mean, to you...
I can't and I don't want to have
any secrets from you.
Count Vronsky is leaving for Tashkent,
and he would like to say goodbye to us.
I said I could not see him.
You said that was for Alexei
Alexandrovich to decide.
No, I said
that I wouldn't receive him.
There would be no point in it.
I just don't want to.
I know you are a truly
generous man.
I love Anna and respect you so much
that I venture to offer advice:
do receive him.
Vronsky is the soul of honour,
and he's leaving for Tashkent...
Thank you, Princess,
for your sympathy and advice.
But only my wife can decide
whom she should
or should not receive.
A telegram from your brother.
He's coming to Petersburg.
- I haven't the time to meet him...
- Yes, I know. L'II go.
I agree that there's no need
for Count Vronsky to come here.
However, if...
l've told you already.
Why do I need to repeat it?
Let's not talk about it anymore.
I left the decision up to you,
and l'm very glad to see...
That my wishes coincide with your own?
Yes. The Princess shouldn't meddle in
others' complicated family affairs.
Especially since...
- But I don't blame anyone.
- Yes, you do!
What has she done to you?
Why didn't I die?
Oh, I wish I were dead! L'm sorry,
l'm unstrung, but... do go away!
Go away! Go away!
I can't live with him anymore.
I can't bear the sight of him.
They say women love men
even for their vices.
But I hate him
because he's so virtuous.
You married without love,
or without knowing love.
That was a grave mistake.
I seem to be falling down the abyss,
and there's nothing left to do but...
You are giving in to pessimism,
you must pull yourself together.
Believe me, you're exaggerating
things.
No, Stiva, l'm lost. L'm lost.
l'm like a string stretched too tight.
The string can be loosened
little by little.
There's always a way out
of every situation.
Yes, you're right! There's no sense
in lying to myself any more.
l'm still alive and it's not my fault.
Let come what may.
Anything is better than deceit.
We'II go to Italy.
Alone, to live like man and wife.
- What is it?
- Oh, nothing, really.
I just wanted you
to turn round.
I made a wish and it worked.
What were you thinking about?
Just wondering how l'd cut out
these little holes.
What were you thinking about?
Tell me.
About my work. Many things...
l'm so glad of the chance
to be alone with you.
- Are you happy?
- Yes, l'm happy.
But l'm dissatisfied with myself.
Why? How can you be dissatisfied
and happy at the same time?
I want nothing for myself,
but I have always envied people
whose whole lives are subordinated
to duty.
When I compare myself to them,
I see l'm not worth much.
Why?
Aren't you doing enough for others?
With your work on the estate?
With your writing?
No, no. I don't do any of it
as I should.
I do it as though it were a lesson
assigned to me.
l'm pretending. And all the time
l'm thinking of death.
Of course, it's all nonsense,
but come to think of it.
Our world is just a little mould,
that has grown on our tiny planet.
And we imagine
we can achieve great things.
Oh, l'm sorry, l'm so very happy I
don't think I can understand anything.
- Won't you be tired?
- No.
Stay out of the sun.
We're going for a little walk.
Kitty, you mustn't walk too much
in your condition.
Why don't you try our method
with this jam?
Just cover the jar with a piece
of paper soaked in rum.
It'II never get moldy.
l'II try it.
Anyhow, our way of pickling
is considered the best
anywhere around these parts.
Verse number forty-eight.
'Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your father which is
in Heaven is perfect.'
- I hope you understand that?
- Yes, papa.
Is it true that you got
a new decoration?
Are you glad?
First, will you stop rocking?
And second,
what counts is work, not the reward.
When you work, you must love
what you do.
And your work will be your reward.
Yes, papa.
Did you get the Alexander