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“Even now, talking about those days, tears well up in my eyes, my indefatigable heart pounds rebelliously and still suffers, and my former, stormy passion bursts into my soul with these remembrances! Tedious, profound, burning recollections oppress me. I don’t love him any longer: love for my first friend died and grew cold long since, but even now, when I start talking about him, it’s as if I begin to love him all over again! The human heart feels deeply - its innermost depths are immeasurable, dark, and strange; and that which is lost in it often comes to the surface unexpectedly and fills the whole being with long-lost, lifeless feeling.”
― Evgeniya Tur, Antonina

“Antonina Mikhailovna,�� said Dmitry, “remember everything I told you yesterday and take pity on Michel. If you don’t agree to his proposal, he’ll have to engage in an open, overt struggle with his aunt. He will be faced with persecution. You know what it’s like from experience; you’ve borne it yourself. It’s not easy, is it?�� “He’s a man,�� I said. “He can’t be victimized like a woman.�� “That’s true. But remember, your own heart has hardened against the people you live with, whereas he still loves his aunt and owes her everything. She raised him. His father will also side with her. Michel will suffer twice as much. But if he’s already married �� then, in her opinion, it will be an irrevocable misfortune. Believe me, she’ll forgive him, if not immediately, then very soon; but, until it’s all settled, she’s sure to persecute both of you. If you don’t pity yourself, then at least take pity on him.�� “Do you have the right,�� asked Michel heatedly, “the right not to consent and to hesitate? Why? In your opinion have we not suffered enough? Are we suffering too little now? Haven’t we both earned the right to be happy? My God, who can be bothered by our happiness? Or do you love me less now? Remember what you told me two years ago; remember what you repeated in your letters. You assured me you’d be firm and resolute. Prove your love for me �� the time has come.�� I rushed to him and burst into tears. “Take me away from here,�� I cried. “Do as you wish!”
― Evgeniya Tur, Antonina