Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 11).djvu/82

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Oh—vapid, nauseous phrases—nothing else! No, Alfred, I am not to be put off like that. I was fitted to become the child's mother, but not to be a mother to him. You must take me as I am, Alfred.

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And yet you used to be so fond of Eyolf.

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I was so sorry for him—because you troubled yourself so little about him. You kept him reading and grinding at books. You scarcely even saw him.

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[Nodding slowly.] No; I was blind. The time had not yet come for me

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[Looking in his face.] But now, I suppose, it has come?

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Yes, at last. Now I see that the highest task I can have in the world is to be a true father to Eyolf.

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And to me?—what will you be to me?

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[Gently.] I will always go on caring for you—with calm, deep tenderness. [He tries to take her hands.]