Anna Karenina “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” Leo Tolstoy, a giant in Russian literature, was a master of realist fiction and is considered one of the greatest authors of all time. The philosophies of Tolstoy had a significant influence on both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. “As he looked round, she too turned her head. Her shining grey eyes, that looked dark from the thick lashes, rested with friendly attention on his face… In that brief look Vronsky had time to notice the suppressed eagerness which played over her face, and flitted between the brilliant eyes and the faint smile that curved her red lips.” Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is a tale set in the Moscow and Petersburg high society of the nineteenth century. A scandalous affair between Anna Karenina and Alexey Vronsky fashions the tone of the story. The novel’s realistic portrayal of the repercussions and the consequent emotions of the relationship is riveting. Running parallel to the main narrative is a self-portrayal of Tolstoy in the character of Konstantin Levin. Together, the two recitals explore society, politics, philosophy, matrimony, altruism, religion, paranoia, life, and death.