Throughout the unfolding of Leo Tolstoy's iconic tragedy, Anna Karenina, the presence of trains is essential both in terms of symbolic resonance and as a means of communicating a commentary and a social framework. Tolstoy uses the imagery of the train to speak of movement in terms of the rapid course of life, foreshadowing the desperate saga of Anna and Vronsky's romantic relationship. In general, the existence of the railroad is meant to be seen as a destructive force in the context of the novel, something that causes death and devastation from its first mention in the text. This symbolic relationship is primarily evident during Anna and Vronsky's first meeting, their rendezvous on the train, and at the time of and after Anna's suicide, using the meaning of trains to trace the course of their relationship throughout throughout the text as a sort of timeline, navigating the tumultuous ending that ultimately becomes inevitable for both. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayThe initial mention of the planned train, Anna's arrival in Moscow, marks the climax of her relationship with Vronsky, ironically too the first time he is mentioned in the text. As he first gets into the car to meet his mother, his attraction to Anna is obvious – thus begins their fateful alliance. However, this encounter is followed by the gruesome death of a railway worker, leaving his mutilated body under the train, a precursor to Anna's death and what she calls "an omen of evil" (Tolstoy, 63). This comment is reflected not only in the man's fate, but in himself; “Her own personality was to be split in two in the next railway scene, while she was reading a book. The tragedy was already underway. The man “cut in two” can become a symbol.” (Stenbock-Fermor, 69). Thus, the meeting between Anna and Vronsky is overshadowed by the presence of death, hinting at Anna's impending demise in the same way, as "the accidental death of a man at the moment of their first meeting suggests...the manner for which Vronsky and Vronsky must be punished.” free oneself” (Stenbock-Fermor, 65). The scene is also made disturbing by the mention of “a peasant with a sack on his shoulder” (Tolstoy, 58), the same haunting image that will appear throughout the text. . Additionally, the reader is left in suspense as to whether or not the death was a suicide, as voices in the crowd at the train station are heard saying "What?...What?..Where?..He threw himself! ..Crushed!..” (Tolstoy, 62 years old), a certain premonition of Anna's imminent end. Additionally, this early scene is also important because "Anna's first appearance takes place in a train station, as does her last...[which] makes a compelling argument that the major railway scenes are the "pillars "supporting the structure of the novel as a whole" (Jahn, 2). Besides the development of the central romantic relationship in the text, the presence of the railway here, in this crucial scene, may also serve as Tolstoy's particular social commentary on the all-powerful and destructive nature of the railway, for it " expressed Tolstoy's thoughts. the conviction that the railway only served to satisfy and further fuel the already monstrous appetite of the idle and privileged” (Jahn, 1). After this first meeting, Anna and Vronsky's next confrontation is crucial in terms of the development of their relationship. While escaping his advances in Moscow, Anna flees to her role as Madame Karenin in St. Petersburg, a veritable migration of emotion as she yearns to rid herselfof Vronsky's advances and her own nagging sense of self-doubt. When the train stops halfway and Anna finds Vronsky waiting on the platform to confess his love for her, she is “seized with a feeling of joyful pride” (Tolstoy, 96). Once again, the railway accelerated her relationship with Vronsky, culminating in a new transition as their romance travels much like the ever-moving train. Additionally, Tolstoy's inclusion of "the bent shadow of a man glided at her feet and she heard the sounds of a hammer on iron" (Tolstoy, 96) also takes us back to the first railway scene, emphasizing the similarities between their first railway scene. encounter and that of today in the imagery of the mutilated worker stuck under the rails. However, this phrase is translated more literally from the native Russian as "'slid under her legs'...suggesting more clearly a presentiment of violence in the sexual union" (Browning, 527). Furthermore, this image is prevalent throughout the text, particularly a striking image in Anna's repeated dreams of the bearded peasant. Strongly reminiscent of her reminder of sin and the probability of death, she tells Vronsky that she learns in the dream that she will die in childbirth. Although Vronsky also has a similar dream, he “better embodies the shadow” (Browning, 527) bending beneath Anna and catalyzing her self-destruction. In bringing up this discrepancy, we can suggest that the image of the train is that of Vronsky himself, both a sexual innuendo and a description of the moral evil of modern society. As discussed previously, the inclusion of the railway can be interpreted as a mechanism for Russia's pitfalls and industrialization. Vronsky, with his new-age, elitist attitude of adultery and distaste for marriage, exemplifies this, symbolizing the devastation and disruption to the structure of Russian society caused by the integration of the train into upper-class life . To complement this, we can note that although the train Anna is traveling on is chic and warm, she finds it stuffy rather than comfortable, choosing instead the freezing cold outside. Thus, she abandons the comfort and luxury of an elite society that stifles rather than nurtures her, choosing to participate in a taboo affair with her lover. As she leaves the train, she visibly leaves the grip of society, choosing the radical and the sentimental rather than what the social structure has wrought for her. After Anna and Vronsky's preliminary encounters at the railroad, we are brought to the conclusion of their love at and after her suicide, the full circle of her predestined destiny comes to an end as she encounters self-annihilation. As she is crushed beneath the sharp metal of the train, "logic leads to the conclusion that Anna was killed by (or, more precisely, victimized by) upper-class society" ( Jahn, 3). Once again, she sees "a deformed peasant covered in dirt, wearing a cap from which his tangled hair stuck out all around... leaning over the wheels of the carriage" (Tolstoy, 704), a continuing reminder of her guilt and of the burden. she is forced to endure, triggering her suicide. Additionally, the scene following Anna's death also takes place on a railroad track, as the Vronskys encounter Stiva on a train full of soldiers on their way to fight in the Russo-Turkish War. Despite Anna's death, Tolstoy's mention of war, especially in the context of the train, indicates the underlying idea that, regardless of death and tragedy, life continues and progresses. Anna's death did not stop the movement of life; it only led to even greater suffering for others. This is seen on the part of Vronsky, who, like Anna, seeks to end his life in the.