Page:Plays by Jacinto Benavente - Third series (IA playstranslatedf03benauoft).pdf/229

 be displeased now at what you have been praying for all along.

. Then you have no appreciation of the feelings of a mother. I realize now that there has been only one victim in this affair, and that is my poor son, who accepted what was mere trifling to your daughter, in sober earnest.

. You insult us with your insinuations.

. No, I do not. It is no insult to say that your daughter has a cooler head than my son.

. Her mother comes before everything else in the world with my daughter.

. If that is the case, I am sorry for the man who marries her.

. I suppose that you would be delighted to see your son abandon you without one regret?

. I should make the sacrifice gladly if I felt that it was for a woman who was worthy of his love.

. You say that because no woman in your opinion could be good enough for your son. When did a mother ever consider any one good enough to deprive her of her children?

. That is no reason why, if she must be deprived of them, she should not prefer some one who would make them happy. We are not justified in taking satisfaction in the suffering and disappointments of our children. I only wish that my son could have said to me: "I am so happy! I have chosen a wife who is worthy of my love." But, now, I realize that I was right, that he is the one who has been deceived, and my sorrow is greater than it was before. Oh, my poor boy!

. Pardon me if your attitude remains quite inexplicable. If any one consideration has influenced my daughter's decision more than another, it has been the prejudice which you have exhibited against her, and your opposition