Read the book for free: the living corpse - the fat lion.

P about the play of the same name by L.N. Tolstoy.

From the article by Pyotr Bagrov “Director of Implicit Concepts” in the newspaper “Empire of Drama” (2006):

"The Living Corpse", staged in 1950, for many years was considered the absolute and unattainable pinnacle of the Pushkin Theater. The tradition of perception of this play has developed in such a way that Fedya Protasov is a talented, exceptional person, surrounded by a hypocritical and soulless secular society, which destroys this person. It's simple. Moreover, perhaps this coincided to a large extent with the plans of Tolstoy himself. He really doesn’t like either Fedya’s wife Lisa or her second husband Viktor Karenin. But Tolstoy is a great writer because the theoretically conceived scheme actually turns out to be a very non-trivial and, as they would say now, ambivalent picture. In Chekhov's dramaturgy such ambivalence is inherent consciously, in Tolstoy it is unconscious. And Kozhich was almost the first - and perhaps the only one - to feel it. His “Living Corpse” is a tragedy not only of Fedya Protasov, but of Lisa and Victor to the same extent. They are all good... good people(as Protasov repeats this several times), and everyone wishes each other well, but each makes the other suffer. Kozic was extremely careful with the text and made only a few changes. Each of them is of a fundamental nature. In Tolstoy, when Liza and Victor meet with Protasov in the investigator’s office, Fyodor kneels and, leaving, once again bows deeply to his wife. At Kozhich’s for the second time, it was not Fedya who bowed to Lisa, but Lisa to Fedya. This simplest technique magically put everything in its place. And he placed the characters – so different and “socially alien” – on the same human level. Another example is the mother of Viktor Karenin. In the play, she is an arrogant, young lady of about fifty, the image is slightly ironic. For Kozhich, she was played by 75-year-old Elizaveta Zhikhareva - a legendary actress of the pre-revolutionary stage - she played with the greatest dignity and wisdom, she played a tragedy.

Nikolai Simonov, of course, also played the tragedy. He stood out from the chamber, dryish ensemble (generally characteristic of Kozhichev’s productions), but the director brought “the defect to effect.”<...>He took Simonov, who played unpredictably every performance, after much hesitation. And having already taken it, he placed a bet on it. He relied on tragedy (by the way, Kozic dreamed of Hamlet all his life). High tragedy in psychological theater. It turned out that this is possible.

The very name “Living Corpse” acquired a completely unexpected (and now, it seems, so obvious) meaning in Kozhich’s production. Fyodor Protasov is not a walking dead man, as he is usually portrayed, not a corpse who, by chance, remained alive. On the contrary, he is alive. And he wants to live. And listen to the gypsies and drink vodka. That is why his suicide - so expected in all productions that it is perceived by both Fedya himself and the audience as a relief - in Kozhich’s performance became the highest point of the tragedy. A tragedy that has rarely been risen to Soviet theater. And at the turn of the 40s and 50s, in any case.”

Fragment of commentary by Yu.P. Rybkova “L.N. Tolstoy. “The Living Corpse” (L.N. Tolstoy. Collected works in 22 volumes, T. 11 (1982):

The basis for the plot of the play was the criminal case of the spouses Ekaterina and Nikolai Gimer, which the writer learned about in 1897.<...>But even before this, Tolstoy had some ideas and images that were embodied in the drama “The Living Corpse.” In a diary entry dated February 9, 1894, we read: “The idea of ​​a story clearly came to mind in which to present two people: one - dissolute, confused, fallen to contempt only from kindness, the other - outwardly pure, respectable, respected from coldness, not love." Researchers rightly associate this recording with the creative history of “The Living Corpse.” Tolstoy’s plan to contrast two similar people was embodied not in a story, as the writer intended, but in a drama.<...>

Having completed the first edition of The Living Corpse by the end of 1900, Tolstoy decided to leave work on the play. “Not only do I not think about finishing it and publishing it now,” he wrote to V.G. Chertkov, but I very much doubt that I will ever do it.” In the same year, one of the leaders of the Moscow Art Theater V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko came to Tolstoy and asked to give this play for the theater. “When I die, play...” the writer answered.

After Tolstoy's death, his heirs transferred the right to the first production of The Living Corpse to the Moscow Art Theater. The premiere took place on September 23, 1911.<...>Five days after the premiere of the Moscow Art Theater, on September 28, 1911, the play was staged in St. Petersburg in Alexandrinsky Theater. <...>

Enormous and widespread interest in Tolstoy's play caused a large number of productions in many cities of Russia. Also in 1911, “The Living Corpse” was staged in Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Saratov and other cities. The drama was often staged on the Russian pre-revolutionary, Soviet and foreign stage. “The Living Corpse” is one of the most repertoire plays in the world theater. The role of Fyodor Protasov was played by many outstanding actors: N.N. Khodotov, P.P. Gaideburov, I.N. Pevtsov, I.N. Bersenev, N.K. Simonov, M.F. Romanov, M.I. Tsarev, V.K. Papazyan and others.

“The Living Corpse” was staged in many countries around the world: Austria, Germany, England, France, USA, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Norway, Italy, Greece...<...>In 1929, director F. Otsep directed a film with V. Pudovkin in the role of Protasov.

As in “The Power of Darkness,” the plot of the play “The Living Corpse” was based on the criminal case of the Gimers, well known in judicial circles, accused of “bigamy,” which was severely punished at that time. Starting from a real fact, Tolstoy created a complex psychological and social conflict, which even in its unfinished version became one of the masterpieces of Russian and world drama.

At the center of the play is the image of Fyodor Protasov, a man belonging to high strata of society. His “fall”: hard drinking and debauchery, infatuation with a gypsy choir girl, squandering his own fortune and that of his wife, acquaintance with the “bottom” of life - the author explains not by the weakness of the character of his hero, but by a heightened sense of falsehood, injustice, no matter how they manifest themselves: whether in private life, in family relationships or in social order. A bitter drunkard, a renegade, Fedya, as everyone calls him, keeps in his soul higher demands for honor, duty, and justice than the people of “decent society” around him.

The originality of the construction of the conflict in the play lies in the fact that there is neither right nor wrong, there is no struggle, good or evil will, but there is a dramatic confluence of circumstances. It is no coincidence that work on the play began in 1900 after Tolstoy attended a performance at the Moscow Art Theater: that evening, January 14, Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” was performed, which caused a negative assessment of the writer, but his new work also turned out to be an innovative phenomenon in drama.

Tolstoy contrasted one version - Chekhov's - of the collapse of human destiny with another, where his temperament as a Protestant, rebel, and subverter of the existing order of things was fully expressed.

Fyodor Protasov breaks not just with the life of his family, with loving wife Lisa, with a measured, respectable way of life, and with all the life around him, depriving a person of internal freedom and the right to choose. That is why the hero listens sensitively to the gypsy song that captivates him so much: “This is the steppe, this is the tenth century, this is not freedom, will.” The song contains for him such manifestations of the soul as life does not know: “And where is everything that is expressed here done?.. And why can a person reach this delight, but cannot continue it?”

The hero is so strange and so “breaks out” from the norms of everyday life that he finds himself between several fires: some treat him with hatred (Karenina and Liza’s mother), others with contemptuous condescension (Prince Abrezkov), others with love and admiration (the gypsy Masha, Sasha is the sister of Liza Protasova), the fourth find it possible to use him for the purpose of blackmail. “He is his own enemy,” Prince Abrezkov says about him. But he is also an enemy to others: having squandered his own fortune, he squanders his wife’s fortune, sinks lower and lower on the social ladder, finally turning into a tramp, a lumpen. Protasov is fully aware that he is bringing misfortune to people close to him, but cannot stop. He is ready to leave so as not to interfere with someone else’s life, but in the conditions in which society with its laws has placed him, this is only possible through the court and through the divorce procedure, and this means that he will again have to bend his soul: bribes to the consistory (church offices) and to court officials, again a lie, because you need to take the blame on yourself, and the blame for adultery, although he did not sin in anything against the bonds of marriage. The hero never learned to lie calmly, and this is a “misfortune”. The only way remains: to remove yourself, to commit suicide. He is ready to do this too, but, having already put a revolver to his temple, a weak, weak-willed man, he does not dare to take this step. The solution suggested to Fyodor by the gypsy Masha turns out to be unexpectedly simple. This is perhaps the rarest episode when Tolstoy begins to invent his heroes and their psychology, for which he rightly reproached Gorky. A gypsy friend, who is not only fond of literature, but speaks Russian poorly, suddenly asks: “Have you read “What is to be done?”? It’s a boring novel, but one thing is very, very good.” Well, this is an imaginary murder: you need to pretend that you drowned, especially since everyone knows that Fedor cannot swim.

This will be the decision that will subsequently lead to a bloody, fatal outcome for the hero. Fyodor Protasov fakes suicide; From now on it is believed that he died. He himself, completely dejected, appears in the dark dens of Saratov, lives in rooming houses, until some rogue in a neglected tavern, having overheard his confession, betrays him to the police. A short trial should end with the fact that, according to criminal law, Liza’s new marriage with Karenin will be dissolved, and she, along with her former husband, will go into exile in Siberia, will be subjected to church repentance, and she will again be tied to Fedya by marriage, which she also hated , and to him. Before the sentencing, Protasov, having quietly received the same pistol that had once appeared in his hands, shoots himself in front of the public and judicial officials and dies, thereby freeing Liza from the horror of exile, and himself from the horror of existence with a serious illness. sin on the soul.

This is a fairly simple, but tense and dynamic plot of the play, ending with the death of the hero. The plot of the work turns out to be very unusual and uniquely constructed: there is no end-to-end movement of events, it breaks up into several scenes, giving three distinct social sections: the privileged class (mainly secular society); the common people, the inhabitants of the “bottom” and the third plane, which always provoked a particularly sharp critical attack from Tolstoy - the soulless judicial system and the arbitrariness of judicial officials. In these three segments of the plot, various characters are presented: people of “decent society”, the aristocracy and the highest bureaucratic circle (Karenin, despite his youth, is already a chamberlain and state councilor; his mother, who has influence in the world; Lisa’s family; Prince Abrezkov), a petty fry - investigators, lawyers, officers - Fedya's drinking buddies, and, finally, he himself, at the end of the play - half-beggar, half-tramp, surrounded by degenerate dubious personalities.

In sharp contrast against the background of the “cream of society” and the inhabitants of the “bottom” the image of the gypsy Masha is drawn, who precisely personifies moral strength people. This is a kind of artistic parallel to the character of Fyodor Protasov: a man of the same integrity and sincerity. “Only love is precious,” she says. A simple gypsy girl of the choir, brought up “on self-interest”, carries within herself a selfless, pure feeling, gives everything without demanding anything. This ray of light, according to Fedya, warmed him, this love, which he also did not desecrate in any way, always remains in him, supports him, gives him strength to live as his most sincere memory. Dying, Fyodor imagines Masha next to him, whose image appears with a song in the hero’s fading consciousness. His last words are addressed to the gypsy: “I’m late... ( Crying.) How good... how good... ( Ends)".

In the final sixth act of the drama, what was already expressed in the expositional part: the need for judicial actions and all the lies associated with them, takes on the living flesh and blood of specific characters. Fedya Protasov finds himself in the stranglehold of the court and judicial officials. However, the trial of the “criminal” becomes in Tolstoy a trial of the trial: such sharp, merciless attacks against senseless laws and judicial paperwork can only be found in “Resurrection.” In the battle with the judges, Tolstoy reaches the passionate power of denunciation and the heights of journalistic pathos. Here, not only are the inhumanity and lack of any meaning in the law exposed, but also their perpetrators are shown in all their glory: a pitiful tribe of officials, their desire to endlessly, with impunity, insult and humiliate a person who has fallen into a judicial trap. They are not just indifferent to the task assigned, but enjoy the helplessness and defenselessness of their victims. Lawlessness is created at every step by the demands of the law - this is Tolstoy’s thought.

“Oh, Mr. Investigator,” says Fedya, “shame on you. Why are you meddling in someone else’s life? We’re glad that we have power, and in order to show it, you torture not physically, but morally, people who are thousands of times better than you.” ". And then the hero unfolds the essence of the human drama, which, falling under the pressure of the judicial machine, kills everything human in a person:

Fedya. There's nothing to ask for. I'll say everything I think. ( To the scribe.) And you write. At least for the first time there will be reasonable human speech on the record. ( Raises his voice.) Three people live: me, he, she. There is a complex relationship between them, a struggle between good and evil, a spiritual struggle that you have no idea about. This struggle ends with a certain situation that unravels everything. Everyone is calm. They are happy - they love the memory of me. In my fall, I am happy that I did what I should, that I, worthless, left this life so as not to interfere with those who are full of life and good. And we all live. Suddenly a scoundrel appears, a blackmailer who demands that I participate in the blackmail. I send him away. He comes to you, to the fighter for justice, to the guardian of morality. And you, receiving two kopecks for dirty tricks on the twentieth, put on a uniform and with a light spirit swagger over them, over people whom you are not even worth a little finger, who will not let you into their hallway. But you got there and are glad...

Forensic investigator. Take him away. I'll arrest you.

Fedya ( to Karenin and Lisa). So sorry.

Karenin ( comes up and offers his hand). So, apparently, it should have been.

(Lisa passes. Fedya bows low.)

Something happens in the courtroom that no one expected. “They are not judged, but they are judged by society,” says the young lawyer.

The ending, as often happens in Tolstoy's works, turns to the beginning of the entire compositional structure of the play: the first suicide attempt and the fatal shot, which untied the knot of the involuntary criminal drama; even the murder weapon is the same - a revolver, offered to Protasov twice by the same person (a failed suicide who was once related to the judiciary, Ivan Petrovich). The play, which Tolstoy considered unfinished, demonstrates internal integrity and completeness in the implementation of the author's plan.

The current edition of The Living Corpse was completed by the end of 1900. Tolstoy did not continue working on it. The play was first presented on stage - after the death of the writer - at the Moscow Art Theater in 1911. From that moment until the present time, the triumphant success of its productions has continued in Russia and in many countries of the world.

Arranged by his father on Sofia Embankment in order to legally separate from his wife and give her the opportunity to remarry. The scam was exposed, the couple were sentenced to seven years of exile, commuted to a year in prison.

Plot

The central character of the play, Fyodor Protasov, is tormented by the conviction that his wife Liza never chose between him and Viktor Karenin, the suitor for her hand. He wants to kill himself, but he doesn't have the courage. Running away from his life, he ends up with the gypsies, and enters into a relationship with the singer Masha. However, due to the disapproval of Masha's parents, he runs away from this life. He wants to kill himself again, but he doesn't have the strength.

Meanwhile, his wife, assuming that Protasov was dead, married another man. When Protasov showed up, she was accused of bigamy and organizing her husband’s disappearance. He appears at the trial to testify, without his wife knowing that he was alive. As a result, she must either abandon her new husband or be exiled to Siberia. Protasov shot himself. His wife then states that she has always loved Protasov.

Theater

Staging on English in London, held on December 6, 1912, was called "The Man Who Was Dead" (eng. The Man Who Was Dead; translation by Z. Vengerova and John Pollock), staged by the theater Literary Society. The play was staged by A. Andreev, who came from the Royal Theater in Belgrade. Edmond Breon played Fyodor, Violet Lewis played Lisa, Lawrence Anderson played Victor, Lydia Jaworska played Masha, and Anthony Ward played Prince Abrezkov.

Movies

The play has been filmed many times:

• - Living corpse Russia. (silent film) Directors Boris Tchaikovsky, V. Kuznetsov, Lisa Protasova- Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina
• - Living corpse. Fedor Protasov- Alexander Zelverovich
• - Living corpse Russia. (silent film). Directed by Czeslaw Sabinsky, starring: Vera Kholodnaya
• - Living corpse Japan. (silent film). Directed by Eizo Tanaka
• - Living corpse Germany, USSR. Director Fedor Otsep, Fedor Protasov- Vsevolod Pudovkin, Lisa Protasova- Maria Jacobini, Masha- Nato Vachnadze, prostitute- Vera Maretskaya, Petushkov- Vladimir Uralsky, tavern thief- Boris Barnet, Porfiry Podobed, Pyotr Repnin
• - Atonement / Redemption USA. Directed by Fred Niblo, Lionel Barrymore. Fedor Protasov- John Gilbert Masha- Rene Adore, Lisa- Elinor Boardman
• Nuits de feu(English) on the Internet Movie Database (1937)
• - Living corpse. USSR. Director Vladimir Vengerov. Fedor Protasov- Nikolai Simonov
• - Living corpse. USSR. Director Vladimir Vengerov
• - Living corpse. USSR. (TV). Directed by Boris Shchedrin. Fedor Protasov- Leonid Markov, Lisa Protasova- Olga Ostroumova, Victor Karenin- Georgy Taratorkin, Anna Karenina- Irina Kartasheva, Masha- Lyudmila Drebneva

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Literature

• Adler, Jacob. 1999. A Life on the Stage: A Memoir. Trans. Lulla Rosenfeld. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-679-41351-0.
• Benedetti, Jean. 1999. Stanislavski: His Life and Art. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-52520-1.
• Bernstein, Herman. 1911. "Tolstoy's Play," The Living Corpse, "Stirs Russia; Strong Melodrama Produced in Russia Will Soon be Seen in Berlin and Elsewhere--;The Story of a Worthless Husband’s Failure and Final Sacrifice.” New York Times Oct 29: SM5.
• Carson, L, ed. 1913. en:The Stage Year Book 1913. London: The Stage. .
• Jones, W. Gareth. 2002. "Tolstoy Staged in Paris, Berlin, and London." In Orwin (2002, 142-161).
• Gilien, Leo. 1916. “Irving Place Production of Tolstoy Play Not Its First in America.” New York Times Oct 22: X7.
• Orwin, Donna Tussing, ed. 2002. The Cambridge Companion to Tolstoy. Cambridge Companions to Literature ser. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-52000-2.
• Rosenfeld, Lulla. 1999. Commentary. In Adler (1999, 367-370).
• , ,on the Internet Broadway Database.
• -, "Gilbert Miller Stages Tolstoy Play", The New York Times, Sep 27, 1919. p. 13
• -, “Leo Tolstoy’s Play Makes a Triumph...”, New York Times, Oct 19, 1916, 7.

Notes

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Excerpt characterizing the Living Corpse

Swaying from the crush that gripped him, Pierre looked around him.
- Count, Pyotr Kirilych! How are you here? - said someone's voice. Pierre looked around.
Boris Drubetskoy, cleaning his knees with his hand, which he had soiled (probably also kissing the icon), approached Pierre with a smile. Boris was dressed elegantly, with a touch of camp militancy. He was wearing a long frock coat and a whip over his shoulder, just like Kutuzov.
Meanwhile, Kutuzov approached the village and sat down in the shade of the nearest house on a bench, which one Cossack ran and quickly covered with a rug. A huge brilliant retinue surrounded the commander-in-chief.
The icon moved on, followed by the crowd. Pierre stopped about thirty paces from Kutuzov, talking to Boris.
Pierre explained his intention to participate in the battle and inspect the position.
“Here’s how to do it,” said Boris. – Je vous ferai les honneurs du camp. [I will treat you to the camp.] You will best see everything from where Count Bennigsen will be. I'm with him. I'll report to him. And if you want to go around the position, then come with us: we are now going to the left flank. And then we’ll come back, and you’re welcome to spend the night with me, and we’ll form a party. You know Dmitry Sergeich, right? He’s standing here,” he pointed to the third house in Gorki.
“But I would like to see the right flank; they say he is very strong,” said Pierre. – I would like to drive from the Moscow River and the entire position.
- Well, you can do that later, but the main one is the left flank...
- Yes, yes. Can you tell me where Prince Bolkonsky’s regiment is? asked Pierre.
- Andrey Nikolaevich? We'll pass by, I'll take you to him.
- What about the left flank? asked Pierre.
“To tell you the truth, entre nous, [between us], God knows what position our left flank is in,” said Boris, trustingly lowering his voice, “Count Bennigsen did not expect it at all.” He intended to strengthen that mound over there, not at all like that... but,” Boris shrugged. – His Serene Highness didn’t want to, or they told him to. After all... - And Boris did not finish, because at that time Kaysarov, Kutuzov’s adjutant, approached Pierre. - A! Paisiy Sergeich,” said Boris, turning to Kaisarov with a free smile, “But I’m trying to explain the position to the count.” It’s amazing how His Serene Highness could so correctly guess the intentions of the French!
– Are you talking about the left flank? - said Kaisarov.
- Yes, yes, exactly. Our left flank is now very, very strong.
Despite the fact that Kutuzov kicked out all unnecessary people from the headquarters, Boris, after the changes made by Kutuzov, managed to hold on to main apartment. Boris joined Count Bennigsen. Count Bennigsen, like all the people with whom Boris was, considered the young Prince Drubetskoy an unappreciated person.
There were two sharp, definite parties in command of the army: the party of Kutuzov and the party of Bennigsen, the chief of staff. Boris was present at this last game, and no one knew better than he, while paying servile respect to Kutuzov, to make one feel that the old man was bad and that the whole business was being conducted by Bennigsen. Now the decisive moment of the battle had come, which was either to destroy Kutuzov and transfer power to Bennigsen, or, even if Kutuzov had won the battle, to make it felt that everything had been done by Bennigsen. In any case, big rewards were to be given out tomorrow and new people were to be brought forward. And as a result of this, Boris was in irritated animation all that day.
After Kaisarov, other of his acquaintances still approached Pierre, and he did not have time to answer the questions about Moscow with which they bombarded him, and did not have time to listen to the stories they told him. All faces expressed animation and anxiety. But it seemed to Pierre that the reason for the excitement expressed on some of these faces lay more in matters of personal success, and he could not get out of his head that other expression of excitement that he saw on other faces and which spoke of issues not personal, but general , matters of life and death. Kutuzov noticed the figure of Pierre and the group gathered around him.
“Call him to me,” said Kutuzov. The adjutant conveyed the wishes of his Serene Highness, and Pierre headed to the bench. But even before him, an ordinary militiaman approached Kutuzov. It was Dolokhov.
- How is this one here? asked Pierre.
- This is such a beast, it will crawl everywhere! - they answered Pierre. - After all, he was demoted. Now he needs to jump out. He submitted some projects and climbed into the enemy’s chain at night... but well done!..
Pierre, taking off his hat, bowed respectfully in front of Kutuzov.
“I decided that if I report to your lordship, you can send me away or say that you know what I am reporting, and then I won’t be killed...” said Dolokhov.
- Yes, yes.
“And if I’m right, then I will benefit the fatherland, for which I am ready to die.”
- So... so...
- And if your lordship needs a person who would not spare his skin, then please remember me... Maybe I will be useful to your lordship.
“So... so...” repeated Kutuzov, looking at Pierre with a laughing, narrowing eye.
At this time, Boris, with his courtly dexterity, advanced next to Pierre in the proximity of his superiors and with the most natural look and not loudly, as if continuing the conversation that had begun, he said to Pierre:
– The militia – they directly put on clean, white shirts to prepare for death. What heroism, Count!
Boris said this to Pierre, obviously in order to be heard by his Serene Highness. He knew that Kutuzov would pay attention to these words, and indeed His Serene Highness addressed him:
-What are you talking about the militia? - he said to Boris.
“They, your lordship, in preparation for tomorrow, for death, put on white shirts.”
- Ah!.. Wonderful, incomparable people! - said Kutuzov and, closing his eyes, shook his head. - Incomparable people! - he repeated with a sigh.
- Do you want to smell gunpowder? - he said to Pierre. - Yes, a pleasant smell. I have the honor to be an admirer of your wife, is she healthy? My rest stop is at your service. - And, as often happens with old people, Kutuzov began to look around absently, as if he had forgotten everything he needed to say or do.
Obviously, remembering what he was looking for, he lured Andrei Sergeich Kaisarov, the brother of his adjutant, to him.
- How, how, how are the poems, Marina, how are the poems, how? What he wrote about Gerakov: “You will be a teacher in the building... Tell me, tell me,” Kutuzov spoke, obviously about to laugh. Kaisarov read... Kutuzov, smiling, nodded his head to the beat of the poems.

Elizaveta Andreevna Protasova decides to leave her husband, Fyodor Vasilyevich, whose lifestyle is becoming unbearable for her: Fedya Protasov drinks, squanders his and his wife’s fortune. Lisa's mother approves of her decision, her sister Sasha is categorically against parting with such an amazing, albeit weak, person as Fedya. The mother believes that, having received a divorce, Lisa will unite her fate with her childhood friend Viktor Mikhailovich Karenin. Lisa makes a last attempt to return her husband and for this she sends Karenin to him. He finds Protasov among the gypsies, in the company of several officers. Listening to his favorite songs “Kanavela”, “Fatal Hour”, “Not Evening”, Fedya remarks: “And why can a person reach this delight, but cannot continue it?” He rejects his wife's request to return to the family.

Everything suggests that Liza Protasova should unite her fate with Viktor Karenin: he has loved her since childhood, deep down she reciprocates his feelings; Victor loves her too little son Teddy bear. Victor’s mother, Anna Dmitrievna, would also be glad to see Lisa as her son’s wife, if not for the difficult circumstances associated with this.

The gypsy Masha, whose singing he loves so much, falls in love with Fedya. This outrages her parents, who believe that the master ruined their daughter. Masha is also trying to convince Fedya to take pity on his wife and return home. He rejects this request too - confident that he now lives in accordance with his conscience. Having left his family, alone, Protasov begins to write. He reads to Masha the beginning of his prose: “In late autumn, my friend and I agreed to gather at the Muryga site. This site was a strong island with strong broods. It was a dark, warm, quiet day. Fog..."

Viktor Karenin, through Prince Abrezkov, is trying to find out about Protasov’s further intentions. He confirms that he is ready for a divorce, but is not capable of the lies associated with this. Fedya tries to explain to Abrezkov why he cannot lead a respectable life: “No matter what I do, I always feel that it is not what I need, and I am ashamed. And to be a leader, to sit in a bank - it’s so shameful, so embarrassing... And only when you drink will it stop being shameful.” He promises in two weeks to remove the obstacles to the marriage of Lisa and Karenin, whom he considers a decent and boring person.

To free his wife, Fedya tries to shoot himself, even writes a farewell letter, but does not find the strength to do this. Gypsy Masha invites him to fake suicide, leaving clothes and a letter on the river bank. Fedya agrees.

Lisa and Karenin are awaiting news from Protasov: he must sign a petition for divorce. Lisa tells Victor about her love without remorse and without return, that everything has disappeared from her heart except her love for him. Instead of a signed petition, Karenin's secretary, Voznesensky, brings a letter from Protasov. He writes that he feels like an outsider, interfering with the happiness of Lisa and Victor, but cannot lie, give bribes in the consistory in order to get a divorce, and therefore wants to physically destroy himself, thus freeing everyone. In the last lines of his farewell letter, he asks to help some weak but good watchmaker Evgeniev. Shocked by this letter, Lisa repeats in despair that she loves only Fedya.

A year later, in a dirty room of a tavern, a dejected, ragged Fedya Protasov sits and talks with the artist Petushkov. Fedya explains to Petushkov that he could not choose for himself any fate from those that were possible for a person of his circle: he was disgusted to serve, make money and thus “increase the dirty tricks in which you live,” but he was not a hero, capable of destroying this dirty trick. Therefore, he could only forget himself - drink, walk, sing; which is what he did. In his wife, an ideal woman, he did not find what is called zest; There was no game in their life without which it was impossible to forget. Fedya remembers the gypsy Masha, whom he loved - most of all because he left her, and thus did her good, not evil. “But you know,” says Fedya, “we love people for the good we did to them, and we don’t love them for the evil we did to them.”

Protasov tells Petushkov the story of his transformation into a “living corpse”, after which his wife was able to marry a respectable man who loved her. This story is overheard by Artemyev, who happens to be nearby. He begins to blackmail Fedya, inviting him to demand money from his wife in exchange for silence. Protasov refuses; Artemyev gives it into the hands of the policeman.

In the village, on a terrace covered with ivy, pregnant Liza awaits the arrival of her husband, Viktor Karenin. He brings letters from the city, among which there is a paper from the forensic investigator with a message that Protasov is alive. Everyone is desperate.

The forensic investigator takes testimony from Lisa and Karenin. They are accused of bigamy and of knowing about Protasov's staging of suicide. The matter is complicated by the fact that Liza previously identified the dead body found in the water as the corpse of her husband, and in addition, Karenin regularly sent money to Saratov, and now refuses to explain to whom it was intended. Although the money was sent to a figurehead, it was in Saratov that Protasov lived all this time.

Protasov, brought in for a confrontation, asks for forgiveness from Lisa and Victor and assures the investigator that they did not know that he was alive. He sees that the investigator is torturing them all only in order to show his power over them, not understanding the spiritual struggle taking place in them.

During the trial, Fedya is in some kind of special excitement. During the break, his former friend Ivan Petrovich Aleksandrov gives him a pistol. Having learned that his wife's second marriage will be dissolved, and he and Lisa are facing exile to Siberia, Protasov shoots himself in the heart. At the sound of the shot, Lisa, Masha, Karenin, the judges and the defendants run out. Fedya asks for forgiveness from Lisa for not being able to “unravel” her otherwise. “How good... How good...” he repeats before dying.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Living corpse

DRAMA IN SIX ACTS

(TWELVE PICTURES)

CHARACTERS

Fedor Vasilievich Protasov (Fedya).

Elizaveta Andreevna Protasova (Liza), his wife.

Misha, a boy, their son.

Anna Pavlovna, Liza's mother.

Sasha, Lisa's sister.

Viktor Mikhailovich Karenin.

Anna Dmitrievna Karenina, his mother.

Marya Vasilievna Kryukova, Lisa's friend.

Sergei Dmitrievich Abrezkov, prince.

Masha, gypsy.

Ivan Makarovich, an old gypsy, Masha's father.

Nastasya Ivanovna, an old gypsy, Masha’s mother.

Fedya's friends: Mikhail Andreevich, Afremov, Stakhovich, Butkevich, Korotkov.

Ivan Petrovich Alexandrov.

Petushkov, artist.

Artemyev.

Voznesensky, Karenin's secretary.

Forensic investigator.

Clerk of the forensic investigator.

Melnikov.

Petrushin, lawyer.

Young lawyer.

Gypsy officer.

Musician.

Gypsies: Katya, Gasha.

1st gypsy.

2nd gypsy.

Lady in court.

Officer in court.

Judicial.

Nanny of the Protasovs.

Dunyasha, the Protasovs' maid.

Lackey of the Protasovs.

The Karenins' lackey.

Woman in a tavern.

Sex in a tavern.

Policeman.

The owner of the inn.

Gentleman in court.

Judges, spectators, witnesses.

Gypsies and Gypsies (choir).

ACT ONE

PICTURE ONE

SCENE ONE

Anna Pavlovna, a plump gray-haired lady, in a corset, sits alone at the tea table.

PHENOMENA SECOND

Anna Pavlovna and the nanny with a teapot.

Nanny. Can I have some water?

Anna Pavlovna. Can. What about Mishka?

Nanny. Yes, he is restless. There is nothing worse than how the lady herself feeds. They have their own sorrows there, and the child suffers. What kind of milk can there be when you can’t sleep at night and cry?

Anna Pavlovna. Yes, she seems to have calmed down now.

Nanny. Good calm. It's sickening to watch. They wrote something and cried.

PHENOMENA THIRD

Same with Sasha.

Sasha(enters to the nanny). Lisa is looking for you in the nursery.

Nanny. I'm coming, I'm coming. (Leaves.)

SCENE FOUR

Anna Pavlovna and Sasha.

Anna Pavlovna. The nanny says she keeps crying. How can she not calm down?

Sasha. No, you, mom, are amazing. Leaving your husband, the father of your child, and you want her to be at peace.

Anna Pavlovna. She’s not calm, but what’s done is done. If I, a mother, not only allowed, but rejoice in the fact that my daughter leaves her husband, then he is worth it. You should be happy, and not sad, that you can free yourself from such a bad person, free yourself from such gold.

Sasha. Mom, why are you saying that? Because you know that this is not true. He is not bad, but, on the contrary, an amazing, amazing person, despite his weaknesses.

Anna Pavlovna. Well, exactly an amazing person. As soon as the money is in your hands - whether it’s yours or someone else’s...

Sasha. Mom, he never took strangers.

Anna Pavlovna. It doesn't matter, wives.

Sasha. But he gave all his fortune to his wife.

Anna Pavlovna. He wouldn’t give it away when he himself knows that he will squander it all.

Sasha. Whether he squanders it or not, I just know that you can’t be separated from your husband, especially with someone like Fedya.

Anna Pavlovna. Do you think we should wait until he squanders everything and brings his gypsy mistresses to the house?

Sasha. He has no lovers.

Anna Pavlovna. That’s the trouble, he somehow charmed you all. Not me, no, you’re being naughty; I see him and he knows it. If I were Lisa, I wouldn’t leave him now, let alone a year ago.

Sasha. The way you say it is easy.

Anna Pavlovna. No, it's not easy. As a mother, it’s not easy for me to see my daughter divorced. Believe me, it's not very easy. But anything is better than ruining a young life. No, I thank God that she has now made up her mind and that it’s all over.

Sasha. Maybe it's not over.

Anna Pavlovna. If only he would give a divorce.

Sasha. What will be good?

Anna Pavlovna. It will be that she is young and can still be happy.

Sasha. Oh, mom, it’s terrible what you say; Lisa cannot love another.

Anna Pavlovna. Why can't it? if she is free. There will be people a thousand times better than your Fedya and will be happy to marry Lisa.

Sasha. Mom, this is not good. You, I know, are thinking about Viktor Karenin.

Anna Pavlovna. Why not think about him? He has loved her for ten years, and she loves him.

Sasha. She loves, but not as much as her husband. This is friendship from childhood.

Anna Pavlovna. We know this friendship. If only there were no obstacles.

SCENE FIFTH

The same ones. The maid enters.

Anna Pavlovna. What do you?

Housemaid. The lady sent a janitor with a note to Viktor Mikhailovich.

Anna Pavlovna. Which lady?

Housemaid. Lizaveta Andreevna, lady.

Anna Pavlovna. So what?

Housemaid. Viktor Mikhailovich was ordered to say that they would come themselves now.

Anna Pavlovna(surprised). They were just talking about him. I just don’t understand why? (Sachet.) Don't you know?

Sasha. Maybe I know, maybe I don’t know.

Anna Pavlovna. All the secrets.

Sasha. Lisa will come, she will tell you.

Anna Pavlovna(shaking his head to the maid). But the samovar needs to be heated. Take it, Dunyasha.

The maid takes the samovar and leaves.

SCENE SIX

Anna Pavlovna and Sasha.

Anna Pavlovna(to Sasha, who got up and wants to go). It turned out as I said. Now she sent for him.

Sasha. Perhaps I sent for the wrong thing.

Anna Pavlovna. So why?

Sasha. Now, at this moment, Karenin is the same to her as Trifonovna.

Anna Pavlovna. But you'll see. After all, I know her. She calls him, seeks consolation.

Sasha. Oh, mom, how little you know her that you can think this.

Anna Pavlovna. Yes, you'll see. And I'm very, very happy.

Sasha. We'll see. (Hums and leaves.)

SCENE SEVEN

Anna Pavlovna is alone.

Anna Pavlovna(shakes his head and mutters). And great. And let it be... And it’s wonderful, and let it be... Yes...

SCENE EIGHTH

Anna Pavlovna and the maid.

Housemaid(enters). Victor Mikhailovich has arrived.

Anna Pavlovna. Well then. Ask and tell the lady.

The maid goes through the inner door.

SCENE NINE

Anna Pavlovna and Viktor Karenin.

Karenin(enters and greets Anna Pavlovna). Lizaveta Andreevna sent me a note asking me to come. And I was already going to see you this evening, so I’m very glad... Is Lizaveta Andreevna healthy?

Anna Pavlovna. She is healthy, the child is a little worried. She'll come now. (Sad.) Yes, yes, hard time...You know everything...

Karenin. I know. After all, I was here three days ago when I received a letter from him. But is this really decided irrevocably?

Anna Pavlovna. Of course. Reliving everything that happened again would be terrible.

Karenin. Yes, that’s where try it on ten times and cut it off once. It is very difficult to cut alive.

Anna Pavlovna. Of course it's difficult. But their marriage was cut short a long time ago. So it was less difficult to break than it seems. He himself understands that after everything that happened, he himself can no longer return.

Karenin. Why?

Anna Pavlovna. Well, how do you want it after all his nasty things, after he swore that this would not happen and that if it did, then he would deprive himself of all the rights of a husband and give her complete freedom?

Karenin. Yes, but what kind of freedom can there be for a woman bound by marriage?

Anna Pavlovna. Divorce. He promised a divorce, and we will insist.

Karenin. Yes, but Lizaveta Andreevna loved him so much...

Anna Pavlovna. Ah, her love has been so tested that there is hardly anything left of it. There is drunkenness, deception, and infidelity. Is it possible to love such a husband?

Karenin. For love, anything is possible.

Anna Pavlovna. You say love, but how can you love such a person - a rag, who cannot be relied on for anything? After all, now what happened... (Looks at the door and hurries to tell.) Things are upset, everything is mortgaged, there is nothing to pay. Finally, my uncle sends two thousand to pay interest. He goes with this money and... disappears. The wife sits with the sick child, waits, and finally gets a note - to send him linen and things...

Karenin. Yes, yes, I know.

SCENE TENTH

The same ones. Sasha and Lisa enter.

Anna Pavlovna. Well, Viktor Mikhailovich came to your call.

Karenin. Yes, I was delayed a little. (He greets his sisters.)

Lisa. Give thanks. I have a big favor to ask of you. And I have no one to turn to like you.

Karenin. All I can do.

Lisa. You know everything.

Karenin. Yes, I know.

Anna Pavlovna. So I'll leave you. (Sachet.) Let's go. Leave them alone. (Leaves with Sasha.)

SCENE ELEVENTH

Lisa and Karenin.

Lisa. Yes, he wrote me a letter saying that he thought it was all over. I (holds back tears)... I was so offended, so... well, in a word, I agreed to break it off. And I answered him that I accepted his refusal.

Karenin. But then?...

Lisa. After? Then I felt that it was bad of me, that I couldn’t. Anything is better than breaking up with him. Well, in a word, give him this letter. Please, Victor... give him this letter and tell him... and bring him.

Karenin. Fine. (Surprised.) Yes, but how?

Lisa. Tell him that I ask him to forget everything, forget everything and come back. I could just send a letter. But I know him: the first move, as always, will be good, but then someone’s influence will come, and he will change his mind and do something he doesn’t want...

Karenin. I'll do what I can.

Lisa. Are you surprised that I'm asking you?

Karenin. No... However, we must tell the truth - yes, I am surprised...

Lisa. But don't be angry?...

Karenin. How can I be angry with you?

Lisa. I asked you because I know you love him.

Karenin. Both him and you. You know this. And I love not for myself, but for you. And I thank you for believing me: I will do what I can.

Lisa. I knew. I’ll tell you everything: I went to Afremov today to find out where he is. They told me that they went to the gypsies. And this is what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of this hobby. I know that if you don’t stop him in time, he will get carried away. This is what is needed. So will you go?

Karenin. Of course, now.

Lisa. Go, find him and tell him that everything is forgotten, that I am waiting for him.

Karenin(gets up). But where to look for it?

Lisa. It's with the gypsies. I was there myself. I was at the porch. I wanted to send a letter, then I changed my mind and decided to ask you... here is the address. Well, tell him to come back, that nothing happened, that everything is forgotten. Do it out of love for him and friendship for us.

Karenin. I'll do my best. (He waits, then bows and leaves.)

SCENE TWELVE

Lisa is alone.

Lisa. I can't, I can't. Anything is better than... I can’t.

SCENE THIRTEEN

Lisa, Sasha comes in.

Sasha. Well? Did you send it?

Lisa makes an affirmative sign with her head.

And he agreed?

Lisa. Of course.

Sasha. I don’t understand why…

Lisa. Who?

Sasha. But you know that he is in love with you?

Lisa. It all happened and passed. But who do you want me to ask? Do you think he will come back?

Sasha. I'm sure because...

SCENE FOURTEEN

Same with Anna Pavlovna.

Anna Pavlovna enters, Sasha falls silent.

Anna Pavlovna. Where is Viktor Mikhailovich?

Lisa. Left.

Anna Pavlovna. How did you leave?

Lisa. I asked him to fulfill my request.

Anna Pavlovna. What request? More secrets?

Lisa. Not secrets, but simply asked him to deliver the letter to Fedya himself.

Anna Pavlovna. Fede? Fedor Vasilievich?

Lisa. Yes, Fede.

Anna Pavlovna. I thought that all relations between you were over.

Lisa. I can't part with him.

Anna Pavlovna. How, all over again?

Lisa. I wanted, I tried, but I can't. Whatever you want, just not to be separated from him.

Anna Pavlovna. So, do you want him back?

Lisa. Yes.

Anna Pavlovna. Let this vermin into your house again?

Lisa. Mom, I ask you not to talk about my husband like that.

Anna Pavlovna. He was the husband.

Lisa. No, he's my husband now.

Anna Pavlovna. A spendthrift, a drunkard, a libertine, and you can’t part with him?

Lisa. Why are you torturing me? It’s already hard for me, but you definitely want it on purpose...

Anna Pavlovna. I'm tormenting, so I'll leave. I can't see this.

Lisa is silent.

I see that you want this, that I am disturbing you. I can't live. I don't understand anything about you. It's all new. You got divorced, you decided, then suddenly you write out the person who is in love with you.

Lisa. There is none of this.

Anna Pavlovna. Karenin proposed... and you send him for your husband. What is this? To arouse jealousy?

Lisa. Mother! It's terrible what you say. Leave me alone.

Anna Pavlovna. So kick your mother out of the house and let your depraved husband go. Yes, I won't wait. And farewell, and God be with you, do as you want. (He leaves, slamming the door.)

SCENE FIFTEEN

Lisa and Sasha.

Lisa(falls on a chair). This was missing!

Sasha. Nothing. Everything will be fine. Mom, we will calm you down.

SCENE SIXTEEN

Same with Anna Pavlovna.

Anna Pavlovna(passes silently). Dunyasha, my suitcase!

Sasha. Mother! Listen! (He goes after her and winks at his sister.)

PICTURE TWO

SCENE ONE

Gypsy room. The choir sings "Kanavela". Fedya is lying face down on the sofa, without a frock coat. Afremov on a chair astride opposite the lead singer. An officer at a table with champagne and glasses on it. The musician records right there.

Afremov. Fedya! Are you sleeping?

Fedya(rises). Don't talk. This is the steppe, this is the tenth century, this is not freedom, but freedom... Now “Not Evening”.

Gypsy. It’s impossible, Fyodor Vasilyevich. Now let Masha sing alone.

Fedya. OK. And then “Not evening.” (Lies down again.)

Officer."The fatal hour." Do you agree?

Afremov. Let it go.

Officer(to the musician). Well, did you write it down?

Musician. Impossible. Every time in a new way. And some other rock. Right here. (Calls to the gypsy woman who is watching.) How is that? (Humming.)

Gypsy. Yes it is. So wonderful.

Fedya(rising). It won't write it down. If he writes it down and sticks it in the opera, he’ll ruin everything. Well, Masha, at least go ahead with the “Hour”! Take the guitar. (He gets up, sits in front of her and looks into her eyes.)

Masha sings.

And that's good. Oh yes Masha. Well, now “Not evening”.

Afremov. No, wait. First, my funeral.

Officer. Why funeral?

Afremov. And this is because when I die... you know, I die, I’ll lie in a coffin, the gypsies will come... you know? This is what I bequeath to my wife. And they’ll sing “Shel me verst”, so I’ll jump out of the coffin, do you understand? (To the musician.) Write this down. Well, ride it.

The gypsies are singing.

Oh, what it is. Well - “My rejuvenators.”

They sing. Afremov makes a prank. The gypsies smile and continue to sing, clapping. Afremov sits down. The song ends.

Gypsy. Wow, Mikhail Andreevich, a real gypsy.

Fedya. Well, now - “Not evening”.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same ones. A gypsy enters.

Gypsy(to Fedya). The master is asking you.

Fedya. What gentleman?

Gypsy. Don't know. Dressed well. Sable coat.

Fedya. Bararay? Well, call me.

PHENOMENA THIRD

The same, without the gypsy.

Afremov. Who is this coming here for you?

Fedya. And the devil knows. Who cares about me? (Stands up, staggering.)

Masha leaves and says something in Gypsy to her people.

SCENE FOUR

The same, without Masha. Karenin enters. Looks around.

Fedya. Ah, Victor. That's who I wasn't expecting. Take off your clothes. What wind brought you here? Well, sit down. Listen, Victor, “Not an evening party.”

The gypsies are singing.

This is it. This is it. It’s amazing, and where is everything that is expressed here done? Ah, okay. And why can a person reach this delight, but cannot continue it?

Musician(writes down). Yes, very original.

Fedya. Not original, but this is real...

Afremov. Well, chawals, you can rest. (Takes the guitar and sits down next to Katya.)

Musician. In essence, it is simple, but only rhythm.

Karenin. Je voudrais vous parler sans temoins.

Fedya. About what?

Karenin. Je viens de chez vous. Votre femme m"a charge de cette lettre, et puis...

Fedya(takes the letter, reads it, frowns, then smiles affectionately). Listen, Karenin, you know what’s in this letter, right?

Karenin. I know. And I want to say...

Fedya. Wait, wait. Please don’t think that I’m drunk and my words are insane, that is, I’m insane. I'm drunk, but I see everything clearly in this matter. Well, what are you instructed to say?

Karenin. I am tasked with finding you and telling you that she... is waiting for you. He asks you to forget everything and come back.

Fedya(listens silently, looking into his face). I still don’t understand why you?

Karenin. Lizaveta Andreevna sent for me and asked me...

Fedya. So…

Karenin. But I ask you not so much on behalf of your wife as on my own behalf: let’s go home.

Fedya. You're better than me. What nonsense! It's not hard to be better than me. I am a scoundrel, and you are a good, good person. And this alone will not change my decision. And not because of this. But I just can’t and don’t want to. Well, how will I go?

Karenin. Let's go to my place now. I will say that you will return, and tomorrow...

Fedya. What about tomorrow? Everything will be me - me, and she - she. No. (He comes to the table and drinks.) It is better to pull out the tooth immediately. I said that if I don’t keep my word again, then she should leave me. I couldn't hold back and it was over.

Karenin. For you, but not for her.

Fedya. It's amazing that you care about keeping our marriage intact.

Karenin wants to say something. Masha enters.

SCENE FIFTH

Same with Masha. Then the gypsies.

Fedya(interrupts him). Listen, listen. Masha, sing.

The gypsies converge.

Masha(whispers). I would like to magnify it.

Fedya(laughs). Magnify: Victor, sir Mikhailovich...

The gypsies are singing.

Karenin(listens confusedly, then asks). How much to give?

Fedya. Well, give me twenty-five.

Karenin gives.

SCENE SIX

The same, without Karenin.

Fedya. Wonderful! Now "Len". (Looks around.) Karenin escaped. Well, to hell with it.

The gypsies are scattering.

(Waves his hand, approaches Masha, sits on the sofa next to her.) Oh, Masha, Masha, how you unfold everything inside me.

Masha. Well, what did I ask you...

Fedya. What? Money? (Takes it out of his pants pocket.) Well, take it.

Masha laughs, takes the money and hides it in her bosom.

Fedya(to the gypsies). So figure it out here. The sky opens for me, and she asks for darlings. After all, you don’t understand a damn thing about what you yourself are doing.

Masha. How can you not understand? I understand that whoever I love is why I try and sing better.

Fedya. Do you love me?

Masha. It's obvious that I love you.

Fedya. Marvelous. (Kisses her.)

The gypsies and gypsies leave. Couples remain: Fedya and Masha, Afremov and Katya, the officer and Gasha. The musician writes, the gypsy plays a waltz on the guitar.

After all, I’m married, and the choir doesn’t tell you. Are you feeling good?

Masha. Of course it's good when good guests. And we have fun.

Fedya. Do you know who this is?

Masha. I heard the name.

Fedya. This is an excellent person. He came to call me home to his wife. She loves me, a fool, and this is what I do.

Masha. Well, that's not good. We need to go to her. We must feel sorry for her.

Fedya. Do you think it's necessary? But I think it’s not necessary.

Masha. It is known that if you don’t love, you don’t need it. Only love is dear.

Fedya. How do you know?

Masha. I should, I know.

Fedya. Well, kiss me. Chawals! Another “Len”, and then the Sabbath.

They start singing.

Ah, good! If only I didn't wake up. So die.

ACT TWO

PICTURE ONE

Two weeks have passed since the first action. At Lisa's. Karenin and Anna Pavlovna are sitting in the dining room. Sasha comes out the door.

SCENE ONE

Karenin. Well?

Sasha. The doctor said that now there is no danger. And just don’t catch a cold.

Anna Pavlovna. Well, thank God. Otherwise, Lisa was completely exhausted.

Sasha. He says it was or false croup, or in a weak form... What is this? (Pointing to the basket.)

Anna Pavlovna. Yes, it was Victor who brought the grapes.

Karenin. Wouldn't you like it?

Sasha. Yes, she does. She became very nervous.

Karenin. Don't sleep for two nights, don't eat.

Sasha(smiling). Yes you too...

Karenin. I'm different.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same ones. The doctor and Lisa come out.

Doctor(impressive). Yes, yes, sir. Change it every half hour if he is not sleeping. If he's sleeping, don't disturb him. There is no need to smear the larynx. Keep the temperature in the room the same...

Lisa. What if he starts to choke again?

Doctor. It shouldn't be. If so, spray it. And, in addition, powder, one in the morning and another in the evening. I'll write it down now.

Anna Pavlovna. Would you like some tea, doctor?

Doctor. No, thank you, the patients are waiting. (Sits down at the table.)

Sasha brings paper and ink.

Lisa. So, it's probably not croup.

Doctor(smiling). Absolutely right. (Writes.)

Anna Pavlovna stands over the doctor.

Karenin. Well, now have some tea or, better yet, sleep, and then see what you look like.

Lisa. Now I'm alive. Thank you. This is a true friend. (Shakes his hand.)

Sasha angrily goes to the doctor.

Thank you my friend. This is where help comes in.

Karenin. What have I done? There's really nothing to thank me for.

Lisa. And who didn’t sleep all night, who brought this celebrity? All of you...

Karenin. I am so rewarded by the fact that Mika is out of danger, and, most importantly, by your kindness. (She shakes hands again and laughs, showing the coin remaining in her hand.)

Lisa(smiles). This is for the doctor. Only I never know how to give.

Karenin. Well, I can’t either.

Anna Pavlovna(fits). What can't I do?

Lisa. Giving money to the doctor. He saved me more than my life, and I give money. Something is so unpleasant here.

Anna Pavlovna. Let me give it. I know how. Very simple...

Doctor(stands up and gives the recipe). So mix these powders thoroughly in a tablespoon of boiled water and... (Continues the instruction.)

Karenin is drinking tea at the table. Anna Pavlovna and Sasha step forward.

Sasha. I can't see their relationship. She's definitely in love with him.

Anna Pavlovna. What's surprising here?

Sasha. Disgusting...

The doctor leaves and says goodbye to everyone. Anna Pavlovna goes to see him off.

PHENOMENA THIRD

Lisa, Karenin and Sasha.

Lisa(Karenin). He's so cute now. As soon as he felt better, he immediately began to smile and chat. I'll go to him. And I don’t want to leave you.

Karenin. Yes, drink tea, eat something.

Lisa. I don't need anything now. I feel so good after these fears. (Sobs.)

Karenin. But you see how weak you are.

Lisa. I'm happy. Would you like to take a look at it?

Karenin. Of course.

Lisa. Come with me.

SCENE FOUR

Sasha and Anna Pavlovna.

Anna Pavlovna(returns). She gave it so beautifully, and he took it. Are you frowning?

Sasha. Disgusting. She took him with her to the nursery. He's definitely a groom or husband.

Anna Pavlovna. What do you care? What are you boiling over? Or were you planning to marry him?

Sasha. Me, this mile away? Yes, I probably don’t know who I’ll marry, but not him. And it never even occurred to me. I’m just disgusted that Lisa, after Fedya, can get so close to a stranger.

Anna Pavlovna. What a stranger he is - a childhood friend.

Sasha. But I can see from their smiles, from their eyes that they are in love.

Anna Pavlovna. What's surprising here? The person took part in the child’s illness, sympathized, helped, and she is grateful. And besides, why shouldn’t she fall in love and marry Victor?

Sasha. It would be terrible. Disgusting, disgusting.

SCENE FIFTH

Karenin and Lisa come out.

Karenin says goodbye in silence. Sasha angrily leaves.

SCENE SIX

Anna Pavlovna and Lisa.

Lisa(to mother). What's wrong with her?

Anna Pavlovna. Really, I don't know.

Lisa sighs silently.

PICTURE TWO

In Afremov's office. Wine in poured glasses. Guests.

SCENE ONE

Afremov, Fedya, shaggy Stakhovich, shaven Butkevich, Korotkov, henchman.

Korotkov. And I tell you what will remain behind the flag: La Belle Bois - the first horse in Europe. Bet.

Stakhovich. Totally lie. Because you know that no one believes you. And he won’t bet.

Korotkov. I'm telling you. Your Cartouche is behind the flag.

Afremov. Stop quarreling. I'll make peace with you. Ask Fedya. He will say it right.

Fedya. Both horses are good. It's about the rider.

Stakhovich. Gusev is a scoundrel. You just need to hold it in your hands.

Korotkov(shouting). No!

Fedya. Well, wait, I'll make peace with you. Who took the derby?

Korotkov. I took it, but it’s worth nothing. This is the case. If only the Crown Prince hadn’t gotten sick, I would have watched it.

The footman enters.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same and the footman.

Afremov. What you?

Lackey. Madam have arrived, they are asking for Fyodor Vasilyevich.

Afremov. Which? lady?

Lackey. I can't know. Only a real lady.

Afremov. Fedya. Lady to see you!

Fedya(scared). Who is this?

Afremov. Doesn't know who. (To the footman.) Ask to come into the hall.

Fedya. Wait, I'll go have a look. (Leaves.)

PHENOMENA THIRD

The same, without Fedya and the lackey.

Korotkov. Who is this to him? Probably Masha.

Stakhovich. What Masha?

Korotkov. Gypsy Masha. I fell in love with him like a cat is in love.

Stakhovich. What a sweetheart. And he sings.

Afremov. Lovely! Tanyusha yes she is. Yesterday she and Peter sang.

Stakhovich. After all, what a lucky guy...

Afremov. That women love him, God bless him.

Korotkov. I can't stand gypsies. There is no grace.

Butkevich. Well, don't tell me.

Korotkov. I'll give them all for one French girl.

Afremov. Well, yes, you are a famous esthete. Go see who it is. (Leaves.)

SCENE FOUR

The same, without Afremov.

Stakhovich. If Masha, then bring her here, let her sing. No, it’s not like the gypsies now. Tanyusha was there. Oh my gosh.

Butkevich. But I think it’s still the same.

Stakhovich. How is it the same when romances are vulgar instead of songs?

Butkevich. And there are good romances.

Korotkov. Do you want to bet that I’ll make you sing and you won’t know whether it’s a song or a romance?

Stakhovich. Korotkov is always betting.

SCENE FIFTH

Afremov is the same.

Afremov(enters). Gentlemen, this is not Masha. And there is nowhere to receive it except here. Let's go to the billiard room.

Korotkov. Let's bet. What, got money?

Stakhovich. Okay, okay.

Korotkov. So you'll end up on the bottle.

Stakhovich. OK. Grab some wine.

They leave talking.

SCENE SIX

Fedya and Sasha enter.

Fedya. Let's go here. Ahah. How are you? Yes, yes...

Sasha(embarrassed). Fedya, forgive me if it’s unpleasant for you, but, for God’s sake, listen to me. (Her voice trembles.)

Fedya(walks around the room. Sasha sat down and looks at him). I'm listening.

Sasha. Fedya, come home.

Fedya. I understand you very much, Sasha, dear, and if I were you, I would do the same: I would try to somehow return everything to the old way, but in my place, if you, dear, sensitive girl, would be, strange as it may be to say , if you were me, you would probably do what I did, that is, you would leave, stop interfering with someone else’s life...

Sasha. How to interfere? Can Lisa live without you?

Fedya. Oh, dear Sasha, my dear, maybe, maybe. And she will still be happy, much happier than with me.

Sasha. Never.

Fedya. It seems to you. (Holds a letter in his hand and oppresses.) Yes, that’s not the point, that is, it’s not that the point is wrong, but the main point is that I can’t. You know, bend thick paper this way and that. And you'll overdo it a hundred times. It still holds on, but if you bend it a hundred and first times, it will come apart. So between me and Lisa. It hurts me too much to look into her eyes. And believe her too.

Sasha. No no.

Fedya. You say no, but you yourself know that yes.

Sasha. I can only judge by myself. If I were in her place and you answered what you answer, it would be terrible for me.

Fedya. Yes, for you.

Silence. Both are confused.

Sasha(gets up). Will it really stay that way?

Fedya. It must be.

Sasha. Fedya, come back.

Fedya. Thank you, dear Sasha. You will always remain a dear memory to me... but goodbye, my dear. Let me kiss you. (Kisses her on the forehead.)

Sasha(excited). No, I don’t say goodbye and I don’t believe, and I don’t want to believe... Fedya...

Fedya. Well, listen. Just a word that what I tell you cannot be told to anyone. Do you have your word?

Sasha. Of course.

Fedya. Well, listen, Sasha. It is true that I am the husband, the father of her child, but I am superfluous. Wait, wait, don't mind. Do you think I'm jealous? Not at all. Firstly, I have no right, and secondly, I have no reason. Viktor Karenin is her old friend and mine too. And he loves her, and she loves him.

Sasha. No.

Fedya. She loves as an honest, moral woman can love, who does not allow herself to love anyone other than her husband, but she loves and will love when this is an obstacle (points to himself) will be eliminated. And I will eliminate him and they will be happy. (Voice trembles.)

Sasha. Fedya, don't say that.

Fedya. After all, you know that this is true, and I will be glad for their happiness, and there is nothing better I can do, and I will not return, and I will give them freedom, and say so. And don't talk, don't talk, and goodbye. (Kisses her on the head and opens the door.)

Sasha. Fedya, I admire you.

Fedya. Goodbye, goodbye.

Sasha leaves.

SCENE SEVEN

Fedya is alone.

Fedya. Yes, yes, wonderful, wonderful. (Rings.)

SCENE EIGHTH

Fedya and the footman.

Fedya. Call the master.

The footman leaves.

SCENE NINE

Fedya is alone.

Fedya. And the truth, and the truth.

SCENE TENTH

Afremov enters.

Afremov. How did you arrange it?

Fedya. Wonderful. “And she swore and swore...” Wonderful. Where is everyone?

Afremov. Yes, they are playing there.

Fedya. Great. Let's go... "visit me for an hour."

ACT THREE

PICTURE ONE

Prince Abrezkov is a 60-year-old elegant bachelor. Shaved, with a mustache. An old military man with great dignity and sadness. Anna Dmitrievna Karenina - Victor's mother, looking young, 50 years old, grand-dame. Interrupts speech with French words. Lisa, Victor, footman. Anna Dmitrievna's office, luxuriously modest, is full of souvenirs.

SCENE ONE

Anna Dmitrievna writes a letter.

PHENOMENA SECOND

Anna Dmitrievna and footman.

Lackey. Prince Sergei Dmitrievich.

Anna Dmitrievna. Well, of course. (Turns around and adjusts herself in front of the mirror.)

PHENOMENA THIRD

PrinceAbrezkov(included). J"espere que je ne force pas la consigne. (Kisseshand.)

AnnaDmitrievna. You know that vous etes toujours le bienvenu. And now, today, especially. Did you receive my note?

Prince Abrezkov. I received it and here is my answer.

Anna Dmitrievna. Ah, my friend, I am beginning to despair completely. Il est ensorcele, positivement ensorcele. I have never seen such persistence, such stubbornness, such ruthlessness and indifference towards me in him. He has changed completely since this woman left her husband.

Prince Abrezkov. But what exactly is it, how does it stand?

Anna Dmitrievna. So, he wants to get married no matter what.

Prince Abrezkov. But what about the husband?

Anna Dmitrievna. Gives a divorce.

Prince Abrezkov. Here's how.

Anna Dmitrievna. And he, Victor, goes for it, and all this dirt, lawyers, evidence of guilt. Tout ca est degoutant. And it doesn't put him off. I don't understand him. He, with his sensitivity, timidity...

Prince Abrezkov. Loves. Ah, if a person really loves, then...

Anna Dmitrievna. Yes, but why in our time could love be pure love, love-friendship, which goes throughout life? I understand and appreciate this kind of love.

Prince Abrezkov. Now the new generation can no longer be content ideal relationship. La possession de l"ame ne leur suffit plus. What to do. But what to do with him?

Anna Dmitrievna. No, don't talk about him. But this is some kind of witchcraft. He's definitely been replaced. Because you know, I was with her. That's what he asked me to do. I went, didn’t find her, left a card. Elle m"a fait demander quand je pourrai la recevoir. And now (looks at his watch), in the second hour, therefore now, should arrive. I promised Victor I would accept, but you understand my position. I'm not myself at all. And out of old habit I sent for you. I need your help.

Prince Abrezkov. Give thanks.

Anna Dmitrievna. You understand that this visit to her decides the whole matter - Victor’s fate. I have to agree or disagree... How can I...

Prince Abrezkov. You don't know her at all?

Anna Dmitrievna. I've never seen it. But I'm afraid of her. Can't good woman agree to leave her husband. And a good person. After all, he is Victor’s friend and has visited us. He was very nice. Yes, whatever it is. Quels que soient les torts qu"il a eus vis-a-vis d"elle, you cannot leave your husband. We must bear our cross. One thing I don’t understand is how Victor, with his convictions, can agree to marry a divorcee. How many times - recently, in front of me, he heatedly argued with Spitsyn, proving that divorce does not agree with true Christianity, and now he himself is going for it. Si elle a pu le charmer a un tel point, I'm afraid of her. But, however, I called you so that I could hear you, and I’m just saying everything myself. What do you think? Tell. What do you think? How to do it? Have you spoken to Victor?

Prince Abrezkov. I spoke to him. And I think that he loves her, he’s used to loving her like that, this love has taken such power over him - and he is a man who slowly but firmly accepts. What entered his heart will not come out. And he will not love anyone but her and cannot be happy without her and with anyone else.

Anna Dmitrievna. And how Varya Kazantseva would marry him. And what kind of girl and how she loves.

PrinceAbrezkov(smiling). C "est compter sans son hote. This is now completely unrealizable. And, I think, it’s better to submit and help him get married.

Anna Dmitrievna. On a divorced woman, so that he meets his wife's husband? I don’t understand how you can calmly talk about this. Is this the woman whom a mother could desire as the wife of her only son, and such a son?

Prince Abrezkov. What can you do, dear friend? Of course, it would be better to marry a girl you know and love. But if this is not possible... And then, if he married a gypsy or God knows who. And Liza Rakhmanova is a very good, sweet woman; I know her through my niece Nellie. A meek, kind, loving and moral woman.

Anna Dmitrievna. A moral woman who decides to leave her husband.

Prince Abrezkov. I don't recognize you. You are unkind, you are cruel. Her husband is one of those people about whom they say that he is only his own enemy. But he is even more of an enemy to jelly. This is a weak, completely fallen, drunken man. He squandered all his fortune, all her fortune - she has a child. How do you condemn a woman who left such a man? And it was not she, but he who left her.

Anna Dmitrievna. Oh, what dirt, what dirt. And I have to get dirty in it.

Prince Abrezkov. What about your religion?

Anna Dmitrievna. Yes, yes, forgiveness. “Just as we leave to our debtors.” Mais c"est plus fort que moi.

Prince Abrezkov. Well, how can she live with such a person? Even if she did not love another, she would have to do it. Must for the child. He himself, the husband, an intelligent and kind man, when he is in his right mind, advises her to do this.

SCENE FOUR

Anna Dmitrievna, Prince Abrezkov, Karenin enters, kisses his mother’s hand, greets Prince Abrezkov.

Karenin. Mother! I came to tell you one thing: Lizaveta Andreevna will arrive now, and I ask, I beg you only for one thing: if you continue to disagree with my marriage...

Anna Dmitrievna(interrupting him). Of course, I continue to disagree.

Karenin(continuing speech and frowning)....then I ask, I beg you for one thing: do not talk about your disagreement, do not decide in a negative sense.

Anna Dmitrievna. I think that we will not talk about anything like that. At least I won't start.

Karenin. She is even less so. I just wanted you to recognize her.

Anna Dmitrievna. I don’t understand one thing: how do you reconcile your desire to marry Mrs. Protasova with a living husband, with your religious beliefs that divorce is contrary to Christianity?

Karenin. Mother! This is cruel of you! Are we all so infallible that we cannot disagree on our beliefs when life is so complicated? Mom, why are you so cruel to me?

Anna Dmitrievna. I love you, I want you to be happy.

Karenin(to Prince Abrezkov). Sergey Dmitrievich!

Prince Abrezkov. Of course, you want him to be happy, but with our gray hairs, it’s already difficult for us to understand young people. And it is especially difficult for a mother who has accustomed herself to thinking about her happiness for her son. All women are like that.

Anna Dmitrievna. That's it, that's it. Everyone is against me. Of course you can do this, vous êtes majeur, but you will destroy me.

Karenin. I don't recognize you. This is worse than cruelty.

Prince Abrezkov(to Victor). Stop it, Victor. Mom always says worse than she does.

Anna Dmitrievna. I will say what I think and feel, and I will say it without insulting her.

Prince Abrezkov. That's probably it.

SCENE FIFTH

Anna Dmitrievna, Prince Abrezkov, Karenin and the footman enter.

Prince Abrezkov. Here she is.

Karenin. I'll leave.

Lackey. Lizaveta Andreevna Protasova.

Karenin. I'm leaving, mom. Please…

Prince Abrezkov also gets up.

Anna Dmitrievna. Ask. (To Prince Abrezkov.) No, you stay.

SCENE SIX

Anna Dmitrievna and Prince Abrezkov.

Prince Abrezkov. I thought it was easier for you en tete-a-tete.

Anna Dmitrievna. No, I'm afraid. (Fusses around.) If I want to stay with her tete-a-tete, I will nod to you. Ca dependra... Otherwise, I should stay alone with her, it will tie me up. I'll do the same for you then.

Prince Abrezkov. I'll understand. I'm sure you'll like it. Just be fair.

Anna Dmitrievna. How you are all against me.

SCENE SEVEN

The same ones. Lisa enters wearing a hat and business dress.

Anna Dmitrievna(rising up). I regretted that I didn’t find you, but you were so kind that you came yourself.

Lisa. I didn't expect it at all. I am so grateful to you that you wanted to see me.

Anna Dmitrievna. Do you know each other? (Points to Prince Abrezkov.)

Prince Abrezkov. Well, I was honored to be introduced. (Shake hands. Sit down.) My niece Nellie often tells me about you.

Lisa. Yes, we were very friendly. (Looking timidly at Anna Dmitrievna.) And now we are friends. (To Anna Dmitrievna.) I never expected that you would want to see me.

Anna Dmitrievna. I knew your husband well. He was friends with Victor and visited us before he moved to Tambov. I think he married you there?

Lisa. Yes, we got married there.

Anna Dmitrievna. And then, when he moved to Moscow again, he no longer visited me.

Lisa. Yes, he has hardly been anywhere.

Anna Dmitrievna. And he didn’t introduce me to you.

Awkward silence.

Prince Abrezkov. Last time I met you at the Denisovs’ performance. Do you remember? It was very nice. And you played.

Lisa. No... yes... how... I remember. I played.

Silence again.

Anna Dmitrievna, forgive me if what I say is unpleasant to you, but I can’t, I don’t know how to pretend. I came because Viktor Mikhailovich said... because he, that is, because you wanted to see me... but it’s better to say everything... (Sobs.) It’s very difficult for me... and you are kind.

Prince Abrezkov. Yes, I'd better leave.

Anna Dmitrievna. Yes, go away.

Prince Abrezkov. Goodbye. (He says goodbye to both women and leaves.)

SCENE EIGHTH

Anna Dmitrievna and Lisa.

Anna Dmitrievna. Listen, Lisa, I don’t know, and I don’t want to know, what your middle name is.

Lisa. Andreevna.

Anna Dmitrievna. Well, it’s all the same – Lisa. I feel sorry for you, I like you. But I love Victor. I love one creature in the world. I know his soul like my own. This is a proud soul. He was proud even as a seven-year-old boy. Proud not of his name, not of his wealth, but proud of his purity, his moral height, and he observed it. He is as pure as a girl.

Lisa. I know.

Anna Dmitrievna. He didn't love any women. You are the first. I won't say that I'm not jealous of you. I'm jealous. But we, mothers - you are still small, it’s too early for you - we are preparing for this. I was preparing to give it to my wife and not be jealous. But to give it away as pure as him.

Lisa. I... Am I...

Anna Dmitrievna. Sorry, I know it's not your fault, but you're unhappy. And I know him. Now he is ready to endure everything, and will endure it, and will never say anything, but will suffer. His wounded pride will suffer and he will not be happy.

Lisa. I thought about it.

Anna Dmitrievna. Lisa, honey. You are a smart, good woman. If you love him, then you want his happiness more than your own. And if so, then you don’t want to tie him up and make him repent - even though he won’t say, he will never say.

Lisa. I know he won't. I thought about this and asked myself this question. I thought and told him. But what can I do when he says he doesn’t want to live without me. I said: we will be friends, but arrange your own life, do not connect your pure life with my unhappy one. He doesn't want to.

Anna Dmitrievna. Yes, now he doesn’t want to.

Lisa. Convince him to leave me. And I agree. I love him for his happiness, not for my own. Just help me, don't hate me. Let us together, lovingly, seek his good.

Anna Dmitrievna. Yes, yes, I loved you. (Kisses her. Lisa cries.) But still, it’s still terrible. If he had fallen in love with you when you were not yet married.

Lisa. He says that he fell in love then, but did not want to interfere with his friend’s happiness.

Anna Dmitrievna. Oh, how hard it all is. But we will still love each other, and God will help us find what we want.

SCENE NINE

Same with Karenin.

Karenin(leaving). Mom, honey. I heard everything. I expected it: you fell in love with her. And everything will be fine.

Lisa. How sorry I am that you heard everything - I wouldn’t say...

Anna Dmitrievna. Still, nothing has been decided. I can say one thing: if it weren’t for all these difficult circumstances, I would be glad. (Kisses her.)

Karenin. Please just don't change.

PICTURE TWO

The apartment is modest, a bed, a desk, a sofa.

SCENE ONE

Fedya is alone. There's a knock on the door. A woman’s voice came from behind the door: “Why did you lock yourself, Fyodor Vasilyevich? Fedya, unlock it."

PHENOMENA SECOND

Fedya and Masha.

Fedya(gets up and unlocks the door).

Masha enters.

Thank you for coming. Boring. It's terribly boring.

Masha. Why didn't he come to us? Are you drinking again? Oh, you promised.

Fedya. You know that there is no money.

Masha. And why did I love you?

Fedya. Masha!

Masha. What about Masha, Masha. If I had loved you, I would have divorced long ago. And there they asked you. And you say that you don't love. And you hold on to it. You don't want to, obviously.

Fedya. After all, you know why I don’t want to.

Masha. It's all nothing. It is true what they say that you are an empty person.

Fedya. What should I tell you? To say that what you say hurts me, you know it yourself.

Masha. Nothing hurts you...

Fedya. You yourself know that my only joy in life is your love.

Masha. Mine is mine. But yours is not.

Fedya. Well, I won’t assure you. And there is no need - you yourself know.

Masha. Fedya, why are you torturing me?

Fedya. Who will win?

Masha(cries). You are unkind.

Fedya(comes up and hugs her). Masha! What are you talking about? Stop it. We need to live, not whine. It really doesn't suit you. You are my beauty!

Masha. Do you love?

Fedya. Who should I love?

Masha. Just me? Well, read what you wrote.

Fedya. Yes, you will be bored.

Masha. If you have already written, it will be so good.

Fedya. Well, listen. (Reads.)“In late autumn, my friend and I agreed to gather at the Murygina site. This site was a strong island with strong broods. It was a dark, warm, quiet day. Fog…"

PHENOMENA THIRD

Fedya and Masha. The old gypsy Ivan Makarovich and the old gypsy Nastasya Ivanovna, Masha’s parents, enter the door.

Nastasya Ivanovna(approaching his daughter). There's a damn runaway sheep here. Respect to the master. (To his daughter.) What are you doing to us? A?

Ivan Makarovich(to Fedya). What you're doing is bad, sir. You're ruining the girl. Oh, that’s not good, you’re doing something bad.

Nastasya Ivanovna. Put on a scarf, march now. Look, she ran away. What will I tell the choir? You're confused with the naked one. What to take from him?

Masha. I'm not confused. But I love the master, and nothing more. I’m not leaving the choir, I’ll sing, but what...

Ivan Makarovich. Talk more, I’ll rip your braid out. Skin. Who did this? Neither father, nor mother, nor aunt. It's bad, sir. We loved you, how much we sang to you for nothing, we pitied you. What did you do?

Nastasya Ivanovna. He ruined his daughter for no reason, his blood daughter, the only one, the beloved, the diamond, the priceless one, he trampled her into manure, that’s what he did. There is no God in you.

Fedya. You, Nastasya Ivanovna, are wrong to think about me. Your daughter is like a sister to me. I take care of her honor. And don't think so. And I love her. What to do?

Ivan Makarovich. Yes, I didn’t like it when we had money. Then I would have paid ten thousand to the choir, and would have taken honor with honor. And now he squandered it, stealthily took it away. It's a shame, sir. Ashamed.

Masha. He didn't take it away. I came to him myself. And now you take me away, I’ll come again. I love him, that's all. My love is stronger than all your locks... I don’t want to.

Nastasya Ivanovna. Well, Mashenka, my dear, don’t grumble. I did something wrong, so let's go.

Ivan Makarovich. Well, he will talk. March! (Takes hand.) Sorry, sir.

All three leave.

SCENE FOUR

Fedya. Prince Abrezkov enters.

Prince Abrezkov. Forgive me. I unwittingly witnessed an unpleasant scene.

Fedya. With whom do I have the honor?... (Finds out.) Ah, Prince Sergei Dmitrievich. (Says hello.)

Prince Abrezkov. An involuntary witness to an unpleasant scene. I wish I hadn't heard. But having heard it, I consider it my duty to say that I heard it. I was directed here, and at the door I had to wait for these gentlemen to come out. Moreover, my knocking on the door was inaudible behind the very loud voices.

Fedya. Yes, yes. I humbly ask. Thank you for telling me this. This gives me the right to explain this scene to you. I don't care what you think about me. But I want to tell you that the reproaches you heard about this gypsy girl, singer, are unfair. This girl is as morally pure as a dove. And my relationship with her is friendly. If, perhaps, there is a touch of poetry on them, then this still does not destroy the purity - the honor of this girl. This is what I wanted to tell you. So what do you want from me? How can I serve you?

Prince Abrezkov. First of all, I...

Fedya. Forgive me, prince. I have become in such a position in society that my small and long-standing acquaintance with you does not give me the right to visit you, if you have no business with me - what is it?

Prince Abrezkov. I won't deny, you guessed right. I have something to do. But still, I will forgive you to believe that a change in your position cannot in any way affect my attitude towards you.

Fedya. I'm absolutely sure.

Prince Abrezkov. My point is that the son of my old friend, Anna Dmitrievna Karenina, and she herself asked me directly from you to find out about your relationship... Will you allow me to talk about your relationship with your wife, Lizaveta Andreevna Protasova?

Fedya. My relationship with my wife - I can say: my ex-wife- completely stopped.

Prince Abrezkov. That's what I understood. And that’s why I took on this difficult mission.

Fedya. Stopped, I hasten to say, not because of hers, but because of mine, or rather, my endless faults. She was and remains the most impeccable woman.

Prince Abrezkov. So Viktor Karenin, especially his mother, asked me to find out from you about your intentions.

Fedya(getting excited). What are the intentions? None. I give her complete freedom. Moreover, I will never disturb her peace of mind. I know that she loves Viktor Karenin. And so be it. I find him very boring, but a very good, honest person, and I think she will be with him (as they usually say) happy. And que le bon dieu les benisse. That's it.

Prince Abrezkov. Yes, but we would...

Fedya(interrupts). And don’t think that I have the slightest feeling of jealousy. If I said about Victor that he is boring, then I take that word back. He is wonderful, honest, moral person, almost the opposite of me. And he loved her since childhood. Maybe she loved him too when she married me. It happens. The most best love There is something that you don’t know about. She, I think, always loved. But, as an honest woman, I didn’t even admit it to myself, but it was some kind of shadow that lay over our family life... however, I’m making a confession to you.

Prince Abrezkov. Please do it. Believe that more important to me than my mission is my human relationship with you, my desire to fully understand these relationships. I understand you. I understand that this shadow, as you so beautifully put it, could be...

Fedya. Yes, it was, and perhaps because of this I could not be satisfied with the family life that it gave me, and I was looking for something and got carried away. Yes, however, I seem to be making excuses. I don’t want to, and I shouldn’t make excuses. I was, I boldly say I was a bad husband, I was, because now in my mind I have not been a husband for a long time and I consider her completely free. Therefore, here is the answer to your mission.

Prince Abrezkov. Yes, but you know Victor's family and himself. His relationship with Lizaveta Andreevna was and remains the most respectful and distant all the time. He helped her when she was having a hard time.

Fedya. Yes, I helped bring them closer together with my debauchery. What to do, it had to be this way.

Prince Abrezkov. You know him and his family have strict Orthodox beliefs. I don't share them. I look at things more broadly. But I respect and understand them. I understand that for him, and especially for his mother, it is unthinkable to get close to a woman without a church marriage.

Fedya. Yes, I know he's stupid... straightforwardness, conservatism in this regard. But what do they need? Divorce? I told them a long time ago that I was ready to give, but the conditions for accepting the blame, all the lies associated with it, are very difficult.

Prince Abrezkov. I completely understand and agree with you. But what can we do? I think it can be arranged this way. However, you are right. This is terrible and I understand you.

Fedya(shakes hand). Thank you, dear prince. I have always known you to be an honest, kind person. Well, tell me, what should I do? What should I do? Enter my entire position. I'm not trying to be better. I'm a scoundrel. But there are things that I cannot do calmly. I can't lie calmly.

Prince Abrezkov. I don't understand you either. You, a capable, intelligent person, with such sensitivity to goodness, how can you get carried away, how can you forget what you demand of yourself? How did you get to this point, how did you ruin your life?

Fedya(overpowers tears of excitement). I have been living my dissolute life for ten years now. And for the first time, a person like you took pity on me. I was pitied by my comrades, revelers, women, but a reasonable, kind person like you... Thank you. How did I get to my death? Firstly, wine. Wine is not that tasty. And no matter what I do, I always feel that it’s not what I need, and I’m ashamed. I'm talking to you now, and I'm ashamed. And to be a leader, to sit in a bank - it’s so embarrassing, so embarrassing... And only when you drink will it stop being shameful. And music is not operas and Beethoven, but gypsies... This is such life, energy pours into you. And then there are cute black eyes and a smile. And the more exciting it is, the more embarrassing it is afterwards.

Prince Abrezkov. Well, what about labor?

Fedya. I tried it. Everything is not good. I'm unhappy with everything. Well, what can I say about myself? Thank you.

Prince Abrezkov. So what should I say?

Fedya. Tell me I will do what they want. After all, they want to get married - so that nothing prevents them from getting married?

Prince Abrezkov. Of course.

Fedya. I'll do it. Tell me I'll probably do it.

Prince Abrezkov. When?

Fedya. Wait, well, let's say two weeks. Enough?

Prince Abrezkov(getting up). Can I say that?

Fedya. You can. Farewell, prince, thank you again.

Prince Abrezkov leaves.

SCENE FIFTH

Fedya is alone.

Fedya(sits for a long time, smiles silently). Fine. Very good. That's how it should be. That's how it should be. That's how it should be. Wonderful.

ACT FOUR

PICTURE ONE

At the tavern. Separate office. Polovoy introduces Fedya and Ivan Petrovich Alexandrov.

SCENE ONE

Fedya, Ivan Petrovich and the sex worker.

Sexual. Come here. Nobody will bother you here, but I’ll hand you the paper now.

Ivan Petrovich. Protasov! I'll come in.

Fedya(serious). Perhaps come in, but I’m busy and... If you want, come in.

Ivan Petrovich. Do you want to answer their demands? I'll tell you how. I wouldn't do that. I always speak directly and act decisively.

Fedya(sexual). A bottle of champagne.

The sexton leaves.

PHENOMENA SECOND

Fedya and Ivan Petrovich.

Fedya(takes out the revolver and puts it down). Wait a little.

Ivan Petrovich. Well? that you want to shoot yourself. It's possible, it's possible. I understand you. They want to humiliate you. And you will show them who you are. You will kill yourself with a revolver, but with their generosity. I understand you. I understand everything because I am a genius.

Fedya. Well, yes, well, yes. Only…

A guard comes in with paper and an inkwell.

PHENOMENA THIRD

The same is true for sex.

Fedya(covers the gun with a napkin). Uncork it. Let's have a drink. (They drink. Fedya writes.) Wait a little.

Ivan Petrovich. Here's to your... great journey. I'm above this. I won't hold you back. Both life and death are indifferent to a genius. I die in life and live in death. You will kill yourself so that they, two people, will feel sorry for you. And I - I will kill myself so that the whole world understands what it has lost. And I will not hesitate to think. Took it (grabs a revolver)– once, and you’re done. But it's still early. (Puts down the revolver.) And I have nothing to write, they themselves must understand... Oh, you...

Fedya(writes). Wait a little.

Ivan Petrovich. Pathetic people. They are fussing and fussing. And they don’t understand - they don’t understand anything... I’m not for you. This is how I express my thoughts. What is needed for humanity? Very little: to value your geniuses, but they always executed them, persecuted them, tortured them. No. I won't be your toy. I'll take you to clean water. N-e-e-t. Hypocrites!

Fedya(finished writing, drinks and reads). Please go away.

Ivan Petrovich. Leave? Well, goodbye. I won't hold you back. I'll do the same. But it's still early. I just want to tell you...

Fedya. Fine. You will say, but after, and now here’s what, my friend: please give this to the owner (gives him money) and ask for a letter and parcel addressed to me. Please.

Ivan Petrovich. Fine. So will you wait for me? I'll tell you something else important. Something you won’t hear not only in this world, but also in the future, at least until I get there. So give it all away?

Fedya. How much is needed?

Ivan Petrovich leaves.

SCENE FOUR

Fedya is alone.

Fedya(sighs with relief, locks the door behind Ivan Petrovich, takes the revolver, cocks it, puts it to his temple, shudders and carefully lowers it. Moos). No, I can't, I can't, I can't.

Who am I? Ah, Masha... (Opens the door.)

SCENE FIFTH

Fedya and Masha.

Masha. I was at yours, at Popov’s, at Afremov’s and I guessed that it was here. (See a revolver.) That's good. What a fool. Right, fool. Is it really you?

Fedya. No, I couldn't.

Masha. Am I not there? Godless. He didn't feel sorry for me. Ah, Fyodor Vasilyevich, sin, sin. For my love...

Fedya. I wanted to let them go, I promised. But I can’t lie.

Masha. What about me?

Fedya. What you? And I would have untied you. Is it better for you to suffer with me?

Masha. So it's better. I can't live without you.

Fedya. What's life like with me? I would cry and live.

Masha. And I wouldn’t cry at all, to hell with you. If you don't feel sorry for me. (Cries.)

Fedya. Masha! My friend! After all, I wanted to do better.

Masha. Feel better.

Fedya(smiling). How could I be better off if I killed myself?

Masha. Of course it's better. What do you need? You tell me.

Fedya. What do you need? A lot is needed.

Masha. Well? What?

Fedya. First of all, you need to keep your promise. This is the first, and that's enough. I can’t lie and do all these nasty things that are necessary for a divorce.

Masha. Let's say it's disgusting. I myself...

Fedya. Then we definitely need to free them, both his wife and him. Well, they are good people. Why should they suffer? That's two.

Masha. Well, there’s not much good in her if she left you.

Fedya. She didn’t quit, I quit.

Masha. Okay, okay. All of you. She's an angel. What else?

Fedya. And also the fact that you are a good, sweet girl - I love you, and if I stay alive, I will destroy you.

Masha. It's none of your business. I know for myself where I will die...

Fedya(sighs). And most importantly, most importantly... What is my life? Don’t I see that I’m lost, I’m no good for anything. It’s a burden to everyone and yourself, as your father said. I'm a wretch...

Masha. That's nonsense. I won't get away from you. I stuck to it, that’s all. Why are you living poorly, drinking and carousing... And you’re a living person - leave it alone. That's it.

Fedya. It's easy to say.

Masha. And do so.

Fedya. Yes, the way I look at you, it seems like I’ll do anything.

Masha. And you will. You will do everything. (See the letter.) What is this? Did you write to them? What did he write?

Fedya. What did you write? (Takes the letter and wants to tear it up.) Now it's no longer necessary.

Masha(pulls out the letter). He wrote that he killed himself, right? Didn’t write about the gun? Did you write that he killed you?

Fedya. Yes, that I won't be there.

Masha. Come on, come on, come on. Have you read “What to do?”?

Fedya. I think I read it.

Masha. This is a boring novel, but one thing is very, very good. He, what’s his name, Rakhmanov, took it and pretended that he had drowned himself. And you don't know how to swim?

Fedya. No.

Masha. Here you go. Give me your dress here. That's it, and a wallet.

Fedya. How so?

Masha. Wait, wait, wait. Let's go home. You'll change there.

Fedya. Yes, this is a deception.

Masha. And great. I went for a swim and my dress was left on the shore. There is a wallet and this letter in my pocket.

Fedya. Well, what then?

Masha. And then, then we will leave and live for glory.

SCENE SIX

The same ones. Ivan Petrovich enters.

Ivan Petrovich. Here are those on. And the revolver? I'll take it for myself.

Masha. Take it, take it. And we are going.

PICTURE TWO

Protasova's living room.

SCENE ONE

Karenin and Lisa.

Karenin. He promised so definitely that I am sure that he will fulfill his promise.

Lisa. I am ashamed, but I must say that what I learned about this gypsy completely freed me. Don't think it was jealousy. This is not jealousy, but, you know, liberation. Well, how can I tell you...

Karenin. Again: to you.

Lisa(smiling). You. Don't bother me, don't bother me to tell you how I feel. The main thing that tormented me was that I felt that I loved two people. And this means that I am an immoral woman.

Karenin. Are you an immoral woman?

Lisa. But since I found out that he has another woman, that, therefore, he doesn’t need me, I was freed and felt that I could, without lying, say that I love you - you. Now my soul is clear, and only my situation torments me. This scam. It's all so painful. It's an expectation.

Karenin. Now, now it will be decided. In addition to what he promised, I asked the secretary to go to him with a petition and not leave until he signs. If I didn't know him like I do, I would think he was doing this on purpose.

Lisa. He? No, it’s still his same weakness and honesty. Doesn't want to tell lies. But it was in vain that I sent him money.

Karenin. It's impossible. This could be the reason for the stop.

Lisa. No, money is something bad.

Karenin. Well, he could have been less pointilleux.

Lisa. How selfish we are becoming.

Karenin. Yes, I repent. It's your own fault. After this waiting, this hopelessness, I am now so happy. And happiness makes you selfish. It's your fault.

Lisa. You think you're alone. Me too. I feel completely full and basking in my happiness. That's all: Mika has recovered, and your mother loves me, and you, and, most importantly, I, I love.

Karenin. Yes? Without remorse? No return?

Lisa. From that day on, everything suddenly changed in me.

Karenin. And can't come back?

Lisa. Never. I only wish for one thing, that in you it would be as completely finished as in me.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same goes for the nanny and the child. The nanny enters with the boy. The boy goes to his mother. She takes him on her lap.

Karenin. What unfortunate people we are.

Lisa. And what? (Kisses the child.)

Karenin. When you got married and returned from abroad, I found out and felt that I had lost you, I was unhappy, and I was happy to know that you remembered me. That was enough for me. Then, when our friendly relations and I felt that you were affectionate towards me, that there was a small spark in our friendship of something more than friendship, I was already almost happy. I was tormented only by fear that I was being dishonest about Fedya. But, however, I always had such a firm consciousness of the impossibility of any other relationship, except for the purest friendship, with my friend’s wife - and I knew you too - so this did not torment me, and I was satisfied. Then, when Fedya began to torment you and I felt that I was your support and that you were afraid of my friendship, I was already completely happy, and I began to have some kind of vague hope. Then... when it became impossible, you decided to leave him, and for the first time I said everything, and you didn’t say no, but you left me in tears, I was already quite happy, and if they had asked me what I I still want, I would say: nothing. But then the opportunity arose to connect life with you; maman fell in love with you, this possibility began to come true, you told me that you loved and love me, then you told me, as now, that he is not for you, that you love me alone - what would it seem to me to wish for? But no, now, now I am tormented by the past, I wish that this past did not exist, that there was no thing that reminds of it.

Lisa(reproachfully). Victor!

Karenin. Lisa, forgive me! What I say, I say because I don’t want there to be a thought about you in me that is hidden from you. I said all this on purpose to show how bad I am and how I know that there is nowhere to go further, that I must fight and overcome myself. And I overcame. I love him.

Lisa. That's how it should be. I did everything I could. Not I, but in my heart, everything that you could desire has become: everything has disappeared from it, except you.

Karenin. All?

Lisa. Everything, everything. I wouldn't say anything.

PHENOMENA THIRD

The same and the footman.

Lackey. Mr. Voznesensky.

Karenin. This is him from Fedya with the answer.

Lisa(Karenin). Call me here. Karenin (gets up and goes to the door). Well, here's the answer.

Lisa(gives the child to the nanny). Will everything really be resolved? Victor! (Kisses him.)

SCENE FOUR

Karenin, Lisa and Voznesensky enter.

Karenin. Well?

Voznesensky. There are none.

Karenin. Why not? And you didn’t sign the petition?

Voznesensky. The petition was not signed, but a letter was left to you and Lizaneta Andreevna. (Hands out a letter from his pocket.) I arrived at the apartment. I was told it was in a restaurant. I went. Then Fyodor Vasilyevich told me to come in an hour and I would find the answer. I came and here...

Karenin. Is it really more delays and excuses? No, this is downright bad. How he fell.

Lisa. Read what?

Karenin opens the letter.

Voznesensky. Don't you need me?

Karenin. No, goodbye, thank you... (Stops, reading in surprise.)

Voznesensky leaves.

SCENE FIFTH

Karenin and Lisa.

Lisa. What? What?

Karenin. It's horrible.

Lisa(grabs the letter). Read.

Karenin(reads).“Lisa and Victor, I am addressing you both. I won't lie when I call you cute or dear. I can’t cope with the feeling of bitterness and reproach - self-reproach, but still painful, when I think about you, about your love, about your happiness. I know everything. I know that, despite the fact that I am a husband, I interfered with you through a series of accidents. C"est moi qui suis l"intrus. But still I cannot resist feeling bitterness and coldness towards you. Theoretically, I love you both, especially Lisa, Lizanka, but in reality I am more than cold. I know I’m wrong and I can’t change.”

Lisa. How is he...

Karenin(continuing reading).“But to the point. This is the most splitting feeling in me and makes me fulfill your desire differently than you wanted. Lying, playing a vile comedy, giving bribes in the consistory, and all this nasty stuff is unbearable, disgusting to me. As disgusting as I am, I am disgusting in a different way, and I can’t take part in this disgusting thing, I simply can’t. The other solution I come to is the simplest: you need to get married to be happy. I interfere with this, therefore I must destroy myself..."

Lisa(grabs Karenin’s hand). Victor!

Karenin(reads).“Must be destroyed. I am being destroyed. When you receive this letter, I will be gone.

P.S. It’s a pity that you sent me money for the divorce case. It's unpleasant and unlike you. Well, what to do? I've been wrong so many times. You can make a mistake too. The money is being returned. My outcome is shorter, cheaper and more accurate. I ask one thing: do not be angry with me and remember me kindly. And also, there is a watchmaker Evgeniev, can you help him and arrange it? He is weak, but good. Farewell. Fedya."

Lisa. He killed himself. Yes?

Karenin(calls, runs into the hallway). Bring back Mr. Voznesensky!

Lisa. I knew, I knew. Fedya, dear Fedya.

Karenin. Lisa!

Lisa. It’s not true, it’s not true that I didn’t love, I don’t love him. I love him alone, I love him. And I destroyed him. Leave me alone.

Voznesensky enters.

SCENE SIX

Same with Voznesensky.

Karenin. Where is Fyodor Vasilyevich? What did they tell you?

Voznesensky. They said that they went out in the morning, left this letter and never returned.

Karenin. This needs to be found out. Lisa, I'm leaving you.

Lisa. Forgive me, but I can't lie either. Leave me now. Go find out everything...

ACT FIVE

PICTURE ONE

Dirty tavern room. Table with drinking tea and vodka. In the foreground is a table at which sits a drooping, ragged Fedya and with him Petushkov, an attentive, gentle man with long hair, spiritual type. Both were slightly drunk.

SCENE ONE

Fedya and Petushkov.

Petushkov. I understand, I understand. This is it true love. So what?

Fedya. Yes, you know, if these feelings were manifested in a girl of our circle, so that she would sacrifice everything for her loved one... and here is a gypsy, all brought up on self-interest, and this pure, selfless love - she gives everything, but she herself demands nothing. Especially this contrast.

Petushkov. Yes, in our painting we call it valor. Only then can you make it quite bright red, when all around... Well, that’s not the point. I understand, I understand...

Fedya. Yes, and this, it seems, is one good deed in my soul - that I did not take advantage of her love. Do you know why?

Petushkov. Pity…

Fedya. Oh no. I had no pity for her. I was always in awe of her, and when she sang - oh, how she sang, and even now, perhaps, she sings - and I always looked up at her. I didn’t destroy her simply because I loved her. Truly loved. And now it's a good, good memory. (Drinks.)

Petushkov. I understand, I understand. Perfect.

Fedya. I'll tell you what: I had hobbies. And once I was in love, there was such a lady - beautiful, and I was in love, badly, like a dog, and she gave me a rendez-vous. And I missed it because I thought it was mean to my husband. And to this day, surprisingly, when I remember, I want to rejoice and praise myself for acting honestly, but... I repent as if I had sinned. And here with Masha it’s the opposite. I’m always glad, I’m glad that I haven’t desecrated this feeling of mine in any way... I can still fall, I can fall all over, I’ll sell everything from myself, I’ll be covered in lice, scabbed, and this diamond, not a diamond, but a ray of sunshine, yes, is in me, with me.

Petushkov. I understand, I understand. Where is she now?

Fedya. Don't know. And I wouldn't want to know. It was all from another life. And I don’t want to interfere with this one.

A woman can be heard screaming at the table behind her. The owner comes and the policeman takes him away. Fedya and Petushkov look, listen and are silent.

Petushkov(after it became quiet there). Yes, your life is amazing.

Fedya. No, the simplest one. After all, all of us in our circle, in the one in which I was born, have three choices - only three: to serve, to make money, to increase the dirty trick in which you live. This was disgusting to me, maybe I didn’t know how to do it, but most importantly, it was disgusting. The second is to destroy this dirty trick; To do this you have to be a hero, and I’m not a hero. Or third: forget yourself - drink, walk, sing. This is exactly what I did. And then I finished singing. (Drinks.)

Petushkov. Well, what about family life? I would be happy if I had a wife. My wife ruined me.

Fedya. Family life? Yes. My wife was an ideal woman. She is still alive. But what can I tell you? There was no zest - you know, there is zest in kvass? – there was no game in our lives. And I needed to forget. And without the game you won’t forget. And then I started doing bad things. But you know, we love people for the good that we have done to them, and we do not love for the evil that we have done to them. And I did her harm. It was as if she loved me.

Petushkov. Why do you say: as if?

Fedya. And that’s why I say that there was never something about her that would fit into my soul, like Masha. Well, not about that. She is pregnant, nursing, and I will disappear and come back drunk. Of course, for this very reason he loved her less and less. Yes, yes (gets delighted), now it occurred to me: that’s why I love Masha, because I did good to her, not evil. That's why I love it. And I tortured her because... it’s not that I don’t love her... No, I just don’t love her. I was jealous, yes, but that too passed.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same and Artemyev.

Artemyev approaches with a cockade, a dyed mustache, and dressed in ancient clothes.

Artemyev. Bon appetit. (Bows to Fedya.) Have you met an artist?

Fedya(Cold). Yes, we know each other.

Artemiev(To Petushkov). Well, is the portrait finished?

Petushkov. No, I was upset.

Artemiev(sits down). Am I disturbing you?

Fedya and Petushkov are silent.

Petushkov. Fyodor Vasilyevich talked about his life.

Artemyev. Secrets? So I'm not interfering, continue. I don't really need you. Pigs. (He goes to the next table and asks for a beer. All the time he listens to Fedya’s conversation with Petushkov, leaning towards them.)

Fedya. I don't like this gentleman.

Petushkov. Offended.

Fedya. Well, God bless him. I can't. As such a person, words fail me. It’s easy and pleasant for me to be with you. So what did I say?

Petushkov. They said they were jealous. Well, how did you separate from your wife?

Fedya. Oh. (Thinks.) This amazing story. My wife is married.

Petushkov. How? Divorce?

Fedya. No. (Smiles.) She left me as a widow.

Petushkov. So how?

Fedya. And also: a widow. I'm not here.

Petushkov. Why not?

Fedya. No. I'm dead. Yes.

Artemyev leans over and listens.

You see... I can tell you. Yes, this is a long time ago, and you don’t know my real name. It was like this. When I had already completely tormented my wife, squandered everything I could, and became unbearable, her patron appeared. Don’t think that anything is dirty or bad - no, my friend is a good, good person, just the direct opposite of me in everything. And since I have much more bad than good, this was and is a good, very good man: honest, firm, temperate and simply virtuous. He knew his wife from childhood, loved her, and then, when she married me, he came to terms with his fate. But then, when I became nasty and began to torment her, he began to visit us more often. I wanted this myself. And they fell in love with each other, and by this time I had gone completely crazy and left my wife. And then there’s Masha. I myself proposed to them to get married. They didn't want to. But I kept becoming more and more impossible, and it ended with...

Petushkov. As always…

Fedya. No. I am confident and know that they remained clean. He, a religious man, considered marriage without a blessing a sin. Well, they began to demand a divorce so that I would agree. I had to take the blame. All these lies were necessary... And I couldn’t. Believe me, it was easier for me to commit suicide than to lie. And I already wanted to end it. And then a good man says: why? And everything was arranged. Farewell letter I sent, and the next day they found clothes and my wallet and letters on the shore. I can't swim.

Petushkov. Well, what about the body, they didn’t find it?

Fedya. Found. Imagine. A week later they found some body. They called my wife to watch. Decomposed body. She looked. - He? - He. “And so it remained, I was buried, and they got married and live here and prosper.” And here I am. And I live and drink. Yesterday I walked past their house. There was light in the windows, someone’s shadow passed across the street. And sometimes it’s bad, and sometimes it’s okay. It's bad when you have no money... (Drinks.)

Artemiev(fits). Well, excuse me, I heard your story. The story is very good and, most importantly, useful. You say it’s bad when there’s no money. It couldn't be worse. And in your position, you must always have money. After all, you are a corpse. Fine.

Fedya. Allow me. I didn’t tell you and I don’t want your advice.

Artemyev. And I want to serve them to you. You are a corpse, and if you come to life, then what are they - your wife and master, who are prospering - they are bigamists and, at best, will proceed to not so distant places. So why should you be without money?

AnnaDmitrievna. Tant mieux. Se souvient-il de son pere veritable? .

Lisa(sighs). I don't tell him. I think why confuse him? And then I think that I need to tell him. What do you think, maman?

Anna Dmitrievna. I think, Lisa, that this is a matter of feeling, and if you surrender to your feeling, your heart will tell you what to say and when. How amazingly peaceful death is. I admit, there was a time when he, Fedya - after all, I knew him as a child - was unpleasant to me, but now I only remember him as a dear young man, Victor’s friend and that passionate man who, although illegally, irreligiously, sacrificed himself for those who he loved. On aura beau dire, l "action est belle... I hope Victor will not forget to bring wool, now it will all come out. (Knits.)

Lisa. Here he comes.

You can hear wheels and bells. Lisa gets up and walks to the edge of the terrace.

Someone's with him, lady. Masha! I haven't seen her for a hundred years. (Goes to the door.)

PHENOMENA SECOND

The same ones. Karenin and Marya Vasilievna enter.

Marya Vasilievna (kisses with Lisa and Anna Dmitrievna). Victor met me and took me away.

Anna Dmitrievna. Well done.

Marya Vasilievna. Yes, of course. I think when I see it again, I’ll put it off again, so I’ve come, if you don’t send me away, until the evening train.

Karenin(kisses his wife and mother and boy). And I’m so happy, congratulate me. Two days at home. Tomorrow they will do the weight without me.

Lisa. Wonderful. Two days. It hasn't happened for a long time. Let's go to the desert. Yes?

Marya Vasilievna. How similar! What a great guy! If only he didn’t inherit everything: his father’s heart.

Anna Dmitrievna. But not weakness.

Lisa. That's it, that's it. Victor agrees with me that if only it had been directed from a young age.

Marya Vasilievna. Well, I don't understand any of this. I just can’t think about him without crying.

Lisa. And so do we. How he grew in our memory.

Marya Vasilievna. Yes, I think so.

Lisa. How insoluble it seemed at one time. And how suddenly everything was resolved.

Anna Dmitrievna. Well, Victor, did you bring wool?

Karenin. I brought it, I brought it. (Takes a bag and chooses.) Here is wool, here is cologne, and here are letters, and here is a government envelope in your name (gives it to his wife). Well, Marya Vasilievna, if you want to wash yourself, then I will take you there. I need to clean myself before I have lunch. Lisa! After all, Marya Vasilyevna is in the bottom corner?

Liza, pale, holds the paper with shaking hands and reads.

What's wrong with you? Lisa! What's there?

Lisa. He's alive. My God! When will he set me free! Victor! What is this? (Sobbing.)

Karenin(takes the paper and reads). It's horrible.

Anna Dmitrievna. What, just tell me.

Karenin. It's horrible. He's alive. And she is a bigamist, and I am a criminal. This is a paper from a forensic investigator who demands Lisa to come to him.

Melnikov. She does not reproach, but is upset.

Forensic investigator. Okay, I'll come for lunch. Now this is a very interesting matter. (To the writer.) Ask.

Clerk. Both?

Forensic investigator(finishing smoking and hiding the cigarette). No, only Mrs. Karenina, or, more correctly, after her first husband, Protasov.

Melnikov(leaving). Oh, this is Karenina.

Forensic investigator. Yes. Dirty business. Let's say I'm just starting an investigation, but it's not good. Well, goodbye.

Melnikov leaves.

PHENOMENA SECOND

The forensic investigator, the clerk and Lisa, under a veil and dressed in black, enter.

Forensic investigator. I humbly ask. (Pointing to the chair.) Believe me, I really regret having to ask you questions, but we are forced to... Please calm down and know that you may not answer the questions. It’s just my opinion that it’s better for us and for everyone – it’s true. Always better and even more practical.

Lisa. I have nothing to hide.

Forensic investigator. So here it is. (Looks at the papers.). Your name, title, profession - I wrote it all down - right?

Lisa. Yes.

Forensic investigator. You are accused of marrying someone else, knowing that your husband was alive.

Lisa. I didn't know.

Forensic investigator. And also in the fact that they persuaded their husband, by bribing him with money, to commit deception - a semblance of suicide, in order to free themselves from him.

Lisa. None of this is true.

Forensic investigator. So allow me a few questions. Did you send him one thousand two hundred rubles in July last year?

Lisa. This money was his money. They were paid for his things. And while I broke up with him and expected a divorce from him, I sent them to him.

Forensic investigator. Yes, sir. Very good. This money was sent on July 17th, that is, two days before his disappearance.

Lisa. It seems like the seventeenth of July. I don't remember.

Forensic investigator. Why were the petitions in the consistory terminated at the same time and the lawyer was refused?

Lisa. Don't know.

Forensic investigator. Well, when the police invited you to witness the corpse, how did you recognize it as your husband?

Lisa. I was so excited then that I didn’t look at the body. And I was so sure that it was him that when they asked me, I answered, it seems that it was him.

Forensic investigator. Yes, you didn’t look at it out of very understandable excitement. Okay, sir. Well, why, may I ask, did you send money every month to Saratov, to the very city in which your first husband lived?

Lisa. My husband sent this money. And I cannot say about their purpose, since this is not my secret. But they were not sent to Fyodor Vasilyevich. We were firmly convinced that he was gone. I can tell you this correctly.

Forensic investigator. Very good. Let me tell you one thing, dear lady, we are servants of the law, but this does not prevent us from being human. And believe me, I fully understand your situation and take part in it. You were involved with a man who wasted his property, committed infidelity, well, in a word, brought misfortune to you.

Lisa. I loved him.

Forensic investigator. Yes, but still, it is natural for you to want to free yourself, and you chose this simpler path, without thinking that this would lead you to what is considered the crime of bigamy - this is understandable to me. And the jury will understand this. And therefore I would advise you to open everything.

Lisa. I have nothing to reveal. I've never lied. (Cries.) Am I not needed anymore?

Forensic investigator. I would ask you to stay here a little longer. I won't, I won't bother you with any more questions. Just please read and sign the interrogation. Are your answers expressed this way? I humbly ask you to come here. (Points to a chair by the window. To the clerk.) Ask Mr. Karenin.

PHENOMENA THIRD

The same ones. Karenin enters, sternly, solemnly.

Forensic investigator. I humbly ask.

Karenin. Thank you. (Costs.) What do you want?

Forensic investigator. I have to stop the interrogation.

Karenin. As what?

Forensic investigator(smiling). Me as a forensic investigator. I must remove you from interrogation as an accused.

Karenin. How's that? What?

Forensic investigator.[In marrying a married woman]. However, let me put the questions in order. Sit down.

Karenin. Thank you.

Forensic investigator. Your name?

Karenin. Victor Karenin.

Forensic investigator. Rank?

Karenin. Chamberlain, actual state councilor.

Forensic investigator. Age?

Karenin. Thirty-eight years old.

Forensic investigator. Faith?

Karenin. Orthodox, never been under trial or investigation. Well, sir?

Forensic investigator. Did you know that Fyodor Vasilyevich Protasov was alive when you married his wife?

Karenin. It was not known. We were both convinced that he had drowned.

Forensic investigator. Where did you send monthly money to Saratov after the false news of Protasov’s death?

Karenin. I don't want to answer this question.

Forensic investigator. Very good. For what purpose did you send money of one thousand two hundred rubles to Mr. Protasov just before simulating his death on the seventeenth of July?

Karenin. This money was given to me by my wife.

Forensic investigator. Mrs. Protasova?

Karenin. My wife to send to her husband. She considered this money his property and, having severed ties with him, considered it unfair to keep this money.

Forensic investigator. Now another question: why did you stop the divorce petition?

Karenin. Because Fyodor Vasilyevich took upon himself this petition and wrote to me about it.

Forensic investigator. Do you have this letter?

Karenin. The letter is lost.

Forensic investigator. How strange it is that everything that could convince justice of the truth of your testimony is lost and missing.

Karenin. Do you need anything else?

Forensic investigator. I don’t need anything other than fulfilling my duty, and you need to justify yourself, and I just advised Mrs. Protasova and would advise you the same: do not hide what is obvious to everyone, but tell everything how it happened. Moreover, Mr. Protasov is in such a position that he has already shown everything as it was, and, probably, at the trial he will show everything the same way. I would advise...

Karenin. I would ask you to remain within the scope of your duties. Leave your advice. Can we leave? (He approaches Lisa. She gets up and takes his hand.)

Forensic investigator. I'm very sorry that I have to keep you...

Karenin turns around in surprise.

Oh no, not in the sense of arresting you. Although this would be more convenient for the investigation of the truth, I will not resort to this measure. I would only like to interrogate Protasov in front of you and give you a confrontation with him, in which it will be more convenient for you to convict him of a lie. Please sit down. Call Mr. Protasov.

SCENE FOUR

The same ones. A dirty, dejected Fedya enters.

Fedya(addresses Lisa and Karenin). Lisa, Lizaveta Andreevna, Victor. It's not my fault. I wanted to do better. And if it’s your fault... Forgive me, forgive me... (Bows at their feet.)

Forensic investigator. Please answer the questions.

Fedya. Ask.

Forensic investigator. Your name?

Fedya. Because you know.

Forensic investigator. Please answer.

Fedya. Well, Fedor Protasov.

Forensic investigator. What is your title, years, faith?

Fedya(silent). How are you not ashamed to ask these nonsense? Ask what you need, not trifles.

Forensic investigator. I ask you to be careful in your expressions and answer my questions.

Fedya. Well, if you are not ashamed, please do so. Title – candidate, years – forty, faith – Orthodox. Well, what next?

Forensic investigator. Did Mr. Karenin and your wife know that you were alive when you left your clothes on the river bank and disappeared?

Fedya. Probably not. I definitely wanted to kill myself, but then... Well, that doesn’t need to be told. The thing is, they didn't know anything.

Forensic investigator. How did you show the police officer differently?

Fedya. Which police officer? Oh, this is when he came to me at Rzhanov’s house? I was drunk and lied to him that I don’t remember. This is all nonsense. Now I'm not drunk and I'm telling the whole truth. They didn't know anything. They believed that I was not there. And I was glad about it. And this would have remained so if not for the scoundrel Artemyev. And if anyone is to blame, then I am alone.

Forensic investigator. I understand that you want to be generous, but the law requires the truth. Why was money sent to you?

Fedya is silent.

Did you receive money sent to you in Saratov through Simonov?

Fedya is silent.

Why don't you answer? The record will record that the accused did not answer these questions, and this can be very harmful to both you and them. So how?

Fedya(silent and then). Oh, Mr. Investigator, shame on you. Why are you meddling in someone else's life? We are glad that you have power, and in order to show it, you torture not physically, but morally people who are thousands of times better than you.

Forensic investigator. Please...

Fedya. There's nothing to ask for. I'll say everything I think. (To the writer.) And you write. At least for the first time there will be reasonable human speech on the record. (Raises voice.) Three people live: me, he, she. There is a complex relationship between them, a struggle between good and evil, a spiritual struggle that you have no idea about. This struggle ends with a certain situation that unravels everything. Everyone is calm. They are happy - they love the memory of me. In my fall, I am happy that I did what I should, that I, worthless, left this life so as not to interfere with those who are full of life and good. And we all live. Suddenly a scoundrel appears, a blackmailer who demands that I participate in the blackmail. I send him away. He comes to you, to the fighter for justice, to the guardian of morality. And you, receiving two kopecks for dirty tricks on the twentieth, put on a uniform and with a light spirit swagger over them, over people whom you are not worth a little finger, who will not let you into their hallway. But you got there and are glad...

Forensic investigator. I'll take you out.

Fedya. I'm not afraid of anyone, because I'm a corpse and you can't do anything to me; There is no situation that would be worse than mine. Well, lead the way.

Karenin. Can we leave?

Forensic investigator. Now. Sign the protocol.

Fedya. And how funny you would be if you weren’t so disgusting.

Forensic investigator. Take him away. I'll arrest you.

Fedya(to Karenin and Lisa). So sorry.

Karenin(comes up and offers his hand). So, apparently, it should have been.

Lisa passes. Fedya bows low.

PICTURE TWO

Corridor in the county courthouse. In the background is a glass door with a courier standing next to it. To the right is another door through which the defendants are led. Ivan Petrovich, in rags, approaches the first door and wants to go through.

SCENE ONE

Young lawyer. Speeches by lawyers. Petrushin says.

More applause.

Prince Abrezkov. So, how do the defendants bear their position?

Young lawyer. With great dignity, especially Karenin and Lizaveta Andreevna. They are not judged, but they are judged by society. You can feel it. Petrushin speaks on this topic.

Prince Abrezkov. Well, what about Protasov?

Young lawyer. Terribly excited. Everything is shaking somehow. But this is clear from his life. But somehow he was especially irritated: he interrupted both the prosecutor and the lawyer several times. In some special excitement.

Prince Abrezkov. What result do you think?

Young lawyer. It's hard to say. The jury is mixed. In any case, they don’t admit premeditation, but still...

The gentleman comes out, Prince Abrezkov moves towards the door.

Do you want to pass?

Prince Abrezkov. Yes, I would like to.

Lady. Wonderful. It literally brought me to tears.

Officer. Better than any novel. It’s just incomprehensible how she could love him so much. A terrible figure.

SCENE SEVEN

The same ones. Another door opens, the defendants come out: first Liza and Karenin - and walk along the corridor, followed by Fedya alone.

Lady. Quiet. Here he is. Look how excited he is. (The lady and the officer pass.)

Fedya(approaches Ivan Petrovich). Did you bring it?

Ivan Petrovich. Here he is. (Gives something.)

Fedya(hides it in his pocket and wants to go; he sees Petushkov). Stupid, fucked up. Boring. Boring. Pointless. (Wants to leave.)

SCENE EIGHTH

The same is Petrushin, a lawyer, fat, ruddy, animated, coming up.

Petrushin. Well, father, our affairs are good, just don’t spoil me in your last speech...

Fedya. Yes, I won't say. What should I tell them? I won't.

Petrushin. No, I have to say it. Don't worry. Now it's all in the bag. Just tell me what you told me, that if you are judged, it is only because you did not commit suicide, that is, what is considered a crime by law, both civil and ecclesiastical.

Fedya. I won't say anything.

Petrushin. Why?

Fedya. I don’t want to and I won’t say. Just tell me: what could happen in the worst case?

Petrushin. I have already told you: the worst case scenario is exile to Siberia.

Petrushin. Both you and your wife.

Fedya. What about the best?

Petrushin. Church repentance and, of course, the dissolution of the second marriage.

Fedya. That is, they will again connect me with her, that is, her with me?

Petrushin. Yes, that's how it should be. Don't worry. And please tell me as I tell you. And that's all. The main thing is nothing superfluous. Well, however... (Noticing that they are surrounded and listening.) I'm tired, I'll go sit and you can rest while the jury deliberates. The main thing is not to be timid.

Fedya. And there can't be another solution?

Petrushin(leaving). No other.

SCENE NINE

The same, except for Petrushin, and the judge.

Judicial. Come on in, come on in, there’s no point in standing in the corridor.

Fedya. Now. (Takes out a pistol and shoots himself in the heart. He falls. Everyone rushes to him.) Nothing seems good. Lisa...

SCENE TENTH

Spectators, judges, defendants, and witnesses are running out of all the doors. Lisa is ahead of everyone. Behind are Masha and Karenin and Ivan Petrovich, Prince Abrezkov.

Lisa. What did you do, Fedya? For what?

Fedya. Forgive me that I couldn’t... unravel you otherwise... Not for you... I feel better this way. After all, I’ve been... ready for a long time...

Lisa. You will be alive.

The doctor bends down. Listens.

Fedya. I know without a doctor... Victor, goodbye. And Masha was late... (Cries.) How good... How good... (Ends.)