The diary of a superfluous man, and other storiesTurgenev, Ivan Sergeevich
General
The diary of a superfluous man, and other stories
Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich
Russia -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Turgenev, Ivan Sergeevich, 1818-1883 -- Translations into English
So, then, I suffered like a dog which has had the hind part of its body
run over by a wheel. Only then,--only after my expulsion from the
Ozhógins' house,--did I become definitively aware how much pleasure a
man may derive from the contemplation of his own unhappiness. Oh, men!
ye are, in reality, a pitiful race!... Well, but that is in the nature
of a philosophical remark.... I passed my days in utter solitude, and
only in the most roundabout and even base ways was I able to find out
what was going on in the Ozhógin family, what the Prince was doing. My
servant struck up an acquaintance with the great-aunt of the wife of his
coachman. This acquaintance afforded me some alleviation, and my servant
speedily was able, from my hints and gifts, to divine what it behooved
him to talk about with his master, when he was pulling off the latter's
boots at night. Sometimes I chanced to meet in the street some member of
the Ozhógin family, Bizmyónkoff, or the Prince.... With the Prince and
Bizmyónkoff I exchanged bows, but I did not enter into conversation. I
saw Liza thrice in all: once with her mamma, in a milliner's shop, once
in an open calash with her father, her mother, and the Prince; once in
church. Of course, I did not venture to approach her, and only gazed at
her from afar. In the shop she was anxious but cheerful.... She was
ordering something for herself, and busily trying on ribbons. Her mother
was gazing at her, with hands clasped on her stomach, her nose elevated,
and indulging in that stupid and affectionate smile which is permissible
only to fond mothers. Liza was in the calash with the Prince.... I shall
never forget that meeting! The old Ozhógins were sitting on the back
seat of the calash, the Prince and Liza in front. She was paler than
usual; two pink streaks were barely discernible on her cheeks. She was
half-turned toward the Prince; supporting herself on her outstretched
right hand (she was holding her parasol in her left), and wearily
bending her head, she was gazing straight into his face with her
expressive eyes. At that moment she was surrendering herself utterly to
him, trusting him irrevocably. I did not have a chance to get a good
look at his face,--the calash dashed past too swiftly,--but it seemed to
me that he also was deeply moved.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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