Karenina

[garentoft 9265]

Karenina

by

Lord Alban

Published 418 E.S.

 

To all the women of Haense

who fought against the chains of tradition

to cement their daughters and their daughters’ daughters

with bright, hopeful futures.
 

Karenina was, by all means, an ordinary girl. Her father was a farmer, who produced the majority of Zesganburg’s potatoes (at the time, potatoes were quite the unpopular crop amongst farmers, as the memories of the famine of 77 L.A. were still spread amongst the population). Her mother, on the other hand, was a teacher at the University of Zesganburg, a professor of history and philosophy. Together they had only the one daughter, Karenina, though she had previously had two older brothers, Valdemar, who had been recruited into a seafaring expedition to discover new lands to the south  and never returned, and Otto, who had been conscripted into the armies to fight in the War for the East and perished in the siege of Lukasstadt.

 

Zesganburg was a smaller city, far in the west of the Valtzem of Czsenschyzcieo, nowhere near coast or water, only plains upon plains, and whereas the distant capital, Senoderij, was governed with what most assumed to be grand prosperity, with two universities, the majestic palace of the Valtakoeng, the square of three founders, and a population that seemed to double by the day. Nevertheless, this were all fantasy for Karenina, for she had never visited, nor had her parents. Only Otto had been, when he had been conscripted to the army, and thus her only perception of the place came from the letters he had sent to the family.

 

There was little to do in Zesganburg, and Karenina, who was nineteen years of age, spent much of her time attending the university of Zesganburg, where, unlike her mother, she had taken upon herself to study the arts of state and government, and when she was not studying, she spent her time working in one of the local taverns, the ironically named Sailor’s Refuge. It was a place where you could come upon many archetypes of people, the libertines, the genuine sailors, the dejected nobleman, the alcoholics, and so many others. 

 

The laws of the Valtzem were ones rooted in ancient tradition, at least, that was what the nobility and the politicians preached at public assembly after public assembly. Elections were held every fifth year, and Zesganburg, being one of the larger jurisdictions in the Valtzem, was granted three seats in the Senate of the Valtzem. Nevertheless, it was not as though the system itself was inherently flawed (Karenina had, to be honest, never quite concentrated on this matter of state, at least not presently), it were instead the laws of land ownership, which extended all the way from the Valtakoeng himself, and all the way down to farming peasantry where Karenina found her root. 

 

The law was, in all regards, one of a simple oppressive nature. The law itself did not prescribe much, it were no hard law to interpret or read. It was such that only men were allowed to own any land within the Valtzem, whether it were that of a Barony, that of a mere house on the streets of Senoderij, or that of a farm outside of Zesganburg, only men were allowed to be landowners. It was this mere fact that had inspired the young Karenina to study law and politics, for ever since her brothers had disappeared or died, the local government had begun planning for the future of their family farm, which they were eager to ****** once her father died. Rumour, as it stood, were that they wanted to use the area for a new urbanisation and industrialisation project, something which Karenina did not believe she could let happen to a farm that had been in their family for fourteen generations.

 

So Karenina studied law and politics with great intensity, and a couple of years later she graduated from the University of Zesganburg as the top of her class. Ironic as it were, women were allowed into government possessions, and with her newfound degree, her parents pressured her to try and get into the local government, so that once her father passed, she may argue for the farm to be passed to an uncle or some other male relative. Of course, this did not satisfy the young Karenina, who had been forged into a woman of ambition, who instead proclaimed to her parents that: “I shall not sit upon the Zesganburg Council and wait for status quo, I shall sit upon the Valtzkoeng’s Senate, and I shall bring change.”

 

Of course, as any parent should be, they encouraged Karenina to grasp for her dreams. Perhaps, though, in this case, it were only because they were unaware of what her dreams truthfully were. Elections were coming up, and Karenina began on a path of political campaigning, she brought up many topics, agricultural subsidies, education in the far reaches of the Valtzem, and much else, though especially, she did bring up her passion for abolishing the landowner’s law, which was met with mixed responses from the people of Zesganburg.

 

However, as she returned back to the farm that day, she were met by all her belongings cast outside, and the furious shouts from both of her parents. How could she betray the traditions of the Valtzem? What gave her the right to think that she was so important that she could throw centuries of tradition into the flames? Who was she, to think that people even wanted this changed, for would they not have brought it earlier if they did? The shouts all turned into one droning sound in her ears, it was all the same. Her parents had failed her, and in their eyes, she had failed them. Her eyes streamed with tears, for she only wanted what was best for the family, to preserve their farm, and now instead she were cast out from this farm. It were a betrayal of the most brutal kind, cast out by the family that she sought to save.

 

But dreams are not so easily shattered.

 

Karenina dragged her belongings with her into Zesganburg, where the owner of Sailor’s Refuge allowed her to use a room as a residence, until her political campaign was over. He was not particularly sympathetic of her views, but nevertheless could not simply allow her to remain on the streets, especially not after she had worked for him for years. Karenina carried on her campaign while residing in that room. Although she felt as though her efforts were wasted at times, after all, she had started this journey for the sake of a family that, because of it, wanted nothing to do with her.

 

Her dream was not just for her family. It represented not merely the saving of her family farm, for if that were her real ambition, she could have just as easily cast her dream aside in favour of her parents’ pragmatic solution. Instead, she felt that she could not relent in her cause, whereas she may not be able to save herself, or the farm of her dynasty, it was very well possible that she could save others in the same position as herself. If she just carried on with her campaign and succeeded, she could get into the Senate, and she could foster change for the entire Valtzem.

 

The rest of the political campaign was long and tedious. She was, at times, met with fierce resistance for her main principle, and found herself beginning to rely on other political changes she wished to bring, instead of that of which she dreamed. At the end of the electoral period, those three elected would be announced, in order of most votes, and were announced to be such: Stefan Tiedushtzk, Jakob Ekamognnen, and lastly, Karenina Pisacenaseretem. She had done it, she had been elected to the Valtzem’s Senate, and travelled forth then to the capital, a place she had longed to see her entire life, and now she were to not only see it, but live in it, as a representative of the people of Zesganburg.

 

Senoderij, however, was nothing like how Otto had described it to her. There was no prosperity in this city, and most of what she saw, beyond the facades, was a mass of dejected and hopeless people living in poverty and starvation. Indeed, the beauty that she sought was also present in the city, in the closed off district belonging to nobility and politicians, where she was made to live, though the rest of it was a crushed dream, a lingering pile of rejection from the prosperity of those who hold it clutched to themselves.

 

Likewise, the Senate was not what she thought it would be, either. It were filled with corrupt politicians, who were bought out by businessmen and entrepreneurs seeking to further themselves in an increasingly unstable economy. Most of her attempts at change were met with fierce resistance, these businessmen wanted no subsidies to farmers or to educators, indeed, the more uneducated the population was, the easier it is to make them work in industrial projects with no future ahead of them.

 

To her surprise, however, the only one that was not met with resistance from the businessmen, were the one that allowed women to own land. Perhaps it were so, that the more landowners there were, the better it were for these businessmen. It was instead the old guard, those of noble status, that resisted fervently to her idea. To own land was a right for men, and men only, they said. And their minds were not swayed, and if the old guard were not swayed, the politicians (controlled by the businessmen), eagerly stuck by their sides, for they wished to remain in good favour with the Valtakoeng.

 

And so, Karenina returned home from her first five years in the Senate, having been immensely unsuccessful. She did, for a time, consider retiring then, as a failed Senator of Zesganburg. But, of course, she had yet to bring any real change, and her dreams and ambitions were much too fierce to surrender to her hopelessness. She campaigned ferociously to be re-elected for the Senate, and barely scraped by, to return to the Senate once again.

 

This time, however, she had learned from her first five years, and the game of politics became easier for her to play with time. She made vague promises to the politicians and the nobility alike, and steadily her work began to come through. Farm subsidies were increased, for the politicians had been convinced that their factory workers needed to be fed. Education subsidies were increased, for the politicians had been convinced that educated workers were capable of more profitable work. Her changes were slowly being put through, yet before her still stood the last one, her dream.

 

It were the final Session of this Senatorial Period, where she brought it up again. She had spent five years building relationships now, and it were the pivotal moment of her career. Much to her surprise, the old guard nobility felt as if they owed her for some past reforms in regards to taxation, and for this reason decided to support her. Additionally, they had heard rumours going about that she had caught the eye of the Valtakoeng for a position in higher government, and wished to keep her on their good side. And so, for the very first time in the history of the Senate, a law was passed unanimously, and women would now be able to own land.

 

This were Karenina’s first victory. The only one which she desired, and her dream had been accomplished. Nevertheless, there were resistance from many to this law, and her family did not welcome her with open arms, in fact, they had not welcomed her at all. She was still disenfranchised from her parents, who wanted nothing to do with her. She did not wish to return to Zesganburg, nor did she really wish to remain in the capital, now that she had seen the truth of it.

 

Alas, the choice were not hers, for it took only a day after the Senate was dissolved for a letter to be sent to Karenina. It was from the Valtakoeng, who offered her the seat of Archchancellor upon her council. She almost declined the offer, but realised then that it would become a true opportunity for her. She had had one dream, which she had accomplished, but with such a position, she could continue to foster change on a much larger scale, and fulfil the dreams of others.

 

Karenina became Archchancellor for twenty-three years, in which grand reforms were born to the Valtzem by herself and the Valtakoeng. Truthfully, the state of Senoderij improved, so that it were finally what Karenina had thought it to be when she was younger. Likewise, other cities began to grow, Zesganburg had become thrice the size after twenty-three years, as job opportunities increased in these cities, dragging people from the capital.

 

After those years, she retired, and founded an orphanage for girls in Senoderij. She raised plenty of orphaned girls, giving them good educations and setting them up for the future. Once Karenina, some years later, grew ill and passed away, the girls took over ownership themselves, and decided to bear a common last name to honour the woman who had raised them, as so, they all became Karenina.

 

Even though she was dead and buried, the spirit of Karenina would live on forevermore. Her spirit is not just that of women’s rights, or that of ridding ourselves of any oppression or repression. The nature of the spirit is much grander than that, it is a spirit of the ever blowing winds of change, no matter what subject it is. This spirit does not represent change just in one regard, but change in all regards. The world is endless, and so is our potential for change and improvement. This is what the spirit of Karenina represents. Let it guide us further.

[SapphirePool 1360]

Fenika Baruch listened to Matyas present his manuscript to the Koenas with much interest at the Suitors competition. She smiled, applauding him as he finished.