But in reality all his affection was
bestowed upon Effi, who occupied his emotional nature continually,
particularly when he was alone with his wife.
"How do you find Effi?"
"Dear and good as ever. We cannot thank God enough that we have such a
lovely daughter. How thankful she is for everything, and always so
happy to be under our rooftree again."
"Yes," said Briest, "she has more of this virtue than I like. To tell
the truth, it seems as though this were still her home. Yet she has
her husband and child, and her husband is a jewel and her child an
angel, and still she acts as though Hohen-Cremmen were her favorite
abode, and her husband and child were nothing in comparison with you
and me. She is a splendid daughter, but she is too much of a daughter
to suit me. It worries me a little bit. She is also unjust to
Innstetten. How do matters really stand between them?"
"Why, Briest, what do you mean?"
"Well, I mean what I mean and you know what, too. Is she happy? Or is
there something or other in the way? From the very beginning it has
seemed to me as though she esteemed him more than she loved him, and
that to my mind is a bad thing. Even love may not last forever, and
esteem will certainly not. In fact women become angry when they have
to esteem a man; first they become angry, then bored, and in the end
they laugh."
"Have you had any such experience?"
"I will not say that I have. I did not stand high enough in esteem.
But let us not get wrought up any further.
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