A Full View of Sin in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
Session Title
Religion and Philosophy
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Leslie Bickford, Ph.D.
Abstract
Within literature, a favorable theme, element, and motif is sin. However, as often as sin appears in literature, it is just as common for sin to be portrayed in a shallow form when compared to hamartiology. Hamartiology is the study of sin in theology and philosophy. It is common for literature to focus on a singular concept or facet of sin; thus, sin portrayed in literature is unbiblical or non-theological. However, when criticized from a structural lens, it can be seen that Tolstoy’s use of sin is both biblical and theological from a hamartiological view. The portrayal of sin in Anna Karenina is both realistic and genuine. Among its characters and relationships, readers can see the progression, acts, consequences, and guilt of sin. Moreover, there is a parallel to these acts that clearly reflect and copy the progression, acts, consequences, and guilt of sin of characters in the Bible. The characters specifically being analyzed are Anna and Vronsky. It is in these characters that sin is fully fleshed out and developed. In doing so, Tolstoy creates a story with characters that are remarkably relatable and realistic to the human struggle and existence.
Course Assignment
ENGL 300 – Bickford
Start Date
24-4-2020 12:00 AM
A Full View of Sin in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
Within literature, a favorable theme, element, and motif is sin. However, as often as sin appears in literature, it is just as common for sin to be portrayed in a shallow form when compared to hamartiology. Hamartiology is the study of sin in theology and philosophy. It is common for literature to focus on a singular concept or facet of sin; thus, sin portrayed in literature is unbiblical or non-theological. However, when criticized from a structural lens, it can be seen that Tolstoy’s use of sin is both biblical and theological from a hamartiological view. The portrayal of sin in Anna Karenina is both realistic and genuine. Among its characters and relationships, readers can see the progression, acts, consequences, and guilt of sin. Moreover, there is a parallel to these acts that clearly reflect and copy the progression, acts, consequences, and guilt of sin of characters in the Bible. The characters specifically being analyzed are Anna and Vronsky. It is in these characters that sin is fully fleshed out and developed. In doing so, Tolstoy creates a story with characters that are remarkably relatable and realistic to the human struggle and existence.
