— Have you looked in the mirror, Isak? Then I'll show you what you look like. You're a worried old man who's soon going to die, but I have all my life before me. That hurt your feelings, after all.
— No, it didn't hurt.
— Yes, it hurt because you can't bear the truth. The truth is that I've been too considerate. And so became unintentionally cruel.
— I understand.
— No, you don't understand. We don't speak the same language. Look in the mirror again. No, don't turn away.
— I see.
— Listen to me. I'm going to marry your brother Sigfrid. Love is almost a game for us. Look at your face now. Try to smile! There! Now you're smiling.
— But it hurts so.
— As professor emeritus, you ought to know why it hurts. But you don't know. You know so much, and you don't know anything.
