“ The only happy marriages I know are marriages of prudence. ”
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877). copy citation
| Author | Leo Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Source | Anna Karenina |
| Topic | marriage prudence |
| Date | 1877 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1399/1399-h/1399-h.htm |
Context
“Can one talk of love in these days?» said the ambassador's wife.
«What's to be done? It's a foolish old fashion that's kept up still,» said Vronsky.
«So much the worse for those who keep up the fashion. The only happy marriages I know are marriages of prudence.»
«Yes, but then how often the happiness of these prudent marriages flies away like dust just because that passion turns up that they have refused to recognize,» said Vronsky.
«But by marriages of prudence we mean those in which both parties have sown their wild oats already.” source
«What's to be done? It's a foolish old fashion that's kept up still,» said Vronsky.
«So much the worse for those who keep up the fashion. The only happy marriages I know are marriages of prudence.»
«Yes, but then how often the happiness of these prudent marriages flies away like dust just because that passion turns up that they have refused to recognize,» said Vronsky.
«But by marriages of prudence we mean those in which both parties have sown their wild oats already.” source
Meaning and analysis
