Anna Karenina

‘Ah, wait! Ah, so many thoughts! I have so much to ask! Listen. You can’t imagine what you’ve done for me by what you’ve said. I’m so happy that I’ve even become mean; I’ve forgotten everything ... I found out today that my brother Nikolai ... you know, he’s here ... I forgot about him, too. It seems to me that he’s happy, too. It’s like madness. But there’s one terrible thing ... You’re married, you know this feeling ... The terrible thing is that we older men, who already have a past ... not of love, but of sins ... suddenly become close with a pure, innocent being; it’s disgusting, and so you can’t help feeling yourself unworthy.’

‘Well, you don’t have so many sins.’

‘Ah, even so,’ said Levin, ‘even so, “with disgust reading over my life, I tremble and curse, and bitterly complain ...”²⁰ Yes.’

‘No help for it, that’s how the world is made,’ said Stepan Arkadyich.

‘There’s one consolation, as in that prayer I’ve always loved, that I may be forgiven not according to my deserts, but out of mercy. That’s also the only way she can forgive me.’

XI

Levin finished his glass, and they were silent for a while.

‘There’s one more thing I must tell you. Do you know Vronsky?’ Stepan Arkadyich asked Levin.

‘No, I don’t. Why do you ask?’

‘Bring us another,’ Stepan Arkadyich addressed the Tartar, who was filling their glasses and fussing around them precisely when he was not needed.

‘Why should I know Vronsky?’

‘You should know Vronsky because he’s one of your rivals.’

‘What is this Vronsky?’ said Levin, and his face, from that expression of childlike rapture which Oblonsky had just been admiring, suddenly turned spiteful and unpleasant.

‘Vronsky is one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovich Vronsky and one of the finest examples of the gilded youth of Petersburg. I got to know him in Tver, when I was in government service there and he came for the conscription. Terribly rich, handsome, big connections, an imperial aide-de-camp, and with all that - a very sweet, nice fellow. And more than just a nice fellow. As I’ve come to know him here, he’s both cultivated and very intelligent. He’s a man who will go far.’

Levin frowned and kept silent.

‘Well, sir, he appeared here soon after you left and, as I understand, is head over heels in love with Kitty, and, you understand, her mother ...’

‘Excuse me, but I understand nothing,’ said Levin, scowling gloomily. And he at once remembered his brother Nikolai and how mean he was to have forgotten about him.

‘Wait, wait,’ said Stepan Arkadyich, smiling and touching his hand. ‘I’ve told you what I know, and I repeat that in this subtle and delicate matter, as far as I can surmise, the chances seem to be on your side.’

Levin leaned back in his chair, his face was pale.

‘But I’d advise you to resolve the matter as soon as possible,’ Oblonsky went on, filling Levin’s glass.

‘No thanks, I can’t drink any more,’ said Levin, pushing his glass away. ‘I’ll get drunk ... Well, how are things with you?’ he went on, obviously wishing to change the subject.

‘One word more: in any event, I advise you to resolve the question quickly. I don’t advise you to speak of it tonight,’ said Stepan Arkadyich. ‘Go tomorrow morning, classically, make a proposal, and God bless you ...’

‘Haven’t you always wanted to come for some hunting with me? So, come in the spring,’ said Levin.

He now repented with all his heart that he had begun this conversation with Stepan Arkadyich. His special feeling had been defiled by talk of rivalry with some Petersburg officer, by Stepan Arkadyich’s suppositions and advice.

Stepan Arkadyich smiled. He understood what was going on in Levin’s heart.

‘I’ll come sometime,’ he said. ‘Yes, brother, women - that’s the pivot on which everything turns. And with me, too, things are bad, very bad. And all from women. Tell me frankly,’ he went on, taking out a cigar and keeping one hand on his glass, ‘give me your advice.’

‘But what about?’

‘Here’s what. Suppose you’re married, you love your wife, but you become infatuated with another woman ...’

‘Excuse me, but I decidedly do not understand how I ... just as I don’t understand how I could pass by a bakery, as full as I am now, and steal a sweet roll.’

Stepan Arkadyich’s eyes shone more than usual.

‘Why not? Sometimes a sweet roll is so fragrant that you can’t help yourself.

‘Himmlisch ist’s, wenn ich bezwungen

Meine irdische Begier;

Aber doch wenn’s nicht gelungen,

Hatt’ ich auch recht hishscb Plaisir!’²¹

As he said this, Stepan Arkadyich smiled subtly. Levin also could not help smiling.

‘No, joking aside,’ Oblonsky went on. ‘Understand, there’s this woman, a dear, meek, loving being, poor, lonely, and who has sacrificed everything. Now, when the deed is already done - understand - how can I abandon her? Suppose we part, so as not to destroy my family; but how can I not pity her, not provide for her, not try to soften it?’