Page 405 - ANNA KARENINA
P. 405
Anna Karenina
united them was so intense that they were both oblivious
of everything else but their love.
He vividly recalled all the constantly recurring instances
of inevitable necessity for lying and deceit, which were so
against his natural bent. He recalled particularly vividly the
shame he had more than once detected in her at this
necessity for lying and deceit. And he experienced the
strange feeling that had sometimes come upon him since
his secret love for Anna. This was a feeling of loathing for
something—whether for Alexey Alexandrovitch, or for
himself, or for the whole world, he could not have said.
But he always drove away this strange feeling. Now, too,
he shook it off and continued the thread of his thoughts.
‘Yes, she was unhappy before, but proud and at peace;
and now she cannot be at peace and feel secure in her
dignity, though she does not show it. Yes, we must put an
end to it,’ he decided.
And for the first time the idea clearly presented itself
that it was essential to put an end to this false position, and
the sooner the better. ‘Throw up everything, she and I,
and hide ourselves somewhere alone with our love,’ he
said to himself.
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