Chapter 31
Obsession turns the world into furniture
Vronsky had not even tried to sleep all that night. He sat in his armchair, looking straight before him or scanning the people who got in and out. If he had indeed on previous occasions struck and impressed people who did not know him by his air of unhesitating composure, he seemed now more haughty and self-possessed than ever. He looked at people as if they were things. A nervous young man, a clerk in a law court, sitting opposite him, hated him for that look. The young man asked him for a light, and entered into conversation with him,…
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Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Triangle You Witnessed
Recall a time when you saw two people claim the same person in one room: a spouse and a suitor, a boss and a rival, a parent and a partner. Write three columns: what each person did, what the person in the middle did, and what you assumed that was not confirmed.
Consider:
- •Note when courtesy masked control
- •Separate flashes of attention from commitments
- •Ask whether you read hope into a reserve you did not understand
Journaling Prompt
Write about meeting someone's partner for the first time after flirting with them. What changed in your body before your mind caught up?
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