Page 700 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

disgraced. And so I simply inform you that our relations
must be just as they have always been, and that only in the
event of your compromising me I shall be obliged to take
steps to secure my honor.’

‘But our relations cannot be the same as always,’ Anna
began in a timid voice, looking at him with dismay.
When she saw once more those composed gestures,
heard that shrill, childish, and sarcastic voice, her aversion
for him extinguished her pity for him, and she felt only
afraid, but at all costs she wanted to make clear her
position.
‘I cannot be your wife while I...’ she began.
He laughed a cold and malignant laugh.
‘The manner of life you have chosen is reflected, I
suppose, in your ideas. I have too much respect or
contempt, or both...I respect your past and despise your
present...that I was far from the interpretation you put on
my words.’
Anna sighed and bowed her head.
‘Though indeed I fail to comprehend how, with the
independence you show,’ he went on, getting hot, ‘—
announcing your infidelity to your husband and seeing
nothing reprehensible in it, apparently—you can see

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