Chapter 18 "Kingdom of Women"

Four, evening My aunt, Varvaruschka, and two other old women in their loose calico blouses were sitting in the dining-room eating dinner.On the table in front of them was a large piece of corned beef, a piece of ham, and various pickles.The piece of corned beef was fat and delicious looking, and a puff of steam rose to the ceiling.Downstairs there is no wine, but on the other hand there is a good variety of liquor and sherbet.Agafyushka, the cook, fat and white and well fed, was standing in the doorway with her arms folded, talking to the two old women.The one serving the tea and collecting the dishes was Maba downstairs, a dark-haired girl with a red ribbon tied in her hair.The two old women, who had had their fill since morning, and had had tea and tarts with cream an hour before supper, ate with reluctance, as if doing their duty.

"Oh, that's terrible!" exclaimed my aunt, seeing Anna Akimovna suddenly running into the dining room, and sitting down on a chair beside her at the table. "You scare the hell out of me!" When Anna Akimovna was in a good mood and played and romped, the whole family rejoiced, and every time this made one think that the old man was dead, the old woman had no power in the house, and people People can live as they like without fear of being severely punished.Only the two strange old women looked sideways at Anna Akimovna, bewildered, because she was singing, and it was a sin to sing at the dinner table.

"Our hostess, beauty, multicolored painting!" Agafyushika scolded nastyly. "Our precious diamond! . . . so many people, so many people who came to visit our princess today, God, it is amazing! There are generals, officers, and lords. . . . I kept looking out of the window, Counting those guests, counting and counting, and then I can’t count them, so I have to forget.” "In my opinion, those bastards, they'd better not come at all!" said the aunt.Looking worriedly at her niece, she added, "They're just wasting my poor orphan's time." Anna Akimovna was hungry, for she had eaten nothing since morning.They poured her a bit of very bitter wine, which she drank, and ate a piece of corned beef with mustard, which she found very agreeable.Then Masha downstairs brought turkey, pickled apples, and gooseberries.This is also delicious.There was only one unpleasant thing: the constant steam from the tiled stoves made the air stuffy and everyone's faces burned. ...After supper, the servants removed the tablecloth and brought plates of mint and honey biscuits, walnuts, and raisins.

"Sit down, too... why are you standing there?" the aunt said to the cook. Agafyushika sighed and sat down at the table.Masha also put a wine glass in front of her, and Anna Akimovna felt that Agavyushka's white neck was also steaming like the furnace.Everyone is talking about it: It is difficult to get married now. In the past, if men were not greedy for beauty, they were at least greedy for money, but now no one can figure out what they want.In the past, only hunchbacked and lame girls could not be married, but now, even the pretty ones and the rich ones are not wanted.My aunt described this as immorality, that people no longer feared God; but she suddenly thought of her brothers Ivan Ivanitch and Varvarushka, who both lived a life of faith and feared God. God, but they still had the baby in private and sent it to the Foundling Home.Noticing something was wrong, she changed the subject, and said that she had once had a suitor, a workman, whom she loved very much, but that her brother had forced her to marry a widowed icon-maker, and thank God two years later This man finally died.Masha downstairs also sat down at the table, and said with a sneaky look that every morning this week, a man of unknown origin appeared in the yard. A coat with a lambskin collar, as soon as he entered the yard, he looked at the windows of the big house for a while, then walked on to the factory building; Akimovna suddenly wanted to get married for some unknown reason. This desire was so strong that it became unbearable. She felt that she would cut half her lifespan and hand over all her property if she knew in her heart that there was someone upstairs. The individual was closer to her than anyone else in the world, knowing that he loved her passionately and was attached to her.The very thought of this wonderful, inexpressible intimacy made her heart flutter, and the instinct of health and youth tempted her, deceiving her that the real poetic life had not yet come, in the front; and she, convinced, leaned back in her chair (so that her hair fell loose) and laughed, and others laughed when they saw her laugh.This kind of unprovoked laughter lingered in this dining room for a long time.

The servant came to report that the "walking bug" had come here to spend the night.She was a pilgrim woman named Pasha, or Spiridonovna, a small, thin woman of about fifty, dressed in black, with a white kerchief on her head, with piercing eyes and a nose. Pointy, with a pointed chin, her eyes are cunning and sinister, and she looks like she can see through everything.Her lips were drawn into the shape of a heart.Because of her insidiousness and hostility to people, she was called "walking bug" in merchant families. She went into the dining room without looking at anyone, went straight to the icon, sang "Your Christmas" in a mezzo-soprano, then "Our Lady Today," and "The Nativity" before turning around Come, look at everyone with her sharp eyes.

"Happy holidays!" she said, kissing Anna Akimovna on the shoulder. "It took me a lot of effort, a lot of effort, to get to you, my benefactor." Then she kissed her aunt on the shoulder and said: "I started to come to you this morning, but I stopped at some kind people's houses on the way." Sit down a little longer, sit down a little longer, Spiridono Funa.' As for me, I was so dazed that I didn't notice that it was getting dark." Since she didn't eat meat, servants brought her roe and salmon.While eating, she frowned and looked at everyone, and drank three glasses of white wine.When she had had her fill she prayed to God and knelt down before Anna Akimovna.

Like last year and the year before, they started playing "King".All the servants, upstairs and downstairs, gathered around the door to watch them play cards.Anna Akimovna seemed to see Mishenka's figure, with a tolerant smile, flash past twice among the group of men and women.The first one to be king was the "walking bug", but Anna Akimovna became a soldier and paid tribute to her, and then her aunt became king, and Anna Akimovna became a peasant or "scub", recruiting Everyone was happy; but Agafyushika became a prince, blushing with joy.At the other end of the table there was a game of cards between the two Mashas, ​​Varvarushka, and the seamstress Marfa Petrovna, who was called "King" He was awake, so his face was sleepy, and the boss was unhappy.

At cards they talked about men, and how hard it was to marry a good man these days, and who had it easier, old maids or widows? "You are a beautiful, strong girl," said the walking bug to Anna Akimovna. "But, Miss, I can't figure out who you are keeping from getting married." "If no one wants me, what can I do?" "Perhaps you swore to be a girl forever?" went on the Walker, as if he hadn't heard the answer. "Well, that's a good thing, just be a girl forever. . . . Be a girl forever," she repeated, looking intently and cunningly at her cards.

"Well, darling, do what you want, . "Well, it varies, madam! There are those who do remain chaste, as well as nuns, and behave themselves, and if such a person should occasionally commit a sin, she, the poor thing, would be terribly distressed, and would rebuke such But there is another kind of virgin who wears black all day long, and secretly sews her own shroud, while secretly flirting with rich old men. Really, my little canary. Yes The bad bitch bewitches the old man, my dear, puts the old man down, makes him dazed, dazed, and when she's got all his money and lottery tickets, she'll just bewitch him It's over."

To these insinuations Varvarushka merely replied with a sigh and a look at the icon.There was a look of Christian meekness on her face. "I know just such an old girl, and she's my worst enemy," went on the Walker, with a triumphant glance. "She, too, the devil, was always sighing and looking at the holy images. Then she subdued an old man, and if you went to her, she gave you a loaf of bread and told you to kneel down, and she sang: "You gave birth to a child, but you still kept your virginity ③...' On holidays, she will give you a piece of bread to eat, and on weekdays, she will scold you.Well, now, I want to make fun of her!Make fun of her as I please, my little Diamond! "

Varvarushka looked again at the icon, and crossed himself. "Yes, no one wants me, Spilidonovna," said Anna Akimovna, trying to change the subject. "What can be done about this?" "It's your own fault, miss. You're always expecting someone of noble birth and education, when you should have married a merchant of your own rank." "Businessmen don't want it!" said the aunt, becoming anxious. "Bless you, Holy Mother! The nobleman will spend all your money, but on the other hand, he will always love you, my little fool. The merchant has strict house rules, which makes you You don't want to be safe in your own house. You want to make out with him, but he just cuts his coupons and counts his money. You sit down to eat with him, and he accuses you of eating his bread, when you eat It's your own, you peasant! . . . You'd better marry a nobleman." Everyone started talking together, chirping and interrupting each other.The aunt knocked on the table with a pair of walnut tongs, blushed, and said angrily, "No merchant! No! If you bring a merchant into your home, I'll go to a nursing home!" "Shhh...be quiet!" cried the walking bug.When everyone was quiet, she narrowed one eye and said, "Guess what, Anushka, my swallow? You don't have to really marry like everyone else.You're a rich, free man, and you can do what you like; but, boy, it doesn't look right to be an old maid.You know, I can find you a good-for-nothing, stupid man, and you pretend to be married to him, and then you go out and have fun, pretty girl!Well, you might as well give your husband 5,000 or 10,000, and tell him to go back to where he came from. As for you, stay at home and be the master of the house, love whoever you want, and no one can control you.Then you can just love your aristocratic and educated ones yourself.Hey, that's not life at all, but immortality! " The walking beetle tapped a torreya with its fingers, whistled, and said, "Go ahead and have fun, handsome girl!" "That's a crime!" said the aunt. "Hmph, sin," said the Walker, with a sneer. "She's an educated girl, and she understands. It's a sin to kill with a knife, or to enchant an old man, that's all; but it's not a sin at all to be in love with a suave friend. Really, what's that?" It’s really not a crime! Those words are all made up by people who worship the gods on the mountain to deceive the common people. Yes, I also say that I am guilty everywhere, and I am guilty, but I don’t even know why I am guilty.” After the walking bug finished speaking, he drank some sherbet wine and cleared his throat. "Go ahead and have fun, Miss Jun!" she said, probably talking about herself this time. "Girls, I've been talking about guilt and fear for thirty years, and now I see that I've missed my time, that I've lived for nothing! Oh, I'm a fool, I'm a fool!" she said, sighing. "A girl's life is short, and every day should be cherished. You, Anushka, are pretty and rich, but when you're thirty-five or forty, your days are over.Children, don’t listen to those people, just live your own life, have fun and live until forty years old, then you pray to God, ask for forgiveness, kowtow, and sew shrouds, anyway, you have plenty of time. You offer a candle to God, and a hook to the devil!You might as well do both together!Well, how is it?Would you like to let a little man dip into your light? " "I will," said Anna Akimovna, laughing. "I don't care about anything now, I would rather marry an ordinary person." "Oh, that's right! Why, what a handsome fellow you'll pick then!" said the walking bug, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head. "Hey!" "I told her, too, that if she couldn't find a nobleman, don't marry a merchant, but marry a common man," said my aunt. "At least we should have a man in charge of our family. Are there too few good people? Even if you marry the workers in our factory, it's fine. Those workers don't drink alcohol, they're quite old-fashioned..." "No way!" Walked Worm agrees. "Those boys are very nice. Auntie, would you like me to be the matchmaker for Anushka to Vasily Lebedinsky?" "Oh, Vasya's legs are too long," said the aunt seriously. "He's very thin. Not good-looking." The crowd at the door laughed. "Well, marry Pimenov. Would you like to marry Pimenov?" asked the Walker to Anna Akimovna. "Okay. Go to Pimenov's and propose marriage." "real?" "Go and propose!" Anna Akimovna resolutely said, beating the table with her fist. "I mean what I say, and I will marry you!" "real?" Anna Akimovna felt that her cheeks were burning, and everyone was looking at her, and she suddenly felt shy, disturbed the cards on the table, and ran out of the room.She ran up the stairs, went upstairs, and sat down by the piano in the living room.Downstairs she heard a humming, like the roar of the sea.Perhaps they were talking about her, about Pimenov, and perhaps the walking bugs were taunting Varvaruschka in her absence, and she must have spoken more blatantly. In the whole upstairs, only one lamp was lit in the hall, and the faint light shone from the door into the dark living room.It was not yet ten o'clock.Anna Akimovna played one waltz, then another, then another, and so on.She looked at the dark corner behind the piano, smiled slightly, calling for it in her heart, and couldn't help thinking to herself: Should I go to the city now to find someone, say Rysevic, and talk to him about what is in her soul at the moment? everything that happened?She wanted to talk, laugh, and romp, while the dark corner behind the piano held a gloomy silence.All around, in all the rooms upstairs, there was silence everywhere, no one was there. She liked sweet ballads, but her voice was not melodious and untrained, so she played the accompaniments, and sang, barely audibly low, just a little nasal.She sang ballads one after another in a low voice, mostly about love, parting, broken hopes.She imagined how she would stretch out her hand to him, and beseech with tears: "Pimenov, take the burden off my heart!" Then it would be as if her sins were forgiven, and her soul would become Relaxed, happy, and free, maybe a happy life begins. She waited sadly, bowing her head to the keys, eagerly hoping that this change of life would take place at once, and terrified at the thought that her old life would continue for a while.Then she played the piano again, sang softly, and there was silence all around.There was no more humming from downstairs, presumably they were all in bed.Ten o'clock had struck long ago.The long, tedious night is approaching. Anna Akimovna went through all the rooms, lay down on a sofa for a while, and then went back to her study to read the letters that had arrived that evening.There are twelve letters of prayer and three anonymous letters without signature.In one letter, written in extremely scrawled and almost illegible handwriting by an ordinary worker, he complained that the vegetable oil sold to workers in the factory store was bitter and smelt of kerosene; The first letter reported that Nazarich had received a bribe of a thousand rubles from someone in the last iron business; a third letter accused her of being cruel. The excitement of the festival was slowly fading away, and Anna Akimovna sat down at the piano again in order to preserve her mood, began to play softly a new waltz, and then recalled her thoughts at lunch today. And how wise and upright the words are.She glanced around at the dark windows and the walls hung with pictures, at the faint light coming in from the hall, and suddenly burst into tears for no reason.She thought that she was so lonely and had no one to talk to and discuss things with, and she couldn't help feeling annoyed.To cheer herself up, she tried to imagine Pimenov, but it was of no avail. The clock struck twelve.Mishenka came in, and now he was in a jacket instead of a tailcoat.He lighted two candles in silence, went out, and came in a moment later with a tray with a cup of tea on it. "What are you laughing at?" She asked, seeing that there was a smile on his face. "I heard you joking about Pimenov downstairs just now..." he said, covering his smiling mouth with his hand. "If he had been asked to dine with Viktor Nikolayevich and the general just now, he would have been frightened to death," said Mishenka, his shoulders trembling with laughter. "I'm afraid he can't even hold a fork." The footman's laughter, his words, his coat, and his moustache made a dirty impression on Anna Akimovna.She closed her eyes, unwilling to see him again.She couldn't help imagining Pimenov eating at the same table with Resevich and Krelin, and she found his timid and uneducated appearance pitiful and embarrassed, which disgusted her.Only then, for the first time in the day, did she realize clearly that what she had thought and said about Pimenov and about marrying an ordinary worker was nonsense, nonsense, nonsense.She tried to convince herself that this was not the case, and to get over her disgust, she tried to recall something she had said at lunch, but she could not think calmly.She was ashamed of her own thoughts and actions, worried that she might have said something unnecessary that day, and hated her own cowardice, all of which made her flustered.She held up the candle, and, as if someone were chasing her, hurried downstairs, woke Spilidonovna, and tried to tell her that she had just been joking.Later she went back to her bedroom.The red-haired Masha, who had been dozing in an armchair by the bed, jumped up and began to straighten the pillows on the bed.Her face was tired and sleepy, and half of her beautiful hair fell down. "Officer Tchalikov came again in the evening," she yawned, "but I didn't dare to report. He was very drunk. He said he would come back tomorrow." "What does he want from me?" said Anna Akimovna angrily, throwing the comb on the floor. "I don't want to see him! Don't see him!" She decided that there would be no one left in her life but this Chalikov, who would haunt her constantly and make her think every day how uninteresting and absurd her life was.You know, she can only do one thing, and that is to help the poor.Ah, what folly! She lay down without taking off her clothes, so ashamed and bored, she began to cry.The most irritating and stupid thing in her opinion is that today her fantasies about Pimenov are honest, noble, and valuable, but at the same time she feels that Rysevic, and even Krelin, are important to her. In other words, it is closer than Pimenov and all the workers put together.Then she thought to herself that if the long day that had just passed could be painted in a picture, then all the bad and vulgar things, the lunch, the lawyer's words, and the game of "King" would be real, and she On the contrary, those fantasies and words about Pimenov were out of harmony with the whole picture, and became false and far-fetched.She also thought that it was too late to hope for happiness, that everything was over for her, that it was impossible to go back to the life she had slept with her mother in the same quilt, or to think of a new and special life. The red-haired Masha knelt by the bed, looked at her with a look of desolation and bewilderment, then she cried herself, and pressed her face to the mistress's hand, and it is not necessary to elaborate why she was so sad. You can understand it. "You and I are fools," said Anna Akimovna, weeping and laughing. "We are fools! Oh, what fools we are!" "Notes" ① "Walking bug" is a kind of insect. The adults and larvae are mostly carnivorous and eat a lot. Some people call it the tiger among insects. ②A kind of card game. ③Refers to the Virgin Mary of Christianity. ④Anna's nickname. ⑤ Vasily's pet name.