On a cold morning at the Saint Petersburg railway station, Wronsky goes to meet his mother’s arriving train. On the grand staircase, he unexpectedly encounters Stépane Arkadiévitch Oblonsky, who has come to meet his sister Anna Karenina. Wronsky greets him warmly, appreciating that spending time with Stépane offers a subtle connection to Kitty, with whom Wronsky has fallen under the spell. As they chat while waiting on the platform, Stépane teases Wronsky about being in love, noting his obvious happiness following the previous evening spent at the Cherbatzkys.
Wronsky sidesteps the teasing and casually asks whom Stépane is meeting. Upon learning that Stépane is waiting for his sister Madame Karenina and her husband Aleksey Alexandrovitch, Wronsky dismisses the husband as a dull and overly conservative man outside his social circle. Their conversation then shifts back to the previous evening. Stépane mentions his friend Levine, explaining that Levine is a nervous man who might have proposed marriage to Kitty the night before.
Hearing this news sparks a sense of competitive excitement and triumph within Wronsky, who believes Kitty could aspire to a much better match. He reflects briefly on the complications of romance compared to simpler affairs, but their discussion is interrupted as the heavy train finally rolls into the station. Amid the cloud of steam, the noise of the engine, and the bustle of passengers getting off the cars, Wronsky momentarily forgets his mother's arrival. Just as a conductor informs him that the Countess Wronsky is in a nearby carriage, Wronsky remains preoccupied with the emotional revelation regarding Kitty.