Page 476 - the-idiot

compassion. She did not feel this in Aglaya’s case, though
the latter was her idol. It may be said that these outbursts
and epithets, such as ‘wet hen ‘(in which the maternal so-
licitude usually showed itself), only made Alexandra laugh.
Sometimes the most trivial thing annoyed Mrs. Epanchin,
and drove her into a frenzy. For instance, Alexandra Iva-
novna liked to sleep late, and was always dreaming, though
her dreams had the peculiarity of being as innocent and
naive as those of a child of seven; and the very innocence of
her dreams annoyed her mother. Once she dreamt of nine
hens, and this was the cause of quite a serious quarrel—no
one knew why. Another time she had—it was most unusu-
al—a dream with a spark of originality in it. She dreamt of a
monk in a dark room, into which she was too frightened to
go. Adelaida and Aglaya rushed off with shrieks of laughter
to relate this to their mother, but she was quite angry, and
said her daughters were all fools.
‘H’m! she is as stupid as a fool! A veritable ‘wet hen’! Noth-
ing excites her; and yet she is not happy; some days it makes
one miserable only to look at her! Why is she unhappy, I
wonder?’ At times Lizabetha Prokofievna put this question
to her husband, and as usual she spoke in the threatening
tone of one who demands an immediate answer. Ivan Fedo-
rovitch would frown, shrug his shoulders, and at last give
his opinion: ‘She needs a husband!’
‘God forbid that he should share your ideas, Ivan Fedoro-
vitch!’ his wife flashed back. ‘Or that he should be as gross
and churlish as you!’
The general promptly made his escape, and Lizabetha