Anna Karenina — Chapter 12 in French
By Leo Tolstoy
La jeune princesse Kitty Stcherbatzkï avait dix-huit ans. The Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya was eighteen years old. Cet hiver, elle allait pour la première fois dans le monde ; ses succès mondains dépassaient ceux de ses sœurs aînées, et étaient même plus grands que ne l’avait espéré la princesse. She was making her first appearance in society this winter, and her triumphs had been more brilliant than her elder sisters, more than even her mother, had expected. Non seulement presque tous les jeunes danseurs des bals de Moscou étaient amoureux de la jeune fille, mais dès le premier hiver deux partis sérieux s’étaient présentés : Lévine et, peu après son départ, le comte Vronskï. Not only were almost all the young men who danced at balls in Moscow in love with Kitty, but, moreover, there were two who, during this first winter, were serious aspirants to her hand,—Levin, and, soon after his departure, Count Vronsky.
L’apparition de Lévine au commencement de l’hiver, ses fréquentes visites et son amour visible pour Kitty furent le prétexte des premières conversations sérieuses entre les parents de Kitty sur son avenir et amenèrent des disputes entre le prince et sa femme. Levin's appearance at the beginning of the winter, his frequent calls and his unconcealed love for Kitty, were the first subjects that gave cause for serious conversation between her father and mother in regard to her future and for disputes between the prince and princess. Le prince était pour Lévine et disait ne pas souhaiter de meilleur parti pour sa fille. The prince was on Levin's side, and declared that he could not desire a better match for Kitty. La princesse, au contraire, avec l’habitude qu’ont les femmes, en général, de tourner la question, prétendait que leur fille était trop jeune, que Lévine ne montrait pas de sérieuses intentions, que Kitty, de son côté, n’avait pas d’attachement pour lui, et autres prétextes ; mais, au fond, elle cachait le vrai motif de ses hésitations : ce motif était qu’elle attendait pour sa fille un parti plus brillant, que Lévine ne lui était pas sympathique, et qu’elle ne le comprenait pas. But the princess, with the skill which women have for avoiding a question, insisted that Kitty was too young, that Levin did not seem to be serious in his attentions, and that she did not show great partiality for him; but she did not express what was in the bottom of her heart,—that she was ambitious for a more brilliant marriage, that Levin did not appeal to her sympathies, and that she did not understand him. Et quand, brusquement, Lévine partit, la princesse, ravie, dit triomphalement à son mari : And when Levin took a sudden leave she was glad and said; with an air of triumph, to her husband:—
— Tu vois, j’avais raison. "You see, I was right."
Puis, quand parut Vronskï, elle fut encore plus enchantée, et sa conviction que Kitty devait trouver non seulement un bon mais un brillant parti, s’affermit davantage. When Vronsky appeared on the scene, she was still more glad, being confirmed in her opinion that Kitty ought to make, not merely a good, but a brilliant match.