“ I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command me to disappear, and I disappear. You shall not see me if my presence is distasteful to you. ”
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877). copy citation
| Author | Leo Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Source | Anna Karenina |
| Topic | suffering hope |
| Date | 1877 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1399/1399-h/1399-h.htm |
Context
“«Friends we shall never be, you know that yourself. Whether we shall be the happiest or the wretchedest of people—that's in your hands.»
She would have said something, but he interrupted her.
«I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command me to disappear, and I disappear. You shall not see me if my presence is distasteful to you.»
«I don't want to drive you away.»
«Only don't change anything, leave everything as it is,» he said in a shaky voice. «Here's your husband.»
At that instant Alexey Alexandrovitch did in fact walk into the room with his calm, awkward gait.” source
She would have said something, but he interrupted her.
«I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command me to disappear, and I disappear. You shall not see me if my presence is distasteful to you.»
«I don't want to drive you away.»
«Only don't change anything, leave everything as it is,» he said in a shaky voice. «Here's your husband.»
At that instant Alexey Alexandrovitch did in fact walk into the room with his calm, awkward gait.” source
Meaning and analysis
