to society, but it merely highlights human fallibility.
Dolly Forgives Stepan; An Act of Faith in the Eyes of Society
Early in the story, Anna visits Dolly to encourage her to forgive Stepan; Anna succeeds, but it remains unclear whether forgiving is good for Dolly. Anna speaks of forgiveness in relation to love. She says to Dolly: “I don’t know how much love for him there still is in your soul. Only you know whether it’s enough to be able to forgive. If it is, then forgive him!” Her statement suggests that love. in “one’s soul” induces forgiveness. The Christian belief, the idea that one should forgive everyone if one’s soul is good, is introduced in this scene and reappears throughout the novel. This is the forgiveness the characters are supposed to strive for, according to society. This is the forgiveness that fails them.
To Forgive: Pretend to Forget
Forgiveness here is considered a conscious choice, in the name of faith. Dolly hesitates, asking Anna, “Yes, but would you forgive?” (70). In return, Anna hesitates, but her hesitation is questionable. Is she pretending, for the sake of saving her brother’s marriage, that she’s considering what she would do? Or, is Anna genuinely answering the question? Eventually, she says, “I would forgive. I wouldn’t be the same, no, but I would forgive, and forgive in such a way as if it hadn’t happened, hadn’t happened at all” (70). She contradicts herself. She claims that, after forgiving she would not be the same, but she would forgive as if it never happened. If it never happened, why wouldn’t she be the same? It’s a misleading statement. Forgiveness is not as simple as ‘forgive and forget.’
Dolly, however, appears to understand exactly what Anna mean by the statement. "'Well, naturally,’ Dolly quickly interrupted, as if [Anna] were saying something she had thought more than once, ‘otherwise it wouldn’t be forgiveness. If you forgive, it’s completely, completely’ "(71).
Dolly’s definition of Christian forgiveness holds for the whole novel—forgiveness, if done at all, supposed to be done as though the offence never occurred. Is this type of forgiveness possible and effective? Anna says, “I wouldn’t be the same, no,” nor does Dolly seem quite the same, after she forgives Stepan. It’s considered a hollow act of faith. The reconciliation of the relationship between Dolly and Stepan is never fully shown: there is no kissing, no tears. We only see Anna’s interior dialogue; she wonders, “God knows, are they completely reconciled” (74)? When she realizes they are, we see a different motivation for her forgiveness: “‘Complete, complete reconciliation, complete,’ thought Anna, ‘thank God!’ and rejoicing that she had been the cause of it, she went over to Dolly and kissed her” (75). Anna rejoices that she was the cause of the forgiveness – not for the reconciliation itself. Isn’t that a bit selfish? Meanwhile, Dolly and Stepan bicker. Throughout the rest of the novel, it seems that Dolly ends up feeling unloved and unhappy. On a personal level, forgiving her husband was apparently a useless performance; she forgave for the sake of society and sacrificed her own happiness.
Alexei Forgives Anna
The scenario between Anna, Dolly and Stepan sets up an interesting parallel for a later scene regarding forgiveness: that of Anna, Vronsky and Alexei. When Anna becomes ill, she begs forgiveness. Alexei is moved, apparently; he is not considering Christian law at this point, but the “joyful feeling of love and forgiveness of his enemies filled his soul”(413). He sobs like a child. Anna says, “all I need is forgiveness” (413). The moment is intense, and emotional, as they all believe Anna will die. Alexei forgives Vronsky at Anna’s command. She says, “Thank God,” and begins thrashing around and crying out for morphine. In a later conversation with Vronsky, Alexei explains his feeling of love and forgiveness, which Vronsky believes is “lofty” and “inaccessible” to him. Vronsky, embarrassed by Alexei’s generosity and his situation, then attempts suicide. Forgiveness certainly didn’t do Vronsky any good. Meanwhile, Alexei maintains this bizarre sense of superiority, with his heart full of the concept of happiness of forgiveness.
His sentiments seem somewhat empty and temporary, thought, and this is confirmed later, when Anna becomes well. At this point, Alexei is completely alone, while Anna and Vronsky are together again. He does not understand: "He simply could not reconcile his recent forgiveness, his tenderness, his love for his sick wife and another man’s child, with what there was now – that is, when he, as if in reward for it all, found himself alone, disgraced, derided, needed by none and despised by all" (505).
Thus, it seems that forgiveness was harmful. However, the ugly Lydia arrives at his house, and saves his illusion. She says: “It was not you who accomplished that lofty act of forgiveness… but He, dwelling in your heart”(509). Alexei Alexandrovich accepts this idea of faith hungrily, though it’s almost as though he knows he deceiving himself: "Christ lived in his soul… it was necessary for him to think that way, it was so necessary for him in his humiliation to possess at least an invented loftiness from which he, despised by everyone, could despise others, that he clung to his imaginary salvation as if it were salvation indeed" (511). Alexei clings to the idea of forgiveness and Christianity to feel superior to others, and avoid his own feelings.
Forgiveness: An Empty Ending
In the end, forgiveness does not appear to be the ultimate virtue. For many of the characters, forgiveness appears significant, but its realization never satisfies the situation. Those who chose to forgive still have trouble and pain; forgiveness is neither a cure, nor a solution. Somewhat ironically, Anna begs forgiveness from God just before committing suicide and, then, she dies. She asks forgiveness not only from God, but also begs our forgiveness. However, it does not appear to matter whether one forgives her, what matters is whether one understands her sorrow and circumstances. In other words, can the reader identify with human frailty? Ultimately, forgiveness is simply a tool to better understand the motivations and emotions of the characters, in respect to society and one another. Indeed, the epigraph to the novel—“Vengeance is mine; I will repay”— suggests that forgiveness does not drive of the novel by any means, and in fact, as in the case of Alexei, it can be a cruel and superficial gesture.
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy. (Modern Library, 2000, ISBN-13: 978-0679783305)
Clarissa Caldwell - Clarissa Caldwell lives, reads and writes in Walla Walla, Washington. She has a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of ...
