VARVARA: You are forgetting that he is no longer a child.
STEPAN: But his health is poor. Just remember: he used to weep for nights on end. Can you imagine him forcing men to fight?
VARVARA: He was in no way weak! What has made you imagine that? He was simply highg strung, that’s all. But you got it into your head to wake him up in the middle of the night, when he was twelve years old, to tell him your troubles. That’s the kind of tutor you were.
STEPAN: he cher ange loved me. He used to ask me to confide in him and would weep in my arms.
VARVARA: The angel has changed. I am told that I wouldn’t recognize him now, that his physical strength is exceptional.
STEPAN: But what does he tell you in his letters? VARVARA: His letters are few and far between but always respectful.
STEPAN: You see?
VARVARA: I see nothing. You should get out of the habit of talking without saying anything. And, besides, the facts speak for themselves. Did he or didn’t he have his commission taken away from him because he had seriously wounded another officer in a duel?
STEPAN: That’s not a crime. He was motivated by the warmth of his noble blood. That’s all very chivalrous.
VARVARA: Yes. But it is less chivalrous to live in the vilest sections of St. Petersburg and to enjoy the company of cutthroats and drunkards. STEPAN (laughing): Oh, that’s simply Prince Harry’s youth all over again!
VARVARA: What do you mean by that?
STEPAN: Why, Shakespeare, ma noble amie, immortal Shakespeare, the genius of geniuses, great Will, in short, who shows us Prince Harry indulging in debauch with his friend Falstaff.
VARVARA: I shall reread the play. By the way, are you taking any exercise? You are well aware that you should walk six versts a day. Good. In any case, I asked Nicholas to come home. I want you to sound him out. I plan to keep him here and to arrange his marriage.
STEPAN: His marriage! Oh, how romantic that is! Have you anyone in mind?
VARVARA: Yes, I am thinking of Lisa, the daughter of my friend Prascovya Drozdov. They are in Switzerland with my ward, Dasha. . . . But what does it matter to you?
STEPAN: I love Nicholas as much as my own son. VARVARA: That isn’t much. Altogether, you have seen your son only twice, including the day of his birth.
STEPAN: His aunts brought him up and I sent him regularly the income from the little estate his mother left him, and all the time I suffered bitterly from his absence. Moreover, he’s a complete dud, poor in spirit and poor in heart. You should see the letters he writes me! You would think he was speaking to a servant. I asked him with all my paternal love if he didn’t want to come and see me. Do you know what he replied? «If I come home, it will be to check up on my accounts, and to settle accounts too.»
VARVARA: Why don’t you learn once and for all to make people respect you? Well, I shall leave you. It is time for your little gathering. Your friends, your little spree, cards, atheism, and, above all, the stench, the stench of tobacco and of men … I am leaving. Don’t drink too much; you know it upsets you. . . . Goodby! (She looks at him; then, shrugging her shoulders:) A red necktie! (She leaves.)
STEPAN (follows her with his eyes, starts to stammer, then looks toward the desk): O femme cruelle, implacable! And I can’t talk to her! I shall write her a letter! (He goes toward the table.)
VARVARA (thrusting her head in the door): And, by the way, stop writing me letters. We live in the same house; it is ridiculous to exchange letters. Your friends are here. (She leaves, GRIGORIEV, LIPUTIN, and SHIGALOV come in.)
STEPAN: Good day, my dear Liputin, good day. Forgive my emotion. … I am hated. . . . Yes, I am literally hated. But I don’t care! Your wife is not with you?
LIPUTIN: No. Wives must stay at home and fear God.
STEPAN: But aren’t you an atheist?
LIPUTIN: Yes. Shhhh! Don’t say it so loud. That’s just it. A husband who is an atheist must teach his wife the fear of God. That liberates him even more. Look at our friend Virginsky. I just met him now. He had to go out and do his marketing himself because his wife was with Captain Lebyatkin.
STEPAN: Yes, yes, I know what people say, but it’s not true. His wife is a noble creature. Besides, they all are.
LIPUTIN: What, not true? I was told it by Virginsky himself. He converted his wife to our ideas. He convinced her that man is a free creature, or ought to be such. So she freed herself and, later on, simply told Virginsky that she was dismissing him as her husband and taking Captain Lebyatkin in his place. And do you know what Virginsky said to his wife when she announced this news? He said: «My dear, up to now I merely loved you; from now on, I esteem you.» STEPAN: He’s a true Roman.
GRIGORIEV: I was told, on the contrary, that when his wife dismissed him, he burst into sobs. STEPAN: Yes, yes. He’s an affectionate soul, (SHATOV comes in.) But here’s our friend Shatov. Any news of your sister?
SHATOV: Dasha is about to come home. Since you ask me, I shall tell you that she is bored in Switzerland with Prascovya Drozdov and Lisa. I am telling you, although in my opinion it is no concern of yours.
STEPAN: Of course not. But she is coming home, and that is the main thing. Oh, my dear friends, it’s impossible to live far from Russia— LIPUTIN: But it’s impossible to live in Russia too. We need something else, and there is nothing. STEPAN: What do you suggest?
LIPUTIN: Everything must be made over. SHIGALOV: Yes, but you don’t draw the conclusions, (SHATOV goes over and sits down gloomily and places his cap beside him. VIRGINSKY and then GAGANOV come in.)
STEPAN: Good day, my dear Virginsky. How is your wife? . . . (VIRGINSKY turns away.) Good, we’re fond of you, you know, very fond of you!
GAGANOV: I was just going by and I came in to see Varvara Stavrogin. But perhaps I am in your way?
STEPAN: No, no! Au banquet de famine there is always room. We were just beginning to discuss things. I know you are not afraid of a few paradoxes.
GAGANOV: Aside from the Tsar, Russia, and the family, everything is open to discussion. (To SHATOV) Don’t you agree?
SHATOV: Everything is open to discussion. But certainly not with you.
STEPAN (laughing): We must drink to the conversion of our good friend Gaganov. (He rings a bell.) That is, if Shatov, irascible Shatov, allows us to. For our good Shatov is irascible; he boils over at nothing at all. And if you want to discuss with him, you have to tie him down first. You see, he’s already leaving. He has taken offense. Come, come now, my good friend, you know how fond we are of you.
SHATOV: Then don’t insult me.
STEPAN: But who is insulting you? If I did so, I beg your pardon. I am well aware that we talk too much. We talk when we ought to act. Act, act . . . or, in any case, work. For twenty years now I have been sounding the alarm and urging people to work. Russia can’t arise without ideas. And we can’t have ideas without working. Let’s get down to work, then, and eventually we’ll have an original idea. . . .
(ALEXEY YEGOROVICH, the butler, brings in drinks and leaves.)
LIPUTIN: Meanwhile, we should suppress the army and the navy. GAGANOV: Both at once?
LIPUTIN: Yes, in order to have universal peace! GAGANOV: But if others don’t suppress theirs, wouldn’t they be tempted to invade us? How can we know?
LIPUTIN: By suppressing ours. That way we shall know.
STEPAN (quivering with excitement): Ah! Cest un paradoxe! But there is truth in it. . . . VIRGINSKY: Liputin goes too far because he despairs of ever seeing our ideas dominate. / think we should begin at the beginning and get rid of priests and the family at the same time. GAGANOV: Gentlemen, I can take any joke whatever . . . but to suppress at one and the same time the army, the navy, the family, the priests— no, no, no. . . .
STEPAN: There’s no harm in talking about it. One can talk of anything.
GAGANOV: But to suppress everything like that all at once—no. Ah, no. No …
LIPUTIN: Come, now. Don’t you think Russia needs reform?
GAGANOV: Yes, probably. Everything isn’t perfect in our country.
LIPUTIN: Then it must be dismembered. STEPAN and GAGANOV: What?
LIPUTIN: Yes, of course. To reform Russia, it has to be made into a federation. But before it can be federated, it has to be dismembered. It’s mathematically simple.
STEPAN: It deserves reflection.
GAGANOV: I . . . Oh, no. I won’t let anyone lead me around by the nose. . . .
VIRGINSKY: Reflection calls for time, and abject poverty can’t wait.
LIPUTIN: We must think of the most urgent first. The most urgent need is for everyone to