Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy's novel, Anna Karenina, upon its release received a mix critical reception, with Russian critics either condemning or applauding the novel primarily on its views of Russian society. Thematically, the novel parallels its heroine's, Anna Karenina, moral and social conflicts with Constantin Levin's internal struggle to find the meaning of life. There are many others underlying themes which links the novel as a whole, yet many critics at the time only looked upon its critical view of Russian life. Henry James called Tolstoy's novels as "loose and baggy monsters' of stylessness, but Tolstoy stated of Anna