Very well, Pastor Manders. Speak.
Manders.
Do you remember that after less than a year of married life you stood on the verge of an abyss? That you forsook your house and home? That you fled from your husband? Yes, Mrs. Alving—fled, fled, and refused to return to him, however much he begged and prayed you?
Mrs. Alving.
Have you forgotten how infinitely miserable I was in that first year?
Manders.
It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life. What right have we human beings to happiness? We have simply to do our duty, Mrs. Alving! And your duty was to hold firmly to the man you had once chosen, and to whom you were bound by the holiest ties.
Mrs. Alving.
You know very well what sort of life Alving was leading—what excesses he was guilty of.
Manders.