"Oh, I'll find a use for them," said Prepolovenskaya, smiling.
"But, my dear, do tell me for what?" entreated Varvara, inquisitively.
Prepolovenskaya, bending towards Varvara, whispered in her ear:
"By rubbing your body with nettles, you keep fat. That's why my Genichka is so plump."
It was well known that Peredonov preferred fat women, and that he detested thin ones. Varvara was distressed because she was thin and was growing still thinner. How could she get a little plumper?—was one of her chief worries. She used to ask everyone: "Do you know any remedy for thinness?" And now Prepolovenskaya was convinced that Varvara would follow her suggestion and rub herself with nettles, and in this way be her own punisher.
[1] Pisarev (1840-68), a revolutionary writer and a precursor of Nihilism.
[2] A kind of rice pudding eaten at funerals in Russia.
[3] Zhamochki, an apparently invented word, meaning something particularly nice to eat.