The Shtcherbatskys have established their place in the little German town with special healing waters. Another visitor to the waters is a German princess, and Kitty’s mother is desperate to present Kitty to her. She does so the day after they arrive, and Kitty makes a low and graceful curtsy before the princess, wearing an elegant dress from Paris. The princess says she hopes Kitty will soon have more color in her cheeks, making her face even prettier.

The family also makes the acquaintance of an English lady, a German countess and her wounded war-hero son, a Swedish intellectual, and Monsieur Canut and his sister. Most of the time, though, the Shtcherbatskys are in the company of a lady from Moscow, Marya Yevgenyevna Rtischeva and her daughter. Kitty dislikes the daughter because, like her, her illness is due to a failed love affair. Also among the group is a Moscow colonel whom Kitty has known since childhood and is now a ridiculous figure she cannot avoid.

Once the newness of the place has worn off, Kitty grows bored, especially after her father leaves and she is left alone with her mother. She takes no interest in her surroundings or in the people she knows. Instead, she spends her time creating noble and marvelous characters for the people she sees but does not know. Kitty makes guesses about who they are, how they are related to one another, and what kind of people they are.

One such person is a Russian girl who has come to the waters with an invalid Russian lady named Madame Stahl. Stahl belongs to the highest society (Kitty’s mother knew her long ago) but is so ill she cannot walk and rarely even makes an appearance in her invalid carriage. The girl is friendly to all the invalids and naturally looks after them, and Kitty has gathered that she is not related to Stahl. Everyone calls her Mademoiselle Varenka, and Kitty feels an inexplicable attraction to her. When their eyes happen to meet, Kitty senses the girl feels the same about her.

Mademoiselle Varenka is rather ageless, and she is not particularly pretty. Kitty thinks of her as a “fine flower,” no longer blooming and not particularly fragrant but with unwithered petals. No men are likely to be attracted to her because, unlike Kitty, she has no suppressed passions or vitality. Despite that, Mademoiselle Varenka has a purposeful interest in life, and this is something Kitty believes she needs to emulate. She must find an interest and dignity in life, apart from her relationships with men, something which now seems crass and shameful—like marketing goods for the highest bidder. The longer Kitty watches her, the more convinced she is that she must get acquainted with Mademoiselle Varenka.

Soon two people arrive who create a most unpleasant sensation among all the guests. One is a stooped man with black and terrible eyes; the other is a pockmarked woman, kind-looking but tastelessly dressed. Just as Kitty begins to fabricate a wonderful story about the couple, her mother tells her who they are: Nikolay Levin and Marya Nikolaevna. Kitty experiences a feeling of disgust, knowing the man is Levin’s brother. She tries to avoid those dark eyes, as they seem to follow her with hatred and contempt.