Conscience in Anna Karenina

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 I don't know whether Tolstoy was influenced by religious ideas when he wrote Anna Karenina, but there seems to be a connection between the fate and decisions of Anna and the fate and decisions of man when the devil visits him. They say that when devil visits man, all reason and logic are thrown out the window. The devil presents man an ideal scenario, a life that is too good to be true. And it often is too good to be true.

Anna falls in love with Vronsky (which is somewhat disturbing, to be frank). She apparently forgets about her son, whom at one point she could not bear to be away from. Her husband, who was perfectly fine, now seems "ugly". The part of the story involving Anna being persuaded by her husband mirrors the interactions of Pinnocio and the cricket. Pinnochio can pretend to believe that what the cricket says is not true. The puppet has power over the cricket, and can crush the salutary, but bitter chirps of the cricket if he wishes. He does so, and closes his mind to the cricket. Same story between Peter Parker and Eddie/Venom during their final interaction in Spiderman 3.

A part of her knows that her husband is telling the truth. But she has been successfully convinced by the devil to close her mind to all voices of reason, and blindly pursue a reality that cannot exist. If this metaphorical devil, a force which seizes her so unforgivingly, that seizes Anna is not the epitome of evil, then what is?

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