An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 911 words)
he little princess lay supported by pillows, with a white cap on her
head (the pains had just left her). Strands of her black hair lay round
her inflamed and perspiring cheeks, her charming rosy mouth with its
downy lip was open and she was smiling joyfully. Prince Andrew entered
and paused facing her at the foot of the sofa on which she was lying.
Her glittering eyes, filled with childlike fear and excitement, rested
on him without changing their expression. “I love you all and have
done no harm to anyone; why must I suffer so? Help me!” her look
seemed to say. She saw her husband, but did not realize the significance
of his appearance before her now. Prince Andrew went round the sofa and
kissed her forehead.
“My darling!” he said—a word he had never used to her before.
“God is merciful....”
She looked at him inquiringly and with childlike reproach.
“I expected help from you and I get none, none from you either!”
said her eyes. She was not surprised at his having come; she did
not realize that he had come. His coming had nothing to do with
her sufferings or with their relief. The pangs began again and Mary
Bogdánovna advised Prince Andrew to leave the room.
The doctor entered. Prince Andrew went out and, meeting Princess Mary,
again joined her. They began talking in whispers, but their talk broke
off at every moment. They waited and listened.
“Go, dear,” said Princess Mary.
Prince Andrew went again to his wife and sat waiting in the room next
to hers. A woman came from the bedroom with a frightened face and became
confused when she saw Prince Andrew. He covered his face with his hands
and remained so for some minutes. Piteous, helpless, animal moans came
through the door. Prince Andrew got up, went to the door, and tried to
open it. Someone was holding it shut.
“You can’t come in! You can’t!” said a terrified voice from
within.
He began pacing the room. The screaming ceased, and a few more seconds
went by. Then suddenly a terrible shriek—it could not be hers, she
could not scream like that—came from the bedroom. Prince Andrew ran to
the door; the scream ceased and he heard the wail of an infant.
“What have they taken a baby in there for?” thought Prince Andrew in
the first second. “A baby? What baby...? Why is there a baby there? Or
is the baby born?”
Then suddenly he realized the joyful significance of that wail; tears
choked him, and leaning his elbows on the window sill he began to cry,
sobbing like a child. The door opened. The doctor with his shirt sleeves
tucked up, without a coat, pale and with a trembling jaw, came out
of the room. Prince Andrew turned to him, but the doctor gave him a
bewildered look and passed by without a word. A woman rushed out and
seeing Prince Andrew stopped, hesitating on the threshold. He went into
his wife’s room. She was lying dead, in the same position he had seen
her in five minutes before and, despite the fixed eyes and the pallor of
the cheeks, the same expression was on her charming childlike face with
its upper lip covered with tiny black hair.
“I love you all, and have done no harm to anyone; and what have you
done to me?”—said her charming, pathetic, dead face.
In a corner of the room something red and tiny gave a grunt and squealed
in Mary Bogdánovna’s trembling white hands.
Two hours later Prince Andrew, stepping softly, went into his father’s
room. The old man already knew everything. He was standing close to
the door and as soon as it opened his rough old arms closed like a vise
round his son’s neck, and without a word he began to sob like a child.
Three days later the little princess was buried, and Prince Andrew went
up the steps to where the coffin stood, to give her the farewell kiss.
And there in the coffin was the same face, though with closed eyes.
“Ah, what have you done to me?” it still seemed to say, and Prince
Andrew felt that something gave way in his soul and that he was guilty
of a sin he could neither remedy nor forget. He could not weep. The
old man too came up and kissed the waxen little hands that lay quietly
crossed one on the other on her breast, and to him, too, her face seemed
to say: “Ah, what have you done to me, and why?” And at the sight
the old man turned angrily away.
Another five days passed, and then the young Prince Nicholas Andréevich
was baptized. The wet nurse supported the coverlet with her chin, while
the priest with a goose feather anointed the boy’s little red and
wrinkled soles and palms.
His grandfather, who was his godfather, trembling and afraid of dropping
him, carried the infant round the battered tin font and handed him over
to the godmother, Princess Mary. Prince Andrew sat in another room,
faint with fear lest the baby should be drowned in the font, and awaited
the termination of the ceremony. He looked up joyfully at the baby when
the nurse brought it to him and nodded approval when she told him that
the wax with the baby’s hair had not sunk in the font but had floated.
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
The psychological trap of feeling responsible for tragic outcomes beyond our actual control.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to separate actual responsibility from the guilt that grief creates to make sense of senseless loss.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you blame yourself for outcomes you couldn't control - ask 'What did I actually have power over in this situation?'
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I love you all and have done no harm to anyone; why must I suffer so? Help me!"
Context: The little princess is dying in childbirth, her eyes pleading for help that no one can give
This captures the universal human confusion when bad things happen to good people. Her innocent question reveals how unprepared we are for life's random cruelties, especially when we've tried to do everything right.
In Today's Words:
I've been good - why is this happening to me? Someone please make it stop.
"My darling! - a word he had never used to her before"
Context: Prince Andrew speaks tenderly to his dying wife for the first time in their marriage
Tragedy often brings out the love we were too proud or afraid to show before. His first genuine endearment comes when it's too late, highlighting how we often withhold affection until crisis forces honesty.
In Today's Words:
All the sweet words he never said came pouring out when he was about to lose her forever.
"What have you done to me?"
Context: Her final look that haunts both Prince Andrew and the old prince after her death
This accusatory expression represents the guilt that survivors carry. Even though Prince Andrew couldn't prevent her death, he feels responsible for her suffering, showing how grief distorts our sense of responsibility.
In Today's Words:
This is your fault - you did this to me.
Thematic Threads
Guilt
In This Chapter
Prince Andrew tormented by his wife's dying expression, feeling responsible for her death despite having no control over childbirth complications
Development
Introduced here as a central psychological force that will shape Andrew's character
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when blaming yourself for outcomes you couldn't actually prevent or control.
Death
In This Chapter
The little princess dies in childbirth, her final expression haunting both her husband and father-in-law
Development
Death appears as an arbitrary force that destroys lives regardless of social status or preparation
In Your Life:
You see this when loss strikes suddenly, leaving you questioning everything you thought you knew about safety and control.
Fatherhood
In This Chapter
Prince Andrew becomes a father and loses his wife simultaneously, while the old prince grieves his daughter-in-law
Development
Explores how men process grief and responsibility across generations
In Your Life:
You might see this in how fathers carry guilt differently than mothers, often internalizing blame for family tragedies.
Legacy
In This Chapter
Baby Nicholas represents both hope and terror - new life shadowed by the cost of his existence
Development
Introduced as the complex burden of continuing life after loss
In Your Life:
You recognize this when new beginnings are forever marked by what was sacrificed to achieve them.
Helplessness
In This Chapter
Despite wealth and status, no one can save the little princess from childbirth complications
Development
Reinforces that some forces transcend social class and human control
In Your Life:
You feel this when money, connections, or effort can't solve the problem that matters most to you.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific expression on his wife's face haunts Prince Andrew, and why does it affect him so deeply?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Prince Andrew feel guilty about his wife's death even though he didn't cause it?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this kind of survivor's guilt in modern situations - when people blame themselves for outcomes they couldn't control?
application • medium - 4
How would you help someone distinguish between actual responsibility and misplaced guilt after a tragedy?
application • deep - 5
What does Prince Andrew's reaction teach us about how guilt can transform love into torment?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Guilt vs. Responsibility
Think of a time when you felt guilty about something that went wrong. Draw two columns: 'What I Actually Controlled' and 'What I Couldn't Control.' Be brutally honest about which column each factor belongs in. This exercise helps you separate real responsibility from survivor's guilt.
Consider:
- •Consider whether you had the information, resources, or power to change the outcome
- •Think about whether a reasonable person in your position could have prevented it
- •Notice if you're holding yourself to impossible standards that you wouldn't apply to others
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you carried guilt that wasn't really yours to carry. How did that misplaced guilt affect your relationships and decisions? What would you tell your past self about that situation now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 78: When Mothers Make Excuses for Bad Men
With a new baby to raise and overwhelming guilt to carry, Prince Andrew must figure out how to move forward. The weight of his wife's death will reshape everything he thought he knew about love, duty, and what it means to be a father.
