Pagina 762 di 1294

But, nevertheless, it was clear to him again that with her

character and the amount of education she had after all received,

she could not in any case remain so. He was still confronted by

the question, how could she have remained so long in that

position without going out of her mind, since she could not bring

herself to jump into the water? Of course he knew that Sonia's

position was an exceptional case, though unhappily not unique and

not infrequent, indeed; but that very exceptionalness, her tinge

of education, her previous life might, one would have thought,

have killed her at the first step on that revolting path. What

held her up--surely not depravity? All that infamy had obviously

only touched her mechanically, not one drop of real depravity had

penetrated to her heart; he saw that. He saw through her as she

stood before him....