concept
Crossing oneself before the icon
crossing herself
also: перекрестилась, взглянула на образ
The Orthodox Russian habit of glancing at the household icon and making the sign of the cross at a moment of alarm or news, here performed by Mitya's mother as a reflex of anxious piety when she hears something has "happened."
Reading notes
- Joy §14 glanced at the icon and crossed herself
A reflexive gesture of Orthodox piety at a moment of alarm -- glancing at the household icon and making the sign of the cross -- performed here twice by Mitya's anxious mother.