Gregory Strohmann, Childhood
The theme of childhood in Russia in the time period from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century is very striking. During this time, the life of a child included many different aspects depending on the social class it was born in. Yet, the children did not have much of a choice to explore their personal character but they were instead limited to a certain set of values and rules in their classes. In addition, the political and social circumstances at that time did not allow them to pursue their own wishes and dreams legally. As a result, the attitude and behavior of children was formed from their birth on.
The novel “Anna Karenina” reveals some of these characteristics of the life of a child. Even though all the main characters are adults, there is still enough evidence how children are treated and what is expected of them in society. Serezha, the son of main character Anna Karenina, grows up in the nobility class. It is very clear that he is exposed to a certain behavior pattern through his parents, the maid, and other people from the same social group. Moreover, he studies several foreign languages in his early childhood and has a private tutor just because this is the general expectation within the social class.
On the other hand, the book hardly portrays lower class children and how they spent their time since they did not receive the privilege of education. It is obvious that peasant children as well as other lower class children adopted their behavior pattern and set of values from their class. In contrast to the nobility class, the behavior and rules were not taught. Instead, they were instinctively followed, no questions asked. The problem of illiteracy and no education contributed to the poor upbringing, which ultimately resulted in hard labor on noblemen’s fields even at a young age.
The political and social environment in middle 19th century up to the beginning of the 20th century strongly influenced family life and the upbringing of children. The progress of emancipation slowly narrowed the extreme gap between the nobility and the lower classes. However, the traditional and conservative methods concerning the upbringing and enculturation of children prevailed in some areas for decades even until the beginning of the 20th century.