"Anna Karenina," by Leo Tolstoy was written at the beginning of the XIX century. The author masterfully applies his ideology on the Russian society at the time through many reflections about the role of families then. Tolstoy alludes to the fact that the family is but a microcosmic reflection of societal relations, and that individuals within the family are the key to the a "happy family." This leads me to wonder how the character of Anna serves as a metaphor for the disintegration of society at the time. At that time, social classes in Russia were very well differentiated. There was a huge gap between the high class and the lower classes. The aristocracy was depicted in the novel through many details about how the Russian upper classes lived. The author conveyed the idea that the rich people were frivolous and artificial. Tolstoy is an omniscient narrator- the type of narrator that sees all and knows all. The role of women at the time is also very clearly alluded to in the novel. Women had a very distinctive role in society back then: to give birth and raise children to create a family, which was the basis of society. Family was what held society together, and the individual was what constructed family as the primary mission: So, when these mothers wanted to feel like women, society looked down upon them. Once they got married and gave birth, their marriages were the most important thing, regardless whether they had happy marriages or not. This is clearly seen when Anna went to visit her adulterous brother and persuade her sister-in-law to forgive her husband and continue their life as if pretty much nothing serious had really happened. Dolly's husband, Anna's brother, had had an extramarital romance with one of his housemaids. Anna felt it was her mission to settle things for them. Their marriage had to keep united no matter what. It is worthwhile pointing out the fact that in the novel, what women did socially shaped their moral