Status Updates From El héroe de nuestro tiempo

Everyone read signs of non-existent evil traits in my features. But since they were expected to be there, they did make their appearance.

"I beg of you quite earnestly—if you should ever take it into your mind to speak ill of me, take a knife instead and kill me. I believe you would not find it too difficult to do."
"Do I look like a murderer?"
"You are worse. . . . "

oh god i terribly missed classics 😭

And what is happiness? Pride gratified. Could I consider myself better and more powerful than anyone else in the world, I should be happy; were everybody to love me, I should find in myself unending well-springs of love. Evil begets evil; the first pain leads to a realization of how great is the pleasure of tormenting another;

I regard the sufferings and joys of others merely in relation to myself, as food to sustain my spiritual strength. Passions no longer are capable of
robbing me of my sanity, my ambition has been crushed by circumstances, but it has manifested itself in new form, for ambition is nothing but greed for power, and my greatest pleasure I derive from subordinating everything around me to my will.

I often ask myself why it is that I so persistently seek to win the love of a young girl whom I do not wish to seduce and whom I shall never marry. Why this feminine coquetry? Vera loves me better than Princess Mary ever will. Were she an unconquerable beauty, the difficulty of the undertaking might serve as an inducement. . . .

I really do not know why she loves me so. Especially since she is the only woman who has ever completely understood me with all my petty frailties and evil passions. . . . Can evil indeed be so attractive?

“If I had the audacity to offend you in any way, will you allow me the greater audacity of asking your forgiveness?”

"She says you have an impudent look and must be
very conceited."
"She is right. . . ."