Anna Karenina Part 1 Chapter 2

In which Stepan Arkadyevitch contemplates the troubled state of his marriage with a candid and somewhat rueful honesty, wrestling with the discomfort of his own failings and the pain they have wrought upon his household. Amidst the quiet ritual of morning grooming and the attentive presence of his servants, he clings to the hope that the impending visit of his sister may offer some measure of reconciliation and respite from his domestic discord.