After his walk with Kitty, the prince invites everyone in the building to join them for coffee. He remains in excessive good spirits and is lavish both with food and the gifts he purchased on his journey. His spirit is infectious, and Kitty has never seen Varenka helpless with laughter as she is at the prince’s jokes.

Kitty is glad for the good humor but struggles to be lighthearted. Her father has unintentionally caused her to question her views about her friends, and the situation with Petrov is distressing. She feels as she used to as a child when she was being punished in her room and heard her sisters laughing outside.

When Varenka prepares to leave Kitty follows her. Even her hero seems different to her now—not worse, just different than she had imagined her before today. Varenka gathers her things and tells Kitty her father is a very nice man. Kitty remains silent until Varenka asks when she will see Kitty again.

Kitty says her mother intends to go see the Petrovs since they are preparing to leave, and she intends to come, too. Varenka tells her there is no need for Kitty to come and Kitty grabs on to her and demands to know why she should not come to the Petrovs. Finally Varenka says Kitty will make the family feel awkward if she comes to help, and when Kitty presses her, she adds that the artist had intended to leave earlier but now does not want to go away at all. She speaks these words quietly and with a smile, but Kitty knows there is more and urges her to tell the rest.

Anna Pavlovna told her husband the only reason he does not want to leave is Kitty, and an argument ensued between them, though Varenka assures Kitty it is all nonsense. Kitty stands silent, and Varenka does not know how to avert the storm—either of words or tears—that she sees coming.

Suddenly Kitty strikes out in a childish fury, and Varenka is tempted to smile as Kitty exclaims that it serves her right because for her it was all “a sham.” Kitty was only doing nice things for people to emulate others, not because the impulse flowed from her heart. As a result, she caused this quarrel between the Petrovs. Varenka tries to reason with her, but Kitty claims she acts from the heart not from principle, as Varenka does, and she is a bad person. Kitty leaves her friend without making peace. In a moment she returns and is distraught that she has been rude and does not know how to repair the damage. Kitty embraces Varenka and asks her forgiveness. Peace has been made.

With her father’s arrival, Kitty can no longer deceive herself into being something she was not designed to be without hypocrisy. Suddenly she is ready to leave this place and go back to Russia. Despite these revelations, her affection for Varenka remains strong, and Kitty begs her to come to visit. She promises to come when Kitty gets married, and Kitty promises to marry for that reason alone. Kitty returns home a bit less cheerful and thoughtless than before, but she is serene. Her past troubles are only a memory.