Vladimir Nabokov

Anna Karenina questions

By Alain Champlain, 15 May, 2021

(Not directly a Nabokov question, but thought this might be a good place to ask.)

Is anyone here well acquainted with Anna Karenina?

I'm re-reading it for the first time, and now that I'm paying closer attention, I found I was totally surprised at the mention of Dolly giving birth (Two II), since this means she would have been quite pregnant throughout part One, and I couldn't find any hint of it (her thinness is all I can find) — am I missing anything? Was this on purpose?

I also noticed that the sex of the baby has changed by Three VIII — anyone else notice? Thoughts?

(My googling has turned up nothing. Also, I can't remember any mention of this in VN's Lectures on Russian Literature, but I've lent my copy out and can't check.)

Thanks :)