Fyne's
mental attitude towards society with its injustices, with its atrocious
or ridiculous conventions. As against them there is no audacity of
action your wife's mind refuses to sanction. The doctrine which I
imagine she stuffs into the pretty heads of your girl-guests is almost
vengeful. A sort of moral fire-and-sword doctrine. How far the lesson
is wise is not for me to say. I don't permit myself to judge. I seem to
see her very delightful disciples singeing themselves with the torches,
and cutting their fingers with the swords of Mrs. Fyne's furnishing."
"My wife holds her opinions very seriously," murmured Fyne suddenly.
"Yes. No doubt," I assented in a low voice as before. "But it is a mere
intellectual exercise. What I see is that in dealing with reality Mrs.
Fyne ceases to be tolerant. In other words, that she can't forgive Miss
de Barral for being a woman and behaving like a woman. And yet this is
not only reasonable and natural, but it is her only chance. A woman
against the world has no resources but in herself. Her only means of
action is to be what _she is_.
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