community-datasets/crime_and_punish · Datasets at Hugging Face

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to make Dounia an open and shameful proposal, promising her all sorts of
inducements and offering, besides, to throw up everything and take her
to another estate of his, or even abroad. You can imagine all she went
through! To leave her situation at once was impossible not only on
account of the money debt, but also to spare the feelings of Marfa
Petrovna, whose suspicions would have been aroused: and then Dounia
would have been the cause of a rupture in the family. And it would
have meant a terrible scandal for Dounia too; that would have been
inevitable. There were various other reasons owing to which Dounia could
not hope to escape from that awful house for another six weeks. You know
Dounia, of course; you know how clever she is and what a strong will she
has. Dounia can endure a great deal and even in the most difficult cases
she has the fortitude to maintain her firmness. She did not even write
to me about everything for fear of upsetting me, although we were
constantly in communication. It all ended very unexpectedly. Marfa
Petrovna accidentally overheard her husband imploring Dounia in the
garden, and, putting quite a wrong interpretation on the position, threw
the blame upon her, believing her to be the cause of it all. An awful
scene took place between them on the spot in the garden; Marfa Petrovna
went so far as to strike Dounia, refused to hear anything and was
shouting at her for a whole hour and then gave orders that Dounia should
be packed off at once to me in a plain peasant’s cart, into which they
flung all her things, her linen and her clothes, all pell-mell, without
folding it up and packing it. And a heavy shower of rain came on, too,
and Dounia, insulted and put to shame, had to drive with a peasant in an
open cart all the seventeen versts into town. Only think now what answer
could I have sent to the letter I received from you two months ago and
what could I have written? I was in despair; I dared not write to
you the truth because you would have been very unhappy, mortified
and indignant, and yet what could you do? You could only perhaps ruin
yourself, and, besides, Dounia would not allow it; and fill up my letter
with trifles when my heart was so full of sorrow, I could not. For a
whole month the town was full of gossip about this scandal, and it came
to such a pass that Dounia and I dared not even go to church on account
of the contemptuous looks, whispers, and even remarks made aloud about
us. All our acquaintances avoided us, nobody even bowed to us in the
street, and I learnt that some shopmen and clerks were intending to
insult us in a shameful way, smearing the gates of our house with pitch,
so that the landlord began to tell us we must leave. All this was set
going by Marfa Petrovna who managed to slander Dounia and throw dirt at
her in every family. She knows everyone in the neighbourhood, and that
month she was continually coming into the town, and as she is
rather talkative and fond of gossiping about her family affairs and
particularly of complaining to all and each of her husband--which is not
at all right--so in a short time she had spread her story not only in
the town, but over the whole surrounding district. It made me ill, but
Dounia bore it better than I did, and if only you could have seen how
she endured it all and tried to comfort me and cheer me up! She is
an angel! But by God’s mercy, our sufferings were cut short: Mr.
Svidrigaïlov returned to his senses and repented and, probably
feeling sorry for Dounia, he laid before Marfa Petrovna a complete and
unmistakable proof of Dounia’s innocence, in the form of a letter Dounia
had been forced to write and give to him, before Marfa Petrovna
came upon them in the garden. This letter, which remained in Mr.
Svidrigaïlov’s hands after her departure, she had written to refuse
personal explanations and secret interviews, for which he was entreating
her. In that letter she reproached him with great heat and indignation
for the baseness of his behaviour in regard to Marfa Petrovna, reminding
him that he was the father and head of a family and telling him how
infamous it was of him to torment and make unhappy a defenceless girl,
unhappy enough already. Indeed, dear Rodya, the letter was so nobly and
touchingly written that I sobbed when I read it and to this day I cannot
read it without tears. Moreover, the evidence of the servants, too,
cleared Dounia’s reputation; they had seen and known a great deal more
than Mr. Svidrigaïlov had himself supposed--as indeed is always the case
with servants. Marfa Petrovna was completely taken aback, and ‘again
crushed’ as she said herself to us, but she was completely convinced of
Dounia’s innocence. The very next day, being Sunday, she went straight
to the Cathedral, knelt down and prayed with tears to Our Lady to give
her strength to bear this new trial and to do her duty. Then she
came straight from the Cathedral to us, told us the whole story, wept
bitterly and, fully penitent, she embraced Dounia and besought her to
forgive her. The same morning without any delay, she went round to all
the houses in the town and everywhere, shedding tears, she asserted in
the most flattering terms Dounia’s innocence and the nobility of
her feelings and her behavior. What was more, she showed and read to
everyone the letter in Dounia’s own handwriting to Mr. Svidrigaïlov and
even allowed them to take copies of it--which I must say I think was
superfluous. In this way she was busy for several days in driving about
the whole town, because some people had taken offence through precedence
having been given to others. And therefore they had to take turns, so
that in every house she was expected before she arrived, and everyone
knew that on such and such a day Marfa Petrovna would be reading the
letter in such and such a place and people assembled for every reading
of it, even many who had heard it several times already both in their
own houses and in other people’s. In my opinion a great deal, a very
great deal of all this was unnecessary; but that’s Marfa Petrovna’s
character. Anyway she succeeded in completely re-establishing Dounia’s
reputation and the whole ignominy of this affair rested as an indelible
disgrace upon her husband, as the only person to blame, so that I really
began to feel sorry for him; it was really treating the crazy fellow too
harshly. Dounia was at once asked to give lessons in several families,
but she refused. All of a sudden everyone began to treat her with marked
respect and all this did much to bring about the event by which, one may
say, our whole fortunes are now transformed. You must know, dear Rodya,
that Dounia has a suitor and that she has already consented to marry
him. I hasten to tell you all about the matter, and though it has been
arranged without asking your consent, I think you will not be aggrieved
with me or with your sister on that account, for you will see that we
could not wait and put off our decision till we heard from you. And you

to make Dounia an open and shameful proposal, promising her all sorts of

inducements and offering, besides, to throw up everything and take her

to another estate of his, or even abroad. You can imagine all she went

through! To leave her situation at once was impossible not only on

account of the money debt, but also to spare the feelings of Marfa

Petrovna, whose suspicions would have been aroused: and then Dounia

would have been the cause of a rupture in the family. And it would

have meant a terrible scandal for Dounia too; that would have been

inevitable. There were various other reasons owing to which Dounia could

not hope to escape from that awful house for another six weeks. You know

Dounia, of course; you know how clever she is and what a strong will she

has. Dounia can endure a great deal and even in the most difficult cases

she has the fortitude to maintain her firmness. She did not even write

to me about everything for fear of upsetting me, although we were

constantly in communication. It all ended very unexpectedly. Marfa

Petrovna accidentally overheard her husband imploring Dounia in the

garden, and, putting quite a wrong interpretation on the position, threw

the blame upon her, believing her to be the cause of it all. An awful

scene took place between them on the spot in the garden; Marfa Petrovna

went so far as to strike Dounia, refused to hear anything and was

shouting at her for a whole hour and then gave orders that Dounia should

be packed off at once to me in a plain peasant’s cart, into which they

flung all her things, her linen and her clothes, all pell-mell, without

folding it up and packing it. And a heavy shower of rain came on, too,

and Dounia, insulted and put to shame, had to drive with a peasant in an

open cart all the seventeen versts into town. Only think now what answer

could I have sent to the letter I received from you two months ago and

what could I have written? I was in despair; I dared not write to

you the truth because you would have been very unhappy, mortified

and indignant, and yet what could you do? You could only perhaps ruin

yourself, and, besides, Dounia would not allow it; and fill up my letter

with trifles when my heart was so full of sorrow, I could not. For a

whole month the town was full of gossip about this scandal, and it came

to such a pass that Dounia and I dared not even go to church on account

of the contemptuous looks, whispers, and even remarks made aloud about

us. All our acquaintances avoided us, nobody even bowed to us in the

street, and I learnt that some shopmen and clerks were intending to

insult us in a shameful way, smearing the gates of our house with pitch,

so that the landlord began to tell us we must leave. All this was set

going by Marfa Petrovna who managed to slander Dounia and throw dirt at

her in every family. She knows everyone in the neighbourhood, and that

month she was continually coming into the town, and as she is

rather talkative and fond of gossiping about her family affairs and

particularly of complaining to all and each of her husband--which is not

at all right--so in a short time she had spread her story not only in

the town, but over the whole surrounding district. It made me ill, but

Dounia bore it better than I did, and if only you could have seen how

she endured it all and tried to comfort me and cheer me up! She is

an angel! But by God’s mercy, our sufferings were cut short: Mr.

Svidrigaïlov returned to his senses and repented and, probably

feeling sorry for Dounia, he laid before Marfa Petrovna a complete and

unmistakable proof of Dounia’s innocence, in the form of a letter Dounia

had been forced to write and give to him, before Marfa Petrovna

came upon them in the garden. This letter, which remained in Mr.

Svidrigaïlov’s hands after her departure, she had written to refuse

personal explanations and secret interviews, for which he was entreating

her. In that letter she reproached him with great heat and indignation

for the baseness of his behaviour in regard to Marfa Petrovna, reminding

him that he was the father and head of a family and telling him how

infamous it was of him to torment and make unhappy a defenceless girl,

unhappy enough already. Indeed, dear Rodya, the letter was so nobly and

touchingly written that I sobbed when I read it and to this day I cannot

read it without tears. Moreover, the evidence of the servants, too,

cleared Dounia’s reputation; they had seen and known a great deal more

than Mr. Svidrigaïlov had himself supposed--as indeed is always the case

with servants. Marfa Petrovna was completely taken aback, and ‘again

crushed’ as she said herself to us, but she was completely convinced of

Dounia’s innocence. The very next day, being Sunday, she went straight

to the Cathedral, knelt down and prayed with tears to Our Lady to give

her strength to bear this new trial and to do her duty. Then she

came straight from the Cathedral to us, told us the whole story, wept

bitterly and, fully penitent, she embraced Dounia and besought her to

forgive her. The same morning without any delay, she went round to all

the houses in the town and everywhere, shedding tears, she asserted in

the most flattering terms Dounia’s innocence and the nobility of

her feelings and her behavior. What was more, she showed and read to

everyone the letter in Dounia’s own handwriting to Mr. Svidrigaïlov and

even allowed them to take copies of it--which I must say I think was

superfluous. In this way she was busy for several days in driving about

the whole town, because some people had taken offence through precedence

having been given to others. And therefore they had to take turns, so

that in every house she was expected before she arrived, and everyone

knew that on such and such a day Marfa Petrovna would be reading the

letter in such and such a place and people assembled for every reading

of it, even many who had heard it several times already both in their

own houses and in other people’s. In my opinion a great deal, a very

great deal of all this was unnecessary; but that’s Marfa Petrovna’s

character. Anyway she succeeded in completely re-establishing Dounia’s

reputation and the whole ignominy of this affair rested as an indelible

disgrace upon her husband, as the only person to blame, so that I really

began to feel sorry for him; it was really treating the crazy fellow too

harshly. Dounia was at once asked to give lessons in several families,

but she refused. All of a sudden everyone began to treat her with marked

respect and all this did much to bring about the event by which, one may

say, our whole fortunes are now transformed. You must know, dear Rodya,

that Dounia has a suitor and that she has already consented to marry

him. I hasten to tell you all about the matter, and though it has been

arranged without asking your consent, I think you will not be aggrieved

with me or with your sister on that account, for you will see that we

could not wait and put off our decision till we heard from you. And you