Kapitonich opens the door for Anya. The old hall porter who appears in Tolstoy’s novel is exactly the same as Tolstoy left him; time hasn’t changed him one bit. Since Anna killed herself, he hasn’t set foot outdoors, except once. He didn’t even attend his own daughter’s funeral five years ago; she had been a dancer with the Ballets Russes. He lives shut away in the Karenin Palace, dedicated to preserving it exactly as it appeared in the novel, with two differences: The first is that Count Karenin personally redecorated Anya’s room when he took custody of her from Vronsky. The second is that the portrait of Anna Karenina in her youth was removed from the count’s office, despite the fact that it depicted her before she fell in love with Vronsky and “changed.” Nothing else has moved and everything is perfectly preserved, thanks to Kapitonich’s endless care (and his fictitious nature).

But Kapitonich isn’t himself today. Anya can tell from the moment he opens the door. His disposition, which makes him the ideal hall porter—the staunch defender of domestic stability—seems shaken. Kapitonich keeps his silence, as he usually does, but there’s something different in his features and his posture.

“Good evening, Kapitonich. Is everything all right?”

It takes Kapitonich a moment to reply. Even more strangely, he doesn’t reach out to take her coat. In a controlled voice, but with an angry huff, he says, “No, Mademoiselle Anya, everything’s not all right.”

Anya is startled by the way he pronounces these few words.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well …”

Kapitonich seems distracted, far away.

“What happened, Kapitonich? Don’t keep me in suspense!”

The hall porter of the Karenin Palace looks at her as if he’s just realized she’s standing there. He quickly takes the coat she’s holding out and, recovering his usual aplomb, says in a shaky voice, “Marietta went out!”

Anya understands who he’s talking about, and she doesn’t correct him by saying the name of her maid, Aleksandra, the young woman who replaced Marietta. She can’t believe Aleksandra dared disobey her.

“What did Aleksandrina do?”

“She left.”

“What do you mean she left? She took her things?”

“No, no, no, mademoiselle. She didn’t take anything.” The seasoned old hall porter is out of sorts, but he also feels the need to calm her down. He knows the whole point of his role in the household is to ensure its order and tranquility. From the moment anyone steps over the threshold, it’s Kapitonich’s job to make them feel at home.

“What are you saying, Kapitonich? I don’t understand.”

“Aleksandra didn’t leave, she went out.”

“At this hour?” Anya is still upset, she doesn’t notice Kapitonich has returned to being himself.