Despite her own rocky marriage, Dolly encourages Kitty to marry Levin. In Tolstoy's exploration of marriage, she represents the long-suffering wife and devoted mother. Amanda Root's recent film work includes the ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, as well as an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. In Anna Karenina, she was determined that Dolly should not be seen as a pushover. I felt passionately that Dolly is not a little victim.
Life is so different for women today.
I really admire her courage in sticking it out and working at a future. I think people underestimate how powerful that is. In marriages today, lots of people look at just what can you get out, not what you put in. For Dolly, it's the opposite.