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The Live Corpse By: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) |
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Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible; changes (corrections of spelling and punctuation) made to
the original text are listed at the end of this file.
]
THE LIVE CORPSE A PLAY IN SIX ACTS
CHARACTERS
THEODORE VASÍLYEVICH PROTÁSOV (FÉDYA). ELISABETH ANDRÉYEVNA PROTÁSOVA (LISA). His wife. MÍSHA. Their son. ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Lisa's mother. SÁSHA. Lisa's younger, unmarried sister. VICTOR MIHÁYLOVICH KARÉNIN. ANNA DMÍTRIEVNA KARÉNINA. PRINCE SERGIUS DMÍTRIEVICH ABRÉZKOV. MÁSHA. A gipsy girl. IVÁN MAKÁROVICH. An old gipsy man. }
} Másha's parents.
NASTÁSIA IVÁNOVNA. An old gipsy woman. } OFFICER. MUSICIAN. FIRST GIPSY MAN. SECOND GIPSY MAN. GIPSY WOMAN. GIPSY CHOIR. DOCTOR. MICHAEL ALEXÁNDROVICH AFRÉMOV. STÁKHOV. }
}
BUTKÉVICH. } Fédya's boon companions.
}
KOROTKÓV. } IVÁN PETRÓVICH ALEXÁNDROV. VOZNESÉNSKY. Karénin's secretary. PETUSHKÓV. An artist. ARTÉMYEV. WAITER IN THE PRIVATE ROOM AT THE RESTAURANT. WAITER IN A LOW CLASS RESTAURANT. MANAGER OF THE SAME. POLICEMAN. INVESTIGATING MAGISTRATE. MÉLNIKOV. CLERK. USHER. YOUNG LAWYER. PETRÚSHIN. A lawyer. LADY. ANOTHER OFFICER. ATTENDANT AT LAW COURTS. THE PROTÁSOVS' NURSE. THE PROTÁSOVS' MAID. AFRÉMOV'S FOOTMAN. KARÉNIN'S FOOTMAN.
THE LIVE CORPSE
ACT I
SCENE 1 Protásov's[1] flat in Moscow. The scene represents a small
dining room. [1] Protásov is his family name, but the name by which he is usually
addressed is Fédya, an abbreviation of his Christian name Theodore.
The ceremonious form of address would be Theodore Vasílyevich. Anna Pávlovna, a stout grey haired lady, tightly laced, is sitting
alone at the tea table on which is a samovár. Enter nurse, carrying
a teapot. NURSE. May I have a little hot water, ma'am? ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Yes. How's Baby? NURSE. He's restless.... There's nothing worse than for a lady to nurse
her baby herself! She has her troubles, and the child must suffer. What
can her milk be like, when she lies awake crying all night? ANNA PÁVLOVNA. But she seems quieter now. NURSE. Quiet, indeed! It makes one ill to see her. She's been writing
something, and crying. Enter Sásha. SÁSHA [to Nurse] Lisa is looking for you. NURSE. I'm coming, I'm coming. [Exit]. ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Nurse says she keeps on crying.... Why can't she control
herself? SÁSHA. Well really, mother, you are amazing!... A woman has left her
husband, her child's father, and you expect her to be calm! ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Well, not calm ... But what's done is done! If I, her
mother, not only allowed my daughter to leave her husband, but am even
glad she has done it, that shows he deserved it. One ought to rejoice,
not to grieve, at the chance of freeing oneself from such a bad man! SÁSHA. Mother, why say such things? You know it's not true! He's not
bad but on the contrary, he's a wonderful man, in spite of his
weaknesses. ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Yes indeed, a "wonderful" man as soon as he has money in
his pocket his own or other people's.... SÁSHA. Mother! He has never taken other people's! ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Yes he has his wife's! Where's the difference? SÁSHA. But he gave all his property to his wife! ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Of course, when he knew that otherwise he was sure to
squander it all! SÁSHA. Squander or not, I only know that a wife must not separate from
her husband, especially from such a one as Fédya. ANNA PÁVLOVNA. Then, in your opinion she ought to wait till he has
squandered everything, and brought his gipsy mistresses into the house? SÁSHA. He has no mistresses! ANNA PÁVLOVNA... Continue reading book >>
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