Oh, Christine, it’s such a relief! I feel so happy! Well, I mean, it’s lovely to have heaps of money and not to have to worry about anything. Don’t you think?
I suppose you know Torvald left the Ministry when we got married? There were no prospects of promotion in his department, and of course he needed more money. But the first year he overworked himself dreadfully. He had to take on all sorts of extra jobs, and worked day and night. But it was too much for him, and he became frightfully ill. The doctors said he’d have to go to a warmer climate.
That’s the worst thing about this kind of situation—it makes one so bitter. One has no one to work for; and yet one has to be continually sponging for jobs. One has to live; and so one becomes completely egocentric.