Page 669 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

His present relation to Anna and to her husband was to
his mind clear and simple. It was clearly and precisely
defined in the code of principles by which he was guided.
she was an honorable woman who had bestowed her

love upon him, and he loved her, and therefore she was in
his eyes a woman who had a right to the same, or even
more, respect than a lawful wife. He would have had his
hand chopped off before he would have allowed himself
by a word, by a hint, to humiliate her, or even to fall short
of the fullest respect a woman could look for.
His attitude to society, too, was clear. Everyone might
know, might suspect it, but no one might dare to speak of
it. If any did so, he was ready to force all who might speak
to be silent and to respect the nonexistent honor of the
woman he loved.
His attitude to the husband was the clearest of all. From
the moment that Anna loved Vronsky, he had regarded his
own right over her as the one thing unassailable. Her
husband was simply a superfluous and tiresome person. No
doubt he was in a pitiable position, but how could that be
helped? The one thing the husband had a right to was to
demand satisfaction with a weapon in his hand, and
Vronsky was prepared for this at any minute.

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