Do you really think so?
Dr. Stockmann.
Of course, you can’t see it as clearly as I do. You have passed your life in the midst of it all; and that deadens the impression. But I who had to vegetate all those years in that little hole in the north, hardly ever seeing a soul that could speak a stimulating word to me—all this affects me as if I had suddenly dropped into the heart of some teeming metropolis.
Burgomaster.
Well, metropolis——
Dr. Stockmann.
Oh, I know well enough that things are on a small scale here, compared with many other places. But there’s life here—there’s promise—there’s an infinity of things to work and strive for; and that is the main point. [Calling.] Katrina, haven’t there been any letters?
Mrs. Stockmann.
[In the dining-room.] No, none at all.
Dr. Stockmann.