Constantine Levin's two pivotal experiences contribute significantly to the psychological tapestry of Anna Karenina, as these moments of crisis bring out and highlight subjectivity of the protagonist's life experience. The general theme of the novel, emerging moral consciousness, is thus brought to the fore in these scenes which present significant changes in self-awareness. The reader is invited to compare these scenes first on the basis of their differences in symbolic content, then on narrative bases of subjectivity. Levin's shifting patterns of assumption, projection, and understanding convey to the reader the foundations of the character arc that will culminate in his religious conversion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the novel, Levin and other characters are frequently described as having “unconscious” attitudes and “unintentional” actions , hence the presence of a language drawing careful attention to the lack of self-awareness does not constitute a very visible or specific link between the death and birth scenes. But since there are other, more obvious similarities and contrasts in the descriptive elements of these scenes, the reader already learns to connect the text in these parallel scenes and can thus examine the gaps between the narratological elements as they arise. the scenes provide the most immediate distinctions in symbolism. The "dust and neglect" of the Levins' hotel is also evident in the "dirty little room" in which Nicholas wastes away, while little attention is paid to the material surroundings of the Levins' house where Kitty gives birth, apart from references to room lighting. When Levin wakes up, he first sees that “a light was moving behind the partition,” and Kitty emerges holding a “candle in her hand” (639). As he leaves, he notices a footman “cleaning the glasses of the lamps” (642). These details are made metaphorically significant by Tolstoy's reference to the baby as a new life that flickers "like the flame of a lamp" (648). It is particularly telling that the first reference made to the child's successful delivery is not a realistic vision of its body, but an abstract representation of its living light. At least from Constantine Levin's point of view, birth is not directly linked to physical existence, it is an event that transcends its immediate environment. The intangibility of the setting is further denoted by Levin's lost notion of time, again represented spatially by candles: "He was surprised when Maria Vlasevna asked him to light a candle behind the partition, and he learned that 'it was already five o'clock in the evening' and 'he didn't know if it was late or early. The candles were all weak” (645, 646). Tolstoy's emphasis on light gives the birth scene a symbolic identity connoted by the non-physical, in contrast to the way death is presented in bodily details. The dark setting of the scene preceding the death is introduced by concrete background images, such as "a dirty uniform", "a dirty suit", "a dusty bouquet" and a "dado soiled with spit" (445 , 446). This material orientation is made particularly significant by Kitty's transformation of this dirty atmosphere with "beds made, combs, brushes, and mirrors arranged, and blankets spread" (452). The physical reality of "folded laundry" and other atmospheric enhancements are enough to give the dying man who "was lying between clean sheets in a clean shirt" a“new look of hope” (450). Whether through misery or joy, the moral conception of the dying person is irreversibly linked to his physical condition. This is most clearly manifested at the moment of his death, when the final indicator of Nicholas' diminishing will to exist is found in his mannerism of "catching himself as if he wanted to achieve something" (458). Although this chapter focuses most of its narrative and dialogic comments as well as on the metaphysics of After Death, the descriptive action of the scene ends with Nicolas's awareness of "the reality of his suffering" (454). . Just as the abstract representation of the child at the moment of its birth embodies the non-physicality of the birth scene, the physical climax of death illustrates the symbolic significance of the entire fatal episode. The dichotomy between physical symbolism and non-physical symbolism is just one example. the many connections that polarize the meanings of these scenes, letting us know that they are directly comparable. The shared language of consciousness, however, constitutes a more subtle connection between scenes than binary symbolism. As in much of the novel, the focused narrative explicitly states what the characters know and do not know, what they can and cannot understand, and how they interpret each other. Levin, in particular, expresses great self-awareness regarding his understanding of the thoughts and intentions of others. The death scene introduces many of these neuroses, and the birth scene resolves one, but leaves others to torment him until the end of the novel. The most frequent and tortuous attitudes that afflict Levin's self-consciousness are those that are openly "incomprehensible" or go "unintentionally." In both scenes, Levin confronts an insurmountable inability to understand his fellow human beings, and in both scenes the recognition of this fundamental disconnect arises against his will. While watching his dying brother, Levin reportedly "involuntarily meditated on what was happening to his brother at that moment, but, despite all the efforts of his mind to follow it, he saw...". . that something was becoming clear to the dying man who, for Levin, remained darker than ever” (455). If the narrator is to be believed, Levin's involuntary contemplation of the mental processes of others allows him to detect when one is experiencing an epiphanic moment, but it does not go far enough for him to see what involves this deep intuition. The innate mental division between self-knowledge and understanding of the other applies to any gap in understanding, but Tolstoy demonstrates it most dramatically with "the longing for that knowledge which the dying man now possessed and 'perhaps he wouldn't share' (456). Of all the terribly incommunicable human experiences, none is as impossible to share as the feelings provoked by death. Levin becomes painfully aware of his general inability to fully understand his neighbor when he is unconsciously confronted with his specific inability to share his dying brother's epiphany. The same awareness is produced, also by an unconscious shift in empathy, when considering suffering. of his pregnant wife. While "unwittingly looking for a culprit to punish these sufferings", and realizing that there is none, Levin sees "that something beautiful was happening in his soul, but...". . . it was beyond his understanding” (641). In this scene, Levin realizes again that he can recognize, but not feel, other people's joy born from pain. Once again, Tolstoy makes a more universal point by illustrating a case.