Master monologue (Act 5) — Plays by August Strindberg, Third Series

Don't you know why a man marries? And you know, too, that I didn't have to go begging for love. And you ought to remember how we laughed together at all the wiseacres who felt compelled to warn you.--But why you led me on is something I have never been able to explain--When you didn't look at me after the marriage ceremony, but acted as if you had been attending somebody else's wedding, then I thought you had made a bet that you could kill me. As the head of the department, I was, of course, hated by all my subordinates, but they became your friends at once. No sooner did I make an enemy than he became _your_ friend. Which caused me to remark that, while it was right for you not to hate your enemies, it was also right that you shouldn't _love_ mine!--However, seeing where you stood, I began to prepare for a retreat at once, but before leaving I wanted a living proof that you had not been telling the truth, and so I stayed until the little one arrived.