“The heroine of ‘The Sacrifice’—but I should not destroy your interest in the story.”
“Please go on.”
“This girl makes a mistake in throwing over a young fellow—”
“The author begins with an old situation.”
“Yes, but you should see the way he manages it. The girl does not call the lover back, or seek an opportunity to propose to him; neither does she grow sour and leathery. There are certain other reasons why the situation is singular—but you must read the thing yourself. I should like to have your judgment of it.”
“Why?”
“One heroine’s view of another—”
“Be serious.”
“I comply: Because if you like her, that is to say, if you like the way the author has treated her, the principles you have been enunciating are Pickwickian, which is quite likely. In brief, if you justify the author you have destroyed the justification for your own philosophy, or what has just been passing for your philosophy. After all, I dare say that you are hampered by being a heroine yourself. How extremely odd it would be if you should turn out to be an embodied heroine out of some story—”