“I still remained silent. Yes, ‘The Duke’ would obviously make the grade with her! So be it! What did that have to do with me? I said goodbye to her and all her charms: goodbye! I attempted to console myself by imagining the worst possible things about her, I took a positive pleasure in dragging her through the mud. The only thing that annoyed me was my taking off my hat to the couple, if I had really done it. Why should i tip my hat to people like that? She meant nothing to me any more, nothing at all. She wasn’t even the slightest bit beautiful to me, she had lost all her beauty, frightful, how ugly she had become! It wasn’t out of the question that she had looked only at me—that wouldn’t surprise me: she was probably feeling remorse now. But that didn’t mean I had to go fall down at her feet, and bow and scrape like a fool, especially when she had lost so much of her good looks lately. ‘The Duke’ could have her then, and good riddance! Perhaps one day I would simply walk proudly right past her without even glancing in her direction. It wasn’t impossible that I might do that even if she were to look straight at me, and what’s more even if her dress were absolutely blood red! That could very easily happen! Yes, that would be a triumph! If I knew anything about anything, I would finish my play this very night, and within eight days I would bring that girl to her knees. Charms and all, yes, even with all her charms….”
—Knut Hamsun