Random Musing: Anna Karenina

I will begin this post by informing you readers that I am a huge fan of the Swedish Sphinx, Greta Garbo. She is one of my favorite actresses of all-time, and I spent several whole weeks a few summers ago desperately searching for her (pricey) film collection. Recently, in the course of my studies here at Vanderbilt, the time for spring semester course selections came, and to my total pleasure, I happened to see a class called "The Adultery Myth in Literature and Film: 'Anna Karenina.'" Have you ever before taken a class solely for one reason? That is what has guided me to register for this course -- Greta Garbo's appearance in the 1935 film version of "Anna Karenina"...

I can say I have had success with this before -- I took a first-year writing seminar my freshman year called "New York, New York" just because movies were part of the coursework (and look where it got me -- film studies major!). Concerning "Karenina," I could not turn down such an opportunity as this course provides -- a study on my Swedish love, Garbo. Granted, I would also accept studying the 1948 film version of "Anna Karenina," starring the stunning Vivien Leigh, but the possibility of Garbo captures me like no other.

And thus, here is the problem: the possibility of Garbo... I have not seen the syllabus yet, so I can only hope we will be watching the Garbo version of "Anna Karenina" in this course. While the course seems literature-heavy (the novel itself is a whopping 800-something pages), I am certain that with the course's title, we will be watching several film versions in order to analyze them. I can only hope that Garbo is among them.

...And if not, I can make it happen.