In which Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky, upon the morning light, observes the small domestic confusions and the quiet dissatisfactions of his daily life whilst perusing newspapers that echo his half-hearted liberal views and handling the demands of his social position. With a heart heavy yet tender, he meets the lively innocence of his children and contemplates the painful estrangement from his wife, resolved to confront the uneasy truths of their fractured union.