"h’m! she is as stupid as a fool! a veritable ‘wet hen’! nothing excites her; and yet she is not happy; some days it makes one miserable only to look at her! why is she unhappy, i wonder?" at times lizabetha prokofievna put this question to her husband, and as usual she spoke in the threatening tone of one who demands an immediate answer. ivan fedorovitch would frown, shrug his shoulders, and at last give his opinion: "she needs a husband!"