解説　場面 31「夕方の話」

"His sister is everything in his life, he says. That is natural enough, and I am glad that he should understand her value. They have always been together, and according to his account he has been a very lonely man with only her as a companion, so that the thought of losing her was really terrible to him. He had not understood, he said, that I was becoming attached to her, but when he saw with his own eyes that it was really so, and that she might be taken away from him, it gave him such a shock that for a time he was not responsible for what he said or did. He was very sorry for all that had passed, and he recognized how foolish and how selfish it was that he should imagine that he could hold a beautiful woman like his sister to himself for her whole life. If she had to leave him he had rather it was to a neighbour like myself than to anyone else. But in any case it was a blow to him and it would take him some time before he could prepare himself to meet it. He would withdraw all opposition upon his part if I would promise for three months to let the matter rest and to be content with cultivating the lady's friendship during that time without claiming her love. This I promised, and so the matter rests."

「彼の話では、妹が人生のすべてなんだそうだ。それは当然のことだし、妹の価値を分かっているのは、僕もうれしい。ずっと一緒に暮らしてきたうえ、彼の話では、妹だけを伴侶としてひどく孤独に暮らしてきた男なので、妹を失うと思うと本当に恐ろしかったらしい。僕が妹へ気持ちを寄せているとは分かっていなかったが、実際にそうなのを目にし、自分の所から連れていかれるかもしれないと思うと、ひどい衝撃を受け、一時は、自分の言動に責任を持てないほどだったという。起きたことをすべてとても後悔し、妹のような美しい女性を、一生自分だけのものにできると思うのは、愚かで身勝手だったと認めていた。妹が去るなら、ほかの誰かより、僕のような隣人の所へ行く方がいいそうだ。それでも彼にとって打撃には違いなく、向き合う覚悟ができるまで、少し時間がかかるらしい。三か月の間はこの話を進めず、愛を求めずに彼女との友情を育てるだけで満足すると、僕が約束すれば、自分は一切の反対を取り下げると言った。僕は約束し、いまはそういう状態になっている」