"And why not?"
"For in the state in which you find yourself it is very difficult, not to say impossible, to fathom all the profundities of the spirit and scrutinize all of its hiding-places. Frequently impressions make their way into our souls in a surreptitious manner without our taking note of it; they begin by being vague and fugitive, and for that very reason pass without being observed; but slowly they go on taking shape, growing in strength, and finally they conquer the individual and rule him at their will. Then they pass into the category of the passions."
"But I know perfectly well what I feel and what I don't feel."
"Oh, no, señorita; allow me to contradict you. You cannot know."
"Man, for goodness' sake! Can't I know what I feel?"
"Why, then, you must know that—"
"Perhaps I know better than you do. Self-observation, according to all the philosophers and moralists, is more difficult than to observe others, and there are very few who are able to reach to it. On the other hand, youth is little prone to reflection, and above all women are incapable of taking perfect account of their inclinations and of the vague emotions passing through their hearts."
"Look you! women are as God created them, and so are men."
"I don't doubt it; but God has so created them, with a sensitive capacity (if I may express myself in this way) more quick and delicate than that of men. It may be said that they are born exclusively for love, and that love ought to fill the measure of their existence. Love and the consequences which arise from love constitute the first end of conjugal union or, in other words, matrimony. Thus it has been established in all legislative codes, and particularly in the canonical, which is the purest fountain of all. Woman consequently works more under the impulse of fancy and sentiment than of reason...."
"Heavens! how much Isidorito knows about us poor women!" exclaimed the Señorita de Morí, in a tone between anger and jest.