Only the dead one didn’t write about the new film adaptations of Anna Karenina. And I can still feel my pulse.

I’ll tell you about “Karenina” by Sergei Solovyov. I didn't expect to dislike it so much. The costumes are downright poor and tasteless. The selection of actors - in contrast to Leo Tolstoy's novel - is a clear age bias towards old age. Emotions are unnatural, monologues are simply read and not felt, looks are wooden, vibes are zero. Throughout the entire film I was not imbued with sympathy, sympathy, or hostility towards any character. As they say, ignoring is the worst thing. It didn’t touch a single cell of either the brain or the soul. And this is my personal opinion.

The film version of Anna directed by Joe Wright was generally awaited with caution. I expected that I would frankly not accept the English version. It turned out to be quite the opposite. Peak of emotions, beautiful and young faces. Their passions spoke for the heroes, not their tongues. Each look meant more than the character's monologue. Just the scene of Vronsky and Karenina dancing at the ball was worth it - just the intensity of passions. I liked everything: from the director’s ideas, original camera shots to costumes and music.

And now, just for comparison, the actors and their ages at the time of filming:

A. Karenina - Keira Knightley, 27 years old A. Karenina - Tatyana Drubich, 49 years old

A. Karenin - Jude Law, 40 years old A. Karenin - Oleg Yankovsky, 65 years old

Vronsky - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 22 years old Vronsky - Yaroslav Boyko, 41 years old

Levin - Domhnall Gleeson, 28 years old Levin - Sergey Garmash, 51 years old

Personally, the characters chosen by the English film director are closer to me in terms of image and age. By the way, he also directed the film Pride and Prejudice with Knightley.

What do you think: how old was Anna Karenina in the novel? Like from 28 to 35. Is not it so.

And which adaptation did you like best?

Publications in the Literature section

What are your years?

What do you imagine literary heroes? Adults who have experienced a lot, they resolve complex moral issues, change their own and others’ destinies. Have you ever tried to find out how old these people are? It turns out that many of them are quite young by modern standards.

"Anna Karenina". Anna - 25–26 years old

The exact age of Anna Karenina is not mentioned in the novel, but some conclusions can be drawn from quotes from the characters themselves. So, at the time of the beginning of her affair with Vronsky, Anna had been married for eight years:

“Alexey Alexandrovich smiled coldly with his lips alone, wanting to show her and himself the firmness of his conviction; but this ardent defense, although it did not shake him, poisoned his wound. He spoke with great animation.
- It is very difficult to make mistakes when the wife herself announces this to her husband. Announces that eight years of life and a son are all a mistake and that she wants to live again,” he said angrily, sniffling.
“Anna and vice - I can’t connect, I can’t believe it.”

Lev Tolstoy. "Anna Karenina"

We meet the second remark, which brings us closer to the solution to Karenina’s age, in the heroine’s conversation with her brother Stiva:

“You cannot see your situation like I do. Let me tell you my opinion frankly. - Again he smiled cautiously with his almond smile. - I'll start from the beginning: you married a man who is twenty years older than you. You got married without love or without knowing love. It was a mistake, let's say.
- Terrible mistake! - said Anna.”

Lev Tolstoy. "Anna Karenina"

"Captain's daughter" . Petr Grinev - 17 years old

The terrible events of the Pugachev uprising, the duel with the scoundrel Shvabrin and love that will last a lifetime - all this is the hero of the story " Captain's daughter"survived at a tender age by modern standards. However, even Pushkin’s contemporaries were not at all surprised by the youth of Petrusha Grinev, and the events of the story, we recall, take place half a century before the author’s birth.

“I lived as a teenager, chasing pigeons and playing leapfrog with the yard boys. Meanwhile, I was sixteen years old. Then my fate changed.
One autumn, my mother was making honey jam in the living room, and I, licking my lips, looked at the seething foam. Father at the window was reading the Court Calendar, which he receives every year. This book always had a strong influence on him: he never re-read it without special participation, and reading this always produced in him an amazing excitement of bile. Mother, who knew by heart all his habits and customs, always tried to shove the unfortunate book as far away as possible, and thus the Court Calendar did not catch his eye sometimes for entire months. But when he found it by chance, he would not let it out of his hands for hours at a time. So, the priest read the Court Calendar, occasionally shrugging his shoulders and repeating in a low voice: “Lieutenant General!.. He was a sergeant in my company!.. He was a holder of both Russian orders!.. How long ago have we...” Finally, the priest threw the calendar on the sofa and plunged into reverie, which did not bode well.
Suddenly he turned to his mother: “Avdotya Vasilyevna, how old is Petrusha?”
“Yes, now I’m seventeen years old,” answered my mother. - Petrusha was born in the same year that Aunt Nastasya Garasimovna frowned, and when else...
“Okay,” interrupted the priest, “it’s time for him to go into service.” It’s enough for him to run around the maidens and climb dovecotes.”

Alexander Pushkin. "Captain's daughter"

"Eugene Onegin" . Onegin and the general, Tatiana's husband

Thanks to time indications generously scattered throughout the novel “Eugene Onegin,” literary critic Yuri Lotman calculated the exact year of birth of the title character. He also paid attention to another interesting fact: Tatiana’s husband, an “important general” whose name we don’t even know, turns out to be not an old man at all.

“Contrary to popular belief, still N.O. Lerner (essay “Tatyana’s Husband” in the book: “Stories about Pushkin”, L., 1929, pp. 213–216) showed that Tatiana’s husband could well have been an old man. Griboyedov wrote to Begichev in 1816: “...Nowadays, most of the generals are those whose chins are not pubescent” (A.S. Griboyedov. Complete collection of works, vol. III. Pg., 1917, p. 122). Onegin, who was born in or around 1795, could have been less than thirty years old in the spring of 1825. Prince N is his relative and friend! - with whom Onegin is on first name terms, he could be five years older.”

"Woe from Wit". Sofia - 17 years old

In the play "Woe from Wit" Sophia appears as an adult girl, seventeen years old is the age of marriage, but we know that they met Chatsky earlier, moreover, they were in love with each other. And again, Yuri Lotman suggests that at the beginning of the story left behind the scenes, Sophia could not have been more than fourteen.

“...Chatsky was absent for three years, therefore, fell in love with her [Sophia] when she was 14 years old, and perhaps earlier, since the text shows that before his resignation and departure abroad, he served in the army for some time and for a certain period lived in St. Petersburg (“Tatyana Yuryevna told something, / Returning from St. Petersburg, / With the ministers about your connection...” - III, 3). Consequently, Sophia was 12–14 years old when the time came for her and Chatsky
Those feelings, in both of us the movements of those hearts,
Which have never cooled in me,
No entertainment, no change of place.
I breathed and lived by them, I was constantly busy!”

Yuri Lotman. "Roman A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". A comment"

"Poor Lisa". Lisa - 17 years old

Another quite “adult” heroine, about whose youth the author nevertheless tells the reader. Lisa fell in love with Erast at the age of seventeen, but already at fifteen the poor thing was left an orphan with a sick mother in her arms and was forced to forget childhood fun.

“Only Lisa, who remained after her father for fifteen years, - only Lisa, not sparing her tender youth, not sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night - weaving canvases, knitting stockings, picking flowers in the spring, and taking berries in the summer - and selling them in Moscow. The sensitive, kind old woman, seeing her daughter’s tirelessness, often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, called her divine mercy, nurse, the joy of her old age, and prayed to God to reward her for all that she does for her mother.”

Nikolai Karamzin. "Poor Lisa"

"War and Peace" . Natasha Rostova - 13 years old at the beginning of the novel; at the time of the death of Prince Andrei - 20 years

The novel begins in 1805; it is reported that Natasha was only thirteen years old at that time, but she had already managed to force Boris to swear eternal love for her, and he subsequently did not hesitate to give up this oath.

The years passed, and by the time the Napoleonic army appeared in Moscow, the heroine was already twenty. She managed to survive a number of disappointments and betrayals, and also suffered the death of Prince Andrei.

“The guest’s daughter was already straightening her dress, looking questioningly at her mother, when suddenly from the next room we heard several men’s and women’s feet running towards the door, the crash of a chair being snagged and knocked over, and a thirteen-year-old girl ran into the room, wrapping her short muslin skirt around something, and stopped. in the middle of the room. It was obvious that she accidentally, with an uncalculated run, ran so far. At the same moment a student with a crimson collar, a guards officer, a fifteen-year-old girl and a fat, ruddy boy in a child’s jacket appeared at the door.
The count jumped up and, swaying, spread his arms wide around the running girl.

I do not even know where to start. I’ll try to systematize the chaos that’s going on in my head after watching the “bold film adaptation.”

Plot. I understand that it is difficult to contain everything that L.N. wrote about in a two-hour film. Tolstoy in Anna Karenina, but this is not a reason to turn a powerful Russian novel into a comic book. It seems that everything is in place - the events are the same, the key phrases from the book, and the fictional characters are not observed, but there is no integrity.

Form. The action takes place in theatrical settings, at times on the stage, the mise-en-scène is well constructed - the handwriting of playwright Tom Stoppard, who wrote the script for the film, can be discerned in them. Transitions between scenes are kept to a minimum. Remember the episode from “Love and Doves”, when Mikhailov’s hero leaves the Derensky hut, opens the door and jumps into the sea? In Anna Karenina the same technique is constantly used.

Characters of the heroes, their age and external conformity. First, let's clarify the age of the main characters. The exact age of neither Vronsky, nor Anna, nor Karenin is unknown. If we think logically: Anna got married at 17-18 years old, her son Seryozha is 8 years old, then she is 26-28 years old. I definitely saw somewhere in the book that Vronsky was a little younger than her, I thought I had left a bookmark on this fragment, but I never found it. Wikipedia has a link to unpublished fragments of the novel: “Vronsky was endowed with rare qualities: modesty, courtesy, calmness and dignity. According to family legend, Vronsky wore a silver earring in his left ear, at the age of 25 he wore a beard and began to go bald.” And in the novel there is such a character - Serpukhovskoy, it is said about him that he is a general and Vronsky was the same age as him. Would you like to know at what age at that time one could become a general? Really at 25 years old? I found a lot of information about Karenin on the Internet, that he is 44 years old, I don’t know where it came from. In a conversation with Anna, Stiva says that Karenin is 20 years older than her. Thus, Anna is 26-28, Vronsky is 25-26, Karenin is 46-48. With age we more or less figured it out.
Now let's look at the similarities.

Anna Arkadyevna Karenina

Everyone knows that the prototype of Anna Karenina is the daughter of A.S. Pushkina Maria Hartung.
“Anna... in a black, low-cut velvet dress, revealing her full shoulders and chest, chiseled like old ivory, and rounded arms with a thin tiny hand. The whole dress was trimmed with Venetian guipure. On her head, in her black hair, theirs without any admixture, there was a small garland pansies and the same on the black ribbon of the belt between the white laces. Her hair was invisible... There was a string of pearls on her chiseled, strong neck."
It’s as if Lev Nikolayevich painted a verbal portrait from this picture, right?

If you think that I posted a still from another movie, you are mistaken. This is an episode from Anna Karenina, symbolizing the suffering of the unfortunate woman. The cigarette apparently hints at deep thoughts.
I understand that external similarity cannot be one hundred percent, but the type, in my opinion, should correspond to the description. The character also failed - with Tolstoy you both understand and despise Karenina at the same time. Keira Knightley's Anna turned out to be flat, simplified, and doll-like.

Alexey Kirillovich Vronsky

The prototype of Vronsky was Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. Remember the romance "Among the Noisy Ball"? Alexey Konstantinovich wrote this poem to his future wife S.A. Miller-Bakhmetyeva, who left her husband and family for his sake. This story caused a lot of noise in the world.
What do we know about Vronsky? “...was a short, tightly built brunette, with a good-natured, handsome, extremely calm and firm face. In his face and figure, from his short-cropped black hair and freshly shaved chin to his wide, brand new uniform, everything was simple and at the same time elegant. " “Vronsky...was beginning to go bald prematurely.”

Now compare it with this cheerful doll. By the way, the actor who played Alexei Vronsky, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is brunette in real life. I don’t understand what the director wanted to say by turning him blond. And how could Kitty and Anna fall in love with this sugary young man?

Alexey Alexandrovich Karenin

The prototype of Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin was Baron Vladimir Mikhailovich von Mengden, landowner and official, member State Council, a callous man, small in stature and unattractive, was married to the beautiful Elizaveta Ivanovna Obolenskaya. Karenin had a St. Petersburg fresh face, a self-confident figure, and a slightly prominent back. When walking, he moved his entire pelvis and blunt legs. A large round hat rested on her ears. He wrapped his cold and bony legs in a fluffy blanket. When he smiled, “unfading white teeth” were revealed. The voice is thin.

In the film, Karenin is played by Jude Law. I have a good attitude towards him as an actor, but, in my opinion, it’s too early for him to play such characters. Karenin in the book is a deep person: outwardly dry and callous, but with a noble and kind soul. In the film, he turned out to be a kind of soft-bodied, boring saint that you can wipe your feet on. It is impossible to understand how a person with such a character could fly up the career ladder.

Konstantin Levin

But most of all I was shocked by Levin. By the way, the surname Levin is usually pronounced incorrectly through “e”, correctly through “yo” (Levin).
Yes, yes, this village fool, Ivanushka, is the nobleman Konstantin Levin. It is known that its prototype is Leo Tolstoy himself.

The story of Levin and Kitty looks very strange, and it is difficult for a person who has never read Anna Karenina to understand what these characters are doing in the film.

Stiva Arkadievich Oblonsky

The only character who matched the description and character was Stiva - dissolute, easy-going and charming. Something between N. Mikhalkov and O. Menshikov.

Entourage. You know, I can accept that the Russian mentality is difficult to understand. I can understand that it is difficult for a foreigner to talk about the Russian soul, the origins of communism, peasants, history, and Russian life. But why the hell does the Karenin’s dacha in Peterhof look like a French garden with trimmed bushes twice the height of a man, why are the Russian interiors of city houses in the French style. In our age of the Internet, it’s enough to press a button and spend half an hour studying the issue.
Look.

This is what the British think a Russian train looks like. Why it is icy, hardly anyone can explain. The only thing missing to complete the picture is bears.

And this is what the noble estate of Konstantin Levin looks like. By the way, they filmed in Kizhi. I didn’t find any other evidence in the pictures, so take my word for it

Well, for those rare birds who flew to the end of the vast post.
Gag. If you remember, in the novel there is not even a hint of sex scenes; in the film they are present with the comment: “this is love.” And there was a moment when Karenin took out a case with a condom in the hope of fulfilling his marital duty. Apparently, this fragment was supposed to characterize Karenin as a pedant.

I will end here, dear comrades. And you decide for yourself whether you will watch this disgrace or not.

1. Researchers calculate the age of Juliet’s mother using one phrase:

“As for me, at your age I was your mother for a long time.”

Shakespeare also mentions Juliet's age:

“Well, on Peter’s day it’s night and she turns fourteen.”

It turns out that Senora Capulet may be 28 years old, or even younger. But why should this surprise us if we are watching a love story between a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy? Is anyone sincerely worried about not becoming a parent at 14?

2. The age of Marya Gavrilovna from “The Snowstorm” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

The only mention in the story about the heroine's age:

“At the end of 1811, in an era memorable to us, the good Gavrila Gavrilovich R** lived on his estate Nenaradov. He was famous throughout the area for his hospitality and cordiality; neighbors constantly went to him to eat, drink, play Boston for five kopecks with his wife, and some in order to look at their daughter, Marya Gavrilovna, a slender, pale and seventeen-year-old girl. She was considered a rich bride, and many expected her to marry them or their sons.”

That’s how old she was at the time of the wedding, and the explanation with Burmin took place more than three years later. Therefore, there was no way she was going to be 20 years old.

3. Balzac age.

This expression became popular after the release of Honoré de Balzac's A Woman of Thirty in 1834. And there is no doubt that the “Balzac age” can really be considered the age of 30 years. It’s not clear why this expression has such a derogatory, or at best derogatory-joking, character? After all, Balzac does not describe an old woman who no longer knows what to do with herself, but a woman in the very prime of her beauty and strength.

4. Age of Ivan Susanin.

Thanks to the unknown online researchers who finally put an end to the age-old debate about Susanin’s age. It’s only a pity that modern historians are not yet in the know and continue to call the time of Ivan Osipovich’s birth “the last third of the 16th century,” which, you agree, gives a wide range of ages, considering that Susanin died in the fall of 1612 or winter of 1613.

5. The age of the old woman-pawnbroker.

This is absolutely a shameful lie! After all, they read Dostoevsky’s novel at school!

“She was a tiny, dry old woman, about sixty years old, with sharp and angry eyes, a small pointed nose and bare hair.”

It's a shame, citizens, it's a shame.

6. Anna Karenina's age.

Tolstoy does not mention the exact age of the heroine. Where does such an accurate figure come from - 28 years? Out of nowhere. Just an estimate.

“I’ll start from the beginning: you married a man who is twenty years older than you.”

I didn’t find any mention of Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin’s age in the novel. But for some reason, the most widespread version on the Internet says that Karenin was 44 years old, and not 48 or 46. And this already contradicts Anna’s declared 28 years.

7. Age of Richelieu.

Yes, yes, not Richelieu, but Richelieu. The siege of La Rochelle lasted a whole year from September 1627 to October 1628. At the time of the siege, Cardinal Richelieu was indeed 42 years old, but did anyone consider him an old man? Why should we be surprised at his age? I don't understand.

8. 30-year-old Karazmin and 16-year-old Pushkin.

Just a celebration of ignorance. It’s just not clear which one: historical or mathematical. I think both.

Now let’s do the math: Pushkin turned 16 years old in 1815, respectively, Karamzin was then about 49 years old, and not thirty. Oh yes Pushkin! Three years before his birth, he saw Karamzin, and even left a note about it, pretending to be 16 years old.

9. And again about Karamzin.

Apparently, this means Yuri Nikolaevich Tynyanov, a writer and literary critic. He has a study of the unfinished novel “Pushkin”, where this quote can actually be found. Only it does not refer to Karamzin’s physical age, but to his mood and activities at that time.

“The main person was, of course, not the count. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was older than everyone present. He was thirty-four years old - the age of extinction.

The time to please has passed, But to be captivated without captivating, And to glow without inflaming, is a bad craft.

There were no wrinkles yet, but a coldness appeared on his elongated, white face. Despite his playfulness, despite his affection for ticklers, as he called the young ones, it was clear that he had experienced a lot. The world was collapsing; Everywhere in Russia there are monstrosities, sometimes worse than French villainy. Stop dreaming about the happiness of humanity! His heart was broken by the beautiful woman whose friend he was. After traveling to Europe, he became colder towards his friends. “Letters of a Russian Traveler” became a law for educated speeches and hearts. The women cried over them. He now published an almanac called female name“Aglaya,” which women read and began to generate income. Everything is nothing but trinkets. But barbaric censorship also constrained people in trifles. Emperor Paul did not live up to the expectations placed on him by all the friends of good. He was self-willed, angry and surrounded himself not with philosophers, but with Gatchina corporals who had no understanding of grace.”

We are talking about a disappointed person, not an old one.

How is the rating calculated?
◊ The rating is calculated based on points awarded over the last week
◊ Points are awarded for:
⇒ visiting pages dedicated to the star
⇒voting for a star
⇒ commenting on a star

Biography, life story of Anna Karenina

Anna Arkadyevna Karenina is the heroine of the novel Anna Karenina.

Life story

Anna Karenina is a noble lady from St. Petersburg, the wife of Minister Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin. introduces us to Anna at the moment when she comes to her brother Stepan Oblonsky (Steve) in order to reconcile him with his wife. Stiva meets his sister at the station. At the same time, a young officer Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky arrives at the station (he was meeting his mother). Anna and Alexey pay attention to each other. However, the author does not allow the first emotions to completely overwhelm the characters. At the moment of the first meeting of Karenina and Vronsky, a misfortune happens - a train carriage accidentally drives back and kills the watchman. Anna Karenina, a married lady and a caring mother of her eight-year-old son Seryozha, considered this turn of events a bad sign.

The next meeting between Anna and Alexei takes place at the ball. There, some inexplicable chemistry flares up between them again. When Karenina returns to her native Petersburg, Vronsky, unconscious from the passion that has captured his mind, goes after her. There, Alexey Kirillovich becomes the shadow of Anna Karenina - he follows her every step, tries to constantly be next to her. At the same time, the officer is not at all embarrassed by the fact that Anna is married, and her husband is a man of high social status. On the contrary, Vronsky’s love grew stronger from the fact that his chosen one turned out to be a woman from high society.

Anna Karenina, who has never had anything but deep respect for her husband, falls in love with Alexei Vronsky. Falls in love and is ashamed of his vicious feelings. At first, Anna tries to escape from herself, return to her usual life and find peace of mind, but all her attempts at resistance ended in failure. A year after they met, Karenina becomes Vronsky’s mistress. Over time, the connection between Karenina and Vronsky becomes known throughout St. Petersburg. Alexey Karenin, having learned about his wife’s infidelity, punishes her in the most cruel way - he forces her to continue to play the role of his loving wife.

CONTINUED BELOW

Anna soon finds out that she is pregnant from Vronsky. The officer invites her to leave her husband, but Karenina does not agree. Immediately after the birth of her daughter, she almost dies. The tragedy forces Alexei Alexandrovich to forgive his wife and her lover. He allows Anna to continue to live in his house and bear his last name. And Anna herself, in her dying state, begins to treat her husband warmer. But after recovery, everything returns to normal. Anna, whose conscience could not stand Karenin’s generosity, leaves with Vronsky for Europe. The lovers take the newborn girl with them. Anna's son remains with his father.

After a short absence, Vronsky and Karenina return to St. Petersburg. There Anna Karenina sadly realizes that she is now a real outcast for secular society. But Vronsky, on the contrary, is happy to see in any company. Separation from her son caused Anna additional suffering. But on Seryozha’s birthday, Anna secretly sneaks into the boy’s bedroom. The meeting was very touching - mother and son cried with happiness. They wanted to say so much to each other, but they were unable to talk - a servant came into Seryozha’s room and said that Alexey Karenin would come in any minute. When the official entered the nursery, Anna ran away, leaving Seryozha sobbing.

Relations between Karenina and Vronsky gradually began to deteriorate. The attitude of society towards Anna also contributed to the fading of their warm feelings. High society pointed fingers at Anna, and some society ladies did not hesitate to publicly insult her. Tired of the constant pressure, Anna, Alexey and their little daughter Anya move to Vronsky’s estate. Far from the bustle of the city, Anna hoped to improve relations with her lover, however, Alexey himself tried to create all the conditions for his beloved. However, it was difficult for them to get along with each other. The officer regularly went to business meetings and social events in St. Petersburg, while Anna, like a leper, had to sit at home. Due to Vronsky's constant absences, Karenina begins to suspect him of treason. Scenes of jealousy became a mandatory addition to dinner in their home. At the same time, life is darkened by a protracted divorce process. In order to solve this problem, Anna and Alexey move to Moscow for a while. Earlier, Karenin promised that he would give Seryozha to Anna, but at the last moment he changed his mind. He did this solely to hurt the woman who betrayed him. Having learned that the court left Seryozha with her ex-husband, Anna almost went crazy with grief...

Lost, unhappy Anna Karenina argues more and more with Vronsky. One day Anna Karenina suspected him of intending to marry someone else. Tired of constant hysterics, Alexey goes to his mother. As soon as Vronsky left, Anna clearly felt a burning need for reconciliation with her beloved. She rushes after Vronsky to the station.

Arriving at the place, Anna Karenina remembers her first meeting with Vronsky, their timid glances at each other, that incomprehensible feeling that swallowed her up. Anna also remembered the watchman who died under the carriage. At that very second Anna understands - this is the solution to all problems! This is how she can wash away the shame and get rid of the constantly oppressive feeling of shame for her actions! This is how she, who has exhausted herself and those around her, will be able to throw off the burden that has already become unbearable! A second of delay - and Anna throws herself under an oncoming train.

After Anna’s death, Vronsky repented - late, senselessly, but he repented. Deciding to follow Karenina's example, Alexey began to look at death as a deliverance. He volunteers to go to war, hoping that he will never come back.

Prototype

Anna Karenina is an image created on the basis of three prototypes. The first is Maria Hartung, daughter