Part One: Chapter 11

by Leo Tolstoy

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

　　"There's one other thing I ought to tell you. Do you knowVronsky?" Stepan Arkadyevitch asked Levin.

　　"No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

　　"Give us another bottle," Stepan Arkadyevitch directed the Tatar,who was filling up their glasses and fidgeting round them justwhen he was not wanted.

　　"Why you ought to know Vronsky is that he's one of your rivals."

　　"Who's Vronsky?" said Levin, and his face was suddenlytransformed from the look of childlike ecstasy which Oblonsky hadjust been admiring to an angry and unpleasant expression.

　　"Vronsky is one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovitch Vronsky,and one of the finest specimens of the gilded youth ofPetersburg. I made his acquaintance in Tver when I was there onofficial business, and he came there for the levy of recruits.Fearfully rich, handsome, great connections, an aide-de-camp, andwith all that a very nice, good-natured fellow. But he's morethan simply a good-natured fellow, as I've found out here--he'sa cultivated man, too, and very intelligent; he's a man who'llmake his mark."

　　Levin scowled and was dumb.

　　"Well, he turned up here soon after you'd gone, and as I can see,he's over head and ears in love with Kitty, and you know that hermother..."

　　"Excuse me, but I know nothing," said Levin, frowning gloomily.And immediately he recollected his brother Nikolay and howhateful he was to have been able to forget him.

　　"You wait a bit, wait a bit," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, smilingand touching his hand. "I've told you what I know, and I repeatthat in this delicate and tender matter, as far as one canconjecture, I believe the chances are in your favor."

　　Levin dropped back in his chair; his face was pale.

　　"But I would advise you to settle the thing as soon as may be,"pursued Oblonsky, filling up his glass.

　　"No, thanks, I can't drink any more," said Levin, pushing awayhis glass. "I shall be drunk.... Come, tell me how are yougetting on?" he went on, obviously anxious to change theconversation.

　　"One word more: in any case I advise you to settle the questionsoon. Tonight I don't advise you to speak," said StepanArkadyevitch. "Go round tomorrow morning, make an offer in dueform, and God bless you..."

　　"Oh, do you still think of coming to me for some shooting? Comenext spring, do," said Levin.

　　Now his whole soul was full of remorse that he had begun thisconversation with Stepan Arkadyevitch. A feeling such as his wasprefaced by talk of the rivalry of some Petersburg officer, ofthe suppositions and the counsels of Stepan Arkadyevitch.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch smiled. He knew what was passing in Levin'ssoul.

　　"I'll come some day," he said. "But women, my boy, they're thepivot everything turns upon. Things are in a bad way with me,very bad. And it's all through women. Tell me frankly now," hepursued, picking up a cigar and keeping one hand on his glass;"give me your advice."

　　"Why, what is it?"

　　"I'll tell you. Suppose you're married, you love your wife, butyou're fascinated by another woman..."

　　"Excuse me, but I'm absolutely unable to comprehend how...just asI can't comprehend how I could now, after my dinner, go straightto a baker's shop and steal a roll."

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch's eyes sparkled more than usual.

　　"Why not? A roll will sometimes smell so good one can't resistit."

　　"Himmlisch ist's, wenn ich bezwungen Meine irdische Begier; Aber doch wenn's nich gelungen Hatt' ich auch recht huebsch Plaisir!"As he said this, Stepan Arkadyevitch smiled subtly. Levin, too,could not help smiling.

　　"Yes, but joking apart," resumed Stepan Arkadyevitch, "you mustunderstand that the woman is a sweet, gentle loving creature,poor and lonely, and has sacrificed everything. Now, when thething's done, don't you see, can one possibly cast her off? Evensupposing one parts from her, so as not to break up one's familylife, still, can one help feeling for her, setting her on herfeet, softening her lot?"

　　"Well, you must excuse me there. You know to me all women aredivided into two classes...at least no...truer to say: there arewomen and there are...I've never seen exquisite fallen beings,and I never shall see them, but such creatures as that paintedFrenchwoman at the counter with the ringlets are vermin to mymind, and all fallen women are the same."

　　"But the Magdalen?"

　　"Ah, drop that! Christ would never have said those words if Hehad known how they would be abused. Of all the Gospel thosewords are the only ones remembered. However, I'm not saying somuch what I think, as what I feel. I have a loathing for fallenwomen. You're afraid of spiders, and I of these vermin. Mostlikely you've not made a study of spiders and don't know theircharacter; and so it is with me."

　　"It's very well for you to talk like that; it's very much likethat gentleman in Dickens who used to fling all difficultquestions over his right shoulder. But to deny the facts is noanswer. What's to be done--you tell me that, what's to be done?Your wife gets older, while you're full of life. Before you'vetime to look round, you feel that you can't love your wife withlove, however much you may esteem her. And then all at once loveturns up, and you're done for, done for," Stepan Arkadyevitchsaid with weary despair.

　　Levin half smiled.

　　"Yes, you're done for," resumed Oblonsky. "But what's to bedone?"

　　"Don't steal rolls."

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch laughed outright.

　　"Oh, moralist! But you must understand, there are two women; oneinsists only on her rights, and those rights are your love, whichyou can't give her; and the other sacrifices everything for youand asks for nothing. What are you to do? How are you to act?There's a fearful tragedy in it."

　　"If you care for my profession of faith as regards that, I'lltell you that I don't believe there was any tragedy about it.And this is why. To my mind, love...both the sorts of love,which you remember Plato defines in his Banquet, served as thetest of men. Some men only understand one sort, and some onlythe other. And those who only know the non-platonic love have noneed to talk of tragedy. In such love there can be no sort oftragedy. 'I'm much obliged for the gratification, my humblerespects'--that's all the tragedy. And in platonic love therecan be no tragedy, because in that love all is clear and pure,because..."

　　At that instant Levin recollected his own sins and the innerconflict he had lived through. And he added unexpectedly:

　　"But perhaps you are right. Very likely...I don't know, I don'tknow."

　　"It's this, don't you see," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, "you'revery much all of a piece. That's your strong point and yourfailing. You have a character that's all of a piece, and youwant the whole of life to be of a piece too--but that's not howit is. You despise public official work because you want thereality to be invariably corresponding all the while with theaim--and that's not how it is. You want a man's work, too,always to have a defined aim, and love and family life always tobe undivided--and that's not how it is. All the variety, all thecharm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow."

　　Levin sighed and made no reply. He was thinking of his ownaffairs, and did not hear Oblonsky.

　　And suddenly both of them felt that though they were friends,though they had been dining and drinking together, which shouldhave drawn them closer, yet each was thinking only of his ownaffairs, and they had nothing to do with one another. Oblonskyhad more than once experienced this extreme sense of aloofness,instead of intimacy, coming on after dinner, and he knew what todo in such cases.

　　"Bill!" he called, and he went into the next room where hepromptly came across and aide-de-camp of his acquaintance anddropped into conversation with him about an actress and herprotector. And at once in the conversation with the aide-de-campOblonsky had a sense of relaxation and relief after theconversation with Levin, which always put him to too great amental and spiritual strain.

　　When the Tatar appeared with a bill for twenty-six roubles andodd kopecks, besides a tip for himself, Levin, who would anothertime have been horrified, like any one from the country, at hisshare of fourteen roubles, did not notice it, paid, and set offhomewards to dress and go to the Shtcherbatskys' there to decidehis fate.