“I don’t want to serve either—”
“No! And Gudrun will probably feel the same.”
Gerald thought for a few minutes. Then he said:
“At all events, father won’t make her feel like a private servant. He will be fussy and greatful enough.”
“So he ought. And so ought all of you. Do you think you can hire a woman like Gudrun Brangwen with money? She is your equal like anything—probably your superior.”
“Is she?” said Gerald.
“Yes, and if you haven’t the guts to know it, I hope she’ll leave you to your own devices.”
“Nevertheless,” said Gerald, “if she is my equal, I wish she weren’t a teacher, because I don’t think teachers as a rule are my equal.”
“Nor do I, damn them. But am I a teacher because I teach, or a parson because I preach?”
Gerald laughed. He was always uneasy on this score. He did not want to claim social superiority, yet he would not claim intrinsic personal superiority, because he would never base his standard of values on pure being. So he wobbled upon a tacit assumption of social standing. No, Birkin wanted him to accept the fact of intrinsic difference between human beings, which he did not intend to accept. It was against his social honour, his principle. He rose to go.