Anna Karenina (Penguin) - Leo Tolstoy [391]
‘I envy you your entry into that interesting world of learning,’ he said. And, warming to the subject, he switched, as usual, to French, which suited him better. ‘True, I also have no time. My service and the children’s education deprive me of that; and besides, I’m not ashamed to say that my education is much too deficient.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Levin said with a smile, touched as always by his low opinion of himself, by no means affected out of a desire to seem or even be modest, but perfectly sincere.
‘Ah, yes! I feel now how little learning I have. For my children’s education I even have to refresh my memory a good deal and simply study. Because it’s not enough to have teachers, there must also be a supervisor, just as in your farming you need workers and an overseer. See what I’m reading?’ he pointed to Buslaev’s grammar6 on the lectern. ‘It’s required of Misha, and it’s so difficult ... Explain this to me now. He says here ...’
Levin tried to explain to him that one cannot understand it but must simply learn it; but Lvov did not agree with him.
‘Yes, see how you laugh at it!’
‘On the contrary, you can’t imagine how, by looking at you, I always learn what’s in store for me - I mean children’s education.’
‘There certainly isn’t anything to learn,’ said Lvov.
‘I only know,’ said Levin, ‘that I’ve never met better-brought-up children than yours and couldn’t wish for better myself.’
Lvov obviously wanted to restrain himself and not show his joy, but he simply beamed all over.
‘As long as they’re better than I am. That’s all I wish for. You don’t know all the trouble yet,’ he began, ‘with boys who, like mine, were neglected in that life abroad.’
‘You’ll catch up on it all. They’re such capable children. Above all - moral education. That’s what I learn from looking at your children.’
‘Moral education, you say. It’s impossible to imagine how hard it is! You’ve just prevailed on one side when something else crops up, and the struggle starts again. Without support from religion - remember, we talked about it - no father, using only his own resources, would be able to bring up a child.’
This conversation, which always interested Levin, was interrupted by the entrance of the beautiful Natalya Alexandrovna, already dressed to go out.
‘I didn’t know you were here,’ she said, obviously not only not sorry but even glad to have interrupted this, for her, long-familiar and boring conversation. ‘Well, how’s Kitty? I’m dining with you today. Now then, Arseny,’ she turned to her husband, ‘you will take the carriage ...’
And a discussion began between husband and wife about how they were going to spend the day. Since the husband had to go and meet someone to do with his work, and the wife had to go to a concert and a public meeting of the South-Eastern Committee, there was much to be decided and thought over. Levin, as one of the family, had to take part in the planning. It was decided that Levin would go with Natalie to the concert and the public meeting, and from there the carriage would be sent to the office for Arseny, and he would come to fetch her and take her to Kitty’s; or, if he was still busy, he would send the carriage and Levin would go with her.
‘The man spoils me,’ he said to his wife, ‘he assures me that our children are wonderful, when I know how much bad there is in them.’
‘Arseny goes to extremes, as I always say,’ said the wife. ‘If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content. It’s true what papa says, that when we were being brought up there was one extreme - we were kept in the attic, while the parents lived on the first floor; now it’s the opposite - the parents go to the store-room and the children to the first floor. Parents mustn’t have any life now, everything’s given to the children.’
‘Why not, if they like it?’ Lvov said, smiling his handsome smile and touching her hand. ‘Anyone