Chapter 25 — Anna Karenina

Nikolay points at iron bars tied with string and pitches a locksmiths' association in Kazan province: shared tools, shared profit, justice for peasants who work like beasts of burden. Konstantin listens with his eyes on his brother's consumptive face. The speech may be true, but the project reads as an anchor against self-contempt, not a business plan.

Pushback on putting the co-op in a village detonates the room. Nikolay hears aristocratic condescension in Konstantin and in absent Sergey Ivanovitch, shouts until Kritsky walks out, and returns to vodka. Marya Nikolaevna steadies him between outbursts; he accuses Konstantin of pity and of talking to her like a judge. Brief warmth follows: marriage questions, a plea over the inheritance denied years ago, nostalgia for Pokrovskoe, an invitation home if Konstantin will choose him over Sergey Ivanovitch. Konstantin tries diplomacy; Nikolay catches that he thinks both brothers wrong and almost smiles before the next drink.

The night ends where argument cannot. Nikolay rejects the comfort of another world, admits he is awfully afraid of death, and wants Gypsies and champagne. Konstantin and Masha refuse the outing, pour him into bed, and leave practical care in her hands. She promises to write if crisis comes and to push Nikolay toward the country estate Konstantin cannot rebuild from one visit.