The Son of a Servant

“He liked the girls, liked to hold them around the waist, felt like a man when he did. But as for talking with them, no, no! Then he felt as though he were dealing with another species of human being, in some cases a higher one, in others a lower. He secretly admired the weak, pale, little girl and had picked her to be his wife. That was still the only way he could think of a woman - as a wife. He danced in a very chaste and proper manner, but he heard awful stories about his pals, stories he didn't understand until later. They could dance the waltz backwards around the room in a very indecent way, and they told naughty stories about the girls.””

— August Strindberg

“The ball was held in a middle-class home. The girls were anemic - some of them; the others were red as raspberries. John liked the pale ones best, the ones with black or blue rings round their eyes. They looked so sad and suffering and pitiable, and they cast tender yearning glances at him, such yearning glances.””

— August Strindberg

“Family ... the home of all social evil, a charitable institution for comfortable women, an anchorage for house-fathers, and a hell for children.””

— August Strindberg

“Nije imao krvi u žilama, nije imao osjećaja, volje, požuda. Bio je glava koja govori. Njegovo stajalište nije bilo nijedno, bila su sva. Bio je preparat, složen od knjiga; bio je tipični knjiški učenjak, koji nikad nije - živio.””

— August Strindberg