Summary
The Oblonsky household is in complete chaos. Stepan Arkadyich (Stiva) has been caught cheating on his wife Dolly with their former French governess, and now he's sleeping on the couch in his study while his wife refuses to speak to him. The servants don't know what to do - should they serve dinner? Clean the house? Everything feels upside down when the people in charge can't get their act together. Stiva wakes up from a pleasant dream about dinner parties and champagne, completely disconnected from the reality of what his choices have cost his family. He's the kind of person who lives for pleasure and assumes everything will work out somehow, but his wife and children are paying the price for his selfishness. This opening chapter shows us how one person's betrayal ripples through an entire household - the servants are confused, the children are affected, and Dolly is devastated. Tolstoy is setting up a story about how our personal choices don't just affect us; they impact everyone around us. The contrast between Stiva's carefree attitude and the genuine pain he's caused reveals something important about responsibility and consequences. When we prioritize our own immediate pleasure over our commitments to others, we create chaos that spreads far beyond ourselves. This isn't just about adultery - it's about how some people float through life expecting others to clean up their messes while they chase the next good time.
Coming Up in Chapter 2
Stiva tries to figure out how to fix things with Dolly, but his approach reveals just how little he understands about the damage he's done. Meanwhile, we're about to meet someone whose arrival will change everything for this family.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This position of affairs had now lasted three days, and not only the husband and wife themselves, but all the members of their family and household, were painfully conscious of it. Every person in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that the stray people brought together by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys. The wife did not leave her own room, the husband had not been at home for three days. The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her; the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time; the kitchen-maid, and the coachman had given warning. Three days after the quarrel, Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky—Stiva, as he was called in the fashionable world—woke up at his usual hour, that is, at eight o’clock in the morning, not in his wife’s bedroom, but on the leather-covered sofa in his study. He turned over his stout, well-cared-for person on the springy sofa, as though he would sink into a long sleep again; he vigorously embraced the pillow on the other side and buried his face in it; but all at once he jumped up, sat up on the sofa, and opened his eyes. “Yes, yes, how was it now?” he thought, going over his dream. “Now, how was it? To be sure! Alabin was giving a dinner at Darmstadt; no, not Darmstadt, but something American. Yes, but then, Darmstadt was in America. Yes, Alabin was giving a dinner on glass tables, and the tables sang, _Il mio tesoro_—not _Il mio tesoro_ though, but something better, and there were some sort of little decanters on the table, and they were women, too,” he remembered. Stepan Arkadyevitch’s eyes twinkled gaily, and he pondered with a smile. “Yes, it was nice, very nice. There was a great deal more that was delightful, only there’s no putting it into words, or even expressing it in one’s thoughts awake.” And noticing a gleam of light peeping in beside one of the serge curtains, he cheerfully dropped his feet over the edge of the sofa, and felt about with them for his slippers, a present on his last birthday, worked for him by his wife on gold-colored morocco. And, as he had done every day for the last nine years, he stretched out his hand, without getting up, towards the place where...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Ripple Damage - How One Person's Chaos Spreads
When someone in a position of trust prioritizes immediate pleasure over responsibility, the resulting chaos spreads through everyone who depends on them.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when someone in authority is creating chaos that others must absorb.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone's personal problems start affecting your work environment—watch how the instability spreads and who gets stuck cleaning up the mess.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Governess
A live-in teacher hired by wealthy families to educate their children at home, usually a young woman from a lower social class. In 19th century Russia, French governesses were especially prized as status symbols. They lived in an awkward position - above the servants but below the family.
Modern Usage:
Think of today's live-in nannies or au pairs who become part of the household but aren't really family
Liberal (1870s context)
In Tolstoy's time, this meant someone who supported gradual social reforms and Western ideas, as opposed to traditional Russian values. Stiva considers himself progressive and modern, but it's mostly surface-level - he likes the idea of being enlightened without doing the hard work.
Modern Usage:
Like people today who call themselves progressive but don't actually change their behavior to match their stated values
Drawing room
A formal sitting room where wealthy families received guests and conducted social business. It was separate from private family spaces and represented the family's public face. The state of the drawing room reflected the household's stability.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how we maintain our living rooms or entryways to look perfect for visitors while the rest of the house might be chaos
Domestic upheaval
When a household's normal routine completely breaks down due to family conflict or crisis. In aristocratic homes, this affected everyone from family members to servants, who depended on clear hierarchy and routine to function.
Modern Usage:
Like when parents are going through a messy divorce and the kids don't know whose rules to follow or what's happening next
Social propriety
The unwritten rules about how people of different classes and genders were supposed to behave in public and private. Breaking these rules brought shame not just on individuals but on entire families.
Modern Usage:
Today's version might be maintaining appearances on social media or in your neighborhood while your personal life falls apart
Characters in This Chapter
Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky (Stiva)
Protagonist of this opening crisis
A charming but irresponsible man who has destroyed his family's peace through an affair. He wakes up from pleasant dreams completely disconnected from the pain he's caused, showing his ability to compartmentalize and avoid facing consequences.
Modern Equivalent:
The fun dad who's great at parties but terrible at paying bills or keeping promises
Darya Alexandrovna (Dolly)
The betrayed wife
Though we don't see her directly in this chapter, her presence dominates through her absence and refusal to speak to Stiva. Her reaction has thrown the entire household into chaos, showing the power of a woman's withdrawal of cooperation.
Modern Equivalent:
The wife who stops doing all the emotional labor that keeps the family running
Matvei
The loyal valet
Stiva's personal servant who knows all his secrets but maintains professional discretion. He represents the working people who have to navigate their employers' personal dramas while still doing their jobs.
Modern Equivalent:
The assistant who has to cover for their boss's personal problems while pretending everything is normal
Key Quotes & Analysis
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Context: The famous opening line that sets up the entire novel's exploration of family dysfunction
This line suggests that happiness follows predictable patterns - love, respect, stability - while misery comes in countless varieties. Tolstoy is preparing us to examine the specific ways this family has fallen apart.
In Today's Words:
Healthy families all do the same basic things right, but every messed-up family is messed up differently
"Stepan Arkadyich could not think of his wife without remorse."
Context: As Stiva wakes up and reality starts to penetrate his pleasant dreams
Despite his selfish behavior, Stiva isn't completely heartless - he knows he's hurt Dolly. But his remorse is shallow and self-focused rather than leading to real change or accountability.
In Today's Words:
He felt bad about what he'd done to his wife, but not bad enough to actually do anything about it
"He could not believe that he, a handsome, susceptible man of thirty-four, was not in love with his wife, the mother of five living and two dead children."
Context: Stiva trying to rationalize his affair and his feelings
This reveals Stiva's fundamental selfishness - he thinks his attractiveness entitles him to passion, and he can't understand why marriage and responsibility should limit his desires. He sees his wife as a role rather than a person.
In Today's Words:
He couldn't understand why being married to someone who'd had his kids should stop him from wanting excitement with other women
Thematic Threads
Responsibility
In This Chapter
Stiva's betrayal creates household chaos affecting servants, wife, and children
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
When you're in charge at work or home, your personal problems become everyone else's work problems.
Class
In This Chapter
Servants must navigate their employers' personal drama to keep their jobs
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
Your job security often depends on your boss's personal stability, whether that's fair or not.
Consequences
In This Chapter
Stiva enjoys pleasant dreams while his family deals with the fallout of his actions
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
Some people create messes they never have to clean up because others always step in to handle the damage.
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
The household structure breaks down when the head of family violates marriage norms
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
When someone breaks the unspoken rules everyone was counting on, it leaves everyone else scrambling to figure out what's expected now.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why are the servants confused about what to do in the Oblonsky house, and what does this tell us about how one person's actions affect everyone around them?
analysis • surface - 2
Stiva wakes up thinking about pleasant dinner parties while his wife won't speak to him. What does this contrast reveal about how some people handle the consequences of their actions?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about workplaces, families, or friend groups you know. Where have you seen one person's irresponsible behavior create chaos for everyone else who depends on them?
application • medium - 4
If you were Dolly's friend or one of the confused servants, how would you protect your own stability while this family drama plays out around you?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter suggest about the difference between people who take responsibility for their impact on others versus those who expect others to clean up their messes?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Ripple Effects
Draw or list all the people affected by Stiva's affair in this chapter - from his wife to the servants to the children. Next to each person, write how his actions specifically impact their daily life. Then think of a real situation where one person's irresponsible behavior created problems for multiple others. Map out those ripple effects too.
Consider:
- •Notice how the person causing the problem is often the most insulated from its effects
- •Pay attention to who has to work harder or feel more stress because of someone else's choices
- •Consider how people in support roles (like servants, assistants, or family members) often bear the hidden costs
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone else's irresponsible behavior created chaos in your life. How did you handle it? What would you do differently now that you can recognize this pattern?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 2
The coming pages reveal key events and character development in this chapter, and teach us thematic elements and literary techniques. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.