Anna Karenina — Chapter 141 in French
By Leo Tolstoy
Lévine ne pouvait regarder son frère sans émotion, il ne pouvait rester naturel et calme en sa présence ; dès qu’il entrait chez lui, ses yeux et son attention se voilaient inconsciemment et les détails de sa situation lui échappaient. Levin could not bear to look at his brother, could not even be himself and feel at ease in his presence. When he came into the sick man's room, his eyes and his motions entirely absorbed him, and he did not see and did not realize the details of his frightful situation.
Il remarquait bien la mauvaise odeur, la saleté, le désordre, le malaise, les gémissements, mais il ne voyait pas la possibilité d’y remédier. He perceived the horrid odor, he saw the uncleanliness and disorder, he heard the sick man's groans, and it seemed to him that there was no way of helping it. Il ne lui venait même pas en tête d’essayer d’atténuer les souffrances du malade, de se demander comment sous la couverture était couché ce corps, comment ces genoux, ce dos décharné étaient placés, s’il n’y avait pas moyen de les mieux installer, s’il n’y avait pas quelque chose à faire pour qu’il fût moins mal sinon mieux. It did not occur to him to investigate how the body lay under the coverlid; how the lean long legs, the thighs, the back, were doubled up and accommodated; nor did he ask whether he might not help him to lie more easily and do something to improve his condition, at least to make a bad situation less trying.
Un frisson lui passait dans le dos à la seule pensée de ces détails. Il était indiscutablement convaincu qu’on ne pouvait rien faire ni pour prolonger cette vie ni pour atténuer ces souffrances. The mere thought of these details made a cold chill run down his back; he was undoubtedly persuaded in his own mind that it was impossible to do anything either to prolong his life or to lighten his sufferings, and the sick man, feeling instinctively that his brother was powerless to help him, was irritated. Mais le malade sentait mieux encore cette impuissance et s’en irritait, ce qui était d’autant plus pénible pour Lévine. And this made it all the harder for Levin. Malheureux dans la chambre du malade, il l’était encore plus lorsqu’il s’en éloignait ; sans cesse et sous divers prétextes, il sortait et rentrait, n’ayant pas la force de rester seul. To be in the sick-room was painful to him; to be away from it was still worse. And he kept leaving the room under various pretexts, and coming back again, for he was unable to stay alone by himself.
À la vue du malade elle éprouva de la pitié, et, dans son cœur de femme, cette pitié, loin de produire l’horreur et le dégoût, comme chez son mari, la porta au contraire à agir, à s’informer des détails de sa situation et à s’efforcer de l’améliorer. Kitty thought, felt, and acted in an entirely different way: as soon as she saw the sick man, she was filled with pity for him, and this pity in her womanly heart, instead of arousing a sense of fear or repulsion as it did in her husband's case, moved her to act, moved her to find out all the details of his condition and to ameliorate them. Et, ne doutant pas une seconde qu’il était de son devoir de lui porter secours, elle ne douta pas davantage que ce fut possible, et se mit aussitôt à l’œuvre. And as she had not the slightest doubt that it was her duty to help him, neither did she doubt the possibility of it, and she set herself to work without delay.