An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1051 words)
fter the ball, early next morning, Anna Arkadyevna sent her husband a
telegram that she was leaving Moscow the same day.
“No, I must go, I must go”; she explained to her sister-in-law the
change in her plans in a tone that suggested that she had to remember
so many things that there was no enumerating them: “no, it had really
better be today!”
Stepan Arkadyevitch was not dining at home, but he promised to come and
see his sister off at seven o’clock.
Kitty, too, did not come, sending a note that she had a headache. Dolly
and Anna dined alone with the children and the English governess.
Whether it was that the children were fickle, or that they had acute
senses, and felt that Anna was quite different that day from what she
had been when they had taken such a fancy to her, that she was not now
interested in them,—but they had abruptly dropped their play with their
aunt, and their love for her, and were quite indifferent that she was
going away. Anna was absorbed the whole morning in preparations for her
departure. She wrote notes to her Moscow acquaintances, put down her
accounts, and packed. Altogether Dolly fancied she was not in a placid
state of mind, but in that worried mood, which Dolly knew well with
herself, and which does not come without cause, and for the most part
covers dissatisfaction with self. After dinner, Anna went up to her
room to dress, and Dolly followed her.
“How queer you are today!” Dolly said to her.
“I? Do you think so? I’m not queer, but I’m nasty. I am like that
sometimes. I keep feeling as if I could cry. It’s very stupid, but
it’ll pass off,” said Anna quickly, and she bent her flushed face over
a tiny bag in which she was packing a nightcap and some cambric
handkerchiefs. Her eyes were particularly bright, and were continually
swimming with tears. “In the same way I didn’t want to leave
Petersburg, and now I don’t want to go away from here.”
“You came here and did a good deed,” said Dolly, looking intently at
her.
Anna looked at her with eyes wet with tears.
“Don’t say that, Dolly. I’ve done nothing, and could do nothing. I
often wonder why people are all in league to spoil me. What have I
done, and what could I do? In your heart there was found love enough to
forgive....”
“If it had not been for you, God knows what would have happened! How
happy you are, Anna!” said Dolly. “Everything is clear and good in your
heart.”
“Every heart has its own skeletons, as the English say.”
“You have no sort of skeleton, have you? Everything is so clear in
you.”
“I have!” said Anna suddenly, and, unexpectedly after her tears, a sly,
ironical smile curved her lips.
“Come, he’s amusing, anyway, your skeleton, and not depressing,” said
Dolly, smiling.
“No, he’s depressing. Do you know why I’m going today instead of
tomorrow? It’s a confession that weighs on me; I want to make it to
you,” said Anna, letting herself drop definitely into an armchair, and
looking straight into Dolly’s face.
And to her surprise Dolly saw that Anna was blushing up to her ears, up
to the curly black ringlets on her neck.
“Yes,” Anna went on. “Do you know why Kitty didn’t come to dinner?
She’s jealous of me. I have spoiled ... I’ve been the cause of that
ball being a torture to her instead of a pleasure. But truly, truly,
it’s not my fault, or only my fault a little bit,” she said, daintily
drawling the words “a little bit.”
“Oh, how like Stiva you said that!” said Dolly, laughing.
Anna was hurt.
“Oh no, oh no! I’m not Stiva,” she said, knitting her brows. “That’s
why I’m telling you, just because I could never let myself doubt myself
for an instant,” said Anna.
But at the very moment she was uttering the words, she felt that they
were not true. She was not merely doubting herself, she felt emotion at
the thought of Vronsky, and was going away sooner than she had meant,
simply to avoid meeting him.
“Yes, Stiva told me you danced the mazurka with him, and that he....”
“You can’t imagine how absurdly it all came about. I only meant to be
matchmaking, and all at once it turned out quite differently. Possibly
against my own will....”
She crimsoned and stopped.
“Oh, they feel it directly?” said Dolly.
“But I should be in despair if there were anything serious in it on his
side,” Anna interrupted her. “And I am certain it will all be
forgotten, and Kitty will leave off hating me.”
“All the same, Anna, to tell you the truth, I’m not very anxious for
this marriage for Kitty. And it’s better it should come to nothing, if
he, Vronsky, is capable of falling in love with you in a single day.”
“Oh, heavens, that would be too silly!” said Anna, and again a deep
flush of pleasure came out on her face, when she heard the idea, that
absorbed her, put into words. “And so here I am going away, having made
an enemy of Kitty, whom I liked so much! Ah, how sweet she is! But
you’ll make it right, Dolly? Eh?”
Dolly could scarcely suppress a smile. She loved Anna, but she enjoyed
seeing that she too had her weaknesses.
“An enemy? That can’t be.”
“I did so want you all to care for me, as I do for you, and now I care
for you more than ever,” said Anna, with tears in her eyes. “Ah, how
silly I am today!”
She passed her handkerchief over her face and began dressing.
At the very moment of starting Stepan Arkadyevitch arrived, late, rosy
and good-humored, smelling of wine and cigars.
Anna’s emotionalism infected Dolly, and when she embraced her
sister-in-law for the last time, she whispered: “Remember, Anna, what
you’ve done for me—I shall never forget. And remember that I love you,
and shall always love you as my dearest friend!”
“I don’t know why,” said Anna, kissing her and hiding her tears.
“You understood me, and you understand. Good-bye, my darling!”
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
The process of rationalizing destructive choices as noble or necessary, preventing recognition of cumulative damage.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when someone uses noble-sounding explanations to justify destructive behavior.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you or others frame giving up as 'being real' or 'rejecting fake standards' - ask what concrete positive action the person is taking instead.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The sight of his brother and the nearness of death revived in Levin that sense of horror in face of the enigma, as well as the nearness and inevitability of death, that had come upon him that autumn evening when his brother had come to him."
Context: When Levin first sees how deteriorated Nikolai has become
This shows how seeing someone you love in decline forces you to confront your own mortality and life choices. Levin realizes this could be his future if he doesn't find meaning and direction.
In Today's Words:
Seeing his brother like this scared the hell out of him and made him think about his own life and where he was heading.
"He felt that he was himself, and did not want to be anyone else."
Context: Levin's internal reaction to his brother's defensive explanations
Despite his own struggles with purpose, Levin recognizes he doesn't want to become like Nikolai. This moment of clarity helps him understand what he values about his own life and choices.
In Today's Words:
Whatever his problems were, at least he wasn't this mess, and he didn't want to be.
"You think I'm a lost man. But I'm not lost to myself."
Context: Nikolai defending his lifestyle choices to his judgmental brother
Shows Nikolai's desperate attempt to maintain dignity and self-respect despite obvious degradation. His defensiveness reveals he knows how others see him but refuses to admit complete defeat.
In Today's Words:
Everyone thinks I'm a total screw-up, but I know who I am and I'm okay with it.
Thematic Threads
Family Loyalty
In This Chapter
Levin struggles between love for his brother and revulsion at Nikolai's choices
Development
Introduced here as a new dimension of Levin's character testing
In Your Life:
You might feel this tension when a family member makes choices that hurt themselves and strain your relationship
Class
In This Chapter
Nikolai has deliberately abandoned his class position, living with a former prostitute in squalor
Development
Continues the exploration of class boundaries and their consequences
In Your Life:
You see this when someone from your background 'moves up' or 'moves down' and becomes almost unrecognizable
Moral Judgment
In This Chapter
Levin cannot hide his horror and disgust despite wanting to be supportive
Development
Introduced here as a conflict between compassion and standards
In Your Life:
You face this dilemma when someone you care about makes choices you find morally repugnant
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
The encounter forces Levin to examine his own path and potential for similar destruction
Development
Continues Levin's journey of self-examination through external mirrors
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when seeing someone's mistakes makes you question your own life choices
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Nikolai has completely rejected social norms while Levin still operates within them
Development
Contrasts different responses to social pressure explored throughout the novel
In Your Life:
You see this tension between conforming to expectations and living authentically in your daily decisions
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific changes does Levin notice in his brother Nikolai, and how does Nikolai justify his current lifestyle?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Nikolai frame his decline as intellectual honesty and social rebellion rather than acknowledging he might have made poor choices?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using noble-sounding reasons to justify choices that are actually harming them or their relationships?
application • medium - 4
How would you respond if someone you cared about was clearly on a destructive path but insisted they were making principled choices?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how we protect ourselves from seeing uncomfortable truths about our own decisions?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Justification Stories
Think of a habit, relationship, or situation in your life that you know isn't working well but that you keep defending or explaining away. Write down the story you tell yourself about why this situation is actually okay, necessary, or even noble. Then rewrite that same situation from the perspective of someone who cares about you and wants you to succeed.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between explaining and justifying
- •Pay attention to how you frame yourself as the victim or hero in your story
- •Consider whether your justifications are preventing you from making changes
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you recognized that a story you were telling yourself was keeping you stuck. What helped you see through your own justifications, and what did you do differently afterward?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 29
Levin tries to navigate the awkward dinner with Nikolai and Masha, but the evening takes an unexpected turn when old family wounds are reopened. The conversation becomes increasingly heated as the brothers confront their different philosophies about how to live.
