GERDA. Have I grown old?
MASTER. That I cannot tell!—They say that not a single atom in a person's body remains wholly the same after three years—and in five years everything is renewed. And for that reason you, who stand over there, are not the same person as the sufferer who once sat here—you seem such a complete stranger to me that I can only address you in the most formal way. And I suppose it would be just the same in the case of my daughter, too.
GERDA. Don't speak like that. I would much rather have you angry.
MASTER. Why should I be angry?
GERDA. Because of all the evil I have done you.
MASTER. Have you? That's more than I know.
GERDA. Didn't you read the papers in the suit?
MASTER. No-o! I left that to my lawyer. [He sits down.
GERDA. And the decision of the court?
MASTER. No, why should I? As I don't mean to marry again, I have no use for that kind of documents.