; and you arrived here; as it were, on fire with the longing to be of service. Then, on the very day of your arrival, they tell you a sad story of an ill-used woman; they tell you , a knight, pure and without reproach, this tale of a poor woman! The same day you actually see her; you are attracted by her beauty, her fantastic, almost demoniacal, beauty⁠—(I admit her beauty, of course).

“Add to all this your nervous nature, your epilepsy, and your sudden arrival in a strange town⁠—the day of meetings and of exciting scenes, the day of unexpected acquaintanceships, the day of sudden actions, the day of meeting with the three lovely Epanchin girls, and among them Aglaya⁠—add your fatigue, your excitement; add Nastasia’s evening party, and the tone of that party, and⁠—what were you to expect of yourself at such a moment as that?”