Part 6. Chapter 25.

Vronsky and Anna spent the whole summer and part of the winter in the country, living in just the same condition, and still taking no steps to obtain a divorce. It was an understood thing between them that they should not go away anywhere; but both felt, the longer they lived alone, especially in the autumn, without guests in the house, that they could not stand this existence, and that they would have to alter it. Il était entendu entre eux qu'ils ne devaient partir nulle part; mais tous deux sentaient, plus ils vivaient seuls, surtout à l'automne, sans invités dans la maison, qu'ils ne pourraient pas supporter cette existence, et qu'il faudrait la modifier.

Their life was apparently such that nothing better could be desired. Leur vie était apparemment telle que rien de mieux ne pouvait être souhaité. They had the fullest abundance of everything; they had a child, and both had occupation. Jie turėjo visą gausą visko; jie turėjo vaiką ir abu turėjo užsiėmimą. Anna devoted just as much care to her appearance when they had no visitors, and she did a great deal of reading, both of novels and of what serious literature was in fashion. |devoted||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| She ordered all the books that were praised in the foreign papers and reviews she received, and read them with that concentrated attention which is only given to what is read in seclusion. Elle a commandé tous les livres qui ont été loués dans les journaux et les critiques étrangers qu'elle a reçus, et les a lus avec cette attention concentrée qui n'est donnée qu'à ce qui est lu dans l'isolement. Moreover, every subject that was of interest to Vronsky, she studied in books and special journals, so that he often went straight to her with questions relating to agriculture or architecture, sometimes even with questions relating to horse-breeding or sport. De plus, tous les sujets qui intéressaient Vronsky, elle étudiait dans des livres et des revues spéciales, de sorte qu'il allait souvent directement vers elle avec des questions relatives à l'agriculture ou à l'architecture, parfois même avec des questions relatives à l'élevage ou au sport. He was amazed at her knowledge, her memory, and at first was disposed to doubt it, to ask for confirmation of her facts; and she would find what he asked for in some book, and show it to him. Il fut étonné de sa connaissance, de sa mémoire, et fut d'abord disposé à en douter, à demander confirmation de ses faits; et elle trouverait ce qu'il demandait dans un livre et le lui montrerait.

The building of the hospital, too, interested her. She did not merely assist, but planned and suggested a great deal herself. But her chief thought was still of herself—how far she was dear to Vronsky, how far she could make up to him for all he had given up. Mais sa principale pensée était encore d'elle-même - jusqu'où elle était chère à Vronsky, jusqu'où elle pouvait se rattraper pour tout ce qu'il avait abandonné. Vronsky appreciated this desire not only to please, but to serve him, which had become the sole aim of her existence, but at the same time he wearied of the loving snares in which she tried to hold him fast. Vronsky appréciait ce désir non seulement de plaire, mais de le servir, qui était devenu le seul but de son existence, mais en même temps il se lassait des pièges aimants dans lesquels elle essayait de le retenir. As time went on, and he saw himself more and more often held fast in these snares, he had an ever growing desire, not so much to escape from them, as to try whether they hindered his freedom. Au fur et à mesure que le temps passait, et qu'il se voyait de plus en plus souvent tenu dans ces pièges, il avait un désir toujours grandissant, non pas tant d'y échapper, que d'essayer de savoir s'ils entravaient sa liberté. Had it not been for this growing desire to be free, not to have scenes every time he wanted to go to the town to a meeting or a race, Vronsky would have been perfectly satisfied with his life. The rôle he had taken up, the rôle of a wealthy landowner, one of that class which ought to be the very heart of the Russian aristocracy, was entirely to his taste; and now, after spending six months in that character, he derived even greater satisfaction from it. Le rôle qu'il avait pris, le rôle d'un riche propriétaire terrien, de cette classe qui devait être le cœur même de l'aristocratie russe, était entièrement de son goût; et maintenant, après avoir passé six mois dans ce personnage, il en tirait une satisfaction encore plus grande. And his management of his estate, which occupied and absorbed him more and more, was most successful. In spite of the immense sums cost him by the hospital, by machinery, by cows ordered from Switzerland, and many other things, he was convinced that he was not wasting, but increasing his substance. Malgré les sommes immenses que lui coûtaient l'hôpital, les machines, les vaches commandées à la Suisse, et bien d'autres choses, il était convaincu qu'il ne gaspillait pas, mais qu'il augmentait sa substance. In all matters affecting income, the sales of timber, wheat, and wool, the letting of lands, Vronsky was hard as a rock, and knew well how to keep up prices. Dans tous les domaines touchant les revenus, les ventes de bois, de blé et de laine, la location des terres, Vronsky était dur comme un roc et savait bien maintenir les prix. In all operations on a large scale on this and his other estates, he kept to the simplest methods involving no risk, and in trifling details he was careful and exacting to an extreme degree. Dans toutes les opérations à grande échelle sur ce domaine et sur ses autres domaines, il s'en tenait aux méthodes les plus simples n'impliquant aucun risque et, dans les moindres détails, il était prudent et exigeant à un degré extrême. In spite of all the cunning and ingenuity of the German steward, who would try to tempt him into purchases by making his original estimate always far larger than really required, and then representing to Vronsky that he might get the thing cheaper, and so make a profit, Vronsky did not give in. Malgré toute la ruse et l'ingéniosité de l'intendant allemand, qui essaierait de le tenter de faire des achats en rendant son estimation initiale toujours beaucoup plus grande que ce qui était vraiment nécessaire, puis en représentant à Vronsky qu'il pourrait obtenir la chose moins chère, et ainsi faire un profit, Vronsky n'a pas cédé. He listened to his steward, cross-examined him, and only agreed to his suggestions when the implement to be ordered or constructed was the very newest, not yet known in Russia, and likely to excite wonder. Il a écouté son intendant, l'a contre-interrogé et n'a accepté ses suggestions que lorsque l'instrument à commander ou à construire était le plus récent, pas encore connu en Russie, et susceptible de susciter l'émerveillement. Apart from such exceptions, he resolved upon an increased outlay only where there was a surplus, and in making such an outlay he went into the minutest details, and insisted on getting the very best for his money; so that by the method on which he managed his affairs, it was clear that he was not wasting, but increasing his substance. En dehors de ces exceptions, il résolut de n'augmenter sa dépense que là où il y avait un surplus, et en faisant une telle dépense, il entra dans les moindres détails et insista pour obtenir le meilleur pour son argent; de sorte que par la méthode avec laquelle il dirigeait ses affaires, il était clair qu'il ne gaspillait pas, mais augmentait sa substance.

In October there were the provincial elections in the Kashinsky province, where were the estates of Vronsky, Sviazhsky, Koznishev, Oblonsky, and a small part of Levin's land. These elections were attracting public attention from several circumstances connected with them, and also from the people taking part in them. There had been a great deal of talk about them, and great preparations were being made for them. Persons who never attended the elections were coming from Moscow, from Petersburg, and from abroad to attend these. Vronsky had long before promised Sviazhsky to go to them. Before the elections Sviazhsky, who often visited Vozdvizhenskoe, drove over to fetch Vronsky. On the day before there had been almost a quarrel between Vronsky and Anna over this proposed expedition. It was the very dullest autumn weather, which is so dreary in the country, and so, preparing himself for a struggle, Vronsky, with a hard and cold expression, informed Anna of his departure as he had never spoken to her before. But, to his surprise, Anna accepted the information with great composure, and merely asked when he would be back. ||||||||||composure|||||||| Mais, à sa grande surprise, Anna a accepté l'information avec beaucoup de sang-froid et a simplement demandé quand il serait de retour. He looked intently at her, at a loss to explain this composure. ||intently||||||||| Il la regarda attentivement, incapable d'expliquer ce calme. She smiled at his look. He knew that way she had of withdrawing into herself, and knew that it only happened when she had determined upon something without letting him know her plans. He was afraid of this; but he was so anxious to avoid a scene that he kept up appearances, and half sincerely believed in what he longed to believe in—her reasonableness. Il en avait peur; mais il tenait tellement à éviter une scène qu'il gardait les apparences et croyait à moitié sincèrement à ce en quoi il aspirait à croire: son caractère raisonnable.

"I hope you won't be dull?" "J'espère que vous ne serez pas ennuyeux?" "I hope not," said Anna. "I got a box of books yesterday from Gautier's. No, I shan't be dull." "She's trying to take that tone, and so much the better," he thought, "or else it would be the same thing over and over again." "Elle essaie de prendre ce ton, et tant mieux," pensa-t-il, "sinon ce serait la même chose encore et encore." And he set off for the elections without appealing to her for a candid explanation. ||||||||appealing|||||| Et il est parti pour les élections sans lui demander une explication franche. It was the first time since the beginning of their intimacy that he had parted from her without a full explanation. ||||||||||intimacy|||||||||| From one point of view this troubled him, but on the other side he felt that it was better so. "At first there will be, as this time, something undefined kept back, and then she will get used to it. «Au début, il y aura, comme cette fois, quelque chose d'indéfini retenu, puis elle s'y habituera. In any case I can give up anything for her, but not my masculine independence," he thought. |||||||||||||masculine|||