3967. The
presents Clara gave to her sister were an example of the contradictions in her
mind. She wanted to buy her sister an inlaid silver crucifix that was both a
religious object and a piece of jewelry at the same time, but she had been
asked to avoid and despise religious trinkets and images.
3968. The gift
of just the book seemed to her to be an insufficient gift, so she ended up buying an inexpensive
copper cross. The cross, by it cheapness, was apparently supposed to satisfy
her desire to be iconoclastic. It was like a drunk
having just a little drink, instead of an entire bottle.
3969. Harriet
hated both presents. She did not hate the presents a little bit, but she was
irritated and annoyed in the extreme that her sister had started to push her
strange ideas onto her. Here she was, at the moment when she had to say thank
you to her sister about her gifts, and she was hardly able to speak. Here aggravation
was expressed by her silence.
3970. Harriet
resorted to talking in generalities about the difference between various
crosses, and the number of explanations of the New Testament in print. She was
unable to bring herself to thank her sister for her gifts. She knew that the
instant she acted pleased it would be an invitation for her sister to launch
into a lecture.
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