ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Listen, Lisa ... I am very sorry for you, and I like you. But I love Victor. He is the one being I love in the world. I know his soul as I know my own. It is a proud soul. He was proud as a boy of seven.... Not proud of his name or wealth, but proud of his character and innocence, which he has guarded. He is as pure as a maiden.

LISA. I know.

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. He has never loved any woman. You are the first. I do not say I am not jealous. I am jealous. But we mothers--your son is still a baby, and it is too soon for you--we are prepared for that. I was prepared to give him up to his wife and not to be jealous--but to a wife as pure as himself ...

LISA. I ... have I ...

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Forgive me! I know it was not your fault, but you are unfortunate. And I know him. Now he is ready to bear--and will bear--anything, and he would never mention it, but he would suffer. His wounded pride would suffer, and he would not be happy.

LISA. I have thought of that.

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Lisa, my dear, you are a wise and good woman. If you love him you must desire his happiness more than your own. And if that is so, you will not wish to bind him and give him cause to repent--though he would never _say_ a word.

LISA. I know he wouldn't! I have thought about it, and have asked myself that question. I have thought of it, and have spoken of it to him. But what can I do, when he says he does not wish to live without me? I said to him: "Let us be friends, but do not spoil your life; do not bind your pure life to my unfortunate one!" But he does not wish for that.

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. No, not at present....

LISA. Persuade him to leave me, and I will agree. I love him for his own happiness and not for mine. Only help me! Do not hate me! Let us lovingly work together for his happiness!

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Yes, yes! I have grown fond of you. [Kisses her. Lisa cries] And yet, and yet it is dreadful! If only he had loved you before you married ...

LISA. He says he did love me then, but did not wish to prevent a friend's happiness.

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Ah, how hard it all is! Still, we will love one another, and G.o.d will help us to find what we want.

VICTOR [entering] Mother, dear! I have heard everything! I expected this: you are fond of her, and all will be well!

LISA. I am sorry you heard. I should not have said it if ...

ANNA DMiTRIEVNA. Still, nothing is settled. All I can say is, that if it were not for all these unfortunate circ.u.mstances, I should have been glad. [Kisses her].

VICTOR. Only, please don't change!

Curtain.

SCENE 2

A plainly furnished room; bed, table, sofa. Fedya alone.

_A knock at the door. A woman's voice outside._ Why have you locked yourself in, Theodore Vasilyevich? Fedya! Open ...!

FeDYA [gets up and unlocks door] That's right! Thank you for coming.

It's dull, terribly dull!

MaSHA. Why didn't you come to us? Been drinking again? Eh, eh! And after you'd promised!

FeDYA. D'you know, I've no money!

MaSHA. And why have I taken it into my head to care for you!

FeDYA. Masha!

MaSHA. Well, what about "Masha, Masha"? If you were really in love, you'd have got a divorce long ago. They themselves asked you to. You say you don't love her, but all the same you keep to her! I see you don't wish ...

FeDYA. But you know why I don't wish!

MaSHA. That's all rubbish. People say quite truly that you're an empty fellow.

FeDYA. What can I say to you? That your words hurt me, you know without being told!

MaSHA. Nothing hurts you!

FeDYA. You know that the one joy I have in life is your love.

MaSHA. _My_ love--yes; but yours doesn't exist.

FeDYA. All right. I'm not going to a.s.sure you. Besides, what's the good?

You know!

MaSHA. Fedya; why torment me?

FeDYA. Which of us torments?

MaSHA [cries] You are unkind!

FeDYA [goes up and embraces her] Masha! What's it all about? Stop that.

One must live, and not whine. It doesn't suit you at all, my lovely one!

MaSHA. You do love me?

FeDYA. Whom else could I love?

MaSHA. Only me? Well then, read what you have been writing.

FeDYA. It will bore you.

MaSHA. It's you who wrote it, so it's sure to be good.

FeDYA. Well then listen. [Reads] "One day, late in autumn, my friend and I agreed to meet on the Murgin fields, where there was a close thicket with many young birds in it. The day was dull, warm, and quiet. The mist ..."

Enter two old gipsies, Masha's parents, Ivan Makarovich and Nastasia Ivanovna.

NASTaSIA [stepping up to her daughter] Here you are then, you d.a.m.ned runaway sheep! [To Fedya] My respects to you, sir! [To Masha] Is that how you treat us, eh?

IVaN [to Fedya] It's wrong, sir, what you're doing! You're ruining the wench! Oh, but it's wrong ... You're doing a dirty deed.

NASTaSIA. Put on your shawl! March at once!... Running away like this!