but you should know, Katerina Ivanovna, that you really love only him. And the more he insults you, the more you love him. That’s your rupture. You love him just as he is; you love him for insulting you. If he ever reformed, you’d desert him and stop loving him entirely. You need him so as to be constantly aware of your heroic feat of fidelity and to reproach him for his infidelity. And it’s all a result of your pride. Oh, there’s a great deal of degradation and humiliation involved, but it’s all from pride.
