Anna insists on the opera

Anna returns not alone but with her old maiden aunt, Princess Oblonskaya, chattering about shopping, with a strained glitter in her eyes and the nervous quickness that once captivated Vronsky and now alarms him. Tushkevich brings word that Betsy is unwell and asks her to call between half-past six and nine — hours chosen, as Vronsky sees and Anna appears not to, so that she will meet nobody. Anna regrets that those are exactly the hours she cannot come, and sends Tushkevich instead to get her a box for Patti. At dinner she is aggressively merry with both men. Dressed in Paris silk and white lace, she meets Vronsky's frightened question with another: why should she not go? He begs her not to, in French, with tender entreaty and a cold look. She refuses to know why, almost screaming that she does not repent, that she would do it all again, and that nothing exists but whether they love each other. Yashvin is not compromising, and Princess Barbara is no worse than anyone.

Anna insists on the opera to find out whether Vronsky still loves her, and Tolstoy never lets her say so — the decision is made in the language of rights and refuses every reason offered. Vronsky trying to recall her to her senses 'as her husband once used to do' is the worst thing said about him. Her beauty now irritates him, which is the answer to her question.