1:24:03
Had a curious conversation
the other day.
1:24:06
A friend of mine...
1:24:08
...wanted some advice.
1:24:10
He's having trouble...
1:24:12
...with his wife.
1:24:15
A young man involved.
1:24:18
And he, my friend,
doesn't quite know what to do.
1:24:22
Of course, he hasn't
the right to do anything.
1:24:25
- No? Why?
- He's only an excuse for a man, really.
1:24:29
Never done very much.
Never wanted to.
1:24:32
Fates and a few energetic ancestors...
1:24:34
...have allowed him to lead
a rather soft and easy life.
1:24:38
On the whole, he prefers it that way.
1:24:40
Naturally, his wife...
1:24:42
...quite a personality
in her own right, never liked that.
1:24:47
Always a bit contemptuous of him.
1:24:49
The peculiar thing is that
he loves his wife very much.
1:24:53
In his own way, of course.
1:24:56
He's never been able
to prove it to her.
1:24:58
Not man enough, I suppose.
1:25:01
Not enough character,
as the Good Book says.
1:25:05
Still, he's learned to make less mess
in public than any man living.
1:25:09
Of course, that's only a negative virtue.
1:25:11
It doesn't fool a wife for very long.
1:25:14
What do you know?
I hit the bull's eye.
1:25:17
So all things considered, he's thinking
of giving his wife a divorce.
1:25:21
- You think that's a reasonable solution?
- Victor, stop it.
1:25:25
- Why don't you.
- There's nothing to stop.
1:25:27
- Rumor has it otherwise.
- Only rumor?
1:25:30
No backstairs gossip?
No anonymous letters?
1:25:33
I'm sorry, Helen...
1:25:35
...rumor is a dubious
and rather nasty authority.
1:25:44
What can this boy give you?
Suppose you do marry him...
1:25:47
...how long would it last?
1:25:48
How long before you get tired
of him, or he of you?
1:25:51
You know yourself better
than anyone else, Helen.
1:25:54
Can you change now?
1:25:56
And if you don't, do you really
believe he'll change?
1:25:59
He doesn't know
what it means to be soft.