[Shrugs his shoulders.] Who’s ashamed? But I couldn’t bear to see her—and that’s why I was bad to her. You see, it wouldn’t do to go back to the carousel—and Ficsur came along with his talk about—that other thing—and all of a sudden it happened, I don’t know how. The police and the Jew with the pistol—and there I stood—and I’d lost the money playing cards—and I didn’t want to be put in prison. [Demanding justification.] Maybe I was wrong not to go out and steal when there was nothing to eat in the house? Should I have gone out to steal for Julie?
THE MAGISTRATE
[Emphatically.] Yes.
LILIOM
[After an astounded pause.] The police down there never said that.
THE MAGISTRATE
You beat that poor, frail girl; you beat her because she loved you. How could you do that?
LILIOM
We argued with each other—she said this and I said that—and because she was right I couldn’t answer her—and I got mad—and the anger rose up in me—until it reached here [points to his throat] and then I beat her.