“What do the women find so impressive in that little brat?” Gerald asked.
“God alone knows,” replied Birkin, “unless it’s some sort of appeal he makes to them, which flatters them and has such a power over them.”
Gerald looked up in surprise.
“Does he make an appeal to them?” he asked.
“Oh yes,” replied Birkin. “He is the perfectly subjected being, existing almost like a criminal. And the women rush towards that, like a current of air towards a vacuum.”
“Funny they should rush to that,” said Gerald.
“Makes one mad, too,” said Birkin. “But he has the fascination of pity and repulsion for them, a little obscene monster of the darkness that he is.”
Gerald stood still, suspended in thought.
“What do women want, at the bottom?” he asked.
Birkin shrugged his shoulders.