Page 746 - the-idiot

family name—all this looks well, and perpetuates the name
and title and all that— which at this moment is not stand-
ing so high as it might—from one point of view—don’t you
know? The world, the world is the world, of course—and
people will talk—and—and—the prince has property, you
know—if it is not very large—and then he—he—‘ (Contin-
ued silence, and collapse of the general.)
Hearing these words from her husband, Lizabetha Pro-
kofievna was driven beside herself.
According to her opinion, the whole thing had been
one huge, fantastical, absurd, unpardonable mistake. ‘First
of all, this prince is an idiot, and, secondly, he is a fool—
knows nothing of the world, and has no place in it. Whom
can he be shown to? Where can you take him to? What will
old Bielokonski say? We never thought of such a husband as
THAT for our Aglaya!’
Of course, the last argument was the chief one. The ma-
ternal heart trembled with indignation to think of such an
absurdity, although in that heart there rose another voice,
which said: ‘And WHY is not the prince such a husband as
you would have desired for Aglaya?’ It was this voice which
annoyed Lizabetha Prokofievna more than anything else.
For some reason or other, the sisters liked the idea of the
prince. They did not even consider it very strange; in a word,
they might be expected at any moment to range themselves
strongly on his side. But both of them decided to say noth-
ing either way. It had always been noticed in the family that
the stronger Mrs. Epanchin’s opposition was to any project,
the nearer she was, in reality, to giving in.