Vronsky

Also known as: Alexei Vronsky / Alexey / Alexey Kirillovich Vronsky / Alexey Kirillovitch / Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky / Alexey Vronsky / Count Alexey Kirillovitch / Count Alexey Kirillovitch Vronsky / Count Vronsky / the count · Family: Vronsky · Role: suitor · First appears: PART ONE · Chapter 11

Vronsky, one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovitch Vronsky and part of Petersburg’s gilded youth, entered the story as Kitty’s second serious suitor and Levin’s rival. He openly flirted with Kitty, danced with her, and visited her continually, while she and her mother took his intentions seriously; yet his courtship had the character of courting without intending marriage. At the ball he failed to return Kitty’s loving look, then asked Anna for the mazurka before her, helping to cause Kitty’s suffering and Levin’s failed courtship. Soon afterward, Vronsky followed Anna, telling her that he had come to be wherever she was, and their connection became an openly known scandal.

Vronsky pursued Anna despite her marriage to Karenin, and their liaison was consummated. When Anna became pregnant, he proposed that she leave her husband and make their life together, but she resisted, remaining tied to Karenin and her son Seryozha. During the races, Vronsky’s mistake broke Frou-Frou’s back; he survived the fall, while the mare was shot. His relationship with Anna continued in secrecy, and after he received a promotion to colonel he left the regimental quarters. He later shot himself in the chest and survived, with Varya nursing him; Karenin forgave him, though Anna initially refused to receive him before his departure.

Afterward, Vronsky declined an appointment at Tashkend, retired from the army, and went abroad with Anna, without a divorce. He sacrificed his political ambitions for her, tried painting, bought Mihailov’s picture, and became a patron of the artist before abandoning his own unfinished work. Returning to Russia, he managed his estate, restored its grounds, built a hospital and dispensary, and was elected a justice of the peace. He repeatedly urged Anna to seek a divorce, but her fear of losing Seryozha kept the matter unresolved; alongside their love, disagreements and estrangement developed. Vronsky and Anna quarrelled, reconciled, and finally remained divided while he left with a military expedition, taking a squadron to Servia at his own expense after Yashvin gave him a new interest. Through these years, his hostility toward Levin eventually softened into friendship.