Julie. Quite right. This all came to my father’s ears, but he could not take any legal steps; he couldn’t pay his wife’s lover, he couldn’t prove that it was his wife’s money. That was my mother’s revenge for his using force against her at home. He then made up his mind to shoot himself. The report went about that he had wanted to do it, but hadn’t succeeded. He remained alive then-, and my mother had to settle for what she’d done. That was a bad time for me* as you can imagine. I sympathized with my father, but I sided with my mother, as I didn’t understand the position. I learnt from her to mistrust and hate men, for, so far as I could hear, she always hated men—and I swore to her that I would never be a man’s slave.

John. And then you became engaged to Kronvogt?

Julie. For the simple reason that he was 1 to have been my slave.

John. And he wouldn’t have it?

Julie. He was willing enough, but nothing came of it* I got sick of him.

John. I saw it, in the stable.

Julie. What did you see?

John. I saw how he broke off the engagement.

Julie. That’s a He. It was I who broke off the engagement. Did he say that he did it? The scoundrel!

John. No, he wasn’t a scoundrel at all. You hate the men, Miss.

Julie. Yes—usually, but at times, when my weak fit comes on—ugh!

John. So you hate me as well?

Julie. Infinitely. I could have you killed like a beast.

John. The criminal is condemned to hard labor, but the beast is killed.

Julie. Quite right.

John. But there’s no beast here—and no prosecutor either. What are we going to do?