Page 95 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

Chapter 12

The young Princess Kitty Shtcherbatskaya was
eighteen. It was the first winter that she had been out in
the world. Her success in society had been greater than
that of either of her elder sisters, and greater even than her
mother had anticipated. To say nothing of the young men
who danced at the Moscow balls being almost all in love
with Kitty, two serious suitors had already this first winter
made their appearance: Levin, and immediately after his
departure, Count Vronsky.
Levin’s appearance at the beginning of the winter, his
frequent visits, and evident love for Kitty, had led to the
first serious conversations between Kitty’s parents as to her
future, and to disputes between them. The prince was on
Levin’s side; he said he wished for nothing better for
Kitty. The princess for her part, going round the question
in the manner peculiar to women, maintained that Kitty
was too young, that Levin had done nothing to prove that
he had serious intentions, that Kitty felt no great attraction
to him, and other side issues; but she did not state the
principal point, which was that she looked for a better
match for her daughter, and that Levin was not to her

94 of 1759