Babel

by R.F. Kuang

‘Professor, I was wondering if I could speak with you for—’ Professor Craft rose. ‘Class is over, Miss Price.’ ‘I know, but I wanted to ask you for a moment – if you have spare time – I mean, just as a woman at Oxford, I mean, there aren’t so many of us, and I hoped to hear your advice—’ Robin felt then he should stop listening, out of some vague sense of chivalry, but Professor Craft’s chilly voice cut through the air before he could reach the stairs. ‘Babel hardly discriminates against women. It’s simply that so few of our sex are interested in languages.’ ‘But you’re the only woman professor at Babel, and we all – that is, all the girls here and I – we think that’s quite admirable, so I wanted—’ ‘To know how it’s done? Hard work and innate brilliance. You know that already.’ ‘It’s different for women, though, and surely you’ve experienced—’ ‘When I have relevant topics for discussion, I will bring them up in class, Miss Price. But class is over. And you’re now infringing on my time.’