# II explained — Sanine

> Chapter companion for Sanine by Mikhail Artsybashev.

## What happens

Sanine returns home and observes the tension between his mother Maria Ivanovna, his sister Lida, and her suitors Sarudine, Novikoff, and Tanaroff. A discussion about Lida's potential acting career reveals conflicting views on women's roles and sexuality, with Novikoff expressing jealousy and Sanine offering blunt, unconventional opinions. Maria Ivanovna worries about Sarudine's intentions and reflects on a troubling dream. The chapter explores themes of individuality versus societal expectations, gender double standards, and the hypocrisy surrounding female beauty and desire.

## Themes in this chapter

### Individualism vs. Society

Sanine's refusal to conform to expected social roles and his critique of the 'military cloister' mentality highlight the tension between personal freedom and societal pressure.

### Gender and Double Standards

The discussion about Lida's potential acting career exposes the double standard that condemns women for displaying their beauty while men freely admire and consume it.

### Sexual Freedom and Hypocrisy

Novikoff's jealous outburst and Sanine's blunt remarks about female beauty reveal the hypocritical attitudes toward female sexuality and desire.

## Character check-ins

### Yourii Sanine

Sanine observes the social dynamics with detached irony, challenges conventional norms, and reflects on the suppression of individuality.

### Lida Sanine

Lida is the center of male attention, aware of her beauty and the effect she has on others, and shows a desire for independence.

### Victor Sergejevitsch Sarudine

Sarudine is a confident cavalry captain who courts Lida and advocates for her singing career, though his motives are ambiguous.

### Sascha Novikoff

Novikoff is jealous and possessive, expressing harsh views about actresses and revealing his own insecurities.

### Maria Ivanovna

Maria Ivanovna is anxious about her children's futures, troubled by her dream, and unable to understand her son's unconventional behavior.

### Lieutenant Tanaroff

Tanaroff is a silent admirer of Sarudine, awkward in his attempts to assist Lida.

## Key lines

> It seemed as if men wished to turn the whole world into a sort of military cloister, with one set of rules for all, framed with a view to destroy all individuality, or else to make this submit to one vague, archaic power of some kind.

Sanine feels that society wants to impose uniform rules that crush individuality or force it to bow to an outdated authority.

_Reflects Sanine's critique of societal conformity and the suppression of personal freedom._

> Every woman in the first instance likes to be admired for her personal charms.

Sanine argues that women naturally enjoy being appreciated for their physical beauty.

_Highlights the theme of gender and double standards, as well as Sanine's blunt, unconventional perspective._

> What's an actress? Nothing else but a harlot!

Novikoff equates actresses with prostitutes, revealing his jealousy and the societal stigma against women who display themselves publicly.

_Illustrates the hypocrisy and double standards surrounding female sexuality and public performance._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sanine_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sanine_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/sanine_se/chapters