The aim of this dissertation is to shed light on Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy's attitude towards his protagonist Anna Karenina. Leaning on the principles of feminist theory and literary criticism, it considers the question of the author's responsibility for the death of his leading character. In the 20th century, questions were brought forward whether it was the rules of contemporary society that were to blame for Anna's death or was it, perhaps, Tolstoy's general attitude towards women. These questions remain open to this day. The novel's multilayered complexity offers several possible interpretations, one of which was exploited by feminist theory in order to prove Tolstoy's apparent animosity towards women and as a way of questioning the morals and ethics of 19th century society. In the course of our research, these claims turned out to be too generalist and are not offering a holistic reflection on the core of the novel. With the help of literary criticism, we attempt to highlight alternative views that go beyond interpreting Tolstoy as a hater of womankind. Tolstoy was, first and foremost, a brilliant writer, who began his novel with a mission to highlight the woman question, resulting in a multitude of years dedicated to creating a body of work that reveals precisely and innately the life situations and complexity of its characters. The chapter A fox, who considers herself a hedgehog offers additional insight into the author's artistic expression and can serve as a counterbalance to feminist theories. Modern interpretations of Anna Karenina often overlook the part of the novel dedicated to Levin, which we know can be interpreted as the author's alter ego. Our thesis is based on the analysis of the character Levin as a way to highlight the author's relationship towards Anna Karenina. Anna's journey from the mother and model wife to a fallen woman, broken in the face of passionate love, is also considered through her relationships with her lover Vronsky and her husband Karenin. This treatise therefore mainly attempts to relativise all singular claims of feminist theories and evoke the multilayered nature of the novel and its characters, and therefore also the complexity of the relationship between Tolstoy and Anna Karenina.
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