Part 2 Chapter 31

NEKHLUDOFF'S SISTER AND HER HUSBAND.

The gang of prisoners, with Maslova among them, was to start on the 5th July. Nekhludoff arranged to start on the same day.

The day before, Nekhludoff's sister and her husband came to town to see him.

Nekhludoff's sister, Nathalie Ivanovna Rogozhinsky, was 10 years older than her brother. She had been very fond of him when he was a boy, and later on, just before her marriage, they grew very close to each other, as if they were equals, she being a young woman of 25, he a lad of 15. At that time she was in love with his friend, Nikolenka Irtenieff, since dead. They both loved Nikolenka, and loved in him and in themselves that which is good, and which unites all men. Since then they had both been depraved, he by military service and a vicious life, she by marriage with a man whom she loved with a sensual love, who did not care for the things that had once been so dear and holy to her and to her brother, nor even understand the meaning of those aspirations towards moral perfection and the service of mankind, which once constituted her life, and put them down to ambition and the wish to show off; that being the only explanation comprehensible to him.

Nathalie's husband had been a man without a name and without means, but cleverly steering towards Liberalism or Conservatism, according to which best suited his purpose, he managed to make a comparatively brilliant judicial career. Some peculiarity which made him attractive to women assisted him when he was no longer in his first youth. While travelling abroad he made Nekhludoff's acquaintance, and managed to make Nathalie, who was also no longer a girl, fall in love with him, rather against her mother's wishes who considered a marriage with him to be a misalliance for her daughter. Nekhludoff, though he tried to hide it from himself, though he fought against it, hated his brother-in-law.

Nekhludoff had a strong antipathy towards him because of the vulgarity of his feelings, his assurance and narrowness, but chiefly because of Nathalie, who managed to love him in spite of the narrowness of his nature, and loved him so selfishly, so sensually, and stifled for his sake all the good that had been in her.

It always hurt Nekhludoff to think of Nathalie as the wife of that hairy, self-assured man with the shiny, bald patch on his head. He could not even master a feeling of revulsion towards their children, and when he heard that she was again going to have a baby, he felt something like sorrow that she had once more been infected with something bad by this man who was so foreign to him. The Rogozhinskys had come to Moscow alone, having left their two children--a boy and a girl--at home, and stopped in the best rooms of the best hotel. Nathalie at once went to her mother's old house, but hearing from Agraphena Petrovna that her brother had left, and was living in a lodging-house, she drove there. The dirty servant met her in the stuffy passage, dark but for a lamp which burnt there all day. He told her that the Prince was not in.

Nathalie asked to be shown into his rooms, as she wished to leave a note for him, and the man took her up.

Nathalie carefully examined her brother's two little rooms. She noticed in everything the love of cleanliness and order she knew so well in him, and was struck by the novel simplicity of the surroundings. On his writing-table she saw the paper-weight with the bronze dog on the top which she remembered; the tidy way in which his different portfolios and writing utensils were placed on the table was also familiar, and so was the large, crooked ivory paper knife which marked the place in a French book by Tard, which lay with other volumes on punishment and a book in English by Henry George. She sat down at the table and wrote a note asking him to be sure to come that same day, and shaking her head in surprise at what she saw, she returned to her hotel.

Two questions regarding her brother now interested Nathalie: his marriage with Katusha, which she had heard spoken about in their town--for everybody was speaking about it--and his giving away the land to the peasants, which was also known, and struck many as something of a political nature, and dangerous. The Carriage with Katusha pleased her in a way. She admired that resoluteness which was so like him and herself as they used to be in those happy times before her marriage. And yet she was horrified when she thought her brother was going to marry such a dreadful woman. The latter was the stronger feeling of the two, and she decided to use all her influence to prevent him from doing it, though she knew how difficult this would be.

The other matter, the giving up of the land to the peasants, did not touch her so nearly, but her husband was very indignant about it, and expected her to influence her brother against it.

Rogozhinsky said that such an action was the height of inconsistency, flightiness, and pride, the only possible explanation of which was the desire to appear original, to brag, to make one's self talked about.

"What sense could there be in letting the land to the peasants, on condition that they pay the rent to themselves?" he said. "If he was resolved to do such a thing, why not sell the land to them through the Peasants' Bank? There might have been some sense in that. In fact, this act verges on insanity."

And Rogozhinsky began seriously thinking about putting Nekhludoff under guardianship, and demanded of his wife that she should speak seriously to her brother about his curious intention.

包括玛丝洛娃在内的那批犯人，预定七月五日出发。聂赫留朵夫准备在那天跟她一起走。动身前一天，聂赫留朵夫的姐姐和姐夫一起进城来，同弟弟再见一面。

聂赫留朵夫的姐姐娜塔丽雅比弟弟大十岁。他的成长多少受到她的影响。他小时候，姐姐很喜欢他。后来，在她快出嫁时，他们特别谈得来，简直象同龄人那样投契，虽然她已是个二十五岁的姑一娘一，他还是个十五岁的少年。当时她一爱一上弟弟的朋友尼科连卡，后来尼科连卡死了。姐弟俩都一爱一尼科连卡，因为他们都具备四海一家的博一爱一精一神。

后来他们俩都堕一落了：他到军队里服务，沾染了不一良一习一气；她嫁了人，但她只在肉一体上一爱一丈夫，而她的丈夫对她同弟弟以前认为最神圣最宝贵的一切不仅不喜一爱一，甚至不理解他们的感情，还把她原来作为生活目标的追求道德完善和为人们服务的志向，说成纯属虚荣心作怪，想在人家面前出风头。

娜塔丽雅的丈夫拉戈任斯基没有名望，也没有产业，但是个手腕灵活的官一场老手。他周旋于自一由派和保守派之间，随机应变，左右逢源，尽量利用此时此地能给他的生活带来最大利益的那一派。不过，他在司法界飞黄腾达，步步高升，主要是依靠某种能博得女人欢心的特殊本领。他在国外认识聂赫留朵夫一家时，年纪已经不很轻了。他使年纪也不算太轻的姑一娘一娜塔丽雅一爱一上他，几乎违背她母亲的心意同她结了婚。她母亲认为这门亲事不是门当户对。聂赫留朵夫憎恨姐夫，虽然竭力克制这种情绪，避免想到这一点。聂赫留朵夫所以对姐夫反感，是因为姐夫感情庸俗，目光短浅而又刚愎自用。不过，他对他反感的主要原因，还是姐姐居然会那么热烈、自私、从肉一体上一爱一上这个一精一神贫乏的人，并且为了讨好他而摒弃自己的一切美德。聂赫留朵夫每次想到，娜塔丽雅就是这个浑身汗一毛一、秃头发亮而刚愎自用的人的妻子，心里就很痛苦。他甚至对这个人的孩子都按捺不住心头的嫌恶。每次听说娜塔丽雅要生孩子，他就会产生一种痛惜的感情，仿佛她从这个同他们格格不入的人身上又传染到了什么脏东西。

拉戈任斯基夫妇有两个孩子，一男一女，但这次没有带来。他们在一家最好的旅馆里开了一套最好的房间。娜塔丽雅立刻乘车到一娘一家去，但在那里没有碰到弟弟。阿格拉斐娜告诉她，弟弟已搬到一个带有家具的公寓里。娜塔丽雅到那里去找他。在光线昏暗、恶臭难闻、白天也点着灯的走廊里，一个肮脏的茶房告诉她，公爵不在家。

娜塔丽雅想到弟弟房间里，给他留一张字条。茶房就领她去。

娜塔丽雅走进他的两个小房间，仔细观看了一下。她处处都看到她所熟悉的那种整齐清洁，但同时发觉房间里的陈设简朴得使她吃惊。她看见写字台上放着那个镶有铜狗的吸墨纸一床一，还有几个文件夹、一些纸张和文具、几本《刑法典》、一本英文的亨利·乔治的著作和一本法文的塔尔德的著作，书里还夹一着一把她所熟悉的弯曲大象牙刀。

她在桌子旁写了一张字条，要他务必到她那里去一次，而且今天就去。她对眼前的景象摇摇头，就回旅馆了。

娜塔丽雅现在关心弟弟的两件事：一件是他要同卡秋莎结婚，这是她在她居住的城里听到的，那里对此事议论纷纷；另一件是他要把土地一交一给农民，这事也尽人皆知，而且被许多人看作危险的政治行为。他要同卡秋莎结婚，娜塔丽雅一方面有点高兴。她欣赏这种果断行为，因为看到了她出嫁前他们姐弟俩的本来面目，但一想到弟弟竟然要同这样一个下贱的女人结婚，又感到不寒而栗。后面这种感情要强烈得多，她决定竭力去影响他，劝阻他，虽然知道这是极其困难的。

至于他打算把土地一交一给农民，那件事她并不怎么关心。但丈夫对此却十分愤慨，要她劝阻弟弟。拉戈任斯基说，这种行为是轻举妄动，自我欣赏；它没有任何意思，只能被认为是标新立异，哗众取一宠一。

“把土地一交一给农民，租金也归农民使用，这究竟有什么意思？”他说。“要是他真想这样做，他尽可以通过农民银行把土地卖出去。这样还说得过去。总之，这种行为近乎一精一神失常，”拉戈任斯基说，心里已经在考虑聂赫留朵夫需要有个监护人。他要妻子务必同弟弟认真诚谈他这个古怪的意图。