Anna Karenina: Compare Translations

All happy families resemble one another, every unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion.

Confusion reigned in the house of the Oblonskys. The wife had discovered that her husband was too attentive to the French governess who had been in their employ, and she declared that she could not live in the same house with him. For three days this situation had lasted, and the torment was felt by the parties themselves and by all the members of the family and the domestics. All the members of the family and the domestics felt that there was no sense in their trying to live together longer, and that in every hotel people who meet casually had more mutual interests than they, the members of the family and the domestics of the house of Oblonsky. Madame did not come out of her own rooms: it was now the third day that the husband had not been at home. The children ran over the whole house as though they were crazy; the English maid quarrelled with the housekeeper and wrote to a friend, begging her to find her a new place. The head cook went off the evening before just at dinner-time: the black cook and the coachman demanded their wages.

All happy families are alike but an unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion.

Everything had gone wrong in the Oblonsky household. The wife had found out about her husband’s relationship with their former French governess and had announced that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This state of affairs had already continued for three days and was having a distressing effect on the couple themselves, on all the members of the family, and on the domestics. They all felt that there was no sense in their living together under the same roof and that any group of people who chanced to meet at a wayside inn would have more in common than they, the members of the Oblonsky family, and their servants. The wife did not leave her own rooms and the husband stayed away from home all day. The children strayed all over the house, not knowing what to do with themselves. The English governess had quarrelled with the housekeeper and had written a note asking a friend to find her a new place. The head-cook had gone out right at dinner-time the day before. The under-cook and the coachman had given notice.

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

All was confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had found out that the husband was having an affair with their former French governess, and had announced to the husband that she could not live in the same house with him. This situation had continued for three days now, and was painfully felt by the couple themselves, as well as by all the members of the family and household. They felt that there was no sense in their living together and that people who meet accidentally at any inn have more connection with each other than they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys. The wife would not leave her rooms, the husband was away for the third day. The children were running all over the house as if lost; the English governess quarrelled with the housekeeper and wrote a note to a friend, asking her to find her a new place; the cook had already left the premises the day before, at dinner-time; the kitchen-maid and coachman had given notice.

All happy families resemble each other; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was mixed in the house of the Oblonskis. The wife had found out that her husband had a liaison with the French governess, who had been living in their house, and informed her husband that she could not live with him. This situation had lasted for more than two days, and was felt painfully by husband and wife, by all the members of the family, and by the housefolk. All the members of the family and the housefolk felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that people who met accidentally in a tavern were more closely connected than they, the members of the family and the housefolk of the Oblonskis. The wife had not left her rooms, and it was now the third day that Oblónski had kept away from the house. The children ran everywhere as though at a loss what to do; the Englishwoman had had a quarrel with the stewardess, and had written a note to a friend of hers asking her to find her a new place; the cook had left the evening before, during dinner; the scullion and the coachman asked to be paid off.

All happy families resemble one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The Oblonsky home was in turmoil. The wife had discovered that her husband was having a love affair with their former French governess and she told him she could no longer live under the same roof with him. This state of affairs had prevailed for three days and was painfully felt not only by the husband and wife but by all the other members of the household as well. All the members of the household felt there was no longer any sense in their going on living together, that strangers whom chance circumstances had brought together in a public inn had more in common than they, the members of the Oblonsky family and household. The wife did not leave her rooms, the husband had not been home for three days. The children ran all over the house like gamins; the English governess quarrelled with the housekeeper and wrote to a friend asking her to find her a new situation; the cook left the house at dinner time of the second day; the kitchen girl and the coachman gave notice.

All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was upset in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered an intrigue between her husband and their former French governess, and declared that she would not continue to live under the same roof with him. This state of things had now lasted for three days, and not only the husband and wife but the rest of the family and the whole household suffered from it. They all felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that any group of people who had met together by chance at an inn would have had more in common than they. The wife kept to her own rooms; the husband stopped away from home all day; the children ran restlessly about the house; the English governess quarrelled with the housekeeper and wrote to a friend asking if she could find her another situation; the cook had gone out just at dinner-time the day before and had not returned; and the kitchen-maid and coachman had given notice.

All happy families are more or less like one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own particular way. The Oblonsky household was in a complete state of confusion. The wife had discovered that their former French governess was her husband’s mistress and had declared that she could no longer live in the same house with him. This state of tension had continued for three days, tormenting alike to husband and wife, to every member of the family, and to all the Oblonsky domestics. They all felt that there was no sense or meaning in their living together and that any company of people accidentally thrown together in a wayside inn had more interests in common than they. The wife did not leave her own rooms and it was now the third day that the husband had not been at home. The children ran all over the house not knowing what to do with themselves, the English governess had quarrelled with the housekeeper and had written to a friend asking her to find her another place. The cook had gone off the evening before just at dinner-time, the under-cook and the coachman demanded their wages.

Happy families are all like; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything at the Oblonskys’ was topsy-turvy. Oblonsky’s wife had found out that he had been having an affair with the French governess who used to live with them, and told him she could no longer stay under the same roof with him. This was the third day things had been this way, and not only the married couple themselves, but the family and the whole household were painfully aware of it. Everyone in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that people who had casually dropped into any inn would have more connection with each other than they, the Oblonsky family and household. Oblonsky’s wife refused to leave her rooms; he himself hadn’t been home for three days. The children were running around the house as though lost; the English governess had had a quarrel with the housekeeper and written to a friend of hers asking her to look out for a new job for her; the day before the cook had picked dinner-time to go out; the kitchen maid and coachman had given notice.

All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonsky household. The wife had found out that the husband had had an affair with their French governess and had told him that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This situation had now gone on for three days and was felt acutely by the husband and wite themselves, by all the members of the family, and by their servants. All the members of the family and the servants felt that there was no sense in their living together under the same roof and that people who happened to meet at any country inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the Oblonsky family and their servants. The wife did not leave her own rooms, and the husband had not been home for three days. The children ran about all over the house looking lost; the English governess had quarreled with the housekeeper and had written to a friend to ask her to find her a new place; the chef had left the house the day before, at dinnertime; the under-cook and the driver had given notice.

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonsky household. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an affair with their former French governess, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This situation had now lasted three days, and not only the husband and wife, but also all the members of their family and household, were painfully conscious of it. Every person in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that people who met by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the Oblonsky family and household. The wife did not leave her own room; the husband had not been home for three days. The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new position for her; the chef had walked out the day before just at dinnertime; the servant’s cook and the coachman had given notice.

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This position of affairs had now lasted three days, and not only the husband and wife themselves, but all the members of their family and household, were painfully conscious of it. Every person in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that the stray people brought together by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys. The wife did not leave her own room, the husband had not been at home for three days. The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her; the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time; the kitchen-maid, and the coachman had given warning.

All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was upset in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered an intrigue between her husband and their former French governess, and declared that she would not continue to live under the same roof with him. This state of things had now lasted for three days, and not only the husband and wife but the rest of the family and the whole household suffered from it. They all felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that any group of people who had met together by chance at an inn would have had more in common than they. The wife kept to her own rooms; the husband stopped away from home all day; the children ran about all over the house uneasily; the English governess quarrelled with the housekeeper and wrote to a friend asking if she could find her another situation; the cook had gone out just at dinnertime the day before and had not returned; and the kitchen-maid and coachman had given notice.

All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

There was total confusion in the Oblonsky home. The wife had found that the husband was having an adulterous affair with their former French governess and had announced to her husband that she could no longer live under the same roof with him. This state of affairs had been going on for three days, and was acutely distressing to both husband and wife as well as to all the members of the family and to the servants. All the members of the family and the servants felt there was no point in their living together under the same roof and that people happening to meet at the same inn would have closer ties between them than they – the members of the Oblonsky family and their servants – had. The wife would not leave her own rooms and the husband had not been home for three days. The children were wandering about the house like lost souls; the English governess had quarrelled with the housekeeper and had written a note to a friend asking her to find a new job for her; the chef had left the day before while dinner was in progress; the under-cook and the coachman had given notice.

All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had found out that the husband was having an affair with the French governess formerly in their house, and had announced to the husband that she could not live with him in the same house. This situation had been going on now for three days, and was acutely felt by the couple themselves, as well as by the members of the family and the household. The members of the family and the household all felt there was no point in their living together and that people meeting by chance at any coaching inn had more connection to each other than they did, the members of the family and the Oblonsky household. The wife had not left her rooms, the husband had not been at home for three days. The children were running about the house as if lost; the English governess had quarrelled with the housekeeper and written a note to a friend, asking her to find her a new position; the cook had walked out the day before, right in the middle of dinner; the scullery-maid and the coachman had given notice.

Все счастливые семьи похожи друг на друга, каждая несчастливая семья несчастлива по-своему.

Все смешалось в доме Облонских. Жена узнала, что муж был в связи с бывшею в их доме француженкою-гувернанткой, и объявила мужу, что не может жить с ним в одном доме. Положение это продолжалось уже третий день и мучительно чувствовалось и самими супругами, и всеми членами семьи, и домочадцами. Все члены семьи и домочадцы чувствовали, что нет смысла в их сожительстве и что на каждом постоялом дворе случайно сошедшиеся люди более связаны между собой, чем они, члены семьи и домочадцы Облонских. Жена не выходила из своих комнат, мужа третий день не было дома. Дети бегали по всему дому, как потерянные; англичанка поссорилась с экономкой и написала записку приятельнице, прося приискать ей новое место; повар ушел вчера со двора, во время самого обеда; черная кухарка и кучер просили расчета.

[Google translation of this Russian:]

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonsky household. The wife had discovered her husband’s affair with their former French governess and had told him she could no longer live under the same roof with him. This state of affairs had persisted for three days, and the strain was agonizingly felt by the couple themselves, as well as by every member of the family and the household staff. Everyone sensed the pointlessness of their continued cohabitation; people who happened to meet by chance at an inn shared a stronger bond than the members of the Oblonsky household. The wife remained in her rooms, while the husband had been away from home for three days. The children ran about the house as if lost; the English governess had quarreled with the housekeeper and written to a friend asking her to find a new position; the cook had walked out the day before, right in the middle of dinner preparations; and the kitchen maid and the coachman had asked for their discharge.