at that moment the governor was engrossed in a yawn that was cracking his jaw, delicately covering his mouth with his skinny hand, and was therefore unable to hear the impertinent words.
That was all that happened. But to the surprise of everyone, and above all of Anton Antonovich himself, from that day Ludmila Platonovna began to favor the visitor from Petersburg—one might even say that she took him under her wing. He took to visiting her apartments frequently, entering unceremoniously, quite unannounced. And then the governor’s house rang with the sounds of the piano, two voices singing duets, and happy laughter. At first Anton Antonovich attempted to join in with the merrymaking but, tormented by his own obvious superfluousness, he would leave, supposedly to deal with some urgent matters, and then suffer even greater agonies in the quiet of his study, wringing his dry white hands. There were also picnic outings with a narrow circle of friends and boating trips and other forms of amusement allowed by the proprieties. Perhaps Vladimir Lvovich was motivated by a genuine liking for the baroness, who, as we have already mentioned, possessed a brilliance both of beauty and of qualities of the heart, but one other thing is certain: A close friendship with the most influential woman in the province was also required by the synodical inspector for other purposes.
THE NEW ARRIVAL set out directly from the von Haggenaus’ to visit the postmaster’s wife, Olympiada Savelievna Shestago, the mistress of a salon run in opposition to that of the governor. At that time Zavolzhsk society was divided into two secret parties that might provisionally be defined as conservative and progressive (out of old habit the latter was also referred to as liberal, although in present-day Russia this word is decidedly going out of fashion). Both camps were headed by women. The conservative party was, as it ought to be, the ruling party, and its true leader was Ludmila Platonovna. This was the banner toward which the majority of state officials and their wives were drawn, by virtue of position, occupation, and natural conviction.
The party of opposition consisted for the most part of young people and the bolder individuals among the teachers, engineers, and telegraph or postal workers; moreover the political orientation of the latter was determined by their being members of a department that was headed by Olympiada Savelievna’s husband, who was totally enslaved by his better half. In the town Madame Shestago was considered a beauty, but in a completely different style from the governor’s wife: She did not captivate with her stateliness and sweetness of character but, on the contrary, with her leanness and sharpness of tongue, or, as Olympiada Savelievna herself defined these qualities, her grace and intellectualism. This lady came from a family of merchant millionaires and she had brought her husband a dowry of three hundred thousand, a fact she never forgot to remind him about at the slightest sign of clouds on the vault of their domestic sky, which for the most part remained quite cloudless. In her rich and hospitable home, customs that were exotic for Zavolzhsk were encouraged, such as atheism, the reading of prohibited newspapers, and free discussion of parliamentarianism. Anybody was free to turn up at Olympiada Savelievna’s Thursdays without ceremony, and very many did come, because, as we have already noted, the fare was notable for its abundance and by provincial standards the conversations were interesting.
Since Bubentsov’s first day of visits happened to fall on a Thursday, he made an appearance in the progressives’ camp without concerning himself about being invited, which testified—as did the very fact that he visited the postmaster’s wife at all—to his thorough knowledge of the customs and balance of forces in the province.
The appearance of the St. Petersburgian provoked a genuine furor among the
That was all that happened. But to the surprise of everyone, and above all of Anton Antonovich himself, from that day Ludmila Platonovna began to favor the visitor from Petersburg—one might even say that she took him under her wing. He took to visiting her apartments frequently, entering unceremoniously, quite unannounced. And then the governor’s house rang with the sounds of the piano, two voices singing duets, and happy laughter. At first Anton Antonovich attempted to join in with the merrymaking but, tormented by his own obvious superfluousness, he would leave, supposedly to deal with some urgent matters, and then suffer even greater agonies in the quiet of his study, wringing his dry white hands. There were also picnic outings with a narrow circle of friends and boating trips and other forms of amusement allowed by the proprieties. Perhaps Vladimir Lvovich was motivated by a genuine liking for the baroness, who, as we have already mentioned, possessed a brilliance both of beauty and of qualities of the heart, but one other thing is certain: A close friendship with the most influential woman in the province was also required by the synodical inspector for other purposes.
THE NEW ARRIVAL set out directly from the von Haggenaus’ to visit the postmaster’s wife, Olympiada Savelievna Shestago, the mistress of a salon run in opposition to that of the governor. At that time Zavolzhsk society was divided into two secret parties that might provisionally be defined as conservative and progressive (out of old habit the latter was also referred to as liberal, although in present-day Russia this word is decidedly going out of fashion). Both camps were headed by women. The conservative party was, as it ought to be, the ruling party, and its true leader was Ludmila Platonovna. This was the banner toward which the majority of state officials and their wives were drawn, by virtue of position, occupation, and natural conviction.
The party of opposition consisted for the most part of young people and the bolder individuals among the teachers, engineers, and telegraph or postal workers; moreover the political orientation of the latter was determined by their being members of a department that was headed by Olympiada Savelievna’s husband, who was totally enslaved by his better half. In the town Madame Shestago was considered a beauty, but in a completely different style from the governor’s wife: She did not captivate with her stateliness and sweetness of character but, on the contrary, with her leanness and sharpness of tongue, or, as Olympiada Savelievna herself defined these qualities, her grace and intellectualism. This lady came from a family of merchant millionaires and she had brought her husband a dowry of three hundred thousand, a fact she never forgot to remind him about at the slightest sign of clouds on the vault of their domestic sky, which for the most part remained quite cloudless. In her rich and hospitable home, customs that were exotic for Zavolzhsk were encouraged, such as atheism, the reading of prohibited newspapers, and free discussion of parliamentarianism. Anybody was free to turn up at Olympiada Savelievna’s Thursdays without ceremony, and very many did come, because, as we have already noted, the fare was notable for its abundance and by provincial standards the conversations were interesting.
Since Bubentsov’s first day of visits happened to fall on a Thursday, he made an appearance in the progressives’ camp without concerning himself about being invited, which testified—as did the very fact that he visited the postmaster’s wife at all—to his thorough knowledge of the customs and balance of forces in the province.
The appearance of the St. Petersburgian provoked a genuine furor among the
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