that magnificent woman beaten with a stick? so very hard to believe...and yet, how many women who later grow into great self-respect and gravity, are abused by lesser husbands.
wow. i still can't imagine anyone even crossing her will, much less beating her with a stick!
i agree, but you must remember to keep the situation in context: a very imperious man (and a romanov to-boot!) used to having his wishes respected, and an equally imperious woman, also used to getting her way, but with the added aspect of resentment on account of her husband's extra-marital affairs. now add to that mixture these extra ingredients:
---they had, for-all-intents-&-purposes, been living seperate lives....he spent most of his time with his mistress/es, and she had retreated into her children & society. she was (probably & very naturally) hurt & resentful, which probably grew over time.
---that imperious man, used to getting his way, was left dependent upon others for everything. once he was incapacitated by his strokes, AI stepped-in to care for her husband...in all likelihood, because it was
expected of her; it was, very simply, what a wife did under those circumstances. prior to his strokes, he had installed his secondary family in house on the pavlovsk estate. AI could do nothing about it; she could complain to everyone, but ultimately, Konstantin was free to whatever he wished, and AI, as his wife, was expected to respect his decision & wishes and bow to her husband's will. hence, their seperate lives.
one of the effects from the strokes left him unable to communicate with those around him, at least in the verbal sense; so, from that point on, AI was pretty-much in charge; she gave the orders. eventually, i'm sure, he learned how to make himself understood to a certain extent.
another result of the strokes was impaired mobility. he could, eventually, move around with the help of a walking-stick or something similar....but, for the most part, he still had to use a bathchair (the ancestor of the wheelchair), which required someone else to push it (they were way too big to be propelled by the user). therefore, he could not go
anywhere,
at all[/i], without someone's help.
now imagine yourself in his cicumstances, essentially helpless, with little choice but to be dependent on a person that you have caused pain, resentment & humiliation. all the while knowing that someone who still loves you is very, VERY close-at-hand, but everyone around you has been expressly forbidden to help you achieve that which want more than anything else. mind you, AI's behavior is not unexpected. i think the average person would not be able to resist the temptation of indulging in a weeee bit of revenge, under those circumstances.
i'd imagine konstantin's frustration was maddening. and AI's resentment must have been bordering on hate after a while... the strictures of society, as well as the general rules of propriety, required that she care for a man who not only had a second family, but practically flaunted the fact. he compounded her humiliation by moving them onto the property that he shared with her (AI) & their own children (the Konstantinovichii).
i can see both sides & i can understand both sides....it must have been awful for them both. i think it's plausible that Konstantin's frustration & rage built-up until it blew. think about it, a basically paralyzed man reaching out across the vast expanse of pain to grab a woman he once loved by her hair; then that basically paralyzed man found the strength (AND muscle-control) to wield his walking stick
and beat her about the head & shoulders.
THAT is rage. but AI can't really be blamed for trying to make herself feel a bit better by serving-up a little spite.