“Anna Karenina”: a Suicidological Study

Abstract

Objective of the Review: to analyze one of the most popular L. Tolstoy’s works “Anna Karenina” by showing that it illustrates classic and contemporary theories of suicide, starting from the sociological study of suicide by E. Durkheim. Key Points. The novel depicts four episodes of suicidal behavior: ego-dystonic thoughts (Lewin), suicide attempt (Vronsky), completed suicide (Anna) and volunteer fighters (Vronsky and other men going to war). The article draws parallels with four types of suicide according to E. Durkheim: anomic, egoistic, fatalistic and altruistic. Besides, the paper points out changes in worldviews of the main characters that happen after their mortality was made salient, which corresponds to Terror Management Theory in social psychology and works of cultural anthropologist E. Becker. In the end, we look at Anna’s presuicidal state from the point of view of Narrative Crisis Model of Suicide by I. Galynker. Conclusion. Thus, the novel “Anna Karenina” can help specialists in studying various theories of suicidal behavior, as L. Tolstoy carefully depicted the phenomenology of suicidal feelings and mechanisms of psychological defense from the fears of death, even before suicidology was established as a science. Keywords: suicide, Durkheim, Terror Management Theory, Narrative Crisis Model of Suicide, Suicide Crisis Syndrome.