On marriage and homosexuality

by Tolstoyish

“Tell me about the peasants.”

He answered with some significant intonations. “They have just sold it, as I have done, when he wants. We do so, but now… But wait, an answer: do the work for God, the commune.”

“I was not wanted. And he did it- must be arranged, if you like the chief proof: he had no money to say the lord is our son.”

“If he were our son, we could have bought the land when they sold it. He gave the peasants all. ‘Get money!’ and the peasants agreed. They say, ‘I will take the drink from him,’ and they must go.”

Peter, sighing: “Don’t you want a better answer to his father?”

“I suppose.”

Peter was irritated now. He should know better, want better, believe better of the peasants and he himself. “He has just come and see me for your life,” he answered, and he looked around him at his wife with surprise and face and, sighing approvingly, appeared to Nekhludoff with an evident smile. “What are we to tell him? I was in that position and that is why it was all done to him, but it is not the same.”

“But that it was a dreadful business to do so, but it must have happened– I am so glad to see the woman, but I am afraid.”

“But why? Because of her illness? How is her illness?”

“And how do I know what I think? She was thinking about her husband– I was very well, and he did it for her in the country, I had been told, for you… And she has gone away… I have nothing more, and more to you, you see… I have come here, but what do they think I know? I can’t. I know how he can see that I was so sorry. And how could you help it? And how I love her, and how he loves her.”

“You shouldn’t have done it. The peasants have the land, and she is gone; what does he have left?”

“You? He did say something, but he did not wish me, not because he did it, not to forgive. He was very sorry for his soul and now I dont understand why she does; he has no heart to forgive.”

“But I can’t bear–”

“He does not wish to be free. And you don’t care for yourself, and he will do it, and he won’t speak! It will come back, and I am afraid… I am afraid that he should marry her, and she would say that I have not seen it for a long time since she is quite pure, she said… Smiling, but no! I don’t care about anything and will forgive him, but I will marry her! I can’t.”

“I do know how… What can I tell? I don’t like that he will be able, not from any of the world to whom she loves. She will marry and forgive you! She is so bad that I have not thought of it, but that you are happy– she thought of that.”

Nekhludoff looked up, brightened for the first time. “Tell me! Tell me how we could be married. And how I love her!”

“I know you are not ashamed. And you must understand me– I dont believe that I have a good heart– you know what you want.”

“Yes, yes, she was just like a child– she said to him in his eyes as though wishing with the smile she was holding.”

“I will tell him that it was not for him, but my heart ached with the horror of all my life… He did so as not because he loved, but no one else could never see anything in the past. He did not even wish to speak to her. And what a terrible thing I was, I did: he loved him. And what do we want? Him, and he is happy with him!” He added, “Turning her face and the same feeling of the humiliation which always struck him in his imagination. But she could never understand it and would say to him, ‘And then it is all the same.’”

“You don’t mean…”

“I do. If you uncover his shame, it will all fall.”

“And then?”

“And then you can be wed.”

Tosltoyish is a Recurrent Neural Net trained on the work of Leo Tolstoy. This work was seeded with a phrase or sentence, then reseeded after Tolstoyish had generated some text with new human input to continue the story. Non-period punctuation has been added.