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published by planet ebook visit the site to download free ebooks of classic literature books and novels this work is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercial 3.0 united states license.[close]
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chapter 1 happy families are all alike every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way everything was in confusion in the oblonskys house the wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a french girl who had been a governess in their family and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him this position of affairs had now lasted three days and not only the husband and wife themselves but all the members of their family and household were painfully conscious of it every person in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together and that the stray people brought together by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they the members of the family and household of the oblonskys the wife did not leave her own room the husband had not been at home for three days the children ran wild all over the house the english governess quarreled with the housekeeper and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time the kitchen-maid and the coachman had given warning three days after the quarrel prince stepan arkadyevitch oblonsky stiva as he was called in the fashionable world woke up at his usual hour that is at eight o clock 4 anna karenina[close]
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in the morning not in his wife s bedroom but on the leather-covered sofa in his study he turned over his stout well-cared-for person on the springy sofa as though he would sink into a long sleep again he vigorously embraced the pillow on the other side and buried his face in it but all at once he jumped up sat up on the sofa and opened his eyes `yes yes how was it now he thought going over his dream `now how was it to be sure alabin was giving a dinner at darmstadt no not darmstadt but something american yes but then darmstadt was in america yes alabin was giving a dinner on glass tables and the tables sang il mio tesoro not il mio tesoro though but something better and there were some sort of little decanters on the table and they were women too he remembered stepan arkadyevitch s eyes twinkled gaily and he pondered with a smile `yes it was nice very nice there was a great deal more that was delightful only there s no putting it into words or even expressing it in one s thoughts awake and noticing a gleam of light peeping in beside one of the serge curtains he cheerfully dropped his feet over the edge of the sofa and felt about with them for his slippers a present on his last birthday worked for him by his wife on gold-colored morocco and as he had done every day for the last nine years he stretched out his hand without getting up towards the place where his dressing-gown always hung in his bedroom and thereupon he suddenly remembered that he was not sleeping in his wife s room but in his study and why the smile vanished from his face he knitted free ebooks at planet ebook.com 5[close]
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his brows `ah ah ah oo he muttered recalling everything that had happened and again every detail of his quarrel with his wife was present to his imagination all the hopelessness of his position and worst of all his own fault `yes she won t forgive me and she can t forgive me and the most awful thing about it is that it s all my fault all my fault though i m not to blame that s the point of the whole situation he reflected `oh oh oh he kept repeating in despair as he remembered the acutely painful sensations caused him by this quarrel most unpleasant of all was the first minute when on coming happy and good-humored from the theater with a huge pear in his hand for his wife he had not found his wife in the drawing-room to his surprise had not found her in the study either and saw her at last in her bedroom with the unlucky letter that revealed everything in her hand she his dolly forever fussing and worrying over household details and limited in her ideas as he considered was sitting perfectly still with the letter in her hand looking at him with an expression of horror despair and indignation `what s this this she asked pointing to the letter and at this recollection stepan arkadyevitch as is so often the case was not so much annoyed at the fact itself as at the way in which he had met his wife s words there happened to him at that instant what does happen to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very disgraceful he did not succeed in adapting his face to 6 anna karenina[close]
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the position in which he was placed towards his wife by the discovery of his fault instead of being hurt denying defending himself begging forgiveness instead of remaining indifferent even anything would have been better than what he did do his face utterly involuntarily reflex spinal action reflected stepan arkadyevitch who was fond of physiology utterly involuntarily assumed its habitual good-humored and therefore idiotic smile this idiotic smile he could not forgive himself catching sight of that smile dolly shuddered as though at physical pain broke out with her characteristic heat into a flood of cruel words and rushed out of the room since then she had refused to see her husband `it s that idiotic smile that s to blame for it all thought stepan arkadyevitch `but what s to be done what s to be done he said to himself in despair and found no answer free ebooks at planet ebook.com 7[close]
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chapter 2 stepan arkadyevitch was a truthful man in his relations with himself he was incapable of deceiving himself and persuading himself that he repented of his conduct he could not at this date repent of the fact that he a handsome susceptible man of thirty-four was not in love with his wife the mother of five living and two dead children and only a year younger than himself all he repented of was that he had not succeeded better in hiding it from his wife but he felt all the difficulty of his position and was sorry for his wife his children and himself possibly he might have managed to conceal his sins better from his wife if he had anticipated that the knowledge of them would have had such an effect on her he had never clearly thought out the subject but he had vaguely conceived that his wife must long ago have suspected him of being unfaithful to her and shut her eyes to the fact he had even supposed that she a worn-out woman no longer young or good-looking and in no way remarkable or interesting merely a good mother ought from a sense of fairness to take an indulgent view it had turned out quite the other way `oh it s awful oh dear oh dear awful stepan arkadyevitch kept repeating to himself and he could think of nothing to be done `and how well things were going up till now how well we got on she was contented and happy 8 anna karenina[close]
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in her children i never interfered with her in anything i let her manage the children and the house just as she liked it s true it s bad her having been a governess in our house that s bad there s something common vulgar in flirting with one s governess but what a governess he vividly recalled the roguish black eyes of mlle roland and her smile `but after all while she was in the house i kept myself in hand and the worst of it all is that she s already it seems as if ill-luck would have it so oh oh but what what is to be done there was no solution but that universal solution which life gives to all questions even the most complex and insoluble that answer is one must live in the needs of the day that is forget oneself to forget himself in sleep was impossible now at least till nighttime he could not go back now to the music sung by the decanter-women so he must forget himself in the dream of daily life `then we shall see stepan arkadyevitch said to himself and getting up he put on a gray dressing-gown lined with blue silk tied the tassels in a knot and drawing a deep breath of air into his broad bare chest he walked to the window with his usual confident step turning out his feet that carried his full frame so easily he pulled up the blind and rang the bell loudly it was at once answered by the appearance of an old friend his valet matvey carrying his clothes his boots and a telegram matvey was followed by the barber with all the necessaries for shaving `are there any papers from the office asked stepan arkadyevitch taking the telegram and seating himself at free ebooks at planet ebook.com 9[close]
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the looking-glass `on the table replied matvey glancing with inquiring sympathy at his master and after a short pause he added with a sly smile `they ve sent from the carriage-jobbers stepan arkadyevitch made no reply he merely glanced at matvey in the looking-glass in the glance in which their eyes met in the looking-glass it was clear that they understood one another stepan arkadyevitch s eyes asked `why do you tell me that don t you know matvey put his hands in his jacket pockets thrust out one leg and gazed silently good-humoredly with a faint smile at his master `i told them to come on sunday and till then not to trouble you or themselves for nothing he said he had obviously prepared the sentence beforehand stepan arkadyevitch saw matvey wanted to make a joke and attract attention to himself tearing open the telegram he read it through guessing at the words misspelt as they always are in telegrams and his face brightened `matvey my sister anna arkadyevna will be here tomorrow he said checking for a minute the sleek plump hand of the barber cutting a pink path through his long curly whiskers `thank god said matvey showing by this response that he like his master realized the significance of this arrival that is that anna arkadyevna the sister he was so fond of might bring about a reconciliation between husband and wife `alone or with her husband inquired matvey 10 anna karenina[close]
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stepan arkadyevitch could not answer as the barber was at work on his upper lip and he raised one finger matvey nodded at the looking-glass `alone is the room to be got ready upstairs `inform darya alexandrovna where she orders `darya alexandrovna matvey repeated as though in doubt `yes inform her here take the telegram give it to her and then do what she tells you `you want to try it on matvey understood but he only said `yes sir stepan arkadyevitch was already washed and combed and ready to be dressed when matvey stepping deliberately in his creaky boots came back into the room with the telegram in his hand the barber had gone `darya alexandrovna told me to inform you that she is going away let him do that is you do as he likes he said laughing only with his eyes and putting his hands in his pockets he watched his master with his head on one side stepan arkadyevitch was silent a minute then a good-humored and rather pitiful smile showed itself on his handsome face `eh matvey he said shaking his head `it s all right sir she will come round said matvey `come round `yes sir `do you think so who s there asked stepan arkadyevitch hearing the rustle of a woman s dress at the door free ebooks at planet ebook.com 11[close]
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`it s i said a firm pleasant woman s voice and the stern pockmarked face of matrona philimonovna the nurse was thrust in at the doorway `well what is it matrona queried stepan arkadyevitch going up to her at the door although stepan arkadyevitch was completely in the wrong as regards his wife and was conscious of this himself almost every one in the house even the nurse darya alexandrovna s chief ally was on his side `well what now he asked disconsolately `go to her sir own your fault again maybe god will aid you she is suffering so it s sad to hee her and besides everything in the house is topsy-turvy you must have pity sir on the children beg her forgiveness sir there s no help for it one must take the consequences `but she won t see me `you do your part god is merciful pray to god sir pray to god `come that ll do you can go said stepan arkadyevitch blushing suddenly `well now do dress me he turned to matvey and threw off his dressing-gown decisively matvey was already holding up the shirt like a horse s collar and blowing off some invisible speck he slipped it with obvious pleasure over the well-groomed body of his master 12 anna karenina[close]
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chapter 3 when he was dressed stepan arkadyevitch sprinkled some scent on himself pulled down his shirt-cuffs distributed into his pockets his cigarettes pocketbook matches and watch with its double chain and seals and shaking out his handkerchief feeling himself clean fragrant healthy and physically at ease in spite of his unhappiness he walked with a slight swing on each leg into the dining-room where coffee was already waiting for him and beside the coffee letters and papers from the office he read the letters one was very unpleasant from a merchant who was buying a forest on his wife s property to sell this forest was absolutely essential but at present until he was reconciled with his wife the subject could not be discussed the most unpleasant thing of all was that his pecuniary interests should in this way enter into the question of his reconciliation with his wife and the idea that he might be led on by his interests that he might seek a reconciliation with his wife on account of the sale of the forest that idea hurt him when he had finished his letters stepan arkadyevitch moved the office-papers close to him rapidly looked through two pieces of business made a few notes with a big pencil and pushing away the papers turned to his coffee as he sipped his coffee he opened a still damp morning pafree ebooks at planet ebook.com 13[close]
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per and began reading it stepan arkadyevitch took in and read a liberal paper not an extreme one but one advocating the views held by the majority and in spite of the fact that science art and politics had no special interest for him he firmly held those views on all these subjects which were held by the majority and by his paper and he only changed them when the majority changed them or more strictly speaking he did not change them but they imperceptibly changed of themselves within him stepan arkadyevitch had not chosen his political opinions or his views these political opinions and views had come to him of themselves just as he did not choose the shapes of his hat and coat but simply took those that were being worn and for him living in a certain society owing to the need ordinarily developed at years of discretion for some degree of mental activity to have views was just as indispensable as to have a hat if there was a reason for his preferring liberal to conservative views which were held also by many of his circle it arose not from his considering liberalism more rational but from its being in closer accordance with his manner of life the liberal party said that in russia everything is wrong and certainly stepan arkadyevitch had many debts and was decidedly short of money the liberal party said that marriage is an institution quite out of date and that it needs reconstruction and family life certainly afforded stepan arkadyevitch little gratification and forced him into lying and hypocrisy which was so repulsive to his nature the liberal party said 14 anna karenina[close]
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or rather allowed it to be understood that religion is only a curb to keep in check the barbarous classes of the people and stepan arkadyevitch could not get through even a short service without his legs aching from standing up and could never make out what was the object of all the terrible and high-flown language about another world when life might be so very amusing in this world and with all this stepan arkadyevitch who liked a joke was fond of puzzling a plain man by saying that if he prided himself on his origin he ought not to stop at rurik and disown the first founder of his family the monkey and so liberalism had become a habit of stepan arkadyevitch s and he liked his newspaper as he did his cigar after dinner for the slight fog it diffused in his brain he read the leading article in which it was maintained that it was quite senseless in our day to raise an outcry that radicalism was threatening to swallow up all conservative elements and that the government ought to take measures to crush the revolutionary hydra that on the contrary `in our opinion the danger lies not in that fantastic revolutionary hydra but in the obstinacy of traditionalism clogging progress etc etc he read another article too a financial one which alluded to bentham and mill and dropped some innuendoes reflecting on the ministry with his characteristic quickwittedness he caught the drift of each innuendo divined whence it came at whom and on what ground it was aimed and that afforded him as it always did a certain satisfaction but today that satisfaction was embittered by matrona philimonovna s advice and the unsatisfactory state of the household he read too free ebooks at planet ebook.com 15[close]
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