And by the look in those eyes he concluded that she understood it as he did. But that was not so; she had almost no understanding of the words of the service and did not even listen during the betrothal. She was unable to hear and understand them: so strong was the one feeling that filled her soul and was growing stronger and stronger. That feeling was the joy of the complete fulfilment of that which had already been accomplished in her soul a month and a half ago and throughout all those six weeks had caused her joy and torment. On that day when, in her brown dress, in the reception room of their house on the Arbat, she had silently gone up to him and given herself to him - in her soul on that day and hour there was accomplished a total break with her entire former life, and there began a completely different, new life, totally unknown to her, while in reality the old one had gone on. Those six weeks had been a most blissful and tormenting time for her. All her life, all her desires and hopes were concentrated on this one man, still incomprehensible to her, with whom she was united by some feeling still more incomprehensible than the man himself, now drawing her to him, now repulsing her, and all the while she went on living in the circumstances of her former life. Living her old life, she was horrified at herself, at her total, insuperable indifference to her entire past: to things, to habits, to people who had loved and still loved her, to her mother, who was upset by this indifference, to her dear, tender father, whom she had once loved more than anyone in the world. First she would be horrified at this indifference, then she would rejoice over what had brought her to it. She could neither think nor desire anything outside her life with this man; but this new life had not begun yet, and she could not even picture it clearly to herself. There was nothing but expectation - the fear and joy of the new and unknown. And now the expectation, and the unknownness, and remorse at the renouncing of her former life - all this was about to end, and the new was to begin. This new could not help being frightening; but, frightening or not, it had already been accomplished six weeks earlier in her soul; now was merely the sanctifying of what had long ago been performed.
Turning back to the lectern, the priest took hold of Kitty’s small ring with some difficulty and, asking for Levin’s hand, placed it on the first joint of his finger. ‘The servant of God, Konstantin, is betrothed to the handmaid of God, Ekaterina.’ And, putting the big ring on Kitty’s small, pink, pathetically frail finger, the priest repeated the same thing.
Several times the betrothed couple tried to guess what they had to do, and each time they were mistaken, and the priest corrected them in a whisper. Finally, having done what was necessary, having crossed them with the rings, he again gave Kitty the big one and Levin the little one; again they became confused and twice handed the rings back and forth, still without doing what was required.
Dolly, Chirikov and Stepan Arkadyich stepped forward to correct them. The result was perplexity, whispers and smiles, which did not alter the solemnly tender expression on the faces of the couple; on the contrary, while they confused their hands, their look was more serious and solemn than before, and the smile with which Stepan Arkadyich whispered that each of them should now put on the proper ring, involuntarily froze on his lips. He had the feeling that any smile would offend them.
‘For thou, in the beginning, didst make them male and female,’ the priest was reading, following the exchange of rings, ‘and by thee is the woman joined unto the man as a helpmeet and for the procreation of the human race. Wherefore, O Lord our God, who has sent forth thy truth upon thine inheritance, and thy covenant unto thy servants our fathers, even thine elect, from generation to generation: look thou upon thy servant, Konstantin, and upon thy handmaid, Ekaterina, and establish their betrothal in faith, and in oneness of mind, in truth, and in love ...’13
Levin felt more and more that all his thoughts about marriage, all his dreams of how he would arrange his life, were mere childishness, and that it was something he had not understood before, and now understood still less, though it was being accomplished over him; spasms were rising higher and higher in his breast, and disobedient tears were coming to his eyes.
V
All Moscow, family and acquaintances, was in the church. And during the rite of betrothal, in the brilliant illumination of the church, among the decked-out women, girls, and men in white ties, tailcoats and uniforms, the talk went on unceasingly in decently low tones, initiated mainly by the men, while the women were absorbed in watching all the details of the sacred ritual, which they always find so moving.
