"What? I suppose you agree with Proudhon's[2] opinion on the subject?"
Bazarov drew himself up.
"I agree with no man's opinions," he remarked. "I have some of my own."
"A bas les autorités!" cried Sitnikov, delighted at this unlooked-for opportunity of showing off in the presence of the man whom he worshipped.
"But even Macaulay——" began Madame Kukshin.
"A bas Macaulay!" roared Sitnikov. "How can you defend those dolls of ours?"
"I am not defending them at all," said Madame Kukshin. "I am merely standing up for the rights of women—rights which I have sworn to defend to the last drop of my blood."
"A bas——" began Sitnikov—then paused. "I do not reject them," he added in a lower tone.
"But you do reject them, for you are a Slavophil, as I can see very clearly."
"On the contrary, I am not a Slavophil; although, of course, I——"