Family, Freedom, and Fate: The Relevance of Anna Karenina in the Modern Age

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Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina remains a mirror to modern existential dilemmas. Its relevance unfolds in three dimensions:

1. Gender and Agency: Anna’s struggle against patriarchal norms prefigures contemporary debates on women’s autonomy in marriage and career;
2. Urban Alienation: The novel’s critique of Moscow’s superficial elite parallels modern critiques of social media-driven materialism;
3. Existential Inquiry: Levin’s quest for meaning (“If death erases all, what justifies life?”) resonates with post-pandemic mental health crises.
   For instance, the #MeToo movement echoes Anna’s defiance of societal hypocrisy, while Levin’s agrarian idealism informs minimalist lifestyles rejecting consumerism. Tolstoy’s masterpiece reminds us that human conflicts are timeless, demanding both personal courage and systemic change to resolve.