"How? What do I seek then?"
"To have your own way without any regard to mine."
"You have a will of your own, have you, you young sea-bird? You think you know your own good, do you, little fool? I shall let you taste the birch rod, so tall and big you are. Now listen Marit, let me speak a little kindly with you. You are not so bad at the bottom, but you are deluded. You must attend to what I say, I am old and experienced. I am not so well off as people think, a poor cageless bird could soon fly away with the little I have; your father dived hard into it. No, let us take care of ourselves in this world, it is not better worth. It is all very well for the schoolmaster to talk, for he has money himself, and the priest too, they can afford to preach; but with us, who must work for our living, it is quite a different thing. I am old, and have gone through much; I can tell you, love is nice enough to talk about, and may do very well for the clergy and such, but it won't do for the peasantry, they must look at it in another light. First subsistence you see, then religion, then a little schooling, then a little love if it so falls in; but I tell you it is no use to begin with love and end with victuals. What have you to say now Marit?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yes, but I do."
"What then?"
"Must I say?"
"Yes, of course you must."
"I am bound up in this love."