Karenin thought and said that in no previous year had he had so much official business as this year; but he was not conscious of the fact that this year he invented work for himself, and that this was one of the means of keeping that compartment closed where lay his feelings for and thoughts of his family, which became more terrible the longer they lay there.
Aleksej Aleksandrovic pensava e diceva che mai, come in quell’anno, aveva avuto tanto lavoro d’ufficio; e non voleva accorgersi che il lavoro se l’era creato lui stesso in quell’anno, che era stato uno dei mezzi per non aprire quella tale cassetta dove stavano rinchiusi i sentimenti suoi per la moglie e la famiglia: mentre il pensiero di costoro tanto più sgomentoso diveniva quanto più a lungo egli lo relegava là.