Anna Karenina полностью

When Alexei Alexandrovich appeared at the races, Anna was already sitting in the pavilion beside Betsy, in that pavilion in which all of high society was gathered. She saw her husband from a distance. Two men, husband and lover, were the two centres of life for her, and she felt their nearness without the aid of external senses. She felt her husband’s approach from a distance and involuntarily watched him in the undulating crowd through which he moved. She saw how he came to the pavilion, now condescendingly responding to obsequious bows, now amicably, distractedly greeting his equals, now diligently awaiting a glance from the mighty of the world and raising his big, round hat that pressed down the tops of his ears. She knew all his ways and they were all disgusting to her. ‘Nothing but ambition, nothing but the wish to succeed - that’s all there is in his soul,’ she thought, ‘and lofty considerations, the love of learning, religion, are all just means to success.’

From his glances towards the ladies’ pavilion (he looked straight at his wife, but did not recognize her in that sea of muslin, ribbons, feathers, parasols and flowers), she realized that he was searching for her; but she deliberately ignored him.

‘Alexei Alexandrovich!’ Princess Betsy called to him. ‘You probably don’t see your wife: here she is!’

He smiled his cold smile.

‘There’s so much splendour here, one’s eyes are dazzled,’ he said and went into the pavilion. He smiled to his wife as a husband ought to smile, meeting her after having just seen her, and greeted the princess and other acquaintances, giving each what was due - that is, joking with the ladies and exchanging greetings with the men. Down beside the pavilion stood an adjutant-general whom Alexei Alexandrovich respected, a man known for his intelligence and cultivation. Alexei Alexandrovich began talking with him.

There was a break between races, and therefore nothing hindered the conversation. The adjutant-general condemned races. Alexei Alexandrovich objected, defending them. Anna listened to his high, even voice, not missing a word, and each of his words seemed false to her and grated painfully on her ear.

When the three-mile steeplechase began, she leaned forward and, not taking her eyes off Vronsky, watched him going up to his horse and mounting her, and at the same time listened to her husband’s disgusting, incessant voice. She was tormented by her fear for Vronsky, but tormented still more by the sound of her husband’s high and, as it seemed to her, incessant voice, with its familiar intonations.

‘I’m a bad woman, I’m a ruined woman,’ she thought, ‘but I don’t like to lie, I can’t bear lying, and lying is food for him’ (her husband). ‘He knows everything, he sees everything; what does he feel, then, if he can talk so calmly? If he were to kill me, if he were to kill Vronsky, I would respect him. But no, he needs only lies and propriety,’ Anna said to herself, not thinking of precisely what she wanted from her husband or how she wanted to see him. Nor did she understand that Alexei Alexandrovich’s particular loquacity that day, which so annoyed her, was only the expression of his inner anxiety and uneasiness. As a child who has hurt himself jumps about in order to move his muscles and stifle the pain, so for Alexei Alexandrovich mental movement was necessary in order to stifle those thoughts about his wife, which in her presence and that of Vronsky, and with his name constantly being repeated, clamoured for his attention. And as it is natural for a child to jump, so it was natural for him to speak well and intelligently. He said:

‘The danger in military and cavalry races is a necessary condition of the race. If England in her military history can point to the most brilliant cavalry exploits, it is only thanks to the fact that historically she has developed this strength in animals and people. Sport, in my opinion, has great importance, and, as usual, we see only what is most superficial.’

‘Not so superficial,’ Princess Tverskoy said. ‘They say one officer has broken two ribs.’

Alexei Alexandrovich smiled his smile which only revealed his teeth, but said nothing more.

‘Let’s suppose, Princess, that it is not superficial,’ he said, ‘but internal. But that is not the point,’ and he again turned to the general, with whom he was speaking seriously. ‘Don’t forget that racing is for military men, who have chosen that activity, and you must agree that every vocation has its reverse side of the coin. It’s a military man’s duty. The ugly sport of fist fighting or of the Spanish toreadors is a sign of barbarism. But a specialized sport is a sign of development.’

‘No, I won’t come next time; it upsets me too much,’ said Princess Betsy. ‘Isn’t that so, Anna?’

‘It’s upsetting, but you can’t tear yourself away,’ said another lady. ‘If I’d been a Roman, I wouldn’t have missed a single circus.’

Anna said nothing and looked at one spot without taking her binoculars away.