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From "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, page 184
Nastasya Filipipovna says, at her birthday party where she promised to reveal whether she would accept Ganya's marriage proposal.
"If I leave I'll leave everything of his behind, to the last rag. And who will take me when I have nothing? Ask Ganya, here, would he take me? Why even Ferdyshchenko wouldn't!"
"Perhaps Ferdysnchenko would not. Nastasya Filippovna. I am a candid person," said Ferdyshchenko.
"But then the prince would take youl You sit here and complain, but do have a look at the prince. I've been watching him for a long time."
Nastassya Filippovna turned to the prince with curiosity.
"Is it true?" she asked.
"It's true," murmured the prince.
"You will take me as I am, with nothing?"
"I will, Nastassya Filippovna."
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"Nastassya Filippovna," said the prince softly and with compassion, "I told you before | would take your consent as an honor, and that you are doing me an honor, I am not doing you one. You smiled at those words, and I heard people us around us laughing, Perhaps I expressed myself very Comically and was indeed comical myself, but I thought along that I- understood the meaning of honor, and I'm certain I spoke the truth, Just now you wanted to ruin yourself, irrevocably, since you'd never have forgiven yourself for it afterward: but you are not to blame for anything. Your life
must not be utterly ruined. What does it matter that Rogozhin came to you and that Gavril Ardalionovitch tried to deceive you? Why do you keep insisting on these things? Few people could do what you have done, I repeat this; and as for your wanting to go off with Rogozhin, you made up your mind to do this when you were delirious with fever. And you're ill now and you'd be better off in bed. You would have gone off and become a washerwoman tomorrow, you wouldn't have stayed with Rogozhin. You are proud, Nastassya Filippovna, but perhaps you are so terribly unhappy
that you really do think you're to blame. You need to be looked after, Nastassya Filippovna. I'm going to look after you. I saw your portrait this morning and it was as if I recognized a familiar face. I felt immediately as if you had already called to me--1-I will respect you as long as I live, Nastassya Filippovna," the prince concluded abruptly, blushing as if he had suddenly become aware of the sort of people before whom he was saying these things.
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