But do sit down, my dear friend.
Manders. Thank you. You are sure I am not disturbing you?
Mrs. Alving. Of course not. (She sits down at the table.)
Manders. Good. Then I will show you--. (He goes to the chair
where his bag is lying and takes a packet of papers from it; then
sits down at the opposite side of the table and looks for a clear
space to put the papers down.) Now first of all, here is--(breaks
off). Tell me, Mrs. Alving, what are these books doing here?
Mrs. Alving. These books? I am reading them,
Manders. Do you read this sort of thing?
Mrs, Alving. Certainly I do.
Manders. Do you feel any the better or the happier for reading
books of this kind?
Mrs. Alving. I think it makes me, as it were, more self-reliant.
Manders. That is remarkable. But why?
Mrs. Alving. Well, they give me an explanation or a confirmation
of lots of different ideas that have come into my own mind. But
what surprises me, Mr. Manders, is that, properly speaking, there
is nothing at all new in these books. There is nothing more in
them than what most people think and believe.
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