Father. Please be a little—
Axel. You allow her to treat me simply as the largest sized of all the dolls you have given her to play with. You cannot bear to see her give away any more of her affection than she might give to one of her dolls.
Father. Please talk in a more seemly manner! Please show us a proper respect—
Axel. Forgive me, my dear parents, if I don't. What I mean is that a child cannot be a wife, and as long as she remains with you she will always be a child.
Mother. But, Axel, did we not tell you she was only a child—
Father. We warned you, we asked you to wait a year or two—
Mother. Because we could not see that she loved you sufficiently.
Father. But your answer was that it was just the child in her that you loved.
Mother. Just the child's innocence and simplicity. You said you felt purer in her presence; indeed, that she sometimes made you feel as if you were in church. And we, her father and mother, understood that, for we had felt it ourselves.
Father. We felt that just as much as you, my son.