"What do you want?"
"How do I know? More than I can have."
"I know that," said Christophe. "I was like that when I was a boy."
"Yes, but you have become a man. I shall never be grown-up as long as I live. I am an incomplete creature."
"No one is complete. Happiness lies in knowing one's limitations and loving them."
"I can't do that. I've lost it. Life has cheated me, tricked me, crippled me. And yet I fancy that I could never have been a normal and healthy and beautiful woman without being like the rest of the gang."
"There's no reason why you shouldn't be all these things. I can see you being like that!"
"Tell me how you can see me."
He described her, in conditions under which she might have developed naturally and harmoniously, and been happy, loved, and loving. And it did her good to hear it. But when he had done, she said:
"No. It is impossible now."