Anna Karenina

Chapter 28
When Alexey Alexandrovitch reached the race-course, Anna was already
sitting in the pavilion beside Betsy, in that pavilion where all the highest
society had gathered. She caught sight of her husband in the distance. Two
men, her husband and her lover, were the two centers of her existence, and
unaided by her external senses she was aware of their nearness. She was
aware of her husband approaching a long way off, and she could not help
following him in the surging crowd in the midst of which he was moving.
She watched his progress towards the pavilion, saw him now responding
condescendingly to an ingratiating bow, now exchanging friendly,
nonchalant greetings with his equals, now assiduously trying to catch the
eye of some great one of this world, and taking off his big round hat that
squeezed the tips of his ears. All these ways of his she knew, and all were
hateful to her. "Nothing but ambition, nothing but the desire to get on, that's
all there is in his soul," she thought; "as for these lofty ideals, love of
culture, religion, they are only so many tools for getting on."
From his glances towards the ladies' pavilion (he was staring straight at her,
but did not distinguish his wife in the sea of muslin, ribbons, feathers,
parasols and flowers) she saw that he was looking for her, but she
purposely avoided noticing him.
"Alexey Alexandrovitch!" Princess Betsy called to him; "I'm sure you don't
see your wife: here she is."
He smiled his chilly smile.
"There's so much splendor here that one's eyes are dazzled," he said, and he
went into the pavilion. He smiled to his wife as a man should smile on
meeting his wife after only just parting from her, and greeted the princess
and other acquaintances, giving to each what was due--that is to say, jesting
with the ladies and dealing out friendly greetings among the men. Below,
near the pavilion, was standing an adjutant-general of whom Alexey
Alexandrovitch had a high opinion, noted for his intelligence and culture.
Alexey Alexandrovitch entered into conversation with him.
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There was an interval between the races, and so nothing hindered
conversation. The adjutant-general expressed his disapproval of races.
Alexey Alexandrovitch replied defending them. Anna heard his high,
measured tones, not losing one word, and every word struck her as false,
and stabbed her ears with pain.
When the three-mile steeplechase was beginning, she bent forward and
gazed with fixed eyes at Vronsky as he went up to his horse and mounted,
and at the same time she heard that loathsome, never-ceasing voice of her
husband. She was in an agony of terror for Vronsky, but a still greater
agony was the never-ceasing, as it seemed to her, stream of her husband's
shrill voice with its familiar intonations.
"I'm a wicked woman, a lost woman," she thought; "but I don't like lying, I
can't endure falsehood, while as for HIM (her husband) it's the breath of his
life--falsehood. He knows all about it, he sees it all; what does he care if he
can talk so calmly? If he were to kill me, if he were to kill Vronsky, I might
respect him. No, all he wants is falsehood and propriety," Anna said to
herself, not considering exactly what it was she wanted of her husband, and
how she would have liked to see him behave. She did not understand either
that Alexey Alexandrovitch's peculiar loquacity that day, so exasperating to
her, was merely the expression of his inward distress and uneasiness. As a
child that has been hurt skips about, putting all his muscles into movement
to drown the pain, in the same way Alexey Alexandrovitch needed mental
exercise to drown the thoughts of his wife that in her presence and in
Vronsky's, and with the continual iteration of his name, would force
themselves on his attention. And it was as natural for him to talk well and
cleverly, as it is natural for a child to skip about. He was saying:
"Danger in the races of officers, of cavalry men, is an essential element in
the race. If England can point to the most brilliant feats of cavalry in
military history, it is simply owing to the fact that she has historically
developed this force both in beasts and in men. Sport has, in my opinion, a
great value, and as is always the case, we see nothing but what is most
superficial."
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"It's not superficial," said Princess Tverskaya. "One of the officers, they
say, has broken two ribs."
Alexey Alexandrovitch smiled his smile, which uncovered his teeth, but
revealed nothing more.
"We'll admit, princess, that that's not superficial," he said, "but internal. But
that's not the point," and he turned again to the general with whom he was
talking seriously; "we mustn't forget that those who are taking part in the
race are military men, who have chosen that career, and one must allow that
every calling has its disagreeable side. It forms an integral part of the duties
of an officer. Low sports, such as prizefighting or Spanish bull-fights, are a
sign of barbarity. But specialized trials of skill are a sign of development."
"No, I shan't come another time; it's too upsetting," said Princess Betsy.
"Isn't it, Anna?"
"It is upsetting, but one can't tear oneself away," said another lady. "If I'd
been a Roman woman I should never have missed a single circus."
Anna said nothing, and keeping her opera glass up, gazed always at the
same spot.
At that moment a tall general walked through the pavilion. Breaking off
what he was saying, Alexey Alexandrovitch got up hurriedly, though with
dignity, and bowed low to the general.
"You're not racing?" the officer asked, chaffing him.
"My race is a harder one," Alexey Alexandrovitch responded deferentially.
And though the answer meant nothing, the general looked as though he had
heard a witty remark from a witty man, and fully relished la pointe de la
sauce.
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"There are two aspects," Alexey Alexandrovitch resumed: "those who take