Anna and Levin both experience epiphanies at the end of the novel. Their visions are very different though, which is ironic because Tolstoy portrays Anna and Levin as doubles. The ending creates a contrast and shows how two similar people can end up in very different situations. Passion is a major theme in relating Anna and Levin's lives because in Anna's case passion led to destruction, but Levin's passion led him to the lord.
             Before we even meet Anna, we meet Levin, whose story will run parallel to Anna's over the course of the book. Anna and Levin share many personality traits, generosity and compassion, occasional irrationality, and an all or nothing attitude when it comes to living life. Just like Anna, Levin cannot stand the idea of living his life with contradictions between his actions and beliefs. The differences are that Levin is able to find socially acceptable outlets for his personality needs and desires, and that Levin is not constrained to the same world that Anna is. Levin lives in the countryside, where the rules of the social order don't apply and he feels uncomfortable in cities, whereas Anna feels uncomfortable away from them.
             The revelations of Anna and Levin are complete contrasts to one another. The chapters leading up to Anna's suicide are very depressing. She is completely dislocated from reality. The ugliness of her relationship, her deeds, and her behavior all crush Anna as she runs frantically around Petersburg. To Anna the entire world has become ugly and the only thing Anna can think of is to end the misery by killing herself. She also commits suicide to punish Vronsky but I think that it is also in part to punish herself for her mistakes. The fact that her last thought is a prayer is very interesting because it proves that she wasn't completely lost from her faith.
             To complete the story of Levin, Tolstoy shows how one may choose life rather than death. It also completes Tolstoy's portrayal of Russi...