"anna karenina" in a year - day 1 - part 1, chapter 1
in which stepan fafo
listen:
one sentence summary: stepan oblonsky has fucked up and cheated on his wife and he is feeling all sorts of regrets
my thoughts:
so basically the oblonsky family is falling apart. the patriarch was just outed as having an affair, that’s stepan oblonsky, and his wife, dolly, wants literally nothing to do with him, and honestly? good for her. she refuses to sleep in the same room with him and this chapter starts with him waking up and recounting his dream that doesn’t really make sense, but it is a man just randomly discussing his dream so i don’t think it has to.
then, he remembers what he did. i’ve been there too, like when you totally forget the shitty thing and then when it hits you it’s like a ton of bricks. but it also sounds like he fucked around and found out so my empathy for him is low.
one of the parts that made me laugh is that stepan apparently was confronted while he was holding a HUGE PEAR for his wife??? a pear?? why? and when he gets home holding this giant pear as a gift, his wife is holding the letter from his mistress. MESSY!!!!
i also found the fact that he smiled when confronted with bad news so funny because i do the same thing and it has gotten me into so much trouble. it hurts my heart though when they said it was as if dolly winced in pain?? poor thing. justice for dolly.
my favorite quote(s):
“all happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
“what had happened to him at that moment was what happens to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very shameful. he had not managed to prepare his face for the position he found himself in with regard to his wife now that his guilt had been revealed. instead of being offended, of denying, justifying, asking forgiveness, even remaining indifferent - any of which would have been better than what he did! - his face quite involuntarily (‘reflexes of the brain’, thought Stepan Arkadyich, who liked physiology) smiled all at once its habitual, kinda nd therefore stupid smile.”
questions i have:
was this a one time affair? or a long time thing?
learning extensions:
chat about the reading:
resources:
“anna karenina” by leo tolstoy - translated by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky (this is an affiliate link, i may make money if you decide to use my link to purchase!)