They had just come back from Moscow, and were glad to be alone. He was sitting at the writing table in his study, writing. She, wearing the dark lilac dress she had worn during the first days of their married life, and put on again today, a dress particularly remembered and loved by him, was sitting on the sofa, the same old-fashioned leather sofa which had always stood in the study in Levin's father's and grandfather's days. She was sewing at broderie anglaise. He thought and wrote, never losing the happy consciousness of her presence. His work, both on the land and on the book, in which the principles of the new land system were to be laid down, had not been abandoned; but just as formerly1 these pursuits and ideas had seemed to him petty and trivial in comparison with the darkness that overspread all life, now they seemed as unimportant and petty in comparison with the life that lay before him suffused2 with the brilliant light of happiness. He went on with his work, but he felt now that the center of gravity of his attention had passed to something else, and that consequently he looked at his work quite differently and more clearly. Formerly this work had been for him an escape from life. Formerly he had felt that without this work his life would be too gloomy. Now these pursuits were necessary for him that life might not be too uniformly bright. Taking up his manuscript, reading through what he had written, he found with pleasure that the work was worth his working at. Many of his old ideas seemed to him superfluous4 and extreme, but many blanks became distinct to him when he reviewed the whole thing in his memory. He was writing now a new chapter on the causes of the present disastrous5 condition of agriculture in Russia. He maintained that the poverty of Russia arises not merely from the anomalous6 distribution of landed property and misdirected reforms, but that what had contributed of late years to this result was the civilization from without abnormally grafted7 upon Russia, especially facilities of communication, as railways, leading to centralization in towns, the development of luxury, and the consequent development of manufactures, credit and its accompaniment of speculation--all to the detriment8 of agriculture. It seemed to him that in a normal development of wealth in a state all these phenomena9 would arise only when a considerable amount of labor10 had been put into agriculture, when it had come under regular, or at least definite, conditions; that the wealth of a country ought to increase proportionally, and especially in such a way that other sources of wealth should not outstrip11 agriculture; that in harmony with a certain stage of agriculture there should be means of communication corresponding to it, and that in our unsettled condition of the land, railways, called into being by political and not by economic needs, were premature12, and instead of promoting agriculture, as was expected of them, they were competing with agriculture and promoting the development of manufactures and credit, and so arresting its progress; and that just as the one-sided and premature development of one organ in an animal would hinder its general development, so in the general development of wealth in Russia, credit, facilities of communication, manufacturing activity, indubitably necessary in Europe, where they had arisen in their proper time, had with us only done harm, by throwing into the background the chief question calling for settlement--the question of the organization of agriculture.
While he was writing his ideas she was thinking how unnaturally13 cordial her husband had been to young Prince Tcharsky, who had, with great want of tact15, flirted16 with her the day before they left Moscow. "He's jealous," she thought. "Goodness! how sweet and silly he is! He's jealous of me! If he knew that I think no more of them than of Piotr the cook," she thought, looking at his head and red neck with a feeling of possession strange to herself. "Though it's a pity to take him from his work (but he has plenty of time!), I must look at his face; will he feel I'm looking at him? I wish he'd turn round...I'll WILL him to!" and she opened her eyes wide, as though to intensify17 the influence of her gaze.
"Yes, they draw away all the sap and give a false appearance of prosperity," he muttered, stopping to write, and, feeling that she was looking at him and smiling, he looked round.
"Well?" he queried18, smiling, and getting up.
"He looked round," she thought.
"It's nothing; I wanted you to look round," she said, watching him, and trying to guess whether he was vexed19 at being interrupted or not.
"How happy we are alone together!--I am, that is," he said, going up to her with a radiant smile of happiness.
"I'm just as happy. I'll never go anywhere, especially not to Moscow."
"And what were you thinking about?"
"I? I was thinking.... No, no, go along, go on writing; don't break off," she said, pursing up her lips, "and I must cut out these little holes now, do you see?"
She took up her scissors and began cutting them out.
"No; tell me, what was it?" he said, sitting down beside her and watching the tiny scissors moving round.
"Oh! what was I thinking about? I was thinking about Moscow, about the back of your head."
"Why should I, of all people, have such happiness! It's unnatural14, too good," he said, kissing her hand.
"I feel quite the opposite; the better things are, the more natural it seems to me."
"And you've got a little curl loose," he said, carefully turning her head round.
"A little curl, oh yes. No, no, we are busy at our work!"
Work did not progress further, and they darted20 apart from one another like culprits when Kouzma came in to announce that tea was ready.
"Have they come from the town?" Levin asked Kouzma.
"They've just come; they're unpacking21 the things."
"Come quickly," she said to him as she went out of the study, "or else I shall read your letters without you."
Left alone, after putting his manuscripts together in the new portfolio22 bought by her, he washed his hands at the new washstand with the elegant fittings, that had all made their appearance with her. Levin smiled at his own thoughts, and shook his head disapprovingly23 at those thoughts; a feeling akin3 to remorse24 fretted25 him. There was something shameful26, effeminate, Capuan, as he called it to himself, in his present mode of life. "It's not right to go on like this," he thought. "It'll soon be three months, and I'm doing next to nothing. Today, almost for the first time, I set to work seriously, and what happened? I did nothing but begin and throw it aside. Even my ordinary pursuits I have almost given up. On the land I scarcely walk or drive about at all to look after things. Either I am loath27 to leave her, or I see she's dull alone. And I used to think that, before marriage, life was nothing much, somehow didn't count, but that after marriage, life began in earnest. And here almost three months have passed, and I have spent my time so idly and unprofitably. No, this won't do; I must begin. Of course, it's not her fault. She's not to blame in any way. I ought myself to be firmer, to maintain my masculine independence of action; or else I shall get into such ways, and she'll get used to them too.... Of course she's not to blame," he told himself.
But it is hard for anyone who is dissatisfied not to blame someone else, and especially the person nearest of all to him, for the ground of his dissatisfaction. And it vaguely28 came into Levin's mind that she herself was not to blame (she could not be to blame for anything), but what was to blame was her education, too superficial and frivolous29. ("That fool Tcharsky: she wanted, I know, to stop him, but didn't know how to.") "Yes, apart from her interest in the house (that she has), apart from dress and broderie anglaise, she has no serious interests. No interest in her work, in the estate, in the peasants, nor in music, though she's rather good at it, nor in reading. She does nothing, and is perfectly30 satisfied." Levin, in his heart, censured31 this, and did not as yet understand that she was preparing for that period of activity which was to come for her when she would at once be the wife of her husband and mistress of the house, and would bear, and nurse, and bring up children. He knew not that she was instinctively32 aware of this, and preparing herself for this time of terrible toil33, did not reproach herself for the moments of carelessness and happiness in her love that she enjoyed now while gaily34 building her nest for the future.
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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anomalous
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| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
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grafted
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| 移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 )； 嫁接； 使（思想、制度等）成为（…的一部份）； 植根 | |
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detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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outstrip
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| v.超过，跑过 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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portfolio
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| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
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disapprovingly
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| adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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31
censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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34
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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