graf Leo Tolstoy

“ At the end of August Liza gave birth to a beautiful, healthy daughter, and her confinement was unexpectedly easy.
In September they returned home, the four of them, including the baby and its wet-nurse, as Liza was unable to nurse it herself. Eugene returned home entirely free from the former horrors and quite a new and happy man. Having gone through all that a husband goes through when his wife bears a child, he loved his wife more than ever. His feeling for the child when he took it in his arms, was a funny, new, very pleasant and, as it were, a tickling feeling. ”

“ It is impossible," said Eugene to himself, frowning and waving his hand as though to get rid of a fly, displeased at having noticed her. He was vexed that he had noticed her and yet he could not take his eyes from her strong body, swayed by the agile strides of her bare feet, or from her arms, shoulders, and the pleasing folds of her shirt and handsome skirt, tucked up high above her white calves. ”

“ And indeed Eugene at once understood that Mary Pavlovna was hinting at his relations with Stepanida which had ended in the previous autumn; and that she attributed much more importance to those relations than they deserved, as single women always do. Eugene blushed, and not from shame so much as from vexation that good-natured Mary Pavlovna was bothering—out of affection no doubt—but still was bothering about matters that were not her business and that she did not and could not understand. ”

“ What a house-cleaning Liza has undertaken! . . . Phosphates justify. . . . What a manageress she is! A manageress! Yes, a manageress," said he to himself, vividly imagining her in her white wrapper and with her smiling joyful face, as it nearly always was when he looked at her. "Yes, I must change my boots, or else 'phosphates justify,' that is, smell of manure, and the manageress is in such a condition. Why 'in such a condition'? Because a new little Irtenev is growing there inside her," he thought. ”

“ Before dinner Liza came to him and, still wondering what could be the cause of his discontent, began to say that she was afraid that he did not like the idea of her going to Moscow for her confinement, and that she had decided that she would remain at home and would on no account go to Moscow. He knew how she feared both her confinement itself and the risk of not having a healthy child, and therefore he could not help being touched at seeing how ready she was to sacrifice everything for his sake. ”

“ That she should know that I have exchanged her for a peasant-woman, that I am a deceiver and a scoundrel!—No, that is too terrible! It is impossible. But it might happen," he went on thinking,—"it might happen that Liza might fall ill and die. Die, and then everything would be capital.
"Capital! Oh, scoundrel! No, if someone must die it should be she. If she, Stepanida, were to die, how good it would be.
"Yes, that is how men come to poison or kill their wives or lovers. Take a revolver and go and call her, and instead of embracing her, shoot her in the breast and have done with it. ”

“ Things quite foreign to her—concerning the farming, the factory, or the appraisement of others, she immediately understood so that she could not merely converse with him, but could often, as he himself said, be a useful and irreplaceable counsellor. She regarded affairs and people, and everything in the world, only through his eyes. She loved her mother, but having seen that Eugene disliked his mother-in-law's interference in their life she immediately took her husband's side, and did so with such decision that he had to restrain her. ”

“ While still in the Institute, when she was fifteen, Liza used continually to fall in love with all attractive men and was animated and happy only when she was in love. After leaving the Institute she continued to fall in love, in just the same way, with all the young men she met, and of course fell in love with Eugene as soon as she made his acquaintance. It was this being in love which gave her eyes that particular expression which so captivated Eugene. ”

“ From the time I had her I experienced a new feeling, the real feeling of a husband. Yes, I ought to have lived with her.
"One of two lives is possible for me: that which I began with Liza: service, estate management, the child, and people's respect. If that is life, it is necessary that she, Stepanida, should not be there. She must be sent away, as I said, or destroyed so that she shall not exist. And the other life—is this. For me to take her away from her husband, pay him money, disregard the shame and disgrace, and live with her. ”

“ The herdsman went out.
"Do you know," began Eugene, flushing and conscious that he was doing so, "do you know, Vasili Nikolaich, while I was a bachelor I went off the track a bit. . . . You may have heard . . ."
Vasili Nikolaich with smiling eyes and evidently sorry for his master, said: "Is it about Stepanida?"
"Why, yes. Look here. Please, please do not engage her to help in the house. You understand, it is very awkward for me . . ."
"Yes, it must have been Vanya, the clerk, who arranged it."
"Yes, please. . . . Well, and hadn't the rest of the phosphates better be strewn?" ”

“ Eugene shouted to Varvara Alexeevna not to hurry, and that he would carry Liza home. Varvara Alexeevna stopped and began to shout still louder.
"You will drop her, you'll be sure to drop her. You want to destroy her. You have no conscience!" ”

“ Eugene was standing at the time by the bed and Liza was looking at him, and one of her moist hands outside the coverlet caught his hand and pressed it. "Bear with her for my sake. You know she cannot prevent our loving one another," was what her look said.
"I won't do so again. It's nothing," whispered he, and he kissed her damp, long hand and then her affectionate eyes, which closed while he kissed them.
"Can it be the same thing over again?" he asked. "How are you feeling?" ”

“ With her husband's help she did get up, but immediately turned pale, and her face showed fear.
"Yes, I am not well," and she whispered something to her mother.
"Oh, my God, what have you done! I said you ought not to go there,"—cried Varvara Alexeevna. "Wait,—I will call the servants. She must not walk. She must be carried!"
"Don't be afraid, Liza, I will carry you," said Eugene, putting his left arm round her. "Hold me by the neck. Like that." And stooping down he put his right arm under her knees and lifted her. ”

“ And he certainly knows, for he is the leading physician and we pay him a hundred rubles a visit. My late husband did not believe in doctors, but he did not grudge me anything."
"How can a man grudge anything to a woman when perhaps her life and the child's depend . . ."
"Yes, when she has means, a wife need not depend on her husband. A good wife submits to her husband," said Varvara Alexeevna,—"only Liza is too weak after her illness." ”

“ A creditor who would have refused another, trusted him. The clerk, the village Elder, or a peasant, who would have played a dirty trick and cheated someone else, forgot to deceive under the pleasant impression of intercourse with this kindly, agreeable, and above all candid man.
It was the end of May. Eugene had somehow managed, in town, to get the vacant land freed from the mortgage, so as to sell it to a merchant, and had borrowed money from that same merchant to replenish his stock, that is to say, to procure horses, bulls, carts and, chiefly, to begin to build a necessary farm-house. ”

“ She was walking, holding down the shawl in which her head and shoulders were wrapped.
"Where are you going?" said he, not recognizing her the first instant. When he recognized her it was already too late. She stopped, smiling, and looked long at him.
"I am looking for a calf. Where are you off to in such weather?" said she, as if she were seeing him every day.
"Come to the shed," said he suddenly, without knowing how he said it. ”

“ Eugene's position was particularly hard because his mother, who was living with him, did not at all realize his position. She had been so accustomed all her life long to live extravagantly that she could not even imagine to herself the position her son was in, that is to say, that to-day or to-morrow matters might shape themselves so that they would have nothing left, and he would have to sell everything, and live and support his mother on what salary he could earn, which at the very most would be 2,000 rubles. ”

“ To escape from debts was impossible. An outlying part of the estate was sold and the most pressing obligations met, but others remained, and he had no money. The estate yielded a good revenue, but he had had to send payments to his brother, and to spend on his own marriage, so that there was no ready money and the factory could not carry on and would have to be closed down. The only way of escape was to use his wife's money. Liza, having realized her husband's position, insisted on this herself. Eugene agreed, but only on condition that he should give her a mortgage on half his estate ”

“ One reason was that she was not a very rich heiress such as his mother sought for him, another that she was naïve and to be pitied in her relations with her mother, then there was the fact that she was not a beauty who attracted general attention to herself, but yet was not bad looking. The chief reason was that his acquaintance with her began at the time when Eugene was ripe for marriage. He fell in love because he knew that he would marry.
Liza Annenskaya was at first merely pleasing to Eugene, but when he decided to make her his wife, his feelings for her became much stronger. ”

“ Next day Eugene drove about to see to the farming which he had been neglecting. At the outlying farmstead a new thrashing machine was at work. While watching it Eugene stepped among the women, trying not to take notice of them; but try as he would he once or twice noticed the black eyes and red kerchief of Stepanida, who was carrying away the straw. ”

“ I will go out, walk about and think things over."
He went to the entrance-hall, put on his overcoat and went out on to the porch. Unconsciously his steps took him past the garden along the field path to the outlying farmstead. There the thrashing machine was still droning and the cries of the driver-lads were heard. He entered the barn. She was there. He saw her at once. She was raking up the corn, and on seeing him she, with laughing eyes, ran briskly and merrily over the scattered corn, raking it up with agility. Eugene could not help watching her though he did not wish it. ”

“ The moral effort he had made to overcome his shame and speak to Vasili Nikolaich, tranquillized Eugene. It seemed to him that the matter was all over now. Liza at once noticed that he was quite calm, and even happier than usual. "No doubt he was upset by our mothers pin-pricking one another. It really is disagreeable, especially for him who is so sensitive and noble, always to hear such unfriendly and ill-mannered insinuations," thought she. ”

“ As usual there was a bright, many-coloured ring of young women and girls, the centre of everything, and around these from different sides like attendant planets that had detached themselves and were circling round, went girls hand in hand, rustling in their new print gowns; young lads giggling and running backwards and forwards after one another; full-grown lads in dark blue or black coats and caps and with red shirts, who unceasingly spat out sunflower-seed shells ”

“ But a neighbouring landed-proprietor who had done business with old Irtenev, that is to say, who had promissory notes from him and had come to Petersburg on that account, said that in spite of the debts they could straighten out affairs so as to retain a large fortune—it would only be necessary to sell the forest and some outlying land, retaining the rich Semënov estate with 4,000 desyatinas of black-earth, the sugar-factory, and 200 desyatinas of water-meadows—if one devoted oneself to the management and, settling on the estate, farmed it wisely and economically. ”

“ The weather was beautiful, and the peasant-women, according to custom, on their way into the woods to plait wreaths, came to the landowner's home and began to sing and dance. Mary Pavlovna and Varvara Alexeevna came out on to the porch in smart clothes, carrying sunshades, and went up to the ring of singers. With them, in a jacket of Chinese silk, came out the uncle, a flabby libertine and drunkard, who was living that summer with Eugene. ”

“ Not only might Eugene not love anyone—because there was not a woman on earth worthy of him (as to whether she herself was worthy or not, she never asked herself) ,—but not a single woman might, therefore, dare to love him.
VIII
They lived thus: he rose, as he always had done, early, and went to see to the farm or the factory, where work was going on, or sometimes to the fields. Towards ten o'clock he would come back to his coffee: they had it on the verandah, Mary Pavlovna, an uncle who lived with them, and Liza. ”

“ So he arranged matters and, having settled down with his mother in the big house, ardently and yet cautiously began managing the estate.
It is generally supposed that Conservatives are usually old people, and those in favour of change are the young. That is not quite correct. The most usual Conservatives are young people: those who want to live but who do not think, and have not time to think, about how to live and who therefore take as a model for themselves a way of life that they have seen.
Thus it was with Eugene. ”

“ Eugene by great efforts managed to keep up the garden and the conservatory with two gardeners, and the stables with two coachmen. And Mary Pavlovna naïvely thought that she was sacrificing herself for her son and doing all a mother could do, by not complaining of the food which the old man-cook prepared, of the fact that the paths in the park were not all swept clean, and that instead of footmen they had only a boy. ”

“ When in Kreutzer Sonata and in The Devil he expressed the views he held, Tolstoy was consciously opposing the current of life around him, and these works also run counter to the movement of our own society to-day. That however does not detract from the value of the work. The belief that ill-results follow from the indulgence of the sexual instincts is not an obsolete eccentricity but a belief held by many men in many ages, and it receives sufficient confirmation from experience to make it certain that it is a view which has to be reckoned with. ”