Part Four: Chapter 1

by Leo Tolstoy

　　The Karenins, husband and wife, continued living in the samehouse, met every day, but were complete strangers to one another.Alexey Alexandrovitch made it a rule to see his wife every day,so that the servants might have no grounds for suppositions, butavoided dining at home. Vronsky was never at AlexeyAlexandrovitch's house, but Anna saw him away from home, and herhusband was aware of it.

　　The position was one of misery for all three; and not one of themwould have been equal to enduring this position for a single day,if it had not been for the expectation that it would change, thatit was merely a temporary painful ordeal which would pass over.Alexey Alexandrovitch hoped that this passion would pass, aseverything does pass, that everyone would forget about it, andhis name would remain unsullied. Anna, on whom the positiondepended, and for whom it was more miserable than for anyone,endured it because she not merely hoped, but firmly believed,that it would all very soon be settled and come right. She hadnot the least idea what would settle the position, but she firmlybelieved that something would very soon turn up now. Vronsky,against his own will or wishes, followed her lead, hoped too thatsomething, apart from his own action, would be sure to solve alldifficulties.

　　In the middle of the winter Vronsky spent a very tiresome week.A foreign prince, who had come on a visit to Petersburg, was putunder his charge, and he had to show him the sights worth seeing.Vronsky was of distinguished appearance; he possessed, moreover,the art of behaving with respectful dignity, and was used tohaving to do with such grand personages--that was how he came tobe put in charge of the prince. But he felt his duties veryirksome. The prince was anxious to miss nothing of which hewould be asked at home, had he seen that in Russia? And on hisown account he was anxious to enjoy to the utmost all Russianforms of amusement. Vronsky was obliged to be his guide insatisfying both these inclinations. The mornings they spentdriving to look at places of interest; the evenings they passedenjoying the national entertainments. The prince rejoiced inhealth exceptional even among princes. By gymnastics and carefulattention to his health he had brought himself to such a pointthat in spite of his excess in pleasure he looked as fresh as abig glossy green Dutch cucumber. The prince had traveled a greatdeal, and considered one of the chief advantages of modernfacilities of communication was the accessibility of thepleasures of all nations.

　　He had been in Spain, and there had indulged in serenades and hadmade friends with a Spanish girl who played the mandolin. InSwitzerland he had killed chamois. In England he had galloped ina red coat over hedges and killed two hundred pheasants for abet. In Turkey he had got into a harem; in India he had huntedon an elephant, and now in Russia he wished to taste all thespecially Russian forms of pleasure.

　　Vronsky, who was, as it were, chief master of the ceremonies tohim, was at great pains to arrange all the Russian amusementssuggested by various persons to the prince. They had racehorses, and Russian pancakes and bear hunts and three-horsesledges, and gypsies and drinking feasts, with the Russianaccompaniment of broken crockery. And the prince with surprisingease fell in with the Russian spirit, smashed trays full ofcrockery, sat with a gypsy girl on his knee, and seemed to beasking--what more, and does the whole Russian spirit consist injust this?

　　In reality, of all the Russian entertainments the prince likedbest French actresses and ballet dancers and white-sealchampagne. Vronsky was used to princes, but, either because hehad himself changed of late, or that he was in too closeproximity to the prince, that week seemed fearfully wearisome tohim. The whole of that week he experienced a sensation such as aman might have set in charge of a dangerous madman, afraid of themadman, and at the same time, from being with him, fearing forhis own reason. Vronsky was continually conscious of thenecessity of never for a second relaxing the tone of sternofficial respectfulness, that he might not himself be insulted.The prince's manner of treating the very people who, to Vronsky'ssurprise, were ready to descend to any depths to provide him withRussian amusements, was contemptuous. His criticisms of Russianwomen, whom he wished to study, more than once made Vronskycrimson with indignation. The chief reason why the prince was soparticularly disagreeable to Vronsky was that he could not helpseeing himself in him. And what he saw in this mirror did notgratify his self-esteem. He was a very stupid and veryself-satisfied and very healthy and very well-washed man, andnothing else. He was a gentleman--that was true, and Vronskycould not deny it. He was equable and not cringing with hissuperiors, was free and ingratiating in his behavior with hisequals, and was contemptuously indulgent with his inferiors.Vronsky was himself the same, and regarded it as a great merit tobe so. But for this prince he was an inferior, and hiscontemptuous and indulgent attitude to him revolted him.

　　"Brainless beef! can I be like that?" he thought.

　　Be that as it might, when, on the seventh day, he parted from the

　　prince, who was starting for Moscow, and received his thanks, hewas happy to be rid of his uncomfortable position and theunpleasant reflection of himself. He said good-bye to him at thestation on their return from a bear hunt, at which they had had adisplay of Russian prowess kept up all night.