"Yes, of course, that theory is all right, but—"
"If a theory is all right, it ought to be acted upon."
Professor Marshall cried out in exasperation, "But see here,
Barbara—here is a concrete fact—our daughter—our precious
Sylvia—is making a horrible mistake—and because of a theory we
mustn't reach out a hand to pull her back."
"We can't pull her back by force," said his wife. "She's eighteen years old, and she has the habit of independent thought. We can't go back on that now."
"We don't seem to be pulling her back by force or in any other way! We seem to be just weakly sitting back and letting her do exactly as she pleases."
"If during all these years we've had her under our influence we haven't given her standards that—" began the mother.
"You heard how utterly she repudiated our influence and our standards and—"
"Oh, what she says—it's what she's made of that'll count—that's the only thing that'll count when a crisis comes—"
Professor Marshall interrupted hastily: "When a crisis! What do you call this but a crisis—she's like a child about to put her hand into the fire."
"I trust in the training she's had to give her firm enough nerves to pull it out again when she feels the heat," said her mother steadily.