From the author: “Anna Karenina” is a mirror. Let's see, gentlemen! The entire novel “Anna Karenina” is built, imbued, woven from only two aspects of the human psyche - misunderstanding and fear. They don’t understand each other, other people’s actions. They do not understand themselves and, often, their behavior. And they are afraid of this misunderstanding. Not realizing that they live in eternal fear, not accepting it, they hide it inside themselves behind masks - no matter what. Steve for lightness and recklessness, Dolly for caring for children, Kitty for illness, Sergei Ivanovich for philosophy... Not the world, but a masquerade. Tolstoy’s genius manifested itself, first of all, in the fact that he was able to create all these masks in all their diversity not only very accurately discern, but also describe qualitatively. Tolstoy’s problem, secondly, manifested itself in the versatility of his own soul - all these “Masks” belong to him. All the fears and worries, all the thoughts and doubts that were tearing him apart, Tolstoy managed to pour out on paper. And in this, thirdly, his defensive reaction manifested itself. A defensive reaction from oneself, from one’s fears, from not understanding oneself. I called my essay “Who killed Karenina?” Really, who drove this woman to suicide? Tolstoy. And no one else. At approximately 19 years old, Lev Nikolaevich begins to keep a diary in which he plans and analyzes his goals and results, successes and shortcomings, thoughts and motives throughout his life. In 1873 (the time he began writing “Anna Karenina”), he noted in his diary: “and what remained unshaken in me was love for one woman, children and every attitude towards them,” as well as “... if he is loved or loves, the meaning his life will become deeper for him.” And if we don’t love, we don’t love... And if there is no “one woman” whose love reveals the depth of life? And life is meaningless, and the world is ugly. How Stiva panics when she realizes the possibility of losing the reliability of “one woman”: “But well... Well, what can we do? “he said in a pitiful voice, not knowing what he was saying, and lowering his head lower and lower.” How confused Karenin becomes when he notices Anna’s insincerity: “...he experienced a feeling similar to what a person would experience when returning home and finding his house locked.” What kind of pain does he plunge into when he realizes the loss: “...his whole face suddenly took on the solemn stillness of a dead person...”. How Seryozha tries to keep his little world intact and cannot accept the departure of the woman who is the main one for him: “... and he began to sob, covering his face with his hands.” And how ugly and consciously Vronsky goes to his death, left alone, without his “one woman”: “His face, aged and expressing suffering, seemed petrified.” However, placing full responsibility for misfortunes on the Woman, Tolstoy, from the first pages of his novel, demonstrates disrespect and, even, disdain for Her. “Eternally preoccupied... and narrow-minded” - this is how he characterizes Dolly, without mentioning at all that at the very time when “everything was mixed up in the Oblonsky house,” Dolly was pregnant! Nikolai Levin challenges society through a woman: “... my friend in life... I ask you to love and respect her,” and immediately reports where he “got her from.” And having driven her away (for her ability and desire to care), he tells Levin: “Oh, she’s a nasty woman.” Posthumous attitude towards Karenina, expressed by Countess Vronskaya: “...a bad woman.” Even Levin's happiness is described as confused and convulsive. And very short-term. Throughout the entire novel, he seeks the love or hand of Princess Shcherbatskaya and, at one time, realizes that “she was himself,” but, nevertheless, neither this woman nor such strong feelings for her prevent him from thinking about suicide, to which “Levin came so close several times.” Moreover, in the final paragraph of the novel, Leo Tolstoy, with Levin’s reflections, actually sums up the presence of an indestructible wall “between the holy of holies of my soul and ... my wife,” which he will “blame for his fear and repent of it.” They say that each of us, as it were, made up of two!