"Annu Kareninu" Tolstoy nazyval "romanom shirokim i svobodnym". V osnove etogo opredeleniya - pushkinskiy termin "svobodnyy roman". Ne fabulnaya zavershennost polozheniy, a tvorcheskaya kontseptsiya opredelyaet vybor materiala i otkryvaet prostor dlya razvitiya syuzhetnyh liniy. Roman "shirokogo dyhaniya" privlekal Tolstogo tem, chto v "prostornuyu, vmestitelnuyu ramu" bez napryazheniya vhodilo vse to novoe, neobychaynoe i nuzhnoe, chto on hotel skazat lyudyam.
